Desperate times call for desperate measures.

There are some disciplines in cricket, which don't get desired respect. Fielding wasn't considered an integral part of the game, until Jonty arrived. Joffrey Boycott used to rest in the pavilion, after batting. How many of us consider left arm orthodox or left arm spin as an art? When we talk about greatest spinners, apart from Bishan Singh Bedi, do we discuss any other left arm spinner?

Herath and Vettori took 400+ wickets, but still off/leg spinners who took way less wickets than them are considered better than them. That's unfair.

This story's protagonist is one such forgotten left arm spinner. Mumbai/Bombay is the most successful domestic team in the history of Indian cricket. Their streak of 15 consecutive Ranji trophy titles(1958-59 to 1972-73) is an incredible feat. In a way, they were the invincibles. Although the streak ended in 1972-73, the supremacy was far from over. They continued to dominate till the early 2000s.

However, in the 70s and 80s, the cricketing powerhouse was shifting to a new place. The Indian team wasn't a monopoly of Bombay anymore. Their neighbouring state Karnataka was making inroads and producing champion cricketers. Karnataka won their first Ranji trophy in 1973-74 and never looked back.

This story is about the 1981/82 Ranji semifinal, when a fairly unknown commodity flabbergasted an unstoppable force. Raghuram Bhat made his debut for Karnataka in 1979-80, but he came into his own a year later. So let's go back to the Chinnaswamy when the formidable Bombay team comprising of future legends like Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Patil, Parker, Shastri etc collided with Randy Orton aka the "legend killer".

Bombay batted first and crawled their way to 271, inspite of getting a good start, courtesy an 8-fer from Raghuram Bhat. He got Gavaskar and took a hatrick. But this isn't the story.

Karnataka demolished the Bombay bowling and ended up with 470, with Bhatt starring with the willow as well.

By the time Bombay started the second innings, the pitch had started turning square and Bhat was licking his lips. From the first ball, he was beating the batsmen by miles. Gavaskar never looked that helpless/pissed ever. He saw his team falling like a pack of cards, from the pavilion. For the first time in his life, he walked in to bat at number seven. Yes, you read that right.

Having observed the havoc wreaked by Bhat from the pavilion, he tried to fight fire with fire, but was failing miserably. All at sea, an idea struck- he decided to bat "left handed" to negotiate Bhat's left arm spin. He managed to scored a meagre 18 runs, but remained unbeaten and the match ended in a draw. However, Karnataka was declared the winner on the basis of first innings lead. Bhat ended up with 13 wickets in the match.

If you ask a Gavaskar fan, he will tell you that he never struggled this bad, even when he was facing the West Indian fast bowlers, without a helmet.

Hari Gidwani

कर्मण्ये वाधिका रस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।

मा कर्म फल हेतु र्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्व कर्मणि॥

Translation: You have a right to “Karma” (actions) but never to any Fruits thereof. You should never be motivated by the results of your actions, nor should there be any attachment in not doing your prescribed activities. 

There is a popular phrase in sports- "two/three/n horse derby", which basically means that the competition in that particular tournament is limited to a particular number of teams. When it comes to our premier domestic tournament ie "Ranji trophy", it is a four/five horse derby at max. During 1950- 1970s, there was no competition whatsoever. It was Bombay all the way, with Delhi, Tamilnadu and Karnataka striving to get better.

We have heard the tragic story of Rajinder Goel, who couldn't make the cut because of our lethal quartet, but what doesn't make sense is Hari Gidwani's story. He was a slick middle order batsman in the 1970s, which India was devoid of, yet he was never considered for the national team. We only had Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath and Gundappa Vishwanath, if we talk about good batsmen. Some of the batsmen who happened to debut during that decade failed miserably, for instance Kenia Jayantilal, Pochiah Krishnamurthy, who averaged in single digits and then there were players like Parthasarathi Sharma, Hemant Kanitkar, Ramnath Parkar, Sudhir Naik, Yajurvindra Singh etc who averaged between 18-27, yet Hari Gidwani's name never found a place in the selector's discussions.

Hari Gidwani is an alumnus of Hindu College, Delhi, who made his domestic debut in the 1972/73 season for Delhi. He served Delhi for six years and switched his allegiance to Bihar from the 1979/80 season and hung his boots after 1991/92 season. His best score was 229 which came against Karnataka in the 1989/90 season. He was on a roll in two Ranji seasons when he scored five centuries in five successive tests, not once, but twice in the 1986/87 and 1987/88 season.

The closest he came to getting the coveted India cap when he scored a 100 and 48 against the touring Sri Lankan team in 1975/76, but sadly he wasn't considered. Apart from being a dashing stroke maker, he had a mean googly. He has 29 wickets to his name. After calling it a day, he became a selector for the junior team and was a part of Delhi selection panel till October 2015.

Currently, he runs a sweet shop in Old Delhi. So if you are a fan of the man, you can drop by and get a photograph/autograph.

Subimal "Chuni" Goswami

"Man is made by his beliefs. As he believes, so he is".

- Bhagavat Gita

This week's cynosure was a legend in his own right, even before he started playing cricket. A Padamshree awardee, for whom cricket was just a hobby, yet during his tenure, his team reached two Ranji finals. He couldn't get the India cap, but he left an indelible mark on Bengal cricket. Nevertheless, he was a capped Indian player, but in a different sport.

Subimal Goswami aka Chuni Goswami was born on 15th January 1938 in Kishoreganj, West Bengal. Yes, I know, I should have posted this on his birthday. His first love was football. He was the striker for Mohun Bagan and Indian team. He scored 9 goals in 30 international appearances. He was an Olympian who took part in 1960 Summer Olympics. He also led India to a gold medal in the 1962 Asian games and runner-ups in the 1964 AFC Asian cup.

He played for Mohun Bagan all his life. He joined the club in 1946, aged 8 and played his last game in 1968. A synonym of loyalty.

His cricketing career overlapped with his football career from 1962-68. If we ignore his football record and only consider his cricket record, even then he is a Bengal legend. Bengal used to be a pushover in those days, but during his reign, they reached the Ranji finals twice- 1968-69 and 1972 (when he was the captain), losing to Mumbai on both occassions.

He was a medium pacer who could wield the willow. His best performances were when he scored 96 and 84 in the 1968-69 Ranji final, which was no match to Ajit Wadekar whose century helped Mumbai to victory, on the basis of first innings lead.

In 1966, playing for combined east and central zone, he was rampant when he took eight wickets against the touring West Indies, who were blown away by an innings.

Dilip Doshi who was his admirer and a colleague, said in an interview that Chuni Dada wasn't a gifted cricketer. He wasn't team India material, but whatever success he achieved in the domestic arena was courtesy his discipline and aggression. Milind Rege, former Mumbai captain, who was his worst nemesis, when asked about Chuni Da said that he was an action-oriented player and full of aggression, which made him vicious. Chuni Da was the fittest athlete, Rege ever saw.

Chuni Da passed away on 20th April 2020, aged 82. His cabinet was flooded with prestigious awards, including Padamshree, Arjuna award, Mohun Bagan Ratna to name a few.

P.S.- Rege foxed Chuni Da in each innings of two Ranji finals which Bengal and Mumbai played.

9th Feb 1952- Madras- फक्र है ।

पराक्रमो विजयते ।

Translation- Courageous will win.

On this day, in 1952, a dream came to fruition, which we saw in 1932. 20 long years and 24 test matches. Seems like eternity, right? But "देर आए, दुरुस्त आए". The ascension started on that particular day and we have never looked back since.

It was the fifth test match of the five test series and we were trailing 1-0. We made five changes- stalwarts like Vijay Manjrekar and CS Nayudu were dropped and Mushtaq Ali, Lala Amarnath were brought in. Donald Carr won the toss and decided to bat. India struck early, but England managed to recover from that and they were able to survive Mankad's brilliance. At stumps, they were 224 for 5. During the day's play, King George VI passed away and the next day was declared a rest day.

When play resumed, it was all about Mankad spinning a web and the English batsmen looked hapless. He ended up with 8 wickets and the English folded at 266 from 244/5. India was buoyed up by Mankad's herculean effort and it showed in Pankaj Roy's fluent stroke play. Mushtaq Ali, Hazare and Mankad chipped in with crucial 20s, before Umrigar took the reins from Roy. Roy departed after scoring an incredible 100.

Umrigar was demoted to number 7 as he was struggling before this test match. He had a point to prove and he chose the perfect moment to do it. He and Phadkar irked the English bowlers and their partnership crossed 100 within no time. Umrigar who was a sturdy young man, had a mean pull shot. It was an exhibition of sorts to see Umrigar in full swing. The partnership was 104, when Hilton castled Phadkar and the wristy Gopinath walked in. Umrigar stitched another crucial partnership with Gopinath, who scored a hard fought 35. After Gopinath's departure, Umrigar decided to take matters into his own hands. He was 130 undefeated when Hazare decided that they had enough on the board and India declared at 457/9, leading by 194 runs.

In the second innings, English could never apply themselves because they were clueless against Ghulam and Mankad who took 4 wickets each and the English were bundled out for 186, which was 8 short of the deficit and Madras erupted with joy. India had arrived on the big stage. By the end of 1952, we had won our first test series against Pakistan.

However, no rewards were announced for the lads and they had to content with their match fees of Rs 250. In the next few months, Mankad was humiliated by the BCCI informing him that his place in the team wasn't confirmed and India could produce 10 spinners like him. He scored 223 runs and took 34 wickets in the series.

CD Gopinath is the only surviving member of that team.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-tour-of-india-1951-52-61800/india-vs-england-5th-test-62729/full-scorecard

होनहार बिरवान के होत चिकने पात ।

होनहार बिरवान के होत चिकने पात ।

Translation- Coming events cast their shadows before.

What Bengal thinks today, (the) world/India thinks tomorrow. Once upon a time, this was an established fact. Anything/everything novel used to take place there. Bengal is reknowned for its football mania, but the first cricket club outside England was set up in Bengal. Yes, you read that right. Not Australia, the Brits chose Calcutta first to set up a cricket club in 1792 and it was called the Calcutta cricket club.

At the turn of the 19th century, jingoism/patriotism was at an all time high. We were challenging Brits in everything, be it politics or sports. The outcome was Town Club in 1884. It was the brainchild of a bunch of Bengalis, including Saradaranjan Ray, who was the elder brother of Oscar winner Satyajit Ray's grandfather. Greatness was in the genes, you see. Town Club became the Mecca for all the Indian cricket enthusiasts.

When Lagaan released, I voraciously read all the articles to discover if the story was anyway inspired by a true incident. Finally, I can say that something like that definitely happened, but no "Lagaan" was involved sadly.

Such was the popularity of the Town Club that the reknowned revolutionary Hema Chandra Ghosh was its talent scout. He stumbled upon an effulgent young lad in General Assembly Institution's(now known as Scottish Church College) premises. The lad was Narendranath Dutta. His physique and agility totally floored Mr Ghosh. He asked the lad if he would be interested in trying his hands on cricket and the lad said yes in a heartbeat.

What transpired at the Eden Gardens, which was just 20 years old at the time, when CCC and Town Club met, was something which is etched in the cricket folklore to this day. The lad was rampant and he ran through the CCC top order and ended with seven wickets in the match. Although the result of the match is unknown, the heroics of this young lad is well documented.

Hema Chandra Ghosh was overwhelmed by the aura Narendra had and he was sure that he would go on to achieve immortality and he was bang on. The world later bowed down to his spirituality and philosophy. His "sisters and brothers of America" speech in Chicago achieved legendary status and the world woke up to a world leader by the name of SWAMI VIVEKANANDA.

What if he had continued with cricket? He would have been a LEGEND there as well because "Honhaar birwan k hot chikne paat".

P.S.- The Ray family was the first Indian cricketing family. Muktidaranjan and Kuladaranjan Ray were slick batsmen and Pramodaranjan Ray was one of the best fast bowlers of that era. Cricket often featured in Satyajit Ray's works.

Jassi Jaisa Koi Nahin!

"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."

I am a 90s kid, when cricket was awesome and fierce. I have seen Ambrose owning Aussies in their backyard. I have witnessed Aqib Javed demolishing India at Sharjah. These two are my all time favourite quick bowlers, but Waqar was someone else, something else (read it like Oliver Queen of Green Arrow). He was the one who moulded my young mind and stamped the fact that yorkers are the invincible balls bowled in cricket. No offense to Wasim who also had a mean yorker, but the banana inswing yorkers of Waqar were unparalleled.

There were a few who came after Waqar who tried to emulate his art of bowling yorkers, like Shoaib Akhtar, Shane O'Connor(I don't know if people remember him, but he had a decent yorker), Geoff Allot etc but the rightful heir debuted in 2004 and his name was Lasith Malinga. Malinga revolutionized the yorker.

As far as India is concerned, the best yorkers I have seen were from Anil Kumble and Manoj Prabhakar(sometimes). We have had decent fast bowlers but we never had an out an out tearaway fast bowler who could terrorise the batsman like Waqar did. But by Sachin's grace, everything changed on 6th December 1993, in Ahmedabad, when a Sikhni gave birth to a special kid and he was named Jasprit Bumrah. He lost his father at a tender age and was brought up by a single mother, who was a school Principal and a disciplinarian. No wonder Jassi is a focused and disciplined lad.

What caught everybody's eyeballs was Bumrah's queer action. This lad was a trophy hunter from day one. He made his T20 debut for Gujarat in 2012-13 in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy and helped his team win the title with a man of the match performance in the final. He was instantly picked up by Mumbai Indians for the 2013 edition. He didn't play all the matches, but MI won their first title that year and they haven't looked back since.

Many thought he isn't cut out for the best format, but he is the first Asian bowler to take a 5-fer in Australia, SA and England in a calender year. This has ruffled many feathers. For the first time ever, there is an Indian fast bowler, of whom the world is envious of. Pakistanis call him a "Polio patient", but Sohail Tanvir was a totally normal kid. Aussies call him "chucker". This is the term they used for a bowler who ended up with 1300+ wickets.

India is a formidable team now, courtesy Jassi. We can't thank him enough. Now we can proudly brag about our fast bowlers. Happy Birthday Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah. May you live long and prosper.

Vijayi Bhavah! Ayushmaan Bhavah!

Jassi Jaisa Koi Nahi!

Virendra Sehwag

पराक्रमो विजयते- The courageous always win.

I have been a Sachin fan all my life. But there was a brief period when I liked a certain cricketer as much as Sachin. The most spectacular thing about that cricketer was that he always lived in the extremes. If it was his day, he would demolish anyone and everyone, but if it wasn't, he could get out to a part timer. He was showered with praises one day and was castigated by the whole country on the other. Being a Sehwag fan was never easy. It is still not easy defending his exploits on the social media and in commentary box. But what the hell, he is my childhood hero, who played the way every Indian wanted every cricketer to play, but never wanted them to get out the way he used to get out, most of the times.

Ian Chappell once said in an interview that he has never seen a cricketer as unabashed and belligerent as Sehwag. He was a fan of his audacity. That is high praise coming from a man, who was not even impressed by the Great Donald Bradman. I totally agree with Ian. Sehwag was a unique cricketer who never gave a damn about what the experts or the fans thought about his style of playing. He just kept on with his merry ways and it paid dividends.

To be brutally honest, I used to find test matches soporiphic in the 1990s. I used to just check scores sporadically and used to get a glance of the last session. Last session of the day always fascinated me, because I feel that is the only time the bowlers have their noses in front. This is the reason Sehwag's 80+ against England while chasing 360+ is one of my favourite test innings because it was scored in the last session and it was carnage. He literally murdered Graeme Swann and changed the mood of the dressing room who were planning for a draw. This is what Viru did all his life, changed the perception of the cricket fans and Pundits, as to anything is possible.

So, yes, Viru was the reason why my interest in test matches spiked and what a daredevil he was. You have to be demented to go for a six when you are on 295, but he already gave Sachin his word that if Saqlain bowls that over, he will go for it and he did, inspite of Sachin advising otherwise. This is Viru for you. He even went against GOD. He tried the same during his 293 against Murali and failed. Everybody applauded the former incident and castigated the other. He was the hero and the villain, but he never cared and he still doesn't. There was Sir Viv who defined non-chalance once and Viru took it to another level.

I can never thank him enough for the memories and the goosebumps he gave me throughout his career. He was, is and will always be a CHAMPION.

Happy Birthday Viru! You are awwwwwwesome.