A Draw as Good as any Victory
Roshan Paul
The Australian team that visited India in October, 1964 was on their way back from regaining the Ashes against a strong 
English team. Led by Bobby Simpson, they were confident and formidable opponents, and could well claim to be the best team in the world.
The Indians were led by Tiger Pataudi, and it was during this series that his captaincy blossomed; eventually he became arguably India's greatest captain, if not statistically, then as a leader of men.
Besides Pataudi's captaincy and batting, and some wonderful bowling from Bapu Nadkarni, the series also saw the advent of B. S. Chandrashekhar as a match-winning bowler.
In the first Test at Madras, the Aussies immediately asserted their superiority with a 139-run victory. However, this Test was the first time that India had managed to achieve a first innings lead against an Australian Test side. This achievement was made possible solely by a tremendous captain's innings by Pataudi, who defied the rampaging McKenzie to make 128 not out in a team effort of 276. In the end, however, Bapu Nadkarni's match figures of 11/122 did not prove enough as India collapsed to 193 in their second innings.
Australia
1st innings: 211
W. Lawry 62
Nadkarni 5/31, Kripal Singh 3/45
India
1st innings: 276
Tiger Pataudi 128 n.o., C. Borde 49
McKenzie 6/58
Australia
2nd innings: 397
R. Simpson 77, T. Veivers 74, P. Burge 60
Nadkarni 6/91
India
2nd innings: 193
Hanumant Singh 94
McKenzie 4/33, Hawke 2/26, Veviers 2/18
Australia won by 139 runs
Despite the defeat, the Indians arrived for the second test in Bombay brimming with confidence and hope. And what a match it turned out to be!
The Australians suffered a setback before the first ball when Norman O'Neill fell very sick just after the teams had been exchanged. So, the Australians had to bat with only 10 players in each innings.
The Australians started badly but recovered to 297/5 before Chandra sparked a collapse to bowl them out for 320 with half-centuries from Burge, Veviers and Jarman. India, in turn, collapsed to 188/6 despite a 112-run partnership for the third wicket between Jaisimha and Manjrekar; and a defeat loomed in the horizon. But Pataudi again played a captain's innings and inspired the tail to stay with him. Thus, the last 4 wickets added 153 runs and India had a lead of 21.
This match was one of sudden collapses as Australia fell for 274 in their second innings after having been comfortably placed at 246/3. The collapsed was due to some fabulous bowling by Nadkarni and Chandrashekar in tandem.
Nevertheless, India had to reach 254 in a little over a day against a strong bowling line-up. Although they lost wickets at regular intervals, India proceeded calmy towards the target through substantial but not match-winning knocks from Sardesai, Durani and Manjrekar. However, the innings was given its impetus once again by the 'Tiger' as he and Manjrekar put on 93 runs for the seventh wicket.
However, they both fell thereafter with India needing 30 runs to win. The disease of the collapses threatened to strike again and the vociferous Bombay crowd was silenced. At this point, Chandu Borde farmed the strike and batted confidently to lead India to a stunning 2-wicket victory. Many said it was the most exciting Test match to date in India and compared it to the Tied Test in Brisbane.
Australia
1st innings: 320
P. Burge 80, B. Jarman 78, T. Veviers 67
Chandrashekar 4/50
India
1st innings: 341
Tiger Pataudi 86, M. L. Jaisimha 66, V. L. Manjrekar 59
Veviers 4/68, Connolly 3/66
Australia
2nd innings: 274
R. Cowper 81, P. Booth 74, W. Lawry 68
Nadkarni 4/33, Chandrashekar 4/73
India
2nd innings: 256/8
D. Sardesai 56, Tiger Pataudi 53, V. L. Manjrekar 39, S. A Durani 31, C. Borde 30 n.o.
Connolly 3/24
India won by 2 wickets
After the euphoria at Bombay, the third and final Test at Calcutta was shaping well but fizzled out as a contest as the last two days were washed out.
Australia
1st innings: 174
R. Simpson 67, W. Lawry 50
Durani 6/73, Surti 3/38
India
1st innings: 235
C. Borde 68 n.o., M. L. Jaisimha 57, D. Sardesai 42
Simpson 4/45, Veviers 3/81
Australia
2nd innings: 143/1
R. Simpson 71, W. Lawry 47 n.o.
Match Drawn
For the first time, India managed to draw a Test series against the mighty Aussies; and confidence was high as they looked forward to the next series against New Zealand.
Pataudi led the averages for both sides with 270 runs at 67.50, although Simpson with 292 runs and Lawry with 284 both scored more runs. In the bowling department, Nadkarni with 17 wickets at 13.71 was easily the pick from both teams, while Chandra, with 9 wickets at 21 provided great hope for the future.
Under Tiger Pataudi's inspirational leadership, the fielding standard improved and the team began to play as one. This was most evident in the Bombay Test, which was one without any major contribution from any one player.
The batting too looked different and, encouraged by Pataudi, the players began to deliberately loft the ball into the open outfield, something that Indians had always been loath to do, usually content to play safe and keep the ball down. That this approach worked is clear from the fact that India took first innings leads in all three Tests, something they had never managed to do against the Australians prior to this series.
On paper, Australia were a better team but for the first time, the Indians gave them a real run for their money and both teams were evenly matched in the final analysis. The subsequent excitement led to a belief that India had begun to be a world-beating team and could take on the top teams of the world and acquit itself well. The future looked bright.
The first Aussie tour - 1956 | The second Aussie tour - 1959
Photographs: Allsport