Gavaskar's heroics and the Bridgetown draw

Watching with dismay the Indians floundering against the pace and bounce at the Kensington Oval the other day, my mind went back almost simultaneously to two infinitely more glorious chapters of Indian cricket in the West Indies ­- the Test at the same venue in 1971, the only time in eight encounters that India have managed to avoid defeat at Bridgetown, and Sunil Gavaskar's heroic exploits against the Caribbean side.

Indeed, the comparative non-performance of the Indian sides in the Caribbeans in the post-Gavaskar period has served to magnify the greatness of his feats. Notwithstanding a rather mediocre series in 1983, Gavaskar still totaled 1,404 runs in 13 Tests on three tours of the West Indies, with seven hundreds at an average of 70.20.

Gavaskar's record against the West Indies is probably all too wellknown, but it is so awesome that it bears repeating over and over again. In 27 Tests against the much-feared opponents ­ for most of the time that the stout-hearted and technically proficient Indian opener played against the West Indies, they were the number one cricketing nation in the world ­ he hit 2749 runs with 13 centuries, three of them double hundreds.

Playing without a helmet and much of the protective gear that cricketers have resorted to in the last decade-and-a-half since his retirement, Gavaskar tackled the pace of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Wayne Daniel, Joel Garner, Sylvester Clarke and Norbert Philip with more than just a degree of confidence, and this is borne out by the final record. No other batsman has hit so many hundreds and double hundreds against the brutal pace and disconcerting bounce that has always been a feature of the West Indian bowling.

His detractors may point out that in two of the six rubbers Gavaskar played, the West Indians were not exactly at full strength. Perhaps there is a grain of truth to this argument. All the same, it must be pointed out that in 1971, it was his first foray into international cricket, while in 1978-79 he still had to negotiate bowlers of the calibre of Clarke, Philip and Vanburn Holder. In each of these contests, he ran up an aggregate of 700-plus, with a tally of eight hundreds.

By that same yardstick, moreover, the Indians on the current tour - and in 1997 - have come up against a West Indian side palpably in decline, but the application, determination and concentration ­ all hallmarks of Gavaskar's batting - have been sadly lacking. Two shocking batting collapses at Bridgetown, in 1997 and a few days ago, only underlines this.

Indeed, the comparative non-performance of the Indian sides in the Caribbeans in the post-Gavaskar period has served to magnify the greatness of his feats. Notwithstanding a rather mediocre series in 1983, Gavaskar still totaled 1,404 runs in 13 Tests on three tours of the West Indies, with seven hundreds at an average of 70.20. Four centuries were notched up at Port of Spain, two were compiled at Georgetown, and one at the Indians' least favourite venue, Bridgetown.

In the three post-Gavaskar tours of the West Indies, there have been a total of six hundreds by five batsmen in 12 Tests. Gavaskar, in fact, is one among only four Indian century-makers at the Kensington Oval. Two of the four hundreds at the ground were in the same match, with Sanjay Manjrekar getting 108 and Ravi Shastri scoring 107 in 1989. But easily the best knock by an Indian at this ground was Dilip Sardesai's 150 in 1971. In terms of courage in adversity, it ranks very high. Which brings me to the only time India have averted defeat at the jinxed venue.

The West Indies, one down in the series, had led off with 501 for five declared, and midway through the third day, India, at 70 for six, were on the ropes. The momentum that the Indians had attained early on the tour ­ forcing the West Indians to follow on in the first Test at Kingston and pulling off their historic victory in the next game at Port of Spain ­ had been lost, with Barbados defeating the visitors by 10 wickets on the eve of the fourth Test at Bridgetown. It only seemed a matter of time before the home side leveled the series.

Then Sardesai took charge. With two hundreds in three Tests, he was very much the man in form, and now with Eknath Solkar giving him admirable support, the two figured in a 186-run seventh-wicket partnership, one of the most famous rearguard actions in Indian cricket. Solkar fell for 65, and shortly afterwards, India were 285 for nine. There were still 17 runs to go to avoid the follow-on, and it was the post-lunch session of the fourth day. Bishan Singh Bedi, however, summoned up the courage and skill to stay with Sardesai for over an hour, and the two added 62 runs for the 10th wicket. Sardesai, who had come in at 64 for four, was last out at 347 after batting just over six hours.

The follow-on was saved, and even though the West Indies scored at a brisk rate in the second innings before declaring at 180 for six, five minutes after the start of play on the final day, there was little doubt that India would save the match. This they did fairly comfortably, and thanks to Gavaskar's unbeaten 117, finished at 221 for five. At the time, with the Indians emerging triumphant in the rubber, the draw at Bridgetown, gallant as it was, was lightly acknowledged as only one of four such results in the series. But given the fact that India have lost all the seven other Tests at this venue ­ including five in a row now - perhaps the time has come to hail the next drawn game at Bridgetown ­ whenever it happens - as a moral victory. And an Indian win? Well, that would be termed as nothing short of a miracle.