Motera’s Test of patience

Michael Holding in full flow, watched by Indian umpire Swaroop Kishen, on the West Indies pace bowler’s 1983-84 tour of India. Pic/Getty Images

Capacity was some sort of a buzzword even when Motera hosted its first Test match - the November 12-16, 1983 one between India and West Indies.

Built in eight months, the Gujarat Stadium (its original name) could accommodate 50,000 spectators and the facilities were as modern as they came 37 years ago.

The same could be said of the renovated ground that appears impressive in images and footage. The strip used for the 1983 Test was a virgin one. So, captains Kapil Dev and Clive Lloyd had the additional task of making the right decision whoever got lucky at the toss. Kapil won it and after much thought, decided to send the West Indies in.

The India playing XI had three Sikhs - debutant Navjot Singh Sidhu, World Cupper Balvinder Singh Sandhu and left-arm spinner Maninder Singh. This was in addition to Gursharan Singh, the 12th man.

The Indian captain's decision to field was vindicated when first-change bowler Roger Binny claimed the top three - Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and Vivian Richards. A back strain forced Binny to return to the pavilion. He took no further part in the match. Thus, Gursharan had to be on the field and was spared the job at drink breaks.

Talking about the drinks, the organisers had girls accompany the men who rolled out the trolley on the field. The Indian camp objected to this and they did not return. Like it often happens in cricket, a repair job ensued, performed by skipper Lloyd and the adhesive Larry Gomes.

The lefthanders put on 107 for the fourth wicket and both fell to Maninder; Lloyd departing through a fine catch by substitute Gursharan at short leg. Gursharan on Wednesday was thrilled when I reminded him of his effort which stretched to four catches in the Test. "It's still a world record for a substitute," he stressed. Indeed.

Day One ended with West Indies 209 for eight and Kapil's decision to send them in was less talked about than a few hours ago. Dujon (overnight 44) frustrated India the following day and fell two short of his century when Ravi Shastri had him caught at short extra cover by Kapil. It was an innings for the Gods, produced on a pitch of variable bounce. How disappointed he would have been to miss out on a three-figure score can be gauged by what he was to say later in his career. He was asked to state his most satisfying and disappointing moment in the game. For the former, he pointed to Allan Border's century against his team in the Trinidad Test of the 1983-84 series. When it came to the latter, he referred to watching Border having to stay unbeaten on 98 in the same Test.

Despite the dicey nature of the track India started well with Gavaskar and Anshuman Gaekwad opening the innings. The Indian batting maestro was fresh from his attacking hundred in the previous Test at New Delhi, where the visitors were held to a draw after their romp in Kanpur.

At New Delhi, Gavaskar hooked the short deliveries away. This time, the West Indies quicks dished out a fuller length and Gavaskar excelled in driving and cutting the ball. In the process, he went past Geoff Boycott's tally of 8,114 runs to become the heaviest scorer in the game. Another 18 runs would have seen him surpass Sir Donald Bradman's 29 Test centuries. But it was not to be. At 90, Holding found the edge of Gavaskar's bat and Lloyd held on to it at first slip. Gavaskar wrote in Runs'n Ruins that he was distracted by a man, who moved to the left of the sightscreen, on the first floor at the pavilion end.

He was seething while returning to the pavilion but admitted that he would have been out to that beautiful Holding delivery even if "The clown at the sight screen" (as he titled that chapter in Runs'n Ruins) wouldn't have caused that disturbance.

India were bowled out for 241, a poor total considering the openers put on 127. The visitors gained a 40-run lead and knew they could put pressure on India, who had to bat last on a sub-standard strip. A pitch whose top had come off as the match progressed would have normally been fodder for spinners. But Kapil claimed nine wickets in the innings while Sandhu got Desmond Haynes as the West Indies managed 201 to set India a 242-run victory target.

Holding (4-30) struck the first blow by trapping Gavaskar leg before for one and things just got gloomier after that as India collapsed for 103. Gaekwad top-scored with 29 and was the eighth batsman out, bowled by Winston Davis (3-21). Holding walked away with the man of the match award worth Rs 10,000 for his bowling and batting in the 138-run victory.

Lloyd and manager Wesley Hall slammed the pitch after Kapil Dev hit out at it after Day Three itself. "Though it is good to know that there will be a result in this match, it is not fair to the players," he told Sportsweek. However, golden great Vijay Merchant felt there was nothing wrong with the track and if there was any critical aspect, it would be about the fact that no domestic game was held there before the Test.

Hope the pitch in the ongoing Test behaves well enough not to be criticised like in 1983. That surface caused celebrated Caribbean commentator Tony Cozier in the 1984 West Indies Cricket Annual to mock the boasting of the seating capacity, as the venue "could not produce playing conditions which were worthy of a Test match."

mid-day's group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper.