After looking at some of the players from the modern generation it’s time to go back and celebrate those heroes who made India believe and were the founding stones on which Indian cricket has built a strong skyscraper and in this article we are talking about one of the all time great players from India who was one of the most influential leaders of all time as he was the one under whose leadership India won away series in England and the West Indies in 1971 and nobody has forgotten the fact today and especially his teammates who revere him even after he sadly passed away.
Ajit Wadekar was most famously known for his incredible leadership skills but he was no mean player with the bat as well as he played some. Ajit played good knocks as a batter in test cricket and won India matches from his bat as well on top of the amazing captaincy he did in his illustrious career. So, let’s look at the Top 5 Best batting Performances of the late great Ajit Wadekar.
143 vs New Zealand (1968)
The only century in the career of Ajit Wadekar came against New Zealand in their own backyard which is considered one of the best innings played by an Indian in New Zealand soil. This Innings establish as a great batter and he was respected more in the team. He was the only one in the Indian batting line-up who had scored more than 50 runs in the first innings so we can imagine how special this innings must have been for everyone who witnessed it live and he ensured that no one would talk about his batting as his weak point.
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99 vs Australia (1967)
When he got out after just missing on a special hundred vs Australia at the MCG he would have been so sad and disappointed but the innings that he played was a great one and to do it at the biggest stage possible is amazing. India were under the pump in this match as their first innings score was very poor and then Australia added on the misery by getting more than 500 runs in their first innings but in the second batting innings for India it was Ajit Wadeksr who stepped up for his nation and played a sublime innings but it was bit enough to Deny Australia the win but his stock just kept growing as the Matches went by.
91 vs England (1967)
This is a hat trick of innings that the great Ajit Wadekar played away from home and in seaming conditions at Headingley so he proved that he was an all conditions player as he scored a hundred in New Zealand, a 99 in MCG and then this innings of 91 in England. Some of the very best in history are not able to do what he did in his career. This time it was the second innings of the test match as the first innings for India was a disaster and then England made a score of 550 and they followed on India but this time Ajit Wadekar led the way at number 3 making 91 in over 200 balls but in the end it was England who won the match by 6 wickets but the fight that India showed was commendable.
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91* vs Australia (1969)
This is the first innings in this list out of the 4 that he played in India and it was against a great Australia team and here as well it was Ajit Wadekar who stood up for India and showed why he is so respected around the cricketing world. This test match was nicely poised and India were given a target of 181 runs to win and in the fourth Innings of this test match it was again Ajit Wadeksr who stood there till the end when everyone else was getting out and he made sure that India won that test match and thus they had a special memory to keep for a lifetime.
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90 vs England (1973)
The last and final innings in our list is this great innings that he played in the first innings of this test match against England at Kanpur. It was a tricky pitch and Ajit Wadekar stayed at the crease for more than 220 balls and he made a sublime 90 runs in the innings and India were able to make 357 runs in the first innings. Although the match was drawn it still remains one of the best innings of his career and he missed out on a century yet again. I never got the chance to see him play live but I am sure he was a special player to watch at bat.
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