Tests that finished in double quick time

The first ever Ranji Trophy match (Madras v Mysore, 1934-35) did not last beyond the first evening. And the Ranji Trophy final, no less, between Bombay and Tamil Nadu in 1972-73, on a minefield of a pitch, ended with the first ball on the third day. Mercifully, Test matches ending in such rapid time have not been the most common occurence in India. Indeed the South African victory at Mumbai was only the fourth three-day Test in the 66 years of Test match cricket in India.

The first of them was at Kanpur in early 1952 when a second string English side put it across the hosts by eight wickets. After the first three Tests of the series were drawn, England broke the deadlock with Kanpur's baptism in Test cricket. The wicket was that typical Indian preparation, a spinner's haven, and all 31 wickets that fell to bowlers were captured by the slow men. The Indians never recovered after being shot out for 121 on the first day.

England took an 82 run lead thanks to Alan Watkins' 66 which turned out to be the top score of the match. India played four spinners in Mankad, Ghulam, Shinde and CS Nayudu but they were outsmarted by England's Malcolm Hilton and Roy Tattersall. The duo commenced the proceedings in India's second innings after rubbing the ball on the ground to remove the shine. Hemu Adhikari's 60 at No.7 carried India to 157 but England was left with only 76 to get which they did in quick time.

Later that year the Pakistanis toured India for their maiden appearance in the Test arena and were greeted with an innings and 70 run defeat inside three days at the Feroz Shah Kotla. After doing well to restrict India to 217-7 on the opening day, the tourists let the game slip as Hemu Adhikari and Ghulam Ahmed put on 109 for the last wicket to take India to the rarefied heights of 372. At 90-3 in their first innings at the end of the second day, Pakistan looked as though they had a lot of fight left. But they succumbed to the wiles of Vinoo Mankad, losing 17 wickets on the third day, with Mankad taking 13 wickets in the match.

The third instance was in the not so distant past when India despatched the Kiwis by eight wickets at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore in 1995-96. Lee Germon, captaining the side on his Test debut, had to contend with a dust bowl after winning the toss and choosing to bat. Germon top scored in each innings with a couple of forties but it was not enough to counter Anil Kumble who built up a reputation by wreaking havoc on such crumblers. Azharuddin's 87 in India's first innings and Jadeja's 59 and 73, made in an era when he was still seen as a Test class bat, were the highlights for India as they easily reached a victory target of 151 on the third evening.