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M. J. Gopalan Trophy
M. J. Gopalan Trophy was a prestigious trophy in India dedicated to Indian national first class cricket.

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M. J. Gopalan TrophyM. J. Gopalan Trophy was the trophy in Indian cricket, which was named after the famous Indian cricketer M. J. Gopalan. Morappakam Josyam Gopalan was a man of multitalented genius, who played both cricket and hockey. He represented India in the colonial era.

History of M. J. Gopalan Trophy
M. J. Gopalan Trophy was a yearly first-class cricket competition played between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu between 1952-1953 and 2007-2008. This cricket tournament was famous mostly in South India.

Teams in M. J. Gopalan Trophy
The idea of the competition came about with the starting of a silver jubilee fund in 1952 to celebrate the 25th birth year of Morappakam Josyam Gopalan as a cricket and hockey player. Through the fund, an annual cricket match was instituted between Madras Cricket Team which is now known as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Team and Ceylon Cricket Team, which is known as Srilanka Cricket Team.

Ceylon won the first match in M. J. Gopalan Trophy, which was held in 1952 to 1953 session. The match became a regular fixture in the calendar until Sri Lanka received Test status in the year 1983 and the competition was stopped.

Again in the year 2000, this cricket tournament was revived. There held a match between Tamil Nadu Cricket Team and Colombo District Cricket Association. About two years later the fixture was dropped again but in 2007 the Sri Lankan and Tamil Nadu boards agreed to restart the competition. A match was played in September 2007 between Tamil Nadu Cricket Team and a Sri Lankan XI Cricket Team, won by the Sri Lankan team. There have been 27 first-class matches for MJ Gopalan Trophy. The names of the competing sides have varied, especially the Sri Lankan teams.

Seasons in M. J. Gopalan Trophy

Year/Season Venue Result
1952-53 Chepauk Stadium, Madras Ceylon by 95 runs
1953-54 Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground, Colombo Ceylon Cricket Association by an innings and 108 runs
1955-56 Nehru Stadium, Madras Ceylon by an innings and 14 runs
1956-57 P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Ceylon Cricket Association by 5 wickets
1957-58 Chepauk Stadium, Madras Madras by 2 wickets
1958-59 P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Drawn
1959-60 Nehru Stadium, Madras Madras by 8 wickets
1960-61 P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Ceylon Cricket Association by 169 runs
1961-62 Nehru Stadium, Madras Ceylon by an innings and 66 runs
1963-64 P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Ceylon Board President`s XI by 6 wickets
1965-66 P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Drawn
1966-67 Chepauk Stadium, Madras Drawn
1967-68 P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Ceylon Board President`s Under-27s XI by 105 runs
1968-69 Chepauk Stadium, Madras Drawn
1969-70 P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Drawn
1970-71 Chepauk Stadium, Madras Drawn
1971-72 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Tamil Nadu by an innings and 9 runs
1972-73 Chepauk Stadium, Madras Tamil Nadu by 3 runs
1973-74 P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Drawn
1974-75 Mahatma Gandhi Stadium, Salem Tamil Nadu by an innings and 73 runs
1975-76 Colombo Cricket Club Ground, Colombo Sri Lanka Board President`s XI by 22 runs
1976-77 Chepauk Stadium, Madras Drawn
1980-81 Mahatma Gandhi Stadium, Salem Drawn
1982-83 P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Drawn
2000-01 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Drawn
2001-02 Chepauk Stadium, Madras Drawn
2007-08 Colts Cricket Club Ground, Colombo Sri Lanka Cricket XI by an innings and 96 runs


The highest score for Ceylon/Sri Lanka is 212 by Ievers Gunasekera in 1958-1959 seasons. The highest run for Tamil Nadu is 179 by Michael Dalvi in 1974-1975.


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