Border says Madras tied test not given due recognition
Former Australia captain Allan Border, who will play in a one-day match against India on Saturday to commemorate the 1986 tied test between the sides, said the original game had not received proper recognition.
Australia and India played only the second tied test in the history of the game in Madras but it has lived in the shadows of the first one between Australia and West Indies at Brisbane in 1962.
"Unfortunately I feel the second tied test has so far largely failed to get the recognition it deserves, given the positive spirit with which the two sides played that game and the swings in fortune and the final nail-biting finish we had," he said.
Australian and Indian players from the 1986 game will play for teams led by Border and Ravi Shastri to mark the 15th anniversary of the event.
The commemorative match, organised by former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar, will be played the day before the third test between India and Australia starts in Madras.
"It (the match) basically started as a nostalgic event and we thought it would be a good idea to hold it when the Australians are touring India," Gavaskar told a news conference.
Of the original line-ups only Steve Waugh, Mohammad Azharuddin and Kapil Dev, who led India in the tied test, are not playing.
Dev has opted out of the match while Azharuddin is serving a life ban from cricket over match-fixing allegations.
Steve Waugh -- who leads Australia in the deciding third test -- will also miss the game.
Both Border and Gavaskar said the teams would make a good contest of the match.
"We will play in the same spirit and though we may find it physically harder, once the game gets going our competitive juices should also start flowing," Border said.
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