When more was just fine...

South Africa has every reason to feel peeved As the top two Test nations India should be playing a 4 to 5Test series in South Africa rather than an afterthought 2Test tango Currently South Africa is ranked no1 in Tests followed by India Was this muchawaited tour truncated to enable BCCI to stage a home series against lowly West Indies ranked no 6 to celebrate Sachin Tendulkarrsquos 200th and farewell Test Indiarsquos star batsman Polly Umrigar batting against Surrey at The Oval on the 1959 tour of England The Surrey cricketers are wicketkeeper Roy Swetman and slip fielder Ken Barrington The match was held before the fifth and final Test at the London venue PicGetty Images Never in SA or India However India and South Africa have never played a 5Test series home or away From 199293 till now they have played 10 Test series The inaugural one was in South Africa where they were engaged in a 4Test series and the home team won 10 The other nine were either 2 or 3Test series In all South Africa have won five series three in South Africa and two in India India have won two both in India with the last three series drawn one in South Africa and two in India Wankhede Stadium groundstaff roll the wicket during the India vs Australia Test match of the 197980 series PicGetty Images India and South Africa have never been engaged in a single 5Test series although India has played gtgt Eight 5 or more Test series including one 6Test series against England from 195152 to 198485 gtgt Six 5 or more Test series including one 6 Test series against Australia from 194748 to 199192 gtgt Eleven 5 or more Test series including two 6Test series against the West Indies from194849 to 200102 gtgt One 5Test series against New Zealand in 195556 gtgt Six 5 or more Test series including two 6Test series against Pakistan from195253 to 198687 Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Bishan Singh Bedi celebrate a Test victory on the 197778 tour of Australia PicMiD DAY Archives Endangered Interestingly India has not played a 5Test series since 200102 home or away In the new millennium 5Test series have become less frequent and is becoming an endangered species Why Due to the introduction of oneday internationals ODI in the 1970s Test series have shrunk apart from the Ashes Test matches have lost their mojo their spectator appeal Sunil Gavaskar plays a leg side shot during his century in the sixth Test against Australia in the 197980 series at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai The wicketkeeper is Kevin Wright PicGetty Images Money The last time South Africa played a 5Test series against England was in 200405 and against Australia way back in 196768 The Twenty20 internationals and the inroads made by the Indian Premier League IPL and the Big Bash League among other money spinners have made Test matches appear less spectatorfriendly Apart from in England and in Australia hardly a few thousand turn up to watch Test cricket every day The Tendulkar farewell Tests last month were of course exceptional when every Indian went gaga with ldquoSachin Sachiiinrdquo chants July 28 1959 Freddie Trueman of England bowls out S P Gupte of India during their match at Old Trafford PicCentral Press Getty Images Shrinking Another reason for this significant shrinkage of duration of Test series is the emergence of more Testplaying countries Sri Lanka in 198182 Zimbabwe in 199293 and Bangladesh in 200001u00a0Till the 1980s there were only seven countries involved in Test cricket England Australia South Africa West Indies New Zealand India and Pakistan Also South Africa played only England Australia and New Zealand till 1970 and was barred from Test cricket for two decades from 1970 to 1991 Thus there were virtually only six nations playing each other regularly till 1980 Now there are 10 They have to share tours unless it is England against Australia Also room has to be made for ODIs and cashcreating T20 internationals Still a 2Test series between topranking India and South Africa is an insult BCCI should see to it that a major cricketplaying nation should not be snubbed South Africans have high regards for India Ambition When I had met the great South African fast bowler Peter Pollock in the Sydney press box in 1972 he told me that his major ambition was to play Test cricket in India Those were preNelson Mandela days and his country was boycotted from playing Test cricket because of apartheid Peter also informed me that he and some of his white colleagues had protested against the hateful apartheid regime in his country during a firstclass match in South Africa but nothing came of it and his ambition to play in India was not realized he had the satisfaction of playing alongside Sunil Gavaskar Bishan Singh Bedi and Farokh Engineer when the World XI captained by the great Garry Sobers toured Australia in 197172 It must have been very rewarding for him that his son Shaun played and captained South Africa against India Recollection Let me recall the first ever 5Test series India played It was against Don Bradmanrsquos Invincibles 66 years ago India lost 04 but provided glorious batting by Vijay Hazare and Vinoo Mankadu00a0The term ldquoMankadedrdquo was coined in 1947 when spinning legend Mankad ran out Bill Brown before delivering the ball Indiarsquos first ever 5Test series was against Don Bradmanrsquos Invincibles 66 years ago India lost 04 but provided glorious batting by Vijay Hazare and Vinoo Mankad Bradman insisted that it was not an unsporting act Mankad went on to hit centuries in the third and fifth Tests in Melbourneu00a0In the Adelaide Test Hazare became the first Indian to register centuries in both innings 116 and 145 and that too against the terrifying pace of Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller Booooo Letrsquos have a look at other 5 or 6Test series India was involved in India hosted the West Indies for the first time in 194748 The series was highlighted by the great Everton Weekes scoring 128 194 162 101 and 90 in successive Test innings Came the fifth and final Test in Bombay now Mumbai with West Indies leading 10 and it was a thriller Needing 361 runs to win in 395 minutes India just fell six runs short with two wickets remaining To waste time the Windies wicketkeeper Clyde Walcott walked casually to the boundary line as the home crowd booed Victory The 195152 tour of England to India was memorable as India under Hazare achieved her first ever Test victory after playing 24 Tests in 20 years Trailing 01 the fifth Test in Madras now Chennai was dominated by Vinoo Mankad taking 855 and 453 and Pankaj Roy and Polly Umrigar hitting centuries India won by an innings to tie the series 1all India played her only 5Test series in England in 1959 and was whitewashed 05 The only consolation for India was 20 yearold Abbas Ali Baig scoring a century in his Test debut Revenge India took her revenge by winning the next series against England in 196162 After the first three Tests were drawn India comfortably won the last two at Calcutta and Madras thanks to Salim Durani capturing 18 British scalps 547 366 6105 472 It was their first rubber against England and third against any country In between India defeated New Zealand 20 in a 5Test series in 195556 The 195152 tour of England to India was memorable as India under Hazare achieved her first ever Test victory after playing 24 Tests in 20 years In the first Test in Hyderabad India declared at 4 for 498 Umrigar 223 hitting the first double century for Indiau00a0India won the second Test in Bombay by an innings with Vinoo Mankad also registering 223 India also won the final Test in Madras by an innings Mankad 231 and Pankaj Roy 173 adding 413 runs for the first wicket a record then Names The 5Test series against the West Indies in the Caribbean in197071 can well be called the Sunil Gavaskar series He made his debut in the second Test in Trinidad and scored 65 and 67 not out He followed with 116 and 64 not out in Guyana 1 and 117 not out in Barbados and 124 and 220 in the fifth and final Test in Trinidad India won the second Test by 7 wickets as also the series 10 It was their first series win against the mighty Windies The spin trio of Bishan Bedi Prasanna and S Venkataraghavan were also behind this epic victory Thriller Another 5Test series against the West Indies in 197475 was a thriller the Windies winning the first two Tests comfortably in Bangalore and Delhi In his second Test in Delhi the legendary Viv Richards hammered an unbeaten 192 with 20 fours and six sixes But India hit back winning the next two Tests in Calcutta and Madras In Madras offspinner EAS Prasanna captured 570 and 441 Now to the fifth and final Test in Bombay played on the newly inaugurated Wankhede Stadium West Indies won the Test and the rollercoaster series 32 the hero being skipper Clive Lloyd with an unbeaten 242 Thriller Indiarsquos tour of Australia in 197778 under Bishan Bedi provided equally spinetingling drama India narrowly losing 23 Australia weakened by loss of top players to World Series Cricket won the Brisbane Test by 16 runs and the Perth Test by two wickets Indiarsquos tour of Australia in 197778 under Bishan Bedi provided equally spinetingling drama India narrowly losing 23 India levelled the series by comfortably winning the Melbourne Test by 222 runs and the Sydney Test by an innings Now to the nailbiting decider in Adelaide India needed an imposing 493 to win the Test and the series but managed 445 and lost by 47 runs This was among the most exciting 5Test series ever Bedi became the hero of the Aussie crowd who chanted ldquoBaidi Baidirdquo nonstop Winning Indiarsquos first 6Test series was against the West Indies in 197879 Master batsman Gavaskar followed his 205 and 73 in the first Test in Bombay with a 0 in Bangalore 107 amp 182 not out in Calcutta and 120 in Delhi All these Tests were drawn so was the sixth Test But India won the fourth Test in Madras by 3 wickets thanks to an elegant century by G R Viswanath and effective bowling by Kapil Dev and Venkataraghavan It was Indiarsquos first home rubber against the Windies The following year India surprised Australia 20 in a 6Test series in India The home team won the third Test in Kanpur by 153 runs and the sixth Test by an innings at Wankhede Stadium in Bombay by an innings It was Indiarsquos first ever series win against Australia Gavaskarrsquos 22nd Test century placed him level with English legends Wally Hammond and Colin Cowdrey only Australiarsquos Don Bradman 29 and West Indian Garry Sobers 26 had scored more Test hundreds Vanquished On a roll now India vanquished Pakistan 20 in another 6Test series three months later In the third Test in Bombay India gained her first win against Pakistan since November 1952 India also won the fifth Test in Madras by 10 wickets The heroes were Kapil Dev 490 and 756 and Gavaskar hitting his 23rd Test century But Pakistan had her revenge in the 198283 series in Pakistan They thrashed India by big margins in the second third and fourth Tests in Karachi Faisalabad and Hyderabad to win the series 30 In the Hyderabad Test Mudassar Nazar 231 and Javed Miandad 280 added 451 runs for the third wicket and skipper Imran Khan took 635 and 245 Nailbiting As shown above many of the 5 or 6Test series provided nailbiting finishes A 2Test series as between South Africa and India starting on Wednesday would lack the oomph and drama of a proper contest between two topranked nations One of the most topsyturvy Test series was between India and South Africa in India in 200708 when the home teamrsquos batting went from sublime to ridiculous In the first Test in Chennai India totalled 627 after being 1 for 481 at one stage Virender Sehwag struck 42 fours and five sixes in his 319 of which 257 came in one day A week later in Ahmedabad India was shot out for 76 the express quickie Dale Steyn capturing 5 for 23 and lost by an innings But India hit back in the third and final Test in Kanpur to win by eight wickets and the series was tied 1all Will the Test series starting on Wednesday in South Africa be just as riveting and rollercoaster like Kersi MeherHomji is an Indian cricket historian based in Sydney Australia