India’s best hour in England: The 1971 sunrise

Wadekar and Chandrasekhar celebrating India's win at the Oval on Aug 24, 1971 (File photo)

India starts the forthcoming tour as the underdog. With the retirements of Rohit and Virat, not many have given the visitors a chance. Things were the same 54 years earlier. That’s when Ajit Wadekar’s men won against all odds.

Can history repeat itself?

The functioning of the BCCI has always been subject to scrutiny.

While the intensity of the scrutiny has increased in recent times under the watchful eyes of a 24/7 media, in 1971, the BCCI faced stinging criticism for some of its decisions ahead of the crucial England tour. Team selection was a pressing concern, and by every count, the BCCI was late. With the departure date fixed for 17 June 1971, it was essential that players were picked with enough time in hand for a preparatory camp before the team headed out for England. Ahead of the selection meeting, the Board was confronted with another conundrum. There was considerable debate over whether the team should consist of 16 or 17 players. Unlike the present day, the selection of one player was a matter of considerable expenditure and in the absence of adequate foreign exchange, this was one of the key decisions confronting the selection committee. For the record the players were paid a daily allowance of 30 GBP in 1971 and even that was considered a struggle for the BCCI.

The return of Chandra

In the selection meeting, the one key inclusion after some strong domestic performances was Bhagwat Chandrasekhar. Chandra had been the star performer for the team in the UK in 1966-67 and had started to lose form towards the end because of excessive bowling. He had been forced to come back from Australia in 1967 and had been left out of the team ever since. A man of prodigious ability and proven track record, he had gradually got himself back in the reckoning based on an impressive Ranji and Duleep Trophy season. England’s weakness against legspin also worked in his favour and many argued that if Derek Underwood was able to exploit the wet pitches on offer with his fastish spin, there was no reason why Chandra, who had more ability and variety than Underwood, wouldn’t be able to do so. His inclusion was not without controversy and in the end may well have worked to his advantage. In the team briefing ahead of the side’s departure for England, Vijay Merchant picked Chandra out and said to him in front of everyone else that it could well be his last tour if he did not perform to potential. It could have been Merchant’s way to tickle his ego but Chandra, as Vishwanath argued, wasn’t amused. He was upset and angry and in fact even considered withdrawing from the touring party. He found the barb insulting and felt Merchant could have spoken to him alone and not humiliated him in front of the entire team.

The Oval Miracle

India’s win at the Oval was a miracle. Much like the 2001 victory against Australia at the Eden Gardens, where India won after following on, India came back from behind at the Oval to hand England their first series loss in years. While the victory will forever be analysed as a spectacular underdog success story, which marked the initiation of a new order in world cricket, it should also be remembered that India had played well right through the series and had stepped out at the Oval with an enhanced reputation. The victory was proof of concept of what had started in the West Indies, giving a serious shot in the arm to the Ajit Wadekar-Vijay Merchant pair. While Wadekar was now the undisputed leader, Merchant could hang up his boots as Chairman of the Selection Committee later in the year, leaving behind a legacy difficult to replicate.

The star was undoubtedly Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, who ran through the English innings in just two and a half hours, setting up what was one of the most important chases ever in Indian cricketing history. And in doing so, Chandrasekhar had successfully proved a point. Dropped for the West Indies tour and picked on by the Chairman of selectors ahead of the England series, it was a special effort from one of India’s greatest leg spinners. This effort, to many of his colleagues like Gavaskar, Vishwanath and of course skipper Wadekar, was the best Chandrasekar had ever bowled. It was fitting that he would do so in what was the most important Test match of his career. For him, there could be no better stage than the Oval with England in the driver’s seat and seeking to take control of the game. India, by every estimate, was praying for a miracle.

And India, by every estimate, did get one with Chandraekhar picking 6-38 and winning India the match and the series.