Mansard Ali Khan Pataudi was born in a family of Nawabs and learnt much about cricket at a young age in England. His father was also a fantastic cricket player.
At the young age of 20, Pataudi made Test debut in Delhi in 1961. He made a scintillating start and within a few minutes of his arrival at the wicket by hitting two lovely boundaries and racing to double figures.
But it was the memorable day of January 10, 1962, when Pataudi batted for two and a half hours and scored 105, which for its skill and courage is acknowledged as one of the finest three-figure knocks ever played in the country.
At the age of 21, he became the youngest captain of India and led the country in 40 Tests. During his captaincy India won 9 Tests and lost 19 while 12 were drawn, which became a record for India.
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As a captain, the West Indies tour of India was a remarkable series for him. The series was levelled 2-2. This was no mean feat considering India was against the mighty West Indies. He played for India in 46 Tests matches and scored 2793 runs with an average of34.48 including his highest score of 203.