Mohammad Nissar

Mohammad Nissar Biography

He bowled the first ball for India in Test cricket, at a pace that shook the world, making them sit up in their plush Long Room and take notice. Within the first few minutes on that day at Lord’s, Mohammad Nissar had Herbert Sutcliffe playing on to a scorching in-swinging yorker, and soon after sent the off-stump of Percy Holmes in a spectacular cartwheel with one that came back viciously. England’s score read 11 for 2. Just 10 days ago, the Yorkshire openers had added 555 against Sussex.

Nissar took 5 for 93 that day, but limited experience and batting ability of the side could not convert the excellent start into a win against the seasoned Englishmen. However, the fast bowling partnership he formed with Amar Singh would turn out to be one of the best ever — arguably the best — produced by India. On that 1932 tour, Nissar swung and cut the ball at fiery pace to take 71 wickets at 18 apiece.

When the English team visited India the next year, Nissar picked up five more at Bombay Gymkhana. While he could not reproduce the heroics with the ball in the home Tests that followed, he captured 9 for 117 at Banaras for the Vizzy XI as the visitors crashed to their only defeat of the tour. He was back to his supreme form against Jack Ryder’s Australians. From the four unofficial ‘Tests’ played in 1935, he scalped 32.

Nissar’s final hour of glory in international cricket came in his last Test at The Oval in 1936. A double-hundred by Wally Hammond and a century by Stan Worthington had seen England coasting at 422 for 3. This was when Nissar came back to pick up four wickets in five overs, bowling Hammond and Worthington, and getting Gubby Allen and Hedley Verity snicking behind, ending the innings with 5 for 120.

More than half his international wickets were either bowled or leg before wicket, a testimony to the sheer pace at which he came at batsmen.

He continued to play First-class cricket, helping Southern Punjab to reach the Ranji Trophy final in 1938-39. The next year, his partner-in-arms Amar Singh succumbed to typhoid at the young age of 29. In a cricketing sense, Nissar passed away as well, never really producing the pace or performance of his early years.

He is remembered as the first genuine pace bowler of India, and remains one of the very few of that category produced by the country.

Arunabha Sengupta

Mohammad Nissar Batting & Fielding Averages

Career

Avg

100s

50s

Test

ODIs

T20s

World Cup

Mohammad Nissar Bowling Averages

Career	M	B	R	W	Avg	EC	SR	5WI	10WM	BBI	BBM
Test	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
ODIs	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
T20s	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--		--