India v England 1933-34

Played at Calcutta, January 5, 6, 7, 8. Drawn. By very careful batting India, although following-on, saved the match creditably, England being set the impossible task of getting 82 runs in half-an-hour. Fast bowlers at times made the ball rise nastily, Mitchell, Jardine, Townsend and Hussain being among the bats men who received disquieting blows. Hussain struck on the back of the head by a ball from Nichols, retired on Saturday when he had made 11 runs but recovered so well that in the match he scored 116 and so took the chief part in the plucky uphill struggle which India played successfully enough to avoid defeat.

Almost every batsman found care necessary. Mitchell, after a body blow from the second ball of the match, showed admirable defence his straight bat proving of special value against the very fast bowling of Nissar and the varied break of Amar Singh. Mitchell stayed nearly two hours and a half before skying an intended pull. Langridge used his off-drive with effect in the biggest innings of the match and he fell to a high one handed catch in the slips. Jardine showed great steadiness and Valentine drove so hard that their stand put on 71 but England batted all day in scoring 257 for five wickets. Verity, twice missed at cover point, made such good use of his luck that he and Townsend added 70. Besides the retirement of Hussain India lost three wickets for 34 before tea and at 90 Nichols held a low left-handed catch beautifully in the slips. On Sunday morning Hussain and Merchant batted admirably but Verity and Nichols, in a strongly contrasted attack, got the innings over readily enough to cause a follow-on 156 behind. Hussain batted altogether more than three hours. Though mostly on the defensive he made some powerful drives and was again unfortunate to be hit on the fingers by Clark, just before giving mid-off a catch. C. S. Nayudu hit with some freedom and Hussain's dismissal - seventh out at 211 - came just when it seemed as if India would avoid the follow-on.

As it was they began the last day with four men out for 30, their position looking almost hopeless, and not until Hussain went in at the fall of the sixth wicket did the prospect improve.Perhaps Naoomal played the best innings but the stand between C. K. Nayudu and Hussain, which realised 52, really saved India. Soon settling down Hussain hit a 6 and nine 4's while scoring 57 in 85 minutes. C. K. Nayudu withstood the attack for nearly two hours and a half; and C. S. Nayudu showed such patience that during two hours and a quarter he made only four scoring strokes - a 6, two 4's, and a single.