Today is the 37th anniversary of India winning the ODI World Cup.
Not only that.
We have another reason to celebrate this day in cricketing history.
25th June 1932 marks the day India made its first foray into the world of test cricket. 👇🏾
The events of June 25th 1932 would not have taken place if not for C. K. Nayudu.
He is largely responsible for us Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand as the sixth test playing nation in the world.
The British brought cricket to India. Despite being trashed by the villagers in Champaner in the 1890s, they kept playing.
The Parsis were early adopters and tried to use the game to establish closer relations with the British.
The Parsis' request for a game against the colonial masters was accepted in 1877 and a two day game was organized.
The Parsi team surprised the British by taking the first innings lead. However, the game ended in a draw.
The Parsis were entrepreneurial and pooled in resources to go on cricket trips to England in 1886 and 1888.
While largely unsuccessful, they did initiate reciprocal tours from English teams to India.
One such tour was organized in 1926.
The MCC team was led by Arthur Gilligan who had made his test debut in 1922 and was made the English team captain in 1924. The team had test cricketers like Maurice Tate, Andrew Sandham and a future England captain Bob Wyatt.
Gilligan's MCC squad played in Bombay in 1926.
There was a lot of excitement for the game with nearly 25,000 at the Bombay Gymkhana (which would later be India’s first ever test ground).
In reply to MCC’s first innings score of 363, The Hindus were reduced to 84 for 3.
C.K. Nayudu, by now a crowd favourite wherever he went in India, strode to the crease.The MCC team so used to steam rolling opponents was in for a shock.
Nayudu produced a dazzling display of batting, not respecting the prowess of luminaries like Maurice Tate, Jack Mercer, Bob Wyatt and Stuart Boyes.
He scored a scintillating 153 which contained 11 sixes, a world record at the time for most number of sixes in an innings.
This innings transformed Indian cricket.
Previously known only as cannon fodder to English players to improve their averages, Indian cricket took a giant leap that day. All thanks to CK Nayudu.
The Indians scored 356 and drew the game.
Arthur Gilligan was so impressed by C.K. Nayudu that he became a strong proponent of Indian cricket and lobbied for test status for India.
Gilligan encouraged Indians to take more initiative in running their own cricketing affairs.
This resulted in a governing body that was formed in 1928 that we now know as the Board of Cricket Control in India @BCCI
India toured England in 1932 to play our first test. Nayudu played a major part in selecting the team. At that time, Indian cricket needed the patronage of the royals who bore the expenss. Maharaja of Porbandar was made the captain and Ghanshyamsinhji of Limbdi was vice-captain.
The Maharaja of Porbandar withdrew on account of poor health and Limbdi suffered a back injury.
The invisible hand of destiny ensured that CK Nayudu, chiefly responsible for India’s test status, became our first captain.
Here is Nayudu leading the team onto the ground.
India started their debut well and had England down 19/3. The more experienced English team weathered the storm and put on 259.
Nayudu had injured his his hand while fielding and still persevered to top score with 40. India managed 189 before losing to the English by 158 runs.
C.K. Nayudu was the first superstar of Indian cricket. The man who the crowds adored, the man who uplifted Indian cricket and the man who every future Indian cricketer aspires to be.
BCCI has constituted its lifetime achievement award in his name.
Those in Indore, please go touch the feet of CK Nayudu's statue there for good karma.
The rest of you, kindly retweet this lovely thread researched and written by @paap_singer
Did you know that a dentist from Karnataka became the face of the abortion rights movement in Ireland?
In a landmark case, Savita Halappanavar’s tragic story sparked nationwide protests and played a pivotal role in reshaping Ireland’s abortion laws.
A thread 🧵
Abortion had been illegal in Ireland since the birth of the state. In 1983, an amendment to the law made the status of the unborn child as equal to that of the mother.
It was made following a referendum in which over two-thirds supported it, though on a turnout of 53%.
For years, well-off women in Ireland who needed abortions would travel to England to undergo the procedure.
The phrase "She Got the Boat" became a discreet way of indicating that someone had made the journey across the Irish Sea to obtain an abortion.
On the occasion of @anilkumble1074's 54th birthday - a little known story of how a very much vegetarian Kumble ate 2 bears for lunch.
Setting the stage - 1995, hot and dry summer in the county championships in England. Kumble is playing for Northamptonshire.
They were second in the table going to take on the first placed team Warwickshire.
Warwickshire, though without Brian Lara, were defending champions and were leading the table at that time.
Few years later, Kumble would dismiss Lara looking like this.
22 years later still goosebumps.
Allan Lamb won the toss for Northamptonshire and decided to bat first. They were skittled out for 152 with only David Capel managing to get to a half century.
David Capel then proceeded to take a 7fer to restrict Warwickshire to 224 - 140 of them came from Roger Twose.
Tomorrow India takes on New Zealand in a test match at the M Chinnaswamy stadium. It is an iconic venue - A stadium located in the heart of Bangalore.
It is celebrating its 50th year as an international venue. Here's a thread to celebrate the venue. 👇
The stadium is named after the man who was instrumental in building it. A lawyer by profession, M Chinnaswamy was an altogether atypical cricket administrator. He was utterly devoted to the game of cricket and to the cause of Karnataka cricket in particular.
From the early 1960s, Karnataka, then known as Mysore, began sending a steady stream of cricketers to the Indian team. The state side had no ground it could call its own, playing its home matches in Bangalore’s Central College.
Chinnaswamy, helped by other eminent people, was instrumental in prevailing upon the Government of Karnataka to allot the ground for cricket in the prime MG Road area in 1969. It was taken on lease for 99 years from the Indian Army.
The paperwork for the lease completed, the Association hired an architect and a contractor, who, working under the secretary’s supervision, built the stadium. Because of him, no bribes were given or taken.
Back in 1971 when the nation was formed, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, considered the leader of the freedom movement, was not in the country - he was in jail in Pakistan.
And it was a former lover of Bhutto who was able to secure his release.
A love story 🧵
In 1971 Pakistan's armed forces laid down their arms at a ceremony in Dhaka before the joint command of the Indian armed forces and Bangladesh's Mukti Bahini.
As the two armed forces were celebrating their victory, Mrs Indira Gandhi had other things to worry about.
1. The enormous cost of the war 2. The cost of dealing with over 10M refugees 3. The un-budgeted responsibility of having to look after the 93,000 Pakistani soldiers taken as POWs.
India wanted to keep the POW's in conditions that went above and beyond Geneva norms.
A school-going kid once visited the Congress party office, where Tamil lyricist Kavirajar Kannadasan asked, "Would you like to work in films, child?" The kid said, "Ask my father."
This child was destined to become one of India's greatest superstars!
A thread on Sridevi! 🧵
It is said that when Sridevi was born, there was a bright red mark on her forehead, and hence people started that a devi had born in the house.
Thus she was named Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan.
Before ruling the box office as a leading star, Sridevi was a phenomenally accomplished child artist.
Here she is, sharing the screen with MG Ramachandran, playing his nephew in a film that also starred J. Jayalalitha!
This film, starring Supriya Pathak & Hugh Grant, is based on a novel by Mircea Eliade.
Its the story of a 23-year-old Mircea who came to Calcutta to study under philosopher Surendranath Dasgupta.
There, he fell in love with Maitreyi - teacher's daughter.
Sounds familiar? A 🧵
In this novel, Mircea fictionalizes how his love story was cut short because Surendranath Dasgupta was unhappy about the relationship. The relationship was "exposed" by Maitreyi Devi's sister.
The novel was published in 1933, a couple of years after Mircea's time in Calcutta.
For some additional context, Maitreyi was a savant! Maitreyi was mentored by Rabindranath Tagore, and she even wrote a book Mongpute Rabindranath (Tagore by The Fire Side) about the time spent with the great poet.