OTD | Lala Amarnath scored the first Test century for India in 1933

On this day in 1933, Lala Amarnath became a part of the Indian cricket history by becoming the first batter to score a Test hundred. He scored 118 in the second innings which came in a losing cause. England with their experience proved to be the better side as they outplayed the home side in all departments. But the match would forever be remembered for Lala’s knock.

India batted first and posted just 219 runs on the board. Even in the first innings, Amarnath was India’s best batter with his individual score of 38. There were some others who scored 20s and 30s. But none played a long innings which resulted in India being dismissed for 219 runs in a little over a day. Stan Nichols, Hedley Verity, and James Langridge claimed 3 wickets each for England.

In reply to it, England put up a strong performance with the bat. Despite losing Arthur Mitchell early, the visiting side scored 438 runs. Cyril Walters scored 78 and skipper Douglas Jardine managed to score 60 runs. There were some batters who contributed cameos in their 20s and 30s. But the pick of the batters was Bryan Valentine who scored 136 runs. 

Mohammad Nissar claimed 5/90 in his long spell of 33.5 overs. India batted slightly better in the second innings. Amarnath stood up for the side and scored a brilliant ton against a good bowling attack. His 118 included 21 fours. At the other end, the star batter did not get enough support. Only skipper C.K. Nayudu scored 67 runs. 

Stan Nichols and Nobby Clark claimed 5 and 3 wickets respectively. India was restricted to 258 runs and the target for the visiting side was just 40. Despite losing Mitchell, Walters and Barnet chased down the target with ease. England won the Test by 9 wickets. For India, Amarnath shined by being the highest run-scorer in both the innings. To date, his resilience and adaptation at the highest level is appreciated by the fans and critics.

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