Former India skipper Nari Contractor termed Twenty20 cricket as pure entertainment during a felicitation function organised by Cricket Association of Bengal to mark the 80th year of India-England rivalry
Contractor alongwith former England skipper Ted Dexter shared memories of the 1961-62 series in which Contractor and Dexter led India and England respectively.
But the former India captain credited the shortest version for yielding more results in Test cricket. “To me, it's pure entertainment. But it is because of T20 cricket, we are getting so many results in Test cricket these days,” he told MiD DAY yesterday.
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Contractor also felt that innovation in shot-making in the shortest format has made other formats interesting. "Previously, when someone played a cross-batted shot, we never called him a good batsman, but now that's the way to make runs. People are even resorting to those strokes in the longer version," the 78-year-old Mumbai-based player said. Dexter (77) said: "It (T20) shows this game has great adaptability. In our time, we never thought that a five-day game can be played over 20 overs-a-side. It's obviously an innovation in cricket," Dexter said.u00a0
Survivors
Contractor and Dexter, who are the oldest living captains of the two nations, recalled how the 1961-62 Test at the Eden Gardens decided the outcome of the five-Test series. "Bombay was an even game. In Kanpur, we had an upper hand. Ted played a brilliant innings and saved the match for England. Delhi was a wash-out. The fourth match was played here in Kolkata (then Calcutta) and we won by 187 runs; we won in Madras (now Chennai) too. Eventually we won the series 2-0," Contractor recalled. u00a0
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