Amid the hustle-bustle of India’s ongoing home ODI and T20 series against New Zealand, people seem to have forgotten that this cricket season is also the 50th anniversary of India’s first ever overseas Test series win. And, interestingly, that historic triumph came on India’s first ever Test series played in the Kiwiland, during 1967-68 tour. Imagine, that win came after Australia had drubbed the same Indian team 4-0 in the four-match series just a few days before we crossed the Tasman Sea.
I remember with joy the victory in New Zealand. But I was ever so raw and almost dead to figures; it was only my second overseas trip, after the 1967 tour of England. I think we were innocent when it came to numbers in New Zealand, maybe the print media was not as alert as it is today, reminding readers of every known or unknown records that need to reminded! Honestly, it never occurred to any of us touring then that ours was indeed the first ever Test series win abroad. As I said, we must have been daft not to be aware of such a great achievement. We were good tourists though, having fun on and off the field!
In Mansoor Ali Khan Tiger Pataudi, we had a great leader whose popularity was a boon for the team, and his singular urge to press for a win was palpably clear to all of us. He was a disciplinarian too. There was one moment in the Dunedin Test when ‘Bapu’ Nadkarni, a top-class left-arm spinner, was adjudged leg before the wicket to New Zealand pacer Bruce Taylor, but for some inexplicable reason Bapu took a long time looking up to the umpire’s raised finger. Taylor lost his cool and was bad mouthing Bapu. Lo and behold, Bapu took his own time explaining the virtues of sportsmanship to Taylor. It was annoyingly funny, but Tiger was heard yelling at Bapu to come off the field. It was quite hilarious, really. But it left an indelible mark on my mind, how Tiger was not willing to accept anything ugly on the cricket field. My best memory of that twin-tour is of Erapalli Prasanna in his prime. A brilliant off-spinner, he was our main strike bowler and he bagged 49 wickets in eight Tests on that trip—25 against Australia and 24 versus New Zealand. That tour also saw the emergence of Ajit Wadekar as a solid batsman.
