M. L. Jaisimha

Who was M. L. Jaisimha?

Motganhalli Laxminarsu Jaisimha was an Indian Test cricketer.

M. L. Jaisimha a right-handed batsman who was noted for his style on and off the field. He bowled medium pace, often opening the bowling for India, and off breaks and was a brilliant fielder. But it was the way he went about things that caught the eye. Partab Ramchand wrote after Jaisimha's death that "his slim figure, which he maintained till his last day, the boyish good looks, the inimitable gait, the trademark silk shirt and scarf, the sleeves buttoned at the wrist or the collar turned up - all these attracted immediate attention." Indian Cricket called him a 'cultivated stylist'.

Jaisimha made his first-class debut at the age of 15 scoring 90 for Hyderabad against Andhra Pradesh. After two indifferent seasons, he cracked hundreds against Madras and Mysore, the premier teams in the South Zone. 20 wickets in Ranji matches in the same season found him a place in the side that toured England in 1959. The debut at Lord's was disastrous, but his next two Tests won him notice. In the final Test against Australia in 1959/60 at Calcutta, he went into bat towards the end of the day and finished on 20* on the second. He started his second innings just before close on third, batted throughout the fourth scoring only 59 runs and was out on the final day for 74. This made him the first batsman to bat on all five days of a Test match. At Kanpur against Pakistan two years later, he batted through a whole day for just 54 runs. This innings which lasted 505 minutes for 99 runs ironically ended when he attempted a quick single to complete the hundred.