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In the 145-year-old history of Test cricket, there have been several batting collapses. Teams have been all out below 50 on several occasions but there has never been an instance where a team has lost four wickets without scoring a single run.
India achieved the unwanted record when they were relatively new to the sport compared to the English side. Playing nearly five years after gaining independence from the British, in the second innings of the Test, India lost four of their batters without troubling the scorers.
Trueman haunts top order
A 21-year-old Fred Trueman troubled the Indian batters with the new ball. Out of the four ducks, he sent three batters back to the pavilion at Leeds, Headingley. While conditions are very often overcast in England, the pitch did not have demons in it as Vijay Manjrekar scored 133 in the first innings, well supported by skipper Vijay Hazare's 89 to help India post 293 in the first innings.
The four victims
Openers Pankaj Roy, Datta Gaekwad, wicketkeeper-batter Madhav Krishanji Mantri and Manjrekar were the four batters who got out early in the first innings. While Trueman took three, Alec Bedser got the wicket of Gaekwad.
The rescue duo
India's problems did not end after losing four wickets. Polly Umrigar got out for a single-digit score. Skipper Hazare and Dattu Phadkar rescued the innings with the 105-run partnership. Hazare and Phadkar scored 56 and 64 respectively. The Indian tail did not wag as they were all out for 165. Trueman and Roly Jenkins took four wickets each whereas Bedser claimed two wickets.
Easy chase
As a result, England got a non-threatening target to chase down. Phadkar got the wicket of skipper Leonard Hutton early with the new ball but opener Reg Simpson scored a half-century. Denis Compton (35) and Tom Graveney (20) cruised to the target of 125 and helped England win the match by seven wickets.
Ghulam’s hard work
Another notable performance from the match was Ghulam Ahmed. He bowled 63 overs in England's first innings including 24 maidens. He conceded 100 runs at an economy rate of 1.58 runs per and took five wickets to help restrict England’s first innings total to 334 and their lead to just 41 runs. In the second innings, he got two more wickets as well.
