WI vs IND: Five epic Test encounters from India’s tours of West Indies
India and West Indies share a rich strand of cricket history. Both the teams, occupied by the British masters, stepped into Test cricket within six years of each other (WI – 1926, IND – 1932). In 1948, these two sides first clashed against each other whereas India played on the West Indian soil for the first time in 1953. Since then, they have produced a few legendary clashes. Here are five of the most memorable –
Port of Spain, Trinidad, 1971
Prior to the second Test of the 1971 tour, India had clashed with West Indies a total of 24 times. West Indies emerged victorious on 12 occasions while remaining 12 were drawn affairs. The hosts batted first in this Test and got all out for 214 as the Indian spinners ran through them. In reply, the visitors earned a hefty 138-run lead with Dileep Sardesai scoring 112. Debutant Sunil Gavaskar (65) and Eknath Solkar (55) gave him good support.
Off-spinner S Venkataraghvan took a five-wicket haul in West Indies’ second innings to stop them at 261 all out. Gavaskar scored his second half-century in the pursuit of 124 runs to secure India’s first-ever Test triumph over West Indies. India won the match by seven wickets and went on to clinch the five-match series 1-0.
Port of Spain, Trinidad, 1976
At the same venue of triumph in 1971, India achieved another glory in the following tour. With Viv Richards scoring 177, West Indies posted a massive total of 359 batting first in the third Test. Michael Holding’s six-wicket haul meant India were 131 runs in the arrears. Alvin Kalicharan celebrated a ton in the next innings as West Indies set India a mammoth target of 403 runs to win.
Prior to 1976, only once the target of 400-plus runs had been achieved. Facing a world record, the Indian team performed beyond anyone’s expectations. Gavaskar and G Vishwanath scored blazing tons while Mohinder Amarnath contributed with a valuable 85. India won the match with six wickets remaining. The 403-run chase remained a world record for the next 27 years.
West Indies had played with three spinners in the game. The loss resulted in Clive Lloyd opting to go with a menacing pace attack in the next Test. The strategy worked as India lost the match by 10 wickets. From then onwards, West Indies became a factory of fast bowlers and went on to rule the cricket world for the next 20 years.
Bridgetown, Barbados, 1997
After the 1976 victory, the Caribbean men dominated the game relentlessly. India had to wait for 26 years to celebrate another win in the islands. In between, India squandered a great chance at Barbados. Bowling first in the third Test of the tour, Venkatesh Prasad’s five-for stopped West Indies at 298 all-out despite Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s ton. The visitors secured a slender but important 21-run lead.
Abey Kuruvilla then bowled a spell of his life as the hosts stumbled to 140 all out. India needed only 120 runs to win with two days remaining in the Test. However, a catastrophe was in waiting. West Indian pace battery of Curtly Ambrose, Franklyn Rose and Ian Bishop exploited the uneven bounce of the fourth-day pitch to perfection and slaughtered the Indian batting lineup. No batsman apart from VVS Laxman got into the double figures as India crashed to 81 all out. Captain Sachin Tendulkar later termed it as the most devastating loss for him.
Kingston, Jamaica, 2006
With the scoreline tied at 0-0 after three Tests, the teams arrived at Sabina Park expecting a result. The match was over within three days but one man stood out for his defiance. On the first day, India stumbled to 91/6. Captain Rahul Dravid played a solid knock of 81 from 215 balls to steer the side to a final score of 200. Harbhajan Singh then took 5/13 to skittle the hosts for only 103 runs.
Dravid was once again immovable in India’s second outing. He top-scored with 68 while the next best individual score was 19. The visitors got all out for 171, setting Windies a tall target of 269. S Sreesanth and Munaf Patel did the early damage and Anil Kumble mopped the rest to secure a memorable 49-run win. This was India’s first series win in West Indies since 1971.
North Sound, Antigua, 2016
A new chapter of India-West Indies rivalry unfolded in 2016 where India dominated and overpowered West Indies on their soil. This was the first Test of the series. Opener Shikhar Dhawan began solidly with a knock of 84. Captain Kohli scored his first-ever double century in the longest format. The punishment for West Indian bowlers was not over yet as R Ashwin also went on to notch a century. India declared at 566/8.
West Indies struggled in reply and despite efforts from the lower-middle order, managed to go as far as 243 runs. Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami were the major threats, both took four-wicket hauls. The home team tottered in the follow-on as well and concluded their batting on 231 all out. Ashwin shone with the ball this time and snared 7/83, registering the best bowling figures by an Indian in West Indies. India won the match by an innings and 92 runs – the largest winning margin in the Caribbean.
