By Ashis Ray, IANS
London : Test cricket was suspended worldwide between August 1939 and March 1946 because of World War II. Thus, when India was welcomed back to England in the summer of 1946, a decade had elapsed since India's last exposure to the highest level of the game.
Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan of Pataudi had made his debut for England in the first Test of the "bodyline" series at Sydney in December 1932. Sent in at number four, he became the third Indian – after Ranji and Duleep – to score a century in his maiden appearance against Australia.
Pataudi Sr was picked for the next Test, but was dropped thereafter, allegedly because of differences with the captain, Douglas Jardine. He was selected for another Test in 1934, but otherwise ignored. He returned to England as captain of India at the age of 35.
Inevitably, the tourists lost by 10 wickets the first Test at Lord's – until 1971 a graveyard for India. Interestingly, Vijay Hazare and Lala Amarnath, both better known for their batting, opened the bowling with the latter famously delivering the ball off the wrong foot, returning figures of five for 118 in England's first innings.
The Indian batsmen were tormented by the leg cutters of Alec Bedser, who captured 11 wickets in the match.
In the second Test at Old Trafford, Manchester, India narrowly avoided defeat as the last pair held out. Bedser once more collected a haul of 11 victims, while Amarnath took eight, bowling unchanged in England's second innings.
India in the first outing was at one stage 124 for no loss, before being bowled out for 170.
In the final Test at the Oval, rain interfered when India put up their only respectable performance, totalling 331 in their only innings, which included a 128 from Vijay Merchant, before he was run out.
Thereafter, India widened their cricketing links by embarking in 1947-48 for Australia, which was led by the incomparable Donald Bradman, then in the twilight of his career, but still a force to be reckoned with.
Not surprisingly, this master of the willow helped himself to three centuries and a double hundred in the five Tests against a decent but not entirely testing Indian attack.
Yet, in drier and warmer conditions – other than in the second Test at Sydney – the Indian batsmen found their feet.
Although Australia won the series 4-0, which included three innings victories, India could be justifiably proud of some individual displays.
Vinoo Mankad recorded three figures in the third and fifth Tests – both at Melbourne – while Hazare registered tons in each innings at Adelaide. Dattu Phadkar too posted a century in addition to impressing as a fast medium exponent.
Team-wise, though, the first Test was an awful embarrassment for the Indians, being shot out, as they were, in the two innings for 58 and 98 – the left-arm slow medium, Ernie Toshack took 11 wickets in the match – while 67 all out in the second innings of the fifth Test was equally shameful.
Admittedly, India held the whip hand in the second Test, when Australia folded up for 107 in the first innings in reply to the visitors' 188. But the visitors were 61 for seven in the second venture before rain ruined the contest.
Bill Brown was, incidentally, "Mankaded" or run out by Mankad while backing up as a non-striker in this Test.
Next, India hosted the colourful West Indies in 1948-49. George Headley, the "black Bradman" who featured in the first Test, was now over the hill.
But a new run machine, Everton Weekes, compensated with four hundreds in as many innings in the first three Tests, including two in the third Test. Together with his previous knock against England, this made it five centuries in as many innings – a record that remains unequalled till date.
Hazare was characteristically consistent with the bat but the tourists won the series 1-0.
In short, India ended the 1940s as, well, still being in search of their first Test match triumph.