August 24, 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of India’s historic Test series triumph on English soil. The Indian cricket team led by Ajit Wadekar won the third Test at the Oval by four wickets to clinch the series 1-0.
This was India's first-ever series win in England and it came right after the landmark series victory in West Indies earlier in 1971.
As the series win completed its golden jubilee, India’s current head coach Ravi Shastri recalled his memories of that epic tour and explained how it set the tone for a new chapter in Indian cricket.
"I was nine years old and I remember every ball bowled in that Test match because I was listening to the radio. I remember Farokh Engineer getting runs in both innings. Vishy getting some runs, Ajit Wadekar getting some runs in the match," said Shastri in a video posted on the BCCI website.
"And of course the brilliance of Chandrasekhar, you know, he turned the game on his head, 6 for 38, I still remember the figures," he added.
According to Shastri, the 1971 series win gave the unit the belief of winning the games on foreign soil.
"The 1971 series win in England lifted spirits of Indian cricket in a huge manner. It gave them the belief that they can go overseas and win. And to do it in England is always historic. 50 years have gone by, and those players really set the tone. Hats off to all of them," he remarked.
The first two Tests of the 1971 series ended in a draw at Lord’s and Old Trafford, respectively.
In the third Test, England rode on brilliant half-centuries from Alan Knott, John Jameson and Richard Hutton to post 355 in their first innings.
In response, Dilip Sardesai and Farokh Engineer scored valiant half-centuries while skipper Wadekar hit 48 as India folded out for 284, conceding a significant first-innings lead of 71 runs.
It was then Bhagwath Chandrasekhar brought the visitors back in the contest with a legendary spell of 6 for 38 as the hosts were bowled out for 101.
Chasing 173 runs to win, batting great Sunil Gavaskar was dismissed for a duck but Wadekar (45), Sardesai (40), Gundappa Viswanath (33) and Engineer (28*) played handy knocks to seal the deal for India.
