The India national cricket team toured Pakistan during the 1978–79 cricket season. They played three Test matches against the Pakistan cricket team, with Pakistan winning the series 2–0. The tour also featured three One Day International (ODI) matches. In the third match, India's captain, Bishen Bedi, conceded the game in protest against Sarfraz Nawaz short-pitched bowling. It was the first time an international cricket match had ended in this way.[1][2] India also played six tour matches, all of which were first-class fixtures.
| Indians in Pakistan in 1978–79 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 | ||
| India | Pakistan | ||
| Dates | 27 September – 19 November 1978 | ||
| Captains | Bishan Singh Bedi | Mushtaq Mohammad | |
| Test series | |||
| Result | Pakistan won the 3-match series 2–0 | ||
| Most runs | Sunil Gavaskar (447) | Zaheer Abbas (583) | |
| Most wickets | Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (8) | Sarfraz Nawaz (17) | |
| One Day International series | |||
| Results | Pakistan won the 3-match series 2–1 | ||
| Most runs | Surinder Amarnath (100) | Zaheer Abbas (91) | |
| Most wickets | Mohinder Amarnath (4) | Hasan Jamil (6) | |
Background edit
This was going to be the first tour for either sides in 17 years. India were touring Pakistan only for the second time and first after 1954–55. India was set to tour Pakistan sometime in the mid-1960s, but wars between the two countries in 1965 and 1971, and political instability in both countries in the mid-1970s scrapped any possibility of an immediate future series. However, in early 1978, Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pakistan Cricket Board finally penned down the dates during which the tour would take place: from 27 September till 19 November 1978. Before the tour, 15 Tests were played between the teams, with India winning two, Pakistan one and the rest ending in draws.[3]
Touring party edit
Fatehsinghrao Gaekwad was named India's tour manager on 27 August 1978; P. R. Man Singh was named his deputy. Bishan Singh Bedi's retention as captain was announced on 30 August and the squad was named on 19 September, following a camp in Bangalore between 5 and 14 September of 25 probables. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi was dropped from the squad, which included three uncapped players — Kapil Dev, Bharath Reddy and Yashpal Sharma.[4] India went with the famed spin quartet comprising Bedi, B. S. Chandrasekhar, E. A. S. Prasanna and S. Venkataraghavan, who had by now 700 Test wickets between them.[5] The party flew to Karachi on 24 September later before playing the first match on 27 September.[4]
The squad included:[4]
Tour matches edit
Three-day: Banks XI v Indians edit
27–29 September 1978
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Banks XI
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- Indians won the toss and decided to bat.[6]
- Javed Miandad (Pak) passed 8,000 runs in first-class matches.
Combined XI v Indians edit
4–6 October 1978
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Combined XI
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- Combined XI won the toss and elected to bat.
- Shafiq Ahmed (Combined XI) passed 8,000 runs in first-class matches.[7]
Three-day: Patron's XI v Indians edit
8–10 October 1978
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Patron's XI
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- Indians won the toss and elected to bat.
- Sadiq Mohammad (Patron's XI) passed 16,000 runs in first-class matches.[8]
Three-day: Combined Universities v Indians edit
23–25 October 1978
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Combined Universities
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- Combined Universities won the toss and elected to bat.
- Haroon Rasheed (Combined Universities) passed 4,000 runs in first-class matches.[9]
- Amin Lakhani (Combined Universities) claimed hat-tricks in both innings.[9]
Three-day: Punjab v Indians edit
5–7 November 1978
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- Punjab won the toss and elected to field.
- Asad Mahmood (Punjab) made his debut in first-class matches.[10]
- Mohinder Amarnath (Indians) passed 5,000 runs in first-class matches.[10]
Three-day: Sind v Indians edit
9–11 November 1978
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- Sind won the toss and elected to bat.
- Anshuman Gaekwad (Indians) passed 4,000 runs in first-class matches.[11]
Test series edit
First Test edit
16–21 October 1978
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- This was the first Test played at this venue.[12]
- Kapil Dev (Ind) made his Test debut.
- Javed Miandad (Pak) passed 1,000 runs in Tests.[13]
- Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad's first innings partnership of 255 runs for the fourth wicket was the highest for any wicket by either team against each other.[12]
- 19 October was a rest day.
- Gundappa Viswanath became the first India cricketer to make centuries against every Test-playing nation at the time.[12]
Second Test edit
27 October–1 November 1978
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- Pakistan won the toss and decided to field.
- 30 October was a rest day.
- Zaheer Abbas (Pak) passed 2,000 runs in Tests.[14]
Third Test edit
ODI series edit
First ODI edit
1 October 1978
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- India won the toss and elected to bat.
- Surinder Amarnath, Chetan Chauhan and Kapil Dev (all Ind) made their ODI debuts.
Second ODI edit
13 October 1978
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to field.
- Yashpal Sharma (Ind), and Azmat Rana (Pak) made their ODI debuts.
3rd ODI edit
3 November 1978
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- The match was conceded by India after a number of short-pitched balls were not called wide.
- Bharath Reddy (Ind) made his ODI debut.
References edit
- ^ "Three cricketers go to prison". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "3rd ODI, India tour of Pakistan at Sahiwal, Nov 3 1978". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ Paracha, Nadeem F. (26 November 2015). "After the 17-year-itch: The historic 1978 Indo-Pak cricket series". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "Test Cricket Tours - India to Pakistan 1978-79". test-cricket-tours.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ Paracha, Nadeem F. (26 November 2015). "After the 17-year-itch: The historic 1978 Indo-Pak cricket series". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Pakistan Banks v Indians". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan v Indians". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "BCCP Patron's XI v Indians". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Universities and Young Pakistan v Indians". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Punjab v Indians". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Sind v Indians". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "PAKISTAN v INDIA". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "India in Pakistan 1978/79 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "India in Pakistan 1978/79 (2nd Test)". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
External links edit
- Tour page at ESPNcricinfo
- Tour page at ESPNcricinfo archive