When India created history at Chepauk

The victory took a long time coming. Before the fifth Test against England in Chepauk in 1952, India had gone winless on 24 previous occasions spread across almost 20 years.

The closest they came to tasting success was against the West Indies three years earlier in Bombay. Chasing 361 for victory, the Indians finished agonisingly short at 355/8 when stumps were drawn a trifle prematurely by the umpires.

When England toured India in the winter of 1951/52, the series was widely seen as India's best chance to break its duck. The English had sent a second string side led by the uncapped Nigel Howard but the tourists still managed to draw the first three Tests and then stunned India by winning the fourth Test at Kanpur.

The teams adjourned to Madras for the final Test and five Indian heads rolled as the home side desperately sought to salvage pride.

With Howard indisposed, the captaincy fell to Donald Carr, who had also made his Test debut earlier in the series. It was only Carr's second Test - and also his last as it would turn out.

England chose to bat and as they were making steady progress on the first day, news broke that King George VI had died. The second day was hastily converted into the rest day as a mark of respect to the departed soul.

It is not certain that the English players were deeply affected by the loss of their monarch but what is certain is that their performance deteriorated. When play resumed, England were rolled over for 266, losing their last five wickets for 42 - all to Vinoo Mankad, who finished with the remarkable figures of 8/55.

There were centuries from Pankaj Roy and Polly Umrigar as India advanced to 457/9 before skipper Vijay Hazare declared the innings closed.

England collapsed again in the second innings with Mankad now joined by his spin twin, Ghulam Ahmed, in wreaking havoc. Both took four wickets apiece to bowl out the visitors for 183. Keeper Probir Sen added a fifth stumping - all off Mankad - to the four he completed in the first innings, a world record.

It was Mankad, fittingly, who delivered the coup de grace by having Brian Statham caught by CD Gopinath. The final margin of victory was an innings and eight runs.

India did not have to wait as long for its second Test victory, which came later in the same year against Pakistan. The chief architect was once again the Jamnagar Jadugar, as Mankad could have been called, who went one better with 13 wickets.

Text: Sify Image: Wikipedia

Image: Vinoo Mankad (right) and Pankaj Roy returning after their world record setting opening partnership of 413 runs in test cricket, a record that stood for 52 years. Madras, January 11, 1956. Mankad and Roy both played a crucial role in India's first Test victory four years earlier.