The Indian national cricket team toured England in the 1946 season and played 29 first-class fixtures with 11 wins, 4 defeats and 14 draws.
England won the series 1–0 with two matches drawn, their success largely due to the impact of debutant Alec Bedser who took 22 wickets in his first two Tests.
In its review of the 1946 season, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack remarked that "the Indians were the first postwar touring side, and although they were outplayed in the Tests they raised the status and the dignity of their country's sport".
[1] The state of the weather was mentioned by John Arlott who wrote his first match report for The Guardian when the Indians played Worcestershire at New Road, Worcester on 4, 6 and 7 May.
In January 1946, the Imperial Cricket Conference had drawn up a seven-year programme of Test series with India selected to make the first postwar tour of England.
[4] India used a 16-man squad captained by Iftikhar Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi, who was one of the few players to represent two countries in Test cricket, having played for England during the 1930s.
The team was largely inexperienced at international level as only six players had made their Test debuts before the Second World War: Pataudi, Amarnath, Hindlekar, Merchant, Mushtaq Ali and Nayudu.
In the first Test, which India lost heavily, the team had six debutants: Abdul Hafeez, Gul Mohammad, Hazare, Mankad, Modi and Shinde.
It was seven years since England had last played a Test match and there was a winter tour of Australia to come so the selectors wanted to look at a large number of players to try and quickly establish the best possible team.
India's six debutants were Gul Mohammad, Abdul Hafeez, Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad, Rusi Modi and Sadu Shinde.
The rest of the team were captain Pataudi, who was making his first appearance for India; Lala Amarnath, Dattaram Hindlekar, Vijay Merchant and C. S. Nayudu.
India won the toss and batted first but, with heavy rain having fallen, this proved anything but an advantage as the ground was wet throughout the first day to make run-scoring difficult.
[76] Wisden says that Bedser maintained an admirable length at fast-medium pace, using swerve or spin to turn the ball appreciably from the sodden turf.
India made three changes with Syed Mushtaq Ali, Chandra Sarwate and Ranga Sohoni coming in for Gul Mohammad, Shinde and Nayudu.
The second Test was drawn but it had a tense climax as India's last wicket pair Sohoni and Hindlekar held on for the final 13 minutes of play to secure the draw with England 125 runs ahead.
The weather relented on the final day and play began on time in bright sunshine, England soon disposing of the remaining Indian wickets.
Bedser had a devastating spell after the tea break, reducing India to 138 for nine with only thirteen minutes left, but Sohoni and Hindlekar managed to hold on for the draw.
Play on the first day (a Saturday) could not begin until five o'clock and Wisden commented that it would not have been attempted then "but for the crowds of people who waited around the walls from early in the morning".