I had played against Bombay for Maharashtra, for Baroda, and for Rest of India for well over 20 years. And irrespective of the team that I was playing for, the aspect that always amazed me about Bombay cricketers is their confidence.
During the 1950s and ‘60s, when Bombay would have eight cricketers playing for India, it was natural that the team would be a confident lot with even half of them available for a Ranji or an Irani match. But even the novices used to be way too confident than the veterans from other teams.
Bombay versus Maharashtra back in those days was like a war of roses. In Maharashtra, we would often be hailed as kings if we beat Bombay and not do anything of note in the knockouts. More than the final that we played against them (in Mumbai in 1970-71), I would never forget a cliff-hanger in Aurangabad (in 1968-69). It was a three-day league tie on a matting pitch. I scored some runs (88) and Vijay Bhosale scored a hundred (119). It wasn’t a huge total (327) but we kept picking wickets and eventually dismissed Bombay just one run short of the total. For the opposition teams during my era, performing against Bombay was a road to Test cricket.
Mr. Borde is a former India captain, cricket manager, and chairman of selectors.
