Feb 1, 1999

Past Clashes: Close Encounters

Third Test, Karachi, November 14-19, 1978

The historic Test resumption series. India were already down 0-1 when they reached Karachi. India scored 344 in the first innings (Sunil Gavaskar 111) and Pakistan declared at 481 for nine. Gavaskar, who the Pakistanis swear was caught behind before he had scored, got the benefit of the umpire's doubt and went on to earn his second century of the match and manager Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad's gold watch. India made 300, leaving Pakistan 164 to get in 26 overs. Captain Mushtaq Mohammed made a bold move: he got No. 4 Asif Iqbal to open. When Pakistan lost its first wicket at 21, Mushtaq promoted No. 5 Javed Miandad to No. 3. The two ran singles that never were. When Asif was out at 118, Mushtaq continued to attack: he sent in the unfancied Imran Khan over Zaheer Abbas, Mudassar Nazar and himself. That's when Bishen Singh Bedi made the most critical mistake of his career as captain: he came on to bowl himself: he flighted the ball and Imran responded by hitting two sixes in fading light and the match was won -- and lost. Pakistan won with eight wickets and seven balls to spare. Twelve days later, the Board appointed Gavaskar as captain against Alvin Kallicharan's West Indies.Years later, when asked whether he had blundered, Bedi was unrepentant.
Scores: India 344, 300; Pakistan 481 for nine declared, 164 for two.

Second Test, Delhi, December 4-9, 1979

A punter's dream. Pakistan, at one stage 36 for three recovered to 220 for four only to collapse to 273 all out. India were 94 for nine at one stage but some rear-guard action from Dilip Doshi and Yashpal Sharma ensured they reached 126. Pakistan continued to fox in the second innings too: 68 for three, then 201 for four and finally 242 all out. India needed to score 390 to win. At 92 for two, the odds seemed loaded against the home team. But Dilip Vengsarkar went on to play the longest innings by an Indian and the unfancied Yashpal stuck around for support. When the mandatory overs began , India needed 114 with seven wickets in hand. But they blew it, and ended up 26 runs short. Vengsarkar at 146 not out with 26 runs still required. The visible heroes of the match: Sikandar Bakht who took eight Indian wickets in the first innings for 69 runs, and Kapil Dev who took nine for 121 in the Test and of course Vengsarkar's epic 146 without which the game might have been over early on the fifth day.
Scores: Pakistan 273, 242. India 126, 364 for six.

Fourth Test, Bangalore, March 13-17, 1987

On the team bus to the KSCA stadium, Iqbal Qasim told Abdul Qadir that since the 11 had already been decided and that he was not in it, he was retiring. Qadir, too much of a friend, told Imran that he was not fit and had to be dropped. Qasim was pencilled in at the last minute. The first day ended with Pakistan all out for 116 (Maninder 7 for 27). At 68 for 2, India was sitting safe. Enter Qasim and his henchman Tauseef Ahmed. They split the 10 wickets equally, and India spluttered out at 145. Pakistan did better the second time round: 249, leaving India 225 to win. At one point, India were 64 for two. And here lies an interesting story. During a chance meeting in the hotel lobby, Qasim asked Bedi what he should do on a turner where the ball broke square even with a negligible flick of the fingers. Bedi's gem: don't spin the ball too much. Instead concentrate on line and length. Let the pitch do the rest. Qasim and Tauseef had stumbled upon the formula: next morning, even as Gavaskar scored a memorable 96, they went after the others. When Gavaskar was finally out, the fight went out of the Indians. India lost by 16 runs.
Scores: Pakistan 116, 249; India 145, 204

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