by Abhishek Mukherjee
Less than a year after India became independent, months after Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, Bradman's Invincibles were touring England.

Gandhi had four sons, of whom Devdas was the youngest. An ardent cricket lover, he would later become Managing Editor of Hindustan Times. Then in England for a meeting with Reuters, he was no mood to lose the opportunity of watching Bradman in action.

Unfortunately, he failed to acquire a ticket for the first Test at Trent Bridge. It was a packed house. Desperate, he reached out to his contacts at Fleet Street to acquire a complimentary pass.

But the enormity of the occasion meant that he failed to find a hotel in Nottingham. So, as Miller and Johnston were busy rolling England over for 165 (they were 74/8 at one stage), he had been running from one hotel to another. Then he had a brainwave.

He met the warden at Nottingham County Jail and requested overnight accommodation. While this was not standard practice, the warden might have been impressed by the number of times the British prison had hosted the Mahatma (who referred to them as "His Majesty's Hotel").

So Devdas Gandhi spent the night of 10 June 1948 at the prison, broke fast with convicts the morning after, and walked through the gates of Trent Bridge.

Laker bowled Morris shortly after lunch, bringing Bradman to the crease.

Bradman went without a boundary for 83 minutes before taking control. He finished the day on 130.

Gandhi Jr took the train to London after the day's play. It had been worth spending a night at jail.