Play by play: India’s a Test rise as powerhouse
What held us back for so long, and how did we finally hit our stride? As India get set to play New Zealand in the finals of the World Test Championship, a look at our history in Tests
What held us back for so long, and how did we finally hit our stride? A look back, as India get set to play New Zealand in the finals of the World Test Championship
Why did a country with as much cricketing talent as India spend decades losing on the world stage? Part of that initial streak for the India team can be traced to its rather chaotic origins. In 1926, when India was invited to join the Imperial Cricket Conference, cricket already had a proper following in cities and in tehsils with English cantonments. But there was a problem. There were world-class cricketers from India playing in and for England (and they wanted to continue doing so). And in a country peppered with princely states, it was widely believed that only a royal could lead an India team. This led to an awkward phase in Indian cricket.
What the game needed was a charismatic leader who could bind the country’s first official Test squad of seven Hindus, four Muslims, four Parsis and two Sikhs. Either Duleepsinhji (who had played for England) or Iftikhar Ali Khan, then nawab of Pataudi, would have been perfect. They were colonial India’s finest cricket exports at the time. But Ranjitsinhji, prince of Nawanagar and then chairman of the selection committee, forbade his nephew Duleepsinhji from taking part. “Duleep and I are English cricketers,” he said. Pataudi followed suit (though he would lead India later, in 1946).
This turn of events arguably altered India’s Test trajectory, and instead of a strong top-rung leadership, there was a frenzied scramble for power. Amid palace-style intrigue and misplaced ambition, princes with little skill on the field angled for and secured the tag of captain.
It was only after Independence that a commoner was chosen to lead India’s cricket team. The culture of groupism and zonal favouritism would remain, as would the leadership issue. Between 1947 and 1962, India had 10 captains. During the 1958-59 home series against the West Indies alone, there were four — Vinoo Mankad, Ghulam Ahmed, Polly Umrigar, Hemu Adhikari.
India couldn’t rise above mediocrity. The country’s first series win, 2-1 against Pakistan, came in 1952, but the rest of the scoreboard was a string of defeats, to the West Indies, to Australia, to England. What kept the team and its fans afloat were reassuring individual performances. Players such as Mankad, Vijay Hazare and Umrigar would grow to be giants of the game, and long-standing world records like the 413run opening stand between Pankaj Roy and Mankad kept India in the headlines.
It wasn’t until 1962 that Indian cricket would discover a true leader, and it happened by accident. Charlie Griffith of the West Indies sent India captain Nari Contractor to hospital with a fractured skull in Barbados. Mansur Ali Khan, nawab of Pataudi, stepped in, and in days, a united, cohesive team began to take shape around him.
Unlike previous royals, Pataudi was unassuming and quickly put his team at ease. He also demanded the best of them. The results started to reflect on the scoreboard. At home, England were forced to a 0-0 draw in a 5-match series. This was followed by a 1-1 draw against Australia before a first overseas series win, in New Zealand, in 1968. Spin bowling rose to prominence as Pataudi was convinced India lacked a genuine pace bowler. By 1971, India had finally hit their stride, winning 1-0 in the West Indies and then in England under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar. The win in England was especially gratifying, given that India hadn’t won a Test in six previous tours to the country.
SUNNY DAYS
It was around this time that the world got its first glimpse of Sunil Gavaskar. Starting with him, and for decades to come, Indian batsmen would dominate the game — from Gavaskar to the young Sachin Tendulkar and now Virat Kohli.
With batting greats such as Gundappa Viswanath and Dilip Vengsarkar, and fast bowler Kapil Dev, India’s answer to Ian Botham and Imran Khan, the country had a great team. Victories followed in Australia and again in England, but India were understandably more cautious against Pakistan. Drab draws were better than defeat. That changed in 2004. Having derailed Australia’s world-beating run at home in 2001 with a stunning comeback win engineered by VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Harbhajan Singh, India were prepared to take on Pakistan in Pakistan.
This was a team led by the intense Sourav Ganguly, who had picked talented, hungry youngsters such as Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan and L Balaji. A polished 270 from Dravid in the third Test at Rawalpindi clinched India’s first ever Test series win in Pakistan.
The team has become stronger and more combative since, first under MS Dhoni, and now, Virat Kohli. Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and now Cheteshwar Pujara have crafted fluid, breathtaking victories, at Adelaide (2003 and 2018), Perth (2008), Mohali (2010), Melbourne (2018), Brisbane (2021). R Ashwin has taken the legacy of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh forward. And with Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, India finally look battle-ready with a pace attack for every condition. Consecutive series victories in Australia (2018-19 and 2020-21) are proof that the game has a new kind of royalty.