How Indian cricket held its own after the '74 rout

India's meek surrender to England in the ongoing cricket series brings back memories of the 1974 tour when we were thrashed in all the three Tests.

I remember my father muttering, “42 all out!” while holding the transistor in a complete daze after the rout at Lord's.

Unlike today, we were not the No 1 team in the world by any stretch of imagination. Our Board was not as wealthy either which meant that India hardly had a voice in the world cricketing arena. This was apparent during the '74 tour when one of our cricketers was accused of shoplifting and we could do precious little to defend his cause. We have come a long way since.

MS Dhoni's team is not likely to face a hostile reception back home like the unfortunate side of '74.

Neither will he be stripped of captaincy like Ajit Wadekar was despite a string of earlier successes. Public memory in India is short and Dhoni is well too aware of this given the contrasting reactions to the World Cup showings of 2007 and '11.

The bigger question is, can India put its house in order after this tour. The Big 3 – Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman – barely have a couple of years of Test cricket left in them. Regaining the No 1 mantle is going to take a lot longer than what most people would like to believe.

Funnily enough, the rebuilding process was not as complicated for the team of '74. They held the visiting West Indians to a closely fought contest in a series still remembered for Gundappa Vishwanath's ‘97 not out' at Chepauk. In contrast, the same England which had pounded us was getting the pasting of its life against Australia.

Come to think of it, Indian cricket acquitted itself reasonably well through the '70s. It equalled the world record of a successful 400 plus run chase against the mighty West Indians and nearly pulled off an encore against England at the Oval in '79. Likewise, the series against Australia in '77-78 was closely fought.

There were big setbacks against England in '76-77 and Pakistan in '78 but overall a fair number of wins through the years unlike the '74 debacle against England.

By the end of the decade, it was also clear that the era of Australian domination was complete and West Indies were the new force to reckon with.

India had managed to hold its own through the ‘70s, thanks in no small measure to a certain Kerry Packer whose World Series Cricket had pocketed some of the world's best players between '77 and '79.

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