Chennai: C. D. Gopinath, the last surviving member of the Indian team that secured the country’s first-ever Test victory, has passed away here at the age of 96. He was the oldest living Indian Test cricketer and the second oldest in the world, behind Australia’s Neil Harvey.
Born on March 1, 1930, Gopinath represented India in eight Test matches and played 83 first-class games for India and Madras. He made his Test debut against England at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium in 1951 and played his final Test against Australia at Eden Gardens in 1960.
Batting at No. 8, he made an immediate impact by scoring an unbeaten 50 in his debut innings—his highest Test score—and followed it up with 42 in the second innings, helping India draw the match.
Later in that series, during the fifth Test in Chennai, India achieved a historic milestone by recording their first-ever Test win, defeating England by an innings and eight runs. Gopinath contributed 35 runs in his only innings of that match.
