London, (IANS) In January 1980, India completed a 2-0 series win over Pakistan, favourites before the series, by beating them by 10 wickets at Madras.

Sunil Gavaskar, with 166 and 29 not out, and Kapil Dev, with 11 wickets and 84 runs, were indefatigably ruthless in the Test match.

India’s next assignment was a tour of Australia in 1980-81, where they had never won a Test – let alone a series – against a full-strength side.

Predictably, the Indians lost the first Test at Sydney – indeed, by an innings and four runs.

In the second encounter at Adelaide, however, the tourists, propped up by a blistering 174 from Sandip Patil, defiantly fought back. Batting without a helmet, Patil had been knocked semi-conscious by a snarling bouncer from Len Pascoe in the previous game.

In the final Test at Melbourne, India conceded a first innings lead of 182, despite a pedigreed hundred by Gundappa Viswanath. In the second outing, India mustered 324, which set the hosts a target of 143 to win on a deteriorating pitch. After Karsen Ghavri and Dilip Doshi had started the slide, Kapil finished the demolition with a remarkable spell of 16.4-4-28-5.

But the euphoria of Melbourne was almost immediately extinguished, when India lost the first Test at Wellington and thereby, a series in New Zealand for the first time.

The following winter, India won the first Test against Keith Fletcher’s England and drew the next five on embarrassingly lifeless pitches.

Six months later, England returned the compliment after they had gone one up at Lord’s. The wickets at Manchester, where rain was also a spoilsport, and the Oval were noticeably flat.

This was the era of the mighty West Indies.

After being outplayed 3-0 in Pakistan in 1982-83, India didn’t fare too badly by losing 2-0 in the Caribbean a few months later. But the 3-0 loss at home in the autumn of 1983 – close on the heels of the World Cup triumph – was rather a leveller.

The skilful and speedy Malcolm Marshall, with 33 wickets, was the chief wrecker. Kapil, though, took nine for 83 in an innings at Ahmedabad.

But more disappointment was to follow.

England, led by David Gower, recorded a 2-1 success in India.

Individually, though, Mohammed Azharuddin stole the thunder with centuries in his first three Tests.

Indeed, for a period in the mid-1980s (barring the aberration of a 1-0 setback in Sri Lanka), India looked a particularly competitive side, with a batting line-up, which included Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Dilip Vengsarkar and Azharuddin, probably the best in the world, not to mention all-rounders like Kapil and Ravi Shastri.

But for rain, India would have registered a series win in Australia in 1985-86.

In England, six months later, they crushed Mike Gatting’s side 2-0 in a three Test series.

Later that year, the Aussies were already on a comeback trail as they drew a series in India, which included a memorable tie at Madras. Kapil, captain in that match, however reflected: “I still feel we should have won that match.”

India, then, held Vivian Richards’ West Indians to a 1-1 draw at home. But the fact that India were slipping as the decade progressed was highlighted by the loss of a Test in Bangalore and, as a result, the series to Pakistan (after nine dreary draws spread over three series between 1983 and 1987) and a 3-0 defeat in the West Indies in 1989.

Hosting Sri Lanka and New Zealand in 1986-87 and 1988-89 respectively, the Indians did get the better of them 2-0 and 2-1.

News Source by mangalorean.com