In today’s weekend blog I am writing about the test match which is considered one of India’s greatest test wins.
India- England 3rd Test at Oval,1971
India was touring England after defeating West Indies in West Indies in 5 match test series just a few months before they embarked on 3 test series against England. They were in an upbeat mood, as West Indies were considered to be the strongest team at that time. Under new captain Ajit Wadekar who led India to victory in West Indies, and with a very young team, India’s confidence was at its peak. In the West Indies India had found a new batting sensation in opener Sunil Gavaskar, who could handle pace very well.
The first 2 tests were drawn, India could have won the first test but the last session on the last day was washed out. In the second test team India was in a losing position but was saved by rain on the final day.
At the onset of the 3rd test at Ovals (from 19th Aug to 24th Aug, 1971), England was really in an upbeat mood after the first 2 tests and India’s confidence was not that high but they had the determination to perform well. Snow was recalled in England’s team, after he was banned for 2 tests as a disciplinary action, for giving Gavaskar an almighty shove which sent him sprawling, with Gavaskar losing bat and somehow reaching the crease. In this test Snow had come into the place of injured Lever.
England won the toss, the third time in the series, and batted first. Brian Luckhurst and Jameson opened the innings. When the score was 5 India got their first wicket when Luckhurst was caught by Gavaskar off the bowling of Solkar. Edrich joined Jameson and they took the score to 111 and when Edrich was caught by wicketkeeper Engineer off Bedi for 41. Next to come was Keith Fletcher but he did not last long, and he was caught by Gavaskar off Bedi for 1 run, the score of England now was 135 for 3. The next batsman to come to the crease was Basil D’Oliveira, but when the score was 139 Jameson was run out for 82. The next batsman to come in was England’s hard-hitting wicket-keeper Alan Knott and joined D’Oliveirs and took the score to 143 then England lost their 5th wicket when D’Oliveira was caught by Mankad off Chandrashekhar. Next to enter was Skipper Ray Illingworth, he and Knott took the score to 175, and then Chandrashekhar struck and bowled him for 11 runs. Now RA Hutton joined Knott and they really tackled the Indian spin trio very well and took the score to 278 when Knott was caught and bowled by Solkar. With contribution from John Snow(3 runs), Derek Underwood (22 runs), and Price remaining not out at 1, Hutton was last to get out at 81, when he was bowled by Venktaraghavan. England was all out for 355. From an Indian bowling point of view, Solkar took 3 wickets for 28 runs, Bedi 2 for 120, Chandrashekhar 2 for 76, and Venkataraghvan 2 for 63.
There was no play on 2nd day of the match due to consistent rains, and India started their first innings on the 3rd day of the match (Saturday) with Sunil Gavaskar and Ashok Mankad opening the innings, first to go out was Mankad bowled by Price for 10, the score at the fall of 1st wicket was 17. The second batsman to go out was Gavaskar bowled by Snow for 6 runs ( India 21 for 2). Now Wadekar and Sardesai were at the crease and batted sensibly and took the score to 114 when Sardesai was bowled by Illingworth for 54 runs. Next to come in Vishwanath but he did not last long and was also bowled by Illingworth for no score, with the score standing 118 for4. Next man in was Eknath Solkar. At the score of 125, India’s 5th wicket fell when Wadekar was caught by Hutton off Illingworth. Now Engineer joined Solkar and they took the score to 222 when Solkar fell, caught Fletcher off D’Oliveira for 44 runs. With contributions of 59 from Engineer, 26 from Abid Ali, and 24 from Venkataraghvan, India were all out 284. From England bowlers Illingworth took 5 for 70, John Snow 2 for 68 were the lead bowlers, and Price, D’Oliveira, and Underwood took 1 wicket each. So England got a lead of 71 runs in 1st innings.
By the time the Indian 1st inning was over, the match was into the 4th day. So when England came into bat for second innings, the general perception in England think tank & supporters’ mind was that with the lead of 71 runs, if England can make little over 200 runs by the end of 4th day then they have all the chances for winning the match, as India will find it difficult to score near 300 runs required for victory on the last day of the match. But there is an old age saying that “Man proposes and God disposes”. So by the end of the day what awaits for each team has to be still seen.
Luckhurst and Jameson started the proceedings for England and took the score to 23 when Jamesson was run out for 16 runs. Edrich came in and did not last many balls, he was clean bowled by Chandrashekhar as he could not read his delivery and the ball hit the stump. So England were 2 down for24 runs, and soon they were 3 down for 24 when Fletcher was brilliantly caught by Solkar off the bowling of Chandrashekhar. It was a splendid catch by Solkar, who was standing at silly mid-on and dived full length to take this catch. Remember friends there was no protection in those days for fielders, like a helmet, Stomach guard, wrist guard, etc. So England went to Lunch at 24 for 3 down. After Lunch D’Oliveira joined Luckhurst. They played cautiously for a few overs as the Indian spinners were in full cry and Chandra was really becoming unplayable. So when the score was 49, this time it was Venkataraghavan who got the better of D’Oliveira, when got him caught by a substitute fielder for 17 runs. Again it was Venkataraghavan who beat next in form batsman Knott and got him out for 1 run, caught by Solkar at silly mid-on. With England at 5 down for 54, now it was time for India getting charged up, as they were aware that if they could get England all out very cheaply then on the last day, they have a chance of snatching a victory. England Captain Illingworth walked in to give support to Luckhurst, who has seen five wickets falling from other end.
With half the side back in the pavilion, England was in deep trouble. Their captain also did not last long and at the score of 65, Illingworth gave a return catch to Chandrashekhar, his individual score was 4 and team score of 65 for 6. Now England’s last recognized batsman all-rounder RA Hutton comes to the crease and joins Luckhurst, but 6 runs later it was Luckhurst who was mesmerized by Chandrashekhar’s bowling and gave a catch to Venkataraghavan in slip, where he took a brilliant low catch. The next man to go to the pavilion was John Snow who was caught and bowled by Chandrashekhar for no score. Now with 8 down for 72, it was just a question of time for England’s innings to fold. The ninth person to go out was Derek Underwood whose wicket Bedi took, in the only over he bowled in England’s 2nd innings, he got Underwood caught by Mankad, who took a good running catch. Chandrashekhar took the last wicket of Price, who could not play Chandra’s ball and was declared LBW. So England’s innings folded for 101 runs only. It means that India had to score 173 runs for the victory.
Wadekar gave the full credit to Chandrashekhar when he commented after the inning that he almost hyptonised the English batsmen, and I kept counting on him and he kept responding very well.
In their quest for victory, India also started very badly as Gavaskar was out LBW to Snow without scoring any runs and India 2 for 1. The next man to come in was Captain Wadekar, he and Mankad steadied the innings, but at the score of 37, India lost the 2nd wicket when Mankad was caught by Hutton off Underwood. Dilip Sardesai walked in at no 4, he and Wadekar saw that India did not lose any further wicket and ended the 4th day at the score of 76 for 2.
The next morning India resumed their innings, and there were many Indians in the stand for cheering their team with the hope that India will win the match. Immediately after the start of play, Wadekar was run out attempting a quick single to D’oliveira before a run being added to overnight score of 76. Now with 3 wickets down and still 97 runs more required for victory, tension was becoming very high in the Indian camp and their supporters. The next man to come to the crease was Vishwanath, who along with Sardesai added valuable 48 runs when Sardesai was caught by Knott off the bowling of Underwood for 40 runs. The next man to walk in was dependable Solkar but he did not last long and with the score at 134, he has caught and bowled by Underwood. With half the side back in the pavilion and still 39 runs required for victory, India needed some Architect to steady the innings, in comes an Engineer (Farooq Engineer), who started scoring with bit ease against English bowlers, he and Vishwanath took the score to 170, when Vishwanath got out caught Knott bowled Luckhurst for well-played 33 runs. With 3 runs required for victory, Abid Ali walks in, and it was destined that he scored the winning run with the boundary.
The celebrations that followed were wild. Engineer and Abid Ali were swept up in the air by the delighted Indian crowd that had rushed onto the field. Incredibly enough, Wadekar was fast asleep – he was woken by Ken Barrington, the England manager, and told that they had won. His first reaction was a deadpan “I always knew we would win.”
In many ways, 1971 marked a turning point for Indian cricket. Till then, supporters found solace in lion-hearted individual performances or a fight against the opposition. But, series wins in West Indies and England injected a self-belief into Indian cricket. It was an acknowledgment that they too were talented, that they too could also go toe to toe against the big guns…and win.
This test match in cricketing history is known as Chandrashekhar’s match. I remember a one-liner which I read a long time back on this test match, which said
WHEN CHANDRA RISES,SUN SETS ON BRITISH EMPIRE.
Absolutely True. No other one-liner can explain Chandra’s performance in better way, which immortalised him.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
20th August 2021