CHENNAI: India’s climb to the No 1
spot in the ICC Test rankings came one win after its 100th Test victory, a
journey that began on February 10, 1952, at Chepauk when the last England wicket
fell to a catch by CD Gopinath.

‘We used to get Rs 250 per Test then’

Nearly six decades later, Gopinath is the sole surviving member of
the playing 11 which gave India its first Test victory.

The big
names – Vinoo Mankad, Polly Umrigar, Pankaj Roy, Ghulam Ahmed, Lala Amarnath and
Vijay Hazare – have all departed. After a brief international career as a
batsman and later a selector, the Chennai resident too lives a quiet
life.

But Gopinath has no regrets. “Why should anybody call or
congratulate me? I don’t expect any such thing. Probably, people don’t know that
I’m still alive,” he says with a smile.