On 17 December 1933 Lala Amarnath, batting at No. 5 on his Test debut, scored 118 to become the first Indian to make a Test century. The innings, made out of 219 added with C.K. Nayudu, came against an MCC attack of Nichols, Clark and Verity and was greeted by spectators tearing off jewellery to throw onto the field.
Amarnath came in at 21 for 2 on the second morning. He drove his first ball from Nichols, hooked the second for four, and proceeded with a fluency unusual on the matting-on-coir Bombay Gymkhana pitch. By tea he had 81; he reached three figures with a square cut off Clark, the first century by any Indian in Test cricket.
The scenes that followed were extraordinary. The crowd, perhaps 50,000 strong, showered the ground with garlands, hats and — by some accounts — gold bangles. Play was held up for almost twenty minutes. C.K. Nayudu, India's captain, batted on with him to 219 before Amarnath was caught for 118.
India eventually lost the Test by nine wickets, but the symbolism of Amarnath's hundred — barely eighteen months after India's debut at Lord's — was disproportionate to the scoreline.
In at 21-2; drives first ball for run, hooks second for four.
81 not out at tea on day two.
Reaches 100 with square cut off Clark.
Crowd showers ground with garlands and jewellery for 20 minutes.
Out 118, c Nichols b Clark.
India lose Test by nine wickets despite the partnership.
15 Dec 1933
Test begins at Bombay Gymkhana.
16 Dec
India lose two early wickets; Amarnath in.
16 Dec, tea
Amarnath 81 not out.
16 Dec, late session
Reaches 100 — first Indian Test century.
16 Dec
Out 118; partnership of 219 with Nayudu ends.
19 Dec
India lose by nine wickets.
“I have never seen a crowd like that for a single shot.”
A landmark innings: India's first Test century and a galvanising public moment for the still-young national side.
Amarnath's 118 is the foundation stone of Indian Test batsmanship. Every list of Indian batting records begins with him; the Bombay Gymkhana pavilion carries a plaque in his memory.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.