Over to Lala8230;

The Indian team flew to Australia in two batches, due to an acute shortage of seating space. In the first group, only thirteen players and the manager Pankaj Gupta could be accommodated. The other four players 8212; C. Rangachari, Chandu Sarwate, Rai Singh and Ranvirsinhji joined the party later. The neatly dressed Indians, led by Amarnath, charmed the crew with their perfect etiquette on the flight from Darwin to Perth. Chief airhostess Hillary Johnson was so impressed by him that she became his secretary on the tour. 8216;8216;She was a great source of inspiration in making the tour so memorable and successful,8217;8217; he remembered.

LALA 038; THE DON

From Perth, the team flew to Adelaide to face Bradman and company, South Australia. The conditions at the Adelaide Oval were ideal for batting. The hard and bold strip offered no assistance to either spin or pace, enabling the home side to put up a big score. Neihuus, Craig and Bradman made mincemeat of the Indian attack, scoring fine centuries. The first day alone produced 379 runs for the loss of only three wickets. It was not cricket but fireworks by the batsmen. Bradman was ruthless and, by lunch on the second day, South Australia had made 518 for eight declared. The Indians had heard about this run-machine but were experiencing his might for the first time. Bradman battled for just 152 minutes and scored 156 with the help of 22 fours.

The Indians8217; reply was equally impressive, despite the loss of two early wickets. But unlike the South Australians, the Indians threw away the advantage, playing casual shots, and were soon 164 for five wickets. Batting lower down the order, Amarnath walked in amidst the ruins. He launched a blistering counter-attack, which caught the bowlers and Bradman by surprise. Neither the pace nor the spin attack could stop the power-packed strokes of Amarnath. The huge crowd enjoyed every bit of it. Bradman was so overawed by his scintillating display that to keep Amarnath away from the strike, he kept the off-side fielders deep on the boundary line, allowing easy singles. Amarnath waited for the right delivery and dispatched it to the fence with power and precision. Finally, when he fell after 187 minutes, he had made 144 and the Indians were well placed.

THE PALM READER

Mesmerised by his batting skills, the newspapers took a lot of interest in Amarnath. One headline screamed 8216;India8217;s star cricketer reads palms8217;, the report accompanied by a photograph of the Indian skipper. The crew of the aircraft gave evidence that Amarnath had read the past and foretold the future of the co-pilot, engineer and hostesses. The pilot, Capt Klenig, said when the plane arrived at Perth, 8216;8216;Amarnath was so accurate that I wouldn8217;t let him read my palm.8217;8217; But when Amarnath was asked, he simply smiled.

Anything connected with the country of the maharajas and nawabs fascinated the Australians. They enquired about snakecharmers and the great Indian rope trick.

The Indian players8217; names also tested the Australians. To help the locals pronounce them properly, the newspapers changed their spellings. Lala Amarnath was spelt as Larlar Arrmarr-naart; Amir Elahi as Ameer-eelah-eee; Nayudu as Nigh-doooo; Phadkar as Fud-ker. The Indian cricketers were entertaining the Australians both on and off the field.

Despite the weather remaining unpredictable, the touring party was enjoying the constant attention of the media and the people by what they did away from the ground. One the off days, the team was like a small family spending time together, playing with a deck of cards or cooking in the wild. Their skipper was a master chef in Continental and Mughlai dishes.

The team had an interesting character in the manger Pankaj Gupta. His short stature and Hitler-style moustache attracted attention and he could converse on any topic including sports or politics for hours. He had the distinction of holding a world record for being named manager of the Indian teams in various sports the most number of times. He was so efficient in his duties that the tour progressed without any hurdle.

Apart from exhibiting his skills on the field, Amarnath also won hearts off the field. The tour was packed with various dinners and other important functions and, as the leader of the team, he had to make speeches. Despite not being experienced at this, he sent the audiences into rapturous laughter with his wit and presence of mind. He was a born entertainer and knew how to be the cynosure of all eyes and these functions gave him plenty of opportunity to excel in this field too.

CAPTAIN, SPORTSMAN

With each outing, Amarnath was capturing the hearts of cricket-crazy Australians, who turned out to watch him in thousands and went back satisfied. 8216;8216;With them Indians has come a cricket spirit almost entirely new to first-class cricket in Australia,8217;8217; wrote The Age. 8216;8216;By their sporting attitude on the field and their unaffected natural manner off it, they have quickly established themselves in the hearts of all Australian lovers, even though pronunciation of their names is often distorted beyond recognition. The Indians subscribe to the belief that a cricket bat should be used to hit a cricket ball as hard as soon as possible and they follow this principle whenever it is humanly possible.

8216;8216;In Amarnath, India possesses the finest batsman in the world today. The tourists8217; captain revives a period of batsmanship long since dead among either Australians or English. Combining wonderful footwork with uncanny timing, Amarnath is not afraid to move yards shown the wicket to give himself a chance of using his unlimited range of strokes. As a captain of Patiala Forces, Amarnath maintains stern discipline over his team but is extremely popular. Overflowing with energy, he takes great care of his physical condition.8217;8217;

Unlike previous captains, Amarnath was a team man to the core and loved to be with the players all the time to make everyone feel part of the group. Arthur Mailey experienced this and wrote in one of his columns during the Victoria match: 8216;8216;Amarnath played a magnificent innings but he takes no credit for it. He is grateful for his team-mates8217; assistance. When he was invited to a glamourous supper last night, he replied 8216;No, thank you, sir. I am having coffee around the corner with my team.8217; This explains the Indians8217; loyalty to their captain.8217;8217;

Another correspondent wrote: 8216;8216;Amarnath joked with his team members on and off the field but there is no mistaking the fact that he is their leader. When the team is fielding, he raises a finger or claps his hands and the player he wants dashes to the position he indicates. Amarnath knows the rules but plays the game the sportsman8217;s way. During the game at Adelaide, Gul Mohammad left the field to change the studs in his boots and Rangnekar, the 12th man, ran on to fill the vacancy in the field. Amarnath waved him back. During the luncheon interval, I asked Amarnath why he did this and he said 8216;Gul Mohammad was not sick or injured. He had just left to change his shoes. I could not allow a man to replace him.8217; Such was Amarnath8217;s commitment to the game and its laws. He always believed in playing straight and within the framework laid down by the Laws of Cricket.8217;8217;

Extracts carried courtesy Rupa 038; Co.