A revolt and a new beginning
| Date :21-Jul-2020 |
Prashant Vaidya (also inset) was once considered to be the fastest bowler of India.
By Anupam Soni :
In a rare instance, as many as six Vidarbha players had revolted against selectors while three players including Prashant Vaidya made debut
VIDARBHA have been overall a very disciplined side but it also had its share of controversies. One such incident happened in 1986 when revolt by as many as six regulars led to their axing from the team. Vidarbha selectors had gone for a change in guard by appointing a much younger Suhas Phadkar as the leader replacing Sunil Hedaoo.
The group of six that included some top performers, pitched their support for Hedaoo and preferred to stay out of the squad if skipper of their choice was not reinstated. The selectors did not budge and went ahead with their plans. Like every dark cloud has a silver lining, this too had many! Prashant Vaidya, who later went on to become first player from Vidarbha to don national colours, played his maiden First-Class game. Middle-order batsman Sameer Gujar, who later held Vidarbha’s top score of 221 for a long time (from 1991-92 to 2019-20), also made his debut.
And it was first FC game for opener Aniruddha Kane, who represented Vidarbha in ten games. Better senses prevailed as the revolters tendered apology later and were back in the thick of things after missing two games. In that Ranji Trophy Central Zone League match played against Uttar Pradesh at Railways Stadium in Moradabad, Phadkar called it right and asked the hosts to take first strike. The seam bowling trio of Satish Takle (4-31), Sanjay Jugade (4-48) and Vaidya (2-41) obliged the skipper skittling out the rivals in just 54.4 overs for 238 runs. UP had a very decent batting line-up comprising openers Sanjay Pratap Singh and Vishal Singh Yadav, captain-stumper Sunil Chaturvedi, Rahul Sapru and Shashikant Khandkar. But all failed to the seam and pace of Vidarbha bowlers.
Later Pratap Narayan Singh Rana (67) and India off-spinner Gopal Sharma (42) added 65 runs for the eighth wicket to give the score some respectability. At end of the opening day, Vidarbha lost both their openers Prasad Shetty and Kane with wicketkeeper Praveen Hinganikar and newcomer Gujar holding the fort. “It was a special moment to get selected in Ranji side. It was more special since I never played any junior cricket and within one year of playing with the seasoned ball I was playing First-Class cricket. It was an all new experience...not just being there on the field with the team members but the travelling part and the whole experience was very memorable,” said Vaidya recalling his opening game. Vaidya had Shashikant Khandkar caught at the wicket for his first wicket and then shattered the stumps of RP Singh for his second. “Khandkar was my first wicket.
He was a good batsman and I got him out caught by (wicketkeeper) Hinganikar. It was a good and memorable start,” said Vaidya, who is presently Vice-President Vidarbha Cricket Association and Chairman of VCA’s Cricket Administration and Development Committee. “All those years playing for Vidarbha was very enjoyable and I still cherish all those days,” he added. On the controversy that preceded the match, Vaidya said, “Some five-six players did not wish to play that match and there were replacements but I was part of the original team and the replacements were added later. We were three debutants in that match. Great memories are attached to that game held in Moradabad. I was new to cricket also and had a very memorable and enjoyable match,” he concluded. The overnight unbeaten Vidarbha pair went on to stitch a valuable partnership of 161 runs.
Hinganikar was unlucky to miss on a hundred by eight runs while Gujar proved his selection with a worthy 63 in his first FC innings. Extras (33) and contribution from tail helped Vidarbha (283) take first innings lead. Gujar impressed in his very first outing. “UP had bowlers like RP Singh, KK Sharma and Gopal Sharma. They all were in good form that season. I had a good partnership with Hinganikar sir. It was my first match so I had to perform well to cement a place in the team,” said the middle-order batsman who later went on to become only the second batsman after Phadkar to hit a double century. His score of 221 made in 1991 was broken just last season by Vidarbha’s professional player Ganesh Satish who made 237. “I was very young and did not know much about that revolt...only that 5-6 players were not ready to play under Phadkar.
I got the opportunity and wanted to cash on it,” Gujar added. In their second innings, UP came up with an improved performance with the bat but Jugade excelled with the ball claiming six wickets to end the match with his maiden 10-wicket match haul. Though the right-arm seamer had better figures in an innings, this remained Jugade’s best match figures. With fifties from Khandkar and KK Sharma and 49 from Sapru, UP declared their innings at 268-8 in 60.2 overs. Left to score 224 runs for an outright victory, the visitors could score 91-5 in 40.1 overs before the players shook hand agreeing for a truce. The match is remembered more for that revolt by players rather than the first innings lead over a dominant opposition back then.
Match: Vidarbha vs Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophy Central Zone League match played at Railways Stadium, Moradabad in November 1987 (3-day match).
Result: In the drawn match, Vidarbha, who took first innings lead earned 14 points while Uttar Pradesh collected 11.
Highlights
Prashant Vaidya, who later went on to become first player from Vidarbha to don national colours, made his First-Classs debut in this game.
Batsmen Sameer Gujar and Aniruddha Kane also made their debut in the same match.
Vidarbha’s right-arm seamer Sanjay Vasant Jugade took his only First-Class ten-wicket match haul.
The Hitavada Scoreboard
UTTAR PRADESH 1ST INNINGS: SP Singh c Vaidya b Jugade 12, VS Yadav c Hingnikar b Takle 1, S Chaturvedi c Jugade b Takle 0, SS Khandkar c Hingnikar b Vaidya 32, RP Singh b Vaidya 17, KK Sharma c Hingnikar b Jugade 0, R Sapru c Hingnikar b Jugade 1, PNS Rana c Ghani b Takle 67, G Sharma c Pankule b Takle 42, MA Ansari c Hingnikar b Jugade 11, Mohsin Raza Not Out 1. Extras: (b 5, lb 7, w 3, nb 3) 18. Bonus Runs: 36. TOTAL: (All out, 54.4 overs) 238. FoW: 1-3, 2-3, 3-23, 4-60, 5-61, 6-63, 7-97, 8-162, 9-189. Bowling: Takle 10.4-4-31-4, Jugade 15-3-48-4, Vaidya 11-1-41-2, Thakre 4-1-12-0, Pankule 6-0-32-0, Ghani 8-1-26-0. VIDARBHA 1ST INNINGS: P Shetty c SP Singh b Mohsin Raza 5, AS Kane c Khandkar b KK Sharma 4, PB Hingnikar c RP Singh b KK Sharma 92, SG Gujar b KK Sharma 63, RM Pankule b RP Singh 1, SJ Phadkar c Chaturvedi b RP Singh 4, UI Ghani c Rana b G Sharma 20, S Jugade b Ansari 18, S Takle Not Out 27, PS Vaidya c Mohsin Raza b RP Singh 7, BB Thakre b KK Sharma 5. Extras: (b 13, lb 6, w 1, nb 13) 33. Bonus Runs: 4. TOTAL: (All out, 88 overs) 283. FoW: 1-12, 2-14, 3-175, 4-178, 5-182, 6-202, 7-229, 8-238, 9-271. Bowling: RP Singh 17-4-48-3, KK Sharma 26-2-65-4, Mohsin Raza 17-5-43-1, G Sharma 16-1-61-1, Ansari 11-4-43-1, Sapru 1-1-0-0. UTTAR PRADESH 2ND INNINGS: SP Singh b Vaidya 14, VS Yadav c Pankule b Jugade 39, RP Singh c Shetty b Jugade 0, S Chaturvedi c Hingnikar b Jugade 2, SS Khandkar c Kane b Takle 64, R Sapru c Takle b Jugade 49, KK Sharma c sub b Jugade 53, PNS Rana b Jugade 2, G Sharma Not Out 14. Extras: (b 3, lb 10, w 6) 19. Bonus Runs: 12. TOTAL: (8 wickets decl, 60.2 overs) 268. FoW: 1-43, 2-58, 3-66, 4-71, 5-167, 6-230, 7-254, 8-256. Bowling: Takle 18-2-79-1, Jugade 22.2-2-84-6, Vaidya 6-0-15-1, Pankule 2-0-13-0, Ghani 2-0-5-0, Phadkar 10-3-47-0. VIDARBHA 2ND INNINGS (Target: 224 runs): P Shetty c Sapru b KK Sharma 2, AS Kane c Yadav b KK Sharma 1, PB Hingnikar b Ansari 24, SG Gujar b Mohsin Raza 14, RM Pankule hit wicket b Ansari 32, UI Ghani Not Out 4, S Jugade Not Out 3. Extras: (b 2, w 4, nb 5) 11. TOTAL (5 wickets, 40.1 overs) 91. FoW: 1-6, 2-9, 3-33, 4-82, 5-84. Bowling: RP Singh 7-3-7-0, KK Sharma 10.1-3-31-2, Mohsin Raza 7-1-15-1, G Sharma 8-2-21-0, Ansari 8-1-15-2. n