This is Part 1 of Legends of Indian Cricket, our 20-part series on the players who shaped the game in India.
Long before India won Test matches regularly, it had a cricketer who could change a game with bat and ball alike. Mulvantrai Himmatlal "Vinoo" Mankad, born in Jamnagar in 1917, was India's first world-class all-rounder.
A complete cricketer
Mankad bowled tireless left-arm spin and batted anywhere in the order, from opener to the lower middle order. In 44 Tests between 1946 and 1959, he scored 2,109 runs, including five centuries, and took 162 wickets.
The Lord's Test of 1952
His most famous match came at Lord's in 1952. Mankad, who had been playing league cricket in England, was released to join the Indian team and produced one of the great all-round performances in Test history:
- 72 in the first innings.
- 184 in the second innings.
- Five wickets in England's first innings, while bowling nearly 100 overs in the match.
India lost, but the match is still remembered as "Mankad's Test".
The record stand
In 1956, against New Zealand in Madras (Chennai), Mankad and Pankaj Roy put on 413 runs for the first wicket. Mankad made 231. That opening partnership remained a Test record for 52 years, until 2008.
"Mankading"
On India's 1947–48 tour of Australia, Mankad ran out Bill Brown at the non-striker's end for backing up too far before the ball was bowled. The dismissal became known as "Mankading". It was long debated as being against the spirit of the game, but the Laws now treat it as a regular run-out, and many players argue the name unfairly blames the bowler.
Legacy
- Part of India's first Test victory, against England at Madras in 1952, where he took 12 wickets in the match.
- Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1947.
- Inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2021.
- His son Ashok Mankad also played Test cricket for India.
Mankad died in 1978, but every modern Indian all-rounder walks a path he opened.
Statistics are for international cricket and are correct to the best of our knowledge as of October 2026; figures for active players will change.
Next in the series: Part 2: Bishan Singh Bedi.
