On this day in 1932: India commence their first-ever Test match

25th June is a very special day in the context of Indian cricket history. On this day in 1932, the Indian cricket team played their first official Test match, which was held at Lord’s. CK Nayudu-led the Indian team at Lord’s to face the star-studded English national side in their first Test on June 25, 1932. It was a three-day match. The very special thing is that 51 years after this match, on this day, under the leadership of Kapil Dev, Team India won the World Cup at Lord’s ground and created a history.

In the very first half of the Test, the Indian players surprised their rivals with their performance. However, India lost this match by 158 runs in the end. But the team gave a tough challenge to the English team during the whole match. Indian players were highly appreciated for their performance.

England had decided to bat first in this three-day Test match. Indian bowling attack led by Mohammad Nisar and Amar Singh got the better of English batsmen in the first half. And the result was that England lost three wickets for 19 runs against the team considered as new in the format.

Later on, England recovered thanks to 79 runs by captain Douglas Jardine. The team was dismissed for 259 runs in the first innings. Mohammad Nisar bowled brilliantly and took five wickets for 93 runs. Captain CK Nayudu also took two wickets in the match. He took the precious wicket of Douglas Jardine. But the better performance of the bowlers did not get the support of the batsmen.

In the first innings, the Indian team was dismissed after scoring 189 runs. Captain CK Nayudu was the highest run-scorer with 40 runs coming from his bat. In the second innings, England declared the innings at 275 for eight. For India in the second innings, Jahangir Khan took four wickets for 60 runs.

In reply, the Indian batting lineup was dismissed for 187 runs in the second innings as well. In this way, India lost their first-ever Test by 158 runs. But in the very first match, the brilliant performance of the bowlers and the captaincy of Nayudu caught the attention of the world.