The only cricketer to rival Kapil Dev as India's greatest allrounder, Vinoo bowled flatish, though very accurate and surprisingly lively, left-arm spin and could bat as the innings demanded.

He would complete an over in little more than a minute, leaving bewildered batsmen wondering where their next run was coming from.

Virtually unknown before the arrival of Lord Tennyson's 1937/38 tourists he made 376 runs at 63 and took 15 wickets at under 15 in the unofficial "Tests".

And touring England in 1946 he became the only Indian to achieve the double - 1,120 (28.00) runs and 129 wickets (20.76).

At 39 years old he was still India's supreme allrounder, taking 61 wickets on the 1956/57 tour of Australia. In the third Test at Melbourne, he scored 116, becoming India's first centurion against Australia.

Before Ian Botham did so in 21 matches, no one had reached 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in fewer than Vinoo's 23 Tests.