Just like today, India's cricketing world was enveloped with disappointment 35 years ago when Wadekar's men were bowled out for 42 by England at Lord's on June 24
Just like today, India's cricketing world was enveloped with disappointment 35 years ago when Wadekar's men were bowled out for 42 by England at Lord's on June 24
Thirty five years ago, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was not even born. Thirty-five years ago, Twenty20 cricket was not even thought of and one-day international cricket was just 11 matches old.
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But 35 years ago on this day, India were bowled out for 42 in a Test against England at Lord's. Just like today, an anti-cricket feeling enveloped India. Cricket writer Raju Bharatan remembers it vividly. "There was the same kind of disappointment among cricket fans, if not worse," said Bharatan.
Another veteran journalist, Khalid A-H Ansari, who was closer to the action in England, can never forget the shock and humiliation. Ansari, who also witnessed India's recent poor showing in the ICC World T20, remembered June 24, 1974 for two things unrelated to the action on the field. "Someone brought some samosas into the press box at Lord's and passed them around. When John Woodcock (celebrated English cricket writer) had a bite, he nearly hit the roof. It was so spicy.
"I also recall a journalist from Goa borrowing a Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and disappearing. And the chants of 'he's gone' went well with every passing Indian wicket."
Bharatan recalled: "Mumbai was shocked. Doordarshan showed clips of S Madan Lal and Bishan Singh Bedi backing off with the pace bowlers in operation and that caused a lot of disappointment among the public. They seemed to believe the players were just there to have a good time. The reaction was similar to the one experienced after India lost to Australia in the opening rounds of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa." The English press corps, according to Ansari, were gloating. "You could see that they were enjoying our discomfiture," he said.
Like Dhoni's men, much was expected from Wadekar's team after the hat-trick of Test series wins u2013 the 1970-71 triumph in the West Indies, the conquest of Ray Illingworth's Englishmen in 1971 and victory on Indian soil in 1972-73. But India encountered a spirited English side with good swing bowlers in Geoff Arnold and Chris Old. They had a strong batting line-up too.
The big difference from 1971 was that India played the Englishmen in the first half of the 1974 summer, which is more challenging to cope with. Wadekar was stripped off the captaincy after the series which India lost 0-3.
India's most successful captain had a sad ending to his Test career.
Wadekar's words
"We had problems on the tour. I am not offering excuses, but we didn't have a great tune-up to the series. The selection was not too good either and above all, the law of averages caught up with us after three series wins on the trot. Similarly, the law of averages got to Dhoni's men in England," Wadekar told MiD DAY yesterday from Miami where he is on holiday.u00a0 How did India manage to score just 42 after scoring 302 in their first innings?
Sunil Gavaskar describes it well in his autobiography Sunny Days (published by Rupa & Co): "Arnold started with two huge out-swingers, followed by an in-swinger which hit Engineer on the pads as he played forward. Farokh stands a fair bit outside the batting crease and then he had stretched forward, so it must have required tremendous eyesight to give him out. Later Farokh claimed that he had even got a faint edge.
"Wadekar was bowled by Old and Vishwanath was out to a beauty which Knott snapped up in front of first slip.
"Patel got one which lifted and brushed his glove on its way to the wicket-keeper. Eknath received a bouncer from Old, which he tried to hook but which bounced off his head. He hit the next bouncer over the deep fine-leg boundary for a six. At the end of the over, Solkar came down the wicket to ask me to stay and help him save the game.
"That was not to be as I was leg-before to an Arnold break-back. By the time I had removed my leg-guards.
Madan (Lal) and Abid (Ali) had joined me in the pavilion. And before you knew it, we were all out for 42. England had won the Test by an innings and 285 runs, and with that, the series."
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