In 1975, we were alright at Test cricket but had not yet adapted to one-day cricket. And so, at the first ever cricket World Cup in 1975, Sunil Gavaskar scored his most infamous innings - 36 not out in 60 overs against England.
Now the situation has reversed. These days we have become very good in short format cricket, but due to its effects on the technique and temperament of some players, we can be exposed in Test cricket, the game’s ultimate challenge, since it does not allow batsmen luxuries such as powerplays (where the opposition is allowed to keep only 2-5 fielders outside the 30-yard circle, depending upon the overs completed).
On December 19, India were bowled out for 36 by Australia in Adelaide in their second innings. It is the country’s lowest score ever. Given India’s special relationship with the sport, their score and subsequent defeat felt like Brazil’s 7-1 loss to Germany at the 2014 Fifa World Cup.
It’s hard to imagine now that India actually started Saturday as the favourites to win the match. After scoring 244 in the first innings, they restricted Australia to 191, taking a crucial 53 run lead. That’s a lot in a low-scoring Test. But Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood gave India no room to breath in the second innings, inducing one caught behind after another, the succession of audible snicks sounding like a clock ticking on India.
In the 45 years between Gavaskar’s 36 and India’s 36, the hierarchy of the game’s formats has changed. Test cricket was the foremost version of cricket in the 1970s, and even later. This reflected in the way statistics were maintained as well. What mattered was runs scored or conceded and wickets and catches taken. Strike rate was not a key consideration.
Then one-day cricket started in 1971 and took off within a few years, thanks to events like the World Cup and Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. India’s victory in the 1983 World Cup and the 1985 World Championship of Cricket further boosted the format. People loved it. The sponsors flocked to it.
For about two decades the 50-over format ruled. But in 2007, T20 made an impression. And there even came a time when of all the three formats, the 50-over variety seemed at risk of becoming obsolete. While the end of Test cricket was often predicted, it never came to be. Players and purists understood this was the toughest, most respected form of cricket. Cycling sprints may be exciting to watch, but does that mean that the Tour de France should be done away with?
Limited overs cricket made the game richer, faster and athletic. But it pampered the batsmen too much, as Adelaide reminded us.
The masses liked to see sixes and fours, the cricketing equivalent of item numbers. Administrators and organisers pandered to the lowest common denominator, as is often the way in different spheres in India. First came the Powerplays. Over time, pitches became flat and bats voluptuous. Boundaries shrunk at some of the grounds. Tournaments like the IPL further allowed batsmen to swing away and shine.
But the same batsmen can sometimes struggle to score 10 runs in Test cricket, which allows no crutches like the powerplay. Nor is there a limit to the number of overs a bowler can bowl. A Cummins or a Hazlewood is going to keep coming at you.
Gavaskar’s 36 not out was a wake-up call for Indian cricket to learn the art of scoring faster. India’s 36 all out is a wake-up call for Indian cricket to learn the art of conquering quality bowling and stay at the wicket.
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