A to Z of Melbourne Tests

A for Ajit The Mumbai batting great would have become the first Indian lefthander to score a century at the MCG but he was dismissed for 99 coming down the pitch to hit Bob Simpson only to give Paul Sheahan a simple catch at point B for Border Tough as teak Allan was at the other end on 62 while Geoff Miller held on to a catch from No 11 Jeff Thomson which Chris Tavare nearly spilled for England to win the fourth Test of the 198283 AshesC for Chandrasekhar The big hero of Indiarsquos 197778 victory at Melbourne Twelve wickets in the game meant the visitors were back in the series after losing the first two TestsD for Doshi One of the heroes of Indiarsquos 198081 Melbourne Test leftarm spinner Dilip bowled with a broken foot to claim five wickets in the TestE for Erapally In 196768 Prasanna claimed 6141 to become the first among five Indian bowlers to claim five or more wickets in an innings of a Melbourne TestF for Fitzroy Thatrsquos the Gardens where spectators had to eat their packed lunch when the 195455 Ashes Test ended early on the fifth dayG for Gavaskar Shrugging off his first innings duck of the 197778 Test Sunil carved 118 in the second innings for Indiarsquos bowlers to have a crack at Australia againH for Hanif In his only Test on Australian soil Pakistanrsquos little master Mohammad scored a century and missed out on another one when he was dismissed for 93 in the 2nd innings in 196465I for India Though Australia have eight Test wins over India at Melbourne the visitors donrsquot have a bad record at the MCG ndash Tests in 197778 198081 201819 and 202021 went the visitorsrsquo wayJ for Jeff Australiarsquos fastest ever bowler in the opinion of several pundits went for 0110 on Test debut against Pakistan in 197273 The next time he played a Test at MCG he got eight in the game to trouble England in 1974K for Karsan Got Australia captain Greg Chappell in both innings of the Melbourne Test which India won by 59 runs Chappellrsquos firstball duck in the second innings enhanced Indiarsquos victory chancesL for Lillee What a Test it was for Dennis in 198182 On December 26 he sent back Viv Richards off the last ball of the day and on the following day he went past Lance Gibbsrsquo tally of 309 Test wickets to become the highest wickettaker in the gameM for Mankad How can anyone not sing praises of a batsman who gets two hundreds in a series on Australian soil No surprise then Don Bradman praised Vinoo for ending the 194748 series with two centuries in the Melbourne TestsN for Nadkarni Missed out on being part of the playing XI in the 196768 Test but was assistant manager in 198081 where India squared the seriesO for OrsquoDonnell Hailing from Victoria this talented crowd favourite Australia allrounder who was more suited to oneday cricket didnrsquot get a chance to play a Test on his home groundP for Pataudi His 75 and 85 with an injured leg in the 196768 Test didnrsquot eventuate in victory but he attracted admiration for batting on one leg and one eyeQ for Quirky The first ever Test match in 1877 ended with a 45run victory at MCG for Australia A 100 years later in 1977 the hosts won by the same marginR for Rahane One of Indiarsquos top performers in Melbourne Tests is Ajinkya who scored hundreds in the 201415 and 202021 TestsS for Sachin A splendid 116 on Day Three of the 19992000 Test was a sight for the Gods The next highest scorer was Ganguly with 31T for Tyson Englandrsquos pace terror Frankrsquos 727 sent Australia reeling to defeat in the 195455 Test His pace was too hot to ignore and moved batting legend Don Bradman to say he was the fastest bowler he sawU for Umar The younger Akmal brother loved scoring his runs swiftly In the 200910 Test he smashed 51 off 80 balls with nine fours and a six In the second innings his 27 included five foursV for Virat Indiarsquos star batsman can be expected to come up with more gems at Melbourne His 169 in 201415 was memorable and he followed that up with 54 In 201819 he led from the front with 82 and his second innings duck wonrsquot be a sore point as India ended up winningW for Whitehead The umpire who ruled Sunil Gavaskar leg before wicket in the 198081 Test a wrong decision which led to skipper Gavaskar nearly taking his opening partner Chetan Chauhan with him to the dressing room Rex will forever be rememberedX for Xfactor It could well be Australiarsquos new opening batsman Sam KonstasY for Yardley He claimed seven in an innings against Pakistan in 198182 but still ended up on the losing side as Javed Miandadrsquos men buried Australia in runs 5008 declaredZ for Zaheer The Asian Bradman was a highly respected player in Australia He made five tours and was dismissed twice for 90 in 197677 and 198182