India may not have a great Test record Down Under but there certainly have been a lot many memorable performances since their first tour of Australia in December 1947, which they started with a match at the Brisbane Cricket Ground.Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and VVS Laxman are just some of the many names to have showcased their wares in Australia, mostly when the odds were stacked against them in the face of some fiery bowling.In 1947, though India though lost the five-match Test series 4-0, there were quite a few cherished moments.Dattu Phadkar turned out to be the find of the series during the first tour to Australia when he stood out with his fine knock of 51 in a drawn match at the Sydney Cricket ground in the second Test. He continued with his good form in the next encounter as well, at Melbourne, to score a fine 55 in the first innings, while an all-time great – Vinoo Mankad scored a remarkable 116. However, Don Bradman's century in both the innings (132 and 127) saw Australia win the tie comfortably by 233 runs. At Adelaide Oval, Vijay Hazare astonished one and all with a century in both the innings, scoring 116 in the first and following it up with145, to put up a great resistance against the mighty Aussies. In-form batsman Phadkar also hit a fine 123 in the first to give India a glimpse of hope against the hosts' first innings mammoth total of 674. But ultimately, India lost that match by an innings and 16 runs, with Bradman coming up with a fabulous double-century. The last tie at Melbourne, once again witnessed India getting badly thrashed by the hosts by an innings and 177 runs but here also Phadkar maintained his fine form to come up with another half-century, while Vinoo Mankad hit an impressive 111 and Vijay Hazare scored 74. India's next tour of Australia came in 1967-68, and once again the visitors were torn apart as Australia blanked India in the four-match series but yet again there were some outstanding batting performances. India captain, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, led by example, scoring consistently throughout the series. Barring his first match at Adelaid, Oval, he scored half-centuries in at least one innings of the rest of the three Tests to follow and though he failed to convert those into hundreds, never posed as an easy customer against some of the great Australian bowlers. Other batsmen also made their mark in that series – be it left-handed Rusi Surti, Abid Ali or M L Jaisimha, who was the lone Indian centurion on the tour. He was not even named in the original squad but was called midway through the series and practically went to the ground from the airport to score 74 in the first and 101 in the second innings in the third Test match. Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Indian batting wonders Down Under
India may not have a great Test record Down Under but there certainly have been a lot many memorable performances since their first tour of Australia in December 1947, which they started with a match at the Brisbane Cricket Ground.Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and VVS Laxman are just some of the many names to have showcased their wares in Australia, mostly when the odds were stacked against them in the face of some fiery bowling.In 1947, though India though lost the five-match Test series 4-0, there were quite a few cherished moments.Dattu Phadkar turned out to be the find of the series during the first tour to Australia when he stood out with his fine knock of 51 in a drawn match at the Sydney Cricket ground in the second Test. He continued with his good form in the next encounter as well, at Melbourne, to score a fine 55 in the first innings, while an all-time great – Vinoo Mankad scored a remarkable 116. However, Don Bradman's century in both the innings (132 and 127) saw Australia win the tie comfortably by 233 runs. At Adelaide Oval, Vijay Hazare astonished one and all with a century in both the innings, scoring 116 in the first and following it up with145, to put up a great resistance against the mighty Aussies. In-form batsman Phadkar also hit a fine 123 in the first to give India a glimpse of hope against the hosts' first innings mammoth total of 674. But ultimately, India lost that match by an innings and 16 runs, with Bradman coming up with a fabulous double-century. The last tie at Melbourne, once again witnessed India getting badly thrashed by the hosts by an innings and 177 runs but here also Phadkar maintained his fine form to come up with another half-century, while Vinoo Mankad hit an impressive 111 and Vijay Hazare scored 74. India's next tour of Australia came in 1967-68, and once again the visitors were torn apart as Australia blanked India in the four-match series but yet again there were some outstanding batting performances. India captain, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, led by example, scoring consistently throughout the series. Barring his first match at Adelaid, Oval, he scored half-centuries in at least one innings of the rest of the three Tests to follow and though he failed to convert those into hundreds, never posed as an easy customer against some of the great Australian bowlers. Other batsmen also made their mark in that series – be it left-handed Rusi Surti, Abid Ali or M L Jaisimha, who was the lone Indian centurion on the tour. He was not even named in the original squad but was called midway through the series and practically went to the ground from the airport to score 74 in the first and 101 in the second innings in the third Test match. 