He was key to two of India’s greatest wins. First in March 1971 against the West Indies and then against England in England five months later. Abid Ali had spoken to Boria Majumdar and Gautam Bhattacharyya about these wins for their book, 1971: The Beginning of India’s Cricketing Greatness.
Q: You were at the centre of two of Indian cricket’s greatest moments: first, in March 1971, in the second Test against the West Indies in Port of Spain, and five months later, in the series decider against England at The Oval. Fifty years on, how do you look back on those victories?
A: At The Oval, I hit the winning stroke and, in Port of Spain, I allowed Sunil [Gavaskar] to hit it. I had ample opportunities to finish the match at Port of Spain myself but restrained myself from doing so. [Garfield] Sobers had bowled a full toss and I played it for a single which allowed Sunil to get back on strike to Arthur Barrett. He was a little surprised and asked me, ‘Why did you do it’? I said, ‘Sunil, you have batted so well in this Test that you deserve it’.
Q: Many believe that at 2:42 pm on August 24, 1971, when you had cut England’s Brian Luckhurst to the boundary for the winning runs, Indian cricket had achieved its independence.
A: Yes, that was certainly memorable. But what had irritated me then was the fact that Farokh Engineer came running to me from the non-striker’s end to tell me to take a single. He wanted to hit the winning stroke. I felt it strange and saw no need to listen to him. I thought it was important that an Indian was hitting the winning stroke. It did not matter whether his name was Abid or Farokh. Till date I have not understood why personal glory was more important than the nation’s pride.
Q: Is there any other incident you often call to mind from the Test against England?
A: During England’s second innings, [Dilip] Sardesai had dropped two easy catches. As luck would have it, both were off my bowling. I went to our captain, Ajit Wadekar, and told him, ‘Please get [Kenia] Jayantilal in. He would any day be a safer option’. Accordingly, Sardesai soon started limping and went off the ground. Jayanti came in [as a substitute fielder] and took a very good catch in the outfield.
Q: The 1971 series victories against England and West Indies marked a transition in Indian cricket as captaincy changed hands. Did it have any impact on the team culture?
A: Even after so many years, I feel sad to state the truth that the team, despite winning, was divided into two groups: the West Zone boys and the rest. This divide did no good to the team. After the team had returned, the Times of India had organised a sort of a donation camp to raise money the players. Mafatlal Mills had done something similar. Film star Dharmendra threw a party for the team. The rest of the team were kept out of all these [felicitations and celebrations] and only the West Zone boys were involved.
I still don’t understand why this happened? There is no denying the fact that the West Zone players had performed tremendously. But they also had people supporting them well enough. After all, eleven players were playing for one team called India.