Just two months before the start of the Australia tour,
India’s independence had been finalised . A new country emerged on the world map
after almost two hundred years of struggle against the British Raj. A new
country started its journey with a lot of hope and courage – determined to
achieve the best and reach the peak of excellence in each and every aspect of
life.
The World War and partition subjected them to the loss of
key players and thus, when India landed on Australian soil, expectations were
very low and a spirited display would be regarded as one of the most
significant achievements.
India’s first ever tour to Australia
It
was a significant tour for the new nation in many aspects. For the first time,
a team representing independent India would feature in an official series. It
was also the first time, India would be playing against a team other than
England and for the first time, they were touring Australia. Sadly, the tour
was not a happy one for the visitors as they were outclassed in the Test
matches – four were lost, and in three of them, Australia batted only
once.
The
Australian team, led by the great Sir Don Bradman, were regarded as the
‘Invincibles’. Man-to-man, they were the ultimate champions and during that
series, Don’s men made India toil hard. The subcontinent side dished out some
inspiring performances, but they were not enough to notch up a win as the
Invincibles mauled the visitors mercilessly.
The visitors’ struggles
The first Test was in Brisbane. The Indian
batters had no answer to the fury of Ernie Toshack. In the second Test at
Sydney Cricket Ground, inclement weather ended a riveting contest where India
bundled out Australia for 107 runs to gain a lead of 81. They were, however,
reduced to 61 for 7 in the second innings, but on a tricky wicket, anything
might have happened had the weather gods not interfered.
At
Melbourne in the third Test, India put up a good fight, but in the fourth
innings, Bill and Ian Johnston steamrolled the Indian batting line-up as the
visitors lost by 233 runs.
The
fourth Test was at Adelaide Oval and it was a chance for India to stay alive in
the series.
No stopping the Don
Australia’s
captain, Bradman, won the toss for the third time and elected to bat first.
Before the Adelaide Test, Bradman’s sequence of runs in the series had been:
185, 13, 132 and 127 not out. The Don was on fire with the bat and even the
long absence from cricket due to World War II didn’t hamper his hunger for runs
and the urge to notch up big hundreds. At Adelaide, the Don’s intentions were
the same.
A
couple of boundaries via pristine timing opened the floodgates and on the first
day, the damage was done. Bradman drove with authority, pulled and cut on the
back foot with power and flayed some eye-catching drives through long on and
long off.
Australia’s
greatest ever batsman was an unorthodox stroke-maker. His full-fledged drives
through cover and extra-cover were never a thing of spectacle, but in terms of
bruising the confidence of the opposition, his brutal drives were equivalent to
murder.
On
that day, The Don hit just one six. It was not about airshows at Adelaide while
Bradman was batting, but more about keeping the ball on the ground and making
the fielding team sweat. If the ball was pitched up, outside the off stump,
Bradman would bring his bat down from a high back lift and sweetly time it as
early as possible through the cover and extra-cover regions for four.
Meanwhile, he pivoted on the back foot and executed pulls towards midwicket
against shorter deliveries pitched outside off.
In
those days, such shots were unexpected, but the Don was a batsman of a
different breed – way ahead of his contemporaries.
Vijay Hazare to the rescue
At
the other end, Sydney Barnes kept fetching runs and stitched a partnership of
236 runs for the second wicket and when he was dismissed for 112, Lindsay
Hassett joined the party and added 142 runs for the fourth wicket.
As
time passed, shadows grew taller and the fielding team grew tired, but the
Don’s appetite for runs never stopped. He notched up his double ton with 21
boundaries and one six off 296 balls. Scoring at such a brisk pace and in such
a fluent manner was a cakewalk for him.
Vijay
Hazare halted Bradman’s belligerence at the fag end of day 1 but his hundred on
January 23, 1948, helped Australia post a mammoth total in the first innings.
However,
his hundred was overshadowed by twin centuries from Vijay Hazare, which earned
accolades from the great man himself.
Note: This article was published at Sportskeeda on 23/01/2016 The belligerence of Sir Don Bradman at Adelaide in 1948
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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