After over two decades of Tests between the two sides, India's first win over the mighty West Indies came at a most apposite venue - the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad, cheered on by thousands of their East Indian brethren. The tour was one to remember for two men in particular: Ajit Wadekar in his first series as captain, and Sunil Gavaskar, who made the series his own with four hundreds and an average of over 150. Old campaigner Dilip Sardesai wasn't far behind either, and it was his solid century in the first innings that set up the Port-of-Spain win.

The first Test, in Kingston, was drawn, but India had maintained the upper hand for the most part, thanks to a big score by Sardesai.

Dilip Sardesai, India batsman: Before the start of the series, I was not sure if I was going to be in the 1st XI. But [Gundappa] Viswanath got injured at the beginning of the tour and I came in for the first game, against Jamaica, and got 97 runs. Then in the first Test in Kingston, at one stage we were 75 for 5, but I went on to score a double-century. We made West Indies follow on for the first time ever, and that told us that they weren't as great a side as they were made out to be - as far as their bowling was concerned - and that we had every chance to beat them since we had great spinners.

Garry Sobers, West Indies allrounder and captain: I don't think we had the bowling to beat India in 1971. Both [Wesley] Hall and [Charlie] Griffith had retired by then, and with Sunil coming through, we weren't going to make it. We didn't have the bowlers, the big, fast guys, to win Tests.

"I thought not opting for the experienced Lance Gibbs was the biggest blunder West Indies made" Dilip Sardesai

Steve Camacho, West Indies opener: We thought we had a good chance, as India themselves were going through a change, with a new captain taking over just before the series. But Wadekar welded them into a very close-knit team.

West Indies won the toss and batted first on a spin-friendly track in Port-of-Spain. They lost Roy Fredericks off the first ball of the match and soon were down to 62 for 4.

Camacho: My abiding memory of the game was the Trinidad pitch. I watched the first ball of the match from the non-striker's end. It was a shooter from Abid Ali, and it hit Roy Fredericks' pads before going on to hit the stumps. The pitch behaved erratically, at least in that first session, but it improved after lunch and in essence became a slow turner.

Salim Durani, India allrounder: When I went to the West Indies for the first time in 1962, most of the wickets were quick, but in this series there was no life in most of them. The Trinidad pitch was a slow turner, but there were no problems if a batsman was prepared to wait.

Charlie Davis, West Indies batsman: As I walked in to bat, my first impression was that it was a plain wicket with uneven bounce.

The Oval was jam-packed. About half our population was East Indian, so there were a lot of fans rooting for the Indians. Garry Sobers always said that when they play at Trinidad, it is like a home game for India. So it was little scary for me, but I had played a series in England the previous year and I kind of knew what to expect.

Charlie Davis was West Indies' top scorer in both innings, with 71 and 74 not out © PA Photos

West Indies were bowled out for 214, Erapalli Prasanna and Bishan Bedi taking seven wickets between them. India got a first-innings lead of 138, with Sardesai making his second 100-plus score of the series. Gavaskar, on debut, and Eknath Solkar chipped in with half-centuries.

Camacho: The most important factor in the whole series was Sardesai's double-century in Jamaica. He followed that up with another good century at Port-of-Spain. He was given able support, again, like in the first Test, by Eknath Solkar, who we dropped quite a few times.

Davis: Sardesai was an accumulator, but he wasn't slow - he got runs very quickly and very easily.

Sardesai: I had been having a very good time in the series and was scoring runs at will. Having scored the double in the first Test, I had figured out how to get on top of their bowling. A time comes when you feel nobody can get you out, and I had that feeling all through that Caribbean tour.

West Indies were in transition at that time, their fast-bowling reputation a feature of the past (and the future). Thirty-four-year-old offspinner Jack Noreiga was their leading wicket-taker in this Test and the series - his 9 for 95 in the first innings remain the best figures by a West Indies bowler.

Camacho: Noreiga was an offspinner who came to first-class cricket pretty late. He had decent flight and he could spin the ball with a high-arm action. The Indians were good players of spin, but Noreiga bowled really well for his nine wickets in the first innings at a very economical rate. Sadly he had no one to support him from the other end.

"The Oval was jam-packed. Garry Sobers always said that when they play at Trinidad, it is like a home game for India" Charlie Davis

Sardesai: Noreiga was a big spinner of the ball. But he had so much flight that anybody could hit him out of the ground. In the first innings our batsmen somehow failed to apply themselves against him, and gave him some easy wickets. I thought not opting for the experienced Lance Gibbs was the biggest blunder West Indies made.

Davis: I was very surprised by Noreiga's performance in that first innings. He was very quiet and unassuming - kind of overawed at being there in the West Indies dressing room.

Durani: More than Noreiga earning his wickets, it was us playing bad shots. He bowled me a full-toss in the first innings, and I spooned a simple catch back at him trying to hit it to midwicket. He was definitely not in the class of Lance Gibbs.

Camacho: Garry [Sobers] was past his peak as a bowler certainly. A lot of the time he bowled quickish, and mixed it up with orthodox left-arm. Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith weren't around anymore, and Vanburn Holder and Grayson Shillingford weren't by any stretch of the imagination fast bowlers.

Offspinner S Venkataraghavan was the leading wicket-taker of the series, with 22 wickets at 33.81 from five Tests © PA Photos

Sardesai: Even if they didn't have good fast bowlers, they had a couple of good medium-pacers, Vanburn Holder and Uton Dowe. Dowe didn't play in the second Test as Jack Noreiga was picked for the spinner's track at Port-of-Spain.

By stumps on day three, West Indies had made a sort of recovery. They were 12 ahead with Fredericks on 80 and Davis, moved up the order because of an injury to Camacho, on 33. But at nets before the start of play on the fourth morning, Davis was hit over the eye and had to go to hospital for stitches. During the time he was away, Fredericks, Sobers, Clive Lloyd and Camacho all returned to the pavilion with only 19 added to the overnight total. It was a smart bowling change that triggered the collapse.

Ajit Wadekar, India captain: With Prasanna out and Bedi tiring, I had brought on Durani. It was truly a magic spell from this gifted allrounder that changed the entire complexion of the game. In the matter of a couple of overs the game swung dramatically in our favour. Sobers played over one, which spun into him, and was comprehensively bowled for a duck. Noticing Lloyd pushing balls that broke in to him towards midwicket, I moved over to short midwicket. I had barely taken up position when Lloyd, as expected, hit the ball to me. I had to reach out and reclaim it, almost off my fingertips.

Durani: The West Indies batsmen were trying their best to make use of the slow wicket, which was not helping us. During one of the drinks breaks on the fourth day, we decided that I had to come on to bowl as we needed someone to hit the deck now that flighting the ball was not working.

"On an uneven wicket you need to play forward when the ball is keeping low, as it did here. Unfortunately my team-mates didn't understand that" Charlie Davis

Garry and Clive were batting then. After pitching some deliveries outside off to Garry, I pitched one on this rough spot just outside the off stump. It hit the spot nicely, turned a little, beat his defence, went between bat and pad and took the off stump. He couldn't believe it and walked back muttering, "Oh Jesus." I couldn't control my happiness and was jumping in jubilation.

Clive was another big wicket. He was a great on-side bat, and never missed once he got to the pitch of the ball. Having made him play a few outside off, I overpitched one on the off stump, but with a lot of turn. Clive attempted to lift it over my head. I had brought Ajit to short midwicket, guessing Clive would go for the shot. He mistimed it and the ball was pouched well by Ajit.

Having dragged West Indies to a 200-plus total in the first innings, Davis returned at the fall of the fifth wicket and once again batted in determined fashion, finishing unbeaten on 74.

Davis: On an uneven wicket you need to play forward when the ball is keeping low, as it did here. Unfortunately my team-mates didn't understand that, so they kept playing back and got out. I ended up looking like a hero because I remained unbeaten in the match, but I was not - I was just using my head. I also mixed my forward defence with some good cut shots, which I grew more confident of playing during this Test; I was not such a big cutter of the ball before the series.

Camacho: Charlie Davis stood strong, but he ran out of partners eventually. I came in at No. 6 in the second innings because I had been injured while fielding during the Indian innings. I couldn't even hold the bat properly due to the broken finger, and I was cleaned up by Venkat [offspinner S Venkataraghavan] almost immediately on my arrival.

Garry Sobers had a quiet Test in Port-of-Spain, making only 29 runs, but went on to score hundreds in each of the next three matches of the series © PA Photos/Getty Images

Though Prasanna and Bedi had taken the bulk of the wickets in the first innings, the West Indies batsmen were also finding it difficult to negotiate Venkataraghavan. He took only one wicket in the first innings - of Sobers - but took five in the second, the only overseas five-for of his career.

Davis: One problem was that most of our top order were left-handers, and for the Indian spinners, especially Venkataraghavan, that was an advantage.

He bowled tight, flat offbreaks, pitching them on middle and leg, and he once caught Garry in no-man's land, but since the bounce was uneven, the ball pitched and jumped over the off stump. The Indians knew that once they got Garry, who batted at six, they were home and dry. So in the next over Venkat brought the mid-on fielder to gully to force Garry into doing something stupid. He bowled the exact same ball, and seemed to catch Garry again playing half-and-half. But at the last minute Garry got back and hit it to the mid-on boundary. He then came up to me and said, "This man must be mad to bowl to me without a mid-on." I laughed and said, "You were definitely gone to the cleaners in his last over." But that was Garry: he could do anything. Eventually Venkat bowled him to have the last laugh.

India had over a day in which to get the 124 needed for victory, but Gavaskar, with an unbeaten 67, wrapped up the game on the fourth day. He went on to make 774 runs in the series, still an Indian record. India won the Test by seven wickets and the series 1-0.

"Noticing Lloyd pushing balls towards midwicket, I moved over to short midwicket. I had barely taken up position when Lloyd hit the ball to me" Ajit Wadekar

Sardesai: From the very beginning I was impressed highly by Gavaskar's tremendous commitment and concentration - I've never seen any other Indian cricketer possess those virtues in such abundance. I knew he would go very far, and he proved people like me correct with his showing in the years to come, not to forget his four centuries in this series.

Davis: Gavaskar didn't take any unnecessary chances, which made it very difficult to get him out. In his two innings in the second Test, his class and our lack of good fast bowling was a big disadvantage.

Sobers: I had toured India a few times before that, and I felt that while India had good cricketers in the 1960s, and there was a lot of promise, and they had some good batsmen, they weren't yet a strong team. But Sunil made a big difference in 1971.

Their spinners were champion bowlers, and even thought this wasn't in India, they hurt us. Sachin [Tendulkar], who came later, was very special, but Sunil was really special. He made runs against us, and also in Australia and England. He was a great character, a great entertainer when he batted.

Durani: After that victory a new kind of enthusiasm infused Indian cricket. That was the time when the real interest in cricket sort of started. The Indian public had been hungry for a victory of this kind for long.

Sunil Gavaskar made his debut in a historic first win for India over West Indies © Getty Images

Camacho: As the Indians were celebrating their long-awaited historic victory, the whole of the West Indies were washing away their loss by watching the epic fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, which Frazier won on points. For people like Fredericks, who supported Frazier, it was a happy moment. At least it made us forget our loss, even if for a few moments.

Gavaskar: I have often been asked about my feelings after my Test debut in an encounter which is a landmark in the annals of Indian cricket. Frankly, I felt satisfied with my performance, even though I did not do anything outstanding. However, I had taken the first step, and I had the satisfaction of having scored 132 runs in two innings, and had remained unbeaten once, to give me the very high average of 132. But to me it has always been a matter of great pride that I was able, in my very first Test, to be associated in Indian's maiden Test victory against West Indies and that too in the lion's den.

The Garry Sobers quotes are from an interview by Shamya Dasgupta in 2010. Ajit Wadekar's and Sunil Gavaskar's quotes from Ajit Wadekar, My Cricketing Years, and Sunny Days, an Autobiography .

Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo

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