CD Gopinath, last living member of India's first Test win, dies in Chennai

Former India cricketer CD Gopinath died in Chennai on Thursday, April 9, at the age of 96. Gopinath was the last surviving member of India’s first Test win against England in Chennai in 1952.

Gopinath was also India’s oldest ever Test cricketer and the second oldest in the world after Australia’s Neil Harvey (aged 97). The right-handed batter played eight Tests and 83 first-class matches for India and Madras, respectively.

He earned his Test debut against England at the Brabourne Stadium in 1951 and last represented the country against Australia at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 1960. Gopinath impressed with a solid half-century on his Test debut, scoring an unbeaten 50, followed by 42 in the second innings, which helped the team draw the match.

India registered their maiden Test victory in the fifth match of the same series, played at Gopinath’s home ground in Chennai, where he contributed with 35 in the only innings he batted.

Reflecting on the historic win in one of his old interviews, Gopinath revealed how that win was perceived as a turning point in cricket in India

"Some people from the UK came and interviewed me on the Test match that India won for the first time in 1952. I think they were going to write a book or make a video, and I said to them: How can you write a book on one Test match? One season or five Test matches, okay. Why only this Test match? What is there to write so much about?,” Gopinath was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Gopinath's career in numbers

“They said, 'No, we regard that win as a turning point of the cricket history of India.' In one way it is true. And I am very lucky. I had that for India, and I had that for Madras. I asked them: Who else are you interviewing? They said, 'Nobody else, because there's nobody else alive. You are the only one from that team that is there.' I said, 'So I can say anything I want!,” he added.

Gopinath finished his Test career with 242 runs from eight matches (12 innings) at an average of 22 with one half-century to his name. Apart from that, he also scalped one wicket through his right-arm seam bowling. In Ranji Trophy, he scored 2349 runs at an average of 51.06 with a highest score of 234 against Mysore in 1958-59 and even captained Madras for several years.