When the Indians pulled off a miracle at Melbourne

By 1979, the Packer crisis was over and World Series Cricket had been disbanded. All the leading players returned to play for their respective countries and Australia, re-inforced by the likes of McCosker, Greg Chappell, Hookes, Marsh, Lillee, Wood, Walters and Pascoe were by 1980 the second best team in the world, close behind the West Indies. In addition, the tour of India by the Australians in 1979 had helped mould the careers of Hughes, Border and Yardley. So Australia on the eve of the 1980-81 tour by India were a pretty formidable lot and a very different side the Indians of 1977-78 encountered.

However what made the prospect of the three Test series being closely contested was the fact that India were going through a purple patch. In the previous two years, Gavaskar had led India to victory in three successive rubbers at home over West Indies, Australia and Pakistan. Granted the triumphs were at home. Granted too that in the rubbers against West Indies and Australia, the opponents were bereft of their Packer stars. But then the victory over a full strength Pakistan side was truly meritorious and even in England in 1979, the Indians were not disgraced losing the four Test series to a pretty strong outfit only by 1-0. So by 1980, India too had a well balanced team. The batting with Gavaskar, Chauhan, Vengsarkar, Viswanath, Patil and Yashpal Sharma was sound, Kirmani was still among the world's leading stumpers and the bowling in the hands of Kapil Dev, Ghavri, Doshi and Shivlal Yadav looked capable enough. Gavaskar had also proved his leadership qualities and Kapil Dev was already ranked along with Imran Khan and Botham as among the world's leading all rounders.

This then was the Indian side that landed in Australia in November 1980. Their performances in the preliminary matches were not exactly encouraging and they entered the first Test at Sydney somewhat short of confidence. Not surprisingly they found the pace trio of Lillee, Pascoe and Hogg too hot to handle and were all out for 201 with only Patil showing some defiance by scoring a courageous 65 before he was hit by a bouncer from Pascoe which rendered him unconscious. Chappell on his own surpassed the Indian total by hitting 204 - the highest score by an Australian against India. He added 172 runs for the fifth wicket with Walters (67). Battling it out despite suffering from a severe stomach upset for most of the innings, Chappell stuck it out for 408 minutes, faced 296 balls and hit 27 fours. Kapil Dev (5 for 97) and Ghavri (5 for 107) shared all the wickets. In arrears by 205 runs, India hurtled to an innings defeat with two days to spare, when they were again dismissed for 201. This time leg spinner Higgs (4 for 45) did most of the damage with only Kirmani (43 not out), Chauhan (36) and Vengsarkar (34) putting up a semblance of a fight.

India had lost all three previous rubbers in Australia and by the manner in which the side had gone down by an innings inside three days it did seem that Australia were heading for a fourth successive triumph against India at home. This feeling gathered momentum when Australia piled up 528 over the first two days of the second Test at Adelaide. Wood led off with 125 and Border scored 57 but the real hero was Hughes who got 213. He batted 383 minutes, faced 303 balls and hit 21 fours and added 129 runs for the fourth wicket with Border. However the Indians put up a spirited reply. Gavaskar and Chauhan put on 77 runs for the first wicket but then they slid from 112 for one to 130 for four. Patil spearheaded the counter attack with a thrilling 174, the highest score for India against Australia. Recovering his confidence after the blow he suffered in the previous Test, Patil batted five hours, faced 240 balls and hit a aix and 22 fours. He was supported well by Chauhan (97) with whom he added 108 runs for the fifth wicket and by Yashpal Sharma (47) with whom he put on 147 runs for the sixth wicket. India ultimately made 419 but with both the teams having scored runs at a nifty rate there was time for Australia to consolidate their position. Half centuries by Chappell (52) and Hughes (53) enabled the former to declare the innings closed at 221 for 7. Needing 331 runs in 265 minutes for victory, India were never really in the hunt. Indeed, it became a clear case of fighting for survival and despite Vengsarkar's long vigil for a gallant 37, they lost eight wickets for 128. Ghavri and Yadav however batted through the final 9.2 overs in 31 minutes and India, closing at 135 for eight, were exceptionally lucky to escape with a draw.

So on the eve of the third and final Test at Melbourne, Australia had made sure that they would not lose the rubber. And the manner in which the series had progressed so far, it hardly seemed likely that India would square the series - the best they could do - by winning the Test. This feeling gained momentum when India scored 237 and Australia replied with 419. India's innings was highlighted by a fighting 114 by Viswanath when no one else made more than 25. For Australia, Border got 124, Walters 79 and Chappell 76. Chappell and Border put on 108 runs for the fourth wicket and Border and Walters 131 runs for the fifth wicket. India were in arrears by 182 runs but by scoring 108 without loss by stumps on the third day, Gavaskar and Chauhan had given the team some hope. But how many teams could turn a deficit of 182 runs into victory?

That was the question being asked when play resumed on the fourth day when one of the most dramatic and contoversial moments in the history of Indian cricket was witnessed. Gavaskar and Chauhan had raised their partnership to 165 when the captain was adjudged leg before to Lillee. Having scored but 48 runs in the five previous Test innings, Gavaskar had diligently worked his way up to 70 when this happened. Gavaskar was convinced that the ball had hit his bat before it had hit the pads and gesticulated accordingly. When he continued to protest, Lillee made his way up to the batsman, showed where the ball had hit the pad and as Gavaskar related later, used abusive language. This was too much for Gavaskar and as he explained later ``something inside me snapped.'' Furious by now, the Indian captain went up to Chauhan and told him to accompany him back to the pavilion. Even as his opening partner seemed reluctant, Gavaskar pushed him towards the pavilion. To all intents and purposes, Gavaskar was conceding the match. What was fast turning out to the most embarrasing episode in Indian cricket was saved by the prompt action of the manager, wing commander SK Durrani. He made his way to the edge of the boundary and asked Chauhan to wait inside the field of play. After listening for a few moments to the still agitated Gavaskar, he then signalled for Vengsarkar, who was to bat at No 3, to enter the field and the match continued.

The principal batsmen all made valuable contributions with Chauhan getting 85, Vengsarkar 41, Viswanath 30 and Patil 36. With the injured Yadav unable to bat, India scored 324. Lillee, in his 48th Test, overtook Richie Benaud's Australian record of 248 wickets. This left Australia to get only 143 runs for victory. The wicket was not an ideal fifth day's wicket but the target was small, particularly for the formidable Australian batting line up. Moreover, India were badly handicapped in the bowling department. Yadav would not be in a position to bowl while Doshi had a fractured toe and Kapil Dev a pulled thigh muscle. The only fit bowler, Ghavri (who had opened the bowling with Patil) however gave the Indians a big bonus by dismissing Dyson and Chappell with successive balls. Doshi then removed Wood and at close of play, Australia were 24 for three. Now the match very much hung in the balance and Kapil Dev, alive to the situation, took the field on the final morning, having taken pain killing injections. The Indian attack was now reduced to one fit bowler and two half fit bowlers. But Ghavri, having done more than his job was not required on the final day and it was Kapil and Doshi who shared the bowling.

Amidst growing tension and excitement, the overnight not out batsmen Hughes and Yardley took the score to 40 when Kapil Dev bowled Yardley. Border joined Hughes but at 50, the latter was bowled by Doshi. At 55, Border was caught by Kirmani off Kapil Dev and suddenly the Indians were the favourites. They were fired up like few other Indian teams in the past and Gavaskar was goading them on to perform better and better. Still upset over the incident on the previous day, the Indian captain was fully in command over the situation, playing it as hard as the Australians and asking for no quarter and giving none.

The Australians were now on the run. At 61, Marsh was bowled by Kapil Dev. Eight runs later, Kapil Dev bowled Lillee. At 69 for eight, the home team were gasping for breath. At 79, Pascoe was run out. And finally at 83, Higgs was leg before to Kapil Dev who had bowled throughout the morning. Walters was left high and dry on 18 and the Australians were dismissed for their lowest total against India and their lowest in any Test since 1968, when they were dismissed for 75 by England. Kapil Dev finished with five for 28, Doshi two for 33 and Ghavri two for 10.

The `Melbourne miracle' as it was then hailed ranks as among the two or three greatest Indian Test victories ever, for the manner in which it was achieved. Outplayed in the series, outplayed for most of the final Test, in arrears by 182 runs, having a badly depleted attack after having set Australia a modest victory target and then winning by 59 runs - all this is the stuff that story book scripts are made of. But over five memorable days - complete with a touch of controversy - the Indians pulled off a stupendous coup and became the first team to share a rubber in Australia.