Sports

Pataudi the man that was – Fact file

* Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was Born in 1941 in Bhopal.

* He was son of former India captain and the eighth Nawab of Pataudi, Iftikhar Ali Khan, who also played for England, and Sajida Sultan, second daughter of the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal.

* Pataudi spent his formative years at Welham Boys’ School in Dehradun.

* He then went to England like his father to study at Lockers Park Prep School in Hertfordshire, Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford.

* He lost his father on his 11th birthday while Iftikhar was playing polo.

* Pataudi lost the vision of his right eye after a car crash in England in 1961.

* He made international debut a few months later against the formidable Ted Dexter’s England in Delhi, in December 1961.

* He scored his maiden Test century against England on January 10, 1962, in Chennai.

* On March 23, 1962, at the age of 21 years and 79 days, he became the youngest cricketer to captain any country in a Test match.

* He captained India to their first ever overseas series win, when they defeated New Zealand 3-1 in 1967-68.

* Pataudi’s highest score – 203 not out – was against England at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi in his 10th Test match in 1964.

* He was conferred the Arjuna Award in 1964.

* He emulated his father in 1968 when he was named the Wisden Cricketer of the Year.

* In 1969, Pataudi got married to top Bollywood actress Sharmila Tagore after a four-year courtship.

* They have three children Saif Ali Khan, Saba Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan.

* Pataudi retired from international cricket in 1975 after playing 46 Test matches and scored 2,793 runs at an average of 34.91.

* He led the country in 40 of his 46 Tests and guided the team to nine wins.

* He was arrested for killing a blackbuck in Jhajjar, Rajasthan, in 2005. He spent a few days in jail before being released on bail. The case was not settled when he died.

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