India v England

At Delhi, December 13, 14, 16, 17, 18. Drawn. The last two days were washed out, but even if the game had gone the full time no other result seemed likely. More slow cricket took place and only 13 wickets fell in three days, five of them being sacrificed.

England were unchanged, but India gave Pataudi his first cap and restored Desai. They replaced Sardesai and Ranjane. Pataudi followed his father as a Test player, the first occasion for India.

India won the toss and again England settled themselves to a long period in the field under perfect batting conditions. Jaisimha and Contractor opened with 121 with Jaisimha scoring considerably faster than his captain. Second out at 199, Jaisimha hit 127, his first Test century. It lasted four hours, ten minutes and included two 6's and fourteen 4's, the only mistake coming when he gave a chance to slip off Barber when 32.

Two stumping chances offered by Manjrekar before he reached double figures also proved extremely costly. Playing carefully and hardly ever lifting the ball, Manjrekar batted for the rest of the innings. He scored 189 not out, the highest by an Indian player against England, beating Mankad's 184 at Lord's in 1952. Missed again at cover when 101, Manjrekar stayed seven hours, twenty minutes, hitting twenty-nine 4's.

Best support came from Borde in a stand of 132. By tea on the second day India were 443 for five and with the batsmen under orders to hit the innings ended thirty-five minutes later for the addition of 23.

England, in forty minutes, lost Richardson while scoring 21. Next day Pullar and Barrington carried the total to 166, their stand of 164 in four hours being a new record for England's second wicket against India. They scored slowly, particularly Barrington, who spent the entire day of five and a half hours adding 100. All told, he stayed six hours for 113, once more showing remarkable concentration and a solid defence but few strokes. It was his fourth century in successive Tests and no player had previously obtained three centuries in one England-India series.

Mike Smith failed again, but Dexter drove firmly and at the close England needed 11 to avoid the follow-on with seven wickets left. Overnight and morning rain ruined any chance of play next day and more rain overnight left the ground mudbound, the game being abandoned before lunch.