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The last surving member of India's first Test victory, C.D. Gopinath has died today (April 9) at the age of 96 in Chennai. He passed away while sleeping his daughter's house in Adyar. Intrestingly, he was also the country's oldest living Test cricketer.
India's oldest living Test cricketer passes away at 96
Gopinath was born on March 1 in the year of 1930, and managed to play eight Test matches for India and appear in 83 first-class matches, mostly for Madras. He made his Test debut for India in the year of 1952 against England at the Brabourne Stadium in 1951 and played his final Test game against Australia at the Eden Gardens in 1960.
Gopinath shined on his debut Test match, smashing an unbeaten half-century while batting at No.8, before scoring another solid knock of 42 runs in the second innings helping India clinching a draw against England.
His career defining momnt came in the same series, where India secured their first Test victoru. In the fifth Test in Chennai, Indian defeated England by an innings and eight runs, where Gopinath made a great contribution of 35 runs. That win started a new chapter of Indian cricket which inspired an entire generation to pick-up the sport.
In an interview with ESPNcricinfo in 2024, Gopinath opened up on the fond memory of India's first Test win, saying that some people from UK asked him for an interview to write a book on it.
"Some people from the UK came and interviewed me on the Test match that India won for the first time in 1952. I think they were going to write a book or make a video, and I said to them: How can you write a book on one Test match? One season or five Test matches, okay. Why only this Test match? What is there to write so much about? They said, 'No, we regard that win as a turning point of the cricket history of India.' In one way it is true. And I am very lucky. I had that for India and I had that for Madras. I asked them: Who else are you interviewing? They said, 'Nobody else, because there's nobody else alive. You are the only one from that team that is there.' I said, 'So I can say anything I want!" remembered Gopinath.
Gopinath's long-lasting legacy in Indian cricket
He finished his India career with 242 runs in 12 innings. Meanwhile, he managed to score 4259 runs in first-class cricket at an everage of 42.16.
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