OTD: India's first lethal pace bowler Mohammad Nissar was born

August 1, 1910, the birthday of Mohammad Nissar, the first lethal fast bowler India ever produced. The well-built man from Punjab could move the ball in both ways and cut the ball with precision. But the amount of pace he could generate was the main difference from other bowlers.

Only with his luxury speed, Nissar clinched multiple wickets. Of his 25 Test victims, 13 were bowled or leg-before, testimony enough to his sheer pace. His partnership with Amar Singh clicked instantly, and their combination got the legendary status.

During India's maiden Test at Lord's in 1932, Mohammad Nissar dismantled the top batting order of the home team. He plunged the crucial wickets of Holmes and Sutcliffe and ended the innings bagging 5 wickets for 93 runs. The fast bowler produced some shocking numbers in the trip. The Hoshiarpur-born concluded that tour with a total of 71 wickets and an average of 18.09.

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The pacer who stepped into the field to creat records 

The MCC tour in 1933-34 witnessed another madness from the lethal pacer. Against the in-form opponent, he took another 5-wicket figure in the bag. The heroic spell arrived during the inaugural Test in India at the Brabourne Stadium. The pacer's destruction caught Jack Ryder's Australians by surprise on their tour of India in the winter of 1935. The fiery bowler cleared a whopping thirty-two wickets in four tests at 13 runs, which explained how much damage he caused. On his last test assignment, which was against England, he yielded four wickets in five overs.

But he continued his run in the domestic circuit with Southern Punjab. During the Ranji Trophy final of the 1938-39 edition, the speed star snatched 17 wickets at 11.94.