The five-match ODI series between India and Australia started on September 28, 1984 but the hosts did not win a single match on that tour, with Australia winning 3-0.
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The Indian cricket team had changed the landscape of the sport when they won the 1983 World Cup. By beating the West Indies in the final at Lord’s, India had joined an elite list of nations to have established their presence on the world stage. In 1984, a series was played between India and Australia at home. The series was in honor of the Ranji Trophy celebrating 100 years. It should have been a magnificent occasion, with India also hosting its first Day-Night ODI at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.
What should have been an occasion to celebrate instead descended into chaos and farce. Logistics in India during the 80s was a massive challenge. Poor scheduling, haphazard coordination saw the series being remembered for all the wrong reasons. It went to such an extent that doubts were being cast over whether India could genuinely host the 1987 World Cup.
Australia had arrived in India with poor form in the last couple of seasons. They were eliminated in the league stages of the 1983 World Cup. Under the captaincy of Kim Hughes, Australia was struggling for impact. They arrived in India just 36 hours prior to the first ODI in Delhi.
But remarkably, despite battling the jet lag and not having enough time to acclimatize, Australia pulled off a remarkable win. Kepler Wessels scored his first and only ODI century in his career. His 107 was the difference. It was his 128-run stand for the second wicket with Kim Hughes that saw Australia reach 220/9. The remaining seven players managed only single-digit scores, with only Graham Yallop reaching double digits.
Carl Rackemann proved to be India’s ultimate destroyer as he took 4/41. Aided by Tom Hogan’s three wickets, Australia won the match by 48 runs. However, from that point, the series descended into a complete farce.
After the match in Delhi, Australia headed down south to Thiruvananthapuram for the second ODI. Already, a section of the fans was not happy with the first ODI as the ticket prices were considered to be expensive. In the second ODI, there was a dispute between Sunil Gavaskar and Hughes over the interpretation of the playing conditions. In a rain-marred match, India was bowled out for 175 with Tom Hogan taking 4/33. Rackemann had awesome figures of 8-4-7-3. Dilip Vengsarkar stood tall with a brilliant 77 but India was bowled out for 175. Australia reached 29/1 in 7.4 overs before rain spelled a premature end to the match.
From Thiruvananthapuram, the teams had to fly thousands of kilometers to Jamshedpur for the third ODI. Here, the real fracas started. Both teams had a halt in Kolkata. The Indian team found no transport waiting and they had to carry their kit a mile to the hotel. In the hotel, they realized that no booking had been done. Apart from that, there were more problems. The realization soon dawned that the landing strip in Jamshedpur airport was not capable of taking big flights. So, while the two teams took a small plane, the teams’ kits arrived by a big lorry.
But, the problems only multiplied. The lorry started at 4 AM for the 150 km journey but was soon caught in traffic. In Jamshedpur, the Australian team was practicing. The game was delayed by a couple of hours due to a wet outfield. However, the real news soon came out. The lorry carrying the kit was still two hours away from Jamshedpur and play could not resume.
The crowd of 15,000 was already restless. The reaction saw them pelt stones and bottles on the field. The police were summoned to calm the situation. There was an announcement that a 24-overs-per-side game would be played but that left the teams unhappy. After the kit arrived, India made 21/2 in five overs. But, the rain arrived and the match was abandoned.
The Aussies continued to criss-cross the entire country. After the abandonment at Jamshedpur, Australia arrived in Ahmedabad two days later for the fourth ODI. In a match shortened to 46 overs due to rain, India batted first with Roger Binny scoring a fifty. But, Geoff Lawson took 3/25, and India was restricted to 206/6. Allan Border hit 62 to guide Australia to a big seven-wicket win and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
On the very next day, Australia had to play the final ODI in Indore. The fatigue was clearly starting to show for both sides. Ravi Shastri hit a century to help India reach 235/5. But fifties from Steve Smith and Greg Ritchie, combined with an aggressive 35 from Kepler Wessels saw Australia win by six wickets. They had swept the series 3-0.
In the final match against reigning Ranji champions Mumbai, Australia ended the tour on a high. Border’s three wickets restricted Mumbai to 190/6 in a match once again affected by rain and reduced to 47 overs. Steve Smith and Allan Border hit fifties as Australia won by five wickets to ensure they did not lose a single match on tour.
The repercussions from the shoddy tour lingered. Gavaskar slammed the BCCI, saying that the Indian board should be “ashamed.” Border had reportedly gone ahead and stated that BCCI officials should be “lined up and shot” for the way the tour took place. The media was critical, with many questioning the credentials of India in hosting the World Cup in 1987. It was not a memorable series. But, that was the India of the 80s.
