Independence Day 2024: Revisiting Indian cricket team's first victory
India will observe its 78th Independence Day on August 15, 2024. Notably, it took the Indian team more than four years after Independence to register its maiden win in international cricket. India accomplished the significant milestone on February 10, 1952. The triumphant match took place at the Madras Cricket Club ground in Chepauk, Tamil Nadu against a formidable England team. Let's revisit the win.
Key players in that match
Despite being down 1-0 in the five-Test series, the Indian team showcased unwavering determination to level the series in the fifth match. The Indian team featured several cricket stalwarts including Lala Amarnath, Vinoo Mankad, Vijay Hazare, Mushtaq Ali, Pankaj Roy, and CD Gopinath. Mankad played a crucial role in the victory by taking eight wickets and dismantling the English batting order.
England posted a decent total
Though England opener Frank Lowson (1) departed cheaply, Dick Spooner (66) steadied the ship with 50-plus stands with Tom Graveney (39) and Jack Robertson (77). Hence, England were once comfortably placed at 197/4 before suffering a collapse. Mankad bowled a stunning spell as the visitors were folded for 266, having lost six wickets inside 69 runs. As per ESPNcricinfo, Mankad finished with 8/55.
India's strong response and dominant position
In response to England's score, India posted a mammoth total of 457 runs for nine wickets by the end of Day 3. Middle-order batter Polly Umrigar remained unbeaten at 130, while opener Pankaj Roy contributed with a significant 111 runs. Dattu Phadkar (61) was the only other Indian to score 50-plus. With conditions favoring spin, India declared just before the end of day's play.
The final day: India's historic victory
The fourth day of the match saw India script history nearly two decades after playing its first Test match. Jack Robertson (56) and Allan Watkins (48) batted well as England were once decently placed at 117/3 before they collapsed. Mankad backed his eight-fer from the first innings with a four-wicket haul. Off-spinner Ghulam Ahmed also took four wickets.
The iconic moment
The final blow came when Mankad took the wicket of Brian Statham on the penultimate ball of the 75th over, with CD Gopinath taking the winning catch. As the Englishmen were folded for 183, India won the game by an innings and eight runs. Intrestingly, Gopinath, aged 94, is the only surviving member of the Indian XI that beat England that day.
