sPinners take time to settle down, especially in Tests. They usually come into their own in the middle of a tournament, especially if the series is being played in away conditions. Australia’s tour of India in 1956 began at Chepauk, in which India played eight front-line batsmen. Leg spinner Richie Benaud was playing his first Test on Indian soil. Benaud hit three false strokes from Vinoo Mankad, Pankaj Roy and Polly Umrigar by the time India reached a hundred. Benaud did not stop here. His next victim was one of India’s most technically equipped batsmen – Vijay Manjrekar. Benaud will need some skill for Manjrekar’s plum leg before the wicket. Benaud took seven wickets in the innings with the wicket of India’s great leg-spinner Subhash Gupte. India were bowled out for 161 runs. Apart from Gupte, the team had three spinners in the line-up – Vinoo Mankad, Ghulam Ahmed and Jasubhai Patel. But Richie Behnaud bought more than the wicket. Australia won the Test by an innings and five runs.
In the next Test at the Brabourne Stadium, Benaud took the wicket of a well-set Manjrekar in the first innings. In the second innings, he clean bowled the top order – Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy. Australia dominated the match, mainly due to Benaud, even though he did not win it.
The third and final Test of the series was at the Eden Gardens. By the time the first innings ended, the Indians were in the driver’s seat. Thanks to the brilliant bowling of Ghulam Ahmed, India bundled out Australia for just 177 runs. There was pressure on the Australian bowlers to get the Indians out. Benaud first had the leg of a female contractor and then took the prized possession of Vijay Manjrekar again. He then shattered the Indian batting order by taking the next three wickets of Mankad, Ramchand and AG Kripal Singh. But India still had their wicketkeeper Narendra Shankar Tamhane. Anyone who could make it to the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team during 1950-60 was a world class player. You were a capable batsman. But Benaud bowled a fine one that dropped Tamhane’s middle stump. Benaud took six wickets in the innings.
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The Australian team set a target of 231 runs for India in the fourth innings and Benaud completed his task. He initially thrashed Umrigar, Mankad and Manjrekar fiercely. He then clean bowled AG Kripal Singh and Tamhane with brilliant deliveries. Benaud took five wickets in this innings with match figures of 11/105. Benaud’s performance resulted in Australia winning the Test and the series. Benaud took 23 wickets in three Tests in his first series on Indian soil, a major achievement for a player who had no previous experience of bowling on Indian pitches.
Benaud’s next stint in the Indian subcontinent came three years later when Australia toured Pakistan in 1959. The first test was in Dhaka. Pakistan had the first non-Muslim cricketer to play a Test for the country. Wallis Mathias was a Catholic by birth and belonged to the Goan community of Karachi. Portuguese Goans arrived in Karachi in the 1820s to build the shipping industry. The community had migrated from Goa to Karachi and formed the Karachi Goa Association which still exists. Wallis Mathais is probably the most famous figure in the community in the history of Pakistan. His cricketing skills were put to the test against Benaud in that 1959 match in Dhaka. Mathais finished second that day. Benaud gave him a catch-and-ball.
When Wazir Mohammad came to bat, his team was counting on him to take wickets. But Benaud made sure that the vizier did not last long. In the second innings, Benaud did what was unimaginable. He went through the strongholds of Hanif Mohammad, the world’s strongest batsman. If television had been present at that time, it would have been a sight to see Hanif Mohammad being clean bowled, Benaud taking eight wickets in the match and Australia winning the match by the same number of wickets. Benaud took 10 more wickets in the series.
Again in 1959, Benaud took a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the first Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla, ensuring an Australian victory over India. In the fourth Test of the series, Benaud made an invaluable contribution to another decisive victory, taking eight wickets.
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Richie Benaud played eight Test matches in India in which he took 52 wickets. These included some of India’s finest batsmen, from Vinoo Mankra and Vijay Manjrekar to Pankaj Roy, all of whom were dismissed cheaply on numerous occasions. His record as a spinner in India is second to none.
When Richie Benaud died, the MCC flag at Lord’s was flown at half-mast in honor of not only one of the game’s greatest players and captains but also the greatest cricket broadcaster. The Australian government, led by then Prime Minister Tony Abbott, proposed a state funeral for Benaud’s family. The offer was rejected by the family in view of Richie’s wishes for a low-key private family funeral.
Richie Benaud’s voice behind the commentary box was one of the most revered the game of cricket has ever heard.
Kush Singh @singhkb is the founder of The Cricket Curry Tour Company. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Choubey)