Ravi Shastri's first Kiwi crush

Ravi Shastri is no sucker for nostalgia but it would be surprising if the year 1981 doesnt occupy a little corner of his mindspace as he works on a major assignment in New ZealandWhile Shastris first experience as Team Indias head coach for a full series in New Zealand will be closely followed by supporters and critics alike it is important to note that his international journey started in this country as a teenager in February 1981The 1981 Indian team landed in New Zealand after a memorable win in the Melbourne Test to square their first series in Australia since the start of the rivalry in 194748 But that triumph in Melbourne was achieved despite injuries to Kapil Dev as well as the two spinners Dilip Doshi and Shivlal Yadav The team management shuddered to think what would happen in New Zealand without a fully fit spin attack Shastri who was playing the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal for Bombay against Uttar Pradesh in Kanpur was summoned to become probably the only cricketer to make his Test debut without a run or wicket in his previous firstclass gameThats the sort of match he endured at Green Park where he was sent back for a duck in both innings by leftarm pacer Anil Mathur Shastri whose 10 overs in the game yielded nothing for the wickets column got the news of his India callup from a gatekeeper at the guest house where the Bombay team were put up in KanpurDoshi revealed in his book Spin Punch that he had learnt Rajinder Goel was the choice of team manager Shahid Durrani but Ravi landed in Kiwiland with great haste to replace me for the first TestThe Mumbai cricket fraternity was delighted with Shastri being summoned and Vilas Godbole in his book My Innings in Mumbai Cricket pointed to Shastris lucky stars since everyone involved with the decision and his departure to New Zealand were from Mumbai mdash skipper Gavaskar assistant manager Bapu Nadkarni chief selector Polly Umrigar executive secretary Prof M V Chandgadkar and BCCI president S K WankhedeAfter a 30hour journey Shastri reached Wellington around 1030 pm on Test eve and was told by his captain Sunil Gavaskar that he was in the playing XI not long before Kapil Dev and Yograj Singh opened the bowling at the Basin ReserveShastri claimed the last of the four wickets which New Zealand lost for 200plus runs on Day One hanging on to a caught and bowled chance offered by Jeremy Coney It was a cold day and Shastri was helped in no small measure by the sweater he was wearing given to him before leaving Mumbai by Umrigar Shastri hasnt forgotten going over to Umrigars then Marine Lines home to pick up the jumper that helped keep him warm even though it was a couple of sizes bigger for his frame Thanks to a touching return gesture by Shastri the sweater is framed and displayed at the Cricket Club of Indias Pollys BarNumber 10 Martin Snedden and last man Gary Troup were Shastris victims as well in that innings followed by the last three batsmen in New Zealands second innings before the Indian batting lineup failed to reach the 253run victory target set by New Zealands centurymaking skipper Geoff Howarth Shastri was sent at No 10 and scored 19 the third highest score of the innings after Sandeep Patils attacking 42 7x4 and 26 each from Dilip Vengsarkar and Roger Binny Lance Cairns one of the host heroes in that Test wrote eloquently about Shastris debut Test in Give it A Heave We won the game but it was a triumph for the 18yearold Shastri He had taken three wickets in the first innings He took another three for nine in our second innings debacle not a bad introduction to Test cricketThe debacle Cairns referred to was the loss of his teams last three wickets in the space of four balls at the same score of 100 mdash all three off Shastri and caught by Vengsarkar fielding close to the bat And if there is one man in New Zealand who will remember Shastris leftarm spin exploits at Wellington more than any other player it would be Troup who will put his King Pair dismissed first ball in both innings down to Shastris guileThe next two Tests at Christchurch and Auckland were drawn and Shastri picked his first fifer in the third Test where he claimed seven wickets in the match On his return from New Zealand Shastri and his college teammate Shishir Hattangadi drove down to Vogue Tailors at Kemps Corner made popular to them by Kiran Ashar the former Ranji Trophy wicketkeeper opening batsman Malabar Hills iconic restaurant Cafeacute Naaz beckoned after that and it was here where Shastri surprised Hattangadi with the words I think Ill make it as a batsmanShastris 15 wickets in the series was on top of the list but he was way down with only 48 runs in five innings on the batting charts for the series Hattangadi was surprised by his mates prediction even though he had seen him plunder a lot of runs at No 3 and No 4 in intercollege cricketShastri had other tests to pass in the season of his international debut mdash his graduation mdash something which his professor mother insisted upon even though he had attained Test status on the cricket fieldWhile past is indeed passeacute for the pragmatic boss of the Indian cricket teams support staff Shastri will be aware that India have won only two Test series in New Zealand His 198081 tour is not among those two occasions but his class of 201920 can surely join the victorious teams of 196768 and 200809 if they play to potentialmiddays group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont represent those of the paperCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates