How Indian Test cricket has evolved

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  • The Indian team that toured England in 1932

    The 2001 Kolkata Test summed up the various caprices of Indian cricket in one glorious match. The encounter at Eden Gardens was akin to pressing the restart button on Indian Test cricket; finally, the sepia-soaked days and grainy television feeds of the 1990s were done away with for good, and Indian cricket experienced a rebirth of sorts.

    Indian Test cricket’s eight-decade long history and its identity have been shaped by a lineage of maverick captains. Slowly, as India emerged as a nation from the rubble of Partition, it found its voice as a political, economic and sporting entity.

    As one captain passed down the fruits of their labour to another, India developed several rivalries on its march to the summit. From looking simply to survive at first, the Indian cricket team became confident that they could beat anyone on their day.

    PRE-INDEPENDENCE

    In the pre-Partition days, it was the spectre of royal blood that hung over Indian cricket. This was the age of the Raj and a time when Maharajas and Yuvrajs were great patrons of cricket and cricketers.

    The princes were often keen to participate themselves, although their comical ineptitude on the field has become something of a running gag in any historical account of Indian cricket.

    499 Test Matches

    • Wins: 129
    • Losses: 157
    • Draws: 212
    • Tie: 1

    Not all were like this though. That great prince, KS Ranjitsinhji, had turned out with great success for England in the past, and it is against that same opponent that India played its first 10 Tests before independence.

    The side that toured England in 1932 boasted representation from the major religions: seven Hindus, four Muslims, an equal number of Parsis and two Sikhs. The captain was the Maharaja of Porbandar, although he barely played and was replaced by one CK Nayudu for the only Test.

    The big hitting Lieutenant Colonel from Nagpur was a hero of Indians under the Raj. His popularity and charisma had made him a national icon and although he was unable to prevent defeat in India’s maiden Test, the tourists won nine times against county opposition.

    Nayudu and many of his colleagues from the early days did not enjoy very long Test careers. One person from that side who did, however, was Lala Amarnath.

    THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED INDEPENDENCE

    As a 21-year-old firebrand, Amarnath had scored India’s first Test hundred – against England in only 117 minutes – and later, as Vijay Merchant withdrew while the squad was in training camp at Poona, the Kapurthala-born batsman became independent India’s first captain.

    He was a lasting appointment, leading the country in 15 Tests across five years, winning two. Amarnath never managed another hundred, but he was the first in a clutch of Indian skippers whose bio was not intrinsically tied to his statistical weight of achievement.

    Another like him was the Nawab of Pataudi. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi was also 21 when made captain after Nari Contractor suffered a life-threatening injury while on tour in the West Indies.

    Vijay Hazare and Polly Umrigar had held fort in the 1950s as India won their first two series – against Pakistan and New Zealand. It was still a time when avoiding defeat was the principle objective for this cricketing infant – they had been miserably trounced in England in 1952 – and their painful, plodding matches against Pakistan (with national pride also at stake) reflected this psychology most acutely.

    But Pataudi changed all that. He had suffered damage to his right eye shortly before, but his vision for India remained undisturbed.

    Indian cricket needed bravery and belief to realise its potential, and Pataudi had it in spades. This was the time India’s finest ever slow bowlers – the famous spin quartet – were establishing themselves in the team.

    Spin bowling has always been India’s strength – despite the best efforts of Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan to alter that perception – and remains so, and Pataudi played with three of them.

    He only ever won nine Tests, and lost 19 (the most by any Indian skipper), but Pataudi’s insistence on sticking with his best bowlers paid off: India claimed their first overseas victories in a 1-3 series win in New Zealand in 1968.

    COMING OF AGE

    The 1970s was the decade of explosion for cricket in general. That time is remembered quite fondly in India, and although it was not as successful as popular sentiment would have you believe, it was certainly monumental.

    In 1971, the new captain, Mumbai batsman Ajit Wadekar, primed the resources at his disposal to emerge from England and the West Indies with two series wins.

    Although later in the decade India defeated both New Zealand and England (again, at home), they lost three more series to the latter  – the ignominious ‘Summer of 42’ among them – and missed a superb chance to win in Australia in 1977-78 with the home side deprived of several key players due to Kerry Packer’s cricket revolution.

    The find of the 1971 West Indies tour had undoubtedly been Sunil Gavaskar. Bishan Singh Bedi played alongside him, and himself was one of the game’s finest spinners, but his sack came in 1978, after a miserable defeat in Pakistan.

    It was not all bad, however, for an all-rounder named Kapil Dev made his debut in that series across the border.

    Sometimes great players don’t make great captains in cricket, but the reigns of two of the most talented cricketers in history suggested that when it all came together, India’s performances were transformed from the good to the superlative.

    After Bedi, Gavaskar claimed the baton. Although he won as many games as Pataudi (9) and his win percentage stood at under 20%, Gavaskar was still part of some notable victories – such as the series leveller in Melbourne in 1981.

    Certainly, Gavaskar and then Kapil after him did rack up an extraordinary number of draws – 52 out of 81 games between them – but India slowly built up an unshakeable resistance from within. The two captains lost only eight and seven Tests respectively.

    After home defeats to the West Indies and England in the mid-1980s, it seemed India’s instinct for survival on home soil had been hardened to the point of indestructibility.

    A famous series win in England followed in 1986, but it is worth noting that in the 30-plus years since losing to England in 1985, only four touring sides have come and won a Test series in India.

    The latter half of the 1980s contained one of those defeats – to Pakistan in 1987 – but generally speaking, it was a time of unimaginative, exceedingly brief reigns, except for the small matter of two future skippers – Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar – making their debuts.

    THE CHAOTIC NINETIES

    And so began the 1990s, with Azharuddin in charge, the decade where the has-beens and never-weres alike tried their hand at becoming India’s next superstar. Some became minor cult heroes, others disappeared completely after a game or two.

    If India’s home form only sharpened in this decade, then their away record plunged from bad to worse – only one win from 38. By the end of it all, Azharuddin was the most successful Indian Test captain ever, though, with 14 wins.

    Some young talent from that era lasted. Sachin Tendulkar, though less successful as a captain (four wins in 25; none out of 12 in 1997) became batsman extraordinaire and a national icon.

    GANGULY, DRAVID AND SUCCESS OVERSEAS

    Sourav Ganguly re-entered the fold in 1996 and went on to lead the country himself.  By 2005, he had 21 wins from 49 games, 11 of them away from home, India’s most successful captain overseas and the man widely acknowledged as the one who converted years of underachievement abroad into tangible progress.

    Sourav Ganguly (R) and co. celebrate after the famous win at Eden Gardens in 2001

    Sourav Ganguly (R) and co. celebrate after the famous win at Eden Gardens in 2001

    His fellow Test debutant was Rahul Dravid, who succeeded Ganguly. Dravid went one step further, finally recording full series wins in the West Indies (after 35 years) and England (after 21).

    The three were among the best batsmen India has ever produced, and one of the country’s finest ever bowlers took up the reins after Dravid’s time as skipper ended. Anil Kumble was already 37 when he took the job, and proved to be crucial transitory figure between the old India and the new.

    A number of very talented young players took the stage in the post-2000 period. They had brash self-confidence and a penchant for the eye-catching, and collectively the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma helped shape India’s strong limited-overs identity as well.

    Perhaps the biggest of these millennials impressed the hierarchy enough to be trusted with the biggest job of all – to shepherd a generation of young cricketers to heights never dreamt of.

    EXTREME HIGHS AND LOWS UNDER MS DHONI

    In one way, Mahendra Singh Dhoni achieved just that. The most prolific (60 Tests in charge) and successful (27 wins) Test captain in Indian cricket history was, in part at least, defined by the smallest number – the #1 Test ranking.

    From 2008 to 2011, India won eight of 11 Test series, including wins against Australia and in the West Indies. Yet, it all fell apart once the jewel of the World Cup was added to their crown.

    Shocking defeats in England and Australia followed, as Dhoni’s cold pragmatism was criticised as stagnant and stifling. Wins became more spaced out and questions began to be asked more frequently of team members. In late 2014, Dhoni called time on his Test career, though he retains captaincy of the limited-overs sides.

    VIRAT KOHLI AND THE FUTURE

    From the very same blast furnace that forged the Maharaja of Vizianagram and Vinoo Mankad comes a different sort of character. Virat Kohli has been in the job for a year now, and early signs look encouraging.

    Kohli is unbeaten as captain and has won half his games in charge. His time has been marked by such innovations as the five-bowler strategy and the rise of KL Rahul.

    Since it has been capable of entertaining such thoughts, Indian cricket has looked to the biggest tests in Test cricket as the next goal to achieve.

    The Dhoni years marked something of a regression away from home, but a new captain always brings fresh hope. Kohli’s enterprising start will be put to its sternest challenge soon, beginning with a tough home season scheduled with the first Test against New Zealand.

    India have never won a Test series in Australia or South Africa. This is an accomplishment that has eluded the best of them; the paradigms of Indian Test cricket have evolved and shifted, but some things never change. The current captain, though, may have something to say about that.

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