On this day: India's Kambli hits second consecutive Test double-hundred

The Mumbai-born left-hand batsman followed up his double-hundred against England with a 227 against Zimbabwe at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.

Vinod Kambli accepts the applause after reaching his century

Vinod Kambli goes back-to-back

It's an illustrious club that he is part of. Only the third batsman to score consecutive double-hundreds in Test cricket, Kambli features alongside Sir Donald Bradman, Virat Kohli, Kumar Sangakkara, Wally Hammond, and Michael Clarke.

On March 15, 1993, the left-hander hit the second of his Test double-hundreds against Zimbabwe at the Feroz Shah Kotla (now Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi. It followed his match-winning 224 against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai (then Bombay). Both his knocks set up innings victories for India.

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Kambli batted at No. 3 after captain Mohammad Azharuddin won the toss and chose to bat first. He walked in early at the fall of Manoj Prabhakar's wicket and shared 100-run partnerships with Navjot Sidhu, Sachin Tendulkar and Azharuddin. He was out for 227 off 301 balls.

The first-ever Test

On March 15, 1877, Melbourne Cricket Ground hosted the first-ever Test between Australia and England. It was a timeless Test that concluded on March 19 with Australia sealing a 45-run victory. Australian opener Charles Bannerman became the first Test centurion with his 285-ball 165, in his team's total of 245, in the first innings before retiring hurt.

Karnataka beats Bombay for third Ranji title

A Brijesh Patel-led Karnataka edged Bombay by 17 runs in the first innings of the 1983 Ranji Trophy final to win the title. Batting first, Bombay posted 534 with Chandrakant Pandit scoring 157. In reply, Karnataka, with Roger Binny scoring 115, made 551 to take control of the title clash.

Bombay, though, put pressure on Karnataka by scoring quickly in its second innings and setting a target. Sandip Patil made an unbeaten 121 as Bombay made 213 for four in 27 overs before declaring. Karnataka managed to save the match thanks to Sadanand Viswanath's 77 as it finished on 179 for five, 18 short of its target.

Famous birthdays on March 15

1920 - Birth year of former India field hockey player Ranganathan Francis, who was part of the team that won the Olympic gold at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Summer Games

1953 - Birth year of former West Indies fast bowler Colin Croft, who was part of the West Indies' 1979 World Cup-winning team