England go down to Indian spin
Partab Ramchand - 26 November 2001

As had happened before, some of the leading English players declined to come to India when the team toured the country in 1961-62. This time around, Peter May, Colin Cowdrey, Fred Trueman, Brian Statham and Ray Illingworth were missing, but the team that finally came over did have many well-known personalities and crowd-pullers. After all, a side including the likes of Ted Dexter (as captain), Mike Smith, Ken Barrington, Peter Richardson, David Allen, Tony Lock, John Murray and Geoff Pullar could not be scoffed at as a weak combination. Also in the line-up were talented youngsters like Peter Parfitt and Barry Knight. So the visitors were well served in the batting and spin departments, weak only in pace bowling.

The first three Tests were all high-scoring draws, although in the second Test at Kanpur, India had the satisfaction of forcing England to follow-on for the first time in 26 Tests. The third Test at New Delhi was badly affected by rain, the last two days' play being washed out. In the fourth and fifth Tests at Calcutta and Madras, however, on pitches that gave spinners a chance, India were decidedly the superior team, despite the presence of Lock and Allen in the England side.

The final result of the five-match series, a 2-0 victory for India, can thus be termed a surprise one. It was the first time that India had won a rubber against England, and the historic triumph was certainly well- deserved. There was something positive about the victory, even though it was achieved against an England side not at full strength. The Indians played enterprising cricket, and the batsmen and bowlers complemented each other. The batsmen made runs at a good rate, and the bowlers responded by taking wickets when conditions suited them.

India's victory was made possible mainly by great batting from Vijay Manjrekar and the bowling of all-rounders Salim Durrani and Chandu Borde. Manjrekar, then aged 30, was at the peak of his powers. His classic batsmanship was in full bloom, and he ended the series with a record aggregate of 586 runs at an average of 83.71. He surpassed the long-standing Indian record of 560 runs, standing in the names of Rusi Modi and Polly Umrigar. His knocks included a handsome 189 not out, the highest score by an Indian batsman against England, at New Delhi, and he also made scores of 68, 84, 96 and 85.

Durrani bowled India to victory in the last two Tests, capturing 18 wickets in a bag of 23 for the series. He also excelled with the bat, notably with a bright 71 in the first Test at Bombay, when he and Borde put on an Indian record partnership of 142 runs for the fifth wicket. Borde took 16 wickets in the series, besides scoring 314 runs. His big match was the Calcutta Test, where he top-scored in both innings with 68 and 61, and took four wickets in the first innings.

The batting, in fact, shone throughout the series. Umrigar made his customary hundred, while ML Jaisimha confirmed his rising stature by scoring 399 runs, with scores of 56, 51, 70 and 127 (his maiden Test hundred). Also, the form displayed by youngsters Farokh Engineer, Dilip Sardesai, MAK Pataudi and EAS Prasanna, all of whom were capped during the series, augured well for the future. Engineer shone with both bat and gloves, while Pataudi's 103, made in about two-and-a-half hours in the final Test, was a capital knock. The only disappointment was Nari Contractor, who found runs difficult to come by, although he finally came good with 86 in the final Test at Madras. He did however, in his second season as captain, lead the side capably.

The first three Tests were all high-scoring draws, although in the second Test at Kanpur, India had the satisfaction of forcing England to follow-on for the first time in 26 Tests. The third Test at New Delhi was badly affected by rain, the last two days' play being washed out. In the fourth and fifth Tests at Calcutta and Madras, however, on pitches that gave spinners a chance, India were decidedly the superior team, despite the presence of Lock and Allen in the England side. However well the England duo bowled, Borde and Durrani did better, and the toss, vital given the conditions, fell in favour of India both times.

The England side depended too much on Barrington, Dexter and Pullar for the runs, and on Allen and Lock for the wickets; they did not disappoint. Barrington scored 594 runs at an average of 99.00, with three hundreds in successive Tests. It was significant that, when he failed in the last two Tests, England lost. Dexter scored 409 runs, with one hundred and three fifties, while Pullar, who played only in the first three Tests, aggregated 327 runs in four innings. His absence through injury was certainly felt by England in the last two Tests, who were also handicapped by the bad form of Mike Smith. Veteran left-hander Richardson did well enough, getting 304 runs, but the batsmen generally floundered against the turning ball. Among the young brigade, Parfitt and Knight showed signs of promise. In the bowling department, England were well served by Allen and Lock, who took 21 and 22 wickets respectively; but without support, they found the going tough. The pace attack was virtually non- existent, to say the least.

The series also marked the swan-song of Subhash Gupte. The great leg- spinner played in two of the Tests and was chiefly responsible for making England follow on at Kanpur with a spell of four top-order wickets for six runs off 18 balls. In fact, he took the first five wickets to fall on his way to figures of five for 90 off 40 overs. But, after playing in the next Test, he was dropped as a disciplinary measure, which was never adequately explained, and subsequently left the scene for good.

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