Magazine1-4 Final.Qxd (Page 3)
SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2020 (PAGE 4) SPORTS A Dream Indian Cricket Team Sunil Fernandes The advent of limited-over cricket from the 1970s has irrevocably changed the way the game is played. With all fixtures locked down, one cricket fan lets his mind wander to what might have been. Vasant Raji, India’s oldest first-class cricketer, passed away recently. He was 100 years old. His passing, perhaps, is a time for cricket to remember and cele- brate some of the other great stalwarts of Indian test cricket too – especially when the coronavirus pandemic has meant no sporting events can take place. India played its ever first ever test match at the historic Lords Cricket Ground in 1932 against England. Forty-two years later, in 1974, India played its first ever limited-over international, also in England. Pahlan Ratanji “Polly” Unarguably, the advent of limited-over cricket, from the 1970s, has irrevoca- Mulvantrai Himmatlal Vijay Merchant Lala Amarnath C.K. “Colonel” Nayudu M.A.K. “Tiger” Pataudi bly changed the way the game is played. We have come across several compila- “Vinoo” Mankad Bharadwaj (Captain) Umrigar (Vice-Captain) tions of All Time Best India XI but hardly any All Time Indian XI consisting of those cricketers, whose cricket wasn’t affected or influenced by the one-day game at all, those who played test matches only. The legends of a forgotten era. Here is that XI. THE OPENERS Mulvantrai Himmatlal “Vinoo” Mankad Along with Pankaj Roy, this right-hand batsman scored 413 runs, the then highest ever partnership by an opening pair.
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