Ganesh Chaturthi Indian Cricket Team: Hathini on the Oval ground, Ganesh Chaturthi gave India the first victory in England, 15 defeats, miracles after 4 draws

This story of Indian cricket is so great that a Bollywood film should be made on it. Until 1971, India had never won a Test match in England. The Indian team had managed to draw four matches in England till now, which helped rain twice. Had to face defeat in 15 matches.

In 1971, the Indian team was on a tour of England once again. The first two Test matches survived the rain and then the innings of the Oval Test. England took a 71 -run lead in the first innings at this London ground.

England collapsed for just 101 runs. The next day India created history with its possibly most famous victory. In that Indian team, young Sunil Gavaskar and Ashok Mankad played the responsibility of opening. The captaincy was with Ajit Wadekar. Dilip Sardesai, Gundappa Vishwanath, Eknath Solkar had the responsibility of middle order, while wicketkeeper Farooq was an engineer. Syed was the only medium pacer as Abid Ali, while Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Bishan Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrashekhar

The Indian team’s manager Hemu Adhikari described it as an auspicious sign. Captain Ajit Wadekar had said, ‘I prayed to Lord Ganesha to give victory because the elephant came on the field and raised hope. Wadekar’s prayers came in handy and the rest of the team stood up despite difficult situations.