Team India observe 2-minute silence to condole Ajit Wadekar’s death

Ajit Wadekar, the Indian captain to have won a Test series in England, passed away at a time when the national time is touring that country for yet another Test series. Members of the Indian squad on Thursday, August 16, observed two minutes of silence to condole his demise at Trent Bridge where the third Test of the series will begin on Saturday, August 18.

Team India lost the first two Tests of the ongoing five-match series and need to survive the third match undefeated to keep the series alive. However, given the visitors’ batting form, not many fans are ready to give them much of a chance. While India competed well in the first Test at Edgbaston but lost the game by 31 runs after squandering an advantage, they were pummelled in the second Test at Lord’s which they lost by an innings and 159 runs. Only once out of four innings so far have India succeeded in crossing the 200-run mark, which makes evident their pathetic batting form.

Wadekar, who passed away on Wednesday (August 15) in Mumbai at the age of 77, was only the second Indian captain to see his team win in Test overseas (the first being Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi). In 1971, Wadekar’s India defeated Ray Illingworth’s England 1-0 in a three-Test series by winning the fourth game at the Oval by 4 wickets. This victory came after the historic 1-0 win against the West Indies in the Caribbeans, also under Wadekar’s leadership. It was also in the Port of Spain Test in this series that Sunil Gavaskar made his debut.

After Wadekar, only two other captains have led India to Test series victories in England. While Kapil Dev’s side won a three-Test series 2-0 in 1986, Rahul Dravid was the last Indian captain to win a Test series on English soil in 2007. Sourav Ganguly is the other captain not to have lost a Test series in England as his team drew 1-1 with the hosts in 2002.

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