September 22 marks the 25th anniversary of thesecond-ever Tied Test, between India and Australia contested at Chepauk in 1986. TOI revisits the drama and speaks to the main protagonists of cricket's ultimate reality show over those absorbing five days.
What do you remember most about the Tied Test in Madras (Chennai)? Dean Jones vomiting all over the turf. David Boon and skipper Alan Border's merciless assault on the Indian bowlers. Kapil Dev's brilliant counter-attack that helped India save the follow on.
Greg Matthews, still reasonably inexperienced when it came to bowling in the sub-continent, spinning a web around batsmen used to playing spin in their sleep. Or Ravi Shastri, almost praying at the non-striker's end on Day Five, hoping that No. 11 Maninder Singh somehow gets bat on ball to help India win.
It won't be doing any one of the great gentlemen disservice if you can't remember the listed feats.
Mere acknowledgement of the fact that the Test was played in the most trying of conditions (40 degrees heat, 95 % humidity) would be a fitting tribute to the 22 players and two umpires (Dara Dotiwala and Vikram Raju) that have now become part of history.
That the second Tied Test didn't receive as much fanfare as the first one (Australia vs West Indies, Brisbane, 1960) is tragic indeed.
What is also somewhat curious is the fact that neither the BCCI, CA nor the players chose to plan a reunion to recreate the magic and the drama of those surreal five days in Madras.
What do you remember most about the Tied Test in Madras (Chennai)? Dean Jones vomiting all over the turf. David Boon and skipper Alan Border's merciless assault on the Indian bowlers. Kapil Dev's brilliant counter-attack that helped India save the follow on.
Greg Matthews, still reasonably inexperienced when it came to bowling in the sub-continent, spinning a web around batsmen used to playing spin in their sleep. Or Ravi Shastri, almost praying at the non-striker's end on Day Five, hoping that No. 11 Maninder Singh somehow gets bat on ball to help India win.
It won't be doing any one of the great gentlemen disservice if you can't remember the listed feats.
Mere acknowledgement of the fact that the Test was played in the most trying of conditions (40 degrees heat, 95 % humidity) would be a fitting tribute to the 22 players and two umpires (Dara Dotiwala and Vikram Raju) that have now become part of history.
That the second Tied Test didn't receive as much fanfare as the first one (Australia vs West Indies, Brisbane, 1960) is tragic indeed.
What is also somewhat curious is the fact that neither the BCCI, CA nor the players chose to plan a reunion to recreate the magic and the drama of those surreal five days in Madras.
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