From 42 to 36: A story about two falls from India, 46 years and six running apart

Written by Nimish Dubey

Last updated: 19 December 2020 6:21:32 pm





Virat Kohli will shake hands with Australian players after the end of the Adelaide Test. (AP)

They were both quick and sudden. And in each case, the Indian fan certainly did not see them coming.

Morair, 1974. Adelaide, 2020.

42 all out the first time. 36 all out second.

But think about it, there are those who claim that the two scoring boards are not right at all – it was actually 42-9 and 36-9. For Bhagwat Chandrasekhar did not hit in the second innings of Lord, injured, and Mohammad Shami stopped his injury at Adelaide in 2020.

EXPLANATION Is it the lowest point of the India ‘Summer of 36’ Team?

Did anyone see it coming?

That is not the same coincidence in the two notorious falls. In each case, India had arrived on a tour seen as a highly competitive side – in 1974, the Wadekar Indian team had won three leagues in a series in 1971 in the West Indies and England. , and 1972-73 against England at home, and was famous for getting two of the best young bats around – Gavaskar and Vishwanath – and of course he was famous for his spinning ability – Bedi, Vishwanath, Chandrasekhar. And although the Indians lost the first Test in Manchester, they competed hard until the end of the day, with Gavaskar scoring what he considered to be his best test period in the first innings. . Even at Lord, they responded to England’s high score of 629 with 302 in the first innings, and there were people who felt that a strong response to second innings could not be made when they continued, especially as India returned to the pavilion on the third in the afternoon at 2 with no losses.

Similarly, the Indian team with Virat Kohli arrived in Australia with impressive credentials and with some big names on board, including perhaps the best bat in cricket in the world (Kohli himself, though who was only for part of the trip), the best bow player (Jaspreet Bumrah) and one of the best collectors in the world (Ravichandran Ashwin). And while Wadekar’s side had been reasonably competitive until he fell at Lord’s, there was reason to believe that Adelaide were in control of the Kohli team. When India left the field at stumps on the second day, the score was 9 for 1, and despite all the memes and humor created when Prithvi went Shaw’s dismissal (“He tried to commit suicide by standing in front of a bus, but survived, because the bus went between his bat and his cap” and so on), b The general consensus was that India held the upper hand, with their first innings lead, nine bats to come and three days left to play.

At Lord on June 24, 1974, Gavaskar and Engineer walked in with the score at 2/0, intending to make England again and drag the game to another day at least. At Adelaide on December 19, Mayank Agarwal and night watchman Jaspreet Bumrah started again at 9/1 with what many spectators were sure of as crucial first innings of 53 behind them.

And they all fell …

Played. And then the influence of the House of Cards kicked in. Everywhere. In the first session. So much so that the game was literally over in just over an hour at one point, and all but the shouting (and some pretty basic stick) in the second.

The shock was much sharper at Lord, where Geoff Arnold and Chris Old got a label from the word “play”. The engineer did not add to the score overnight, and before people knew what was happening, Wadekar, Vishwanath and Brijesh Patel had joined him, leaving India to go. down at 14-4. To their credit, Agarwal and Bumrah brought the score overnight to 15-1, one more run than at Lord’s, before the storm hit.

At Lord, all thoughts of survival were replaced by those of avoiding humility, as Gavaskar and Solkar together got the score to 25. And then Gavaskar caught his foot before him, Abid Ali caught behind and Madan Lal caught in the field, as India went down to 30 for 7. Solkar, who got a good shot with 18 unbeaten, gave the score to 42, before Old cleared up Prasanna and Bedi to leave India at 42-9, with Chandrasekhar unable to bat.

The panic was somewhat greater at Adelaide. Agrawal and Bumrah had brought the score to 15. There wasn’t too much worry when Bumrah was sent off at that score – after all, He was the night watchman. But things changed when the score, even as Pujara, Agarwal (little did he know his 9 would be the main score of the innings) and Rahane did not all go away – 15-1 became 15-5 . Hope was raised when Kohli got off the mark with a finish and fell sharply when he was sacked with nothing more – 19-6. Hanuman Vihari played the Solkar for India, bringing the score into the thirties with 8, but when Mohammad Shami let go of injury at 36-9, the Curts came down on the lowest score in the India in test innings completed.

Appearance and differences

There are some interesting differences between the two ends:

– In each case, there were no other factors.

– India survived 17 goals to score 42, and 21.2 overs to score 36.

– In all cases, the engines were over in less than a session. And in each case, this was a morning, pre-lunch session.

– In each case, only three archers were used by the opponents. And in each case, one took five wikis, another four wikis, and another went without a wicket. Chris Old got 5-21, Geoff Arnold 4-19 at Lord, and Mike Hendrick went without a wicket. At Adelaide, Josh Hazelwood got something amazing 5-8, Pat Cummins got 4-21, while Mitchell Starc went without a wicket.

– In every hotel, famous spinners did not get a bowl at all because there was a seam and swing riot running – Derek Underwood and Nathan Lyon! One collector in each team was also considered surplus to bowling requirements – Tony Grieg in 1974 and Cameron Green in 2020!

– In both innings, the bats were able to hit four hits. However, at Lord, Solkar hit six as well. Interestingly, the difference is between 42 and 36… SIX!

English players celebrate wicket in second Test of series against India in 1974. (Source: Twitter / @ ESPN)

– Interestingly, five Lord Indian bats were fired without being involved in a field – two were previously legs, and three were bowled. At Adelaide, only one player was bowled, and he had no legs before, although Bumrah could say he was sacked without the involvement of an outside player – he was caught and bowling with Cummins. Apparently, three were eventually captured by Lord, and five by Adelaide.

– Four of the 17 overs hit by Lord’s in India were maidens, ten of the 21.2 overs hit by Adelaide were without a run. Was India more aggressive in 1974 or did Solkar’s late figures change a bit?

– Only two Indians got ducks from Lord. Three did at Adelaide. Apparently, four bats reached Lord five and beyond. Only two did at Adelaide. More “starts” (of all kinds) in 1974.

– Eknath Solkar on Lord’s main top with 18 not out. Mayank Agarwal did so in Adelaide with just half the score – 9. Interestingly, the openers played the longest innings in each case – Gavaskar lasted 26 deliveries and 49 minutes for 5 at Lord while Mayank Agarwal ate 40 deliveries and 57 minutes for his 9 at Adelaide.

SITES India vs Australia: All the grim numbers from the Adelaide Test

– Of the 20 bats that fought at Lord and Adelaide, 19 were eliminated in single figures (Solkar was the only one to get past 10). But, and this is strange, no one won 6 or 7 – five got 0, one got 1 score, two got 2 scores (oh the balance), two also got 3, four got 4 scores (all at Adelaide ), three received a score of five (all. at Lord), one received an 8 and a score of 9.

– A final and very interesting coincidence, the last day of the Lord ‘s Trial should have been 25 June. Of course, no play was made into the final day after the fall of India. But nine years later, on June 25, 1983, at Lord, India won the World Cup.

Just like at Lord in 1974, Adelaide in 2020 also did not enter the last day, which would be on December 21, 2020. Perhaps India will do something amazing on December 21, 2029.

Hope flows forever. And well, it’s the same way up from 36. Note, that’s what they said about 42 in 1974.

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