Vengsarkar: 'Colonel' elsewhere, but 'Commander' at Lord's

He may be called the Lord of Lord's for he is the only non English batsman to score three successive hundreds at what is called the 'Mecca of Cricket.' A former Indian captain, he is among the elite list of ten players who have been nominated as top performers at the Lord's ground. He has been invited for a special function got up to commemorate the 100th Test to be played at Lord's. He is Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar.

Vengsarkar will walk through the famous Long Room in the pavilion to the turf outside while video clippings of his performances will be shown. So naturally one would like to ask, what has Vengsarkar achieved to join the big league?

Well, Vengsarkar got three successive hundreds on the ground in each of the Tests played in 1979, 1982, and 1986. On playing at Lord's, Vengsarkar says "It's every cricketer's dream to play at Lord's. I was no exception. I consider myself fortunate to get three hundreds because all I wanted to do was to play there." Humble words from a humble person, but not humble in deeds.

The tall, stylish right hander from Mumbai made scores of 0 & 103 in 1979, 2 & 157 in 1982 and 126 (not out) and 33 in 1986. In the four Test matches that Vengsarkar played at Lord's, he made 508 runs at an average of 72.57. He made 52 and 35 in his last Test appearance at the ground in 1990.

Looking back at each of Vengsarkar's innings at Lord's, his first in 1979 turned out to be a fighting one, helping India salvage a draw. Vengsarkar's 210-run partnership with Gundappa Viswanath saved India when all seemed lost after they had finished 323 runs in arrears on the first innings. Tall and upright, Vengsarkar was the one who lead from the front. This knock won him the Man of the match. After this knock he naturally took a special liking for the ground.

In 1982, a majestic 157 from `The Colonel' could not help India from losing. Coming in at a situation not dissimilar to 1979, Vengsarkar helped India reach a respectable second innings total with the help of Kapil Dev. His knock was an absolute delight to watch. Coming in when the first wicket fell at six, after India were following on 305 runs behind, he was seventh out at 254.

If both these centuries were made in the second innings, in 1986 Vengsarkar made it three in a row by scoring an unbeaten 126 in the first innings. This timely knock with a little support from the tail helped India take the lead, which in the end proved to be decisive. He was in his 90s when last man Maninder Singh joined him but he farmed the strike to not only get to his hundred but he also helped India win the match and go one up in the series. This ton of Vengsarkar is personally for him 'a very special one' for it was made towards a winning cause.

The Mumbai player, now 44, rates his first hundred as most satisfying for it was scored under difficult conditions. Talking to a web site, Vengsarkar said England were a competitive side those days. ``All the three teams I played were nearly equally good. The bowling attacks were efficient and since conditions favoured the seamers, it was not easy to play them. Mike Hendrick, John Lever and Botham formed a very good attack in '79, probably the best of the three. In '82, Bob Willis was a key factor. Phil Edmonds, a good spinner, was around in '86. Botham was not there in `86, which weakened their attack.''

But for someone for whom Lord's is always special, ironically Vengsarkar missed a place in the team which played in the 1983 World Cup final. India won the trophy, beating holders West Indies. Vengsarkar, who had played in the league matches, missed the semifinal against England and the final.

Apart from Vengsarkar, Bradman (Australia) and Sobers (West Indies), the other top performers who have been invited on the special occasion are Bob Massie, Glenn McGrath (both from Australia), Gordon Greenidge (West Indies) and England's Graham Gooch, Allan Lamb, Ian Botham and Derek Underwood.

If it was a delight to watch Vengsarkar in full flow at other grounds, his three gems at Lord's are the jewels in his crown. As Vengsarkar says "I would not trade my three hundreds at Lord's for my centuries anywhere else. There is a sense of occasion whenever you play there."

Well, certainly Colonel, even we would not trade you for other players, however great they may be, for you are well and truly the Lord of Lord's.