Born on this day were:
Bhausaheb Badasaheb Nimbalkar (1919-), Indian batsman who will always be remembered for his mammoth 443 not out against Kathiawar for Maharashtra in Poona –India’s highest first-class score;
Dattatraya Gajanan ‘Dattu’ Phadkar (1925-85), Indian all-rounder who gave unstinting service to India in the 1940s and ‘50s as an attacking lower middle-order batsman and an indefatigable swing bowler;
Matthew Fleming (1964-), English all-rounder;
Yuvraj Singh (1981-), India left-hand batsman who is the son of former Test bowler Yograj Singh;
Sohail Tanvir (1984-) Pakistan’s ‘wrong-footed’ left-arm pacer.
In 1884 Australian P.S. McDonnel became the first batsman to score two successive Test hundreds when he scored 124 in the first Test at Adelaide. He had made 103 against England at The Oval in the third Test in the same year. This was the first ever Test played at Adelaide and England won by eight wickets.
In 1930 West Indies met Australia for the first time in Test cricket at Adelaide. Australia won by the timeless Test by ten wickets.
In 1958 Subash Gupte took 9 for 102 in the second Test against the West Indies at Kanpur. It was India’s best bowling performance till Jasubhai Patel, who died on this day in 1992, bettered it with 9 for 69 in the second Test against Australia also at Kanpur in December 1959. (Kumble beat this record with his ‘perfect ten’ against Pakistan in 1999.)
In 1973 South Zone beat West Zone by 84 runs in the final of the inaugural Deodhar Trophy at Brabourne Stadium, Bombay. This was the first limited overs competition in India and was started as an inter-zonal tournament to give leading Indian players experience of this type of cricket. The trophy was named in honour of Professor D.B. Deodhar the ‘Grand Old Man’ of Indian cricket.
In 1980 West Indies sent Pakistan to their first defeat in a Faisalabad Test, a match notable for Sylvester Clarke’s 35 off 18 balls which included four sixes – three of which came off successive deliveries from Mohammad Nazir. Vivian Richards scored 72 from 67 balls in a match where no other West Indian reached 50.
In 1992 Pakistan lost by four runs to West Indies in the World Series match at Adelaide. Chasing 178 to win, they were cruising at 142 for 3 when Javed Miandad was dismissed, and Pakistan fell apart. In all, five batsmen were run out, equaling the ODI record. Pakistan lost their last seven wickets for 25 runs in 37 balls.
In 1996 India clinched a 2-1 victory over South Africa with a big win in the deciding third Test at Kanpur. The match-winning innings came from Mohammad Azharuddin who scored an unbeaten 163. Left chasing 461 to win, South Africa crashed to a 280-run defeat. It was their first series defeat (they lost a one-off Test in West Indies in 1991-92) since returning to Test cricket.
