I was in the reserves for all three Tests of the 1969-70 series against New Zealand. The Australians were to tour next, and I was hoping to make it to the playing XI. So imagine my disappointment at being left out of the squad altogether for the first Test!
We had a two-week camp before the Australia series in Mumbai, where the first Test was to be played. I stayed back to watch the game, which we lost. I remember visiting the dressing-room to meet Tiger Pataudi, the skipper, on the third or fourth day of the game, and telling him that I was returning to Bangalore. However, he asked me to ‘wait.’ The selectors met at the end of the game, and I was picked in the squad! Consequently, I went directly to Kanpur, the venue of the second Test, instead of going home.
It was just before the toss that Tiger informed me of my inclusion in the XI. I expected to bat at no.6 or no. 7, given that I was the youngest member of the batting line-up, but a pleasant surprise was in store. The skipper had earmarked me to bat at no. 4! I was relatively confident when I went in. I played out a full over by the off-spinner Ashley Mallett without much trouble. Alan Connolly, the left-arm seamer, was operating from the other end. I crossed over to his end and negotiated two deliveries. I went forward to the third, a slow off-spinner. I got an inside-edge, the ball popped up, and short-leg did the rest. The jeers of the crowd did nothing to assuage my shock at getting a duck in my first Test innings.
Eknath Solkar, my roommate, consoled me that night. He had scored a zero in his first Test innings as well, and reminded me that it happened ‘to all great players.’
In our second innings, I was padded up, and watching Ajit Wadekar and Ashok Mankad put together another fruitful stand, when there was a tap on my shoulder. It was Tiger. “Young man, relax. It is a good wicket,” he said. That gave me confidence. The spectators did not spare me when I arrived at the wicket. Fortunately, Graham McKenzie gave me one on my feet, which I glanced for four. John Gleeson, the ‘mystery’ bowler, was part of the attack, but never at any stage did I think about the ‘mystery’ aspect. I batted on merit, and the outcome was a productive outing. The jeers of the spectators turned to cheers as I went along. I scored 137, and the Test was drawn.
We drew level by winning the next Test at Delhi. Australia hit back in the fourth Test at Kolkata, which meant that we had to win the last Test at Chennai to level the series. However, things did not go according to plan. The defeat in that game still rankles. Doug Walters was missed in the first innings, and he went on to score 102. Ian Redpath was let off when Australia were 24-6 in their second innings, and he scored a vital 63. Those two knocks made all the difference, with Australia winning by 77 runs.
The series in Australia in 1977-78 was one of the best I have played in. We lost the first two Tests and won the next two, before going down in the fifth. Even in that game, we were all out for 445, chasing 493. Handling Jeff Thomson chasing 493. Handling Jeff Thomson on his own wickets was not a very pleasant thing to do, but we managed. I scored over 500 runs in the Tests, and Sunil Gavaskar got three hundreds. Our spinners were in terrific form, with B.S. Chandrasekhar’s 12-104 in the third Test at Melbourne securing our first Test win on Australian soil.
We outplayed the side that toured India in 1979-80 under Kim Hughes’ captaincy. Sunil Gavaskar, Yashpal Sharma and I scored hundreds at Delhi.
I have fond memories of the Melbourne Test of the 1980-81 series. The fact that we won against all odds made it a special game. Australia, needing only 143 to win, were bowled out for 83.
The behaviour of the pitch was unpredictable even on the first day, and the Australian bowling splendid. I got my eye in and scored 114. What many people remember is the ‘late cut’ off Dennis Lillee when I was in the 90s. It was a Yorker pitched outside the off-stump, and I squatted and played it to the third-man boundary. Lillee christened me the ‘little giant’ after that innings. He calls me that whenever we meet!
The present Indian outfit has the ability to do what Kapil Dev and the other bowlers achieved on the last day of that Test. The Australians are not short of talent and ambition either. I foresee an exciting series.
Indiadid not lose a single Test in which G.R. Viswanath scored a century. He scored 137 on his Test debut against Australia at Kanpur in 1969-70. His 114 at Melbourne in 1980-81 set up an unlikely series-leveling win.
