The Indian Cricket Legends

The Biggest Partnership of All Time

2011-07-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

"Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad resume their record partnership, India v New Zealand, 5th Test, Madras, January 7, 1956 [Mankad (231) and Roy (173)] "

The world-record opening partnership of 413 between Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad in 1955-56.The record stood until 2008 broken by ND McKenzie, GC Smith[415 vs bangladesh]

Polly Umrigar

2011-07-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

Born at Solapur in Maharashtra on 28th March, 1926.Six-foot tall and powerfully built, 'Polly Kaka' as he is popularly known was a right-handed batsman from the top drawer.
Polly also led the Indian Cricket team between the year 1955 and 1958 in 8 Test matches, and at the time of his retirement had many national records to his credit. He was the first Indian player to score a double century in a Test match played against New Zealand.

Competition	Tests	First-class
Matches	59	243
Batting average	42.22	52.28
100s/50s	12/14	49/80
Top score	223	252*
Balls bowled	4725	25297
Wickets	35	325
Bowling average	42.08	25.68
5 wickets in innings	2	14
10 wickets in match	-	2
Best bowling	6/74	7/32
Catches/stumpings	33/-	217/-

First Test win against England 1952

2011-07-22T23:43:00.000-07:00

The England cricket team came on the tour of India, with Nigel Howard as their captain for a five-Test series, and the Indian cricket enthusiasts were eagerly hoping to see something great from the Indian players in the series. The team India, led by Vijay Hazare, and England fought equally with each other throughout the series, as the firs, third and the fourth match of the series were drawn. The England team did well to win the second Test at Kanpur, and was leading the series 1-0, before the start of the fifth and final Test match.

However, the Indian players were not in a mood to give up the fight against England in the final Test, in spite of lagging behind in the series and the Indian bowlers put on an impressive performance to restrict England for only 266 runs in the first innings. Vinoo Mankad was the star for India, as he achieved a figure of 8-55 in England`s first innings to cause most of the damages to England. Batting in their first innings, the Indian batsmen started on a very positive note and continued to play their own shots and put on a huge pressure on the English bowlers. With the help of brilliant centuries from Pankaj Roy (111) and Polly Umrigar (130), India got a mammoth total of 457 runs in its first innings. India also got a huge lead of 191 runs over England in the first innings.

The Indian bowlers continued their tremendous form in the second innings of England, as well and Mankad became the star player for India once again. His figure of 4-53 helped India a lot to get all the England batsmen out for a mere score of only 183 runs, and history was made, as India won the Test by an innings and 8 runs. It was 10th February, 1952, when India achieved their first ever victory in Test cricket, in its cricket history. Apart from Mankad, Roy and Umrigar, the other two legendary cricketers like Ghulam Ahmed and Probir Sen also made their own contributions to India`s first Test win. It was also for the fist time that India became successful to keep the Test series drawn 1-1, against England. It was definitely the most memorable moment in Indian cricket, a moment that the Indian people will always cherish in their mind.

Indian Cricket At The Time Of Independence

2011-04-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

LALA AMARNATH

Nanik Amarnath Bhardwaj (commonly known as Lala Amarnath; 11 September 1911 – 5 August 2000) was an Indian Test cricketer. He was the first cricketer to score a Test century for the Indian cricket team, which he achieved on debut. He was also independent India's first Test captain, leading the team on a tour of Australia in 1947-1948.

He played his debut match against England in 1933 on the Bombay Gymkhana grounds in South Bombay. Aside from being a tenacious batsman, Lala Amarnath was also a bowler of some repute and was the only bowler to dismiss Donald Bradman hit wicket.An aggressive top order batsman and a medium pacer who would bowl from a short run-up and off the wrong foot, Lala would send in accurate, banana in-swingers and demonic leg-cutters.

Amarnath as captain was complimented for being straightforward and aggressive, and possessing great tactical acumen. Under his leadership, India won its first-ever Test against the Pakistan cricket team in Delhi in 1952, and went on to win the series 2-1. Amarnath also managed the team when it toured Pakistan in 1954-55.

His sons Mohinder and Surinder also played cricket for India.Incidentally, his son, Surinder also scored a hundred on test debut against New Zealand in 1975-76 and what is more interesting is that the century was the hundredth hundred by Indians in tests.

Competition	Tests	First-class
Matches	24	184
Runs scored	878	10,426
Batting average	24.38	41.37
100s/50s	1/4	31/59
Top score	118	262
Balls bowled	4241	29,474
Wickets	45	463
Bowling average	32.91	22.98
5 wickets in innings	2	19
10 wickets in match	0	3
Best bowling	5/96	7/27
Catches/stumpings	13	96/2

VIJAY HAZARE

VIJAY HAZARE

Vijay Samuel Hazare was born on 11 March 1915 at Sangli in Maharashtra and died on 18 December 2004 at Baroda. An outstanding right-handed middle order batsman and part-time medium pacer, he is without doubt one of the finest batsmen ever produced by the sub-continent. Making his test debut against England at Lord’s in the first test of the 1946 series, he played his last test in the West Indies in 1952-3.

In India's 25th Test match, nearly 20 years after India achieved Test status, he led India to her first ever Test win (and the only victory under his captaincy) in 1951-52 against England at Madras, winning by an innings and eight runs in a match. The best of his batsmanship was seen during world war time matches in the Ranji Trophy and much of his international career was cut short because of the war.

A batsman who did not believe in taking the bowling by the scruff of the neck, Hazare usually bided his time till the bowlers were tired and then launched into his signature cover drives, cuts and pull-shots. His centuries in each innings of the test match at Adelaide, against the mighty Aussies of the Bradman era, will remain etched forever as two of the finest innings played by any Indian. In England, while Trueman was running riot, reducing the Indians to nothing-for-four, Hazare walked in coolly and scored 56 runs to stem the rot. Though he captained India in 14 test matches, cricketing pundits believe that the extra burden cramped his style. He wasn’t a good communicator and hence found it difficult to motivate his teammates to do better.
His rival, Vijay Merchant said that the captaincy prevented Hazare from becoming India's finest batsman: "It was one of the tragedies of cricket."

Competition	Tests	First-class
Matches	30	238
Runs scored	2,192	18,740
Batting average	47.65	58.38
100s/50s	7/9	60/73
Top score	164*	316*
Balls bowled	2,840	38,447
Wickets	20	595
Bowling average	61.00	24.61
5 wickets in innings	0	27
10 wickets in match	0	3
Best bowling	4/29	8/90
Catches/stumpings	11/–	166/–

VINOO MANKAD
Born on 12 April 1917 at Jamanagar and died on 21 August 1978 at Bombay.

A top quality right handed batsman and orthodox left arm spinner, he made his test debut at Lord's against England in 1946.

He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1947.

'Vinoo" Mankad played 44 tests, scoring 2109 runs at an average of 31.47, scoring five hundreds and six fifties and a highest score of 231. He also claimed 162 test wickets at an average of 32.32 with best bowling figures of 8-52. He claimed five wickets in an innings on eight occasions.

In the test against England at Lord's in 1952, he scored 76 and 185 and returned figures of 73 overs 24 maidens 196 runs and 5 wickets in the first innings. He bowled 22 overs in the second innings but went wicketless. This match is known as 'Mankad's Match'.
His 8 for 55 and 4 for 53 at Madras in 1952 paved the way for India's first test win against England under the captaincy of Vijay Hazare. In Pakistan's first official test match, Mankad claimed 13 for 131 sending the novices to a crushing defeat. In 1956, against New Zealand, he established a record first wicket partnership with Pankaj Roy, putting on 413 runs, and he himself contributing 231 which stood for 52 years.

Mankad will be counted amongst the finest all rounders of the world of all time. His son Ashok later played tests for India

Competition	Test	First-class
Matches	44	233
Runs scored	2,109	11,591
Batting average	31.47	34.70
100s/50s	5/6	26/52
Top score	231	231
Balls bowled	14,686	50,122
Wickets	162	782
Bowling average	32.32	24.53
5 wickets in innings	8	38
10 wickets in match	2	9
Best bowling	8/52	8/35
Catches/stumpings	33/–	190/–

Indian Criket before Independence III

2011-04-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

VIJAY MERCHANT

Vijaysingh Madhavji Merchant ,real name Vijay Madhavji Thakersey (October 12, 1911 - October 27, 1987) was an Indian cricketer. A right-hand batter and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Merchant played first class cricket for Mumbai cricket team as well as 10 Test matches for India between 1929 and 1951

Behind his limited Test appearances, he dominated Indian domestic cricket - his batting average of 71.64 is the second highest first class average in history, behind only that of Don Bradman.
His international career included two tours of England upon which he scored over 4,000 runs. English cricketer CB Fry exclaimed "Let us paint him white and take him with us to Australia as an opener."

Merchant's Test career spanned 18 years but during that time he played only ten Test matches, and was unfortunate that some of the best years of his career were lost to the Second World War, when no international cricket was played. He also missed tours to Australia and the West Indies due to poor health.^[1] However, Merchant went out to score 154 in his last Test match against England in Delhi, which was also his highest Test score. A shoulder injury incurred while fielding in that game forced him to retire. All ten matches of Merchant's Test career were against England.
His record is especially impressive as his runs came at a time of uncovered wickets. Merchant was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1937. Vijay Merchant is also the oldest Indian player to score a test century (154 at an age of 40 years 21 days from India vs England match in 1951-52).

Competition	Tests	First-class
Matches	10	150
Runs scored	859	13470
Batting average	47.72	71.64
100s/50s	3/3	45/52
Top score	154	359*

SYED MUSHTAQ ALI

Syed Mushtaq Ali (December 17, 1914 – June 18, 2005) was a former Indian cricketer, and an aggressive Test batsman. Ali holds the distinction of scoring the first Test century by any Indian overseas, when he hit a ton for the team in 1936 at Manchester in England.A Wisden Special Award winner, he scored four first class hundreds in the 1936 tour.He was an opening or middle order right-hand batsman and a slow left-arm bowler.
Ali played extensively for regional team and private clubs when cricket was a young sport in India. He was not only a sporting legend, but a popular superstar of his time, and an icon for the younger generation of Indian youth. Combining with another legend, the cautious yet skilled Vijay Merchant, Ali's aggression and powerful strokeplay formed a dynamic and legendary opening partnership for the team for years.
He played for Holkar in the National Championship for the Ranji Trophy along with other stalwarts like C K Nayudu. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1964 and made a life member of the Marylebone Cricket Club for his contribution to the game. He died in his sleep, at the age of 90.He is a popular figure in Indian cricket.

Competition	Tests	First-class
Matches	11	226
Runs scored	612	13213
Batting average	32.21	35.90
100s/50s	2/3	30/63
Top score	112	233
Balls bowled	378	9702
Wickets	3	162
Bowling average	67.33	29.34
5 wickets in innings	-	6
10 wickets in match	-	2
Best bowling	1/45	7/108

Vijay Merchant and Mushtaq ali walks out to open innings

Indian Criket before Independence II

2011-04-28T04:05:00.000-07:00

C.K.NAYUDU

The first international exposure in the history of Indian Cricket came in the year 1926. In that year, a team from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), led by A.E.R Gilligan toured India. Though it was an unofficial tour, the Indian people were quite interested and enthusiastic about the matches that MCC played during the tour.For the Hindus at Bombay Gymkhana,The legendary Indian cricket player, C. K. Nayudu played brilliantly during that tour and he also scored 153 in 116 minutes with 11 sixes. One of the sixes, off Bob Wyatt, landed on the roof of the Gymkhana. The MCC presented him with a silver bat in recognition of that heroic innings.The tour was responsible to redefine the contours of Indian cricket. It ultimately spearheaded to the formation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the year 1928.

C.K.NAYUDU

Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu (31 October 1895 – 14 November 1967) was an Indian cricketer who served as India's first Test captain. He was born in Nagpur Mahasrashtra.An outstanding solid batsman, Nayudu fondly known as CK was known for his ability as a hard hitter of the ball. He was the first cricketer to be honoured with the Padma Bhushan.
Nayudu originally spoke Telugu, but he grew up in Nagpur and played almost all his cricket for Central India. He was drafted in the school team at the age of seven, and showed promise for a bright future.
He made his first class debut in 1916 in the Bombay Triangular. For the Hindus against the Europeans, he came in to bat at No.9 with his team tottering at 79 for 7. He blocked his first three balls and hit the fourth for six. He played first-class cricket regularly till 1958, and returned for one last time in 1963 at the age of 68.
In 1923, the ruler of Holkar invited him to Indore and made him a Captain in his army. Thus he received an honour of a Colonel in Holkar's Army.

India made its debut at Lord's under Col C K Nayudu . In its first Test tour of England with the Maharaja of Porbandar as captain and Ghanshyamsinhji of Limbdi as vice-captain. Two weeks before the trip, Porbandar dropped out on reasons of health and Limbi took over. It was just before the start of India's inaugural Test, Nayudu was appointed captain of the Indian team as Limbdi suffered a back injury that ruled him out of the Test.
Nayudu took part in all twenty six of the first-class matches on the tour, scoring 1,618 runs at an average of 40.45 in the first-class matches and 1,842 overall, and taking 65 wickets. Wisden chose him as a Cricketer of the Year the next year. Nayudu hit 32 sixes, which was the most by anyone in the season. Naydu's best stint was playing at Edgbaston, he hit a ball into the River Rhea and thus into the next county.
Tall and debonair, often with a kerchief knotted jauntily round his neck, CK was popularly known for his apparel style on field. Naydu's close companion Syed Mushtaq Ali known for his fearless and dashing cricket played with CK in several matches together. Mushtaq Ali fondly called CK- a tiger on the field.
In the 1933-34 season, Douglas Jardine visited India with a formidable, though not full strength, MCC team. For Punjab Governor's XI, Nayudu scored a hundred. He was retained as the captain of the Test series. The first ever Test in India, held at the Bombay Gymkhana between December 15 and 18, was watched by over 100,000 spectators. India lost the series by two Tests to nil.

CAREER

Competition	Tests	First-class
Matches	7	207
Runs scored	350	11,825
Batting average	25.00	35.94
100s/50s	0/2	26/58
Top score	81	200
Balls bowled	858	25,798
Wickets	9	411
Bowling average	42.88	29.28


India Cricket Team arrived at London on On April 23, 1932

Indian Criket before Independence

2011-04-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Ranjitsinhji

In 1848, the Parsi community in bombay formed the Oriental Cricket Club, the first cricket club to be established by Indians. After slow beginnings, the Europeans eventually invited the Parsis to play a match in 1877. By 1912, the Parsis,Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims of Bombay played a quadrangular tournament with the Europeans every year.
In the early 1900s, some Indians went on to play for the English cricket team. Some of these, such as Ranjitsinhji and KS Duleepsinhji were greatly appreciated by the British and their names went on to be used for the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy- two major first class tournaments in India

Ranjitsinhji

Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji Jadeja,Maharaj Jam sahib of Nawanagar (10 September 1872 - 2 April 1933) (known as K.S. Ranjitsinhji, Ranji or Smith during his career) was an Indian King and Test Cricketer who played for the English Cricket Team. He also played First Class Cricket for Cambridge university, and county cricket for Sussex.
Ranji is widely regarded as one of the greatest Batsmen of all time,Neville Cardus(English writer and critics) describing him as "the Midsummer night's dream of cricket". Unorthodox in technique and with fast reactions, he brought a new style to batting and revolutionised the game. Previously batsmen generally pushed forward; Ranji took advantage of the improving pitches of the time and relied on a back and across defensive stroke and played elegant strokes off the back foot in attack. He had a strong late cut and is noted for his popularisation or invention of the Leg Glance. The first-class cricket tournament in India, the Ranji Trophy, was named in his honour and was started in 1935.

Career

Competition	Test	FC
Matches	15	307
Runs scored	989	24692
Batting average	44.95	56.37
100s/50s	2/6	72/109
Top score	175	285*

Ranji was a wisden cricketer of the year in 1897,Queen victoria's diamond jubilee year; in the same year, he published The jubilee book of cricket

KS DULEEPSINHJI

Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji Jadeja (June 13, 1905 - December 5, 1959) was a cricketer who played for England.He was nephew of Ranjitsinhji,achieved similar fame as a batsman playing first-class cricket in England and for the English cricket team.

Duleepsinhji went on to achieve great success as a Batsman for Cambridge university, Sussex and eventually England in a career cut short by recurrent illness. His Test average of 58.5 ranks him among the best batsmen to have played Test cricket.

CAREER

Competition	Test	First-class
Matches	12	205
Runs scored	995	15,485
Batting average	58.52	49.95
100s/50s	3/5	50/64
Top score	173	333

KS DULEEPSINHJI

The Duleep Trophy is named in his Honour.

England team v. Australia, Trent Bridge 1899. Back row: Dick Barlow (umpire), Tom Hayward, George Hirst, Billy Gunn, J T Hearne (12th man), Bill Storer (wkt kpr), Bill Brockwell, V A Titchmarsh (umpire). Middle row: C B Fry, K S Ranjitsinhji, W G Grace (captain), Stanley Jackson. Front row: Wilfred Rhodes, Johnny Tyldesley.