Gavaskar’s arrival was indicative of the fact that Indian cricket had come of age. The spin quartet of Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Bishen Singh Bedi were at the height of their powers. Gavaskar showed that fast bowling could not only be tackled but also scored off, in a prolific if not dominant fashion. Before him, Indian batsmen, with some notable exceptions, had the dubious reputation of stepping away to leg when confronted with genuine pace, and floundering against swing. Gavaskar changed it all.
There
was a new captain at the helm, Ajit Wadekar, on that path-breaking tour of the
Caribbean in 1971, ending at least for the time being the Pataudi era which had
also begun in the
Two
other
It
was not to be. Sobers and Kanhai did not fire in the second Test, and Clive
Lloyd was a disappointment through the series.
In
that triumph at Port of Spain, after Gavaskar’s promising debut, once again
Sardesai (112) and Solkar (55) added 114 for the fifth wicket to give India a
handsome first innings lead. Then as Wadekar, in a master-stroke, brought on
the tall left-arm spinner Salim Durrani who castled Lloyd (15) and Sobers (0),
That was the point when Indian cricket earned its self-respect, and emerged from the shadows onto the world stage. The man to show the way was the little opener. Rarely has one man done so much to change the fortunes of a nation’s sport.
(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).
Don’s Century
Published in India by Sporting Links
ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0
Fully illustrated
Paperback French Fold 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
Weight 480 grams
188 pages
Available on Amazon at an attractive
price:
https://www.amazon.in/dp/8190166859
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