Aravinda de Silva (1965-), Sri Lankan batsman who was one of the most charming batsmen in world cricket;
Anil Kumble, (1970-) who will forever be remembered for his 10 for 74 against Pakistan at Delhi in 1998-99, in which he became only the second person after Jim Laker, to take all ten wickets in a Test innings.
In 1955 Pakistan beat New Zealand at Karachi by an innings and one run in the first ever Test between the two countries. Off-spinner Zulfiqar Ahmed’s figures of 83.5-40-79-11 set up the victory but the performance of Pakistan’s lower order, who turned 144 for 6 (a deficit of 20) into 289 (a lead of 125), proved crucial.
In 1984 Sunil Gavaskar became the first Indian and the fourth player (after Colin Cowdrey, Geoff Boycott and Clive Lloyd) to play in 100 Tests matches when he took the field against Pakistan in the first Test at Lahore. It was Chetan Sharma’s debut Test and he claimed Majid khan with the fifth ball of his first over to become the third Indian to take a wicket in his first over. Two years later in 1986 Sunil Gavaskar scored his 33rd century on this day in the third Test against Australia at Bombay during which he also completed 1,500 runs against the Aussies. In the same match Dilip Vengsarkar during his 164 completed 1,000 runs against them and shared an Indian sixth-wicket record partnership of 298 with Ravi Shastri. Shastri in his knock of 121 became the first Indian to hit six sixes in a Test innings.
In 1991 West Indian Jeffery Dujon playing his 166th match became the first wicket-keeper to glove his 200th dismissal in ODI – in the Wills Trophy match against Pakistan at Sharjah.
This day in 1994 was Kapil Dev’s last day in international cricket. He played in the first ODI against the West Indies in Faridabad, a match which the West Indies won and which saw the debut of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Cameron Cuffy and Stuart Williams.
In 1999 Australia’s record-breaking run of 16 consecutive Tests started with a ten-wicket win over Zimbabwe in a one-off Test at Harare. Steve Waugh made an unbeaten 151, which was his 20th Test hundred. The match was also the last of Ian Healy’s career. He ended with a record number of Test dismissals (395) which included 366 catches.
