Domestic Cricket
Merchant was born in Mumbai, then Bombay, into a wealthy family in 1911. He was an "outstanding college cricketer" who captained Sydenham College, Bombay while studying there; his success for Sydenham led to selection for Hindus cricket team during the 1929 Bombay Quadrangular. He also continued to play for Sydenham and in 1931 he set the record in Bombay inter-collegiate cricket by scoring 504 runs and taking 29 wickets. His continued success in domestic cricket resulted in the call to the Indian cricket team to play against the visiting English team at Bombay Gymkhana, which was also the first Test to be played on Indian soil. Throughout his career, Merchant was involved in a rivalry with the other great Indian batsman of the era, Vijay Hazare. In the Bombay Pentangular match against the Rest, he bested Hazare's record of 242, set just in the previous match against the Muslims, with 250 not out. Hazare responded with a 309 out of a team total of 387 in the next innings, in what is generally held the greatest innings ever played in India before 1947. Merchant topped it by scoring 359 against Maharashtra in Ranji trophy.
Read more about this topic: Vijay Merchant
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