He belonged to an age which is fast disappearing. The late Jack Fingleton wrote this of him when Hazare scored his second century in the Adelaide Test in 1948- "Quiet, modest Vijay Hazare, who has hardly spoken a dozen words on this tour, became an immortal when he hit his second hundred this afternoon."
While, not unnaturally, his century in each innings at Adelaide, and the 309 in the pentagular match are cited as great deeds which of course they were, nobody has cared to mention his batting at Leeds in 1952 against England. In the second innings, Hazare who always batted at no. 4 was having a massage after long days in the field, four wickets fell for 0. Immediately, he donned his pads and went to the wicket at the fall of the fourth wicket to face the fury of Fred Trueman and Bedser. Within minutes Polly Umrigar who was at the other end got out and it was 5 wickets down for 9 runs. Undaunted Hazare batted on and took the score to a somewhat respectable 160 or so, with his own score of near 60 or so. Noted critics and commentators remarked that his innings that day ranked as the pluckiest played by any batsman in a Test.
In the passing away of the great Vijay Hazare, a glorious chapter of Indian cricket has ended. Ihad the rare privelage of having watched him play though at a veryyoung age but nonetheless it was treat which I can remember. It is pointless to make comparisons ofthe past and the present but even then he was easily among the "tallest" Indians who strode on the field of cricket both at home and abroad. May God grant eternal peace to his departed soul.
