In 1971, something changed in Indian cricket. For long regarded as the whipping boys of international cricket, there was a paradigm shift. Indian cricket had finally arrived on the international stage and the reason for that was two special triumphs, both coming in unfamiliar territory.
India’s Test record was dismal till that point – since their first-ever Test match in 1932, they had only won 15 of the 116 matches they had played. Their record away from home was even more pitiful, with only three wins out of 47 matches and all those victories came against New Zealand, then still struggling in the longest format. India had never won a Test match in the Caribbean. The last time they had toured the islands, in 1962, they returned home after being hammered 5-0 by a West Indies side captained by the peerless Sir Frank Worrell.
So when the Indian team flew to the West Indies at the start of 1971, expectations were tempered. India were led by the underrated Ajit Wadekar. The squad comprised a young Sunil Gavaskar, who was still to make his Test debut, and also Gundappa Viswanath, who had only played four Test matches till that point. The bowling was reliant on the spin trio of S Venkataraghavan, Bishan Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna. It was a promising team, but against a West Indies line-up featuring players of the calibre of Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd and Garfield Sobers, not many gave Wadekar and his men much of a chance.
Setting the stage
“Wadekar was a very calm captain” reminisced Venkatraman Ramnarayan, a former cricketer and a noted cricket writer. “And he was also very lucky to have the shrewd brains of ML Jaisimha in that team. Wadekar was miserly, the typical ‘Bombay khadoos’ type of captain. He had some very good bowlers in the team and he used them well in that tour.”
Gavaskar missed the first Test of the series in Jamaica because of injury and it looked like a familiar script. India slumped to 75/5. In his autobiography Sunny Days, Gavaskar recalled that the knives were already out for the Indian team – one commentator on radio called the Indians a “club side”.
But unlike Indian teams of the past, they refused to buckle and accept their fate – a trend which would continue throughout the series. The indomitable Dilip Sardesai, who is not often given the acclaim he deserves, counter-attacked with a brilliant double century. Giving him company at the other end was the livewire Eknath Solkar. Together they ploughed India to 387 in a match-saving cause. India would draw the match and go to Port of Spain in Trinidad with the series level.
A special debut in a special game
Trinidad would bring glorious tidings. India’s spin trio of Bedi, Prasanna and Venkataraghavan combined to pick up eight wickets between them to restrict West Indies to 214 in their first innings. Out strode Ashok Mankad and Sunil Gavaskar, who was making his Test debut. Gavaskar would make an impressive 65, but yet again the men of the moment were Sardesai and Solkar. Sardesai hit another brilliant century and Solkar a half-century as India finished on 352, a healthy first innings lead of 132.
West Indies only fared marginally better in the second innings. This time, it was Venkataraghavan who picked up 5/95 with the West Indies all out for 261, leaving India to chase down 125 for a famous victory. Thankfully, India did not bottle it. Despite the loss of three wickets, Gavaskar played a calm hand in his unbeaten 65 to take India to their first-ever win against the mighty West Indies after 24 previous attempts. It was an incredible moment for Indian cricket and as it turned out, the win that decided the series.
“There were some unsung heroes in that entire series,” said Ramnarayan. “Sardesai was definitely one of them and Solkar was another. Then there was the mercurial Salim Durani. In West Indies’ second innings in the Trinidad Test, Durani grabbed the ball from Wadekar and took the two important wickets of Clive Lloyd and Garfield Sobers, ensuring West Indies would be bowled out cheaply. The job done, he threw the ball back to his captain.”
The third and fourth Test of the series turned out to be draws, India defending grimly in the fourth at Barbados to remain unbeaten in the series. The action shifted to the fifth and final Test in the series starting on March 6 again at Trinidad, a Test which has gone down in cricketing annals as “Gavaskar’s Test”. Bombay’s favourite son battled a severe toothache through all six days of the match to record scores of 124 and 220, breaking many records along the way.
‘We couldn’t out Gavaskar at all’
But what ultimately mattered was the result. And a determined Indian performance ensured there would not be any let-up. West Indies’ imposing 526 in their first innings in reply to India’s 360 was met by an equally resilient 427 by India, Gavaskar scoring a double-century. The reaction to Gavaskar reaching his double century was momentous, as he described in his book: “The spectators surged on the ground in the hundreds to congratulate me. One of the Indians even shoved the Indian national flag in my hand. I was hoisted on willing shoulders, as the frenzied spectators danced about with me in joy. It was all very moving and I shall never forget those few exciting moments on a foreign field far away from home.”
India could have even won the Test but West Indies managed to hold on, finishing at 165/8 with the match ending in a draw on the final day, March 10. But the result was glorious for India – their first-ever series victory in the Caribbean. Even the West Indies were impressed – Lord Relator composed a Calypso that immortalised their victory. The refrain “We couldn’t out Gavaskar at all” became iconic. It was just the start of an incredible year for Indian cricket as the team went on to achieve another first later in the year, a Test series victory in England.
“West Indies are not great now, so youngsters may not understand the significance of that result,” introspected Ramnarayan. “But it is worth remembering that we only beat West Indies in a series away again 35 years later, in 2006. The 1971 triumph signalled a definite attitude shift for India. It was one of our most important victories in cricket.”