50 years ago, Team India had scripted a historic Test series win, their first-ever in England in 1971, and they did it by winning the third and the final match of the series by four wickets at The Oval, their only Test win at the venue.
Current India coach Ravi Shastri recalled the series victory and said that the win inspired him to believe that India could win on English soil.
"I remember that game to the tee. I was nine years old. I was listening to it on BBC Test Match Special (TMS). There were some big names there [in commentary], who led me to the next profession in broadcasting. I listened to every ball in that game.
59 Engineer, 82 [John] Jameson, 90 [Alan] Knott. Lead for England. Sardesai runs in both innings. Vishy my childhood hero, getting out with just three runs needed and the heart was fluttering. But in between all that, it was a fabulous team performance, led superbly by Wadekar,” said Shastri in a talk show 'The Golden Jubilee' hosted by Ashis Ray and Manish Tiwari to celebrate 50 years of India's first and only win at The Oval.
He recalled more memorable instances from the match.
“The two catches by Ekki (Eknath Solkar). Ekki got everything. He chipped in with wickets, he got runs and if I am not mistaken, two fabulous catches. On the strip where you need guts, there were no helmets in those days to be able to dive forward and literally take a catch. That close to a batsman was remarkable," added Shastri.
Ravi Shastri calls MS Dhoni's decision to quit Test cricket in 2014 "brave and selfless"
"Venkat took a superb catch. Of course, Farokh, was one of the first professionals. He was from my school and my college. His presence in 2nd innings was instrumental. His attacking instincts took India past that total," said Shastri further.
"These were the people that inspired us and probably gave confidence to the entire nation to win overseas, particularly in England," he said.
Notably, India is playing England at The Oval currently in the 4th Test of the ongoing five-match series and will be looking for their first Test win at the venue in 50 years.
(With IANS inputs)
