Rusi Modi

Rusi Modi Biography

Had there been no Vijay Merchant or Vijay Hazare, Rusi Modi would undoubtedly have been remembered as the greatest Indian batsmen of the 1940s. He was one of those men who combined elegance and accumulation, who was loved by teammates and spectators alike.

Modi’s 7,529 First-Class runs came at 53. In Ranji Trophy his numbers (2,196 runs at 82) were phenomenal. From 10 Tests he scored 736 at an excellent 46. In 1944-45, when Ranji Trophy was in its nascent stages, Modi had an amazing run of 160, 210*, 245*, 31*, 113, 98, and 151, which amounted to 1,008 runs from 5 matches.

Modi was the first to reach the four-figure mark in a single Ranji Trophy season; as if that was not enough, sandwiched between his first two innings was 215 in the Pentangular, against Europeans. When the Australians Services XI came over next season, Modi scored 203 at Madras — the first double-hundred by an Indian in a representative match.

He top-scored with 57 not out on Test debut, at Lord’s, but his greatest success story came in the Test series against West Indies at home. He scored 560 from 5 Tests; it was due to the superlative efforts of Modi and Hazare (543) that India managed to keep the margin of defeat to 0-1. India failed repeatedly in their first innings, but were bowled out twice in only one of the five Tests.

His form deserted him inexplicably after that, as a result of which he was dropped from the Test side. He continued to play domestic cricket, and became a popular cricket writer.

Aptly, Modi died in the Brabourne Stadium Clubouse at 71.

Abhishek Mukherjee

Rusi Modi Batting & Fielding Averages

Career

Avg

100s

50s

Test

ODIs

T20s

World Cup

Rusi Modi Bowling Averages

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