India soon embarked on England tour to a test series. The only two ODIs were again of limited value but India were to play a lot of tour matches which would be happening in between tests too, unlike today where all tour games are staged upfront of the tests. Not surprisingly, tour matches were no jokes, and a lot of visiting teams lost them. The England team, which won in India in 1984-85, had lost to India’s under-25 team. When teams toured England, a few overseas players too appeared in the tour games. For example, Malcolm Marshall, who played for Hampshire, could very likely play should Hampshire have played India.
Well, the ODIs were done soon, India and England sharing the series. England collapsed in the first ODI but chased strongly in the second when India, that’s to Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri, put up a strong total. Both matches were 55 overs game. David Gower scored 81 and impressed me. He made batting look so easy. If someone caressed the ball, it was him, others simply slashed.
In the test matches though, India was clearly superior. England had been mauled by West Indies 5-0 in an away series. A real mauling it was, especially in the last test at Antigua, where Viv Richards claimed the record for fastest test hundred in 56 deliveries.
I was left confused why Ian Botham was not playing, though he was only a wicket or two away from breaking the world record of 355 test wickets held by Dennis Lillee. Perhaps he was not motivated to defeat India because in the series that followed against New Zealand, he was back in the side, claimed two wickets and became the highest wicket taker.
However, I got to see another player whom I had missed during England’s tour of India – Graham Gooch. He looked like a Military General.
Before going on, I must mention what Gooch was capable of. In an ODI in West Indies, where England was beaten in every game they played, he chased 226 in 40 overs against arguably the most ferocious attack assembled in an ODI. He scored twenty six and hundred and scored the winning run on the last delivery. No other innings comes close to this chase though there have been many memorable chases after this innings.
On the first day of the test at Lord’s, Gooch scored a hundred, but England were all out for 295. Now I did not know if it was a good score or not. Chetan Sharma redeemed himself after Sharjah doldrums by claiming five wickets. When India batted, all batsmen got starts but only Dilip Vengsarkar went on to score his third consecutive hundred at Lord’s. I was delighted. Surprisingly, it was a considered a unique achievement. And as I realized now, Vengsarkar remains the only overseas batsman to achieve this feat though an average Australian batsman gets four or five tests at Lord’s, no one has achieved three hundreds. If I must predict, Steven Smith will be the next batsman.
India got a lead of 40 odd runs thanks to last two batsmen joining Vengsarkar and helping him to his hundred. I remember when last man, and a proven rabbit, Maninder Singh joined him, he was at 95. He quickly cracked a boundary and then scampered a single to spark off celebrations. Lots of Indian spectators came on to the ground to hug him, embrace him and even lifted him for a while. A Sikh with a pot belly was especially overjoyed.
India won the test after Kapil Dev bowled well in the second innings and then cracked a quickfire 25 to prevent a collapse in India’s second innings. He was adjudged the man of the match, but it was Vengsarkar who deserved it more, I believed.
Maninder Singh again helped Vengsarkar to reach his hundred at the terror track of Hedgingly. It was a genuine great innings. India had a lead of 160 runs but in the second innings, they were 20 odd for five. From there, Vengsarkar helped India set a target of 400 for England, who promptly capitulated, handing India a massive win. It remained the last time for over 25 years when India led in an overseas series by 2-0. It must be said though, that England had been insipid in their batting. It was also the last test match of John Lever, who once created controversy by using Vaseline to shine the ball.
These tests were not shown live. Instead, a highlight package was telecasted the next day. It was presented by late Sir Ritchie Benaud, whose voice still rings in my ears. When I heard of his recent demise, the first image of the great man was from that series only.
The third test was drawn but not before India got a scare. In the end, however, England neither had the firepower to trouble the Indian batting, nor the energy to prolong the Indian struggle.
I was thrilled after the series victory. It tasted sweet because Dilip Vengsarkar was named man of the series, which he deserved more than anyone.
I was now a complete cricket aficionado. I was now excited by the prospect of a long Indian season in which Australia, Sri Lanka and then Pakistan were to visit India for a total of 11 test matches. It was a great opportunity for Indian players, particularly Indian Batsmen, to score a lot of runs. Seldom a team gets 11 tests at home soil. If you hit the form of your life, a thousand runs and a half runs or close to 70 wickets is a possibility.
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