Adelaide Oval Stadium. (Image: X) Eight defeats and a draw – that was India’s record in Tests Down Under when they embarked on another tour of Australia in late 1977.India had toured Australia since independence and played their first Test there in November 1947, losing by an innings and 226 runs. The visitors lost their first series Down Under 4–0 in the five-match competition, with one draw in Sydney.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!It took 20 years for India to tour Australia again. The 1967/68 series was a four-match affair, but the score remained the same — 4-0 in favor of the hosts.So when India visited Australia a decade later for the 1977/78 series, there were hardly any expectations from the team. It further became sad reading as the Bishan Singh Bedi-led side lost the first two Tests in Brisbane and Perth.
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India have now lost 10 out of 11 Tests in Australia without a single win. But there were subtle signs of change in two defeats in 1977 – both narrow losses. India lost the first Test by 16 runs and the second by just two wickets.The third Test began on December 30, 1977, and by the time it ended on January 4, 1978, India had recorded their first victory Down Under — a massive 222-run victory in Melbourne. It didn’t stop there; India stunned the hosts by an innings and 2 runs in the fourth Test in Sydney to level the series at 2-2.When both teams arrived in Adelaide for the fifth and final Test, the visitors were on pace and the series was wide open.The winner-take-all Adelaide Test ran from 28 January to 3 February 1978:Australia captain Bob Simpson won the toss and elected to bat first. The home side dominated the opening day and finished on 353/5 with captain Simpson leading from the front with an unbeaten 54. He went on to score 100 as Australia posted 505 all out. For India, B. Chandrasekhar took the fifer (5/136) while Karsan Ghavri returned figures of 3/93.India responded strongly to reach 131/3 at stumps on Day 2, with Gundappa Viswanath on 79 and Dilip Vengsarkar (26) at the crease. The third day again belonged to Australia. Led by Ian Callen’s triple strike – Viswanath (89), Vengsarkar (44) and Anshuman Gaekwad (27) – the hosts dismissed India for 269. Australia had a huge first innings lead of 236.At the end of Day 3, Australia were 103/3 in the second innings – a lead of 339 with three days remaining.When the match resumed on February 1 after a rest day, the Indian bowlers ran through the Aussie line-up. Ghavri (4/45) and Bedi (4/53) took four wickets each to bowl out the hosts for 256 in their second innings. But by then, India had a massive target of 493 to chase.India lost openers Sunil Gavaskar (29) and Chetan Chauhan (32) on the fourth day and were left at 101/2 with two days remaining. Australia were in complete control as they still led by 391 runs.On the fifth day, the Indian batsmen fired in unison. Mohinder Amarnath (86), Viswanath (73) and Vengsarkar (78) – batting Nos 3-5 – scored classy half-centuries to guide the team to 362/6 at stumps on the penultimate day. India survived the day, adding 261 runs for the loss of just four wickets and giving the hosts a real scare.On this day in 1978 – February 3, the sixth day of the match, India needed 131 runs with four wickets in hand. Australia were on top but India were not completely out of the competition.The pair of the night, wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani and Ghavri, put on a stunning 67-run stand for the seventh wicket to guide the visitors past the 400-run mark. India were 415/7 when Ghavri fell for 23, leaving them 78 runs short of an unlikely target. India’s resistance began to wane as Kirmani departed for 51 soon after, leaving them struggling at 417/8.But the fight was not over, much to Australia’s dismay, as Indian captain Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna delayed the inevitable with 25 runs for the ninth wicket. The last stand ended when Bedi fell for 16. Three runs later, India lost their last wicket — Chandrasekhar — with the score on 445. At the time, it was the second-highest fourth innings in Test history. Australia clinched the series 3-2, but only after a massive scare.From losing the first two Tests, to winning their first matches Down Under and then fighting to the finish in the decider, it was a sensational series between hosts Australia and visiting India – a series that helped lay the foundation for today’s fiercely anticipated tour.
- Interesting fact: The fifth and final Test was played as a six-day contest to avoid losing time in deciding the series. With a rest day, the match stretched over seven days – from 28 January to 3 February 1978.
