The birth of a spin quartet
The hosts, despite being defeated, were far from disgraced
Partab Ramchand
06-Jul-2005
Cricket interest in India has always been high, but during the
1966-67 season the following was unprecedented, and spectators
packed grounds as never before. The West Indies were touring that
year, and never before had such a clear-cut world-champion side
visited India. They were a formidable outfit, with some of the
biggest names in world cricket, and in the 60s, there was no
bigger name than Gary Sobers.
The greatest all-rounder in the game's history was then at the
peak of his powers. During the summer of 1966, he had led the
West Indies to a 3-1 victory over England, and his contribution
to the triumph in the five-match series was mind-boggling 722
runs, 20 wickets and 10 catches.
The West Indies team itself was in the midst of a glorious run
during that decade, and they came to India eager for a quick and
easy kill. In addition to Sobers, the other batting stars
included Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Conrad Hunte, Seymour
Nurse, and a 22-year-old bespectacled lanky youth of whom much
was expected Clive Lloyd. The bowling too matched the batting,
with Wesley Hall and Charlie Griffith having established
themselves as a devastating duo; as back-up, there was always the
spin of Sobers and Lance Gibbs.
A 2-0 victory for the West Indies in the three-Test series was
predicted, and that was how the contest ended. But once the
series was over and it came time for a post-mortem, the feeling
was that it was closer than the final result. India ran the
formidable opposition close for long and gave them many anxious
moments before they took the first Test at Bombay by six wickets.
The final Test at Madras too was close and need not have been
drawn. India were on top midway through the game and on the final
afternoon were in fact in a winning position. But dropped catches
Sobers was let off twice - saw the West Indies wriggle out.
Only in the second Test at Calcutta were India outplayed by an
innings and 45 runs, and this was entirely excusable as the
batsmen were up against Sobers and Gibbs on a pitch turning
square.
Sobers of course lived up to his lofty reputation, scoring 342
runs at an average of 114.00, taking 14 wickets and latching on
to seven catches. The other batsmen were in the great one's
shadow, but the Indian crowds did get to see some fine batting
from Kanhai, Nurse, Butcher, Hunte and Lloyd, who made a splendid
debut at Bombay by scoring 82 and 78 not out. But the astonishing
aspect was that neither Hall nor Griffith really caused the
batsmen problems; it was Gibbs who with 18 wickets proved to be
most destructive.
The hosts, despite being defeated, were far from disgraced. In
the 60s, under the inspiring leadership of the Nawab of Pataudi
Jr., Indian cricket had made notable strides. There was greater
solidity in the batting, more variety in the bowling (in fact the
famed spin quartet was formed during that series), and vast
improvement in the fielding. Chandu Borde was by now the sheet
anchor of the Indian batting, and he maintained this reputation
by getting two hundreds in the three Tests. Pataudi, through
consistent batting, confirmed his stature as one of the leading
batsmen in the world.
There were also spells of bright batting from Budhi Kunderan,
Salim Durrani, ML Jaisimha, Hanumant Singh, V Subramanyam and
Farokh Engineer - the latter at Madras in fact almost got a
hundred before lunch on the first day. With enthralling strokes
all round the wicket, the flamboyant batsman flayed the vaunted
attack to reach 94 by the interval and went on to get 109. A
welcome discovery during the series was Ajit Wadekar, whose hook
for six off Hall during his innings of 67 at Madras is still
talked about by old-timers lucky enough to have seen the
thrilling spectacle.
The spin quartet made up for the lack of adequate new-ball
bowlers. BS Chandrasekhar was head and shoulders above everyone
else, and he took 18 wickets, including a match-haul of 11 for
235 at Bombay, a classic display of attacking leg-spin bowling.
Erapalli Prasanna, making a successful comeback, Srinivas
Venkataraghavan and Bishan Singh Bedi, who made his debut in the
series, all played a notable role in curbing the free-stroking
Caribbean batsmen.
Unfortunately the tour will also be remembered for the major riot
at the Eden Gardens, which came about following the over-selling
of tickets by officials. On the second morning - New Year's day
1967 - the agitated crowd, already spilling over onto the field
of play, gave vent to its feelings when, following a police lathi
charge, the stands were set on fire. Considerable damage was also
done to the outfield, and some miscreants dug up the pitch. It
was only after the intervention of government officials - and
many assurances of safety - that the West Indies agreed to
continue with the match and the tour.