'India's first win abroad marked the first instance we played as a team'

India's first-ever series win abroad came in New Zealand in the 1967-68 series. Members of that victorious team relive the glory in conversation with Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra.

For a country that made its Test debut in 1932, India's first series triumph abroad came only in 1968.

The national side toured England, Australia and the West Indies on multiple occasions, without success.

India's first tour of New Zealand, in 1967-68, brought both its first Test win overseas (at Carisbrook), and also its first series triumph.

"The advantage we had was the presence of more experienced batsmen in the team," recalls Erapalli Prasanna.

"Subsequently, the batting was complimented by some good bowling," adds the legendary off-spinner, who emerged the top wicket-taker in the series, with 24 wickets.

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Bapu Nadkarni, who played a key role with the ball, concurs.

"It marked the first instance we played as a team," he says, adding, "Before that, most of the Indian wins were all about a few individual performances."

Having won the opening Test at Carisbrook (Dunedin), the Indian team lost the second Test at Christchurch, the hosts benefitting from a magnificent double hundred by captain Graham Dowling (239) and a remarkable spell by Gary Bartlett (six for 38).

Rather than caving in, the Mansur Ali Khan 'Tiger' Pataudi-led side recovered from that defeat and won the next two Tests at Wellington and Auckland.

"It was difficult to adjust at the start, but as the tour progressed, we went from strength to strength," remembers vice-caption Chandu Borde, who played a crucial role with the bat.

"The wickets were different and New Zealand was a good side," he continues.

"We had to change our technique. We were used to playing on the front foot, but that was a strict no-no. The fact that we had played in Australia just before the series helped to a considerable extent."

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"The Australian tour, even though we lost, was very encouraging," recalls Prasanna, who the Australian off-spinner Ashley Mallett recently hailed as the greatest off-spinner of all time.

"The conditions in New Zealand were very similar to that in England, and our captain ('Tiger' Pataudi) knew the English conditions very well."

"That helped to a considerable extent," adds Prasanna. "We also benefited from the fact that most of the wickets were surprisingly on the slower side."

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"Winning a series overseas is special," asserts Borde, "We proved that we could win outside India."

It took 41 years before India performed an encore in New Zealand, courtesy a solitary Test win at Seddon Park (Hamilton).

As India embarks on its ninth tour of New Zealand, starting with the first One-Day International at Napier later this week, memories of that maiden overseas triumph remain afresh, as do hopes of a repeat of the effort in 2009, when the Indian team returned victorious in both the Test and one-day series.