It was an interesting coincidence that Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out in the final session of the second day of the Oval Test. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul batted in exemplary fashion in the last session of the second day to cut short England’s lead.
While this brilliance continued, Manjrekar pointed out that in the defining knock played by Sunil Gavaskar in India’s historic series win against England, England’s wickets were kept by Jonny Bairstow’s father, David Bairstow.
Surprisingly, that Test was also played at the Oval and it was an exciting contest of both bat and ball through a span of glittering five days.
Batting first, England managed to pile 305 runs in the opening innings. Graham Gooch and Peter Willey led the charge for England with scores of 79 and 52 respectively. Geoffrey Boycott, Mike Brearley and Ian Botham managed to chime in with their respective cameos helped England to attain a significant score.
Kapil Dev and Srinivas Venkataraghavan led the bowling charge for India as the duo plundered six wickets between them. India, however, fell excessively short as they were bundled out for a paltry 205. Gundappa Vishwanath and Yajurvinda Singh were the best batters for India but they couldn’t make the cut for an impressive resistance against the hosts.
Sunil Gavaskar scored 221 at The Oval in 1977 and WK behind him was David Bairstow, father of Jonny Bairstow…. pic.twitter.com/F2ktQGHBpX
— Mani sekhar ?? (@Manirat_18) September 3, 2021
Boycott led the charge for England in the second innings with an incredible 125 that was aptly supported by our man of discussion, David Bairstow who gathered 59 crucial runs before Kapil Dev bested him. Guess, what makes this even more fun? Sunil Gavaskar was the one to take the catch.
Riding on the significant lead of the first innings, England posted a monumental target of 438. A task that seemed to be a cakewalk for the English bowlers was turned into a living nightmare by India’s burning sensation, Sunil Gavaskar.
The opening partnership between Gavaskar and Chauhan laid the bedrock for India’s menacing stride. Dilip Vengsarkar chipped in with an excellent half-century too. However, that itself was the end of India’s resistance.
From a victorious position, England seemed to flip on top and could have even barged for a victory if not saved by the bell (read it by the bails). Also, Bairstow affected three dismissals in the first innings that included the prized scalp of Gavaskar.
