Gavaskar and Kapil create magic

When two heavy caliber guns fire together there is mayhem in the enemy territory.

Whilst cricket (with “apologies” to Andrew Symonds) is by no means a war, the simile holds true. Whether it is two fast bowlers wreaking havoc (Lindwall and Miller, Hall and Griffith, Lillee and Thomson, Roberts & Holding) or Spinners (Grimett & O”Reilly, Laker & Lock, Chandrashekhar & Bedi, Kumble & Harbhajan) or when two fine batsmen are running the opposition into the ground (like Dravid and Laxman at Calcutta), the effect is quite profound. It's not too different when a great batsman and a great all-rounder decide to do a duet as was the case in January, 1980 at Chepauk, Madras in the fifth Test between India and Pakistan.

The India-Pakistan series in 1979-80 was a six-test series coming after India’s disastrous tour of Pakistan in 1978. Whilst the rest of the Tests had been drawn, India won by 131 runs at Bombay and were leading 1-0 in the series on the 15th of January when the Madras Test started. Pakistan Captain Asif Iqbal won the toss and decided to bat first. Mudassar Nazar and Sadiq Mohammad – one the son of former Test opener Nazar Mohammad and the other the younger brother of Wazir, Hanif and Mushtaq opened the batting against Kapil Dev and Karsan Ghavri.

These were early days of Kapil – barely two years since his debut at Faisalabad and he was pretty brisk in pace though not a genuine quick. What he had even then was a natural out-swinger and an immense heart. Starting with Mudassar (six) Kapil kept the pressure on and got the top four of the Pakistan batting – Sadiq (46), Zaheer (0) and Miandad (45), Zaheer was a pale shadow from the plunderer he was in Pakistan in 1978. With Ghavri picking up Asif Iqbal (34) and Doshi accounting for Wasim Raja late in the day, Pakistan weren’t well placed at the end of the day on 254-7. Test cricket particularly, is all about partnerships and there had been few of substance to really hurt. Majid batting at no. 3 had been the top scorer with 56 but with Imran on 27 and Wasim Bari on seven, there was a hope that 70-80 more could well be added to give respectability to the score on a decent wicket.

India, on the second morning, had other ideas as Bari (15) fell early to Ghavri as did Sikandar Bakht and Imran was run out – it was all over in no time for the addition of 18 runs, with Kapil (4-90) the most successful bowler.

The Indian innings, at least till Kapil came into bat, seemed to follow a similar course. Batsmen weathered the initial storm but fell without substantial partnerships developing. Chauhan’s laborious five off 31 balls, Vengsarkar’s 17 off 56 balls, Viswanath’s 16 off 49 and debutant Sandeep Patil’s 15 off 22 didn’t help India’s cause much but the unperturbed, supremely confident and technically astute skipper Gavaskar was continuing serenely at the other end.

Only Yashpal Sharma’s 46 off 122 balls, for the first time, saw a century partnership develop in the match. When he fell, India were just seven short of overhauling Pakistan’s first innings total of 272. Kirmani (two) fell early but Kapil, playing thundering drives, hooks, and pulls, gave Gavaskar a 60-run stand before Gavaskar’s 373-ball stay ended. It was a monumental knock of 166 with 15 fours and a six against a class bowling attack (Imran, Sikandar Bakht, Mudassar, Asif Iqbal, Iqbal Qasim, Raja and Majid). When he fell, he had seen India to a good lead – more importantly he had thwarted the opposition attack whilst wickets fell around him. It was truly a captain's knock and one, in the context of the match, (and the series) a very vital one.

Kapil was in no way deterred by the loss of his skipper’s company. In company with Roger Binny (42), he belted 13 fours and a six in his 84 but this partnership of 73 had seen India cross the 400-run mark. By the time the innings ended (Imran 5-114) India had a very substantial 158-run lead. The combination of Sunil and Kapil had done a superb job – but more was to come.

As if he hadn’t done enough with ball and bat on the first three days of the Test, Kapil made day four all his own. In a sustained spell of swing and seam bowling he scythed through the Pakistan innings – Mudassar (eight), Sadiq (zero), Zaheer (15) and Asif Iqbal (five) were his victims – only Miandad (52) and Wasim Raja (57) offering resistance. When play ended on the fourth day, Pakistan were only 20 ahead with three wickets in hand.

It was dejavu, as on day one, it was Imran and Bari at the crease when stumps were drawn.

Day five was yet another day on which the two Indian howitzers – Sunil and Kapil were in action. Kapil started from where he had left off and polished off Pakistan by getting all the three wickets – Imran (29), Bari (15) and Bakht (two). His bowling figures read 23.4 -7-56-7 and his match figures were 11- 146 to add to his belligerent and invaluable 84. Truly a remarkable all-round performance and a match-winning one as India chalked out a convincing 10-wicket win with Chauhan (46) and Sunil Gavaskar (29) polishing off the 78 runs required to win in 18 overs – Gavaskar in a 52 ball, 88 minute stay, for a change, content to play second fiddle to Chetan Chauhan, whose 46 came off only 61 balls – Gavaskar ensuring no hiccups and wanting to personally ensure the victory which gave India a 2-0 win in the series and helped equate the win-loss ratio after having lost 0-2 in Pakistan.

Sunil Gavaskar had played a stellar role in many an innings for India – often to save a Test and sometimes in a lost cause. Who can forget the 96 at Bangalore on a treacherous track that was, technically, one of the finest knocks ever played, but India lost the Test and the series or for that matter 221 at The Oval against England which almost led India to an improbable win as of course the centuries in each innings of the Karachi Test in 1978 which too India lost.

But these Chepauk innings (166 & 29 n.o.) were as instrumental in India’s win as Kapil’s magnificient bursts with bat and ball. It’s a good thing there were no Man of the Match awards – it would’ve been a Herculean job to select one.

When two greats perform together, the results are bound to be very satisfactory and highly enjoyable.