Mumbai, Sept 22: It was a momentous Test, and not just because it was only the second tied Test in the history of the game. It signalled the renaissance of Australian cricket and it set in motion the great India-Australia rivalry, the toast of world cricket for many years.

The game is so vivid in everybody’s mind, even though the television coverage of those days was hazy at best. Australia were yet to recover from the loss of a great line of cricketers such as Greg Chappell, Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. Skipper Allan Border was experienced enough with 75 caps, but next in line were David Boon and Ray Bright with just eight Tests each to their name.

The Indians, in contrast, had combined experience of over 400 games!

The similarities between the two tied Tests were eerie. Both finished with a ball to spare. The first was the 498th Test of all time. The second took almost that long – it was the 1,052th Test to be precise. And funnily enough, Bob Simpson featured in both of them: as player in 1960-61 and coach in 1986-87.

Australia set themselves a good base with a score of 211 for two on the first day. David Boon scored his third century in four Tests against India. Dean Jones, recalled to the side after three years, was playing only his fourth Test, his first on Indian soil. Having to prove himself at No. 3, he responded with an unbeaten 56 by the close of play.

The second day belonged to him as he batted magnificently in extreme conditions. He was quick on his feet and was never afraid to come down the track to the spinners. Unfortunately, the Australians in those days weren’t clued into the means of preventing dehydration. They consumed a lot of soft drinks, which didn’t quite help in the heat and humidity of Chennai. The longer Jones batted, the more dehydrated he became. By the time he was in his 130s, he was vomitting all over the place. Kapil [Dev], Sunny [Gavaskar] and most of us were genuinely concerned for his welfare. Jones, on his part, showed his appreciation by throwing up even more!

As he received medical attention, Jones had pins and needles all over his body. Nausea and cramps had set in to the extent that he was put on a saline drip and admitted to a hospital overnight. But it was all worth it as he went on to make 210 runs, the highest by an Australian in a Test in India. He put on 178 runs for the fourth wicket with Border, who, as if by habit, scored another 100. Australia declared at 574 for seven, 37 minutes after the start of the third day, with all levers of the game under their control. We were in trouble at 270 for seven on the third evening, needing 105 to avoid the follow-on.

Kapil Dev then chose to bat as he normally did with his back to the wall. His 175 in the 1983 World Cup, and then his tremendous counter-attacking innings in South Africa in 1992-93, were similar masterpieces. This time around, he struck the fourth century of his career, hitting 21 fours in all in a knock of 119. He eked out important stands with Chetan Sharma and Shivlal Yadav, and took us to 397. Australia, on their part, were not prepared to let the foot off the pedal, and swelled their first innings lead to 347 by the close on Day 4.

The final day began with a bold declaration by Border. We needed 348 for an improbable win.

A raucous crowd of 30,000-plus was witness to a great day’s play. We were cautious to start with, and Sunil Gavaskar, playing his 100th consecutive Test, led the charge to haul us to 94 for one by lunch. We were 193 for two by tea, needing a further 155 from thirty possible overs in the final session. Gavaskar made a classy 90. Mohammad Azharuddin (42) and Chandrakant Pandit (39) played their part. The run-rate was mounting, but I hung in with the tail to put things back on the rails.

At one stage, 17 were required and we had four wickets in the kitty. The game was there for the taking. Spinner Ray Bright now stepped up for Australia, having Chetan Sharma caught at the fence, trapping Kiran More leg before wicket and getting one past the defence of Yadav. I watched this in frustration from the other end. Last man Maninder Singh now joined me with four needed from the final over.

I managed a couple from the second ball and a single off the next to level scores. Maninder now had three balls to come up with that all-important single. But he played back to the second and was adjudged leg before wicket. He had edged the ball on to his pads; I have sleepless nights whenever I think of the moment the finger went up till today. It seemed Vikram Raju, the umpire, had watched a lot Clint Eastwood movies around that time. In all my years of playing and watching cricket, I have still to see a finger go up quicker.
The disappointment of having not won the Test over the years has been replaced by the overwhelming feeling of being part of a match that has only one precedent in history. Surely, it was a privilege to be part of this game and play one’s role.

One of India’s most successful all-rounders, Ravi Shastri completed the Test ‘double’ of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets in the Tied Test. This piece was written for the souvenir that the BCCI had brought out to mark the Test series against Australia in 2008-09.