According to Mudar Patherya’s “Wills Book of Excellence –
Cricket”, the earliest record of cricket’s presence on Indian soil goes back to
1721. To get free from the stress of heavy workloads and ship voyages, the
traders placed stumps at Cambay and got engaged in a hurriedly conducted match.
As the British rule continued to become permanent in the
Indian subcontinent, cricket entrenched itself further. Matches between the
Army and officials of East India Trading company were common. The establishment
of the Calcutta Cricket Club in 1792 was a reflection of the game’s enormous
popularity in this part of the world. Five years later, Mumbai recorded its
first cricket match.
The Parsi community of Bombay took the lead and formed a
cricket club in 1848 on Esplanade Maidan. The Parsi community was highly
passionate about cricket and they were hungry for success. The Parsi
community’s first tour to England was dull and gave it a more experimental
status, but their second tour was a highly improved one.
Six foot tall pace bowler Mehellasa Pavri, a doctor by
profession, was a sensation during those days. In the late 1880s and 90s, the
touring English sides were given a run for their money by the Parsi teams and
Pavri’s round-arm fast and accurate pace bowling was instrumental behind this.
Bombay embraced cricket cordially and cricket started to become a part and
parcel of the Bombay community.
In the course of time, the hey days of Parsi cricket started
to dwindle. The competitiveness had sapped away and thus, when the MCC touring
team reached Bombay towards the end of November 1926, very few were expecting
the local boys to do well. As because before reaching Bombay, the MCC tourists
had beaten teams from Sind, Rajputana and Punjab and thus, landed in Mumbai as
undefeated. Captained by Arthur Gilligan, the MCC tourists included
players like Maurice Tate, Andrew
Sandham, George Geary and the future England captain Bob Wyatt. Surely, this
MCC team was expected to steamroll the local side.
The MCC team’s first opposition were the Hindus. Famous
Indian historian Ramachandra Guha in his article ‘First action hero’ had
written: “In its pre-match report, a nationalist paper, newly started, captured
the feelings of its likely readers: ‘The tents are pitched and the field set
for the reception of the MCC on Monday next and thousands are in their throes
of anticipation. India expects Bombay to do its duty – to check the victorious
career of the visitors’. Thus far only the Parsis had defeated visiting teams –
Vernon’s side in 1889-90, Lord Hawke’s three years later, the Oxford Authentics
in 1902-03. ‘Those were the Palmy days of Parsi cricket,’ commented the paper,
‘but now we depend on the Hindus to resist the invaders’.”
Almost twenty-five thousand people had turned out to enjoy
the action at the Bombay Gymkhana. The Hindus led by Vithal Palwankar had done
pretty well by bowling out the visitors for 363 on day one. MCC’s Guy Earle
smashed a swashbuckling 130 which included eight sixes.
The Hindus’ start was a nervy one. The Bombay Gymkhana track
still had enough life in it for the pace bowlers and the English pacers
utilized it by dismissing one of the Hindu openers. At the end of the first
day, the Hindus were 16 for 1 with Janardan Navle and L P Jai at the crease.
The Hindus started the second day steadily. But the MCC
bowlers broke their resistance – Geary dismissed Navel and at 67 for 2, a tall
and handsome looking bloke walked towards the crease. His eyes were focused and
his face beaming with confidence.
The name of the bloke was Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu. The
world of cricket knows him by the name C K Nayudu and his teammates used to
call him Colonel. He was born in Nagpur in 1895. Nayudu played and captained for Hislop Collegiate
High School, Nagpur and while still at school appeared for Modi, of which club
he also became captain.
Nayudu was an allround cricketer. He could bat well, bowl
his gentle medium-pacers with effectiveness and as a fielder he was quite
brilliant. But he was more popular for his attacking batsmanship. Surprisingly,
in his early days, Nayudu was a defensive batsman but in the course of time,
Nayudu’s batting philosophy changed. Nayudu’s father had been highly influential
in transforming him into a more aggressive batsman. Again, Nayudu’s sporting
abilities were not only restricted to cricket, but he also shone in hockey and
soccer as well.
On that eventful day at the Bombay Gymkhana, Nayudu came at
the crease and immediately lofted the third ball, he faced from the left-arm
spinner Stuart Boyes onto the roof of Gymkhana pavilion. By the time, Nayudu
was getting accustomed to the situation, the Hindus had lost one more wicket
and were in a bother with the score at 84 for 3. It was a drastic situation and
demanded drastic measures.
CK Nayudu unleashed an assault. LP Jai was playing as the
sheet-anchor role as Nayudu continued to play his strokes in a carefree manner.
Nayudu raced to a half-century quickly. That brisk half-century included four
sixes.
During the lunch interval, the news about Nayudu’s onslaught spread across the city.
People from all corners of Mumbai rushed towards the Bombay Gymkhana Maaidan.
Play resumed after lunch and the scene at Bombay Gymkhana Maaidan was
absolutely electrifying. People occupied the trees and rooftop to watch CK
Nayudu’s fantastic batting display.
The match started after lunch and CK Nayudu proceeded from
where he left. Nayudu’s bat was unstoppable – sixes and fours poured off the
bat continuously. Each of Nayudu’s boundaries was met with loud cheering. In no
time Nayudu had reached a hundred and then in the twinkle of an eye, he raced
off to a hundred and fifty.
Two more powerful drives landed on the roof of the Bombay
Gymkhana. A high profile English attack which included four Test bowlers was
murdered in the most ruthless manner. Eventually, Nayudu was out – caught in
the deep – for 153. He had batted for less than two hours and had hit 13 fours
and 11 sixes.
During that epic knock, Nayudu’s footwork was quick and was
never afraid to come dancing down the wicket and smash the bowlers for sixes.
His ability to pick the length quickly was one of the greatest assets of his
batsmanship. He could drive the ball – pitched on a good length – powerfully
over the bowler’s head and while executing those attacking shots Nayudu’s
balance had always remained superbly perfect.
Nayudu’s innings against the MCC tourists had been the most
important phenomenon in the history of Indian cricket. As El Docker has
written, “importance of the day lay in the emotional scene at the finish when
outside the pavilion in the quickening dusk people began to gather in little
craning their necks, straining every muscle to catch glimpse of their hero,
touch him, garland him with flowers, press gifts into his hand. How he had
raised them up! What glories he had shown them!”
CK Nayudu’s 153 was Indian cricket’s moments of arrival. It
helped India to achieve Test status. MCC captain Arthur Gilligan had lobbied
for India’s elevation to Test status, which also led to the formation of the
Indian cricket board in 1928, and India’s first Test match in 1932. It was all
possible due to CK Nayudu’s brutal, but majestic hundred at the Bombay
Gymkhana.
Note: This article has been published on Sportskeeda on
25/04/2014 C K Nayudu: The most important innings in the history of Indian cricket
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
