On This Day: India Played Its First-Ever Test Match in 1932 Against England at Lord’s
The Indian team in first Test match, was captained by CK Nayudu, took on England at the iconic Lord's stadium. Although the result did not go India's way, June 25 would always go down in history as one of the most memorable days in Indian cricket.
June 25 is a historic day for Indian cricket, not just for the maiden World Cup title but also for the fact that it was today when India played its first-ever Test match. The team, captained by CK Nayudu, faced England at Lord's in the only Test match of the tour. Batting first, England were bowled out for 259 and Mohammad Nissar was the star of the show, taking five wickets in the match. He thus became India's first-ever bowler to take a five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Three out of his five wickets were bowled. Barring Nissar, captain Nayudu and Amar Singh also took two wickets apiece. For England, captain Douglas Jardine top-scored with 79 while wicketkeeper-batter Les Ames struck 65. On This Day: Kapil Dev-Led Team India Bring Down Mighty West Indies to Win Maiden Cricket World Cup Title in 1983.
In response, India were bundled for 189. Captain Nayudu was the team's top scorer with 40 runs. England declared their second innings at 275/8, with captain Jardine hitting 85 runs. Jahangir Khan took four wickets and England had set a daunting 346-run target for India to chase down and win the match. India's batting failed in the second innings as well. After a 41-run opening partnership between Janardan Navale and Naoomal Jeoomal, both were dismissed and it triggered a collapse of sorts as the middle failed to arrest the slide.
It was not until Amar Singh that India showed a bit of resistance. The right-hander scored a half-century (51), India's first-ever in Test match cricket, to put up a brief fightback before he was caught and bowled Wally Hammond. His dismissal ended the Indian innings at 187, with England going on to win by a mammoth 158-run margin. While Hammond starred with three wickets, Freddie Brown, Bill Voce and Billy Brown took two apiece.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 25, 2023 10:26 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).