Zaheer Khan runs through Railways

By G. Viswanath

VADODARA, APRIL 23. Zaheer Khan was the hero in Baroda's fifth win in the Ranji Trophy championship at the GSFC ground on Monday. His two short bursts in which he took five wickets brought victory to Baroda after Jacob Martin's team appeared to have yielded much to Railways' aggressive seventh-wicket pair in Sudhir Wankhede and Santosh Sahu. It was a point of time when Railways had progressed by 83 runs in as many minutes but Khan returned for his second spell of the morning, showed aggression, bowled fast and realised a great win for Baroda. His five wickets off 56 balls in which he conceded only 16 runs, was a classic effort that fetched him the `Man of the match' award and Rs. 25,000 with it.

With Baroda winning the final about twenty minutes before lunch on the fifth day, the giants of an era regarded as most distinctive in the history of the Ranji Trophy championship gave pride and prestige to a new generation of players on Monday. The scenes of joy and uninhibited revelry reflected the mood of the 3,000-odd spectators who had yearned for victory for the home team. More than forty years ago, Baroda owed its exalted position in the National championship to the presence of half a dozen great players, one of whom, Capt. Vijay Hazare, was bestowed a place in the Pantheon of Indian cricket. The living legends are still revered and their achievements recalled for sentimental reasons. Baroda's decline was marked, since Dattajirao Gaekwad's team beat the Services at the Motibagh Palace ground to win the Ranji Trophy. But Baroda's cricket opened a fresh chapter in the history of the championship on Monday when Jacob Martin's young team beat Railways by 21 runs and regained the trophy. Dattajirao Gaekwad, who was the captain of the 1957-58 team was present at the ground to see the dramatic moments, before Baroda pulled off its fifth overall in National championship.

There was the ebb and flow of fortunes in the first session in which itself the ultimate winner was determined. Baroda's optimism to win the match stemmed from the fact that it had the spinners to exploit the crumbling pitch. Martin assumed his trump card would be left-arm spinner Valmik Buch and off- spinner Ajit Bhoite playing the supporting role.

Khan strikes early

However, it did not turn out to be that way even after Khan won an appeal from umpire Jasbir Singh who ruled Yere Goud caught by wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia, with the addition of just 10 runs in the morning.

Goud was unhappy with the decision. He had pushed forward to defend Khan and gave an impression he had not played the ball. Goud returned to the dressing room slowly and thoroughly disappointed. He was the batsman in form and Railway's attempt to win the final hinged largely on his batting skills. Soon Khan produced another wicket when Jasbir Singh adjudged Shreyas Khanolkar leg before. Within half hour, Railways was in doldrums at 107 for six wickets and a good 116 runs away from the target. After bowling an incisive opening spell of seven overs in which he dismissed Goud and Khanolkar, Khan was banished to the countryside. The two quick wickets gained by 10 O'clock - play started 30 minutes before the normal time - made Baroda and its captain Martin a little over-confident. Martin believed that nerves would play on the following Railways batsmen. ``We waited for wickets to fall,'' said Martin later in the afternoon.

Railways was in a very difficult situation. But Santosh Sahu and Sudhir Wankhede - the latter playing his first match - made light of the double blow caused by Khan and seemed to be least perturbed. They were determined to battle it out which they did up to a point when Baroda's captain was compelled to look at Khan when Railways was 34 runs short of the target. Sahu employed the sweep to good use against Bhoite and Buch, while Wankhede rotated the strike efficiently.

What must have bothered Martin was the speed at which Sahu and Wankhede were scoring off the spinners. Buch's tactics to bowl to a negative line did not work. It was after the two had made a run-a-minute 83 for the seventh wicket that Khan broke the partnership when he had Sahu edge to Martin at first slip. The left-arm fast bowler first made Sahu dig out a yorker-length delivery and then angled a short delivery that lifted and went to Mongia of the batsman's bat.

Then Bhoite, who was brought in to bowl to the left- hander Murali Kartik, won an appeal for caught at the wicket from umpire Shavir Tarapore. The highest scorer for Railways in the first innings, Kartik showed his bat and displeasure to the umpire. Such a behaviour would have earned Kartik a severe punishment in an international series. Railways skipper Abhay Sharma said the decisions against Goud and Kartik went against his team. ``It worked both ways. It always happens in close matches,'' said the Baroda captain Martin. The Railways team management has lodged a complaint against a couple of decisions, with Mr. Rakesh Shukla, the Match referee.

Fitting finish

Khan gave a fitting finish to his spell when he bowled Wankhede, whose half-century proved to be a futile effort. Khan exulted when he saw the bails flying, but quickly darted to the dressing room with a mass of Baroda supporters invading the ground. ``He (Khan) was tired and was not in the field for two or three overs. I had to take the umpires' permission before I decided to bowl him,'' said Martin.

The home team celebrated a great win with each player asked to dance on the table. A man who was happy to see Baroda win after 43 years was Dattajirao Gaekwad. ``It's unfortunate Vijay Hazare is not here. I have never seen a Baroda team so tense and anxious. In our time we had great players, six of them were playing for India then. As captain, it was difficult for me to decide on the batting order. I am happy the team played well, but I would have decided to field on the first day because the three seamers could have bowled well on a lively pitch,'' said Dattajirao Gaekwad. His son Aunshuman Gaekwad said, ``It's his opinion. What would have happened if the team was to bat on the fifth day and on a pitch like this,'' asked Aunshuman.

According to the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) Hon. Secretary, Mr. Jaywant Lele, each player will receive close to Rs. one lakh. The Ranji Trophy was presented to Jacob Martin by the BCA President Mr. Chirayu Amin. Baroda received Rs. 3.50 lakhs and Railways Rs. 1.50 lakhs as prize money from the BCCI.

The scores:

Baroda - 1st innings: 243

Railways - 1st innings: 394

Baroda - 2nd innings: 373

Railways - 2nd innings: A. Pagnis c & b Bhoite 31, Sanjay Bangar b Buch 7, Tejinderpal Singh c Khan b Bhoite 5, Yere Goud c Mongia b Khan 20, Abhay Sharma c Williams b Buch 17, Sudhir Wankhede b Khan 58, Shreyas Khanolkar lbw b Khan 3, Santosh Sahu c Martin b Khan 42, Murali Kartik c Mongia b Bhoite 2, Kulamani Parida c Buch b Khan 0, Harvinder Singh (not out) 2, Extras (b-4, lb-7, nb-2, w-1) 14, Total (in 64.2 overs) 201.

Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-44, 3-48, 4-69, 5-101, 6-107, 7-190, 8- 193, 9-194.

Baroda bowling: Khan 18.2-1-43-5, Pathan (jr) 2-0-13-0, Buch 26-7-75-2, Bhoite 18-1-59-3.

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