Don Bradman was an Australian batsman who played Test cricket from 1928 to 1948, and his career Test batting average of 99.94 is the highest of any player in the sport's history. He rose from bush cricket to the Australian Test team in just over two years, and by his early twenties he had set many scoring records. His success made him a national hero during the Great Depression. England devised the Bodyline tactic, with fast bowling aimed at the body on the leg side, specifically to curb his scoring. As a captain he pushed for attacking cricket and drew record crowds. He was a private, reclusive figure who found the adulation hard to live with, yet he led the unbeaten 1948 Invincibles tour of England after the Second World War.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.