Sonnet in record books with 405-run win

For 28 years,Laxman Dass memorial cricket tournament has been an integral part of Delhi's summer circuit.

For 28 years,Laxman Dass memorial cricket tournament has been an integral part of Delhi’s summer circuit. On Tuesday afternoon,it entered into the record books,albeit for reasons that won’t make the organisers happy. Playing a pre-quarterfinal game at the St Stephens college ground,Sonnet Club defeated RCC Club,Gorakhpur by a whopping 405 runs. It’s the biggest ever margin of victory for any side in Indian cricket,and in the absence of authentic records at the amatuer level,club officials are trying to ascertain if its the biggest ever,worldwide.

Batting first,Sonnet compiled a massive 440 for 4 in their 40 overs another club record with Uttar Pradesh wicket-keeper batsman Eklavya Dwivedi scoring 208 runs from just 114 balls,with 35 boundaries and four sixes,while Delhi batsman Milind Kumar scored 122. In reply,the team from Gorakhpur was dismissed for a paltry 35 in just 15.2 overs with comeback man Chetanya Nanda claiming three wickets.

“These are young boys who don’t have the experience of playing against big teams. They just play 15 to 20 overs cricket back home and they wanted to get the taste of bigger cricket. Of course,we didn’t want to lose in the manner that we did but none of the boys are disillusioned. Sonnet is a big team and they have a star-studed team with all Ranji players,so it was always going to be difficult,” says Sunil Rana,who has mentored Gorakhpur side.

No ticket to greenhorns

Tournament organiser Mahendra Chabbra,however is not buying his argument anymore and has decided to bar the team in future. “I have never seen such a lop-sided contest in the 28 years of running this tournament. The problem is when outstation teams come,it’s difficult to predict how they will fare. We were requested to give a chance to the side from Gorakhpur. But now I have no choice,I cannot allow them again,” he says.

Eklavya,however says he will cherish his maiden double ton,no matter what people have to say about the opposition. “It will always remain a special knock. There was little coming from the opposition but even in these circumstances it is important to keep your concentration going. To get a double hundred in 40 overs is no easy task,no matter how weak the opposition is. You still have to put the ball out of the park and place it in the gaps,” says Eklavya.

After his own exploits,the batsman spent Tuesday evening watching his franchise,Pune Warriors,lose to Deccan Chargers. He hopes to be a part of IPL at some point and is keeping himself match-fit.”You never know when a player can get injured or there’s a change of plans from the team management,and I can get a break. I just want to keep myself ready for all eventuality,” he adds.

Milind,on his part,said beyond a point,it was a joke. “We decided to bat first because we didn’t know how the opposition was but by the end of first two overs,we knew it will be an easy outing. When I and Eklavya were batting,we just told each other that there are easy runs for taking and we should not miss out. Eklavya did better than me,it was difficult to keep concentrating because there was no challenge from the bowlers. Even when we went out to field,we gave our bowlers a target of 100 but they did more than our expectations,” says Milind.

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Brief scores: Sonnet 440 for 4 in 40 overs (Eklavya Diwedi 208,Milind Kumar 122,Karan Harit 70,Arun Kumar 2/38) vs RCC Gorakhpur:35 all out in 15.2 overs (Suraj Kumar 13,Subodh Bhati 5/04,Chetanya Nanda 3/08).

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