Bedi had a quiet couple of series in England in 1967 and Australia in 1967/68 -- where he met his future wife -- and really began to assert himself in home series against New Zealand and Australia in 1969/70.
The latter series saw Australia triumph 3-1, but this was not a fair reflection on the magnificent performance of Prasanna and Bedi.
Australia had a formidable batting line-up, with Ian Chappell as accomplished a player of spin as they have produced since the war, but the Indians posed them many and varied questions.
In India's only victory, in the Third Test in Delhi, Bedi's figures were 42-15-71-4 and 23-11-37-5; Prasanna's were 28.4-9-111-4 and 24.2-10-42-5.
In the next Test, at Calcutta, which India lost, Bedi achieved his best Test figures of 7 for 98.
According to Wisden, Prasanna was not in top form, and Bedi had to work single-handed. In the series as a whole, he took 21 wickets at 20.57.
In the preceding series against New Zealand, he took 15 wickets at 20.53, including 6 for 42 in the First Test at Bombay, which India won by 60 runs.
Don't miss the next part of this fascinating excerpt tomorrow!
Also read: 'My greatest misfortune is I could not bowl to Bradman'
Then Indian Sports Minister Sunil Dutt greets Bedi at a felicitation ceremony at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. Photograph: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP/Getty Images
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