When India lost tamely to a mediocre Aussie side

It was not until 20 years later that the second Indian team visited Australia. In the interim period, three Australian sides toured India, surely a case of poor planning by the administrators, for there were several blank seasons in the Australian cricket calendar.

Unlike in 1947-48, however the 1967-68 Indian team went to Australia with some hope. Even though the Indians had fared badly in England in the first half of the summer of 1967, it was reckoned that the wicket and weather conditions in Australia being very different, the Indians would do well in the four Test series. There was another reason for the optimism. Australia had many chinks in their armour and had over the previous three years, lost to West Indies and South Africa and shared rubbers with India, Pakistan and England. Richie Benaud's great side had broken up and the Australians were in the process of rebuilding.

However as in 1947-48, the selected Indian team was not the best that could be picked. On the previous occasion, ill health (Merchant and Modi), family bereavement (Mushtaq Ali) and the problems of partition (Fazal Mahmood) were the reasons why some of the leading players could not make the trip. Twenty years later it was just a poor selection policy that made matters difficult for the Indians. Those who were not considered for selection included S.Venkatraghavan, Salim Durrani, ML Jaisimha, BK Kunderan and Hanumant Singh. And with a couple of players bound to be passengers, doubts were expressed in some circles whether the Indians had the resources to do well even against a weak Australian side.

An injured left hamstring almost immediately on arrival in Australia put the Nawab of Pataudi out of action. The Indian captain was to miss every match till the second Test and in fact played in only the last three Tests of the series. Badly missing Pataudi's services, both as captain and principal batsman, the Indians entered the first Test with a woeful record. Chandu Borde got his only chance to lead India at Adelaide and Australia led off with 335. The well established opening pair of Simpson (55) and Lawry (42) put on 99 runs and then Sheahan (81) and Cowper (92) added 118 runs for the third wicket. Debutant Abid Ali picked up six wickets for 55. The Indians started off well with Farokh Engineer hitting a typically breezy 89 and Borde (69) and Surti (70) adding 121 runs for the fourth wicket. But the visitors collapsed from 250 for three to 307 all out. Australia consolidated their position, thanks to centuries in the second innings from Simpson (109) and Cowper (108) and their third wicket stand of 172 runs. Surti picked up five wickets for 74 to give an indication that he was going to be a tower of strength to the Indian team. A second innings total of 369 left India with a difficult task of getting 398 for victory. At 49 for four, they were headed for defeat in four days and it was only gallant knocks by Surti (53) and Subramanyam (75) which saw the visitors extend the battle to the final morning when they were all out for 251 with Renneberg picking up five for 39.

The second Test at Melbourne followed immediately and Pataudi was back for his first innings on the tour. In conditions helpful to bowlers, Pataudi scored a courageous 75, batting as he was with one good eye and one good leg. McKenzie broke the back of the Indian innings capturing seven wickets for 66. India's misery was compounded with Australia rattling up 529 in reply. Simpson (109) and Lawry (100) started off with an oepning stand of 191 and Ian Chappell (151) and veteran stumper Barry Jarman (65) kept the innings going with a sixth wicket partnership of 134 runs. Prasanna soldiered on to take six for 141. But a deficit of 356 runs and plenty of time left were always going to be difficult hurdles to cross and India were all out for 352 on the fourth evening. But the closing stages were highlighted by the epic batting of Pataudi who followed his 75 with an even greater 85. Earlier Wadekar was unlucky to be out for 99 and added 116 runs for the third wicket with the ever reliable Surti (43).

By the time the third Test was held at Brisbane a fortnight later, Chandrasekhar who was injured during the second Test had gone back home and Jaisimha was flown in as a replacement. Put in to bat, Australia scored 379. Lawry, captaining the team for the first time, and Redpath led off with a first wicket stand of 76 runs and then Cowper (51), Sheahan (58) and Walters (93) maintained the pressure on the bowling. India lost the first three wickets for nine runs but then staged a fine rally through Surti (52), Pataudi (74) and Jaisimha (74). Having arrived in Australia only a couple of days before, Jaisimha was making his first class debut in that country. The bad start however meant that India finished 100 runs behind on the first innings. Australia, with Lawry (45) and Redpath (79) sharing a first wicket stand of 116 runs and with Walters again bolstering the middle order with an unbeaten 62 seemed to have sewn up the game at 240 for four around lunch time on the fourth day. But a superb spell by Prasanna who finished with six for 104 restricted the Australians to 294. A target of 395 was never going to be easy even in reasonable batting conditions and in the face of mediocre Australian bowling. But Abid Ali led the way with a breezy 47 and then Surti (64) and Pataudi (48) added 93 runs for the fourth wicket. On the final morning, Jaisimha and Borde (63) carried India's hopes with a sixth wicket stand of 119 runs and at 310 for five, India were in with a chance of scoring a fine victory. Borde however fell at this stage and Cowper and Gleeson then got among the wickets and India were all out for 355. Jaisimha however was not to be denied a century and was last out for 101. For him, it was the kind of game that one sees in their dreams. But Australia, having won the Test by 39 runs, had made sure of taking the series.

The Indians however had been improving and it was hoped that they would at least register a consolation win at Sydney, particularly as the Australians had shown they were a vulnerable lot. But again the Indians flattered only to deceive. Put in to bat, Australia, with Lawry (66), Sheahan (72) and Walters (94 not out) being the main run getters, got 317. India, in reply, were at one stage 178 for two thanks to Abid Ali (78) and Wadekar (49). But then there was the all too familiar collapse and India were all out for 268. Again the Australians were in a position to consolidate and Cowper (165) and his first wicket stand with Lawry (52) saw to it that the grip was not lost even though Prasanna (4 for 96) again brought about a collapse as Australia slid from 222 for two to 292 all out. A victory target of 342 seemed within reach, especially with Abid Ali leading the way with a breathtaking 81. But once again there was an inexplicable collapse and India went from 120 for one to 197 all out with Simpson picking up five for 59 in what was to be his final Test appearance. Defeat by 144 runs gave the Australians a 4-0 clean sweep.

It was certainly not the kind of result expected when the Indians landed in Australia. Pataudi's absence in all matches but the three Tests was certainly a factor, as surely was the injury to Chandrasekhar. But overall, there was a certain lack of fight at crucial junctures that led to the dismal showing. The repeated batting collapses only compounded matters. As I said, the Australians were not a very strong side. To add to this, McKenzie was not played after the first two Tests, Simpson missed the third and the selectors were generally in a mood to experiment with changes in the batting order and the inclusion of new players with the tour of England around the corner. But the Indians could not take advantage of all this and went down rather disappointingly.

There were the few crumbs of comfort as usual. Pataudi's batting in the three Tests was a revelation even by his high standards and he had just one failure in six innings towards an aggregate of 339 runs. Prasanna proved his class in unmistakable terms by taking 25 wickets in the four Tests. Surti's all round skills (367 runs and 15 wickets) were of immense value to the team. Abid Ali was a true discovery. But the collective failure of some of the established players like Sardesai, Borde, Desai, Nadkarni and Bedi could not be made up and therein lay a major reason for the debacle.