By Sirshendu Panth, IANS,
Kolkata : Indian cricketers had celebrated their first ever victory in Test cricket 57 years ago merely by patting each other on the back. No popping of champagne corks or hike in their emoluments. The cricket board then, in fact, did not even have money to lodge the players in hotels during Test matches.
It was a far cry from the five-star status that the game and the cricketers enjoy now, and the affluence that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shows off. The Rs.25 lakh reward each player received after the 100th Test win recently is in stark contrast to those days. Why only players, even the support staff, national selectors and the curators are also basking in the glory.
However, the only surviving member of the playing eleven that fashioned the historic innings and eight run victory over England at Chepauk in 1952, has no regrets.
“For us, playing for the country was the first and foremost honour,” says Coimbatarao Doraikannu (C. D.) Gopinath.
A handsome batsman known for his flowing strokes, Gopinath made his Test debut in the first match of that series, and partnered Polly Umrigar in a 93-run seventh wicket stand in the fifth and final Test at Chepauk.
Gopinath scored 35. India, captained by Vijay Hazare, won the match riding on a 12-wicket haul by Vinoo Mankad and centuries by Pankaj Roy and Polly Umrigar.
The 79-year-old still vividly recalls the electrifying ambience at Chepauk on Feb 10, the fourth day of the match.
“We then had temporary stands at Chepauk. All the stands were full. There were at least 25,000 spectators. They were very appreciative. We got a terrific ovation after we won,” Gopinath told IANS from Chennai.
And what went through the players’ mind as the last England wicket fell?
“Well, that was the first time we beat any team in Tests. And it came 20 years after we became a Test-playing nation. Even we were taken by surprise. It was unbelievable”.
After a few minutes, it sunk in that their feat would forever be a part of the nation’s cricketing folklore. “It gave us a great feeling of satisfaction. It still does”, said Gopinath, who played eight Test matches for India between 1951 and 1960.
But in what may seem like a page straight out of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the players did not party.
“There was not much of a celebration. In those days there was no question of spraying champagne in the dressing room. We celebrated by patting each other on the back. There was not much money in cricket then. We got only Rs.250 a Test,” said Gopinath.
“BCCI also did not have much money. Quite often players were put up in private homes during Test matches as the board did not have the money to lodge us in hotels,” he said.
Analysing the Indian team’s performances then, he said: “We were highly vulnerable to fast bowling. We could match any country in spin bowling and our batsmen also tackled such stuff well. But we faced some extra difficulty in playing fast bowlers”.
Fifty seven years on, the country’s 100th Test victory and the number one ranking brought back Chepauk’s memories.
“It took 20 years to win a single Test. In the next 57 years we have triumphed in 99. This shows we have really got somewhere in Tests in all these years”.
Playing their 432nd match, India achieved their 100th Test win crushing Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs in the series’ second Test late last month.
“It’s true that in the old times, no such records were kept. There was no points system either. But that does not take any credit away from these brilliant boys. I feel elated, it’s a great achievement,” said the cricketer-turned entrepreneur.
Gopinath, who served as a national selector between 1969 and 1977 and led the high-profile panel for three years, is now a contented man. “I enjoyed playing for India. I played very hard. I did whatever I could. No regrets.”
The Indian playing XI for the Chepauk Test: Vijay Hazare (captain), S. Mushtaq Ali, Pankaj Roy, Vinoo Mankad, Lala Amarnath, Dattu Phadkar, Polly Umrigar, C.D. Gopinath, R.V. Divecha, Probir Sen and Ghulam Ahmed.