30th anniversary of 1986 tied Test: When Kapil Dev's gem thrilled Chepauk

Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev induced a state of delirium among the faithful on the fourth morning by playing an innings of such power and precision that India averted the follow-on and so preserved the prestige won on the playing fields of England (in 1986).

With a self-assuredness bordering on arrogance, Kapil lashed an attack which had carried all before it for five hours and 32 minutes the previous day, plundering 119 from 138 deliveries and advancing from 50 to 100 - his fourth century in 78 Tests but his first against Australia - with just 16 scoring shots, 11 boundaries, a two and four singles.

Kapil Dev

Irresistable Kapil
Kapil is irresistible in such mood and he elicited stirring assistance from Chetan Sharma (who contributed 30 of a stand of 85 in 80 minutes for the eighth wicket) and Shivlal Yadav (19 of a partnership of 57 in 68 minutes for the ninth wicket). Yet to the dismay of all after such an audacious innings he departed tamely - caught at silly point by Allan Border when prodding at Greg Matthews.

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Disappointment at the failure to enforce the follow-on was tempered by the success of Matthews, who made the necessary adjustments to technique and temperament for a different theatre of combat. His rewards were considerable; five wickets in an innings for the first time in 15 Tests and the supreme satisfaction of success against batsmen of the highest caliber.

Bowling in a cap - as Clarrie Grimmett had done at the Brabourne Stadium in Bombay 48 years before him - Matthews accounted for Sunil Gavaskar, a living deity in pursuit of his 33rd Test century; the daring K Srikkanth; Ravi Shastri, a shrewd calculating professional; versatile newcomer Chandrakant Pandit and Kapil.

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Disappointment dissipated further during the remaining 49 overs when the pitch showed unmistakable signs of deterioration. There was animated discussion when a delivery from Shastri exploded past the probing bat of Geoff Marsh and struck wicketkeeper Kiran More in the face with such force that he was compelled to delegate his responsibilities to Pandit and retire for treatment.

The Australians found run-scoring difficult throughout another desperately hot and humid afternoon, although it is problematical whether their diffidence was a direct result of that one wicked ball to Marsh.

At the same time they did not exaggerate the degree of difficulty and were moderately satisfied with a scoreline of 5-170 and an overall lead of 347. Again they were grateful to David Boon with a smartly crafted 49 in just over two hours while Dean Jones, Border, Greg Ritchie and Matthews made effective cameo appearances, taking extreme risks to score quickly against Shastri and Maninder Singh who at times extracted considerable turn.

Maninder incurred Kapil's wrath when he ran 30 metres to speak to Jones after taking his wicket. 'How do you like those apples!', exploded Maninder, his face contorted beneath a pink patka.

Jones-Mani show
Jones was flabbergasted to learn Maninder considered was merely replying in kind. Jones, in a stupor for much of his epic innings, had no recollection of calling out 'How do you like them apples' after belting a delivery from Maninder. The fragile relationship between the two teams had rarely been put to such a test.

Excerpts from Mike Coward's book, Cricket Beyond the Bazaar, published by Allen & Unwin