Cricket History - England Tour Of India 1933-34

Indian Cricket History By Abhishek Mukherjee: England Tour Of India 1933-34

An England team under Douglas Jardine visited India in 1933-34. The long tour featured the only three Test matches on Indian soil before Independence.

The first Test was played at Bombay Gymkhana. This was not as simple as it sounds, for this was a Europeans-only club. The only Indians allowed inside were servants. However, they relaxed the rules for the purpose of the Test match.

The build-up was immense. Government offices were closed. A new stand was built, and even then more people got in than anticipated. Estimates go up to about fifty thousand.

Here, India were bowled out for 219, then England scored 438. India were 21/2 in the second innings when captain CK Nayudu joined debutant Lala Amarnath.

Amarnath scored a hundred in under two hours. Two spectators ran on to the ground to garland him. So excited were the fans that they had to call the police to keep them away from Amarnath.

There was a band at the ground to play live music. When Amarnath reached his hundred, it played God save the King, the British anthem.

As he left the ground, the women in the enclosure showered their jewellery at him. The Maharajahs of Kolhapur and Baroda announced cash rewards.

Even more people arrived the next day, some by overnight train from Poona. India lost the match, but the crowd were happy to see Amarnath live in action. They also got to see a debutant Vijay Merchant score 30.

After losing by 9 wickets, India did well in the second Test, in Calcutta. England needed only 82 to win in the end, but there was no time for them to score the runs. England won by 202 runs in Madras to take the series 2-0.

Also Read Cricket History - India's First Test Match At International Level