By Ashis Ray, IANS
London : India's advent in Test cricket was slated for 1930 and at home. But a renewed momentum in the country's freedom movement put paid to such plans. Instead, they made their maiden appearance in 1932 at Lord's.
The Maharaja of Porbandar was actually the captain of the touring party. But to his credit, he stepped aside for the historic event and invited the more deserving Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu to steward the side. At 37, a little past his prime, "CK" nevertheless top-scored in the visitors' first innings with 40.
Tests in those days were of three days' duration. England won the toss, but was soon reduced to 19 for 3, thanks to the fire and fury of Mohammed Nissar. However the hosts, with 79 and 65 from skipper Douglas Jardine and Leslie Ames respectively, recovered to 259 all out. Nissar finished with 5 for 93.
At 110 for two, the debutants were doing quite well but a subsequent collapse saw them fold up for 189. England fast bowlers Bill Bowes and Bill Voce instigated the disintegration.
Jardine starred in England's second venture as well, remaining unbeaten on 85. Amar Singh, with his lively medium pacers off a remarkably short run up, was, according to the late Ames, the "best" of the Indian leather merchants in either innings. But it was the late Jahangir Khan who finished with the biggest haul – 4 for 60.
Khan had once remarked: "I was a good bowler against left-handers."
He narrated that he had told his teammates that he would remove the legendary Frank Woolley and Eddie Paynter. He got them both, making the ball leave the southpaws.
Set 346 to win, India collapsed a second time without much resistance. Only Amar Singh, batting at number 10, cut loose with a knock of 51. Wally Hammond, the leading English batsman of his generation, stole the thunder with the ball, returning figures of 3 for 9 in 5.3 overs with his medium pacers.
Some 18 months later, it was England's turn to visit India. In the first ever Test match in the subcontinent – at the Bombay Gymkhana. Lala Amarnath, batting at number three, became the first Indian to post a Test hundred, that too on debut. But India lost the match by nine wickets.
India narrowly saved the next Test at Eden Gardens, Calcutta, but in the final encounter at Chepauk in Madras were overwhelmed by 202 runs. Amar Singh took 7 for 86 in the first innings of this Test. But the bowling star of the series was unequivocally the left-arm spinner Hedley Verity, who ensnared 23 victims, including 11 in the third Test.
In 1936, India was back in England. But a week before the first Test, Amarnath, who had been noticeably among the runs as well as wickets in the county games, was sent home for disciplinary reasons.
In a rather low scoring affair at Lord's, the tourists obtained a first innings lead but were dismissed for 93 in the second outing to succumb by nine wickets. Unlike Porbandar, the Maharaja of Vizianagram unwisely opted to lead the Indians.
Photograph of a ball bisecting his legs is a truly comical sight.
In the second Test at Old Trafford, Vijay Merchant, who had in this series moved up the order to open the innings with Mushtaq Ali, realised 203 in the second innings with him – a record against England – to avert defeat.
But the home team clinched the third Test nine wickets, which gave them the series 2-0.
In his final Test appearance, Nayudu, 41, registered his best Test score of 81. Nissar and Amar Singh were throughout splendid but the batsmen let them down.
India thus ended their first decade at the highest level of the game still empty handed.