Partab Ramchand

By 1959, at the end of a sorry decade for Indian cricket, not only were there no bowlers in the country who could bowl anything above military medium, but the batsmen also were getting bombarded by pacemen from other countries

Bangladesh's dramatic collapse on Monday was so sudden that it had a shattering effect not only on the cricket fans in the country but also on the genuine lover of the game

Except for a couple of players, the England team lacked flamboyance, butthey remained dedicated to the task at hand

Considering India's dismal record in one-day games against South Africa in that country, a win and a defeat against them after two matches in the current competition would seem to be a minor triumph

One sided victories can be a double edged sword

If he is still alive - and this is a very big if - then Cota Ramaswami, who was born on this day in 1896, will easily be, at 104, the oldest living Test cricketer

India's series win over an England side that included Geoff Boycott, John Edrich, Dennis Amiss, John Snow, Peter Lever, Ray Illingworth, Derek Underwood and Alan Knott

Partab Ramchand on India's 1946 tour of England

Partab Ramchand on the 1936 India tour of England

Partab Ramchand on India's miserable tour of England in 1974

It was a strange sight, the newest entrants to international cricket harassing arguably the best team in the world

© Reuters One remembers the tremendous excitement generated in July 1968, when Indian-born England captain Michael Colin Cowdrey became the first cricketer to appear in 100 Test matches

Weekes, in particular, turned out to be the nemesis of the Indian bowlers

Given the background of India's awesome record at home - they have lost only one series in the last 15 years

Can it be said that the Indian victory in the first Test by an innings and 112 runs in about three and a half days is a trendsetter for the series

The hosts, despite being defeated, were far from disgraced

There were arguments galore among selection committee members, leading to one of them - LP Jai - resigning inthe midst of the contest, while another - C Ramaswami - followingsuit after the series

Joint-favourites for the event when it commenced, Australia duly won the World Cup in 1999

Sri Lanka's triumph in the 1996 World Cup brought back strong memories of the West Indian victories of 1975 and 1979

© Stamp Publicity In the 1992 World Cup conducted jointly by Australia and New Zealand, few gave Pakistan any chances of winning the trophy, particularly after they had lost three of their first four games in the preliminary stage