It's mid-November 1947 and for the first time in the nation's young history, a team of Indians is on the brink of representing their independent country on the international stage.
Just three months after the disbandment of the British Indian Empire into the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan, a squad of 17 Indian players travels to Australia to take on the might of a team that would become known as Don Bradman's "Invincibles".
Among the squad is a 30-year-old opening batter and left-arm spinner by the name of Mulvantrai Himmatlal Mankad — known to his mates as "Vinoo".
