Will rip them apart, Singh said....and did!
| Date :21-Apr-2020 |
By Anupam Soni :
Time Travel
As cricketing action remains locked down due to coronavirus pandemic, ‘The Hitavada’ digs into the memory bank of Vidarbha cricket and through TIME TRAVEL brings out some exciting and close encounters that gifted Vidarbha’s Ranji teams some great moments of high, and also a few lessons for the future journey.
JUDGING a book by its cover is never considered prudent. But sometimes a gut feeling tells you to overrule it. When young Vidarbha seamer Sandeep Singh was handed the new ball by skipper Pritam Gandhe at the green and hard wicket at Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot, he judged the wicket with the first cherry. And then he wrote his own story! Vidarbha had opted to bowl against Saurashtra in this Ranji Trophy match played from December 17, 2005. Right-arm seamer Singh was instinctively very much impressed by the generous offer from the track after he bowled very first ball of the match.
“I usually used to stand at mid-on or mid-off because as a captain I always thought it was the best position to talk to your bowlers. After Sandy had bowled that first ball, he came to me and said ‘Inko toh main khol kar rakh dunga’ (I will just rip apart the opposition) and requested me not to stop him early. I said you keep taking wickets (and thought why would a captain stop a wicket-taking bowler). The next ball, he had the opener out. In three-four spells he took eight wickets, I took the other two and did not give the opposition much chance to bounce back,” said Gandhe, recalling his conversation with Singh. Singh returned with career-best 8-82 from that first innings and ended with a match haul of eleven wickets. That is his best effort in First-Class matches. “I think the opener (Kanaiya Vaghela) was out on the very first ball. But the umpire thought otherwise.
But I was very happy with the way the first ball had shaped on the surface and expressed my feelings to skipper PG bhai. The next ball he was adjudged out lbw. There was no stopping. The pitch was helping me and I was enjoying bowling,” said Singh, who became the first bowler to dismiss Cheteshwar Pujara in a First-Class match. “Frankly, I realised that I had dismissed Pujara (11; 38b, 1x4) very late in life. It was his debut match and he was not that famous then. And, moreover, I never used to think about whom I am bowling to. I always tried to give my best,” said Singh on Pujara dismissal. With Sitanshu Kotak making a dogged 74, the hosts managed 244 in 81.2 overs.
By the end of the day, Vidarbha were 22 without loss. Openers Faiz Fazal (80; 166b, 13x4) and Amit Deshpande (25; 61b, 3x4) gave the team a good start adding 51 runs. But Vidarbha lost quick wickets and were reeling at 211-8 at one stage.
“The credit for first innings lead must be given to the captain. After Faiz’s good knock, we were eight down and some 30-40 runs behind but PG bhai (37; 32b, 7x4, 1x6) made some important runs and we took a slender lead,” remembered Singh. Gandhe added; “When I went in, Madhusudan Acharya, who was batting at the other end, told me that we will take lead by taking singles and doubles. But as the new ball was due after a few balls, I asked him to hold one end while I will hit out taking chances. The trick worked. I smashed three fours in left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi’s one over and when the new ball was taken, I smashed a straight six. That helped in scattering the field but I continued playing shots and we got the first innings lead.” Vidarbha first innings finally folded at 266. The wicket dried up and became good for batting but Vidarbha bowlers kept the pressure on. Saurashtra openers started well but at the score of 31 Singh removed Sagar Jogiyani (16) then Faiz, with his slow medium stuff, accounted for Prashant Joshi. “Sandy and I were room-mates and our coach Jayantilal Keniya had mentioned after the end of Saurashtra first innings that only one room has got all the wickets.
Sandy had then promised him that the same would happen in the second innings. He went on to take three while I picked four to continue the ‘room domination’,” Gandhe said. Kotak, known to spend hours at the crease, was the dangerman again. “We needed Kotak’s wicket. The pitch was not helping much and he was leaving balls well. He was once dropped and also benefited from a missed stumping with (wicketkeeper Vikrant) Gonnade being the culprit on both occasions. But PG bhai had him out and we could smell win,” recalled Singh. Gandhe and Kotak shared a good rapport and the two had a chat before start of the match.
“I had very good relations with Kotak and had told him before the game that I will get him out at least once in the match. I kept my word and removed him getting him lbw in the second innings,” Gandhe said. With number eleven Doshi (37; 34, 5x4) using long handle, Saurashtra reached 188 setting a target of 167 runs with more than day to spare. “(Opener Amit) Deshpande played well and with other top order batsmen having good partnerships, we romped home. It was one of those matches where we did not give opponents any chance to stage a comeback,” said Gandhe.
Match: Vidarbha vs Saurashtra 2005-06. Ranji Debut: Cheteshwar Pujara.
Personal Best: Sandeep Singh’s figures in an innings (8-82) and match (11-145) are best for Vidarbha fast bowler.
Result: Vidarbha won the match by seven wickets.
Highlights: 55 runs partnership for 9th wkt between skipper Pritam Gandhe and Madhusudan Acharya. Sandeep is the first bowler to dismiss Pujara in First-Class cricket. Stats: Dilip Singh Upring
The Hitavada Scoreboard
SAURASHTRA 1ST INNINGS: K Vaghela lbw b Singh 0, S Jogiyani c Gonnade b Singh 43, P Joshi c Fazal b Singh 0, J Shah c Acharya b Singh 12, C Pujara b Singh 11, S Kotak b Singh 74, R Dhurv b Singh 0, S Jobanputra b Singh 30, K Makvana c Khare b Gandhe 16, N Doshi lbw b Gandhe 9, S Maniar Not Out 35. Extras: (b 5, lb 5, nb 1, w 3) 14. TOTAL: (All out, 81.2 overs) 244. Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-8, 3-34, 4-63, 5-70, 6-74, 7-129, 8-163, 9-177. Bowling: Singh 25.2-4-82-8, Atram 9-2-34-0, Naidu 14-2-53-0, Khare 8-2-19-0, Gandhe 14-1-24-2, Acharya 9-2-17-0, Fazal 2-0-5-0. VIDARBHA 1ST INNINGS: F Fazal c Kotak b Makvana 80, A Deshpande lbw b Vaghela 25, A Naidu run out (Maniar) 4, S Shrivastava c Jobanputra b Doshi 26, S Khare c Joshi b Maniar 15, O Afzal c Jogiyani b Kotak 38, V Gonnade lbw b Kotak 10, M Acharya lbw b Jobanputra 22, C Atram run out (Vaghela) 6, P Gandhe b Maniar 37, S Singh Not Out 0. Extras: (lb 1, nb 1, w 1) 3. TOTAL: (All out, 90.2 overs) 266. Fall of wickets: 1-51, 2-55, 3-113, 4-136, 5-171, 6-193, 7-202, 8-211, 9-266. Bowling: Jobanputra 13-5-32-1, Maniar 21.2-7-71-2, Vaghela 9-1-44-1, Makvana 15-5-31-1, Doshi 23-4-76-1, Dhurv 4-3-2-0, Kotak 5-3-9-2, SAURASHTRA 2ND INNINGS: K Vaghela c Gonnade b Singh 39, S Jogiyani c Gonnade b Singh 16, P Joshi b Fazal 4, J Shah lbw b Fazal 11, C Pujara c Shrivastava b Gandhe 14, S Kotak lbw b Gandhe 32, R Dhurv c Gonnade b Gandhe 1, S Jobanputra st Gonnade b Gandhe 10, S Maniar c Gonnade b Singh 5, K Makvana Not Out 12, N Doshi lbw b Acharya 37. Extras: (b 1, lb 6) 7. TOTAL: (All out, 78 overs) 188. Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-45, 3-61, 4-81, 5-101, 6-104, 7-131, 8-134, 9-142. Bowling: Singh 25-9-63-3, Atram 13-4-30-0, Naidu 5-0-20-0, Fazal 6-2-14-2, Gandhe 24-8-43-4, Acharya 5-2-11-1. VIDARBHA 2ND INNINGS (target: 167 runs): F Fazal b Maniar 15, A Deshpande c Jogiyani b Maniar 44, A Naidu lbw b Maniar 33, S Shrivastava Not Out 27, S Khare Not Out 49. Extras: (nb 1) 1. TOTAL: (3 wkts, 48.2 overs) 169. Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-76, 3-97. Bowling: Jobanputra 6-0-30-0, Maniar 14-1-47-3, Vaghela 2-1-8-0, Makvana 10-1-35-0, Doshi 12.2-4-37-0, Dhurv 4-0-12-0.