It was with great fanfare that the Indo-Pak cricket series was revived in 1978, 18 long years after the last series of 1960. The images of three men dominated the series -- the flamboyant Imran Khan, with his long run up, incredible pace on flat wickets, and the ability to change the course of a match in the space of a few overs; the fiery temper and the late swing (later identified as Reverse Swing) of Sarfraz Nawaz and the graceful, elegant batsmanship of Zaheer Abbas, who was the scourge of the Indian attack and was responsible for the burial of the spin trio, Bishen Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar.

There are some lingering images too of the brilliant, valiant struggle put up by Sunil Gavaskar with two centuries and two near ones, 89 and 97. Javed Miandad too made an impact with two centuries, some frenetic running between the wickets and an unbridled spirit of aggression.

However, it was the combination of Zaheer with the bat and the Imran-Sarfraz duo with the ball that stood out in the series as they demolished and demoralised the Indians. The Indian bowling attack revolving around the hype generated over the so-called mastery and mystery weapons of the spin trio was truly laid to rest in Pakistan. The Indians just couldn't get Zaheer out. Nor could they stem the seemingly incessant flow of runs from his bat which seemed to get broader and broader as the innings went on. And he never seemed to tire and appeared to have an inexhaustible source of energy and appetite for big scores.

Rahul Dravid, a few years ago, impressed with Sourav Ganguly's style, said on the off-side there is God and then Sourav. But God would have placed Zaheer Abbas right next to him for off-side play. Off drive, cover drive, square drive -- he was a treat to watch. When in full flow, there was no better sight to watch. He was fluent both off the front foot and the back foot. The ball when pitched up would be driven right from mid-off to an arc ending in point. He could also find the gaps in ease. The short ball was either cut or square driven anywhere between backward point and cover.

It was a leather hunt of the kind that India had not seen before. And to see it happening at Pakistan in a series revived after 18 years was too much to bear for the average Indian. Zaheer scored 176 in the first Test as Faisalabad, with 24 fours and two sixes, and 96 in the second when he was all set to get his second hundred of the game but fell LBW to part-time bowler Sunil Gavaskar! That too when the match was meandering towards a tame draw.

In the second Test, Zaheer again proved to be a nightmare for the Indians, scoring a massive 235 not out in the first innings and an unbeaten 34 in the second to record Pakistan's first win in the series. The third Test at Karachi was a brief innings by Zaheer's standards -- just 42 -- and in the second he didn't get a chance to bat as Pakistan went for quick runs to force a win.

The way the first innongs of the first Test at Faisalabad went, it was a clear pointer as to which way the series would go. Pakistan scored a massive 503 for 8 in the first innings, with the spin trio notching 'centuries' -- Prasanna (1/123), Bedi (3/ 124) and Chandra 4/130 (he picked up three wickets when Pakistan went for big hits looking for an early declaration). Fortunately for India, Gavaskar and Chauhan, on a flat wicket, gave India a solid start of 97, and Gavaskar was out only at the score of 248 for 3, making 89, unlucky to york himself while coming down the wicket to drive left-arm spinner Iqbal Qasim. Gundappa Viswanath followed it up with a fine innings of 145 and helped India reach a safe score of 462. There was little interest left in the match thereafter and the game ended in a draw.

The Lahore Test sparked to life straightaway as Imran and Sarfraz ripped through the Indian innings, skittling out the team for just 199 in the first innings. Powered by a massive innings of 235 not out from Zaheer Abbas with 29 fours and two sixes, Pakistan amassed 539 for six in just 133 overs. Prasanna had figures of 0/94, Bedi 1/109 and Chandra 2/130, tempting one to believe that this spin trio bowled like tigers on pitches tailor-made for spin from day one like at Chepauk and Eden Gardens (Kolkata), but were exposed on good wickets. So much for the hype over 'guile and mastery in the air'.

Facing a lead of 340 runs, India seemed to be heading for an early defeat but a heroic partnership between Gavaskar and Chauhan seemed to be steering India towards safety at 192 for no loss when suddenly some bad umpiring cost India dear. Bowling leg spinners round the wicket in an attempt to land the ball into the rough, skipper Mushtaq Mohammed and the close in fielders went in for a big appeal for a catch when Gavaskar padded up to a ball pitching outside the leg stump, with his bat behind the pad. The ball had clearly gone off the pad and the bat was nowhere near. Yet Gavaskar was ruled out, caught. Pakistan came back into the match and though the other Indians did put up a fight, the tail caved in on the last afternoon. Pakistan needed 125 to win and made the runs for the loss of only two wickets, scoring at over six runs an over, to go one up in the three-Test series.

In the third and final Test at Karachi, Gavaskar played another heroic innings of 111, while wickets fell all around him, and he was sixth out at 219, a victim of a hostle spell from Imran Khan who had earlier got rid of Viswanath too. Vishy made a duck. Pakistan made another big score of 481 for nine, Miandad making a hundred and supported by Zaheer, Mushtaq, Majid Khan and Mudassar.

On a tense final day, Gavaskar stood like the Rock of Gibraltar, completing his second century of the match. Vishy failed again. Wiping out the Pakistan first innings lead of 137, India was 246 for six, Ghavri keeping Sunny company. It was late afternoon and only a few hours were left. Can India save the game? It was then that Sarfraz got rid of Sunny. The long vigil ended at his individual score of 137. Mopping up the remaining wickets, Pakistan went for the kill in an attempt to finish the series on a winning note.

Needing 164 for a win in a little over 25 overs, Mushtaq changed his batting order in brilliant fashion, sending in Asif Iqbal as an opener with Majid. Runs came thick and fast as Iqbal was lightning quick in running between the wickets. With the crowd cheering them on, Mianded, who came in at number three, and Asif pulverised the Indian attack, despite defensive field placings. Imran Khan came in at number four. Although the game was still evenly poised and the Indians had a chance of forcing a draw with only three or four overs to go, Bedi unwisely brought himself on. Imran launched a furious attack, hitting him for 17 runs in one over including two huge sixes. Pakistan coasted to victory, with eight wickets in hand.

'A fitting finale for Pakistan, which played aggressive cricket throughout, and bettered India in every field including captaincy. It was natural that heads would roll. They did.

Gavaskar was the lone shining star, making 111 and 137 in the last Test and two other impressive scores of 89 and 97. He had only one failure of 5 runs in the first innings of the second Test, and was the victim of a bad umpiring decision in the second innings. The series was revived but who will revive sagging Indian hopes?

Go through the Scorecard of the memorable 1978 Indian tour of Pakistan and relive those golden moments:

By R Rangaraj

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