Gibbs 8/38 and skipper Worrell brought victory for Windies
by A.C.de Silva
CRICKET:If anyone had ventured at lunch time on March 28 in 1962 to
suggest that there would be a definite result to the third Test between
India and the West Indies, he would most certainly have been whisked off
to the first available mental health doctor.
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Sir Frank Worrell – the West Indian skipper who made 77 in the total of
475. |
Nawab of Pataudi (jnr) of India – the captain
|
For, at the start of the Test match between India and the West
Indies, the West Indies attack was somewhat been taken good measure by
India at the Kensington Oval.
|
Lance Gibbs of West Indies – the real match winner with 8
for 38 in India’s second innings score of 187. |
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Conrad Hunte – West Indies opening bat, scored 59 in the
West Indies total of 475. |
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Wesley Hall – had 3 for 64 in India’s first innings score of
258. |
According to facts and figures, India were 50 for no wicket in the
first innings and seemed set for a big score. But things turned the
other way and four wickets fell for 89 – those of Jaisimha for 41, Surti
for 7.
That was in the first innings and it was left for Pataudi and Durani
(both on 48, though Durani was 48 not out) to lift the Indians, but
eventually the Indians were all out for 258 in their first innings.
Indian score not enough
Wesley Hall – the Windies paceman had 3 for 64 – the best bowling
figures in the first innings. But the Indians score was not enough as
the Windies somewhat ran riot when they batted in their first innings to
make 475 with many useful contributions – Conrad Hunte 59, McMorris
(39), Rohan Kanhai (89), Garfield Sobers (42), Solomons (96) and skipper
Worrell (77) and Allan (40 not out) piling on the runs at leisure. The
West Indies went on to 475 in their first innings.
Most people thought that the Indian team would do something to make a
match of it when they batted a second time. However, this was not to be
and suddenly, lithe, long-fingured Lance Gibbs struck – once, twice,
Manjrejar punched a ball from the off-spinner and Worrell – the West
Indian skipper who had been looking for this lapse in concentration from
the Indian batsman for hours, pounced on the catch. And Sobers, standing
at first slip grabbed a snick from Sardesai.
Indian wickets topple
What happened afterwards defied explanation: six Indian wickets went
down; and by midway between the lunch-tea period, all was over. West
Indies had won! Thanks be to Lance Gibbs – the champion bowler who ended
with 8 for 38 in the Indian second innings, bowling 53.3 overs with 37
maiden overs.
The press correspondents were finding adjectives to describe the
climax, the Indian captain Pataudi was somewhat shot of words to
describe the cause of their defeat. He said that before the loss of
Sardesai and Manjrekar, the Indians began to lose the match on the first
day itself when they lost the toss and being asked to bat on the easiest
of pitches, they lost important wickets.
After winning the first two Tests, on reflection this third Test was
more of a triumph for Worrell, than it was for Gibbs, who at one stage
had taken eight for six. Here was Worrell leading the West Indies for
the first time on the ground on which he created history with John
Goddard back in the 1940s. The same ground on which he was based (during
the 1953 India tour, after failing with the bat) and slow-clapped during
his monumental knock of 197 against India).
No bouncers bowled
This Test was a match in which no bouncers were bowled, a feature
which must be attributed to Worrell’s “play-it-clean” policy.
From the Indian point of view, it was a game during which the
visitors could have done much more if their ace captain contractor was
in the field. Contractor had that terrible injury to his head and had to
be sidelined from cricket.
True, Pataudi asserted himself as a student of the game, by (a)
hitting out in his first innings (where he scored 48) then (b) Setting
his field in such a way that none of the batsmen – not even the rampant
Kanhai and Sobers – could do what they liked with the bowling. (Sobers
made 42 and Kanhai 89).
SCOREBOARD
INDIA 1st INNINGS
D. Sardesau c McMorris b Gibbs 31
M.L. Jaisinha c Allan b Hall 41
R. Surti lbw b Worrell 07
S. Manjrekar c Worrell b Hall 08
P. Umrigar c Allan b Hall 08
Nawab of Pataudi c & b Valentine 48
Borde c Allan b Sobers 19
F. Engineer c Worrell b Sobers 12
S. Dunami not out 48
B. Nadkarni b Stayers 22
R. Desai b Worrell 12
EXTRAS 02
TOTAL 258
Fall of wickets: 1-56, 2-76, 3-82, 4-89, 5-112, 6-153
7-171, 8-188, 9-230
Bowling: W.Hall 22-4-64-3
Stayers 11-0-81-1
F.Worrell 7-3-12-2
L. Gibbs 16-7-25-1
A. Valentine 17-7-28-1
G. Sobers 16-2-46-2
WEST INDIES 1st INNINGS
C. Hunte c Engineer b Surti 59
E. McMorris c Engineer b Dunani 39
R. Kanhai run out 89
G. Sobers c Engineer b Nadkarni 42
G. Solomons c Desai b Danani 96
L Gibbs b Borde 07
F Worrell b Umrigar 77
B Stayers c Umrigar b Nadkarni 07
W. Hall lbw b Umrigar 03
Allan not out 40
A. Valentine b Borde 04
EXTRAS 12
TOTAL 475
Fall of wickets: 1-67, 2-152, 3-226, 4-255, 5-282
6-378, 7-394, 8-399, 9-454
Bowling: R. Desai 19-7-25-0
R. Surti 29-6-80-1
S.Durrani 45-13-123-2
B. Nadkarni 67-28-92-2
M.L. Jaisimha 1-0-6-0
P. Umrigar 40-27-48-2
INDIA 2ND INNINGS
D. Sardesai c Sobers b Gibbs 60
M.L. Jaisinha lbw b Stayers 00
R. Surti lbw b Stayers 36
S. Mangrekar c Worrell b Gibbs 51
P. Umrigar c Allan b Gibbs 10
Nawab of Pataudi c Sobers b Gibbs 00
C. Borde c Worrell b Gibbs 08
F. Engineer St.Allan b Gibbs 00
S. Durrani c Hunte b Gibbs 05
B. Nandakarni not out 02
R. Desai c Sobers b Gibbs 01
EXTRAS 14
TOTAL 187
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-60, 3-158, 4-159, 5-159, 6-174
7-177, 8-177, 9-183
Bowling: W. Hall 10-3-17-0
Stayers 18-8-24-2
F. Worrell 27-18-16-0
L. Gibbs 53.3-37-38-8
A. Valentine 29-19-26-0
G. Sobers 17-10-14-0
G.Solomons 29-17-33-0
R. Kanhai 2-1-5-0 |
