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CRICKET COMES TO INDIA
Cricket took roots in India in the early years of the 18th century, thanks to the English
officials who were part of the government. Members of the royal households in some of the
princely states joined the cricket clubs started by the Britishers in big cities and towns. The
Parsi young men of then Bombay and Poona also promoted the game among the upper
middle class gentry. It was a Parsi team which first toured England in 1886, and three years
later, the first England team led by George Vernon visited India. Lord Hawke, who was a
member of that team, was greatly impressed with the standard of play in
India and he brought a second team in 1892.
King of cricket
In the first decade of the 20th century, the name of
Prince Ranjitsinhji was on every cricket lover’s lips.
He was playing for England. It may look strange, but
he never played cricket on Indian soil! Yet he is considered as the
“Father of Indian cricket” and often described as “a prince of a
small state, but the king of a great game.” The National
Championship, the Ranji Trophy, is the country’s tribute to that
great cricketer. Ranjitsinhji was the first Indian to play for the
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Australia - in 1896. In the
first match he scored 62 (n.o.) and 154 and took 6 wickets. Ranji
also captained the Sussex County team from 1899 to 1903.
Century on debut
K.S.Duleepsinhji, nephew of ‘Ranji’, and the Nawab of Pataudi, Sr, also played for England and scor a
century each in their first match itself. Pataudi later played for
India and he captained the Indian team that toured England in 1946.
Twenty years later, hisson Mansoor Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi Jr,
became India’s captain - the first instance of a father and son leading
their country’s teams. Pataudi Jr was then India’syoungest captain
First clubs
The
first club - Calcutta Cricket Club - was formed in 1792 and it England
at had only Englishmen as members. In 1848 was formed the Orient
Manchester on August 14,
Club in Bombay by the Parsis. They took a team to England in 1990. 1886, and played 28 matches and won one.
First tournament
he first tournament in India between
Europeans and the Parsis was held in 1892.
Two matches each were played in Bombay
First century and Poona. In 1907 the Hindus joined the
tournament, which then came to be called
Lala Amarnath scored 118 runs
the Triangular. The Mohammedans entered
against England in Bombay (1933).
in 1912 and the tournament was known as
Lala Quadrangular. A fifth team - the Rest — Amarnath
was added in 1937, and the series came to be called the Pentangular
First double century
P.R.Umrigar scored 223 against New
Zealand in the first Test at Hyderabad in 1955. In the second Test at Bombay, Vinoo Mankad made the same score(223)
