later in the season, playing in three of the five Tests. He was captain Nari Contractor's opening partner in a tour game against Barbados that saw the former hit on the head by a Charlie Griffith delivery after Sardesai had lost his wicket. Contractor's injury created a place for Sardesai in the Test team. He scored 31 and 60 in the Test at Bridgetown, opening the batting, but was dropped after he was dismissed for a pair in the following match. Sardesai scored 449 runs in the five Test series against England in 1963–64 with 79 and 87 in the Fifth and final Test as the most notable performances, helping India to secure a draw after being made to follow on. Against New Zealand in 1964–65, Sardesai scored a double century at Bombay and a very fast hundred that set up a win at Delhi. New Zealand had forced India to follow on at Bombay, but Sardesai's unbeaten double-century nearly won the match for India. He played against West Indies in 1966-67, and then toured England in 1967, where he injured himself on a staircase in the pavilion at Lord's and missed the First Test at Headingley. He recovered to appear in the Second Test back at Lord's, but a broken finger sustained during that match ended his tour. He was dropped after two Tests in Australia in 1967–68 due to injury and a series of failures. Sardesai's career had seemed over until he was picked for the Indian tour of West Indies in 1970–71. In the First Test at Kingston, India lost the first five wickets for 75, before Sardesai hit 212 runs and took the total to 387. His 112 in the next Test at Port of Spain led to India's first victory over West Indies. This innings made him the first Indian to score a double century outside India. He hit another 150 in the Fourth Test after India were 70 for 6. His 642 runs in the series stood as an Indian record for five days before Sunil Gavaskar went past it. It was India's first victory over West Indies in a series and Vijay Merchant, the chairman of selectors, called Sardesai the "renaissance man of Indian cricket". Sardesai scored 54 and 40 in the Indian win over England at the Oval in 1971, which led to another series win. His career ended one Test later,