Indian Universities cricket team

The Indian Universities cricket team played 16 three-day first-class matches, all but one against teams touring India, between October 1949 and December 1975.

Of their 16 first-class matches, Indian Universities lost two (against the New Zealanders in 1955-56 and the West Indians in 1958-59) and drew the other 14. Only a few of the drawn matches came close to achieving a result. Against the Pakistanis in 1952-53, Indian Universities gained a first-innings lead of 248 after Jayasinghrao Ghorpade took 6 for 19 to dismiss the Pakistanis for 92; but rain prevented play on the final day. Against Ceylon in 1964-65, Indian Universities needed 89 to win and finished at 78 for 3 after 20 overs.

The one match that did not take place in India was against Ceylon Board President's XI in Colombo in 1970-71. Sunil Gavaskar top-scored in each innings with 30 and 76 not out, and the Ceylon team, needing 106 for victory, reached 93 for 6 in 18 overs. The Universities team also played five non-first-class matches against university teams on the short tour of Ceylon.

A four-day match between Indian Universities and England A in 1994-95 was ruled not first-class by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, as only one of the Universities team had first-class experience. England A won by 439 runs.

Ghorpade's 6 for 19 in 1952-53 were the best figures for Indian Universities. Ambar Roy's 135 in the 1964-65 match was the highest individual score.

Many Indian Universities players went on to play Test cricket. From the first side in 1949-50, for example, Nana Joshi, Pankaj Roy, Polly Umrigar, Gulabrai Ramchand, Deepak Shodhan and Subhash Gupte played Tests for India. Three of the 1970-71 side (Ashok Gandotra, Mohinder Amarnath and Budhi Kunderan) had already played Test cricket, while another four (Gavaskar, Kenia Jayantilal, Surinder Amarnath and Dilip Doshi) would later do so.

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