Tiger Pataudi's Special Story

The dashing prince of Indian cricket

ONE OF THE BEST: Many consider Tiger Pataudi's 95 against Australia’s McKenzie and Connolly at the Brabourne Stadium in 1969 as one of his finest innings. Photo: The Hindu Archives

 

 

Indian cricket has been blessed with some outstanding cricketers who, in different eras, made their mark as leaders.

Initially it was the dynamic Col. C.K. Nayudu, widely regarded as a man responsible for getting India Test status. Then Lala Amarnath took centre-stage. Thereafter it took nearly 10 years for another remarkable man to arrive and take charge of Indian cricket.

He was more gifted than the ordinary and cricket followers have acknowledged the immense contribution of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi.

Pataudi had a dashing personality, pursued education at Oxford University and wore flannels for University and Sussex County. He made his debut against Ted Dexter's England in 1961 and his last series was against Clive Lloyd's West Indies in 1975.

Fellow teammates say he was the favoured son of Indian cricket, offered the captaincy despite physical disability following a car accident.

Without exception all point out that Pataudi was aloof, spoke only to one or two players in the team and took firm decisions, but was genuinely interested in building the Indian team and cultivating the feeling among the players that they could compete with the best and even beat them.

However, everyone agrees he was a superb player, a splendid fielder and a shrewd captain. Indian cricket has not seen many better fielders than Pataudi; in this aspect of the game he was ranked among the greats.

Frank and blunt

Bapu Nadkarni, who played the last phase of his career under Pataudi, said: “He was a gentleman to the core. He was very frank and blunt and not many liked this particular attitude.

“He had so many handicaps. He lost an eye, damaged his shoulder and thigh in the car accident and yet produced some superb knocks.''

Nadkarni recalled Pataudi's first Test century against England at Madras before going to the West Indies in 1962, his 85 at Melbourne against Australia's Graham McKenzie, David Renneberg, Allan Connolly and John Gleeson, an undefeated 203 against England and 113 against New Zealand at Delhi.

“He played the short-arm pull well; it was neither the conventional pull shot nor the hook. He had the drive, but he hardly played the stroke on Indian wickets. He was a brilliant captain and leader,” said Nadkarni.

Special cricketer

Chandu Borde and Pataudi had an eight-year association as part of the Indian team.

“Pataudi was a very special cricketer. Initially it was very difficult to adjust to his ideas. He had spent time in England and did not mix with the Indian team. He was aloof. People in India misunderstood him.

“He was a good leader on the field. He took certain impetuous decisions. Even I was foxed by some of his decisions. He used to call me “Hello maestro.''

Once in the course of a Test match against England at Calcutta I advised him to take the second new ball when Colin Cowdrey scored a century. Pataudi had forgotten that the second new ball was due. After the water break, Ramakant Desai dismissed Cowdrey and England was bowled out for 267.”

Nari Contractor, Pataudi's first captain, felt the latter was aloof on the 1962 tour of the West Indies.

“I have very little association with him. He was a brilliant fielder. As captain there was hardly any fast bowler of note he could use. There was Vasant Ranjane and a waning Ramakant Desai. He had to rely on spinners Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkatraghavan. There was no other alternative.”

The record book shows that he played 46 Tests (40 as captain), scored 2,793 runs with a modest average of 34.91 and an unbeaten 203 as his highest.

Following the defeat to Bill Lawry's Australia in 1969, Pataudi did not figure in the Indian team for four years. But he hardly made an impact playing seven Test matches after his recall in 1973 against England and the West Indies.

Many consider his 95 against Australia's McKenzie and Connolly at the Brabourne Stadium in 1969 as one of his finest innings.

Pataudi Death

Tiger’ Pataudi, 70, is no more 
 

CLASSY KNOCK: Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi in full flow during his unbeaten knock of 128 against Australia at the Corporation Stadium, Madras, now Chennai, in October 1964. Photo: The Hindu Photo Archives

 A prince among cricketers and an inspiring leader, he transformed Indian cricket

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, one of India's greatest cricket captains ever and whose flair and acumen inspired a generation of cricke t players, passed away here on Thursday after battling a lung infection for the last few months.

The 70-year-old cricketer, one of India's early superstars and who was known as ‘Tiger' in the cricket fraternity, was suffering from interstitial lung disease, a condition in which the passage of oxygen to the two lungs is less than normal.

He is survived by his wife Sharmila Tagore, actor son Saif Ali Khan and two daughters Soha and Saba Ali Khan.

His entire family was at his bedside when the end came at 5.55 p.m.

“He passed away around 5.55 p.m. His condition had deteriorated since yesterday. He was suffering from interstitial lung disease (interstitial pneumonitis) which worsens rapidly in spite of the best treatment available,” Dr. S.P. Byotra, Department of Medicine in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said.

“He was unable to maintain his oxygen level in spite of maximal treatment. He continued to remain in the ICU for nearly a month. He had this disease which had been static for the last three months and worsened very acutely over the last four weeks,” the doctor said.

Pataudi was given leadership of the Test team in his fourth Test, when he was only 21, in Barbados in 1962, because the captain Nari Contractor was in hospital after getting hit on the head by Charlie Griffith.

Pataudi, who was also known for his amazing sense of humour, was the youngest Test captain, a record that stood until 2004. He led India in 40 Tests and had a successful career despite impaired vision in the right eye, which was damaged in a car accident. He also captained Sussex and Oxford University.

He scored 2,793 runs in 46 Tests at an average of just under 35 and made six centuries, the biggest of which was an unbeaten 203 against England in Delhi in 1964.

However, many experts rate his 75 against Australia in Melbourne in 1967-68 as his finest since he played that knock with an injured leg. Pataudi retired in 1975 after West Indies' tour of India. After retirement, Pataudi served as a match referee between 1993 and 1996, officiating in two Tests and ten ODIs, but largely stayed away from cricket administration. Under Pataudi's captaincy, India won nine Tests. It was he who instilled the belief in the team that it could win international matches. India achieved its first overseas Test victory under him, against New Zealand in Dunedin in 1968. India then went on to record its first overseas series win by beating New Zealand 3-1.

Pataudi was the ninth and last Nawab of Pataudi until 1971, when the Indian government abolished royal entitlements through the 26th Amendment to the Constitution.

Since 2007, bilateral Test series between India and England have been contested for the Pataudi Trophy, named after his family for their contribution to Anglo-Indian cricket.

Pataudi's father, Iftikhar Ali Khan, represented both England and India in Tests. Pataudi had taken ill since his return from England this summer after presenting the Pataudi Trophy to Andrew Strauss at the end of the four-Test series.

He was also a part of the first IPL governing council but refused to continue in the role in October 2010, when the BCCI made significant changes to the league following the sacking of Lalit Modi as its chairman.