Date-stamped : 06 Sep94 - 14:29 India v England, Test 3 Oval, 19-24 Aug 71, D5 Report ("As I said at the Time", E.W.Swanton, Collins, 1983) India make history After all but 40 years, and at the 22nd time of asking, India have won a Test in England. Nor can anyone possibly begrudge their success, however much it may have owed to the disastrous England second innings batting. Allowing that, it it still need- ed an effort of nerve and courage on India's part to make the 173 they required in the fourth innings. When the last day began with the score 76 for 2, India still required 97. The runs came after three hours of the tensest possible cricket. England, as was to be expected, made every run a struggle, and had nothing with which to reproach themselves so far as their out-cricket was con- cerned. The bowlers simply had not sufficient runs to bowl against on a terribly sluggish pitch. Sardesai played very well in the crisis for India, while Engineer supplied a robust, experienced front when it was most needed. But the most important innings was the 33 made with the utmost calmness in almost three hours by little Viswanath (at 22 the second youngest player on the field after Gavaskar). As if the drama intrinsic in the situation when play started was not sufficient, the first event of the morning heightened it vastly by dealing India a blow they could least afford, and doing so in the way calculated most to depress them. Without a run ad- ded Sardesai chopped Underwood to short third man, and there was second's hesitation before both batsmen embarked on the run. D'Oliveira's throw was straight and hard to Knott's gloves and Wadekar narrowly - oh, so narrowly - failed to make his ground. The decision was a difficult one and umpire Rhodes must be re- lieved to know that the television playback supported his ver- dict, by the smallest margin. After his excellent innings on Monday, Wadekar seemed the lynch- pin of his side. What now? Against the accuracy of Illingworth and Underwood, Sardesai and young Viswanath for a long while found it hard to squeeze more than the odd single. When Illing- worth switched Underwood round, and brought on D'Oliveira, Viswanath cut uppishly and Hutton flung up an instinctive hand to what was perhaps a technical chance from which the batsmen took tow. Otherwise Viswanath and Sardesai were rectitude itself, not tempted to rashness by the bristling field. Illingworth himself replaced D'Oliveira, and until lunch the two spinners thereafter performed in harness, apart from six extremely accurate by un- menacing overs from Snow. It was immediately on Underwood's returning instead of Snow that the stand of 48, that had stretched over one and three quarter hours, ended when Sardesai was brilliantly caught wide right- handed by Knott. With the cool and experienced Sardesai out of the way, England put all the pressure possible on Solkar and Viswanath. After staying 20 minutes for a single, the left- hander seized on an uppish length ball but drove it within reach of Underwood who took it easily left-handed: 134 for 5, 39 to win. Engineer aimed a horrible whoosh at his first ball, and luckily for him did not make contact. A little later even Viswanath did the same thing with a similar result. Nerves were still a factor - indeed they were England's only hope. But in the 20 minutes before lunch the sixth wicket ticked up 12 precious runs, so that when they came in India at 146 for 5 needed 27. These had all but ar- rived when with three only needed Vishwanath tried to finish the thing in one blow, and was caught behind off Luckhurst who had been brought on as a last despairing gesture. A square-cut by Abid Ali was swallowed up in the surging crowd, and all was over. India deserve the warmest congratulations for their double effort this year, victory over the West Indies followed by this. Chandra's fine bowling on Monday had made the vision possible, but it was indeed a team effort, wherein Wadekar's cool, shrewd handling on the field played a crucial part. Contributed by murari (venka@*me.utexas.edu)