As the India v Australia ODI series kicks off tomorrow, it is important to remember the first limited overs tussle between both countries at the MCG in 1980, when the hosts were stunned by Sunil Gavaskars men
Australian vice-captain Kim Hughes is bowled by India all-rounder Sandeep Patil for 35 in a World Series Cup match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 6, 1980. Pic courtesy: Cricket in Australia published by Garry Sparke & Associates
In 1980, a cricket fan didn't need any rankings to figure where India were positioned in one-day international cricket. They had played only 13 games and won only two. The one apart from beating Pakistan at Quetta in 1978 was the win over East Africa in the 1975 World Cup.
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England, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies and even Sri Lanka had beaten India.
So when the team wore coloured clothing for the first time in international cricket, as they took on Australia for Game Three of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup triangular (hosts Australia played New Zealand in the first two games), not many at the vast expanse of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) expected much of a competition.
Sure, Australia still hadn't won a World Cup but one-day cricket was an important part of their domestic cricket and a lot of their cricketers played in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in which one-day games were not exactly few and far between.
On December 6, 1980, Greg Chappell won the toss and decided to bowl on a pitch that he was to slam all summer. He did say in the book Unders and Overs, "Cricket deserves a better deal than it is getting at the MCG."
His rival captain Sunil Gavaskar opened the batting with TE Srinivasan instead of Chetan Chauhan. Only 12 were scored by the pair; both openers falling to spearhead Dennis Lillee. Brothers Greg and Trevor Chappell who would be unpopular figures later in the summer, thanks to the underarm future, got rid of Dilip Vengsarkar and Gundappa Vishwanath for 22 each respectively. In came Sandeep Patil for his ODI debut with the MCG scoreboard reading 65-4.
Experts admired Patil's strokeplay but he embraced his luck. Thrice he hooked Geoff Lawson to fine leg only to be dropped by Lillee. The 17,000-plus spectators couldn't believe it. So did everyone else and it's a 'performance' Lillee did not bother touching upon in autobiographical works. In fact, dropping Syed Kirmani also contributed to his miserable day.
Patil, who was dropped by the great fast bowler when on 18, 26 and 30, was determined to stay at the wicket. That he did — for 104 minutes — before his leg stump was disturbed by Greg Chappell. Patil's 70-ball 64 included four boundaries.
With Syed Kirmani, he put on 92 for the seventh wicket in nearly an hour. Only five runs were added after Patil walked back to the pavilion. Kirmani stayed unbeaten on 48, battling hot conditions with an upset stomach.
A total of 208-9 in 49 overs was not going to worry the Australians too much but the pitch may have, with its tendency to keep low. John Dyson and Kim Hughes opened Australia's innings. Dyson called his partner for a run but Roger Binny's direct hit from deep mid-off saw the New South Welshman out of his crease by, according to former Australia batsman John Benaud in Sportsworld, two yards.
A little earlier, Hughes was befuddled by Patil's leg-cutter and was bowled for 35. Dilip Doshi's left arm spin accounted for Greg Chappell (11), Allan Border (6) and Doug Walters (27), stumped for the first and last time in his 28-match ODI career.
Binny claimed two as India stunned their illustrious rivals by 66 runs.
Less than a week ago, the tourists had lost to South Australia, who bowled them out for 78 at the Adelaide Oval. John Benaud was impressed by the turnaround, insisting that this was a "came back from the dead" victory.
Greg Chappell was livid. "Our performance matched the conditions — the pitch was an absolute disgrace. The least you expect is that the pitch be even for a match, but it was like ridges of sand dunes," he was quoted as saying in a book on the tournament compiled by Richie Benaud and published by Lansdowne Press. Gavaskar supported Chappell's assessment. "There was no way the batsmen could play shots with confidence because the bounce was so uneven. It could do with some improvement," he remarked.
Patil, who returned figures of 10-1-31-1 as Gavaskar's fifth bowler, walked away with the man of the match cheque worth AUD 500 which of course had to be shared with the team.
It is pity that India's great start at Melbourne couldn't lead the way for more significant wins which would get them into the finals which Australia and New Zealand contested. The batting just didn't come good as India did not beat Australia again in the tournament. New Zealand were conquered twice but that was not enough to go the distance. Test batsman-turned-commentator Keith Stackpole felt that India's batting was, "completely out of touch," their bowling "not quite accurate" and the fielding "deplorable at times."
Nevertheless, this less-talked-about victory was significant. Only the West Indies at that point in time had been able to triumph in their first ODI encounter against Australia.
Forty years on, another ODI series kicks off tomorrow. India are second only to England in the rankings while Australia are placed fourth. Indeed, it's going to more competitive than 1980-81.
mid-day's group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello
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The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper
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