When he made his debut, Vijay Mehra was the youngest India to play Test cricket - 17 years, 265 days - a record till Maninder Singh broke it in 1982-83. A slightly built right-hand opening batsman, Mehra made only 10 in that match. He improved to 32 in the next Test at New Delhi when he put on 68 runs for the first wicket with Nari Contractor. But then he was forgotten for six years before being brought back for the Test at Calcutta against England in 1961-62. Opening the batting, he scored a courageous 62, continuing to bat after fracturing his right thumb on the first morning. The injury forced him to bat at No. 11 in the second innings and miss the next Test. Touring West Indies in 1962, Mehra played three Tests, his best being another 62 in the fourth Test at Port of Spain when he and Salim Durrani added 144 runs for the second wicket. In the final Test at Kingston he scored a valuable 39. Retaining his place in the next Test against England at Madras almost two years later, Mehra met with only partial success but he and Budhi Kunderan shared first-wicket partnerships of 85 and 59. He played in the next Test at Bombay, scored 9 and 35, and that was the end of his Test career.

In the Ranji Trophy however Mehra had a much better record and scored 3222 runs (37.90) with ten centuries. In a first-class career that stretched for over two decades, Mehra scored 5636 runs (34.36) with 13 centuries. In later years he was active in DDCA admininstration and was also a national selector. In August 2006, he died of a heart attack in Delhi. He was 68.
Partab Ramchand

May 1, 2006

Vijay Mehra takes a break during commentary

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