Wisden india extra issue 5 by Wisden Support

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

India's summer sojourn ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

Contents New script for a new generation Led by a man not unduly bothered by the history books, a young Indian team has the chance to lay to rest the ghosts of series past

Dileep Premachandran |

INDIA’S BEST AMBASSADOR TO ENGLAND

In a traditionally difficult place for Indian cricketers, Dravid has tasted crushing defeat, unexpected success and everything inbetween

Anand Vasu |

200 years of Lord’s A special seat at hallowed grounds

Some memories of Lord’s – of cricket traditions and classic contests, unforgiving stewards and forgettable food – start from the press box

R Mohan |

The Colonel takes Lord’s

I wouldn’t trade my three centuries there for anything: Dilip Vengsarkar

Shamya Dasgupta |

A tale of two series

A first-innings total that helps bowlers put pressure on the England line-up is the difference between a series win and a loss, says Laxman

R Kaushik |

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

The ball that seams, swings and sings

Wisden honours for the leading lights

The Wisden Cricketer of the Year award recognises standout performances from the English summer so far, 17 Indians have made the cut

Sidhanta Patnaik |

Madan Lal and Balwinder Singh Sandhu think the Indian pace attack has what it takes to exploit the English conditions

If not a cricketer, what would Cheteshwar Pujara want to be? And what would Varun Aaron like for a last supper? Wisden India wants to know.

Leave a rookie, return a hero

The greenhorns in the 2014 Indian team to England need only to look to their predecessors for inspiration

Manoj Narayan

46 Quick Six

Saurabh Somani |

11, 21

IN THE HUNT FOR WIN NO. 4

India’s 16 Test tours of England so far have had some thrilling contests - a look at the highs, the lows and the personal bests

Sidhanta Patnaik

The one that changed it all

In 1971, we had the spinners and the tight fielding to support them and, for the first time, we realised we could win abroad

Ajit Wadekar

A tradition of wrong ‘uns

From the royal slight in 1936 to the great jelly beans pitch invasion of 2011, India’s England sojourns are speckled with controversies

R Kaushik

Fields of glory

A tour of the five stadiums that will host the England-India Tests

22, 23, 38, 39 Edited by: Karunya Keshav Designed by: Ashish Mohanty All pictures published as part of India’s Summer Sojourn courtesy of Getty Images and Wisden India Archive

4 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

New script

for a new generation Led by a man not unduly bothered by the history books, a young Indian team has the chance to lay to rest the ghosts of series past

D i l eep

P r e m a c h a nd r a n

or some, 42 is the Answer to the

overcast morning has been talked about right through my

and Everything. For Indian cricketers

England, we get the references to the Summer of 42 and

an old ghost that’s never far from the

nadirs seem to define the Indian experience in England.

Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe,

childhood, adolescence and adult life. Each time India tour

embarking on a tour of England, it’s

also to the scoreboard from Headingley in 1952. Those two

pavilion. Its presence can be felt each time the team does badly, and even exceptional performances tend

In my lifetime, I’ve seen Dilip Vengsarkar bat masterfully

to be overlooked as a nation’s batsmen continue to be

in a summer when most of the locals could barely put bat

at Lord’s 40 years ago.

the so-called Golden Generation thrash England in

judged on the basis of what transpired across 17 overs

to ball (The Colonel takes Lord’s, pg 43). I’ve witnessed seamer-friendly conditions at Headingley, and Zaheer

I was a few days old when it happened, but the

Khan take umbrage at the spilling of some jelly beans to

devastation that Geoff Arnold and Chris Old caused on an

destroy England at Trent Bridge (A tradition of wrong ‘uns,

DILEEP PREMACHANDRAN

New No. 4 Virat Kohli came of age as a Test player in Australia.

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

6 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

pg 34). On the last tour in 2011, even as everything that

is acutely conscious of the fact that he now bats at the No.

could possibly go wrong did, Rahul Dravid crafted three

4 position where he who many considered God played

magnificent hundreds. And yet, when India take the field

for nearly a quarter century. But that isn’t going to inhibit

at Lord’s on July 9, the whispers about frailty against the

his strokeplay or dictate his body language on the field.

moving ball will be relentless. You have 42 to thank for

Cheteshwar Pujara (pg 11), while recognising the debt

that.

of gratitude that Indian cricket owes Dravid, has made it amply clear that he has no interest in being a clone. R

It’s a good thing that the current Indian team is led by someone not unduly bothered by the history books. What

Ashwin doesn’t aspire to be Erapalli Prasanna, and Shikhar Dhawan is no left-handed version of Virender Sehwag.

Old or Arnold did is of little importance to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He doesn’t dismiss the archives, but he’s always

These men epitomise a new India. They will not be

made it clear that he’s not enamoured of them. What’s on

intimidated or awed by their surroundings. And that’s just

a yellowing page or microfilm isn’t going to help his team

as well, given that India’s back catalogue in England – five

win Test matches.

wins in 52 Tests – is not one that inspires great confidence.

These men epitomise a new India. They will not be intimidated or awed by their surroundings. We often speak of learning from the past. In this case, the lessons are almost all cautionary ones and best avoided by a side that is at its best when fearless. We often speak of learning from the past. In this case, the It wasn’t always that way. The players of my generation and those that went before, especially the legends, were

lessons are almost all cautionary ones and best avoided by a side that is at its best when fearless.

usually in thrall to Lord’s and its history. When Dravid or Sourav Ganguly speak of their debuts there in 1996 (India’s

Until India win a Test in England, the recent struggles

best ambassador to England, pg 8), their eyes reveal the

away from home will be referenced at every juncture. Yet,

fulfilment of childhood dreams. For them, and millions of

in what has been a story of overwhelming travel sickness

other ‘colonial’ kids like myself, making a century or even

since 2011, there have been several moments to cherish.

playing at HQ was as good as it got.

Kohli came of age as a Test player in Australia. Pujara followed suit in South Africa, and even the defeat to

That is no longer the case. Dhoni has taken a team to the

New Zealand featured crumbs of consolation. For a team

No. 1 ranking in Test cricket, and won every limited-overs

moving on from some of the greatest players to wear the

trophy worth losing sleep over. He isn’t going to let his

India cap, victory and defeat are not the only milestones.

career be defined by how he does on three tours of England or a handful of matches at Lord’s. He wants to win, but he hasn’t gone to England carrying a ton of expectation.

The 2011 tour went the way of a fall down a ski slope midway through the second Test, and while a five-match series does give a team a chance to claw back the initiative,

The same is true of most of his teammates. Virat Kohli

it can also lead to total disintegration, as was the case with

DILEEP PREMACHANDRAN

can summon up the pace to trouble top batsmen, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pankaj Singh are well equipped to make the most of helpful atmospheric conditions. Their lack of pedigree could be a blessing as well (Leave a rookie, return a hero, pg 19). There was clearly an element of complacency in the way England approached the Tests against Sri Lanka, and it’s doubtful whether this Indian pace sextet will be giving the opposition grey hair in the run-up to the series. But as Roger Binny, Chetan Sharma and Madan Lal showed in 1986, reputations mean nothing if you can find the right line and length. Binny, whose son, Stuart, could come into the fray at some stage, was a master at keeping things simple and that should be the primary focus for Joe Dawes, the bowling coach. In 2011, this was a series between the side ranked No. 1 and the one eyeing that ranking, with the Lord’s Test also the 2000th to be played. With a football World Cup hogging most of the sporting limelight, there is far less Spearhead Ishant Sharma can summon up the pace to trouble top batsmen, but consistency in the bowling attack remains a concern.

England in Australia last winter.

anticipation about this contest, and that should suit two

India’s decision to pick an 18-man

teams that have got plenty of issues to address. Both have

squad raised many an eyebrow,

gone from summit to foothills inside three years, and a new

but it does give more options to

generation has the opportunity to script its own stories.

a side that hasn’t really had a settled bowling line-up since There will be no tickertape parade of the sort that

Zaheer Khan lost his spark.

greeted Ajit Wadekar and his team in 1971 (The one that There will be intense scrutiny on the batsmen and their

changed it all, pg 31) if India do win, but any success will be

techniques in English conditions, but having acquitted

of vital importance to a side that is once again stuck with

themselves fairly well in both South Africa and New

the label of home-track bullies. Dhoni has often spoken

Zealand, they’ll be confident of taking on an English side

of his disdain for tags of any sort, but for both him and

that has slipped several rungs since that halcyon summer

his players, this has the potential to be a defining series.

of 2011.

This time, there is no Indian Premier League hangover to blame, no injury concerns to hide behind and no Tendulkar

The real concern for India is the bowling (The ball that

hoopla to be distracted by. Three years on from the darkest

seams, swings and sings, pg 16), especially the inability to

days, a young and unscarred side is ready to reach for the

maintain consistency over two innings in a Test match.

light.

Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron (pg 21) and Ishant Sharma

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

8 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

India’s best ambassador

to England

In a traditionally difficult place for Indian cricketers, Dravid has tasted crushing defeat, unexpected success and everything in-between

A NA ND

s the 18 men of the Indian squad to

England get ready for their first Test at Trent Bridge from July 9, only

three of them having played in the country before, they’ll go in to face

Stuart Broad, James Anderson and co. armed with the

vast experience and expertise of Rahul Dravid behind them. Dravid joined the coaching staff for a short stint as

mentor in the run up to the Tests, and the management’s

choice is not hard to fathom. In what is traditionally a difficult place for Indian cricketers, Dravid has tasted

V AS U

Dravid was part of four tours to England. In 1996, he made his debut in the second Test, which India drew, and scored 84 and 8 as India drew the third Test in Nottingham, only to lose the series 0-1. In 2002, he played all four Tests, scoring three centuries, including a double-hundred at The Oval. That innings spanned ten-and-a-half hours, took up 468 balls, and was 163 more than the second highest score for the innings – Sachin Tendulkar’s 54. During the same series, Dravid was a key player in the Headingley Test, putting up a memorable 170-run stand with Sanjay Bangar; India won that Test to ensure that the series was drawn 1-1.

crushing defeat, unexpected success and everything inbetween.

In 2007, as captain, Dravid went one better, and though

ANAND VASU

he did not match his high standards with the bat, India

played four Tests at Lord’s, and

won 1-0, their first series win in England since 1986. And

there is little doubt about the place

then came the final flourish, in 2011, when India lurched

the world’s most famous cricket

from loss to loss, crashing and burning to a 0-4 thumping

ground occupies in his heart. The

even as Dravid smacked three centuries, aggregating 461

most obvious reason for this is the

for the series.

sentimental one: Dravid’s first hit in Test cricket, back in

Stomping grounds Dravid’s first hit in Tests, back in 1996, was at Lord’s, where he came within kissing distance of a century.

1996, was at Lord’s and he came within kissing distance of That makes his tally in England 1376 runs, with six of his 36 hundreds coming in the country. And in all this, his

making a century, walking after he nicked one from Chris Lewis, on 95.

batting average was

The second-highest impact Indian batsman in England of all time, Rahul Dravid has the lowest failure rate and second-highest pressure impact. But, of his 13 Tests, he has only one series defining (SD) performance – the 148 in Leeds in 2002, after which Tendulkar (193) got into the act to take the match away from England. Take into consideration his fielding and captaincy and he becomes the fifth-highest impact Indian player in England.

an astonishing 68.8,

“Every memory of my debut at Lord’s is still vivid. There

more than 15 points

are a lot of other things that happened since that have gone

clear of his overall

a bit fuzzy, but memories of my debut are really vivid,”

figures. No wonder

said Dravid. “I still get goose pimples just thinking about

then that he simply

it, walking out for my first bat in Test cricket and doing

loved

so at Lord’s. Getting the opportunity to start at Lord’s was

playing

England.

a privilege. I grew up hearing about that ground, reading about it, my dad had spoken to me about it. He always said,

Of his 13 Tests in the country, Dravid

‘It would be great if you could play there one day,’ and for that to happen in my first Test was incredible.”

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

10 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

fuss is about. To each his own. I respect that some things don’t connect with some people,” said Dravid. “Maybe I’ve The Headingly Test in 2002 was just another Test match for me. I didn’t have any specific preparations for it but before the Test, I had batted decently in the warm-up game against Essex.

had success there and that has made me biased. But the

I was primarily picked as a bowler but had to open the innings to accommodate two spinners. When (Virender) Sehwag got out early, it was obvious that the wicket was not batting friendly, so Rahul (Dravid) and I assessed the conditions early and played within our limitations. We knew it was a challenge but took on the responsibility to survive the day. Though I got out, it was very satisfying that I could contribute towards India‘s big overseas Test victory. Going into the Test, one of the most important factors was the way Parthiv (Patel) and Zaheer (Khan) batted out the last 15 overs to save the previous Test at Trent Bridge. That gave us confidence.

those very steps and made their runs there. Some of your

Also, during that tour, we had some issues with the BCCI about the contracts and Anil (Kumble) was representing the team, so the victory was crucial in unifying the team. The victory also underlined the bold approach of the Indian team under Sourav Ganguly, where we still made those brave decisions of batting first at a ground like Headingley, still opted to play two spinners on a seaming wicket. It helped improve the image of the Indian team overseas. SANJAY BANGAR, now Kings XI Punjab coach, made a patient 68 in 236 balls in the third Test at Headingley, Leeds, in 2002. India won by an innings and 46 runs. As told to Disha Shetty

history and tradition behind that ground is undeniable. It is, in that sense, the home of cricket. Some of the greatest players you have heard about and read about, walked down heroes cherished playing there, and that was important to me. Every time I’ve gone to Lord’s, I’ve enjoyed myself. “Even now, when I go for World Cricket Committee meetings, or when I took my sons there to walk around and get a feel for the place, it’s special. It is one of the biggest brand names in our great game, and that must count for something.” While Dravid loves Lord’s in a special way, his overall feelings about playing in England are no less affectionate. “A big reason why I loved playing in England – for me, it was always easy to switch off from the cricket there. I was really relaxed outside of the cricket, and it probably showed in my performance on the field,” he said. “The first thing is that you’re not sitting on flights all the time. On a bus it’s a lot more relaxed, it’s a bit of a cocoon and yet you can actually see the world go by. You see familiar faces all the time, there’s so much to do in London, and we’re typically there in the summer when the weather is good. There’s just so much to see and do. People don’t hassle you

Dravid followed that innings with scores of 46, 63, 2, 9, 103* and 36 on the ground, and it was only in 2007, when India got out of jail as rain and bad light came to their rescue, that he actually failed at Lord’s. That jailbreak was crucial, as it ensured India were alive in the series long enough to win it later in Nottingham. “It has always been a special place for me. I’ve enjoyed playing there. For a lot of people, they ask what the big

if you’re walking down the street. That was liberating in its own way.” This time, given his role on a commentary team and with the Indian squad, things will be slightly different for Dravid. Looking at the young team he would be guiding, he said there have been some “positive signs” of their ability. “You look at Virat (Kohli), (Cheteshwar) Pujara, (Ajinkya) Rahane, (Shikhar) Dhawan, they’ve all got

ANAND VASU 11

hundreds in recent overseas

series.

They’re all young and Farokh Engineer is India’s highest impact wicketkeeper in England till date. Having played in 1967, 1971 and 1974, he was also flexible with his batting position – he opened the innings with considerable success too. His 59 and 28 not out, besides his wicketkeeping duties, in the iconic Oval Test of 1971 brought him his SD. He is fourth on the list of highest impact Indian players.

have

runs

abroad,

that’s heartening. It’s

Quick Six C h e t Pu j a r a

early days in their respective

careers,

especially

Test

cricket.

This

tour

will give you a good read on how far they

may go. The talent and ability to make Test runs overseas is there. Now they have to be consistent over the course of a Test and then a series. What you don’t want is one big performance and a lot of 20s and 30s.

Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean.

“You also want batsmen to do well as a group, have big partnerships, crack games wide open. If batsmen get set, and can put a big stand together, it generally wins you games, or at least sets the game up.”

If you could disappear from the limelight for two weeks, where would you go and what would you do? I like going on holidays. I would love to explore the UK countryside.

As for the bowling, he said, much depends on Ishant Sharma, who is expected to lead the attack. “The bowling is a bit of a concern from my perspective. I look at various possible combinations and I wonder how we’re going to get 20 wickets in a Test. But, that said, it’s an opportunity for some of the young guys to step up, especially Ishant, as he’s been around a while now. This tour is a great chance for him to take things forward, take things to the next level. From someone who has played as much Test cricket as Ishant has, you want consistency – you don’t want the odd good performance, you want him to carry the attack.” It remains to be seen if any of the youngsters can do a Dravid. For now though, they get to start off with some good advice from one of the very best.

If you could play any character from a book, movie or comic, who would it be?

A sportsperson from another field whom you admire. I like Nadal and Djokovic. Nadal is a fighter and the kind of fitness he has is remarkable. I like Djokovic‘s work ethic. You’re stuck on a desert island, whom would you like for company? My wife. What would you have for a last supper? Home-cooked food, where I get chapati, dal and sabzi – just healthy food. If not a cricketer, then what? A businessman. I’m not sure what business.

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

12 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

A tale of

two series A First-innings total that helps bowlers put pressure on the England line-up is the difference between a series win and a loss, says Laxman

K a u s h i k

ngland is one of the few Test-playing

first Test to draw the four-match series 1-1, ending much

have a century, but the batsman from

at The Oval. Five years on, largely untroubled after hanging

in world cricket who aren’t judged by

Test at Lord’s, India clinched the three-match series 1-0, the

and 2011, Laxman only made 586 runs at 34.47 with

went pear-shaped in 2011 when collectively, India’s batting

in England at Lord’s in 2002, but he was involved in one

match showdown.

countries where VVS Laxman does not

the stronger of the two sides by the time the series ended

Hyderabad is one of those select few

on by the skin of their teeth to eke out a draw in the first

numbers alone. In three tours of England between 2002

series win in England coming after 21 years, but everything

five half-centuries and a best of 74, in his very first Test

came a cropper and they were crushed 4-0 in the four-

drawn (2002), one victorious (2007) and one disastrous (2011) series.

In 2002, India bounced back from a heavy defeat in the

India haven’t always possessed the most threatening bowling unit all-round, so they have had to rely heavily on their batsmen to create scoreboard pressure. While it

R KAUSHIK 13

is true that a team needs to take 20 wickets to win a Test

(which India won by seven wickets)

match more often than not, there are various routes to

and at The Oval, we got really big

taking those 20 wickets. India have generally relied on the

scores in the first innings (481

strength of their batting to pick up wickets, twisted as that

and 664 respectively),” pointed

might sound.

out Laxman. “And that was a big

free fall Laxman: In 2011, other than Rahul Dravid, no batsman was able to convert a start into something substantial.

reason why we were able to put pressure on the England “Whenever we have done well in England, it is on the

batsmen. That, coupled with the fact that our premier fast

back of scoring big runs in the first innings,” Laxman told

bowler (Zaheer Khan) was in excellent form. That is so

Wisden India as he reflected in particular on the tours of

important.

2007 and 2011. “It’s very important to score runs first up, and that’s exactly what happened in 2007, except in the

“Usually, over the years, there has been one bowler who

first Test at Lord’s when we just about managed to top 200.”

has had an excellent series whenever we have done well in England, and that is usually a fast bowler. Because the

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and S Sreesanth, the last-wicket

conditions there suit seam and swing bowling, if a bowling

pair, somehow negotiated the last five overs at Lord’s as

unit is in top form and the batsmen are getting big runs,

India escaped with a fortuitous draw in that game, but

there is every chance of constantly keeping the opposition

from then on, it was India all the way. “Both in Nottingham

on the back foot. That’s precisely what happened in 2007.”

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

14 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

blow for the team. “Then, in the second Test, we lost our other experienced bowler Harbhajan Singh, who too was ruled out of the series. To lose one of them was bad enough; to lose both our main bowlers was a blow we just couldn’t recover from.” Laxman said India had also erred in squad composition going into the series. “We had gone in with a very wrong combination, just two specialist openers in the squad which was very surprising,” he observed. “Usually, you go with three or sometimes four full-time openers because playing the new ball is critical in England. When Gautam (Gambhir) got injured, we had Rahul (Dravid) opening the batting, which meant the batting order was shuffled a lot. Because of injuries to batsmen and bowlers, we never had a settled combination in any Test. “The highlight of our performances in 2002 and 2007 was batsmen going on and getting big scores, be it Viru (Virender Sehwag) or Sachin (Tendulkar) or Rahul. In 2011, Team effort In 2007, the bowling unit was in top form and the batsmen were getting big runs, including 664 in the first innings at The Oval.

other than Rahul, no one was able to convert a start into By contrast, 2011 was the exact opposite, with everything that

something substantial, which put a lot of pressure on the inexperienced bowling line-up.

could go wrong going horribly wrong. “We started off the first

“It didn’t help either that England’s batsmen were in top

Test at Lord’s quite well, we picked up two wickets for

form, and they were able to not just convert their starts

nothing but then, our premier fast bowler broke down,”

and make hundreds, but go on to make doubles and even

India have relied on the strength of their batting to pick up wickets, twisted as that sounds

Laxman went on, referring to the hamstring injury that

a triple, almost. In countries like England, South Africa

ended Zaheer’s tour inside the first session. “There was

and Australia, it is very important to win the crunch

a lot of inexperience in the fast bowling ranks, so it was

moments. We were not able to do so. After losing at Lord’s,

imperative for Zaheer to lead the way and lead from the

we bounced back in Nottingham but we lost the initiative.

front. Him getting injured that early in the tour, it was a big

We had taken the lead and were only three or four down.

R KAUSHIK 15

Had we taken a lead of 150 or so, we would have been on top. But The most consistent Indian players in England have been Kapil Dev (13 matches), Zaheer Khan (8), Vinoo Mankad (6), Bapu Nadkarni (4) and Mohammad Nissar (4).

Stuart Broad bowled well with the second new ball to keep our lead down, and we then allowed them to

score big in the second innings. We had our chances, but we just were not good enough to handle the pressure time after time.” Despite possessing a formidable batting line-up, India had wiped the floor in 2011. This time around, only three members of the 18-man party have played Test cricket in England previously, but Laxman saw the team putting up a spirited fight. “The performance of the team in the Champions Trophy in England last year, that gives me a lot of encouragement,” he remarked. “This young batting line-up is very talented, it has the potential to adapt to conditions quickly. I know the Champions Trophy was a shorter format, the 50-over version, but the manner in which they batted and their approach showed a lot of promise. “Also, I am very buoyed by the performances of the batsmen in South Africa and New Zealand. Even though we lost both series, I was heartened to see the way the batsmen played. They have shown that they have what it takes to adapt to overseas conditions quickly. It was unfortunate that the team lost some close games in South Africa and New Zealand, the team was in contention to win at least two out of those four Tests. I am sure the young Indian batsmen have the talent; temperament and the ability to remain positive are factors that will determine exactly how they express that talent.”

QUIZ D ILEEP

1. Which useful lower-order batsman registered India’s first fifty in Test cricket in their first Test match at Lord’s in 1932? 2. Who replaced the injured Vijay Manjrekar in the 1959 tour squad after completing the Oxford University cricket season, and scored a hundred on debut in the fourth Test at Old Trafford? 3. Which English batsman was dropped from the team after scoring 246 in the first Test at Headingley, Leeds, in 1967, in an innings dismissed as ‘boring’ by the media and ‘selfish’ by the selectors? 4. Whose faster ball during the 1971 tour was referred to by his teammates as ‘Mill Reef’, after the Derby-winning horse of that season? 5. India’s disastrous 1974 tour came to be known after the number of runs they scored in the second innings of the second Test at Lord’s. What’s the tour commonly called? 6. For the 1979 tour, India took two wicketkeepers. Name them. 7. What batting record held by Greg Chappell (v New Zealand at Wellington in 1974) was broken in the first Test at Lord’s in 1990, and by whom? 8. Whose illustrious 66-Test career came to an end in the second Test at Lord’s in 1996? 9. The 2007 series had only four centuries scored with three from England’s side. Who scored India’s lone hundred? 10. In the first Test in 2011, MS Dhoni, the India captain, had an unusual achievement against his name, a first in 123 Tests and 127 years of Lord’s existence, infuriating the purists. What was it?

Answers on Page 51

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

16 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

The ball that seams,

swings and sings Madan Lal and Balwinder Singh Sandhu think the Indian pace attack has what it takes to exploit the English conditions

S au r a b h

eam and swing bowling have been the

S o m a n i

India’s last tour to England, in 2011, was one where a

building blocks of most attacks in Test

Murphy’s Law nightmare was lived out in full public view.

United Kingdom, where the pitches, the

with a draw and a win to show for it. And, with England

cricket. Nowhere is this truer than in the

But before that, they had good outings in 2002 and 2007,

conditions and the frequently heavy cloud

considerably weaker than they were in 2011, Madan Lal and

cover produce an environment for pacers to thrive in.

Balwinder Singh Sandhu, exponents of seam and swing who have both tasted success in England, feel India – with

The Twenty20 age has added several bows to the pacer’s

a pace attack of Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,

string with a variety of slower balls, run-up alterations and

Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron, Pankaj Singh and Stuart

bouncers of different speeds, but where variety on demand

Binny – stand as good a chance as ever to earn a fourth

is a necessity for the shorter format, the most consistent ally

series win in the country.

of the quicker men is still the tried and tested combination of seam and swing in Test cricket.

The former India internationals suggest that a bowler

SAURABH SOMANI 17

keep the ball in the batsman’s half Zaheer Khan’s contribution over two series – 2002 and 2007 – including an SD in 2007, makes him the second-highest impact bowler from India in England. In fact, his 4 for 59 and 5 for 75 at Trent Bridge in 2007 is the second-highest bowling impact performance of all time.

make the conditions work for him. “You have to bowl in the right areas. If you release the ball late, it might not

carry to the wicketkeeper, but if you hit the right spot, then you can seam it around a lot,” advises Madan Lal. “You have to aim for a three-quarters’ length, just short of good length area. And you have to bowl in one corridor. “Bowling short is not going to solve problems,” he says. “When you bowl short, the ball comes on to the bat nicely, but if you bowl it up you have a chance of getting a caught behind or caught in the slips. You have to bowl a length at which the batsman can come out and drive you – that will give you a chance of getting wickets.” Sandhu agrees that bowlers need to make the movement on offer work for them by pitching the ball up. “India have some good movers of the ball. You need to adjust your lengths in England to get the best results. You have to pitch it a bit further up than they will do here (in India). It will give the ball time to swing and seam,” says Sandhu. “But they have to bowl the right line too. See, the England players aren’t new to swing bowling, so you have to bowl in areas where they find it difficult to hit you. The Indian bowlers already have the skills to get the ball to swing, it’s only a matter of adapting to the conditions.”

you have to do consistently,” he explains. “Of course you have to use the bouncer, because it will make the batsman’s footwork

Sucker punch Zaheer Khan was not just a master at moving the ball but could also work beautifully on setting up a batsman.

uncertain. They will have to think, whether to go in front or back, so that makes a difference

While stressing on the need to bowl fuller, Madan Lal doesn’t discount using the short ball as a surprise weapon. “The bouncer is a weapon for bowlers, but you can’t overbowl it. Bowling in the corridor and keeping it up are what

when you bowl one or two short balls. If his footwork becomes shaky, that’s where you can always get wickets.” For India’s young attack, Zaheer Khan is a good example

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

18 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

ball should talk. You have to watch the batsman - what is he doing? Is he coming in front or going back?” Both Madan Lal and Sandhu believe India’s pace attack is competent enough to deliver victory, even if conditions in England have grown batting-friendly over the years. “There aren’t that many green pitches now,” points out Madan Lal. “When we went, there was a lot of grass, but now the pitches are better for batting. Earlier, there was also a lot of moisture that used to stay under the pitch, so the ball moved around more. It rains all the time, so that also keeps the moisture there. Most of the load in England is taken by the pacers, and I think they should win the series.” While the pacers will be expected to do the heavy lifting, the spinner’s is also a valuable supporting act that can make or break the attack’s balance. A quality spinner helps the fielding captain spread the load, juggle his options. By getting through overs quicker, the spinner also offers the fielding captain some measure of control over the timing to follow. Zaheer was not just a master of swing – conventional and reverse – when at his peak,

Sweet spot Aim for three-quarters’ length, just short of the good length area, advises Madan Lal.

of new balls, not to speak of keeping over-rates in check. Graeme Swann did that well for England, but with his

but could work beautifully on

retirement and Monty Panesar being out of favour, India

setting up a batsman. He often stuck to a channel, making

have an added edge. “England don’t have (Kevin) Pietersen,

the ball swing one way, subtly dragging the batsman out of

Graeme Swann or Jonathan Trott. Swann was giving them

“Bowling short is not going to solve problems. Bowl it up and you have a chance of getting a caught behind or caught in the slips.”

position with his line and movement. Then he landed the

good balance, bowling quickly and taking wickets,” says

sucker punch, moving the ball the other way, catching an

Madan Lal. “He ensured the new ball was available earlier

out-of-position batsman off-guard.

by getting through his overs fast.

“As an international bowler, you have to think like that,”

“The last time when India got beaten, England had that

says Madan Lal. “You are not an international bowler if you

balance. But this time, I think India have a better chance.

don’t think like that. When you get the ball in hand, the

I’ll be surprised if they don’t win the series.”

Leave a rookie,

return a hero The greenhorns in the 2014 Indian team to England need only to look to their predecessors for inspiration

M an o j

Na r aya n

port has always been a bit of a drama

captain, Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma survive from

lionhearted conquerors, and loathes the

the rest, many of them relative greenhorns, Virat Kohli has

queen. It loves its gallant characters and

the squad that suffered the 4-0 humiliation in 2011. Among

villains who let chances slip. It has a

the most experience, with all of 24 Test caps so far.

particular fondness for the story of an

underdog, the Davids that get the better of the Goliaths.

And, as India embark on a five-Test tour of England this

summer, the underlying feeling is that, at this biggest of podiums, a unlikely hero is bound to rise.

Not for a while have India sent such an inexperienced squad to the land of fish and chips. If any of the relative unknowns in the current squad need motivation, they need just look at their predecessors.

In the 18-man party for England, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be far less time

From Vinoo Mankad in 1946 to a baby-faced Parthiv Patel,

consuming to list those with experience of playing in that

whose gritty, unbeaten 60-ball 19 on debut helped draw the

country. Suffice to say only Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the

Trent Bridge Test in 2002, India have had many wild cards

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

20 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

giving the English more than what they’d have bargained for. During the 1946 tour, which lasted just over four months, Mankad, considered one of the finest allrounders India has ever produced, made his Test debut at Lord’s. By the end of the tour, he had scored 1120 runs and taken 129 wickets in 29 matches (Tests and tour games). No member of any touring side has matched this since. Abbas Ali Baig played just ten Tests over two decades, but his name will be recalled for years thanks to his century on debut in Manchester in 1959, after being called up as replacement for the injured Vijay Manjrekar. With his 112 at Old Trafford, he, at 20 years and 131 days, became the youngest Indian to score a Test century. That achievement was later bettered by a certain Sachin Tendulkar, whose ton in 1990 too came in Manchester. He was just 17 years and 107 days old, another rookie who took the world by storm. There was Chetan Sharma in 1986; his 16 wickets in two Tests, including a ten-wicket haul in Birmingham – a first for an Indian in England – helped India claim a famous 2-0 win, their second series win in England. Ten years later, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and

an Indian in the format – to help

Venkatesh Prasad all made their debuts in England. Prasad

bundle out the opposition for

ended the series as the joint highest wicket-taker with Chris

58. He later admitted the seam-

Lewis, Ganguly scored two centuries – on debut at Lord’s

friendly conditions in Bangladesh,

and at Trent Bridge – and Dravid sparkled with valiant half-

precisely the kind expected in

centuries. The series heralded a new generation of players

England, played a part.

Opening Test A baby-faced Parthiv Patel’s gritty unbeaten 19 on debut helped draw the Trent Bridge Test in 2002.

who went on to build a legacy. India’s pace bowling attack is especially thin on Heroes have a knack of announcing their arrival on the

experience. Apart from Ishant, who has 55 caps,

biggest stage. Among the current crop, Stuart Binny, the

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron,

batting allrounder, certainly is poised to do so. On June 17,

Ishwar Pandey and Pankaj Singh have a combined total of

in the second One-Day International of India’s brief tour

13 Test appearances. Compare this with 2007, when India

to Bangladesh, he returned 6 for 4 – the best figures by

won 1-0. The bowling attack was spearheaded by Zaheer

MANOJ NARAYAN 21

Khan and Anil Kumble, who had, by then, combined Test caps of 162, and they guided the likes of RP Singh, S Sreesanth and Ramesh Powar.

Quick Six V a r un

A a r o n

Bhuvneshwar and Shami, both medium-pacers who can move the ball, have for long impressed in the shorter forms of the game and you get the feeling that they’re due a big performance overseas. They have both played six Tests each, with Shami particularly impressive with 27 wickets, including some in South Africa and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Aaron, one of India’s few genuine fast bowlers, struggled in the recent ODIs in New Zealand and Bangladesh, and is something of a lottery ticket – capable of destruction, but equally susceptible to implosion. While the batting will revolve around Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, there is quality on the bench. Wriddhiman Saha is a capable wicketkeeper-batsman whose hopes of making the playing XI depend entirely on Dhoni getting injured. Nevertheless, he makes for a fine understudy, who showcased his skill with the bat during the recent Indian Premier League, and it’ll be interesting to watch him if he’s called upon. Bear in mind that while the big stage has its charms, there are pitfalls as well. It is as much a shortcut to greatness as it is a booby trap to obscurity. Flourish, and respect is guaranteed, along with a few dedicated pages in the sport’s history. Failure could mean a long stint on the sidelines. For all the usual cricket clichés – taking it one game at a time and so on – the larger picture will surely play on the minds of the relative unknowns in the Indian squad. Binny could well do a Mankad (no, not the dismissal), while Bhuvneshwar and Shami can draw inspiration from Chetan and Prasad. All that remains is for the lined-up heroes to step up to the plate. With inputs from Sidhanta Patnaik

If you could play a character from a movie, which one would you choose? Christian Bale as Batman If you could disappear from the limelight for a fortnight, where would you go and what would you do? Chilling on a beach somewhere in the south of France Favourite karaoke track? Walk of Life, Dire Straits A sportsperson from another field you idolise? Roger Federer What food/song/movie is your guilty pleasure? I love watching movies. I must have watched Godfather at least 20 times. Your dream machine? Mustang GT 550

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

22 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

JULY 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

1ST TEST

10.00 GMT | 11.00 LOCAL | 15.30 IST

Trent Bridge ENGLAND

HIGHEST SCORE IN AN INNINGS

INDIA

WON

DRAWN

617 in 2002

HIGHEST TOTAL

521 in 1996

198 in 2007

LOWEST TOTAL

157 in 1959

Michael Vaughan - 330 in 3 inns

Sachin Tendulkar - 541 in 8 inns

MOST RUNS

Stuart Broad - 8 in 2 inns

BEST BOWLING (INNS)

197 - MICHAEL VAUGHAN IN 2002

12 - Zaheer Khan

MOST WICKETS

6 for 46 - Stuart Broad in 2011

177 - SACHIN TEDULKAR IN 1996

5 for 75 - Zaheer Khan in 2007

* Second Test at Lord’s (pg 38)

4TH TEST

AUGUST 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

10.00 GMT | 11.00 LOCAL | 15.30 IST

Old Trafford BEST BOWLING IN AN INNINGS 6 FOR 102 BY DILIP DOSHI IN 1982

ENGLAND 3

WON

DRAWN

571/ 8d in 1936

HIGHEST TOTAL

432 in 1990

294 In 1946

LOWEST TOTAL

58 in 1952

Wally Hammond - 244 in 3 inns Sir Alec Bedser - 18 in 4 inns 8 FOR 31 BY FRED TRUEMAN IN 1952

INDIA

167 - Wally Hammond in 1936

MOST RUNS MOST WICKETS HIGHEST SCORE (INNS)

Sunil Gavaskar - 242 in 5 inns Vinoo Mankad - 9 in 3 inns 179 - Mohd. Azharuddin in 1990

HEAD TO HEAD

ENGLAND

INDIA

WON

Graham Gooch - 1134 in 17 inns

Sachin Tendulkar -1575 in 30 inns

Most Runs

4 - Graham Gooch, Nasser Hussain, Michael

6 - Rahul Dravid in 23 inns

Most 100

Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen Most Wkts

Fred Trueman - 53 in 17 inns

MOST 5 Wkts in an inns

4 - Alec Bedser

Kapil Dev - 43 in 22 inns 2- Lala Amarnath, BS Chandrasekhar, Kapil Dev, Vinoo Mankad, Mohammad Nissar, Surendranath, Chetan Sharma

3RD TEST

Rose Bowl

JULY 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

10.00 GMT | 11.00 LOCAL | 15.30 IST

India have never played a Test in Southampton.

ENGLAND

MOST RUNS IAN BELL: 365 IN 3 INNS

RAHUL DRAVID: 443 IN 5 INNS

INDIA

WON

DRAWN

594 in 1982

HIGHEST TOTAL

664 in 2007

101 in 1971

LOWEST TOTAL

98 in 1952

Fred Trueman - 12 in 3 inns

MOST WICKETS

Kapil Dev - 10 in 6 inns

235 - Ian Bell in 2011

HIGHEST SCORE (INNS}

221 - Sunil Gavaskar in 1979

7 for 80 - Sir Gubby Allen

BEST BOWLING (INNS)

6 for 38 - BS Chandrasekhar

in 1936

5TH TEST

The Oval

AUGUST 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

10.00 GMT | 11.00 LOCAL | 15.30 IST

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

24 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

In the hunt for

win No. 4

India’s 16 Test tours of England have had some thrilling contests and personal bests, but the hosts, with 12 wins against India’s three, are clearly ahead

S i d h a n ta

he first All-India cricket team led by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh travelled to England in 1911 where they played 23

matches. But, it was another 21 years

before India played their first Test match

in England. Out of 16 Test series in England, India have won three and drawn one.

1932: England 1 India 0 England beat India by 158 runs in India’s inaugural Test match, but the game’s best memories were generated by Mohammad Nissar, the first Indian to take five wickets in an innings, and Amar Singh, India’s new-ball pair picking

Pat n a i k

up three English wickets early on the first day. Douglas Jardine’s 79 and Les Ames’s 65 steadied the innings, before Bill Bowes, the debutant, and Bill Voce combined for 11 wickets, and Jardine made 85 in his second outing in a clinical England win. For India, CK Nayudu, the captain, made 40 in the first innings, batting with an injured hand.

Best Batsman: Douglas Jardine – 164 runs at 164.00 Best Bowler: Bill Bowes – 6 wickets at 13.16, Mohammad Nissar – 6 wickets at 22.50

***

1936 (3): England 2 India 0 The poor man-management skills of Maharajkumar

SIDHANTA PATNAIK 25

Pioneers The class of 1932, led by CK Nayudu. The team lost their first ever Test by 158 runs.

of Vizianagram, India’s captain – he sent Lala Amarnath,

day Test at Old Trafford but

India’s first centurion, back home in the middle of the

India’s last-wicket pair of Ranga

tour because of ‘disciplinary’ issues – was reflected in the

Sohoni and Dattaram Hindlekar

scoreline as they lost two Tests by nine wickets. While

kept the bowlers at bay for the

Gubby Allen picked ten wickets in England’s win at Lord’s,

final 13 minutes despite eight

Wally Hammond’s 217 and Allen’s 7 for 80 engineered the

men surrounding the bat. And, Vijay Merchant’s 128 was

victory at The Oval. India’s best batting display came at

the only source of joy for the crowd at a rainy Oval. Overall

Old Trafford, where Vijay Merchant and Syed Mushtaq

on the tour, Vinoo Mankad fascinated with 1120 runs and

Ali scored centuries and put on 203 runs for the opening

129 wickets.

wicket to draw the game.

Best Batsman: Wally Hammond – 389 runs at 194.50 Best Bowler: Gubby Allen – 20 wickets at 16.50

Best Batsman: Vijay Merchant – 245 runs at 49.00 Best Bowler: Alec Bedser – 24 wickets at 12.41

***

1952 (4): England 3 India 0

***

1946 (3): England 1 India 0

Fred Trueman blew away India, on their first tour to

Alec Bedser’s 11 wickets, Joe Hardstaff Jr.’s unbeaten

England after Independence, and his skills were best

205 and England’s ten-wicket win at Lord’s welcomed

advertised in his debut game, at his home ground, where

international cricket back to the country after the Second

he and Bedser reduced India to 0 for 4 in the second

World War. England were close to winning the next three-

innings. Without Merchant, Amarnath and Mushtaq Ali,

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

26 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

Ghulam Ahmed’s match figures of 7 for 137 at Headingley in 1952 came in 85 overs – 40% of the bowling India did in that match. He also took 54% of the wickets India took in that match. That makes his the highest impact bowling performance by an Indian in England.

India relied heavily

was playing for Oxford University

Hazare,

when he was asked to replace

who along with Len

an injured Vijay Manjrekar, and

Hutton was the only

he repaid the faith of the tour

batsman to make

management committee at Old

more than 300 runs.

Trafford by becoming, then, the youngest Indian to score

Mankad joined the

a Test century.

Vijay

Ignominy Fred Trueman and Alec Bedser reduced India to 0 for 4 at Headingley, in their first post-Independence tour to England.

team after the first Test and left his indelible mark at

Lord’s with two innings of 72 and 184, and a five-wicket haul.

Best Batsman: Ken Barrington – 357 runs at 59.50 Best Bowler: Fred Trueman – 24 wickets at 16.70 ***

1967 (3): England 3 India 0

Best Batsman: Len Hutton – 399 runs at 79.80 Best Bowler: Fred Trueman – 29 wickets at 13.31 ***

1959 (5): England 5 India 0

The wet and chilly English weather was a challenge that a young Indian team couldn’t surmount, and they lost all the three Tests by big margins. Geoffrey Boycott made an unbeaten 246 at his home ground to set up the first win at Headingley, but was dropped for the next Test for taking

On their first five-Test tour to England, India lost three

573 minutes for scoring those runs. Tom Graveney and Ray

games by an innings and the two others by 171 runs and

Illingworth starred with bat and ball respectively at Lord’s

eight wickets respectively. England had Ken Barrington

before a team effort sealed off things at Edgbaston. For

and Colin Cowdrey, the two best batsmen in the series,

India, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the skipper, performed

and Trueman, who was as lethal as in 1952. Abbas Ali Baig

credibly to win the Wisden Cricketer of the Year award.

SIDHANTA PATNAIK 27

Best Batsman: Ken Barrington – 324 runs at 64.80 Best Bowler: Ray Illingworth – 20 wickets at 13.30

1974 (3): England 3 India 0 India had won all three series

***

1971 (3): England 0 India 1

over the previous three years, but

Top of the world Ajit Wadekar and BS Chandrasekhar were stars of the 1971 series win, their first in England.

Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and

the confidence bubble burst at Old Trafford where an all-

Bishan Singh Bedi topped the bowling charts in India’s

round England prevailed by 113 runs. The sucker punch

first Test series win in England that came after three tightly

came at Lord’s where India, after following on, were done

fought weather-affected games. India needed 38 runs and

in by the pace and swing of Geoff Arnold and Chris Old

had two wickets in hand at Lord’s when rain stopped play.

to be skittled out for 42 in the first of two innings defeats

And, at Old Trafford, rain denied England a chance to

of the series. That the famed spin quartet managed only

pick seven Indian wickets on the final day. Chandrasekhar

15 wickets in the ‘summer of 42’ forced Ajit Wadekar, the

provided the impetus with a six-wicket haul on the fourth

captain, to retire after the whitewash.

day of The Oval match to set up India’s win, achieved with four wickets in hand, to add to the series victory in West Indies.

Best Batsman: Brian Luckhurst – 244 runs at 40.66 Best Bowler: Srinivas Venkataraghavan – 13 wickets at 26.92, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar – 13 wickets at 29.15

Best Batsman: Dennis Amiss – 370 runs at 92.50 Best Bowler: Chris Old – 18 wickets at 13.83 ***

1979 (4): England 1 India 0 David Gower’s unbeaten 200, Geoffrey Boycott’s 155 and Ian Botham’s seven wickets gave England an innings

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

28 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

victory in the first Test,

but

Sunil

1986 (3): England 0 India 2 Dilip Vengsarkar found himself on the honours board at

Gavaskar scripted the

Lord’s for the third time. And, in the absence of an injured

story of the series in

Chetan Sharma at Headingley, Roger Binny and Madan Lal,

the fourth innings

called from the middle of his stint with Ashton in Central

of the final Test at

Lancashire League, together took ten wickets. Vengsarkar

The Oval. India were

made another ton as India won two Tests for the first and,

nine runs away from a series-levelling win when play was

till date, only time in a series in England. Sharma returned

called off, but Gavaskar’s flawless 221 earned him the right

at Edgbaston to become the first Indian to pick ten wickets

to acknowledge the crowd with a raised stump. Rain and

in a match in England, to go with his innings haul of five

centuries from Dilip Vengsarkar and Gundappa Viswanath

wickets in the Lord’s win.

If the team had made nine more runs, Gavaskar’s 221 in the fourth innings of the fourth 1979 Test could have been one of the highest impact innings in Indian cricket history.

kept India’s hopes alive going to The Oval despite Botham

Best Batsman: Dilip Vengsarkar – 360 runs at 90.00 Best Bowler: Chetan Sharma – 16 wickets at 18.75

dismissing them for 96 in the first innings at Lord’s.

Best Batsman: Sunil Gavaskar – 542 runs at 77.42 Best Bowler: Ian Botham – 20 wickets at 23.60

***

1990 (3): England 1 India 0 Graham Gooch’s monumental 333 and 123 at Lord’s – the

***

1982 (3): England 1 India 0

highest match aggregate by a batsman at the venue – along

Soon after a series in India, the two teams met each other

with knocks by Allan Lamb and Robin Smith put India,

once again at Lord’s where Kapil Dev was the Man of the

fresh from the One-Day International series win, out of

Match but Derek Randall’s century and 15 victims between

the contest. Ravi Shastri and Mohammad Azharuddin

Ian Botham and Bob Willis gave England a seven-wicket

salvaged some pride before Kapil Dev’s four consecutive

win. The series was

sixes off Eddie Hemmings avoided the follow-on. Shastri

another race between

and Azharuddin scored one more century each and David

Botham and Kapil

Gower got a lifeline at The Oval, but the brightest moment

to stake their claim

arrived in the second Test when a callow Sachin Tendulkar’s

as the world’s best

maiden ton – a super rearguard effort – earned him respect.

Kapil Dev has a failure rate of just 14 per cent with the ball in 13 Tests. While this is impressive, it also suggests how little support he got from his other bowlers.

allrounder.

Botham

hit a double-century and

picked

nine

wickets, but Kapil, at his aggressive best during a 93-ball 97 at The Oval, was adjudged the Man of the Series for 292 runs and ten wickets.

Best Batsman: Graham Gooch – 752 runs at 125.33 Best Bowler: Angus Fraser – 16 wickets at 28.75 ***

1996 (3): England 1 India 0 India, who fielded five debutants during the series, could

Best Batsman: Ian Botham – 403 runs at 134.33 Best Bowler: Bob Willis – 15 wickets at 22.00 ***

not prevent an England victory at Edgbaston, inspired by Nasser Hussain’s 128 and Chris Lewis’s 5 for 72 in the second innings. But then, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid arrived on the biggest stage with a century and 95 respectively at

SIDHANTA PATNAIK 29

at Lord’s, but at Trent Bridge a 17-year-old Parthiv Patel saved the day for his team before Dravid, Sanjay Bangar, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and the bowlers owned five days at Headingley. If Ajit Agarkar’s century at Lord’s made for nice trivia, Dravid’s 217 at The Oval was the insignia of new India.

Best Batsman: Michael Vaughan – 615 runs at 102.50 Best Bowler: Anil Kumble – 14 wickets at 36.00, Matthew Hoggard – 14 wickets at 38.07 ***

2007 (3): England 0 India 1 At Trent Bridge, Zaheer Khan, who used his county cricket experience to formulate India’s first Test series win in England since 1986, scalped nine victims, even as Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik set up the seven-wicket

Young guns Sourav Ganguly arrived on the big stage with a century at Lord’s in 1996.

victory

with

Lord’s in Dickie Bird’s last Test as

opening

stand

umpire. Two hundreds each from

147 runs in the first

Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly,

innings.

penetrative bowling by Venkatesh

Kevin Pietersen and

Prasad and Javagal Srinath, and

Michael

While Vaughan

Navjot Singh Sidhu’s walkout in the middle of the series

made three hundreds

because of an altercation with Mohammad Azharuddin

between them, Anil

dominated the headlines back home.

Kumble

was

the

lone Indian to score

Best Batsman: Sachin Tendulkar – 428 runs at 85.60 Best Bowler: Chris Lewis – 15 wickets at 23.73, Venkatesh Prasad – 15 wickets at 25.00

Dinesh Karthik figures in the lists of highest runs tally impact batsmen (third, with 263 runs from three matches), highest new ball impact batsmen (first), highest partnership building Impact batsmen (second) and most consistent batsmen (first, ahead of Vijay Hazare and Vijay Merchant). This goes to show the strength of his contribution as an opening batsman in 2007.

a century. Luck at Lord’s and overall collective effort gave Rahul Dravid’s boys the inaugural Pataudi Trophy, designed by Jocelyn Burton to commemorate 75 years of Test cricket between the two sides.

***

2002 (4): England 1 India 1 In a gripping series, Rahul Dravid gave India its first significant overseas Test win since 1986 and outdid Michael Vaughan in terms of aesthetics. Centuries by Nasser Hussain, Vaughan and John Crawley, and Matthew Hoggard’s match haul of seven wickets pushed India back

Best Batsman: Kevin Pietersen – 345 runs at 57.50 Best Bowler: Zaheer Khan – 18 wickets at 20.33 ***

2011 (4): England 4 India 0 Rahul Dravid’s supremely crafted 461 runs, including

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

30 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

I bowled well in the first Test in 1971, got three quick wickets, but couldn’t maintain the tempo. And I didn’t bowl all that well in the second Test in Manchester. Before the final Test, we were playing a practice game and Hemu Adhikary, the manager, told me it was essential for me to pick up wickets. Perhaps my head was on the chopping block, I don’t know, but I got 11 wickets in that game. But again, I didn’t have a great first innings at The Oval. Going into the last innings of the series, I told myself that this was it – if I wanted to keep playing for India, I must do well and take wickets, otherwise I must forget about international cricket.

Nadir Stuart Broad ripped through the Indian batting in the dismal 2011 series, ending with 25 wickets.

the accomplishment of his long standing dream of scoring a hundred at Lord’s, weighed little on the face of a resurgent England, who replaced India as the No. 1

Test side. In the 2000th Test at Lord’s, Zaheer Khan pulled his hamstring before tea on Day 1, and Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell feasted on the Indian attack after

that.

Broad’s

Stuart hat-trick

and the burden on Sachin Tendulkar to score his hundredth international century

added

Praveen Kumar (three matches) is on the list for highest top/ middle-order wickets tally impact bowlers (first), highest economy impact bowlers (third) and highest partnership-breaking impact bowlers (third). This indicates that without him, India would have lost more badly.

the situation as India looked jaded in one of the most publicised bilateral series of recent times.

Best Batsman: Kevin Pietersen – 533 runs at 106.60 Best Bowler: Stuart Broad – 25 wickets at 13.84

My belief always has been that if you go out and bowl well, you will get success. If you don’t bowl well, you won’t get wickets. As simple as that. Dilip Sardesai was a very good assessor of the game. At that time, there was this horse called Mill Reef, which was winning all the big races in the United Kingdom. Sardesai used to refer to my faster one as Mill Reef. I was walking back to my run-up to come in and bowl to John Edrich, and in my mind, I had decided to bowl a googly. Just as I was about to turn, Dilip shouted ‘Isko Mill Reef daalo’. I did so and believe me, even before he could think of bringing his bat down, the stump went cartwheeling. In walked Keith Fletcher, and I could see that he was not confident of facing me. So I said, let me bowl him a googly. I wanted to bowl two googlies to him. He played the first one fine, but the second pitched in the right spot, turned, and as he played forward, it took the edge and went off bat and pad. The great Eknath Solkar dived in front to take a brilliant catch, and when we came back after lunch, the sequence continued. Eventually, England were shot out for 101 and we needed 173 for our first win in England. There was also a threat of rain but we hung on and won by four wickets. I was delighted that I had a big hand in India winning the match. BS CHANDRASEKHAR took 6 for 38 in the third Test at The Oval in 1971. As told to R Kaushik

The one that

changed it all In 1971, we had the spinners and the tight fielding to support them. And, for the first time, we realised we could win abroad

A j i t

Wa d e k a r

t was 1971. In the West Indies first, and then in

captain, all I needed to do was improve the systems he had

in our many years of Test cricket, that we could

professional. That does help. But I learnt captaincy from

who made it all happen, as the captain of the

become better. And our fielding – it was so tight. That was

England, we Indians realised, for the first time

put in place. Of course, I was from Mumbai – khadoos,

win abroad. I was credited with being the man

Tiger. Things started falling in place. Our attitude had

team on both those tours and then the win over England

at home in 1972-73, but it was as much my team as it was Tiger’s.

the best part in 1971. When we went to the Caribbean, we went with a proper strategy. Needless to say, a lot of our plans were built around

Tiger, the Nawab of Pataudi, and I were friends and we

our spinners. There isn’t any point being too ambitious.

played together a lot, and he had a lot of faith in me. He

We had to do what we could with the resources we had.

was my captain. There were things he was trying to achieve,

And that’s where the spinners came in – Bishan (Singh

like having a great fielding unit. By the time I became

Bedi), (Erapalli) Prasanna and Venkat (S Venkatraghavan).

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

32 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

AJIT WADEKAR

Chandra (BS Chandrasekhar), of course, didn’t play the West Indies series, which, in a way, made him hungry for success in England.

And in two months, we went to England. Our strength was spin,

Turning point Eknath Solkar taking the catch to dismiss Allan Knott, a thorn in the flesh of the 1971 side.

and the Test matches were in JulyBut what a team West Indies had. They had Garry

August that year. The pitches had started to wear by then.

Sobers, of course, along with (Rohan) Kanhai and (Roy)

So we thought we stood a good chance. The first half of

Fredericks and Clive Lloyd and (Vanburn) Holder. Lance

the season is good for swing bowling, but we didn’t have

Gibbs was also there but he played only one Test. The win,

any good fast bowlers. So it worked well for us. We had the

in the second Test at Port of Spain, was achieved by the

right horses for the course. We had the best of spinners.

bowlers, but the series is synonymous with Sunny (Sunil

Chandra was there too, though Pras missed out.

Gavaskar). He was on his first tour, and he scored over 700 (774) runs. And Dilip Sardesai was majestic as well. He also

But England had just won the Ashes again. It was a seven-

scored over 600 (642) runs. And between them, Bishan,

Test series, and they won 2-0. There were no rankings those

Pras and Venkat got almost 50 (48) wickets in that series.

days, but England were the best. And Ray Illingworth was

AJIT WADEKAR 33

a very shrewd captain. He was almost 40 at the time, so he was a pro. They were the clear favourites.

And Eki – the best forward short-leg fielder ever. I think it was because we played the Kanga League matches, sometimes in the rainy season, where a lot of catches used

For us, it went back to the fielding. We had the spinners,

to pop up. He was superb. Eki had the best of reflexes and

but what if we dropped Geoff Boycott? He would score 200.

anticipation, and he had patience. He seemed to know

We took our catches; we supported the spinners. And all

when the catches would come. Eki – he was so involved

our batsmen also got runs in England. Maybe not Ashok

in the game. Sometimes we used to take the wickets of the

Mankad (42 runs in three Tests), but we stuck with him

top batsmen, but one of the lower-order batsmen would

because he had scored runs in the first-class games. And

hurt us. Allan Knott, for example, was a thorn in our flesh.

we played the same XI in the three Tests. Sardesai got runs.

In the second innings of the last Test, Eki came to me and

Farokh (Engineer), Vishy (GR Viswanath), Sunny, Eki

asked, “Captain, is it okay if I remove the bails?” I asked

(Eknath Solkar) … I got a few runs too. (Wadekar top scored

him why. Knott used to do what Shivnarine Chanderpaul

for India in the series with 204 runs.) And we attacked all

does – mark his guard with the bails. I nodded. Eki did

the time.

it. Knott couldn’t find the bails. He didn’t know what was

Whether it’s Sunil Gavaskar or Garry Sobers, if you go to England, you need to get acclimatised. We need to go there a month in advance.

happening. He marked his guard with his shoes. Eki then When I batted, it was about doing what was required.

took the bails out of his pocket and put them back. Maybe

When there’s time, like at The Oval, where we had

it was just a superstition. Knott had scored 90 in the first

one-and-a-half days to get 173 runs, it’s best to wait

innings. He got just one run in the second – Eki caught him

for the opportunities. I got 48 in the first innings and,

off Venkat.

unfortunately, was run out for 45 in the second. But we needed under 100 runs then, so we didn’t have any

With Snow, there was the incident in the first Test at

problems. Earlier, in the first Test at Lord’s, I came in at

Lord’s with Sunny, when Snow collided with Sunny as

one-drop and John Snow was bowling. He bowled four-five

Sunny and Farokh were taking a quick run. Sunny went

bouncers at me in the first over I faced, and I hit four of

sprawling – Snow was a big man, after all. Everyone thought

those deliveries for boundaries. I think I batted for over

we would protest. But you need to play the opposition,

three hours for 85 in that innings – the first of the series.

and the media, which I did. I was asked about it. John

He didn’t bowl any more bouncers after that.

Woodcock was there too. I said I was slightly angry, but it didn’t matter – as far as I was concerned, Sunny was just

But it was Chandra, who came to our rescue in the last

one wicket, we had nine more. They didn’t like my answer.

Test, at The Oval, which we won by four wickets. He got 6

I think that helped. They made a big hullabaloo about it,

for 38, and England were bowled out for just 101 in their

and poor Snow was dropped for the next Test.

second innings. Oh, it was fantastic. I think the other thing that helped us is that when we

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

34 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

AJIT WADEKAR

Anyway, after 1971, we went to England again in 1974. We had won three series – after West Indies and England, we beat England at home too. But it so happened that the team was not properly selected and we didn’t have the fast bowlers. It was raining and it was bitterly cold. I don’t mean it as an excuse, but we just couldn’t get settled. Our matchwinner was Chandra. We had to keep him warm, but he was cold all the time. Also, you might not know this, a rule change was made The arsenal In 1971, a lot of India’s plans were built around the spinners – (from left) BS Chandrasekhar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna and S Venkatraghavan.

for the series that we were not aware of. When we used our went on such tours, we played a lot

spinners, we had six fielders on the leg side – two short

of tour games. On that 1971 tour,

legs, one forward short-leg, a leg slip, and two others. Our

we played eight games before the

board had signed an agreement with them that for the

first Test. We lost to Essex, but we

series, we would have only five fielders on the leg side. We

won five of those games. That was

found out only when we reached England. That affected

superb. And then we played six more tour games between

our plans too.

and after the Tests. The last time we went to England, half the team went from the West Indies and half from India,

But those aren’t

then they played one three-day game against Somerset and

the

were expected to play a Test.

we did badly. We

reasons

why

needed fast bowlers, Whether it’s Sunil Gavaskar or Garry Sobers, if you go

which

didn’t

to England, you need to get acclimatised. It’s not like going

have. Simple. We

to Mumbai or Chennai. Getting used to the conditions

just didn’t play well.

is very important. The BCCI is going wrong with this – I

The series may be remembered for Chandrasekhar’s 6 for 38, but it was Ajit Wadekar (48 and 45 in the same Test, absorbing pressure of falling wickets) and Dilip Sardesai (54 and 40 in a 173-run chase) who came away with series defining knocks. Sardesai failed in three of the four Tests he played in England, but that knock ensured that he is the highest impact Indian batsman in England.

understand there are scheduling problems, but we need

The win in 1971

to go there a month in advance. Now, with Twenty20

was good though.

and so much cricket, Indian cricketers don’t play in the

People

county circuit like we did – that’s another handicap; it’s an

West Indies was a

education for every young cricketer.

flash in the pan. Then we beat England in England, and it

thought

showed that India could do well outside India. It changed With the present team, there are also too many tourists. How can you choose 18 players for a series? Will you change

our attitudes. Before that, we had a bit of a complex when we toured abroad. That changed after 1971.

the team for every game? There will be many players who won’t contribute in any way. But such is modern-day cricket.

Ajit Wadekar was the captain of the 1971 Indian Test team that beat England in England for the first time. As told to Shamya Dasgupta

A tradition

of wrong ‘uns From the royal slight in 1936 to the great jelly beans pitch invasion of 2011, India’s England sojourns are speckled with controversies

K a u s h i k

t’s perhaps inevitable, especially in recent times

for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to recall the lazy,

involved, that most international assignments

involved spats with the opposition – years after Amarnath’s

drama and controversy. But even by that logic,

home, walking out of the 1996 tour in a huff following an

given the high stakes and the massive scrutiny

presumptuous batsman. And, not all controversies have

across disciplines invite their fair share of

deportation, Navjot Singh Sidhu took an early flight back

there seems a strong bond between controversies and Indian tours of England, dating back to 1936 when Lala

Amarnath, the charismatic allrounder, was sent home on disciplinary grounds.

There has been the John Snow shoulder charge on Sunil

alleged slight by Mohammad Azharuddin. Here’s a look back at some of the more memorable noncricketing incidents over the years.

Amarnath has a royal fallout (1936)

Gavaskar, the jelly beans incident involving Zaheer Khan

A larger-than-life character even in that time and age, Lala

and the run out of Ian Bell that should have stayed but

Amarnath did not suffer fools gladly. The Maharajkumar

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

36 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

of Vizianagaram was the tour captain not on cricketing grounds, and while that was grudgingly accepted all around, Amarnath did not take kindly to being kept waiting to bat in the practice game against Minor Counties. After being asked to pad up, Amarnath wasn’t sent out to bat until ten minutes before the end of the match. Furious, the Lala ripped his gloves and pads off, flung them in disgust and let loose a series of expletives in Punjabi, it was reported. Vizzy, not taking kindly to the ‘royal’ insult, recommended that Amarnath be sent home. Senior players CK Nayudu, Wazir Ali and Mohammad Nissar all pleaded Amarnath’s case, but to no avail. Amarnath beat a retreat, humiliated and insulted, and while an enquiry later exonerated him of wrongdoing, the damage had been done.

John Snow gets the cold shoulder (1971) India were chasing 183 for victory on the final day of the first Test at Lord’s when Sunil Gavaskar, at the non-striker’s end, set off for a sharp single after Farokh Engineer played John Snow down on to the leg side. Snow went chasing

displeasure, the TCCB dropped

after the ball, Gavaskar went charging down the track and

Snow on ‘disciplinary grounds’ for

decided to take the wider route to the safety of the crease.

the rest of the series, though he

Incredibly, with the ball nowhere near him, Snow crashed

was recalled at the last minute for

into Gavaskar, sending him tumbling and the bat flying out

the final Test at The Oval, a match

of his hands. Snow picked up the bat and tossed it towards

India won by four wickets to complete their first Test and

Gavaskar, and while the Indians chose not to make a song

series victory on English soil.

Pranked Jelly beans mysteriously appeared when Zaheer came out to bat at Nottingham in 2007. He went on to channel his rage into a match-winning spell.

and dance of it, the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) took a dim view of Snow’s conduct. Snow had already picked

Prabhakar sees red at surprise call-up (1986)

up a reputation for being abrasive and even as he prepared

It wasn’t so much a massive controversy as something

to go across to the

out of the ordinary, an event that proved to be the genesis

Indian

dressing

of souring of relations between Kapil Dev, the then captain,

room to apologise,

and Manoj Prabhakar. Chetan Sharma had bowled India

to a five-wicket win in the first Test at Lord’s, India’s first

dressing down by

ever Lord’s victory, but was ruled out of the second Test at

Billy

the

Headingley through injury. Prabhakar, inexperienced but

the

already reputed to be a prodigious swing bowler, was in the

TCCB. In a further

squad, but Kapil pulled Madan Lal out of the Lancashire

expression of their

League to feed off his greater experience and familiarity

The highest impact Indian bowler in England is, strangely, a spinner. In the three Tests he played in 1986, Maninder Singh was able to tie up the opposition. He had a match haul of 4 for 54 in the first Test at Lord’s, off an astonishing 49.4 overs, and 4 for 26 off 16.3 overs in the second Test at Headingley.

was

given

Griffith,

secretary

R KAUSHIK 37

with English conditions. Prabhakar didn’t take the slight

was the culprit or not. It was suggested that the jelly beans

lightly, while Madan Lal went on to winkle out Wilf Slack,

had been strewn around by England’s fielders either to

Chris Smith and Bill Athey in England’s first-innings

mock Zaheer’s weight, or to insinuate that the Indians

102, setting the stage for India’s series-clinching 279-run

had been using it as a means to ‘make’ the ball and help

triumph.

facilitate reverse swing. England, though, wouldn’t have bargained for Zaheer’s rage, which he channelised into a

Sidhu, Azhar and all lost in translation (1996)

match-winning spell in the second innings. Zaheer took 5

A veteran of 13 years of international cricket, Navjot

for 75 in England’s second innings to help bowl them out

Singh Sidhu sent Indian cricket into a tizzy by flying

for 355 and set up India’s decisive seven-wicket victory.

back home midway through the tour of 1996. Various theories were proffered for Sidhu’s dramatic departure,

Bell caught napping before tea (2011)

including the fact that he had been padded up to bat in

A dozy Ian Bell had been run out off the last ball before

a practice game, unaware that he had not been included

tea on the third day of the Nottingham Test in the most

It transpired that Sidhu took offence to the repeated use of Hyderabadi slang by Azharuddin, which he deemed derogatory, but is used affectionately in the land of the Nawabs. in the playing XI. An enquiry conducted by the Board of

unusual of circumstances. Eoin Morgan had played the last

Control for Cricket in India found the source of his angst

ball before the interval to leg and the general impression

was a misunderstanding between him and Mohammad

was that the ball had eluded the diving Praveen Kumar

Azharuddin, the captain, as revealed by Jaywant Lele,

and crossed the boundary rope. Praveen flung the ball

the former BCCI secretary, in his 2011 autobiography. It

to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who relayed it to Abhinav

transpired that Sidhu took offence to the repeated use

Mukund, who broke the stumps even as Bell and Morgan

of Hyderabadi slang by Azharuddin, which he deemed

were on their way to the dressing room under the false

derogatory, but is used ‘affectionately’ in the land of the

impression that the umpires had called ‘over’. After cross-

Nawabs. It led to much mirth and amusement later on, but

checking with the Indians that they wanted to go ahead

no one was laughing in 1996 when Sidhu, one of the senior

with the appeal, the umpires went to the television umpire,

batsmen in the squad, deserted ship.

who found that Bell, then on 137, was indeed out as per the laws of the game. England, masters at using the ‘Spirit of

Jelly beans leave a bitter taste (2007)

the Game’ to their convenience, requested at the interval

It was a joke gone horribly wrong as England felt the

through Andrew Strauss, their captain, and Andy Flower,

full range of Zaheer Khan’s fury during the second Test at

their coach, that Dhoni withdraw the appeal. Keen to avoid

Nottingham. Jelly beans appeared mysteriously pitchside

needless drama even though they were in the right and the

when Zaheer came out to bat in India’s first innings. After

fault was entirely Bell’s, the Indians withdrew the appeal,

he pushed one away with the bat, more of them appeared

winning applause from the same crowd that had, only a

the next ball, enraging India’s pace spearhead no end.

few minutes earlier, booed them for the dopiness of their

Zaheer took off on Kevin Pietersen, not caring if Pietersen

own batsman.

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

38 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

2ND TEST

Lord's

JULY 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

10.00 GMT | 11.00 LOCAL | 15.30 IST

THE MEN THAT MADE IT TO THE LORD'S HONOURS BOARD A BATSMAN MUST scorE a century; A BOWLER MUST takE 5 wickets in an innings or 10 wickets in a match

BATTING Vinoo Mankad (1952) Dilip Vengsarkar (1979, 1982, 1986) Gundappa Viswanath (1979) Ravi Shastri (1990) Mohammad Azharuddin (1990) Sourav Ganguly (1996) Ajit Agarkar (2002) Rahul Dravid (2011)

BOWLING Mohammad Nissar (1932) L Amar Singh (1936) Lala Amarnath (1946) Vinoo Mankad (1952) Ramakant Desai (1959) BS Chandrasekhar (1967) Bishan Singh Bedi (1974) Kapil Dev (1982) Chetan Sharma (1986) Venkatesh Prasad (1996) RP Singh (2007) Praveen Kumar (2011) * No Indian has taken 10 wickets in a match at Lord's

MOST RUNS

DID YOU KNOW?

All of India’s highest impact all-round performances have come at Lords: Kapil Dev’s 5 for 125 & 3 for 43, and 41 & 89 in 1982; Vinoo Mankad’s 72 & 184, and 5 for 196 & 0 for 35 in 1952; and Sourav Ganguly’s 131 and 2 for 49 & 1 for 5 in 1996.

1 653/4d in 1990

GRAHAM GOOCH: 588 IN 5 INNINGS

INDIA

ENGLAND 11

DILIP VENGSARKAR: 508 IN 8 INNINGS

WON DRAWN HIGHEST TOTAL

1 11 454 in 1990

134 In 1936

LOWEST TOTAL

42 in 1974

Sir Alec Bedser - 15 in 4 inns

MOST WICKETS

Bishan Bedi, Kapil Dev - 17 in 5 and 7 inns

333 - Graham Gooch in 1990

HIGHEST SCORE (INNS)

184 - Vinoo Mankad in 1952

7 for 49 - Sir Alec Bedser in 1946

BEST BOWLING (INNS)

6 for 35 - L Amar Singh in 1936

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

40 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

A special seat aT

hallowed grounds Some memories of Lord’s – of cricket traditions and classic contests, unforgiving stewards and forgettable food – start from the press box

M o h a n

here is always a bit of a culture shock in

past the OAP (old age pensioner) at the entrance to the

red brick pavilion beyond it on St. John’s

in Trichnopoly in the war and knows something about

the gatemen were not exactly known for

cheering you on.

the first view of the Grace Gates and the

doorway and steps to the press box because he has served

Wood Road. Back in the early 1980s,

the Madras province and shares a memory or two before

their hospitality, their return greeting to a hearty “Good morning” being “Come back another day when we have

Of course, a level of fitness used to be called for to

a tour of the museum”. It needed some persuasion for

take those steep stairs that left you wondering if cricket

would hand out the precious gold medallion stamped

the single malt in a thoroughly spoiled life of armchair

him to pick up the phone and summon the executive who

correspondents – known for the love of the ciggie and

with the MCC insignia that guarantees entry to Lord’s.

criticism – should indeed be put through such an ordeal. It

Armed with the medallion, it is a simple task to slip

may have been somewhat appropriate then that standing at the entrance to the press box is the pantry that doubles

R MOHAN 41

Out of star wars The swanky new media box is awe-inspiring, the ancient roots of cricket having been forgotten while conceiving a concept that took Lord’s on a quantum leap across time.

up as the tavern with beer on tap. How times have changed.

salad that passed for lunch on

At the entrance to the swanky media box at the Nursery

the first three days only, while

End now is the elevator that whisks you to the spaceship

we had to forage from among the

straight out of Star Wars. The structure itself is quite

public outlets to grab a bite on

awe-inspiring, the ancient roots of cricket having been

the last two days of the Test. But

forgotten for just a little while conceiving such a concept

you simply had to be there to write about the game, even

that took Lord’s on a quantum leap across time.

as the tips that the venerable John Woodcock passed on from his ‘turf’ friend for the afternoon’s 3.30 at Epsom had

The privilege of watching the World Cup final of 1999 was ours and it was a phenomenal experience as compared

to be assessed by reading out from the formbook before committing a bob or two.

to the awkward seats in the old press box that were hardly ergonomically designed. And yet nostalgia for the intimate

We were told in 1983 that there may be no room for

surroundings of the old has something to say in opposition

about ten of us from India if our country did not make it to

to the impersonal and clinical atmosphere of temperature-

the final. Faxes went back and forth with the Marylebone

controlled modernity, however comfortable we are in

Cricket Club (MCC) long before the semifinal, about how

surroundings that are in keeping with the changed

Indians had to be at the final regardless of which teams

perspectives and lifestyles of a wired world.

made it. The gods smiled benignly on Kapil’s Devils and we made it to the box early that morning for a rightful entry.

Soaked as we were in wonderment of the traditions of

The rest, as they say, is history. Imagine then the pride

Lord’s we felt extremely privileged to be there to view the

as a couple of us buttonholed Kapil Dev in the sponsor

cricket. You could complain against the cold cuts and the

Prudential’s guest area to hear the most famous words, but

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

42 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

into We cricketers are a superstitious lot. When we enter a venue where we’ve done well, we feel like magicians. I’m transported to a different world every time I enter Lord’s. It’s hard to believe 12 years have flown by, but I can’t remember what went through my head when I brought up the magical number. What I can remember though is that the pitch was so flat that Ashish Nehra came up to me and said, “I’ve held up my end to help you get a hundred. Now you help me get a fifty.” One of my lasting memories of that game will be the time spent in the middle with VVS Laxman. Watching him bat was truly an education. Even today, if I’m with a group of friends, chances are I’d be reminded about how I have my name up on the honours board, while greats such as Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting don’t. It sounds like great fun, but I must admit that it gets embarrassing at times.

famous

former player on the concourse was an unalloyed before

pleasure

having

suffer the demands of a negative time zone for newspaper deadlines. I am not certain Sunil Gavaskar agrees with the worshipful views of others on the very special atmosphere of

Ticket to cricket Armed with the medallion, it is a simple task to slip past the OAP at the entrance to the doorway and steps to the press box.

Lord’s, although he too did enjoy the benevolence of its balmy atmosphere in an innings to savour in the MCC bicentenary game in 1987. Of course, the knock may have been cut in its infancy had not the great Dickie Bird taken kindly to the Little Master and allowed him to bat on after he was plumb in front and dead to rights against Malcolm Marshall, now sadly no more.

For starters, I never thought anyone would talk about my batting, especially after the kind of start I had in Australia early on in my career (he had seven consecutive ducks against his name). The enormity of my century didn’t hit me till I visited Lord’s later with my family while on holiday. Today, I put my feet up and often think about how we could have batted better as a team to save that game. We lost that Test, but the memories of the hundred will stay with me.

doorway a few years later are to be sympathised with as

AJIT AGARKAR is a former Indian seamer. He scored 109 not out in the first Test at Lord’s in 2002.

all, slope and all. He also announced his retirement from

As told to Shashank Kishore

Sunny’s troubles with the OAPs guarding the pavilion these fossils have often been compared to the Gestapo. But they pale in comparison to the enjoyment he would have got and he gave in that innings on the greatest turf of all first class cricket from within the hallowed red brick pavilion. A livelier atmosphere may be at hand in other

said in strict privacy. Those words cannot be repeated even in the more liberal environment of the web-based Wisden India, as opposed to the family broadsheets we used to work at. Today’s robotic media conferences are not a patch on what we were privileged to hear at a more personal level from cricketing greats, particularly at Lord’s where bumping

great sporting arenas of the world, from the SCG through Chepauk to Port of Spain. However, Lord’s will always occupy a special place because it evokes the pristine nature of the game and reminds us of its eternal verities.

R Mohan, now Resident Editor of Deccan Chronicle in Chennai, recently crossed 40 years of writing on cricket.

The COLONEL

TAKES Lord’s I wouldn’t trade my three centuries there for anything: Vengsarkar

S h am ya

ome pitches provide extra pace and bounce

D a s gu p ta

the two greatest batsmen of the last two decades, made the

to bowlers. At some grounds, the ball

cut, although Jacob Oram and Ajit Agarkar are on that list.

subcontinent pitches, it’s the turn spinners

Dilip Vengsarkar has always talked about the pressure,

moves in the air just that bit more. In the get. Most, or all, cricket grounds have

something that is designed to make batsmen struggle – some more than others.

stressing that it’s the weight of history, all that we have been told about Lord’s, that makes the difference when batting there. He should know, having totalled 508 runs in four appearances there, scoring three centuries while

At Lord’s, there’s a bit of this and that, of course, but

at it. Indeed, among the 16 batsmen to have scored

mainly, there are the intangibles – the pressure of history

three or more centuries at the ground in 130 years of Test

and that old honours board, possibly the reasons some of

cricket, Vengsarkar remains the only outsider – “That’s an

the greatest batsmen falter when playing at that historic

achievement I am really proud of”.

venue. Neither Sachin Tendulkar nor Brian Lara, arguably

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

44 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

The first time he went out to bat at Lord’s, in August

number again – it was Bob Willis

1979, it went unmemorably. Ian Botham ripped through

who got him for 2 this time. When

the Indian batting order, picking up a five-for, to bowl

India followed on, Vengsarkar

them out for 96. Vengsarkar fell for a 12-ball duck, one

played probably his best Lord’s

of the wickets Botham didn’t get, though it was Botham

innings, batting for 334 minutes,

who caught him off Mike Hendrick. But despite that

without being too defensive at any point, and ending on

meaningless total, and England’s reply of 419 for 9, India

157 when Willis got him a second time in the Test. India

came out with a draw. And Vengsarkar, in collaboration

lost this one. But Vengsarkar, according to people who saw

with Gundappa Viswanath, played the lead in making it

him in that second innings, was a class apart – his patented

happen. Both batted just under six hours for their centuries

square drives and pulls were out and the mention in the

– Viswanath scoring 113 and Vengsarkar 103.

honours board for a second time was, by all accounts, most

Third time lucky Vengsarkar’s 126* at Lord’s in June 1986 was his third century there, but this one allowed India a memorable series victory.

deserved. When India played

Dilip Vengsarkar’s century in 1986 also earned him his only series-defining performance, putting him fifth on the list of highest impact Indian batsmen in England. His 61 and 102 not out at Headingley is the highest impact batting performance by an Indian in England.

at Lord’s in the first

A draw and a loss behind them when Vengsarkar played

Test in 1982, England

the lead role again in June 1986 – this time, India ended

batted

with a most famous victory.

and

scored

433, India responded with

128.

Botham

This was less than six months after Javed Miandad had

five

pulled Chetan Sharma for that six in Sharjah, but Chetan

wickets again, and

had picked himself up and, in England’s first innings in that

missed Vengsarkar’s

Test, returned 5 for 64. England 294. This time, Vengsarkar

picked

SHAMYA DASGUPTA 45

got going in the first innings itself. With Mohinder

1986, but they still had a good attack. It wasn’t easy. It just

Amarnath to start with and then Mohammad Azharuddin

worked out well for me,” he says.

for company, Vengsarkar took India close to the lead. Then Derek Pringle, that gentle, no-major-threat medium pacer,

Vengsarkar went back to Lord’s one last time – in July

reduced India to 264 for 8. Enter debutant Kiran More,

1990. He was two years away from calling it a day at the

and Vengsarkar was in business again. When More fell,

time, but still good enough for a half-century and a 35. This

India had taken the lead, but Vengsarkar was on 95. With

was the Graham Gooch Test though, and the boss of Lord’s

Maninder Singh as his partner, Vengsarkar obviously didn’t

ended his romance with the ground on the losing side.

have much time. Out came the crack through midwicket and then a scampered single, and history had been made.

Some players are just perfect for the conditions a ground

He ended unbeaten on 126, India ahead by 47 runs. Later,

serves up. Maybe he just loves the feel of Lord’s, or the

set 134 to win the Test, it was Vengsarkar again, with 33,

weather, or the food on offer. Or, maybe, it’s that his game

who top scored as India won by five wickets.

was just well suited for the Lord’s tangibles and intangibles.

Maybe he just loves the feel of Lord’s, or the weather. Or, maybe, his game was just well suited for the Lord’s tangibles and intangibles Vengsarkar wasn’t done though. Lord’s had been conquered and Headingley was next. And he was in

“I would not trade my three centuries at Lord’s for anything I did in the rest of my career,” says Vengsarkar.

fantastic form – form that should be made the most of. The ‘Colonel’ had a fair bit to trade with too. At Headingley then, India’s 272 – Vengsarkar 61, India’s top scorer – was followed by Roger Binny and Madan Lal

Along with Gordon Greenidge, he was probably the

bowling England out for 102. India then stretched their

best batsman in world cricket in the period between that

lead to 407 as Vengsarkar hit pay dirt again, this time with

1986 England series and 1988, scoring eight centuries in

an unbeaten 102. And the Test was eventually won by a

16 Tests. When he retired, Vengsarkar was second only to

substantial 279-run margin. The third Test in Birmingham

Sunil Gavaskar in terms of runs and centuries scored, with

was drawn – Vengsarkar was mediocre for a change, but the

6868 runs from 116 Tests, 17 centuries and 35 half-centuries

series was won 2-0.

against his name. Even now, after Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag have

“All the three teams I played were very good. The bowling

had their say, Vengsarkar remains at No. 7 in the pile.

attacks were good and in those conditions, it’s not easy to play swing. But we had good self-belief as we were getting

If you watched him bat, you’d think him somewhat stiff,

used to playing there. We had batsmen who had toured

conscious, and even twitchy. That was only before the ball

England often. In the first Test (1979), they had a very good

hurtled in his direction. Once the tall, rangy right-hand

attack with Botham, Hendrick and (John) Lever. Botham

batsman got his limbs in position, there were few sights

and Willis were both there in 1982. Botham wasn’t there in

more beautiful in that era’s world cricket.

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

46 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

Wisden honours

for the leading lights

Sidha nta

Patn aik

The Wisden Cricketer of the Year, constituted in 1889, is the oldest cricketing award and one of the most prestigious. It recognises those who left a mark on the previous English summer. That a player can win it only once in his or her career makes it more sacrosanct. The Wisden Leading Cricketer of the Year, an award started in 2004, acknowledges the most dominant international player during the period of jury. Between 1932 and 2014, 18 Indians have won either of the two awards.

1932

1933

The only cricketer to have represented both India and England, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi’s tremendous form in 1931 benefitted Oxford when he aggregated 1307 runs at an average of 93 for his university. In the university game against Cambridge, after Alan Ratcliffe made 201, he surpassed it for an unbeaten 238 the very next day, the highest score in an Oxbridge match till 2005. The performance was preceded by scores of 52, 42, 183 not out, 165, 100, 138 and 68 in his previous seven innings and an Ashes debut in Australia was not far away.

Fate put the spotlight on the robust-framed CK Nayudu when he became India’s first Test captain at Lord’s in June 1932 in the absence of Maharaja of Porbandar and Ganshyamsinhji, a game in which he made 40 in the first innings after damaging his hand while fielding at gully. The white kerchief around his neck and his all-round consistency made him a cult figure. On the tour, his 1618 runs and 65 wickets in 26 first-class fixtures stood out as much as his 32 sixes – the most by anyone that season – one of which was hit into river Rhea from Edgbaston in Birmingham.

IFTIKHAR ALI KHAN PATAUDI

CK NAYUDU

1937

VIJAY MERCHANT

One of India’s first batting heroes, the plucky Vijay Merchant enhanced his reputation by finishing as the team’s best batsman during the 1936 England tour with 1745 runs in 23 games. A middle-order batsman, he opened the innings after a finger injury robbed him three weeks of game time on tour, and eased into his new role. His penchant for runmaking was best witnessed in the second innings of the second Test at Old Trafford, where he made 114 and put on an opening stand of 203 runs with Syed Mushtaq Ali to save the game.

SIDHANTA PATNAIK 47

1947

1968

1972

Mulvantrai Himmatlal Mankad, popularly known as Vinoo Mankad, was one of the first Indian cricketers to make Lord’s his own, but that all-round performance was to come in 1952. He left his first impression in England during the tour of 1946 when his industrious batting and miserly left-arm spin brought him 1120 runs and 129 wickets in 29 first-class games including three Tests. That he was the first visiting player, also the first Indian, to achieve the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in a season since Learie Constantine in 1928 attested to his achievement.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, quite at home playing in England, was India’s lone shining light in their 1967 tour of England where they lost all the three Test matches by big margins and managed only two wins in 15 tour games. His status was best captured in his knock of 148 in the first Test at Headingley after India followed on. The knock “lifted India out of the dark pit of despair”, said the Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack. Leading from the front, he finished as the third best batsman of the series and followed his father’s example of being recognised by Wisden.

On Ganesh Chaturthi day of 1971, the day Bella, an Indian elephant from the Chessington Zoo, went around The Oval, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar’s wrist spin anchored India’s maiden Test series win in England in 21 attempts. Aided by ‘Mill Reef’, the moniker for his faster one, Chandrasekhar was rewarded for his accuracy in England’s second innings. He returned figures of 6 for 38. With 13 victims in three Tests, Chandrasekhar, on his comeback after four years, topped the wickets column for the series along with Srinivas Venkataraghavan.

VINOO MANKAD

MANSUR ALI KHAN PATAUDI

BS CHANDRASEKHAR

1980

SUNIL GAVASKAR Sunil Gavaskar’s masterful 221, where he navigated his way against Bob Willis, Ian Botham, Mike Hendrick and Phil Edmonds for 490 minutes in the fourth Test match at The Oval, ensured that India’s disastrous 1979 World Cup campaign and an innings defeat in the first Test against England were quickly forgotten. Though India were left needing nine runs for a special win when play was called off, Gavaskar’s individual brilliance was paraded as a symbol of hope for a country recovering from a government-imposed 21-month emergency that lasted till March 1977.

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

48 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

1983

1984

1987

Kapil Dev contributed either with bat or ball in all the five international matches India played in England in 1982, and also gave joy to Northamptonshire fans in his second season in the county circuit. While his 37-ball 60 in the first One-Day International was ahead of its time, the match haul of eight wickets and innings of 41 and 89 at Lord’s, and half-centuries in the next two Tests fetched him the Man of the Series award. It propelled him ahead of Ian Botham as the world’s best allrounder in the imagination of radio listeners back home.

Mohinder Amarnath’s back-ofthe-length deliveries and gutsy batting in the 1983 World Cup orchestrated a watershed moment. In the semis against England, he took two wickets and made 46; in the final, he snapped three crucial West Indies wickets after having stitched together a game-defining 57-run stand with Krishnamachari Srikkanth. Prior to the two Man of the Match performances, he had reached 1000 Test runs for that year by May and finished the 198283 first-class season with 2355 runs – the most by any batsman outside of England that summer.

A product of Dadar Union, a stronghold in Mumbai’s club circuit, Dilip Vengsarkar was the first overseas batsman to score three Test centuries at Lord’s. None was more highlighted than the matchwinning unbeaten 126, made with cramps in his left arm, in 1986. It relieved David Gower of captaincy, and in the third Test at Headingley, Vengsarkar’s 61 and 102 not out were described by Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack as “the art of batting on a bad pitch”. The series remains, to date, the only occasion when India have won two Tests on an England tour.

KAPIL DEV

MOHINDER AMARNATH

DILIP VENGSARKAR

1991

MOHAMMAD AZHARUDDIN With a knock of 121 that was a tapestry of elegant wrist work, Mohammad Azharuddin partially made up for having erred in inserting England in the 1990 Lord’s Test. He flicked the ball from outside the off stump with ease and his ingenuity got him 179 at Old Trafford and 78 at The Oval. Before that, he had made two unbeaten half-centuries in India’s Texaco Trophy win. With four centuries and an equal number of fifties in his first three tours as captain, Azharuddin displayed a natural liking to his elevated post.

SIDHANTA PATNAIK 49

1996

ANIL KUMBLE

To prepare for India’s tour of England in 1996, Anil Kumble took a break from his day job with Triton Watches in Bangalore and signed up for Northamptonshire in the 1995 English domestic season. In a happy marriage, Kumble – recommended as a replacement for Curtly Ambrose by Allan Lamb, his maiden Test wicket – finished with 105 scalps in the County Championship. He became the first legspinner to break the 100-wicket barrier since 1971. That none of his victims was stumped and 41 were either lbw or bowled was a sign of things to come.

1997

SACHIN TENDULKAR (WISDEN LEADING CRICKETER OF THE YEAR IN 2010)

Soon after becoming the first man to score 500 or more runs in a World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar travelled to England, the place of his maiden Test ton in 1990, as the perceived one-stop solution to country’s macro and micro challenges. Having already established his serenity amid the hyperbole, his 428 runs including two magnificent centuries (122 at Edgbaston and 177 at Trent Bridge) in three Tests showed the people of England that the sparkling youngster from six years ago had paved his way towards becoming a

master of his trade. By the time Tendulkar was named as the Wisden Leading Cricketer of the Year for 2010, he was more of a brand than an individual. At 37 years, he scored 1562 Test runs, including two double-centuries, the maximum by any batsman that year. He also became the first batsman to score fifty Test centuries and 200 in a One-Day International. While his determination to acquaint his game to the prevailing times was a lesson in itself, his deep-rooted value system that allowed him to be his own in the middle of the hype added to his reputation. Tendulkar was the notional winner of the award in 1998.

2000

RAHUL DRAVID Rahul Dravid revealed his value as a top-order batsman in white ball cricket and refuted opinions of him being a one-dimensional player by heading the batting charts of the 1999 World Cup. High on confidence after twin-centuries against New Zealand in the Hamilton Test and with Sachin Tendulkar having to bear the loss of his father, Dravid and Sourav Ganguly shouldered India’s batting with great maturity and set the English summer alight. That Dravid’s 461 runs, which included two consecutive centuries and three half-centuries, came with the help of only one six, showed his desire to adapt and excel.

ISSUE 5, JULY 2014

50 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

2002

2008

2014

Even after 13 years, VVS Laxman’s landscape-altering 281 and his 376-run partnership with Rahul Dravid at Eden Gardens in 2001 conjures fresh memories. It drilled a hole in Australia’s morale, breaking Steve Waugh’s 16-match winning streak and spoiling his dream of conquering the ‘final frontier’, as India became the second team to win a Test after following on. Built on grace and watertight technique, that innings ushered in the golden generation of Indian cricket. Laxman became the first cricketer to be recognised as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year for a performance outside England.

Zaheer Khan’s stint with Worcestershire in 2006 County Championship after being dropped from the national team helped India architect a famous Test series victory in England in 2007, their first in the country since 1986. With the experience of a learning traveller, he created difficult angles for right-handers from round the wicket, swung the ball both ways and finished with 18 wickets at an average of 20.33. In the second Test at Trent Bridge, England threw jellybeans on the pitch while he was batting and it stirred Zaheer up to finish with nine scalps in a sevenwicket win.

Twirled moustache, popped collar, nonchalant body language and a sturdy physique makes Shikhar Dhawan a free-spirited personality and a natural hitter of the cricket ball. Just like on his debut Test, he batted like a prowling tiger in the 2013 Champions Trophy. On pitches that were true, he favoured the upper cut – a stroke that was as crackling as effective. His hunger to dominate fetched him 363 runs at an average of 90.75, taking him to the top of the batting charts, and allowing Mahendra Singh Dhoni to be the first captain to win all three International Cricket Council limitedovers tournaments.

VVS LAXMAN

VIRENDER SEHWAG (WISDEN LEADING CRICKETER OF THE YEAR IN 2008 AND 2009)

ZAHEER KHAN

SHIKHAR DHAWAN

The dynamism of a man who redefined the image of a Test opener can never be captured by statistics, but 3937 international runs in 79 innings in two calendar years are too many to go unrecognised. In the sunniest patch of his career, Virender Sehwag checked into the class of greats with nine centuries and 18 fifties in 2008 and 2009. Between his 319 in Chennai against South Africa (March 2008) – when he became only the third batsman to score two triple-hundreds in Test cricket – and 293 in Mumbai against Sri Lanka (December 2009) – when India became the No. 1 Test side for the first time – he sandwiched a series of explosive shows. Sehwag was true to the principle of ‘see the ball, hit the ball’, and an impressed Ian Chappell drew similarities with Don Bradman. When Sehwag was named 2009’s Wisden Leading Cricketer of the Year for the second time, the recognition seemed incidental.

QUIZ ANSWERS 1. L Amar Singh 2. Abbas Ali Baig 3. Geoff Boycott 4. BS Chandrasekhar 5. Summer of 42

6. Bharath Reddy and Surinder Khanna 7. Most runs by a batsman in a match; Graham Gooch 456 (333 and 123)

8. Umpire Dickie Bird 9. Anil Kumble 10. First wicketkeeper to take off his pads and bowl at Lord’s

INDIA’s TEST SQUAD FOR ENGLAND TOUR 2014

M S DHONI (capt, wk)

m Vijay

Shikhar Dhawan

Gautam Gambhir

Cheteshwar Pujara

Virat Kohli

Ajinkya Rahane

Rohit Sharma

Ravindra Jadeja

r Ashwin

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Mohammed Shami

Ishwar Pandey

Ishant Sharma

Stuart Binny

Varun Aaron

Wriddhiman Saha (wk)

Pankaj Singh

TESTS

F I X T U R E S

ODIS

July 9-13: First Test, Trent Bridge

August 25: First ODI, Bristol

July 17-21: Second Test, Lord’s

August 27: Second ODI, Cardiff

July 27-31: Third Test, Rose Bowl

August 30: Third ODI, Trent Bridge

August 7-11: Fourth Test, Old Trafford

September 2: Fourth ODI, Edgbaston

August 15-19: Fifth Test, The Oval

September 5: Fifth ODI, Headingley

T20I ISSUE 5,7:JULY 2014 September T20I, Edgbaston

52 − India’s SUMMER sojourn

Fw Sports And Media India Private Limited Wisden House, 13/A,1St Cross, Lavelle Road Bangalore 560001, India extra@wisdenindia.com