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*Hemu Adhikari v/s West Indies at Delhi, 1958-59:
Adhikari was vice-captain of the Indian team that
toured England in 1952. Six years later, he led
India in a Test for the only time and did pretty
well, scoring 63 and 40. He shared a century
partnership in both innings with Chandu Borde.
Adhikari was India's fourth captain in that series,
a traumatic one for the home team. He also bowled
well to take three important wickets, but was
unable to prevent the visitors from amassing the
then highest total (644 -8 declared) in a Test on
Indian soil. The match was drawn, but Adhikari did
not keep the job. Dattajirao Gaekwad was appointed
skipper for the next international assignment, a
tour of England in mid-1959.
* Pankaj Roy v/s England at Lord's, 1959: The
opener from Kolkata led India in the absence of
skipper Dattajirao Gaekwad, who was sidelined due
to bronchitis. Roy was delighted to get an
opportunity to lead his country at the headquarters
of the sport, but the game was a forgettable one
for him. He became paceman Brian Statham's 150th
Test victim in the first innings when he had scored
only 15. Fred Trueman dismissed him for a duck in
the second essay. India lost the match by the huge
margin of eight wickets.
* Chandu Borde v/s Australia at Adelaide, 1967-68:
An injured left hamstring prevented Mansoor Ali
Khan Pataudi, the skipper, from playing the first
Test of the series. Borde, his deputy, thus got the
chance to captain India. The stand-in skipper
scored 69 and 12 and took three good catches in the
first innings, but he could not prevent his team's
defeat by 146 runs.
* Ravi Shastri v/s West Indies at Chennai, 1987-88:
Ravi Shastri was not a member of the original team
for the fourth and final Test of the 1987-88 series
against the West Indies. He was reinstated as
player and appointed skipper when Dilip Vengsarkar,
the captain, fractured his left forearm in the
third Test of the series at Kolkata. India went on
to beat the mighty Windies by 225 runs. The
highlight of the Test was a record sixteen-wicket
haul by debutant leg spinner Narendra Hirwani. |