Flavours Of The Season

The comeback tale was scripted by Railways,a team which isn’t known for their flamboyance but when it comes to grit and determination they are second to none.

Bengal added just 29 runs to their overnight score before they were bowled out. Railways,a team that looked down and out till a couple of rounds ago,won by an innings and 10 runs to book a quarter-final berth.

Railways needed two outright wins to advance when going into the penultimate round. They got the better of Delhi at the Roshanara Club grounds on a wicket tailored to suit their more illustrious rivals. Eleven points in two games changed the fortunes of this Sanjay Bangar-led side.

While his team celebrated,coach Abhay Sharma wore the smile of a man who had a premonition of success.

“On the eve of the match against Delhi,opener Shreyas Khanolkar told me that we were in the same predicament in 2004 (when Railways won their second title). He told me that we could still go all the way. At that point,I thought he was just dreaming. But after we beat Delhi even I started dreaming about glory,” Sharma said.

The season began on a disastrous note for the team. They had to follow-on against Gujarat and conceded the first innings lead against Assam. They also suffered the heartbreak when they watched their teammate and off-spinner Kulamani Parida being called by the umpires. Parida,in his first class match No: 108,decided that he couldn’t suffer this humiliation and called it a day. There wasn’t a Railways player who didn’t shed a tear as Parida walked away from the game. The scene spoke volumes of the camaraderie in the team.

The side has no masseur so players pool in money and hire one after a hard day’s play — just one of the many things Railways’ players have to look after on their own. It’s perhaps this one-for-all and all-for-one attitude that has seen Railways rise from the relegation zone to the quarterfinals. After the next game against Mumbai,Railways had just two points from three games and it went up to three from four after the match against Tamil Nadu.

Coach Sharma believed that bad luck also played a part in the team struggling to make an impact. “We needed just 155 runs on the last day with ten wickets in hand against Assam but play was washed out. Against Mumbai we dropped a crucial catch which,if taken,would have have left Mumbai nine down. But when it mattered most we came up with the good,” Sharma added.

Finally with nothing to lose against Saurashtra,Railways started playing to their potential. Batting first,with nine wickets down for a middling total,the tenth-wicket partnership between Mahesh Rawat and Nilesh Chauhan added 90 runs. That stand proved crucial as Railways took three points. Against Delhi,they defended a total of 136 runs. The tide had begun to turn.

This season has been one of comebacks not just for the team but also for certain players. Medium-pacer Anureet Singh,who is Railways’ second highest wicket taker with 17 wickets from five matches,is returning after recuperating from a head injury and doing the hard miles to regain his form and focus. Indian Cricket League returnees— Jai Prakash Yadav and Shreyas Khanolkar—were welcomed back to the fold. Yadav returned the favour by picking up 30 wickets to be on top of the pile,while Khanolkar hit a century in his comeback game against Delhi.

Now,with the team advancing,players have put cricketing matters over family ties. Opener Faiz Fazal’s only sister is getting married on the day of Railways quarter-final match. Faiz has already decided that he will be on the cricket field rather than at the marriage hall. JP,meanwhile,laments that his 14-month old daughter has learnt to say ‘mama’ but not ‘papa’.

Bangar took over from Murali Kartik before the Delhi game but there has been no bad blood on view. But the change in fortunes is there for everyone to see.

With things falling into place once again Khanolkar continues to dream,ahead of the quarterfinal against Baroda. “Perhaps history can repeat itself,” he says with a glint in his eye.