Sports

The First Time

When India stopped losing and started spinning.

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The First Time
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The middle of the 20th century was a turbulent time for India. There was the euphoriaof Independence, the trauma of Partition, and all the extremes of emotion which come frombeing born. Proud of its freedom, uncertain of its place in the world, India also notchedup its first Test victory, in 1952.

Sport is a vehicle for national pride, and cricket was India's most popular sport bythe time of independence. While there had been a certain nationalistic fervour associatedwith football in the early part of the century - a Mohun Bagan v East Yorkshire Regimentmatch in 1911, which India won, went down in folklore as a metaphor for India'sindependence struggle - there were no such associations with cricket to start with. Inmuch of its early cricket, India had been trying to impress its former colonial masters;now, it would have to beat them. And in February 1952, India won a Test match for thefirst time, thrashing England by an innings and eight runs at the Chepauk Stadium inMadras.

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Although it took India almost 20 years to win its first Test, it had long been evidentthat it belonged on the big stage, and some of its cricketers had been acknowledged asbeing among the best in the world. CK Nayudu and Vijay Merchant were both named WisdenCricketers of the Year, after they toured England in 1932 and 1936 respectively, and DonBradman had heaped praise upon Lala Amarnath and Vijay Hazare in his book, Farewell toCricket. And, of course, there was that classic first session of play in India's debutTest against England at Lord's in 1932.

England, led by Douglas Jardine, won the toss and opted to bat. Their openers HerbertSutcliffe (54 Tests, average 60.73) and Percy Holmes. Just a week ago, the pair had addeda then-world-record 555 for first wicket in a county game. India wasn’t fazed.

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Within an hour, England was 19 for 3, with London on the verge of a paramedicalemergency - the crowd at Lord's was in a state of shock. The men responsible for this wereMohammad Nissar and Amar Singh, arguably India's best new-ball pair ever Nissar, perhapsthe quickest bowler in the world at that time, yorked Sutcliffe in the first ball of hissecond over, beating him with pace. Last ball of that same over, Holmes's off stump cameout of its hole the ground and did a jig in the air, as did the Indians. Shortlyafterwards, Frank Wolley was run out, and England were in trouble.

England fought back to win that test by 158 runs, but it served to underline one ofIndia's great strengths at that time. During the 20s and the Bus, India had no spinners ofnote, and a fabulous pace attack. Nissar, Amar Singh, Ramp (Amar Singh's older brother)and Jahangir Khan were one hell of a quartet, even though all of them never playedtogether in a Test. Indian batsmen -consider the irony - were known to be good players ofpace, but inadequate against quality spin. But it was spin, not pace, that won India itsfirst Test.

The captain of India for the 1952 series against England was Vijay Hazare, but thearchitect of the win in Madras was Vinoo Mankad. A left-arm spinner who had been describedby former England captain Arthur Gilligan as being the best he had seen, "better than[Wilfred] Rhodes and [Hedley] Verity", Mankad turned in a performance in the firstinnings that, according to the Wisden Cricketer's Almanack, has ''seldom beenbettered". England won the toss on a surface that was a batsman's paradise, and Optedto bat first. They were sailing at 65 for 1 when Mankad came on to bowl.

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Flighting the ball as if it was a dervish in leather, he teased, coaxed and seduced hisway to eight wickets, four of them stumped, as England was all out for 266. Pankaj Roy andPony Umrigar then made centuries to put up 457 on the board for India, after which Mankadgot back into action, taking four more wickets, as India won by an innings and 8 runs.Mankad finished with 12 for 108.

Mankad, interestingly, had begun life as a medium-pacer who took inspiration fromNissar and Amar Singh. However, he was convinced by his coach early in his career toswitch to spin, as he did not have the build to be a pace bowler, and the die was cast.Not only did Mankad become India's leading bowler during his times, India didn't have anyquality pace bowler by the time the century changed halves. The centre had shifted.

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 For 27 years after this win - until the emergence of a certain Kapil Dev spinnerswere the main wicket-takers in all 28 of India's wins. A succession ofspin-meisters like Ghulam Ahmed, Subhash Gupte, Jasu Patel, Salim Durani and the spinquartet of the 60s and 70s won matches for indict. And, of course, Vinoo Mankad, the manwho had shown the way on that cold day in February, with winter coming to an end.

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