Bedi and Chandrasekhar - success through variation

A volatile Sikh with a fast bowler's temperament, and a willowy legspinner whose polio-crippled arm became a deadly weapon. Bishan Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar were the two most famous members of India's all-conquering spin quartet of the 1970s, and a partnership of opposites whose very diversity made their union stronger.

Bedi was a master of deception. He finished with a vast haul of 1560 first-class wickets, more than any other Indian bowler, and all of them were garnered with his stealthy array of flighted, loopy, spinning deliveries - some quick, some slow, all potent and beautifully delivered from the purest of bowling actions. His passion for the game was plain for all to see, and he made a bristling and bold captain as well.

Chandrasekhar's style could hardly have been more different. With a big bounding run-up and a whippy seam-bowler's action, he would fizz topspinners, legbreaks and googlies at his bewildered prey, many of whom would be beaten for pace as much as guile. He was the master of the unplayable delivery, and as such, he became India's greatest overseas matchwinner, with 42 wickets in five famous victories.

Together, Chandrasekhar and Bedi gave India's bowling a much needed cutting edge, and they are destined to be remembered as one of the finest partnerships to have graced the game.