Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, one of India’s greatest cricket captains ever and whose flair and acumen inspired a generation of cricketers, passed away here on Thursday after battling a lung infection for the last few months.
The 70-year-old cricketer, one of the country’s early superstars and who was known as ‘Tiger’ in the cricket fraternity, was suffering from interstitial lung disease, a condition in which the passage of oxygen to the two lungs is less than normal.
Pataudi, who lost his right eye because of an accident, played 46 Tests between 1961 and 1975 and was regarded as one of India's greatest captains.
He is survived by his wife Sharmila Tagore, his actor son Saif Ali Khan and two daughters, Soha and Saba Ali Khan. His entire family was at his bedside when the end came at 5.55 pm this evening.
Said S P Byotra of the department of medicine in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where Pataudi was admitted, “His condition had deteriorated since yesterday.
He was suffering from interstitial lung disease (interstitial pneumonitis) which worsens rapidly in spite of the best treatment available.”
Pataudi, the doctor said, was unable to maintain his oxygen level despite maximal treatment. “He continued to remain in the ICU for nearly a month.
He had this disease which had been static since the last three months and worsened very acutely over the last four weeks,” the doctor added.
He was was admitted on August 29 and was conscious till last evening.
Even as they saw Pataudi losing his battle against life, his family members remained calm and composed.
Indian cricket fraternity reacted with shock and sorrow on Pataudi’s demise, describing him as a "great human being" and "shrewd leader" who inspired a generation of players in the country.
| THE LEGEND AT A GLANCE |
| Full Name: Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (Nawab of) |
| Born: January 5, 1941, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh |
| Died: September 22, 2011, Delhi (70 years) |
| Major Teams: India, Delhi, Hyderabad (India), Oxford University, Sussex |
| Batting Style: Right-hand bat |
| Bowling Style: Right-arm medium |
| Education: Winchester |
| Career Timeline |
| December 13, 1961: Debut against England in Delhi, scores 13 |
| January 10, 1962: Maiden century in his third Test, 113 against England in Chennai |
| March 23, 1962: Leads India in his fourth Test, in Barbados, and at 21 is Test cricket’s youngest captain |
| February 12-13, 1964: Career-best score, 203 not out against England in Delhi |
| February-March 1968: Leads India to their first overseas Test win in Dunedin. India go on to win an away series for the first time, beating New Zealand 3-1 |
| January 23, 1975: Final Test-scoring 9 in each innings against West Indies in Mumbai |
| Captaincy | |||||||||||
| 1961/62-1974/75 Test Cricket Captain | 1966 Sussex County Cricket Captain | ||||||||||
| Batting and fielding averages | |||||||||||
| Mat | Ins | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 | 6s | Ct | ||
| Tests | 46 | 83 | 3 | 2793 | 203* | 34.91 | 6 | 16 | 19 | 27 | |
| First cls. | 310 | 499 | 41 | 15425 | 203* | 33.67 | 33 | 75 | 208 | ||
| List A | 7 | 6 | 0 | 210 | 51 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Bowling average | |||||||||||
| Mat | Ins | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | ||
| Tests | 46 | 10 | 132 | 88 | 1 | 1/10 | 1/10 | 88.00 | 4.00 | 132.0 | |
| First cls. | 310 | 1192 | 776 | 10 | 1/0 | 77.60 | 3.90 | 119.2 | |||
| List A | 7 | Source: PTI | |||||||||
