MV Sridhar was a genius strategist, perhaps at par with Percy Fender. I wish he got more coverage.
Let me explain what I am talking about.
This took place on this day, 1997.
Before getting into what he did, let me explain what the Ranji Trophy rules used to be at that point.
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There were five zones. Three teams qualified for the Super League.
Of the six South Zone teams, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Hyderabad were the likeliest to qualify.
However, an odd win from Andhra, Kerala, or Goa changed that from time to time.
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Now for the points system.
8: outright win
5: first-innings lead in draw
3: conceding first-innings lead in draw;
2: abandoned (or no result on first innings)
0: outright defeat.
Three matches started on November 22 that year.
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Tamil Nadu vs Hyderabad, Chepauk
Karnataka vs Andhra, Vijayawada
Kerala vs Goa, Panjim
The table looked like this before this round (every side would play 5 matches in all).
Karnataka were as good as through, but none of the others were remotely close to being certain.
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Tamil Nadu bowled.
Only 19.3 overs of cricket was possible on Day 1. Hyderabad got to 30/2.
There was no play on Day 2.
Heavy rain (and next to no rain) was predicted for Days 3 and 4.
It seemed Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad were set to split 2 points each and stay on 12.
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It had rained in Vijayawada as well. Karnataka were 374/4 after two days.
Karnataka were on top, but Andhra were likely to get 3 and reach 13.
At Panjim, Kerala were 53/1 after bowling out Goa for 339.
5 would take Goa to 13, 8 to 16.
8 would take Kerala to 14 as well.
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This was not good news, but Sridhar found a way around this.
He declared at 30/2 as soon as there was chance of play.
The reasoning was sound. With heavy rain predicted, Tamil Nadu would not be able to win outright.
There was not enough time for Hyderabad to get 5 either.
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But there was a chance for Tamil Nadu to take first-innings lead.
That would give them 5 and Hyderabad 3, which was an improvement on 2.
While this would give Tamil Nadu an advantage, they were likely to qualify anyway.
Sridhar opted for this.
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After 22.5 overs of attritional cricket, Tamil Nadu managed to score 33/1. There was no further play in the match.
Tamil Nadu got 5 (to reach 15), Hyderabad 3 (13).
Meanwhile, Karnataka got 5 (29) and Andhra 3 (13), while Kerala got 5 (11) and Goa 3 (11).
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Hyderabad and Andhra were tied, but Hyderabad had a match in hand.
They now played Goa, whom they thrashed by an innings (Laxman 145*, Azhar 87, Narender Singh 7/24 and 3/24).
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Hyderabad expectedly went through.
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Sridhar's strategy did not matter in the end, but it might have.
What if Andhra had got 5 against Karnataka (and reached 15) and Hyderabad's last match was abandoned as well (2+2, 14)?
Everyone is aware of the records and her many struggles against all odds, so I shall stick to the first time the unstoppable force of Indian cricket met the immovable object.
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Rae Bareilly, 2000.
East Zone had folded for 102 in the Chandra Tripathi Under-19 Tournament.
Opening batting for South Zone were Karu Jain and the wonderkid of Indian cricket, Mithali Raj, also captain of the side.
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Rumeli Dhar bowled the first over.
Then Bobby Dutta summoned Goswami.
"I was thinking, wow, she is an India player. That gave me a boost when I was bowling."
(source: The Fire Burns Blue)
Goswami got the yorker right.
All three stumps were knocked out by the impact.
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An all-rounder in every possible way. He was
- an excellent batsman
- bowled underarm lobs
- bowled roundarm fast
- kept wickets
- led England to two wins in two Tests
He also taught Ranji the leg-glance.
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The last bit was Ranji's own confession, as mentioned by CB Fry in a 1939 piece titled The Founder of Modern Batsmanship.
Read was in England's squad for the 1882-83 series, and finds a mention on the Ashes urn (check second line, third word).
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Read's most famous innings came in The Oval Test of 1884.
He came to bat at 181/8 after Australia piled on 551.
Having opened batting, Scotton had characteristically crawled to 53 at the other end.
On this day, 1930, Jack Hobbs refused to play a match in Calcutta.
What happened was like this.
Vizzy had recruited both Hobbs and Sutcliffe for his personal team for the 1930-31 season.
Both had adjusted to India and had got runs by the time the teams moved to Calcutta.
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After two days of cricket, the score at Eden Gardens read
Bengal Governor's XI 173 and 46, Vizzy's XI 78 and 25/0.
Vizzy had held back Hobbs and Sutcliffe during the chase.
The next day was a Sunday, the rest day of the match.
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But the hectic scheduling meant that Vizzy's men had to play a one-day one-innings match, against Calcutta Sporting Union – at the Sporting Union Ground.