Vidarbha’s memorable triumph after ‘Surface Tension’

JOB DONE: The unbeaten Vidarbha pair of skipper Suhas Phadkar (3R) and Bhaskar Joshi (L) return to the pavilion along with Manager Madhu Sathe (R, also ex-Ranji player) after securing a thrilling three-wicket win over Rajasthan (players in the background).

By Anupam Soni :

CRICKET is known as a batsman’s game. We have often seen, more particularly in the shortest format of the sport, that the bowlers are taken to cleaners. On tailor-made pitches rolled flat to dish out run-feasts, the batsmen can not only have the cake, but eat it too. And the bowlers are made to look sorry. But there were times in the gentleman’s game when the batsmen were vulnerable. Those were the days when cricket was played on coir matting. It added to the woes of the batters when the surface below was uneven or the matting (generally a brand new matting was used for every new Ranji match, it has been learned) had knots at wrong places.

The weaving of the coir was such that both seamers and spinners derived advantage. In an exciting three-day Ranji Trophy Central Zone League match, played on matting wicket, Vidarbha, who were then considered as an also-ran team, pipped Rajasthan by three wickets at Maharana Bhupal Stadium, Udaipur in November 1983. Rajasthan won the toss and elected to bat. Vidarbha’s seamers Bhaskar Joshi (3-35) and Vikas Gawate (3-52) started beautifully and removed the top five with score reading just 24. Sanju Mudkavi (39) tried to stabilise the innings but got little support from the other end. Soon, the hosts were reeling at 7-59. All-rounder Vinod Mathur came to bat at number nine and hammered 60 before becoming the lone victim of off-spinner Raju Pankule, getting out lbw.

Rajasthan innings folded for a paltry 155 in 55.4 overs. Left-arm orthodox Hemant Wasu picked up two wickets while right-arm medium pacer Satish Takle chipped in with one. “It was a fiery wicket. Uncertain coir knots were visible on the matting that made it difficult for the batsmen. The ball was rising from good length spot while some were keeping low. Our medium pacers did a good job up front. “(Vinod) Mathur was an all-rounder. When he realised that technical batting will not help as the top batsmen like Parthasarathy Sharma and Mudkavi were back, he started freeing his arms and was lucky to get those runs,” Vidarbha captain Suhas Phadkar summed up the first innings recalling the match.

Vidarbha, too, had a shaky start. Both the openers Jayantilal Rathod and Prasad Shetty were back in the hut by the time the team had scored 21. Pankule (29) and Sunil Hedaoo (39) batted with confidence to prop up the side. Rajinder Amarnath (10), son of legendary Lala Amarnath, who played as a professional for Vidarbha that season, did not disturb the scorers much. Phadkar (62) was the top-scorer for the visitors who finally made 231 gaining a handy 76 runs lead. “We lost first wicket rather quickly but then Sunil and I had a good partnership. Later, Suhas batted well to help us take vital first innings lead,” said Pankule who also returned with a good all-round show.

In their second effort, Rajasthan openers Kuldeep Mathur (25) and stumper Dalbir Singh (18) gave the team a good start adding 52 runs for the first wicket. But in no time Rajasthan lost three wickets. Pankule picked three wickets in quick succession and from a healthy score, the opponents were tottering at 53-3. Padam Shastri (35), Mudkavi (27), skipper Parthasarathy Sharma (41) and later Suresh Shastri (42*) batted well as the team declared their second innings at 249 for 7 wickets in 74 overs setting a target of 174 runs. For Vidarbha Joshi, Gawate, Takle and Amarnath took one wicket each after the three-wicket burst from Pankule. “They had a good start. But we bowled to a plan.

I remember setting up their opener Mathur by getting him caught at forward short leg,” recalled Pankule. During the chase, after early fall of Rathod, top Vidarbha batsmen Shetty (24), Pankule (36) and Hedaoo (38) all got good starts but could not stay till the end. Phadkar (45*) took the onus on himself. “Actually 174 was also a tough target on a wicket where ball was staying low. We were 39-2 then Pankule and Hedaoo added some fifty runs to bring us back on track. Then there was a mini collapse when I went to bat. It was an exciting match as after every 2-3 overs, the match used to swing. A wicket would give them an advantage while a little partnership would bring us back in the game.

“It was quite breezy out there. Huge winds were blowing and on a couple of occasions the sight screen was blown away by it. To top it all there was a huge crowd that had gathered to cheer the home team. But Laadya (Bhaskar Joshi) stayed with me as we romped home,” said Phadkar on how the team managed those final runs for a thrilling win. Phadkar was a satisfied man after leading the team home. “Those forty-odd runs (I scored) were as good as 80-90 in the context of the match. I really value that knock highly.”

Match: Vidarbha vs Rajasthan Ranji Trophy Central Zone League, 1983-84 played at Maharana Bhupal Stadium, Udaipur. It was a three-day match.

Result: Vidarbha won by three wickets.

Highlights

n Rajinder Amarnath, son of legendary Lala Amarnath, played two matches in that season as a professional for Vidarbha. His brothers — the more famous Mohinder, and Surinder represented India. Rajinder could not play for his nation.

— Dilip Singh Upring

The Hitavada Scoreboard

RAJASTHAN 1ST INNINGS: K Mathur c Pankule b Gawate 5, Dalbir Singh c Aney b Joshi 0, V Singh c Pankule b Joshi 1, Padam Shastri b Gawate 7, S Mudkavi c Joshi b Wasu 39, P Sharma c Wasu b Joshi 8, D Mahan c Aney b Takle 12, Suresh Shastri c Pankule b Gawate 7, V Mathur lbw b Pankule 60, S Joshi st Aney b Wasu 10, P Sunderam Not Out 1. Extras: (lb 4, w 1) 5. TOTAL: (All out, 55.4 overs) 155. FoW: 1-5, 2-6, 3-13, 4-13, 5-24, 6-44, 7-59, 8-129, 9-153. Bowling: Joshi 10-1-35-3, Gawate 19-3-52-3, Takle 4-0-10-1, Wasu 13.4-3-32-2, Pankule 9-1-22-1. VIDARBHA 1ST INNINGS: J Rathod c Sharma b Sunderam 8, P Shetty c K Mathur b Joshi 10, R Pankule b Mudkavi 29, S Hedaoo lbw b Sunderam 39, R Amarnath c Joshi b Mudkavi 10, H Wasu lbw b Joshi 19, S Phadkar c Mudkavi b V Mathur 62, V Gawate lbw b V Mathur 6, S Takle c Sharma b Suresh Shastri 6, B Joshi b V Mathur 15, P Aney Not Out 0. Extras: (b 17, lb 7, w 1, nb 2) 27. TOTAL: (All out, 97.4 overs) 231. FoW: 1-12, 2-21, 3-71, 4-91, 5-129, 6-141, 7-156, 8-204, 9-226. Bowling: Sunderam 24-8-64-2, Joshi 10-2-16-2, Singh 7-1-12-0, V Mathur 27.4-10-49-3, Mudkavi 15-6-25-2, S Shastri 10-1-31-1, Sharma 3-0-10-0, P Shastri 1-1-0-0. RAJASTHAN 2ND INNINGS: K Mathur c sub b Pankule 25, D Singh b Pankule 18, V Singh lbw b Pankule 0, P Shastri c Rathod b Takle 35, S Mudkavi lbw b Amarnath 27, P Sharma c Gawate b Joshi 41, D Mahan c Rathod b Gawate 11, S Shastri Not Out 42, V Mathur Not Out 16. Extras: (b 9, lb 13) 22. Bonus Runs: 12. TOTAL: (7 wkts decl, 74 overs) 249. FoW: 1-52, 2-52, 3-53, 4-88, 5-150, 6-168, 7-174. Bowling: Joshi 22-8-47-1, Gawate 7-0-37-1, Takle 9-0-29-1, Wasu 7-0-30-0, Pankule 23-1-50-3, Amarnath 6-1-22-1. VIDARBHA 2ND INNINGS (Target: 174 runs): J Rathod lbw b Joshi 8, P Shetty c D Singh b Singh 24, R Pankule lbw b V Mathur 36, S Hedaoo b Mathur 38, R Amarnath lbw b Mudkavi 0, S Phadkar Not Out 45, V Gawate run out 4, S Takle b Sunderam 3, B Joshi Not Out 7. Extras: (b 4, lb 6) 10. TOTAL: (7 wickets, 58.1 overs) 175. FoW: 1-10, 2-39, 3-90, 4-91, 5-147, 6-154, 7-159. Bowling: Sunderam 11.1-6-22-1, Joshi 3-0-16-1, Singh 3-1-14-1, V Mathur 19-3-42-2, Mudkavi 9-0-24-1, S Shastri 11-0-34-0, Sharma 2-0-13-0. n