Flashback: The man who scored India’s first-ever Test century

India made their Test debut in 1932 on their tour of England when they faced the hosts in a one-off Test at the Lord’s. India, led by CK Nayudu, lost the game by 158 runs despite showing glimpses of their talent. India’s second assignment turned out to be a 3-match home Test series against the English team. England toured sub-continent to play matches in Combined India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) during the 1932-33 season.

The first Test match was hosted by the Gymkhana Ground in Bombay where India won the toss and elected to bat first. India got bowled out for 219 runs on the 2nd day morning as none of the batsmen could convert the starts they got. In reply, England posted 438 which was exactly double of India’s first innings score despite a 5-wicket haul from Mohammad Nissar. Bryan Valentine was the chief contributor for England with the 136-run knock which came in less than three hours of time.

India began their 2nd innings mid-way through the 3rd day’s play with a deficit of 219 to be cleared. India lost both their openers for just 21 runs on the board but the skipper CK Nayudu found support from the debutant Lala Amarnath. The duo ensured they went to stumps without losing any more wickets. Amarnath saw the chance of clearing the trail at the same time with some aggressive batting display.

Lala Amarnath hit 11 fours to reach his fifty in only 59 balls and needed another 48 balls to bring up his three fifties with seven more boundaries. Amarnath thus recorded the first-ever century for India in Test history. He remained unbeaten on 102 at stumps as India reached 159/2. Just when India thought of coming back into the game, captain Nayudu got out scoring 67 and a 186-run partnership for the 3rd wicket ended.

#DidYouKnow Lala Amarnath was first cricketer to score a Test century for India.
Achieved this feat on his debut on December 17,1933. pic.twitter.com/vOYWrh3c1v

— Prasar Bharati प्रसार भारती (@prasarbharati) December 26, 2016

Amarnath didn’t last long either as his innings was cut short to 118 which came in 185 balls with the help of 21 fours. India collapsed to 258 by losing their last eight wickets for 51 runs. Amarnath was India’s top-scorer in the first innings as well with a 38-run knock. Morris Nichols, who broke the big partnership, ended up with a 5-wicket haul. England chased down the target of 40 runs by losing only one wicket.