Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Apoorva Kumar Sengupta (3 August 1938 – 14 September 2013) was an Indian army officer and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played in one

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

in 1959. According to

Christopher Martin-Jenkins Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins, Order of the British Empire, MBE (20 January 1945 – 1 January 2013), also known as CMJ, was a British cricket journalist and a President of Marylebone Cricket Club, MCC. He was also the longest serv ...

, he was a "very good allrounder, right hand opening batsman, leg-break and googly bowler and slip field".

Cricket career

Sengupta's only Test appearance came in the middle of a major controversy in Indian cricket. Ghulam Ahmed announced his retirement a few days before the

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

Test against the West Indies in 1958–59, and

Vijay Manjrekar Vijay Laxman Manjrekar (26 September 1931 – 18 October 1983) was an Indian cricketer who played 55 Tests. He represented several teams (Andhra, Bengal, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh) in his first-class career. A small man, h ...

dropped out due to an injury. This led to a confusing situation where

Jasu Patel Jasubhai Motibhai Patel (26 November 1924 – 12 December 1992) was an off-spinner who played Test cricket for India. Early days At the age of ten, Patel broke his arm falling from a tree. Because of this injury he had a jerky bowling action, ...

, A. G. Kripal Singh, Manohar Hardikar and Sengupta were all considered. The captain

Polly Umrigar Pahlan Ratanji "Polly" Umrigar (28 March 1926 – 7 November 2006) was an Indian cricketer. He played in the Indian cricket team (1948 – 1962) and played first-class cricket for Bombay and Gujarat. Umrigar played mainly as a middle-order ba ...

wanted Hardikar but he could not catch the last flight from

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. Sengupta, originally a standby, was Umrigar's next choice but when R.K. Patel, the President of the

BCCI The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

, insisted that he pick Jasu Patel, Umrigar resigned the night before the match. In the end, Sengupta and Kripal Singh played. Sengupta opened the innings as

Nari Contractor Nariman Jamshedji "Nari" Contractor (; born 7 March 1934) is a former Indian cricketer, who was a left-handed opening batsman. Contractor made his debut in 1955 and played till 1962 when his professional career ended after a serious injury. He w ...

was unwell. He was caught at second slip off a bouncer by

Wes Hall Sir Wesley Winfield Hall (born 12 September 1937) is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bow ...

for 1. In the second innings while making only 8, he played a late cut and a drive off

Roy Gilchrist Roy Gilchrist (28 June 1934 – 18 July 2001) was a West Indian cricketer who played 13 Tests for the West Indies in the 1950s. He was born in Saint Thomas, Jamaica and died of Parkinson's disease in St Catherine, Jamaica at the age of 67. Gi ...

. He had made his first-class debut earlier in that season for

Services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

against the West Indian touring team, scoring 32 and 100

not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

. According to Dicky Rutnagur, he displayed a stern defence and marvellous temperament. He scored from deflections, and drives through cover and extra cover but lacked the strength. In the second innings, Sengupta struggled to spot the

googly A googly, also known as a wrong'un or Bosie, is a type of delivery in the game of cricket bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is different from the normal delivery for a leg-spin bowler in that it is turning the other way. The googly is ...

Garfield Sobers The Right Excellent Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, NH, AO, OCC (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a Barbadian born former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowle ...

. He was run out at the bowler's end by

Rohan Kanhai Rohan Bholalall Kanhai (born 26 December 1935) is a Guyanese former cricketer of Indo-Guyanese origin, who represented the West Indies in 79 Test matches. He is widely considered to be one of the best batsmen of the 1960s. Kanhai featured on ...

. After the umpire Bapu Joshi gave Sengupta out, Kanhai withdrew the appeal as he did not have the ball in his hand when he broke the wicket. Sengupta completed his hundred in 270 minutes. This was one of the only three hundreds that West Indies conceded in the 16 match tour. Two months later he took 6 for 32 against

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

on his first appearance in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

. These two performances had led to his selection for the Test match. He continued to play first-class cricket for ten years. His only other hundred was 146 not out scored against

in the 1959-60 Ranji Trophy semi-final.

Military career

Sengupta served as an officer in the Indian army and was awarded

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

and

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM, ) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime ...

. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant General (3 star). He was also selected to serve as the defense attache for USA and Canada, based in Washington DC. After retiring from the Indian army, he lived with his wife Meena Sengupta in New Delhi. They had two children, Amitabh and Surojit Sengupta. Sengupta died in the R&R hospital in New Delhi on 14 September 2013.Obituary in the Times of India (accessed 3 August 2014)
/ref>

References

External links

ESPNcricinfo profile

"Apoorva Sengupta: A baffling Test career"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sengupta, Apoorva Sengupta, AK Sengupta, AK Sengupta, AK Sengupta, AK Sengupta, AK Services cricketers North Zone cricketers Indian generals Cricketers from Lucknow