A cool and composed Hrishikesh Kanitkar was in rollicking form and he scored a rocking century on a featherbed at the Brabourne Stadium. Mumbai’s listless bowlers saw the left hander thump shots in front and square of the wicket, see through three sessions and steer Rajasthan to a commanding position by stumps on Thursday in the Ranji Trophy Super League match. From the time he penalised a first-ball half volley from medium pacer trundler Murtuza Husain to the mid off fence, the veteran of 128 first class matches dictated terms. It was a classic captain’s knock, a first big effort at the historical venue and a 31st first class century after another senior professional Akash Chopra was declared leg before by umpire Bharti Vij in the 13th over.
The Ranji Trophy history is replete with terrific stories of Bombay- Rajasthan skirmishes and the former’s complete dominance. But last year Rajasthan changed the one-dimensional results and knocked out Mumbai from the national championship in the quarter-finals at Jaipur. On Thursday, Kanitkar did not allow any leeway for the home team to take control after winning the toss. Had he been alive, Raj Singh Dungarpur, one among the many Rajasthan cricketers to endure the pains of several reverses, would have been delighted at Mumbai’s sorry plight at the hands of Rajasthan and applauded every shot from the balcony of the Cricket Club of India.
Kanitkar ---- three days from his 37th birth day and not far from reaching 10,000 runs in all first class competitions --- though would have seen his intense engagement as a simple contest between bat and ball. Having played 68 matches for Maharashtra and thereafter ten matches for Madhya Pradesh, no way would he have allowed his nerves to come under pressure. He’s playing as a professional for the second year running for Rajasthan and giving a practical demonstration to the team’s youngsters the ways and means to deal with a champion team depicting high skill, temperament and leardership.
Rajasthan needed the Kanitkar-push --- on two counts ---- to keep the entire team motivated in the early part of the tournament. First he was a batsman at No. 3 and then a leader. After a dismal start this season against Rest of India in the Zal Irani Cup, Rajasthan conceded 623 runs to Karnataka last week at Udaipur with last year’s find Deepak Chahar unable to make any impact. Kanitkar made 17 and 45. ``Last year we started in the Plate league and went on to win the championship. This is the first year we are playing in the Super League from the start and all against some tough teams and hence a challenge for the team. As a professional I have to pass on the experience I have gained to he young players in the team. We did not bowl badly at Udaipur, but after the dismissal of Robin Uthappa, they really batted well and after they crossed 300, Stuart Binny took away the match. Chahar is trying to find his rhythm,’’ said Kanitkar.
Kanitakar is well-versed with the ups and downs a sportsman has to face in a long career and also the whims of the administrators. He may fit into any of the categories ---- pugnacious, stylish and stoical ---- the last attribute suggesting that he made grit his companion while donning the Maharashtra colours first. Last year he achieved a career- high so to say leading Rajasthan to its maiden Ranji Trophy triumph. It was a proud moment for the doughty cricketer who could not stretch his India appearances in not more than two Tests and 34 one-day internationals. One of his most memorable moments was hitting a winning boundary shot of off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq in the penultimate ball of the India-Pakistan final of the Bangladesh Independence Cup at Dhaka in 1998. Pakistan made 314 and India 316 with two balls remaining he struck that glorious shot some thirteen years ago, but somehow, like many Indian first class cricketers, he failed to perform to potential in the opportunities he got to play for India.
He’s one of the many cricketers who has taken his chance as a professional and made a big contribution to the adopted side and even see its dream come true. Last year, he made 113, his first century against Mumbai in the quarter-finals and on Thursday he baulked Wasim Jaffer’s team again with a near flawless century that calmed nerves in the old governor’s pavilion at the CCI. In the first session on the second day (Friday) of the four-day league match, he was still showing the broad blade to the Mumbai bowlers and observing his captain’s determined effort was Robin Bist, just like Ashok Menaria did for almost two hours on Thursday.
