World Champions of College Cricket!

Its cricket fever everywhere, more like lambast-your-team fever actually, so I did the same. “Out with the Duncan” (sounds so much like the way Mr. Sawant, my school P.T. teacher called us ‘donkey’) on social network and added how he had taken a world champion side and made it resemble my college cricket team. Not too much thought was actually put into the comparison but now that I think of it some common patterns do emerge. Ours too was a team that revolved around one man’s batting (Amit Hartalkar).
     A man who, when he batted, even the opposition couldn’t help but admire. A man who set records that were impossible then and seem improbable even now. A man whose legend eclipses all others before or after him. A man who told his batting partner (yours truly) that he would hit Sudeep’s first ball for a six and indeed deposited said delivery onto the boys’ hostel terrace. When he fell cheaply then we fell cheaply (except that one final where the middle and lower order pulled its weight). This man generally would come in after a swashbuckling opener (Pradnyesh ‘Sallu” Gorad) had lived by the sword and died by it too. A maverick who was as thrilling as he was exasperating. I am sure Swappy feels the same way about Sehwag as he did about Gorad in those days.

     Talking of Swapnil, he was one of the 2 bowlers we had. Of course we had others but the long and the short of our bowling attack were these 2 fellas. Iqbal, the “Malegaon Express” was just that – express fast, making the batsmen hop everytime he put his wrist into the action. The other (Swapnil Sonar) made the ball ‘sing’ like he sang in the canteen, line and length and movement on a tennis ball that you had to see to believe! But he came with a confidence that was like an icicle in the sun. Unplayable when ‘on-song’ he just needed a quiet word of encouragement when he wasn’t.
     Unfortunately the words of encouragement he got were never quiet. They came from a loud-mouthed oaf  (yours truly) who was probably the most frustrating wicket-keeper batsmen around. A batsman whom everyone had hopes from, who generally batted well in non-consequential friendly matches but not once in 5 years came up with an innings of worth when it mattered. When it came to wicket-keeping though, he was everywhere, most often in the oppositions’ faces, timing his abuses and insults so that his loud voice was not more than a foot away from the batsman’s ear when the choice word was uttered. His need for chatter made up for any lack of entertainment if the chip-chip-chip man (Dharmraj ‘Rajput’) was not manning the mic. 

     There were others in the team who should forgive me for not being able to mention them in detail – the left arm spinner (Sulabh Bhamare) who decimated the opposition in one series and then got banged all over the park in the next, the left-arm quick (Gopal 'Ashwin' Borkar) who probably played one match where he bowled one unplayable over due to his unerring angle and accuracy and another unplayable one because all the balls were wides, the excruciating middle order (Harshal, Durga, Gads) that knocked about runs one day and folded up the other, the complete team-man who fielded everywhere (Vijay Patil), wherever it may be never complaining once. The inexplicable left handed batsman (Nipam) who never needed a fielder on the off-side and the tall, languid coach (Abhijit ‘Gary’ Kasture) who with his book and pen (didn’t then have his now omnipresent laptop) always had the most accurate statistics and tips at the end of the day’s play.

Well I call him Gary not just in relation to the South African of the same name but also the Russian, for besides cricket there was one other passionate sport we played – chess..... (to be contd.)