Nearly two years had passed since India had won their first overseas Test series, in New Zealand in 1967-68. When New Zealand paid a return visit, in 1969-70, India beat them by 60 runs in the first Test of the three-match series, at Bombay. New Zealand did take a 73-run lead, but chasing 188, they were no match against Bishan Singh Bedi (6-42) and EAS Prasanna (4-74).

But New Zealand squared the series at Nagpur with a 167-run victory. Yet again they got a lead, this time worth 62 runs. Chasing an eventual 278, India folded for only 109 against left-arm spinner Hedley Howarth (5-34 to go with 4-66 in the first innings) and off-spinner Vic Pollard (3-21).

The decider

For the decider in Hyderabad, New Zealand left out Pollard and left-arm spinner Bryan Yuile, but Graham Dowling opted to bat. Dowling (42) and Bruce Murray (80) took them to 82-0 at lunch, then to 106-0, before they collapsed to 166-9 against Prasanna (5-51), one of three Indian spinners.

New Zealand were 181-9 at stumps on day one. Rain washed out all of the second day, which was followed by the rest day. When the covers were finally removed, the pitch seemed green. Worse, there were two wet patches, at the centre of the pitch and near the popping crease at the pavilion end.

For some reason, umpires MV Nagendra and Sudhendu Bhattacharya ordered the grass to be cut. Dowling objected, and India “had to bat on a pitch uncut for three days.” Play resumed half an hour late, and New Zealand were immediately bowled out on their overnight score.

Collapse and riot

Indian captain MAK Pataudi opted for the heavy roller, but it was not going to be enough against Bob Cunis, Bruce Taylor, and Dayle Hadlee. The batting was not great either. “It [the surface] gave the pace bowlers more psychological than practical assistance,” reported the Wisden Almanack. In The Indian Express, NS Ramaswami wrote that “India cannot plead a difficult pitch for their failure.”

Indeed, there could be little excuse for the Indians slipping to 28-7, then 49-9, looking at a potential follow on. Cunis (3-12), Taylor (1-20), and Hadlee (4-30) had shared eight of the wickets. S Venkataraghavan (25 not out) and Bedi (20) helped avert the follow-on, but just about: India folded for 89.

There was still half an hour left in the day. As Venkataraghavan and Bedi walked back, a boy from the stands rushed to congratulate them. A police officer chased him with a stick, and even hit him. The boy fell down. He had to be admitted to the Sarojini Eye Hospital.

The crowd retaliated by throwing stones, slippers, and even firecrackers. They even set fire to the section of the stadium near the scoreboard. The riot spread outside the ground. The State Public Works Department was attacked, as was a shopping arcade near the stadium. Later that night, well after the violence subsided, the Police Commissioner expressed regret, assuring stern action was being taken against the officer whose blows had triggered it all.

India capitulate again

New Zealand finished the next day on 175-8. India rightly slowed down the over rate, but that did not prevent the lead from stretching to 267 by stumps. Batting at No.10, an unfit Glenn Turner added 31 vital runs for the ninth wicket with Taylor. For some reason, Pataudi did not ask debutant Eknath Solkar, one of India’s two seamers, to bowl on the green top.

Dowling declared overnight. The sensible thing would probably have been to shut shop and play for a draw, especially with on a difficult pitch with ominous-looking clouds threatening to interrupt play at any point.

Instead, Abid Ali went for an expansive cover-drive and edged behind. KS Indrajitsinhji hooked Cunis for four, but tried an encore and was caught at short leg. Dropped at first slip, Ajit Wadekar hit Hadlee for four, but was caught behind soon afterwards. ML Jaisimha and Pataudi, the local heroes, did not last either, and India soon became 44-5.

The youngsters, debutant Ashok Gandotra and Ambar Roy, took them to 48-5 by stumps. The next day, Roy batted for 53 minutes before Hadlee had him caught behind. Wicketkeeper Ken Wadsworth dropped Solkar off Hadlee, but once Cunis bowled Gandotra after a 64-minute vigil, India had little option but to play for rain.

It had drizzled during lunch, but the game-stopping rain finally arrived at 76-7. It lasted only 25 minutes, but as The Indian Express reported, “We could see rain blotting out the landscape and the hills in the university area,” reported Ramaswami. But then it stopped, leaving the ground basking in “hot sunshine”.

“No real effort was made”

Now the fun began. Water had accumulated on the tarpaulin cover, and the ground staff quite visibly delayed the clean-up process. “No real effort was made to get play started again,” reported the Wisden Almanack. “Instead of the covers being removed, a few workers with rags, some of them women, were given the task of removing the water from the covers and although there were official denials later, it looked very much like a deliberate go-slow policy.”

The Indian Express was kinder towards the ground staff: “When the rain ceased, the environs of the pitch were waterlogged, and there was another big area under water on the practice square. An army of workers, male and female, took a hand, but the work was necessarily slow, having to be done cautiously.”

Realising what was going on, the crowd began to chant “New Zealand zindabad (long live New Zealand)” and “down with the Indian team.” Some in the east stand “indulged in demonstrations and antics” in protest.

When Pataudi – a local star, it must be remembered – and Dowling walked out to inspect the conditions, the crowd broke into a chant of “shame, shame, Pataudi”. The riot police got ready with tear gas, but thankfully it did not come to that.

A frustrated Dowling took off his shoes and socks and did his utmost best to remove the water. His teammates joined in. When the tarpaulin finally came off, it was spotted that water had seeped into the two abovementioned patches. The match was called off at a quarter to five.

Later that day, he umpires submitted a report, accusing Dowling of “interfering with them in the discharge of their duties.” Dowling told in the press conference that only “two-thirds from the original number of 25” of the ground staff were deployed that day. He had even pleaded to the BCCI representative and local star Ghulam Ahmed to hasten things up, but his words had fallen on deaf ears.

The matter was put to rest. New Zealand left India with a 1-1 draw. The Indian Express ran a headline calling it "a moral victory for New Zealand". They had to wait for 55 years for an actual one.

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