VIJAY SAMUEL HAZARE

Vijay Samuel Hazare

Vijay Samuel Hazare was born on 11 March 1915 December 2004 was an Indian cricket player from the state of Maharashtra. He leaded the Indian cricket squad in 14 matches amid 1951 and 1953.

In India's 25th Test game, almost 20 years after India realized Test status, he led India to her first ever Test win and the only triumph under his captaincy in 1951-52 in opposition to England at Madras, winning by an innings and eight runs in a game that began on the day that King George VI died.

Early life

Hazare was born in a plebeian Marathi Christian Protestant family in Sangli, Maharashtra in 1915, one of eight children of a tutor.

Hazare says, "I will never forget my humble beginning and my faith." At one point, it looked like his faith was a hindrance to his career. He relates a case when he was tempted to play for the Hindu Gymkhana. The invitation was a much esteemed honor. Any person who played for the Hindu Gymkhana was sure to be invited to the Indian side. Vijay twisted down the offer saying, "I am a Christian.' (In that time, only Hindus were permitted to play on the squad). Vijay's stand was justified when Mr. De Mello, the President of the Cricket Control Board resolute that the talented persons from other society should also be given a prospect. His decision led to the dawning of the Catholic Gymkhana Cricket Team.

Principally a right-hand batsman, Hazare was also a right-hand medium-pace bowler. A "shy, retiring" man (according to Wisden in 1952), it was generally thought that he was not a ordinary captain, and that his batting endured as a effect. His foe, Vijay Merchant said that the captaincy vetoed Hazare from becoming India's finest batsman: "It was one of the misfortunes of cricket."

Test Debut

Vijay made his debut in Test Cricket with a match in opposition to England played at Lords Cricket ground on the 22nd of June 1946. He scored 65 runs, and took 2 wickets giving away 107 runs in the game. His last Test Cricket match was in opposition to West Indies played at Kingston on 28th of March 1953. In this game Vijay attained 28 runs taking no wickets, and gave away 48 runs

Even so, Hazare's Test record is very reputable: he collected 2,192 runs in 30 Test matches with a batting standard of 47.65. His first-class record is even more remarkable, with a batting standard of 58.38 for his 18,740 runs (maximum first-class amassed for an Indian player after Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid). He attained 60 first-class centuries (together with 7 in Tests), the third highest for an Indian player and 10 first-class double centuries (together with six during World War II, when India was the only major cricket-playing country to persist holding its domestic first-class cricket contest without disruption).

His bowling evidence was more diffident, and he took 595 first-class wickets (with 20 in Tests, and Donald Bradman's wicket three times) at a bowling standard of 24.61. On the Indian home track, Hazare played for the Maharashtra, Central India and Baroda teams.

Achievements

Vijay Samuel Hazare was an Indian Cricket player. Apart from being a capable Right Handed Batsman and a Right Arm Medium Bowler, he also served the Indian Cricket squad as its Captain for the period of the year 1951-1953, and led the side into 14 matches during the period. He is well identified for getting the Indian Cricket side its first conquest in a Test match. The game was played in opposition to England at Madras on 6th of February 1952, and India won by an innings and 8 runs. Hazare scored 20 runs, and took 1 wicket giving away 15 runs in the game. This was Indian Cricket teams 25th Test game, and roughly 20 years after the side had been given the Test status. Hazare was mainly a batsman, and his batting performance suffered while he served the side as its leader, even though his batting record is still quite exciting.

Hazare was the 1st Indian batsman who achieved a Triple century in First Class Cricket, as K.S.Duleepsinhji was chiefly considered as an English Cricketer. He also was the 1st Indian batsman to score a century in both the innings of a Test match. He attained this feat in a Test match in opposition to Australia played at Adelaide on 23rd of January 1948, and scored 116 runs and 145 runs in both the innings correspondingly.

Vijay Hazare has also been the 1st Indian Cricket player to gain a century in 3 Test matches in a row, and score 50 centuries right through his First Class Cricket career.

• First Indian to score two triple centuries:
• The first, his highest score, was 316 not out for Maharashtra in opposition to Poona in 1939-40
• The second was 309 out of 387 for The Rest in opposition to The Hindus at Bombay in 1943-44. Regardless of his innings, Rest lost the game by an innings. It incorporated a partnership of 300 with his brother, Vivek Hazare. Vijay scored 266 (88.6% of the joint venture) of the 300 runs while Vivek donated 21. Hazare scored 79.84% of his squads score, then a world record, and it is the second highest individual score in a losing basis. Rest's total is the smallest finished innings to enclose a triple century.
• First Indian to attain a century in each innings of a Test match (116 and 145 on consecutive days in opposition to the Australian cricket squad in Adelaide in 1947-48, which was the same side that became known as the Invincible)
• paradoxically, adjacent to England at Kanpur in 1951-52, Hazare also became the first Indian batsman to gain a couple (a duck in both innings)
• First Indian player to attain a century in three consecutive Test matches
• First Indian player to formulate fifty centuries in his first class career
• Premier affiliation for any wicket in first-class cricket (577runs with Gul Mahomed for Baroda in opposition to Holkar in the final of the Ranji Trophy at Baroda in 1947. This record stood for several years, and was only broken in 2006 by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who put on 624 for Sri Lanka in opposition to South Africa.
• First Indian player to finish 1000 Test Runs.

Overall Performance

In his overall Test Cricket livelihood, Vijay Hazare played 30 Test matches and gained 2192 runs including 7 centuries and 9 half-centuries with an standard of 46.65 runs and a highest score of 164 Not Out. Throughout these contests, he also took 20 wickets giving away 1220 runs with an standard of 61.00 runs.

As far as his First Class Cricket career is concerned, he played a sum of 238 matches, and scored 18740 runs with an standard of 58.38 runs and a highest score of 316 Not Out. Throughout these matches, he took 595 wickets and gave away 14645 runs with a standard of 24.61 runs.

After Retirement

After giving up work from dynamic Cricket, he served up as a Selector for the Indian Test Cricket panel for some time. Vijay Hazare alongside with Jasu Patel was the 1st Indian Cricket player to have been bestowed upon the Padma Shri award, and to esteem him a Domestic Cricket tournament has been named after him as Vijay Hazare Trophy. He passed away on 18th of December 2004 of intestinal cancer at Baroda.