Who was the first Indian for whom the Melbourne Cricket Ground stood in silence? Not a cricketer, but perhaps the first non-British leader accorded such an honour

Writing astir the India-Australia cricket rivalry, successful his publication Indian Summers, edited extracts of which appeared successful the Sydney Morning Herald, Gideon Haigh, penned, “In airy of his achievements (at Adelaide), Hazare was excused India’s adjacent fixture, successful Mildura against Victorian Country. But it was successful that improbable mounting that the Indians learned the stunning quality of the nonaccomplishment of their ain nationalist guru. On the mode to a late-afternoon supplication gathering successful Delhi, Mahatma Gandhi had been changeable by a Hindu extremist, Nathuram Godse. The cricket team’s manager, Pankaj Gupta, described it arsenic a “national catastrophe”,” Haigh wrote.

During the 5th Test betwixt Australia and India successful 1947/48 some teams observed a minutes soundlessness for Mahatma Gandhi connected the opening day. It was besides Bradman’s past Test lucifer successful Australia #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/L3gt8P0DBR

— Melbourne Cricket Ground (@MCG) December 19, 2018

The manager would study his players arsenic grief-stricken, the extract recalls, and Gupta having said: “We person been stunned. None of america could get immoderate slumber past night. We conscionable sat astir sadly listening to the All-India radio. Some of america wept astatine the news.”

The extract recalled the squad being truthful shaken, “that determination was thought of calling disconnected the tour.” But the Indians continued onto the 2nd Test of the circuit astatine Melbourne aft the New Years fixture. On February 6th, 1948, the MCG somberly roseate successful unison to wage tribute to the top Indian to locomotion this earth, a week aft his death. No non-Britisher had been honoured frankincense successful Australia unyil then.

Haigh writes, “In the event, the Fifth Test successful Melbourne was preluded by a minute’s soundlessness for the Mahatma – possibly the archetypal clip that the decease of a non-British person had been truthful honoured successful Australia. “The Indian players seemed to suffer bosom successful the last game,” thought Bradman – possibly it is nary wonder.”

The February 6-10 lucifer of 1948 was mislaid by India by an innings and 177 runs. Vinoo Mankad struck a 111 successful India’s archetypal essay, responding to Australia’s 575/8 declared, adjacent arsenic Hazare (74) and Dattu Phadkar (56) struck fractional tons arsenic India made 331. But nary Indian crossed 17, with lone 4 successful treble digits, successful the 2nd innings arsenic the grieving squad looked to caput home.