West Indies Malcom Marshall turns the game against India in the first test at Kanpur in 1983-84.
This is not to be equated with a national disaster. It has happened before. In the face of hostile fast bowling, Indian batting has often been exposed. The significance of India’s defeat in Kanpur lay more in the West Indies’ victory. Here was a side mowing down the opposition on the latter’s own soil, a feat that has not been achieved for six years with such definitive conclusiveness. True, there was the defeat in the golden jubilee Test. That was inflicted by clever seam bowling on a responsive wicket.
The actual dimension of the West Indies’ victory lies in the fact that it was achieved on what can only be classified as a benign pitch. The ace of the Carib- bean bowling pack simply ripped open a batting lineup that had somehow lost all its credibility so suddenly.
Sheer dynamite: The quality of Malcolm Marshall’s strike bowling brooked no stopping. He reduced India to a state of ineffective batting firing out the top men in each innings with a combination of pace, enterprise, control, threat of intimidation and clever planning. There was no escape from a cricketing corner into which India had been pushed on the very second day by which time not only had the West Indians run up a 450-plus total but also dismissed half the Indian side.
Malcom Marshall is possibly the quickest bowler in world cricket today. His speed made a total conquest of conditions at Green Park imposing on batsmen a failure rate whether they were attempting to play strokes or merely defending. The underlying viciousness in the bowler was evident in the manner in which he went at the Indian batsmen in their second essay. Marshall fired out the openers with two near unplayable deliveries and soon (and once again too) half the side had surrendered in a short period to draw of stumps for the day.
Ominous: Sydney, Wellington, Lord’s and Kingston are very recent examples of how India caved in in the first Test of a series. One of the characteristics of Indian batting is that it takes time and exposure to get accustomed to pace. However, since this is the first time in six years that the first Test of a home series has been lost, it leaves one wondering whether a recovery is possible.
Skipper Kapil Dev had been emphatic about how important it was that Sunil Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath occupy time at the top of the order to facilitate the building of the innings. Things did not pan out as Kapil Dev wished and solid resistance in the Test came only in the one phase in which Madan Lal and Roger Binny added 117 runs between them in 30.4 overs. Their resourceful approach enabled them to make the best use of Clive Lloyd’s decision to pickle away his best bowler for the second innings rather than let him complete the demolition straightway on the morning of the second day.
There were other snatches of resistance like that of Ravi Shastri’s and Dilip Vengsarkar’s. The method of play. however, was not consistent enough to defy the inevitability of a crushing innings- plus defeat. The only ray of hope had lain in the follow-on being averted and that had been crushed by Vivian Richards who handled the bowling in an aggressive way in Clive Lloyd’s brief absence from the field.
Clive Lloyd’s decision to bat first on winning his sixth Test toss off the reel against Kapil Dev could have only been prompted by suspicions of the pitch brought about by the huge cracks seen on the surface on the eve of the Test. The type of response Kapil Dev found in the first hour could have been lethal had India been up against Marshall in that period.
Early scares: The old and familiar Indian bowling weaknesses were shown up once Kapil Dev took himself off for the first time with the wickets of Desmond Haynes and Viv Richards to show for his strenuous and thinking effort. Even if Gordon Greenidge did not exactly sparkle to dominate the West Indies innings, he was certainly a picture of top fettle efficiency in Test match batting.
The early scare of an appeal for leg before merged into the background while Richards went for the bowling in an unabashed manner playing a dreamlike inswing. The first spot of trouble for the West Indies came with Larry Gomes struggling against spin and Lloyd and Gus Logie falling in one over to Raghuram Bhat. There was something in the wicket for the spinners, too, on the first day and their progress was cut short only by the stodgy methods of Gordon Greenidge and the pleasing and perfect approach of Jeff Dujon.
Gordon Greenidge had paced his innings to a nicety though ultimately, he was to prove a shade over-careful on the second day when Jeff Dujon and Malcom Marshall proved more adept at forcing the medium pace and spin. Having made most of his early runs with effective drives, Greenidge picked up on his tempo with fine use of the sweep shot against the spinners. With Greenidge unable to force the pace despite having batted for a day and more, it was up to Jeff Dujon to cause ripples driving all three seamers with amazing base.
He paved the way for Malcom Marshall to get at an attack that had few ideas beyond containment. Kapil Dev’s field placements, particularly the way in which so much freedom was offered in the scantily patrolled legside, and his excessive reliance on the hard working but unpenetrated operation of Madan and Binny allowed the game to tilt the Caribbean way.
Fluent knock: Malcom Marshall luxuriated in his newfound ability to strike out at the bowling, playing to leg unhampered and driving with quite some authority in front of the wicket. The record seventh stand of 130 that bettered Garry Sobers and Mendonca’s 127 at Kingston in 1971 was ended only by the change bowler Mohinder Amarnath who got Gordon Greenidge with a gentle leg cutter.
In the excitement of trying to make his maiden hundred with only the company of the tail, Marshall fell in a vain drive off Kapil Dev that became a return catch. Kapil finished with four wickets which was a very fair indication that India has only one wicket-taking bowler at Test- level.
After having basked in the glory of his career-best Test score. Malcom Marshall returned to cut down the Indians with a fine opening burst. At various times Michael Holding proved an able partner shrewdly keeping the ball up at just over medium pace and giving nothing away. Davis chipped in with the vital wicket of Sandeep Patil foxing him with higher bounce-is there just an iota of doubt about how he gets the odd ball up? – into nicking to slips.
There was no batting ease but at least some runs for Kapil Dev who was just getting over feet-tied strokeplay when he tossed his wicket away to Baptiste, the debutant and the least effective of the pace quartet. Caught in two minds about attack and defense Kapil Dev knocked a catch into Larry Gomes at wide mid-on. Syed Kirmani well-meaning and stout resilience in the role of nightwatchman was cut short by Michael Holding who found some aid in the pitch by way of low bounce and it was a sorry looking scoreboard-90 for eight.
Defiant duo: The situation seemed to scream for bringing on tormentor, Marshall, but Lloyd stayed the chief glued to his plan of buying the last batting pair. Madan Lal and Roger Binny were in no mood to sell. Binny looked stubborn in de fence while Madan Lal played the innings of his career standing up to pace and hooking and pulling with rare authority. About the only thing the Kanpur crowd had to cheer for was this adventurous ninth wicket stand. Malcom Marshall himself looked a lesser threat with the old ball and a needless spell by Larry Gomes found runs being granted to batsmen who were by now in the mood to take them well.
Roger Binny picked all his boundaries on the on-side while Madan got a few in the straight field too. Michael Holding got past Roger Binny, then yorked Raghuram Bhat and India faced that enervating period to bat out while a requisite number of overs had to be bowled before close. Marshall’s strike rate continued to amaze onlookers and the Test was as good as over with only the last five wickets to be prized out on resumption after the rest day.
Lethal blows: Winston Davis had aided Malcom Marshall in bowling Patil and Mohinder with successive deliveries, inswingers that were quick and good. Michael Holding bowled on in his short runup to have Kapil taken behind the wicket opinion regarding the dismissal quite divided and Syed Kirmani castled. Dilip Vengsarkar had batted in the boldest manner possible going for the bowling and picking three fours in an over from Michael Holding. Once he had made the error against Marshall, it was only a matter of waiting for the end to come.
Ravi Shastri’s effort was marred only by a narrow shave from being leg before to Davis on the third day. On the next day. Ravi Shastri stood up as straight as a guardsman on duty proving an active de- fence could pay against the best of bowling. On Madan Lal’s departure, Bhat’s defence helped postpone the finish of the Test to beyond lunch. Davis cut one through Bhat’s defence and the West Indians trooped off, genuine, forthright and unmistakable winners.
