I knew it was Chandra’s day

Catching one’s eye is a bat he used against Bill Lawry’s team in 1969, that has been autographed by Keith Miller, Richie Benaud and Malcolm Marshall.

I thought, if we have to go for a win, it’s only Chandra (leg-spinner B Chandrasekhar) who can do it. In his very first over, Chandra was absolutely unplayable and I knew it was his day,” recalls Ajit Wadekar, captain of the team that recorded one of India’s most treasured victories — over England at the Oval in 1971. And Chandrasekhar bowled like a dream, taking six for 38.

HT Image

That winning ball, duly autographed by the leg-spinner, now sits in a cabinet in Wadekar’s living room. Catching one’s eye is also a bat he used against Bill Lawry’s team in 1969, that has been autographed by Keith Miller, Richie Benaud and Malcolm Marshall.