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With the latest India-Australia series currently under way we take a brief look at all such encounters starting with that Bradman dominated era: 1947-48, in Australia: Having maintained a high standard of first-class cricket throughout World War II, India went to Australia in 1947-48 for the first series between the two countries. Thus they were present during the last home season of Sir Donald Bradman, then preparing for his swan song in England in 1948. There were several players of high reputation and achievement in team. Lala Amarnath captained on the first visit to Australia. But even with 'Vinoo Mankad, Vijay Hazare, and Gul Mohammad, the Indians could not make an impression in alien conditions, and unfortunately the captain himself did little in the Test. In fact they proved very poor opponents as Australia clinched the five-match series 4-0. The margins of victories were whopping and the draw was achieved mainly because there was no play on three days. Bradman ruled supreme with scores of 185, 13, 132, 127 not out, 201 and 57. The high point of the series for India was Vijay Hazare's 116 and 145 in the fourth Test at Adelaide and the centuries by Vinoo Mankad (116 in the third and 111 in the fifth), Dattu Phadkar too distinguished himself with 123 in the fourth Test.

1956-57, in India: Australia was a clear winner in the three-Test series. The visitors won at Madras and Calcutta while the second Test at Bombay ended in a draw. The Indians were foxed by wily Richie Benaud who grabbed 8 wickets at Madras and 11 at Calcutta. In the drawn Test he had four wickets. G.S. Ramchand (109) was the lone centurion for the Indians while Australia had two (Jim Burke 161 land Neil Harvey 140). Incidentally, all the hundreds came in the Bombay Test.

1959-60, in India: Australian standards had risen again and the Ashes had been recovered when Richie Benaud took his side to India for a full series three years later. But the visitors were baffled by illness. On top of that India's off-spinner J.S. Patel (9-69 and 5-55) used a new turf pitch in Kanpur with such success that Australia lost the second Test by 119 runs. They had as such to work hard to clinch the series though they had won the first Test by an innings.

Neil Harvey, who with Norman O'Neill was one of the successes of the series, made a second hundred in the third Test, but the only other Australian victory was in the fourth Test at Madras, where Les Favell made his only Test hundred and Benaud took eight Test wickets.

1964-65 in India: The next Australian visit was by Bobby Simpson's side on its way back from England in 1964, and for the first time India drew the series. Australia acclimatized themselves well to win by 139 runs at Madras, although the young Nawab of Pataudi Jr., the Indian captain, made 128 not out, in Bombay however, India made 256 in the last innings and won by two wickets. Pataudi made 86 and 53, but Australia were handicapped by the illness that prevented Norman O'Neill from batting in either innings. The series ended in an anticlimax at Calcutta, for after India had led by 61 runs in a low-scoring first innings and Australia were fighting back with 143-1 in the second, rain set in and prevented any play on the last two days.

1967-68 in Australia: The Nawab of Pataudi Jr. led the second Indian tour to Australia, where his father had toured with the England team in 1932-33. India's usual lack of class fast bowling prevented them from doing themselves justice, and they were also found wanting in close catching. Nor was their later batting as reliable as needed in an away tour.

Simpson (103) and Bob Cowper (108) made hundreds in the first Test, which Australia won by 146 runs, though India's form was an improvement on what they had shown against the states. The hundreds in the second Test at Melbourne came from Simpson (109), Bill Lawry (100), and Ian Chappell (151) and though India made 352 in the second innings (A.L. Wadekar 99) they lost by an innings. After two Tests Simpson relinquished the captaincy to Lawry, who was to take the side to England later on Simpson's retirement, and India gave one of their best performances of the tour. Their off-spinner Erapalli Prassana took 6-104 on a good pitch in Australia's second innings, after which India required to score 395 to win lost by 39 runs, M.L. Jaisimha scoring 101, the 'tourists' only hundred of the series. The last of the four-Test series was an easy win for Australia. Simpson, took 5-59.

1969-70, in India: By the time Bill Lawry took the Australians to India for the last two months of 1969, as the first half of a tour that would also take them to South Africa, the spinning duo played a prominent part of Prassana and B.S. Bedi. But their batting collapsed in the second innings of the first Test against Alan Connolly (3-20) and Johnny Gleeson (4-56). They shared an even draw in Kanpur before winning by seven wickets in New Delhi, where Bedi (5-37) and Prassana (5-42) bowled Australia out for 107 in their second innings, and Wadekar's 91 not out ensured India to reach 181 to win in the last innings.

Excitement was intense with the series thus levelled and two Tests to play, but Australia won them both, through the fast bowling of Graham McKenzie, Eric Freeman, and Connolly in Calcutta, and perhaps through winning the toss in Madras. In the final match, the two off-spinner Prassana and Ashley Mallett took 10 wickets each, but Australia batted first and, though at one time they were 24-6 in their second innings, Redpath's staunch 63 restored their position.

© Dawn