Vinoo Mankad

Mulvantrai Himmatlal "Vinoo" Mankad (12 April 1917 – 21 August 1978) was a former Captain of Indian cricket team and appeared in 44 Test matches for India between 1946 and 1959.

Vinoo Mankad was born on Thursday, 12 April 1917 in Jamnagar, in the erstwhile princely state of Nawangar (present-day Gujarat).

He learnt how to bowl from cricketers Albert Wensley and KS Duleepsinhji, nephew of the legendary batsman Ranjitsinhji.

An opening batsman and slow left arm orthodox bowler, he played in 44 Tests for India, and made 2109 runs at an average of 31.47 including five Test centuries with a top score of 231.

He also took 162 wickets at an average of 32.32, including eight five-wicket hauls.

He is one of three cricketers to have batted in every position during his Test career.

He was the first Indian to score 1000 Test runs and to take 100 test wickets.

He also completed the double of 1000 Test runs and 100 Test wickets in just 23 test matches, which was a then world record and stood nearly for quarter of a century before being surpassed by Ian Botham.

According to Scyld Berry, "he was the best left-arm spinner in the world in his time, and the best spinning all-rounder".

Mankad completed the tour with a double of a thousand runs and hundred wickets, the first tourist to achieve the feat since Learie Constantine of the West Indies in 1928.

He finished with 1,120 runs at 28.00 and 129 wickets at 20.76 apiece.

John Arlott wrote of him: "From his first over in England, Mankad was a good slow left-hander. By the end of the tour, there is little doubt that he was the best slow left-arm bowler in the world."

Wisden chose him as one of its five Cricketers of the Year.

Mankad was included in the India squad that toured England in 1946.

Leading up to the First Test of the three-match series, he had played 11 first-class games on the tour averaging 20.9 with the bat and 14.2 with the ball, having picked 44 wickets, the best for India thus far as a bowler.

He made his debut at the Lord's opening the batting for India before being bowled out for 14 by England spinner Doug Wright.

After "long spells of bowling" in England's first innings, Mankad top-scored for his team with 67 in the second innings.

India went on to lose the match by ten wickets.

However, Wisden wrote in praise of Mankad calling him a "valuable all-round player" alongside teammates Lala Amarnath and Vijay Hazare.

Former England Test cricketer Patsy Hendren rated Mankad as India's "best all-rounder".

In the Second Test in Manchester, Mankad claimed a five-wicket haul in England's first innings.

He contributed 42 with the bat and picked two wickets in a drawn cause in the final Test at the Oval.

Mankad's 1947–48 Australia tour began on a positive note after he claimed a five-wicket haul in the first match in Western Australia's first innings.

He picked four wickets in the second game against South Australia including that of Don Bradman, while making an unbeaten 116 with the bat.

Against Cricket Australia XI, he returned figures of 8/84 in the final innings helping his team win by 47 runs.

He had a poor start to the Test series, and was dismissed by Australia's pacer Ray Lindwall for 0 and 7 at Brisbane, and 5 and 5 at Sydney.

Mankad subsequently modified his back-lift of the bat from high to low for the remainder of the series after being advised by Lindwall himself and went on to score centuries at the Third and Fifth Tests in Melbourne.

In reply to Australia's 394 in the Third Test, Mankad put on 124 runs for the first wicket with Chandu Sarwate, and reached his debut century in 139 minutes in the first innings.

After a first innings score of 49 in Adelaide, Mankad scored 111 in the last Test in Melbourne, his making his second century of the series.

Batting for five hours, he added 124 runs with Hemu Adhikari for the second wicket.

However, India went on to lose the match and the series, 4–0.

Mankad finished the tour with 889 first-class runs at 38.65 which included a total of three centuries, while claiming 61 wickets with the ball, the most for India.

Mankad's best performance was against England at Lord's in 1952.

In the first innings, he top-scored with 72.

During England's first innings, he bowled 73 overs and took 5 wickets for 196 runs.

In India's second innings in that Test match, he top-scored again with 184 runs out of India's total of 378.

Though England won the game easily, Mankad's all-around performance salvaged India's pride in a series where they were heavily outmatched.

He was best known for his world record setting opening partnership of 413 runs with Pankaj Roy in 1956, a record that stood for 52 years, and for running out a batsman "backing up" at the non-striker's end.

Mankading in cricket is named after him.

In June 2021, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.