After 29 wickets from four Tests in 1952, Fred Trueman returned to torment yet again, in 1959. This time he got 24 wickets from five Tests at 16.70 apiece. Brian Statham, his partner-in-crime, took 17 wickets in three Tests at 13.11. And India were whitewashed 0-5 for the first time in their history. India vs England Series Part 6: Trueman Blows India Away, 1952

India were never in the reckoning. They were coming off a home series where they had to use four captains in five Test matches against the West Indies. Datta Gaekwad led in the first Test here, then got injured, which led to Pankaj Roy captaining India in the second. So India had six captains in seven Tests. India vs England Series Part 5: India Win Their First Test Match, 1951/52

It was not merely the defeats but the margin of the defeats that was telling. England won three of the five Test matches by an innings and the other two by eight wickets and 171 runs.

The highlight for India came in the fourth Test match, when Abbas Ali Baig was summoned from Oxford University to make his Test debut. Baig scored 112 in the fourth innings and Polly Umrigar 118; India reached 376; but they fell way short of the target of 548.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2021 08:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).