On This Day: Lala Amarnath slammed ton in first-ever Test match on Indian soil in 1933

The Indian cricket team holds a rich heritage when it comes to Test cricket, the oldest and the purest format of the game. In a journey spanning more than 88 years, the nation has produced some of the icons of the game in the form of Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Gundappa Vishwanath among several others. While India’s Test game is now taken forward by modern-day legends like Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, the contribution and legacy set by India’s yesteryear legends is forever etched in memories of the purists of the game.

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When did India play its first Test match, both home and away?

On this day in 1933, India embarked on their home Test journey

The Indian cricket team played their first-ever Test match at Lord’s against England in June 1932. A year later, the English team arrived in India for a reciprocal series, thus marking the first set of Test matches to be held in India, out of the 272 played in the country so far. The first of the three-match series in 1933 between the two nations commenced on this day (i.e. December 15) 87 years ago at Bombay’s Gymkhana Ground.

India’s first-ever Test match at home saw the debuts of several Indian cricketers, including that of the legendary Lala Amarnath. The late cricketer celebrated the launch of India’s home Test journey and his own international debut with a remarkable ton. The century in contention was also the first-ever instance of an Indian batsman reaching the three-figure mark in Test cricket, before India became the powerhouse of Test century-makers with Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar in the subsequent decades.

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The match went in favour of England, with the visitors winning the game by nine wickets. They also claimed the three-match series with a 2-0 margin. Lala Amarnath’s ton on debut remained his only international century until the day of his retirement in 1955.

India vs Australia 2020 series

The Indian team is now scheduled to face Australia at the Adelaide Oval from Thursday, December 17 onwards. As of now, India has played 542 Test matches overall (both home and away), winning 157 and losing 167. Through the upcoming series, Virat Kohli and co. will be looking to defend their Border-Gavaskar title, the one they achieved with their maiden Test series win in Australia during their previous 2018-19 trip Down Under.

Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane speaks ahead of series, watch video

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Most centuries by Indians in Tests

While Lala Amarnath once topped the charts for most centuries (with his only ton) by Indians in Test cricket, the list underwent numerous changes later with the rise of legendary cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and contemporary captain Virat Kohli. Here is a look at the top five list of most centuries by Indians in Test matches.

Sachin Tendulkar: 51 centuries in 200 Tests

Rahul Dravid: 36 centuries in 164 Tests

Sunil Gavaskar: 34 centuries in 125 Tests

Virat Kohli: 27 centuries in 86 Tests

Virender Sehwag: 23 centuries in 104 Tests

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Image source: BCCI Twitter