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On this day, in 1966, started the test match between India & West Indies at the Eden Gardens. A funny personal anecdote I heard from late Shri Chuni Goswami's grandson. Before this match, the Caribbeans had played a practice game against a combined EZ & CZ
team in Indore - their only loss of the tour. The rest of the side had reached earlier but for some reason, the skipper, Sir Garry Sobers was held back and only landed in Calcutta evening before the match. Goswami picked him up from the airport and Sobers
told him he was famished. The two headed to Olympia bar on Park Street (present day Olypub). As an astounded Goswami watched, Sobers finished off 12 beers & 3 beef steaks without battling an eyelid. Goswami then proceeded to Great Eastern to drop-off Sobers.
As he was stepping out of the car, Goswami remembered that Dhiren Dey, the president of Mohun Bagan, had given a bottle of VAT69 to be gifted to the Caribbean captain. He gave the bottle to Sobers who promptly removed the cap, took 2 swigs, thanked Goswami &
started walking towards the hotel. On his way, he took a few more gulps from the bottle. From the size of the gulps, Goswami guessed the bottle was unlikely to survive till he reached his room! Sir Garry made 70 and took 3-42 & 4-56, leading WI to a
comfortable innings win in a test match infamous for riots & crowd violence in Eden on the 1st of January.
