1) Which Tamil Nadu player made his international debut in the 1988-89 West Indies

tour other than Robin Singh (also his international swan song)?
Ans: M. VENKATARAMANA.
Popular answer: W.V.RAMAN
Interesting answer: T.A.SEKHAR
Interesting info:
Ravi Subramanian – His international debut was in the previous series against New
Zealand at the Baroda (Azharuddin's) ODI!

2) Who was the fast bowler who came up with a splendid 5-wicket haul against the
mighty Pakistanis in Pakistan in just his second test (also Tendulkar’s debut series), but
never played a test match again?
Ans: VIVEK RAZDAN.
Intersting info:
Shivakumar. B. K –
• he made his debut straight from MRF academy without playing a ranji match
• his career ended after he broke his fingers in a freak accident while posting a letter in
a postbox.

3) Making debut with him in that series was another fast bowler, who was lucky enough
to play few more tests & ODIs, but now is doing well after having changed his
profession. Name him.
Ans: SALIL ANKOLA.
I remember he had at least one noteworthy performance, a 3-wicket haul against South
Africans in the league match of Hero Cup (later we beat them again in the semis, thanx to
the amazing last over by Sachin)
Many answered Atul Wassan here!!!

4) In the subsequent away series against New Zealand, where Tendulkar almost broke
the world record for the youngest test century, the fast bowler in question 2 got a place,
but another fast bowler from his own state was given preference over him in the test side.
He played a few more test matches, but faded away from the international scene soon; but
later re emerged as a successful commentator.
Ans: ATUL WASSAN.
Many voiced strong protests over him being called “successful commentator”! What I
meant is – in a country where success is measured in terms of the opportunities one gets,
he is successful! If DD is airing matches, Sunny bhai, Ravi Shasthri & Sanju bhai all
become unavailable, thanx to their contracts! So we are left with no option but to put up
with him! I, by no means, claim that he has any class or character as a commentator.

5) Name this Hyderabadi batsman turned all rounder, who played for India as an off
spinner in ODIs in the Caribbean in the next tour in 1997 as a controversial replacement
for injured Javagal Srinath. He retired from first class cricket last year & emigrated to
United States. His sister too has represented India in cricket!!
Ans: NOEL DAVID
I had read that Neetu David, often referred to as the “Bishen Bedi of women’s cricket”
was his sister, though I failed to get a confirmation of this on the net! Few mentioned her
to be his sister as well in the answers! Apologies for the same, for making an instant quiz
like this based on memory than facts! Leaving that out, the rest of the facts hold good &
hence the question stands! I would be grateful if someone could clarify this!
Some answered Vijay Bhardwaj here!

6) In the same series two highly successful fast bowlers in domestic cricket, both of
South Indian origin, together (one with a five-wicket haul) wrecked West Indies for a
meager total at Bridgetown (but the small target was messed up by the batsmen) along
with Venkatesh Prasad, but sadly faded away from the international scene soon. Name
both of them.
Ans: ABEY KURUVILLA (5-wicket-haul) & DODDA GANESH!
I said South Indian origin & not South Indians specifically bcoz though originally from
Kerala, Abey had represented Bombay in Ranji Trophy.
DAVID JOHNSON was a very popular answer here!!!

7) When India won the inaugural Asia Cup in Sharjah under Sunil Gavaskar (who
incidentally sported a big moustache during the same), a chief contributor was our wicket
keeper – opening batsman, who never made it big later. Name him.
Ans: SURINDER KHANNA.
He played a fair bit of veterans’ cricket as well for India.
Most answered SADANAND VISWANATH here, though he came into the scene little
later!

8) This fast bowler from Tamil Nadu was expected to be our secret weapon in India’s
disastrous tour of Australia under Tendulkar, which expectedly was not to be as Agarkar
was preferred over him for the tests & he was sent back before the ODIs. And we never
heard of him again…. Name him.
Ans: T. KUMARAN.
I don’t think he is even in the Tamil Nadu team now!
Few answered TINU YOHANNAN here.
9) In the same series, who opened the innings along with Sadagopan Ramesh (who was
more or less established by then) riding on his good performance against the Kiwis in the
previous home series?
Ans: DEVANG GANDHI
Many painted vivid portraits of how he had fared miserably against McGrath & co.
Popular answer: S. S. DAS.
Some answered MSK Prasad & VVS Laxman here; I think what happened was Gandhi &
Ramesh opened in the first two tests; Ramesh then broke his finger & Gandhi was
dropped, which led to MSK Prasad & VVS Laxman opening in the last test at Sydney
where Laxman cracked that fantastic 167 at almost run-a-ball.

10) This specialist opening batsman, riding on some outstanding performances back
home, made it to the Indian side, but his debut was unfortunately in the “unofficial” third
test against South Africa after the Mike Denness massacre. He was recalled to the 14 one
more time later, but never played! Who?
Ans: CONNOR WILLIAMS
Many pointed out that he later played for Railways.
Mike Denness incident, to me, was the classical example of “RACISM IN
INTERNATIONAL CRICKET” where South Asian players always found themselves
hard done by, while their white counterparts often got away despite being involved in
more serious offences! I clearly remember Pollock shouting longer than any Indian player
in that test & successfully claiming the wicket of Das despite a big inside edge! BARRY
JERMAINE ignoring ALLAN DONALD’s verbal abuse of Dravid was another
rexample!

11) His Ranji team mate & fellow Christian had earlier made his debut in the short
lived Toronto Sahara series against West Indies (organized hastily as Indian Govt refused
to let India play Pakistan in unconventional venues). He played few more games
including in the ODI tri series against Pakistan & Australia in Australia, where he got run
out on more than one occasions; but never lived up to the potential. Who?
Ans: JACOB MARTIN.
Interesting answers: DAVID JOHNSON,

12) M. S. Dhoni is the seventh wicket keeper to play test cricket for India after the
selectors’ policy of “Come what may; no Nayan Mongia” (one more in Dravid if you take
ODIs). His immediate predecessors were Parthiv Patel & Dinesh Kaarthik. Name the first
four (0.25 marks each).
Ans: I clearly made a mistake here! The last time NAYAN MONGIA donned gloves for
India was in the historic Laxman test against Australia at Calcutta. So what I needed was
only the names of people who were tried out since then! And there were only THREE;
not four as I had wrongly mentioned in the question. They were SAMEER DIGHE,
DEEP DASGUPTA & AJAY RATRA. I had VIJAY DAHIYA too in my mind when I
framed the question, but later discovered that he played his only test series before that
Australian series. So I have given ¼ each for two names & full one mark if all the three
are correct! APOLOGIES AGAIN!!!
There were THREE more if you include the period when Mongia was dropped for the
first time & they were SABA KARIM, MSK PRASAD & VIJAY DAHIYA.
Some included VIJAY YADAV too; he was more or less Mongia’s contemporary!!!

13) This fast bowler, sharing his first name with a Basu Chatterjee film, was selected
originally for the last Australian tour where we drew the series, but had to drop out due to
injury in the last minute making way for the grand entry of Irfan Pathan. Name him.
Ans: AVISHKAR SALVI.
Few pointed out that it was L BALAJI, who replaced Salvi for the tour! I perfectly agree
with that & what I meant in the question was that had Salvi been on the bus, he would’ve
been preferred over a raw Pathan for the final test!

14) Who was the first Baroda left arm seamer to play in tests for India, whose only
claim to fame unfortunately is an ugly incident in domestic cricket involving him &
another batsman who later was killed on the cricket field, where the former chased the
latter to the boundary with a stump?
Ans: RASHID PATEL.
Few answered RAKESH PATEL.

15) This left arm spinner & useful lower order batsman, shared his first name with a
great Bengali-Hindi actor who played the lead role in Sathyajith Ray’s last film, made his
international debut at a pretty old age (30+) against Bangladesh at Sharjah in 1995,
played a few ODIs & then faded away. Name him.
Ans: UTPAL CHATTERJEE.

16) This left arm spinning all rounder played the longest for India of all players in
question today, had the misfortune of not having bowled a single ball in his test debut
(Ganguly – Dravid debut series) thanks to a broken finger & his career highlight was an
outstanding spell of 10-6-6-5 against the South Africans in the LG cup in Nairobi.
Identify him.
Ans: SUNIL JOSHI.

17) In the same series, one of his Ranji team mates also made his successful debut.
Taken primary following his Bradmanesque batting achievements in domestic cricket, he
proved his prowess as a true all rounder, excelling in batting, fielding & bowling. He too
flattered to deceive & after playing a few ODIs & test matches, soon faded away from the
international scene (despite an excellent bowling average of around 19 & a strike rate of
23 IN ODIs), though still active at the domestic level. Name him.
Ans: VIJAY BHARADWAJ.

18) In the above series, who captained India?

Ans: AJAY JADEJA.
A pointed out that he was the person who had played the longest for India of all the
players in question in this quiz, the credit which was wrongly bestowed upon Sunil Joshi
earlier! I accept the mistake! What I meant was – he played the longest among the
cricketers featured in the biographical questions in this quiz!

19) This left arm spinner, who boasts of the best ever figures in a first class limited
overs game in India, had a successful beginning in ODIs in the two tri series also
involving Australia in 1998, at home & Sharjah. After along disappearance from
international scene, he was brought back for the first test against Australia at Mumbai in
2001 & was dumped unceremoniously after India’s heavy loss, never to play international
cricket again. Who?
Ans: RAHUL SANGHVI.
The performance in question here was 8 – 15 against Himachal, if I remember right!
Popular answer: NILESH KULKARNI.

20) This unlikely opening bowling duo making their debut along with one of the
players in Question 6 bowled brilliantly restricting Pakistan under 200 many a time in the
Toronto series. Both played test cricket too, but not for long & despite excellent
performance in domestic cricket, never got the ‘holy’ nod again. Name both of them, one
of whom incidentally was the first from his state to represent India.
Ans: DEBASHISH MOHANTY (first to represent Orissa) & HARVINDER SINGH.
Some answered ABEY KURUVILLA.

21) This fast bowler was technically the first from his state to represent India; his father
was an Asian long jump champion, whose record stood the test of time for almost two
decades. Name both father & son.
Ans: TINU YOHANNAN & T.C.YOHANNAN.
Many forgot to mention the father’s name, for which I have taken 0.5 mark!
Intersting info:
NASIMUL HAQUE (about Yohannan) –
• 1st asian to jump more than 8 mtrs in long jump.
• He broke his knees when he jumped beyond the sandpit and never came back.

22) This captain of the India under 15 world cup winning side & the son of a former
Punjab Ranji player represented India in a few ODIs as an all rounder, but soon was
never to be heard off! He is actively back in domestic cricket after an injury lay off & is a
potential all rounder for the country at least in ODIs. Who?
Ans: REETINDER SINGH SODHI, son of Mahesh Inder Singh.
Some added that he is known as “Rattlesnake”.
Few argued that he was overrated & that his days as an Indian player are over!!!

23) This hard hitting Tamil Nadu (& later Goa) batsman played a few ODIs, where he
was expected to be a good foil for his hard hitting team mate, Shrikkanth, whom he often
outscored when they opened together in domestic cricket. He too didn’t make it big, but
later became a national selector.
Ans: V.B.CHANDRASEKHAR.
Interesting answers: ATUL BEDADE (from TN?),AJAY SHARMA!!!

24) This left arm spinner first came into international reckoning with a 5-wicket hall for
the Indian junior team against the mighty West Indians, including the wicket of Viv
Richards cheaply. He made his debut against the same opposition in their next visit along
with a certain Narendra Hirwani. After a long absence during which he cracked a triple
hundred for his Ranji side & shared a record partnership, he was recalled for the home
series against South Africans, where he did ok! But the next South African tour ended his
career. Who?
Ans: W.V.RAMAN.

25) In that series, this North Zone opener was chosen to partner the batsman in
Question 24, despite his poor debut against England in England (same series where
bowler in Question 16 made his debut). He too had a disaster of a series; & never made it
big. His brother-in-law, who started his career as a batsman for the Ranji team of the
player in Question 24, also played a few tests & ODIs as an off spinner and has
represented six teams in Ranji Trophy. Identify both the brothers-in-law.
Ans: VIKRAM RATHORE & ASHISH KAPOOR.
I made a mistake here too - Ashish had represented only FIVE states in Ranji (cricinfo)!
The FIVE states Ashish Kapoor has represented are: Tamil Nadu (many pointed out that
he is back at where it all began), Punjab, Himachal (along with his B-I-L), Rajasthan &
Tripura!I thought he had represented Assam too!
AJAY SHARMA & NIKHIL CHOPRA were popular alternatives for Ashish Kapoor.

1) The victory of a German boxer over a much-celebrated black boxer was hailed
by Hitler as a proof of the superiority of the white German race. Who were the
two boxers?
- MAX SCHMELING’s defeat of JOE LOUIS; but Louis wrested back the crown
not long
after.
2) In the book, “ The Seven Percent Solution”, who treats Sherlock Holmes for
his cocaine addiction?
- SIGMUND FREUD.
3) On whose life was Somerset Maughm’s “The Moon & Six Pence” based?
- PAUL GAUGIN, famous artist and mate of Van Gokh.
4) This church in Kerala is unique in that it serves “paal payasam”, the sweet
delicacy as ‘prasaadam’. Identify the church.
- KUDAMALOOR church near Kottayam. This tradition was instituted by the
famous
Chempakasseri House.
5) The controversy regarding last year’s Arjuna awards (when Milkha rejected the
lifetime achievement award bestowed on him) revolved around a certain
RACHNA
GOVIL, a SAI official & a little known sportsperson, who too received the
“Lifetime Achievement Award” along with legends like Milkha Singh. What was
her
achievement in sports that propelled her to this award?
- 3000m national record holder & national champion in 1981 and bronze medal
winner at a 5-nation invitation meet in 1981;
- Winner of the Allahabad Intl Marathon in 1985;
- National Shooting Champion & record holder in 1997.
Not too bad, right? Good enough for Arjuna, but not quite for lifetime
achievement award.
6) In painting parlance, what is ‘SFUMATO’?
- The style of using smoky dark light as by da Vinci in MONALISA. (Word
meaning
smoke)
7) “CHITY CHITY BANG BANG” was one of the most popular children’s
musicals ever
made. Who was the author?
- IAN FLEMING, then author of Bond thrillers.
8) If you are specifically looking for a shop that displays the ‘Pt’ sign, what
are you proposing to buy?
- Platinum jewellery; displayed by authorized retailers of PGI (Platinum Guild
International)
9) What is the highest ever individual ranking an Indian has achieved in the ATP
rankings since its inception in 1973?
- THIRTEEN (13)- VIJAY AMRITRAJ.
10) Who participates in the “Black Beauty Contests”?
- STEAM LOCOMOTIVES.
11) Which historic event occurred at 10.30AM on 17th December 1903 at KITTY
HAWK
beach, North Carolina (it lasted precisely 12 seconds)?
- The FIRST air flight- Orville Wright flew his small biplane, “FLYER”.
12) Here’s a list of 4 names in the correct order- Greenland, New Guinea, Borneo
and Medagascar. What is it all about?
- Four biggest islands in order of their size.

13) What’s the sub-unit of the Rouble in Russia?

- COPECK.
14) In the film, “Mr & Mr Fifty-five”, Guru Dutt plays a cartoonist. Which noted
person actually drew the cartoons, which his character drew in the film? (not
“Aar par” as I had wrongly mentioned in the question & rightly pointed out by
most of you)
- BAL THACKERAY.
15) For what is Ralph Boston (not) remembered in athletic history?
- His record was broken by Beamon’s historic jump at Mexico in 1968 (the
answer
I was looking for- all mof us talk of Beamon’s ‘historic’ jump; but never
mentions the existing record holder).
- Broke Owens’ 25 year-old record of 8.13 in 1960.
- Triple Olympic medallist in long jump- Gold in 1960; silver in 1964 & bronze
in 1968.
I’ve given full mark for any of these answers.
It’s interesting to know that long jump has had just 3 record holders for around
60 years till Powell broke it!!!
16) Queen Elizabeth became the latest ‘metric martyr’ in UK. Who in England are
called ‘metric martyrs’?
- People reprimanded by the British Trading Standards for not using metric
system for trading. One of the mills in an estate owned by Her Majesty was at
the receiving end recently.(0.5 mark given if only the metric system part was
mentioned)
17) FELICITY LEMON was the secretary to which famous fictional detective?
- HERCULE POIROT (Ram Kumar & Ravi Subramanian add that Lemon
worked for Parker
Pyne b’4 joining Poirot).
18) The Americans call it a ‘Faucet’. What do the British (we too) call it?
- WATER TAP.
19) Reita Faria was the first Indian to win the “Miss World” contest in 1966.
For her ‘Miss India’ contest, she didn’t have a swimsuit and had borrowed it
from the previous year’s winner, who later became more famous than Reita
herself. Who?
- PERSIS KHAMBATTA.
20) What did Pele once describe as “salmon leaping up the falls”?
- Legendary English goalkeeper, Gordon Banks saving his header in the 1970 WC
match, regarded as the greatest ever in the history of WC.
21) Name this Roman general, who defeated Carthagians by not fighting a battle
for ten years, thus frustrating and wearing the opponents out (Clue: often used
in the context of anti-war cries/ connection- GBShaw).
- FABIUS (Fabian society à anti- war movt, in which Shaw & others were
actively
involved).
22) Which South African cricketer recently had a gold coin released by his
country with his picture on it?
- JONTY RHODES- his diving run-out of Inzamam in the 1992 WC depicted (as
pointed out by many of you).
23) Complete the list of FOUR- Rene Lacoste, Jean Borotra….
- JACQUES BRUGNON & HENRY COCHET- the ‘four muskeeters’ of French
Tennis in the
20’s & 30’s. (Many had mentioned the 1929 French Open doubles finals; why
should
that alone be so significant- ANYHOW, 0.5 given; some identified them as “4
muskeeters of French Tennis”, not remembering the names- 0.5 for them too)
24) Which legend designed the mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics?
- SALVADORE DAHLI.
25) What is the essential difference between the ‘WARP’ & the ‘WEFT’ in
weaving
parlance?
- WARP--> moves forwards (vertically); WEFT--> moves sidewards
(horizontally) –
Oodum paavum in Malayalam.