Vijay Hazare passes away

Vijay Samuel Hazare, the great Indian batsman of 40's and 50's passed away today in Mumbai, succumbing to intestinal cancer. In recent days Hazare was forced on to life support and ultimately his time came.

At the age of 31, the right-handed batsman debuted for his country. The game was against England and he scored 31 and 34, batting at number four and then opening the bowling, he got figures of 2/100 and 0/7. Hazare went on to play 29 more Tests for India and scored a total of 2192 runs before his retirement in 1953. His runs came at a healthy average of 47.65 and he scored 7 hundreds and 9 fifties.

A Test bowling average of 61 perhaps did not do Hazare justice to his talent, as he claimed nigh on 600 wickets in his First Class career at an average of 24.61.

Perhaps the crowning achievement of Hazare's career was leading his country to her first Test match win, when the Indians defeated England by an innings 8 runs at Madras in 1952. His contribution to the victory was 20 runs and the wicket of Richard Spooner. In total Hazare led India in 14 Test matches, as they won 1, lost 5 and drew 8.

As much as Hazare accomplished at international level, it was at domestic level where he became a legend, amassing 18740 FC runs over an incredible 32 seasons. An average of 58.38, 60 centuries and 73 fifties added to the impressiveness. Perhaps in his finest form, Hazare once knocked up a series of 264, 81, 97, 248, 59, 309, 101 and 223 in domestic cricket. His highest score was 316 not out, a fair way ahead of his mark in Tests - 164 not out.

It's now more than 51 years since Hazare bowed out of Test cricket against the West Indies in 1953, and a full 89 years since his birth. Vijay Hazare will perhaps never get the acclaim of a Sunil Gavaskar or Sachin Tendulkar, but he played his heart out for India. His statistics are impressive, but not elevated to the category of greatness. Still, one wonders how much more he would have achieved if his Test career started earlier than at 31.

Posted by Liam