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For three years after Mohammed Azharuddin took over as captain in January 1990, India played Test cricket almost exclusively overseas, the exception being a one-off Test against Sri Lanka at the Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh in December 1990 which the hosts won by an innings and eight runs. India lost to New Zealand (0-1) and England (0-1) in 1990, were drubbed by Australia 4-0 in 1991-92 and lost to South Africa 0-1 in 1992-93, as a result of which Azhar was put on ‘probation’ – for one Test and two One-Day Internationals – at the start of England’s tour of India in January 1993, his captaincy future hinging on the outcome of the first Test at the Eden Garden in Kolkata.
That Test, and series, wasn’t crucial for Azhar alone. His Hyderabad mate, Venkatapathi Raju, was also fighting for survival. In ten Tests, Raju had picked up 24 wickets, including six for 12 and two for 25 against the Lankans. He was the lead spinner from his debut in New Zealand – including at the World Cup in Australia in 1992 — till the tour of South Africa, when he was supplanted by Anil Kumble. The left-arm spinner had to pull his weight, otherwise he faced the axe.
“It was a big series for me,” Raju tells Hindustan Times. “After that 6-for against Sri Lanka, we only played outside and obviously, there wasn’t a lot of help for the spinners. I needed to do well to stay in the mix. One good thing about that series was the presence of Anil Kumble. But I had to get wickets for my own sake, as much as for the team’s sake.”
Leggie Kumble was India’s star performer with 21 wickets, but Raju wasn’t far behind, with 16 sticks from three games. Their heroics, combined with support from off-spinner Rajesh Chauhan and fast-medium aces Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar, ensured that the bowlers more than complemented the batters’ efforts, India trooping out 3-0 victors against Graham Gooch’s men. It remains India’s first – and only – clean sweep against the English.
‘Nothing came on a platter’
“But 3-0 was not easy to achieve,” Raju points out. “Someone like (Mike) Gatting had made a double century in Chennai in 1984-85 (when England won 2-1). Nothing came on a platter. But our combination was good, the credit should go to the medium-fast bowlers, Kapil paaji and Manoj. They gave us those early breakthroughs. In Indian conditions, if the opposition is 30 for two, the new batter is under pressure walking into spin straightaway. And the best part was that we maintained the pressure. Because Kapil paaji and Manoj were both all-rounders, it gave us the option of playing three spinners.
“Also, we had brilliant support when it came to close-in catching. Someone like WV Raman, he came as a substitute and took some amazing catches. And hats off to Pravin Amre. He was never a short-leg fielder, but he stood there bravely and took some superb catches. In Indian conditions, close-in fielding becomes a big part when the spinners are in operation.”
The beginning of India’s home dominance
Where India lost three series at home in the 1980s – against West Indies in 1983, England in 1984-85 and Pakistan in 1987 – they went unconquered at home in the 1990s, crowned by 3-0 sweeps of England and Sri Lanka, who possessed excellent batters against spin and quality slow bowlers, including the peerless Muttiah Muralitharan. “That was the best phase of my career,” Raju admits. “We had a good combination of spinners, good all-rounders, the fielding was superb. And the batters dominated spin at home. Navjot Sidhu, Sachin Tendulkar, Azhar, Vinod Kambli, they all dismantled spin attacks. We had a great combination of experience and youth, and the batters smashed the spinners around to give us enough runs and time to operate with.”
That 3-0 rout of England triggered the era of Indian dominance at home. “For all of us, it was huge,” Raju notes. “We knew we would all get a long run. We were unbeatable when we played in India. That series started the trend of India being very difficult to beat at home. Earlier, there were lots of drawn Tests. But this team started the trend of winning at home. Except against West Indies in 1994 (the series ended in a 1-1 draw) when Jimmy Adams – or Padams – used his pad to keep us at bay, we got the better of all teams.”
Several critics wrote off India’s 3-0 sweep of England as having been achieved on ‘designer’ dust bowls, but Raju has a counter. “If there were rank turners or ‘dust bowls’, as you put it, how did all three Test go the fifth day?” he retorts. “Yes, the tracks helped the spinners – it helped that Mr. Ajit Wadekar was the cricket manager, he relied a lot on spin when he was the captain – but they were not diabolical. Otherwise, how could Graeme Hick have got a big hundred in Chennai (second Test) or Chris Lewis made a ton in Mumbai (last game)? We were the better team, we played the better cricket. Before the series, in a tour game, Sidhu had taken down England’s spinners. That created a lot of doubt in them about their bowling abilities and was a huge factor in our eventual success. Gooch was totally out of form; he was a big sweeper and I made sure he hardly got a ball to sweep. We just outplayed them.”
Raju is an unabashed admirer of Kumble. “He was our go-to bowler, Rajesh and I were just there to support him,” he says, self-effacingly. “Anil never liked the ball being out of his hand. He would tie the batters down and keep asking questions with the extra bounce he generated. The pressure created by him also helped us pick wickets. At one end (where Kumble was bowling from), it was either wickets or no runs. That was the pressure Anil created. It was easy for us to keep bowling accordingly and keep the pressure on. Anil was a big influence, his seriousness… My lifestyle was different, Rajesh Chauhan’s might have been different. But when you have somebody like Anil, who is as serious as he was, it brings you back on track.”
There were whispers that Raju received special preference because he had a fellow Hyderabad as the national captain. “Azhar knew me from my early days,” he shoots back. “When I made my Test debut (in New Zealand in 1990), Azhar made his debut as captain. At the time, I was the main spinner, I was the only spinner at the World Cup. Azhar did not under-bowl or over-bowl me. But being from the same state definitely helps. He knew when to bring me on and when not to bring me on. He had confidence in me because he had seen so much of me. You are always in the comfort zone when you have the captain from the same state, but after that, it is up to me to perform. He can’t bowl and take wickets for me, can he?”
Raju takes pride in the fact that the 3-0 sweep of England was a seminal moment in Indian cricket. “That was the genesis of our domination at home against all-comers, and I am glad I played my little part in that,” he smiles, the twinkle in his eyes unmistakable.
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