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MEDAL WINNERS FROM INDIA

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 11/30/2019 11:36:48 AM

Vijay Manjrekar

Vijay Laxman Manjrekar About this soundpronunciation (help•info) (26 September 1931 – 18 October 1983) was an Indian cricketer who played 55 Tests. He represented several teams (Andhra, Bengal, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh) in his first class career. A small man, he was a fine cutter and hooker of the ball. He is the father of Sanjay Manjrekar. His Test match debut came against England at Calcutta in 1951, making a composed 48. He scored his first Test hundred in June 1952 against England at Headingley making 133. It was his first Test in England and he was just 20 at the time. When he came in to bat his side was in trouble at 3/42 and faced a formidable lineup of bowlers in Trueman, Bedser and Laker. He put on 222 with Vijay Hazare in an innings that suggested he would be a force to be reckoned with in the future. He would however fail to fulfill his early promise and faced problems with his weight and footwork. He would eventually finish with a Test batting average of 39, a disappointment for a man capable of averaging well into the 40's. His finest series came against England in India 1961-62 when he made 586 runs at an average of 83.71. This included the highest score of his seven centuries, with 189 at Delhi. Another notable performance was in 1964-65 where his innings of 59 and 39 helped India to a Test victory over Australia. He scored a century in his final Test innings, coming against New Zealand at Madras in February 1965. He held the record (subsequently beaten by Jonathan Trott) for the most Test runs scored (3,208) without hitting a single six. He was among the four victims (others being Pankaj Roy, Dattajirao Gaekwad and Madhav Mantri) in India's miserable 0-4 start in the second innings of the Headingley Test of 1952 with Fred Trueman playing havoc. Manjrekar was also an occasional offspinner and occasional wicketkeeper. He played for six teams in the Ranji Trophy, representing Bombay, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. He had a prolific career in the tournament, scoring 3,734 runs at an average of 57.44.