In 69 Test Matches, he averaged 43 (4378 runs).
Away average was 52.
Averaged 43 in matches won (12). 47 in matches won abroad (5).
Averaged 55 (9 matches) in the West Indies - the top team of his era.
Scored 25 or less in 46% of his 113 innings - not a high failure rate at all (in fact, the same as Tendulkar and only behind Dravid - 43%).
Made 6 comebacks throughout his career. Missed 64 Tests in the interim.
9 of his 11 Test centuries were made abroad.
Away average was 52.
Averaged 43 in matches won (12). 47 in matches won abroad (5).
Averaged 55 (9 matches) in the West Indies - the top team of his era.
Scored 25 or less in 46% of his 113 innings - not a high failure rate at all (in fact, the same as Tendulkar and only behind Dravid - 43%).
Made 6 comebacks throughout his career. Missed 64 Tests in the interim.
9 of his 11 Test centuries were made abroad.
A 32-year-old cricketer made his 4th comeback in international cricket at the end of 1982. He was well-known for having a weakness against the short ball (having been seriously felled four times by bouncers) and the two away series in front of him were in Pakistan and West Indies - the teams with the most fearsome fast bowlers of that generation (and perhaps all time). But 5 short months and 11 Tests later, Mohinder Amarnath was called the best batsman in the world by the two most likely incumbents to the title - Sunil Gavaskar and Vivian Richards. The 1182 runs he made (at an average of 70, with 5 centuries) in that season was followed by India's win in the ODI world cup where Amarnath was the man-of-the-match in the semi-final and the final, but even in a pure Test cricket analysis as this one, Amarnath's place in Indian cricket is significant. He went through more ups and downs than any cricketer in Indian cricket history and dealt with adversity better than any Test cricketer anywhere, rising out of several seemingly bottomless pits (like scoring 1 run in 6 Test innings at home against West Indies in 1983-84 immediately after the landmark season mentioned above, so he had to make another comeback after that). The guts, perseverance and remarkable balance of character he showed right through his career makes him a role model in any walk of life. With or without that trademark red hanky he always carried in his trousers' back pocket, for luck.
1182 runs in 11 Tests vs Pakistan and West Indies 1982-83.
| Despite a formidable domestic record, Mohinder Amarnath's international career had been stymied by his confirmed weakness against short-pitched bowling. After 4 sickening thuds on his head in the late 1970s, during his last comeback in 1979 he had come out to bat in a 1930s sola hat against Australia, and promptly slipped and crashed into his stumps when Rodney Hogg bounced one on cue. His superb performance in the Ranji trophy had got him back in the national team, which was due to tour Pakistan and West Indies back-to-back. Imran Khan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner were all expected to get at least one easy wicket at some point. But, three things had changed. One, Amarnath had recently returned from | Australia after playing Sheffield Shield cricket. Two, he had taken on the anaesthetic "two-eyed stance" which enabled him to get into position to hook and pull more easily. And three, he had finally adopted the helmet - thus eventually disobeying his belligerent father (former Indian captain Lala Amarnath) who had, for years, dissuaded him from using one (for macho reasons, apparently). In Pakistan, Amarnath's sequence of scores were 109*, 5 and 3, 22 and 78, 61 and 64, 120, 19 and 103* - 584 runs at 73. India lost the series 3-0, but India had re-found a significant talent. In the West Indies, the cricketing world realised exactly how significant. His run of scores there were 29 and 40, 58 and 117, 13, 91 and 80, 54 and 116 - 598 runs at 66. India lost 2-0, but | Amarnath as India's highest scorer in 6 of the 9 innings won the man-of-the-series award. But more than these figures, it was his courage, the gumption with which he stood up to the greatest fast bowling attack in cricket historythat took one’s breath away. Just one example. In the second innings of the fourth Test (when he made 80) he was hit hard on the face by Holding when he was 18 (India 91-1). Amarnath retired hurt, had stitches administered, washed the blood stains off his shirt himself and came back on the field at the fall of the 5th wicket (139-5). His first ball was against Holding who charged in and delivered another lightening bouncer. Amarnath coolly hooked it for six. |
85 vs West Indies, Port-of-Spain 1976.
| In just his 7th Test match, Amarnath gets to be a part of a historic win - a world record fourth innings chase of 403. He comes in at 69-1, joins a focussed Gavaskar. In a severe departure from his usual style of batting (when he liked to go after the bowling), he plays a very watchful, sedate role and just holds one end up. | Gavaskar makes the runs at first, then Viswanath replaces him at 177. They put on 165 in the next three and a half hours, out of which Viswanath contributes a decisive 112, before being run out. Amarnath is even more determined to stay till the end. The new man Brijesh Patel attacks the bowling with conviction and the target comes | closer rapidly. Just 11 runs away, Amarnath is run out too, but he has done his job. 85 runs in almost seven and a half hours of batting. The famous victory is achieved immediately after that much to euphoria and disbelief right through India. Hindi commentator Ravi Chaturvedi chokes up on air for the whole nation to hear. |
90 & 100 vs Australia, Perth 1977.
| The Kerry Packer phenomenon had divided the cricket world and so the Australian team that challenged India in their own backyard was a "second string" side led by 41-year-old Bob Simpson. But this side still had Jeff Thompson, Kim Hughes, Graeme Wood, Graeme Yallop and Steve Rixon. It resulted in a tight absorbing series, eventually won 3-2 by Australia. In | this, the 2nd Test, Amarnath made the number 3 position his for some time. In the first innings, he came out at 14-1 and added 149 with Chauhan and 59 with Vishwanath. Just before tea, with his own score at 80-odd, Amarnath tried to hook debutant fast bowler Sam Gannon and got hit on the temple. He refused to retire hurt, got the nasty bruise attended to during the break and | walked out thereafter. He was out soon though, again to a short ball, for 90. But this made him even more determined in the second innings, as he had a 193-run partnership with Gavaskar (out of a team total of 330) and completed his maiden Test hundred. Still, Australia chased down 342 and won the match by 2 wickets. |
36 and 101* vs Pakistan, Lahore 1984.
| In reply to Pakistan's 428, India manages just 156 in the first innings with just three batsmen (Gavaskar, Vengsarkar and Amarnath reaching double figures).India follow on and fight better as they usually did in the | second innings (which had prompted Gavaskar to suggest that India should play the second innings first), even though at 164-4 the ship is hardly stable. Amarnath and Shastri steady it with a 126-run partnership. | Shastri goes for 71 but Amarnath sees India through to safety (101 in almost 7 hours of batting) as India finish at 371-6 and the match is drawn - another 3-innings 1980s Test. |
60 vs West Indies, Kingston 1976.
| The West Indian captain Clive Lloyd was panicking. India had drawn even in the last Test and he needed to win this decider to keep the West Indian dream of being the best Test team on course (and to save his captaincy). To make things worse, the Indians had batted very effectively on a fast bouncy pitch in front of a partisan crowd and made 175-1 at the end of the first day's play. He had tried to get Holding to intimidate the batsmen with a succession of short balls and even a beamer or two (and then pretend it had slipped) but none of it had worked. Next morning, the tactics intensified. Amarnath was out for 39, then Viswanath's finger got a bone-crusher. | Gaekwad was then hit on his ear and was all but knocked out. He retired hurt against his wishes but the ground authorities were indifferent and showed no urgency to get him to hospital. The crowd meanwhile were chanting - "Kill him, maan!" Brijesh Patel was felled too by a snorter from Holder and had to be taken to hospital. The Indian captain Bedi declared at 306-6 to prevent further injury to his lower order batsmen (who had to bowl). This was bodyline revisited without any ambiguity. The Indians complained about intimidatory bowling, the authorities (including Clyde Walcott) laughed them off. West Indies made 391 with the Indian spinners sharing | the wickets. When India came out to bat, Holding, Julien, Daniel and Holder came at them with a vengeance. Amarnath was the only one to counter attack - he had hit 7 fours and 3 sixes in his 60 out of the team total of 97, when he was out. With Gaekwad, Viswanath and Patel unable to bat from the first innings, and with there appearing to be no point in risking certain injury to the bowlers, Bedi declared again at 97, so India was deemed all out (in just 26 overs). West Indies won by 10 wickets and with it, the all pace era in West Indian cricket was established. The cricket world would never be the same again. |
