Mohinder Amarnath

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Mohinder Amarnath is noted for his performance in the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He was awarded 'Man of the Match' in the final and semi-final, playing a star role in leading India to their first ever One Day International title and first World Cup win. In the semi-final against England his accurate seam bowling fetched him the top-order wickets of David Gower and Mike Gatting. He gave away only 27 runs in his 12 overs, for an average of a miserly 2.25 an over, the lowest among all Indian bowlers. Returning to bat, he scored 46 runs to give India a solid foundation. He was named the Man of the Match. In the final, India batted first against the West Indies which arguably boasted the world's best bowling attack comprising Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner. India did not fare well, with the entire team being dismissed for a paltry score of 183 in 54.4 overs. Amarnath's calm and composed batting against West Indian fast bowling gave the Indian innings some much needed stability. He occupied the crease for the longest period (80 balls) and scored 26 runs. After the poor batting performance India's chances were deemed almost non-existent. However, the Indian bowling exploited the weather and pitch conditions, conducive for swing bowling perfectly to bowl out the West Indies for just 140, thus winning the finals by 43 runs. Amarnath and Madan Lal were the joint highest wicket takers with 3 wickets each. As he had been in the semi-final, Amarnath was once again the most economical bowler, conceding only 12 runs in his 7 overs for an average of 1.71 per over. Again, just like the semi-final, Amarnath was declared the Man of the Match. Amarnath also had the distinction of bagging the match winning wicket. As the vice-captain of the team, he held the World Cup aloft in a famous photograph along with his captain and friend, Indian cricketing legend Kapil Dev.

In Their Own Story

In the Bridgetown Test during India's tour of the West Indies in 1982–83, Amarnath had to retire for stitches after being hit on the head. On returning to the game, he faced one of history's most lethal fast bowlers Michael Holding. It was a given that Holding would try to intimidate Amarnath by bowling a bouncer, and indeed he did so. While most would expect that a batsman in such a situation would do the prudent thing and duck, instead Amarnath stood his ground and hooked the ball to the boundary. Gideon Haigh writing in The Age says: 'In an era replete with fast bowling and unrestricted in use of the bouncer, he never stopped hooking – despite many incentives to do so. He received a hairline fracture of the skull from Richard Hadlee, was knocked unconscious by Imran Khan, had teeth knocked out by Malcolm Marshall and was hit in the jaw so painfully by Jeff Thomson in Perth that he could eat only ice cream for lunch.' 'What separated Jimmy from the others,' Michael Holding said, 'was his great ability to withstand pain . . . A fast bowler knows when a batsman is in pain. But Jimmy would stand up and continue.'

Reader's Guide

Mohinder Amarnath made his debut against Australia at Chennai in December 1969, as a quick-bowling all rounder. At his peak he was a top order batsman who mainly played at No. 3 for India, and was both an attacking and defensive batsmen who reinvented himself several times over the course of his career. He was also handy with the ball, bowling swingers and cutters with great skill and control. He had a unique run-up where he slowed down as he reached the bowling crease. Behind his seemingly lethargic demeanor were nerves of steel. Mohinder Amarnath played 69 Tests scoring 4,378 runs at a batting average of 42.50, with 11 hundreds and 24 fifties, and claimed 32 wickets at a bowling average of 55.68 apiece. In 85 One Day Internationals, he scored 1,924 runs at an average of 30.53 and a highest score of 102 n.o. and claimed 46 wickets at 42.84 apiece. Except for the period 1982–83, Mohinder never held a steady place in the Indian Test team and would frequently get dropped. Mohinder is known as the Comeback Man of Indian Cricket. During his two decades at the top, he was dropped from the Indian team on several occasions and each time he fought his way back with sterling performances, playing excellent domestic cricket and making it hard for the national selectors to ignore him. He was well known for his batting technique, temperament and skill. He even experimented with a side-on batting stance, where one foot was placed at an angle to the crease, giving the body had a more open stance with a better view of the bowler.

Did You Know?

• Mohinder Amarnath is the only Indian who has been dismissed on handling the ball, and the first to be dismissed for handling the ball in One-Day Internationals (9 February 1986).
• He is the only International Cricketer in the world to be given out both for handling the ball and obstructing the field in his career.
• He displayed the unique superstition of carrying a red handkerchief visibly in his trouser pocket while batting.
• In the 1982–83 season, Imran Khan stated in his book 'All Round View' that Mohinder was quite simply the best batsman in the world.
• He made his first test century at Perth at the WACA (the fastest and bounciest wicket in the world) batting against Jeff Thomson.