ThiNgZ go SwiMminGly for India

India made just one change to their playing eleven – Gundappa Viswanath made way for Roger Binny. New Zealand made just one change to theirs as well – Bruce Edgar made way for Ewen Chatfield.

On winning the toss, Sunil Gavaskar, India’s skipper, chose to bat. He faced 22 balls, scoring 17. His innings included a boundary. He was caught by Warren Lees. Gary Troup broke the 23-run stand.

Dilip Vengsarkar, who faced 12 balls, scored three. Martin Snedden was in seventh heaven. Chetan Chauhan, who faced 92 balls, scored 43. His innings included a boundary. He was caught by Jeremy Coney. Snedden broke the 65-run stand.

Sandeep Patil, who faced nine balls, scored six. He was caught by Coney. Chatfield was in seventh heaven. Kapil Dev faced 20 balls, scoring 27. His innings included five boundaries. He was caught by Lees. Snedden broke the 51-run stand.

Yashpal Sharma, the player of the match, scored 72. His 105-ball innings included three boundaries and four sixes. He was caught by Lance Cairns. Troup broke the 39-run stand.

Syed Kirmani, who faced 29 balls, scored 39. His innings included four boundaries. He was unbeaten. Binny, who faced six balls, scored four. He was caught by John Wright. Troup broke the 17-run stand. Karsan Ghavri, who faced six balls, scored 10. He was unbeaten.

New Zealand conceded nine extras. India conceded 230 for the loss of seven wickets off 50 overs.

Richard Hadlee and Cairns bowled 10 wicketless overs each. The former, whose spell included a couple of maidens, conceded 42. The latter, whose spell included three maidens, conceded 30.

Chatfield bowled 10 overs, conceding 54. He picked up a wicket. Troup and Snedden bowled 10 overs apiece, picking up three scalps each. While the former conceded 65, the latter, whose spell included a couple of maidens, conceded 30.

John Parker, who faced 32 balls, scored 13. His innings included a boundary. He was caught by Chauhan. Yograj Singh broke the 36-run stand. 

The second-wicket pair didn’t open its account. Wright, who faced 24 balls, scored 18. His innings included a boundary and a six. He was dismissed by Patil.

Geoff Howarth, New Zealand’s skipper, faced 57 balls, scoring 26. His innings included a boundary. He was stumped by Kirmani. Dilip Doshi broke the 69-run stand.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 18. Lees, who faced 17 balls, scored six. He was trapped leg before wicket by Ghavri. The fifth-wicket pair put on just a couple. Coney faced 63 balls, scoring 49. His innings included three boundaries. He was run out.

Hadlee wasn’t in seventh heaven, because he scored just four. He was caught by Gavaskar. Doshi broke the nine-run stand. Cairns, who faced 38 balls, scored 39. His innings included three boundaries and a couple of sixes. Ghavri broke the 79-run stand.

The eighth-wicket pair didn’t get off the Mark. Burgess scored 42 off 50 balls. His innings included a couple of boundaries. He was run out. 

Snedden, who faced five balls, scored four. He was caught by Ghavri. Kapil Dev broke the 11-run stand. 

The last-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Troup faced nine balls, scoring five. He was dismissed by Kapil. Chatfield, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 18 extras. New Zealand, who were dismissed for 224 off 49.3 overs, lost by six runs. Binny bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceding 47. Patil bowled an over, conceding three. He picked up a wicket. 

Yograj bowled nine overs, including a maiden. He conceded 39 and picked up a wicket. Dev bowled 9.3 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 34 and picked up a couple of wickets. Ghavri and Doshi bowled 10 overs apiece, picking up a couple of wickets each. Their spells included a maiden each. While the former conceded 49, the latter conceded 34.   

  

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India beat the Kiwis (Sun)n(arrowl)y

India made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – Roger Binny and Kirti Azad made way for Chetan Chauhan and One-day International debutant Yograj Singh, Yuvraj’s dad. Geoff Howarth replaced Mark Burgess as the skipper of the New Zealand team, which made two changes – Paul McEwan and Ewen Chatfield were out, and Snedden was (Mart)in.

It was a 49-overs-a-side match. Sunil Gavaskar, India’s skipper, chose to bat on winning the toss. The Little Master faced 14 balls, scoring just one. He was caught by Jeremy Coney. Gary Troup broke the three-run stand.

Dilip Vengsarkar scored 13. His 51-ball innings included a couple of boundaries. He was caught by Warren Lees. Lance Cairns broke the 42-run stand. Gundappa Viswanath, who faced a dozen balls, scored just a couple. Needless to say, Snedden was in seventh heaven.

Chauhan, who faced 69 balls, scored 46. His innings included four boundaries. He was caught by Richard Hadlee. Snedden broke the 27-run stand. Yashpal Sharma, who faced 29 balls, scored 16. His innings included a couple of boundaries. He was caught by John Wright. Snedden broke the five-run stand.

Sandeep Patil, who faced 31 balls, scored 16. His innings included a boundary. He was caught by Wright. Cairns broke the 52-run stand. Syed Kirmani, who faced 20 balls, scored 18. His innings included a couple of boundaries. He was caught by Bruce Edgar. Troup broke the 54-run stand.

Kapil Dev, the player of the match, scored 75. His 51-ball innings included nine boundaries and three sixes. He was caught by Cairns. Troup broke the 13-run stand. Karsan Ghavri faced 10 balls, scoring nine. His innings included a boundary. He was unbeaten.

Yograj, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. He was caught by Burgess. Troup broke the one-run stand. The tenth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Dilip, who faced five balls, D(osh)idn’t open his account. He was run out.

New Zealand conceded eight extras. India were dismissed for 204 off 48.5 overs. Hadlee bowled 9.5 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 21. He was wicketless, as was Coney, whose 10 overs yielded 70.

Cairns bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 53, picking up a couple of wickets. Snedden bowled 10 overs, conceding 33. He picked up three wickets. Troup bowled nine overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 19 and picked up four wickets.

Wright, who faced 70 balls, scored 42. His innings included three boundaries. He was caught by the substitute. Kapil broke the 67-run stand. Edgar, who faced 75 balls, scored 28. His innings included a boundary. Doshi broke the 26-run stand.

Howarth, who faced five balls, didn’t get off the mark. He was caught by Kapil. Doshi broke the four-run stand. Lees, who faced 29 balls, scoring 20. His innings included a boundary. He was caught by Yograj. Doshi broke the six-run stand.

John Parker, who faced 24 balls, scored 11. He was caught by Kirmani. Doshi broke the 27-run stand. Jeremy Coney scored 47. His 52-ball innings included four boundaries. He was unbeaten.

Burgess scored 13. His 14-ball innings included a boundary. Yograj broke the 28-run stand. Hadlee, who faced five balls, didn’t open his account. He was caught by Vengsarkar. Yograj broke the eight-run stand.

Cairns, who faced 19 balls, scored 27. His innings included three boundaries. He was unbeaten. India conceded 17 extras. New Zealand, who scored 205 for the loss of seven wickets off 48.4 overs, won by three (Ki)wickets with a couple of balls to spare.

Patil and Ghavri bowled 10 wicketless overs apiece. Their spells included a maiden each. While the former conceded 39, the latter conceded 38. Kapil, who bowled 10 overs. He conceded 37 and picked up a wicket.

Yograj, who bowled 8.4 overs, conceded 44. He picked up a couple of wickets. Doshi, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 30. He picked up four scalps. 

Australia triumph; India (Gavask)are disappointed

India made no changes to their playing eleven. Australia made one change to the team that last played the Indians – Geoff Lawson made way for Rodney Hogg. On winning the toss, Greg Chappell, the Aussie skipper, inserted the visitors, whose openers put on 31. Sunil Gavaskar, India’s skipper, faced 26 balls, scoring 22. His innings included a couple of boundaries. He was dismissed by Len Pascoe.

Dilip Vengsarkar, who faced 17 balls, scored four. He was caught by Rod Marsh. Pascoe broke the 11-run stand. Roger Binny, who faced 53 balls, scored 31. His innings included four boundaries. He was caught by Marsh. Shaun Graf broke the 22-run stand.

Yashpal Sharma, who faced 61 balls, scored 34. His innings included a couple of boundaries. Dennis Lillee broke the 65-run partnership. Sandeep Patil wasn’t in seventh heaven, because he did not get off the mark. Trevor Chappell broke the one-run stand.

The sixth-wicket pair put on three. Kirti Azad, who faced four balls, scored a run. He was trapped L(ille)eg before wicket. Kapil Dev faced five balls, scoring four. He was caught by John Dyson. Rodney Hogg broke the six-run stand.

The eighth-wicket (Gundap)pair put on a dozen. Viswanath, who faced 80 balls, scored 43. His innings included a couple of boundaries. He was dismissed by Graf.

The ninth-wicket stand was worth 29. Syed Kirmani, who faced 26 balls, scored 24. His innings included a boundary. He was run out. Karsan Ghavri, who faced 19 balls, scored 11. His innings included a boundary. He was unbeaten.

The Aussies conceded six extras. India scored 180 for the loss of nine wickets off 49 overs (both innings were curtailed by an over).

Hogg and Trevor Chappell bowled 10 overs apiece, picking up a wicket each. While the former, whose spell included a maiden, conceded 48, the latter conceded 40. Pascoe bowled nine overs, including two maidens. He conceded 34 and picked up a couple of wickets.

Lillee and Graf bowled 10 overs (including a maiden) apiece, picking up a couple of wickets each. While the former conceded 29, the latter conceded 23.

Dyson faced 37 balls, scoring 20. His innings included two boundaries. He was caught by Kirmani. Kapil Dev broke the 56-run stand.

Allan Border, the player of the match, faced 122 balls. He scored 105. His innings included 12 boundaries. He was unbeaten, as was Greg Chappell, who faced 99 balls, scoring 52. His innings included three boundaries.

India conceded six extras. Australia, who scored 183 for the loss of one wicket off 42.2 overs, won by nine wickets with 40 balls to spare. Gavaskar, who bowled eight balls, wasn’t in seventh heaven, because he was wicketless.

Binny bowled seven wicketless overs, conceding 29. Patil and Ghavri bowled eight wicketless overs apiece, conceding 49 and 25, respectively. Dilip Doshi bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceding 40. Kapil bowled eight overs, including a maiden. He conceded 27 and picked up a scalp.    

India give the Kiwis (Gav)askare

India made just one change to their playing eleven – Tirumalai Srinivasan (Shar)made way for Yashpal. New Zealand made three changes to the eleven that beat India at the World Cup the previous year – Glenn Turner, John Morrison and Brian McKechnie made way for Paul McEwan, John Parker and Ewen Chatfield.

Sunil Gavaskar, India’s skipper, won the toss, choosing to bat. Their opening pair didn’t open its account. Gavaskar, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. He was caught by Warren Lees off the bowling of Richard Hadlee, the player of the match.

Roger Binny, who opened the batting, scored 14. His 20-ball innings included three boundaries. He was caught by Parker. Chatfield broke the 27-run stand.

Dilip Vengsarkar, who faced 38 balls, scored 12. He was caught by Jeremy Coney. Gary Troup broke the eight-run stand. Viswanath, who faced 28 balls, scored 10. His innings included a boundary. He was caught by Coney. Hadlee broke the 11-run (Gundap)partnership.

Sharma faced 59 balls, scoring 23. His innings included a boundary. Lance Cairns broke the 70-run stand. The sixth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Sandeep Patil, who faced 73 balls, scored 39. His innings included three boundaries. He was caught by Parker off the bowling of Hadlee.

The seventh-wicket pair failed to open its account. Dev, who faced a Kapil of balls, didn’t get off the mark. He was caught by Lees off the bowling of Hadlee. Syed Kirmani, who faced three balls, scored a run. He was caught by Parker. Cairns broke the three-run stand. Karsan Ghavri, who faced 32 balls, scored 14. Hadlee broke the 38-run stand.

Kirti Azad scored 29. His run-a-ball innings included three boundaries. He was caught by Chatfield, who broke the five-run stand. Dilip Doshi, who faced five balls, scored a couple. He was unbeaten.

New Zealand conceded 18 extras. India were dismissed for 162 off 47.4 overs. Coney bowled 10 wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 25. Troup bowled 10 overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 36 and picked up a wicket.

Chatfield bowled 8.4 overs, conceding 33. He picked up a couple of wickets, as did Cairns, who bowled 10 overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 18. Hadlee bowled nine overs, including a maiden. He conceded 32 and picked up a fifer.

John Wright, who faced 18 balls, scored four. He was caught by Vengsarkar. Dev broke the 13-run stand. Bruce Edgar faced 32 balls, scoring 16. His innings included a boundary. Binny broke the nine-run stand.

Parker, who faced nine balls, scored a run. He was caught by Kapil. Binny broke the 16-run stand. Coney, who faced 27 balls, scored five. He was caught by Kirmani. Patil broke the 12-run stand.

Mark Burgess, the Kiwi captain, faced 31 balls, scoring 10. He was caught by the substitute. Doshi broke the 30-run stand.

The sixth-wicket pair didn’t open its account. McEwan, who faced 76 balls, scored 41. His innings included a couple of boundaries. He was caught by Sharma off the bowling of Doshi.

Hadlee faced 33 balls, scoring 20. His innings included a couple of boundaries. He was caught by Kirmani. Binny broke the 50-run stand. The eighth-wicket pair didn’t open its account. Cairns, who faced 36 balls, scored 26. He was caught by Vengsarkar off the bowling of Ghavri.

The ninth-wicket partnership was worth six. Troup faced six balls, scoring five. He was run out. Lees, who faced 26 balls, scored 16. His innings included a boundary. He was caught by Vengsarkar. Binny broke the 21-run stand. 

Chatfield faced nine balls, scoring six. His innings included a boundary. He was unbeaten. India conceded seven extras. They dismissed New Zealand for 157 off 49.5 overs, (Ki)winning by five runs.

Ghavri bowled 10 overs, conceding 30. He picked up a wicket, as did Dev, whose 10 overs included a couple of maidens. He conceded 33. Patil bowled 10 overs, including three maidens. He conceded 24 and picked up a wicket.

Doshi bowled 10 overs, including four maidens. He conceded 22 and picked up a couple of wickets. Binny bowled 9.5 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 41 and picked up four scalps.

India pull off (Gavask)arare (Aus)tr(al)i(a)umph

This match marked Sunil Gavaskar’s One-day International debut as skipper, and the One-day International debuts of Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, Dilip Doshi, Sandeep Patil and Tirumalai Srinivasan (better known as TE)*.

On winning the toss, Greg Chappell, Australia’s captain, inserted the Indians. Gavaskar, who faced 11 balls, scored four. He was caught by Lawson (Ge)off the bowling of Dennis Lillee, who broke the 12-run stand.

Srinivasan, who faced 12 balls, scored six. He was caught by Greg off Lillee, who broke the 10-run stand.

The third-wicket (Gundap)pair put on 36. Viswanath, whose 44-ball innings included a boundary, scored 22. He was dismissed by Trevor, the youngest of the Chappell brothers.

Azad faced 22 balls, scoring four. He was caught by Lawson. Needless to say, Len Pascoe was in seventh heaven. Dilip Vengsarkar, who faced 72 balls, scored 22. Greg broke the eight-run stand.

Kapil Dev faced 16 balls, scoring six. Lawson broke the 38-run stand. Patil, the player of the match, scored 64. His 70-ball innings included four boundaries. Greg broke the 92-run stand.

Syed Kirmani, who faced 52 balls, scored 48. His innings included four boundaries. He was unbeaten. The eighth-wicket stand was worth five. Binny, who didn’t face a ball, was run out.

The ninth-wicket pair didn’t open its account. Karsan Ghavri, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. He was run out.

The Aussies conceded 32 extras. India scored 208 for the loss of nine wickets off 49 overs. Shaun Graf bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceding 30. Trevor, who bowled five overs, conceded 14. He picked up a wicket.

Lawson bowled nine overs, conceding 46. He picked up a wicket, as did Pascoe, who bowled 10 overs. He conceded 32.

Lillee bowled seven overs, including a maiden. He conceded 22. He picked up a couple of scalps, as did Greg, who bowled eight overs, including a maiden. He conceded 32.

Australia’s openers put on 60. Kim Hughes, who faced 53 balls, scored 35. His innings included four boundaries. He was dismissed by Patil. The second-wicket stand was worth just a couple. John Dyson, who faced 66 balls, scored 23. He was run out.

Greg, who faced 19 balls, scored 11. His innings included a boundary. He was caught by Gavaskar. Doshi broke the 11-run stand. Allan Border, who faced 19 balls, scored six. He was caught by Azad. Needless to say, Doshi was in seventh heaven.

Doug Walters, who faced 31 balls, scored 27. His innings included a boundary.  He was stumped by Kirmani. Doshi broke the 38-run stand. The sixth-wicket stand was worth 11. Trevor, who faced 41 balls, scored 14. He was run out.

Rod Marsh, who scored at a run a ball, wasn’t in seventh heaven. Ghavri broke the eight-run stand. Graf, who faced 11 balls, scored five. His innings included a boundary. Binny broke the two-run stand.

The ninth-wicket pair didn’t open its account. Lawson, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. He was caught by Doshi off the bowling of Binny.

The last-wicket pair put on three. Lillee, who faced three balls, scored five. He was run out. Pascoe faced three balls, didn’t open his account. He was unbeaten.

India conceded nine extras. Australia, who were dismissed for 142 off 42.1 overs, lost by 66 runs. Dev bowled seven wicketless overs, including a Kapil of maidens. He conceded 15.

Ghavri bowled 9.1 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 32. He picked up a wicket, as did Patil, whose 10 overs included a maiden. He conceded 31.

Binny bowled six overs, conceding 23. He picked up a couple of wickets. Doshi bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 32 and picked up three scalps.

(*Note: Thirty years to the day, Srinivasan died of brain cancer. He was 60.)        

The IndiaNZ suffer (Venkataraghav)another defeat

New Zealand made no changes to their playing eleven. While Venkataraghavan (Srini)vas back at the helm, Bishan Singh was one of the three players who (Be)didn’t make it to India’s playing eleven for the second and final match of the series. The others were Gundappa Viswanath and Syed Kirmani. They made way for debutants R Sudhakar Rao, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar and Pochiah Krishnamurthy.

On winning the toss, Glenn Turner, the Kiwi skipper, chose to bat. Jock Edwards, whose 42-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 32. He was caught by Madan Lal. Chandra broke the 71-run stand. Turner, whose 63-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 52. He was stumped by Krishnamurthy. Venkat broke the 35-run stand.

Bevan Congdon, who faced three balls, scored just a couple. He was caught by Eknath Solkar, who broke the three-run stand. The fourth-wicket pair put on 33. Lance Cairns, whose 42-ball innings included a couple of sixes, scored 31. He was run out.

The fifth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. John Parker, who faced 20 balls, scored 14. He was caught by Venkat off the bowling of Solkar. Mark Burgess, whose 31-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 38. Chandra broke the 52-run stand.

Ken Wadsworth, the player of the match, scored 46. His 56-ball innings included four boundaries and a couple of sixes. He was unbeaten. It was, incidentally, his last international appearance*. The seventh-wicket pair failed to get off the mark. Richard Hadlee, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t open his account. He was caught by Krishnamurthy off the bowling of Chandra.

Brian McKechnie, who faced 21 balls, scored eight. He was caught by Rao. Mohinder Amarnath broke the 36-run stand. Richard Collinge, who faced four balls, didn’t open his account. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 13 extras. New Zealand scored 236 for the loss of eight wickets off 35 overs. Lal, who bowled seven wicketless overs, conceded 37. Amarnath and Venkat bowled seven overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 59, the latter conceded 45.

Solkar bowled seven overs, conceding 46. He picked up a couple of wickets. Chandra bowled seven overs, conceding 36. He picked up three scalps.

Parthasarthi Sharma faced 33 balls, scoring 14. Cairns broke the 40-run stand. Dilip Vengsarkar, whose 54-ball innings included eight boundaries, scored 43. He was caught by Turner. Dayle Hadlee broke the 26-run stand.

Anshuman Gaekwad, who faced 31 balls, scored 13. He was caught by Wadsworth. McKechnie broke the 12-run stand. Amarnath, who faced 16 balls, scored three. Dayle broke the 19-run stand.

The fifth-wicket pair put on half-a-dozen. Solkar, who faced five balls, scored a couple. He was run out. The sixth-wicket pair put on 17. Rao, who faced 14 balls, scored four. He was run out. Brijesh Patel, whose 51-ball innings included five boundaries and a six, scored 44. He was caught by Turner. Richard broke the eight-run stand.

Lal, who faced 16 balls, scored 13. He was caught by Dayle. Parker broke the 11-run stand. The ninth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Venkat, who faced nine balls, scored just a run. He was caught by Parker off the bowling of Burgess.

Krishnamurthy, who faced 13 balls, scored half-a-dozen. He was caught by Edwards, who broke the 17-run stand. Chandra, who faced 13 balls, scored 11. He was unbeaten.

The Kiwis conceded just a couple of extras. India, who were dismissed for 156 off 31.6 overs, lost by 80 runs. Collinge, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 19. Burgess and Edwards bowled an over each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 10, the latter conceded five.

McKechnie, who bowled four overs, conceded 24. He picked up a wicket. Richard and Cairns bowled seven overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 35, the latter, whose spell included a maiden, conceded 33. Dayle, who bowled seven overs, conceded 18. He picked up a couple of scalps.

New Zealand won the two-match series 2-0.

It was Sharma’s and Solkar’s last ODI appearance, and Rao’s, Chandra’s and Krishnamurthy’s only appearance in the format.

(*Note: Wadsworth, who was born on November 30, 1946, succumbed to melanoma at the age of 29 on August 19, 1976.)

           

 

The Indians’ (Be)dismal run contiNueZ

This was a 35-overs-a-side match, with eight balls per over. Bishan Singh Bedi replaced Srinivas Venkataraghavan as India’s skipper. The visitors made three changes to their playing eleven – Sunil Gavaskar, Farokh Engineer and Abid Ali made way for debutants Parthasarthi Sharma, Dilip Vengsarkar and Syed Kirmani.

New Zealand made four changes to the team that knocked the Indians out of the World Cup – John Morrison, the Howarth brothers (Geoff and Hedley) and Brian Hastings made way for debutant Jock Edwards, Bevan Congdon, Mark Burgess and Lance Cairns.

On winning the toss, Bedi chose to bat. Sharma, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored as many. Richard Collinge, the player of the match, was in seventh heaven. Anshuman Gaekwad, who faced eight balls, scored three. He was caught by Richard Hadlee. Cairns broke the nine-run stand.

The third-wicket pair put on 14. Vengsarkar, who faced 27 balls, scored 16. He was run out. Brijesh Patel, who faced 52 balls, scored 17. He was caught by Ken Wadsworth. Dayle Hadlee broke the 57-run stand.

Gundappa Viswanath, whose 88-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 56. He was caught by Glenn Turner, New Zealand’s skipper. Cairns broke the 26-run stand. Eknath Solkar, who faced four balls, scored just ek. He was caught by Cairns. Dayle broke the four-run stand.

Kirmani, who faced 19 balls, scored eight. He was caught by Hadlee. Collinge broke the 21-run stand. Mohinder Amarnath, who faced 57 balls, scored 26. Collinge broke the 11-run stand.

The ninth-wicket pair failed to get off the mark. Venkat, who faced a couple of balls, did not open his account. He was dismissed by Collinge. Madan Lal, who faced 14 balls, scored eight. He was caught by Wadsworth. Collinge broke the five-run stand. Bedi, who faced five balls, scored four. He was unbeaten.

New Zealand conceded nine extras. India were dismissed for 154 off 35 overs. Congdon, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 17. Brian McKechnie, who bowled five wicketless overs, conceded 16. Richard Hadlee, who bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, conceded 28.

Dayle, who bowled seven overs, conceded 41. He picked up a couple of wickets. Cairns and Collinge bowled seven overs, including a maiden, apiece. While the former, who conceded 20, picked up a couple of wickets, the latter, who conceded 23, picked up five scalps.

Edwards, whose given name was Graham, scored 41. His 57-ball innings included four boundaries and a six. He was trapped leg before wicket by Bedi, who broke the 73-run stand. Turner, whose 121-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 63. He was unbeaten, as was Congdon, who scored 45. His 65-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six.

India conceded half-a-dozen extras. New Zealand, who scored 155 for the loss of one wicket off 30.3 overs, won by nine wickets with 37 balls to spare. Lal bowled 4.3 wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 22. Solkar, who bowled five wicketless overs, conceded 27.

Venkat and Amarnath bowled seven wicketless overs each. While the former conceded 39, the latter conceded 37. Bedi bowled seven overs, conceding 24. He picked up the only wicket to fall.

The Kiwis led the two-match series 1-0.

 

(Engl)And (Aj)it’s Ov(al)er for India!

Absurd as it may sound, India’s second limited-overs international was a Two-day International, owing to the use of the reserve day. It was a 55-overs-a-side-match. The Indians made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Bishan Singh Bedi made way for Gopal Bose and Ashok Mankad, the son of Vinoo Mankad.

England made a couple of changes to theirs as well – Dennis Amiss and Bob Woolmer made way for Mike Smith and Derek Underwood. On winning the toss, Ajit Wadekar, India’s skipper, chose to bat.

Sunil Gavaskar, whose 23-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 20. He was caught by Arnold (Ge)off the bowling of Robin Jackman, who broke the 40-run stand. Sudhir Naik, whose 39-ball innings included a boundary, scored 20. He was caught by Tony. Chris Old broke the (Gr)eight-run stand.

Wadekar’s first two initials were AL*, which could well have stood for a leveller. He scored half-a-dozen. His eight-run stand included a boundary. He was caught by David Lloyd. Underwood broke the 12-run stand. Bose, whose 18-ball innings included a boundary, scored 13. He was caught by Mike Denness. Jackman broke the four-run stand. 

Farokh Engineer, who faced 15 balls, scored four. He was trapped leg before wicket by Jackman, who broke the 11-run stand. The sixth-wicket pair put on 19. Brijesh Patel – who shared the player of the series award with Keith Fletcher – faced 23 balls, scoring a dozen. He was run out.

Gundappa Viswanath, whose 59-ball innings included a boundary, scored 32. He was caught by Alan Knott. Old broke the 45-run stand. Eknath Solkar, who faced 17 balls, scored nought, and was caught by Knott. Greig broke the three-run stand. Abid Ali, who faced 10 balls, scored half-a-dozen. He was caught by Smith. Greig broke the 14-run stand.

Mankad**, who shared his nickname (Kaka) with actor Rajesh Khanna (of whom he was, incidentally, a fan), top-scored with 44. His 61-ball innings included three boundaries. Old broke the 15-run stand. Madan Lal, who faced 13 balls, scored three. He was unbeaten. England conceded 11 extras. India were dismissed for 171 off 47.3 overs.

Arnold, who bowled seven wicketless overs, conceded 20. Underwood, living up to his nickname, Deadly, bowled 11 overs, conceding 36. He picked up a wicket. Greig, who bowled nine overs, conceded 27. He picked up a couple of wickets. Old, who bowled 9.3 overs, conceded 36. He picked up three scalps, as did Jackman, who bowled 11 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 41.

Smith, who faced 19 balls, scored half-a-dozen. He was caught by Engineer. Ali broke the 19-run stand. John Edrich, who faced 48 balls, scored 19. He was caught by Patel. Lal broke the 46-ball stand.

Lloyd, whose 81-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 39. He was caught by the substitute fielder, Syed Kirmani. Bose broke the third-wicket stand, which was worth half-a-dozen. Mike Denness, England’s skipper, scored 24. His 37-ball innings included a couple of boundaries. He was caught by his opposite number. Mankad broke the 42-run stand.

Fletcher, who scored 55, bagged the player of the match award as well. His 79-ball innings included seven boundaries. He was unbeaten, as was Greig, whose 29-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 24.

India conceded five extras. England, who scored 172 for the loss of four wickets off 48.5 overs, won by six wickets with 37 balls to spare. Solkar bowled 11 wicketless overs, including three maidens. He conceded 37. Mankad, who bowled 5.5 overs, conceded 47. He picked up a wicket.

Lal bowled 10 overs, conceding 23. He picked up a wicket. Bose*** and Ali bowled 11 overs each, picking up a scalp apiece. While the former, whose spell included a couple of maidens, conceded 39, the latter, whose spell included three maidens, conceded 21.

It was Wadekar’s and Naik’s second and final ODI, and the only one Bose and Mankad played. But unlike the Mumbai trio, Bose, who hailed from Kolkata, never donned the Test cap.

England won the two-match series 2-0.   

[*Note (1): Wadekar, who was born on April 1, 1941, passed away at the age of 77 on August 15, 2018.]

[**Note (2): Mankad was born on October 12, 1946. He passed away at the age of 61 on August 1, 2008.]

[***Note (3): Bose was born on May 20, 1947. He passed away at the age of 71 on August 26, 2018.]

 

    

 

Ajit E(ng)l(an)(u)des ODI debutants India

It was a 55-overs-a-side match. India, led by Ajit Wadekar, became the sixth country to play ODIs. England’s only debutant, Robin Jackman was born in Simla. Mike Denness, England’s skipper (who was, incidentally, born in Scotland), won the toss, inserting the visitors.

Putting the shoplifting s(h)ocker firmly behind him, Sudhir Naik scored 18. His 29-ball innings included a couple of boundaries. He was trapped leg before wicket by Jackman, who broke the 44-run stand. Although his 35-ball innings included three boundaries and a six, Sunil Gavaskar’s disposition was far from Sunny – he scored 28. Geoff Arnold broke the second-wicket stand, which was worth half-a-dozen.

Gundappa Viswanath faced four balls, scoring as many. In fact, his runs came runs by way of a boundary. Bob Woolmer broke the third-wicket stand, which was worth 10. Farokh Engineer – the last Parsi man to play cricket for India and a Brylcreem boy – could be Count(y)ed* on to enthrall the crowd. And that was precisely what the Lancashire player did, scoring 32. His 32-ball knock included three boundaries. He was trapped leg before wicket by Yorkshireman Chris Old, who broke the 70-run stand.

Wadekar scored 67. His 82-ball innings included 10 boundaries. Jackman broke the 51-run stand. Eknath Solkar – a Mumbaikar, like Naik, Gavaskar, Engineer and Wadekar – faced nine balls, scoring three. He was trapped leg before wicket by Arnold, who broke the 13-run stand. Abid Ali, whose 24-ball innings included a boundary, scored 17. He was caught by Woolmer, who broke the 52-run stand. Madan Lal, who faced 10 balls, scored a couple. Old broke the 18-run stand.

Brijesh Patel, whose 78-ball innings included eight boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 82. He was caught by Keith Fletcher. Tony Greig, who was born in South Africa, broke the one-run stand. Srinivas Venkataraghavan, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. He was unbeaten. The last-wicket pair failed to get off the mark. Bishan Singh Bedi, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t open his account. He was caught by David Lloyd off the bowling of Old. 

England conceded 11 extras. India were dismissed for a respectable 265 off 53, 5 overs. Arnold bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 42, picking up a couple of wickets. Old, who bowled 10.5 overs, conceded 43. He picked up three wickets. Greig, who bowled 11 overs, conceded 63. He picked up a wicket. Woolmer and Jackman bowled 11 overs each, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. While the former conceded 62, the latter conceded 44.

There was something Amiss about the start to which the hosts got off to. Dennis, whose 35-ball knock included three boundaries, scored 20. He was trapped leg before wicket by Solkar, who broke the 37-run stand. Bumble’s wicket was the next to tumble. Lloyd, whose 63-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 34. He was stumped by Engineer. Solkar broke the 47-run stand.

Denness was no menace. In fact, he scored just eight. His 13-ball innings included a boundary. He was caught by Venkat. Madan Lal broke the third-wicket stand, which was worth 12. Fletcher, whose 59-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 39. He was caught by Bedi, who broke the 83-run stand.

John Edrich, the player of the match in the first-ever ODI, scored 90. His 97-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six. He was caught by Bedi. Venkat broke the 33-run stand. He bagged his second player of the match award, emulating Amiss. Greig, whose 28-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 40. He was caught by Bedi, who broke the 42-run stand. Alan, whose 13-ball innings included a boundary, scored 15. He was (K)not(t) out. Old, whose three-ball innings included a boundary, scored five. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 15 extras. England, who scored 266 for the loss of six wickets off 51.1 overs, won by four wickets with 23 balls to spare. Ali bowled nine wicketless overs, conceding 51. Lal bowled 9.1 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 43, picking up a wicket.

Venkat, who bowled 11 overs, conceded 58. He picked up a wicket. Bedi and Solkar bowled 11 overs, each, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. While the former conceded 68, the latter, who spell included a maiden, conceded 31.  

England led the two-match series 1-0. 

(*Note: Lancashire and Yorkshire are arch-rivals, and matches between them are called the Wars of the Roses, as the former is represented by a red rose, and the latter by a white one. Incidentally, Leeds is a city in Yorkshire.)