The view has always been held overseas that the true test of batsmanship is making runs in England, where conditions can alter with the passing overhead of a cloud and where pitches can vary so much in character. Even in contemporary times of covered pitches, the touring batsman still takes added glory from success in England.
Dilip Vengsarkar led India’s batting with distinction during their historic series triumph in England in 1986. He was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year the following spring.
One who has triumphed on every tour of England is Dilip Balvant Vengsarkar, born in Bombay on April 6, 1956, who holds the unique record of scoring a century on every one of his three Test appearances at Lord’s. And this tall, elegant batsman reached his zenith in the summer of 1986 when his two hundreds, one at Lord’s and another at Headingley, on one of the poorest Test pitches seen in England for some years, went so far towards India’s achieving their 2-0 win in the three-match series. He finished it with an average of 90, by some margin the highest of any Indian batsman in England.
Although he frequently passed 50, Vengsarkar had to wait until his 17th Test match before achieving his maiden hundred: an occasion when he shared a record second-wicket stand of 344 with Gavaskar against West Indies, in Calcutta, in 1978-79. He has made runs everywhere, but all his overseas Test hundreds have been scored in England, where his reach and his technique of playing the ball late stand him in such good stead, as he demonstrated so amply last summer.
By the time he’d played his last Test during India’s tour to Australia in 1991/92, Vengsarkar had scored 6,868 runs from 116 appearances at 42.13. He was one of the only three Indian cricketers to have played more than 100 Tests at the time.
