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When An Indian Spin Legend Dared To Break Australia With A Broken Toe At MCG

Soumyajit Dutta

Dilip Doshi [Source: @fredfertang/X.com]Dilip Doshi [Source: @fredfertang/X.com]

The Melbourne Cricket Ground, February 1981. India dismissed for 237 first up, stared down the barrel. Australia piled up 419, a lead of 182. Defeat seemed inevitable. Yet, India fought back. Gavaskar, Chauhan, Vengsarkar, Viswanath, and Patil, clawed to 324, setting Australia a seemingly simple target of 143. 

Simple, that is, until a quiet warrior with a broken foot stepped onto the MCG turf, rewriting the script with pain etched on his face and magic in his fingers. Dilip Doshi, the left-arm spinner operating in the giant shadow of Bishan Singh Bedi, had already bowled marathon spells. However, sometime during the titanic struggle, disaster struck as he fractured his toe. 

Dilip Doshi Fights Through The Pain To Dismantle Australia's Attack

After the injury, agony shot through Doshi with every step. Conventional wisdom screamed rest. Defending 143 demanded defiance. Doshi chose defiance. As Australia began their chase, the MCG crackled with tension. John Dyson fell early. Then, Greg Chappell, Australia's captain and linchpin, played on to Karsan Ghavri for a golden duck.

Hope flickered for India, but the target was tiny. Doshi, ignoring the searing pain, began his spell for Australia's second innings. Graeme Wood (10) was his first victim, lured forward and beautifully stumped by Syed Kirmani. 18/3. The dangerous Kim Hughes (16) followed, clean bowled by a delivery that perhaps exploited the bowler's altered weight transfer, or simply outthought the batter. 40/4. Australia was reeling.

Doshi wasn't just taking wickets; he was suffocating the life out of the chase. Bowling 22 overs unchanged in the fourth innings, he conceded a mere 33 runs for his 2 crucial wickets. Every ball was an act of sheer will. 

Doshi's Contribution Seals Immortal Win For India!

At the other end, Kapil Dev, inspired by his teammate's courage, produced a fiery burst (5/28). But it was Dilip Doshi's endurance, his ability to tie down an end and prise out key wickets while crippled, that broke Australia's back. They capitulated for 83, one of their lowest-ever totals in a chase. India had pulled off a miraculous 59-run victory.

The quiet spinner, finally out of the shadows, bathed in the glorious, painful light of immortality and will be continuing to do so as he left the world on June 24 in London at the age of 77.