Who were the captains in the first-ever India-West Indies Test?
India and West Indies are set to face off for a historic 100th time in Tests on Thursday.
India lead the two-Test series 1-0 and will look to continue their two-decade-long unbeaten run in Tests against the hosts, aheqd of the second test at Trinidad.
Overall, the West Indies still hold the upper hand against India in Tests, leading 30-22 in 98 games. However, recent history presents a more sorry tale for the Men from the Caribbean, losing 14 of the last 23 Tests between the sides, with the other nine being draws.
While the focus remains on the dominance of the Indian Test team over the last few years and the downward spiral of West Indian cricket, it is worthwhile going down memory lane on the first meeting between the sides.
Team India began playing Test cricket in 1932 and faced England several times pre-independence. It was only post-independence that the Indian side played Australia in the 1947 and 1948 Test Series. Following that, the West Indians stepped on Indian shores for the first time later in 1948 for a five-test series.
At this point, the current Asian giants were yet to experience victory in a Test in 15 matches played. The first Test was played in Delhi on November 1948. While Team India were led by the great late Lala Amarnath, West Indies were skippered by John Goddard.
Before we move on to all that transpired in the Test match and the series, let us take a quick peek at the two captains and their cricketing careers.
Lala Amarnath
Lala Amarnath is renowned as one of the pioneers of Indian cricket, having represented the nation for 22 years from 1933 to 1955. He scored the first-ever century for the country against England at Mumbai in 1933.
Born in Punjab, Amarnath batted and bowled right-handed and was a genuine all-rounder. He captained India to their first-ever Test match and series win against Pakistan in 1952. His sons, Mohinder and Surinder Amarnath, also played cricket for India.
Amarnath captained India in 15 Tests, winning two, losing six, and drawing seven. He boasted impressive career numbers, scoring 878 runs and picking up 45 wickets in his 24 Tests for India.
Amarnath also had a stellar first-class record, with over 10,000 runs and 31 centuries. He also picked up 478 wickets and 19 five-wicket hauls in his illustrious first-class career.
John Goddard
Barbados-born John Goddard was the captain of the West Indies for 22 Tests between 1948 and 1957. Debuting against England in 1948, Goddard played 27 Tests in his decade-long International career.
Despite being a left-handed batter, Goddard had the unique ability to bowl right-arm medium-pace and off-break deliveries. He led West Indies to eight wins, seven losses, and as many draws in his 22 games as captain.
Goddard scored 859 runs and picked up 33 wickets for the West Indies while adding another 3,769 runs and 147 scalps at the first-class level.
What happened in the first ever India-West Indies Test series?
The 1948/49 Test series was the first of several high-intensity battles between India and the West Indies in all formats.
Team India were still searching for their first-ever win, while the West Indians were flying high after their 2-0 series win against England earlier in the year.
The West Indians did not select Frank Worrell due to a pay dispute, and John Goddard took over the captaincy for the tour.
The first Test in Delhi saw the visitors assert their supremacy by posting a mammoth total of 631 in their first innings. There were four centurions in the innings, including a top score of 152* by Clyde Walcott.
In reply, India showed tremendous resilience by posting 454 in their first essay on the back of an unbeaten 114 by Hemu Adhikari. Asked to follow on, the hosts survived a middle-order stutter to end at 220/6, resulting in a drawn match.
The series followed a similar trend with draws in the next two games before the visitors emerged victorious in the fourth Test at Chennai.
The final Test is fondly remembered for India going after a target of 361. They finished just short at 355/8 for the game to end in another draw.
Some famous names to be part of the series include Vinoo Mankad, Vijay Hazare, Clyde Walcott, and Everton Weekes.
Weekes is still remembered for his heroics in the tour to India. He smashed four centuries in the first three Tests, coming off a century in the final innings of the preceding England series.
The right-hander became the first batter to score centuries in five consecutive innings, a record still to be broken.