Domestic cricket giants bid adieu

In the space of a couple of days last week two domestic cricket stalwarts made their way to Elysian Fields Sudhakar Adhikari the former Mumbai opening batsman passed away in the city on Friday at the age of 82 The following day Maharashtrarsquos swing bowling exponent Sadanand Mohol 83 breathed his last in PuneTheir careers ran parallel for a while and both deserved an India Test cap Adhikari scored a mountain of runs in firstclass cricket and must rank as one of the most unfortunate of Mumbai batsmen in that era not to find favour with the national selection committee mostly headed by M Datta Ray in the 1960s 196364 to 196768The same committee picked Mohol for the 1967 tour of England but a leg injury early on the tour meant he couldnrsquot be part of the Test series which ended 30 in Englandrsquos favourA year earlier while opening the bowling for Indian Board Presidentrsquos XI against Maharashtra Small Savings Ministerrsquos and Life Insurance Companyrsquos Chairmanrsquos Combined XI in a firstclass fixture at Club of Maharashtra Pune Mohol claimed four wickets in four balls His victims were Ajit Wadekar Adhikari MS Gupte and ML JaisimhaMAK Pataudi reportedly said in his pretour press conference that Mohol could be the teamrsquos main bowler if he adapts to English conditions As it turned out Mohol played only seven out of the 20 games on the tour and claimed 12 wickets the only one from the 16man England tour party to return home without playing a TestVijay Bhosale the formidable middleorder batsman who played with and against Mohol in the Ranji Trophy recalled that his close friend was a dangerous bowler especially on matting pitches ldquoWe were all disappointed to hear about what happened to him on the 1967 England tour He was good enough to be part of the Tests I will remember him as a loyal friend who used to accompany me on my league cricket tours to England And he was one bowler who the strong Mumbai team were always wary ofrdquo Bhosale told me from AucklandBaroda Maharashtra and Mumbaicapped Bhosalersquos views on Moholrsquos proficiency in bowling on matting tracks are complemented by what sports writer Sharad Kotnis wrote in the 1967 edition of Indian Cricket annual which had Mohol as one of their five cricketers of the year ldquoMoholrsquos deadly accuracy on matting wickets is proved beyond doubt in Maharashtrarsquos two clashes with starstudded Bombay in 196465 and 196667 When the MaharashtraBombay tie is played at the Brabourne Stadium Mohol is hit all over the place but in the two clashes mentioned above at Satara and Aurangabad on matting wickets Mohol had sweet revenge It was his quick breakthrough at the start and then the accuracy with the old ball that prevented Bombay from taking the first innings lead over Maharashtra on both occasionsrdquoThe Brabourne clash which Kotnis was referring to was the 196566 one which also featured Adhikari who smashed 110 on Day One Mumbai took first innings honours in the drawn game but Mohol struck three quick blows Engineer Adhikari and Vasu Paranjape on the final day to have Mumbai reeling at 323 before the hosts ended the encounter with 1564Farokh Engineer and Adhikari joined forces for some memorable partnerships At the Eden Gardens in the 196263 Ranji Trophy semifinal against Bengal the duo put on 269 for the first wicket in response to Bengalrsquos first innings score of 322 Reputed writer Berry Sarbadhikary waxed eloquent in his piece for the 196364 Indian Cricket Field Annual ldquoFarokh Engineer assaulted the Bengal bowlingmdashdepleted by Lester King one of the four West Indian fast bowlers deputed for domestic cricket in India straining a thigh muscle in his second overmdashwith such gay abandon that he completed his century in two hours with a six and l5 fours Although Adhikari also attacked the bowling his batting looked pedestrian in comparison with Engineerrsquos Engineer enjoyed two lives and Adhikari was let off once but these chances should not detract from their superb performances which for entertainment value are rarely matched these daysrdquoIf Adhikarirsquos blade often turned out to be punitive making the lives of bowlers miserable he was funloving off the field His Shivaji Park Gymkhana and Mumbai colleague Chandrakant Patankar the former Test wicketkeeper said he was a prankster who lightened up the dressing room ldquoHe had all the shots and was a livewire in the dressing room He should have played for Indiardquo Patankar told me on MondayAdhikarirsquos best score under a Mumbai cap was his 192 against Maharashtra at Pune in 196162 but he would have rated his 150 for CCI Presidentrsquos XI against International XI at the Brabourne Stadium in April 1962 very highly The opposition attack comprised Test men Harold Rhodes England Richie Benaud Ian Meckiff and Bob Simpson Australia and Sonny Ramadhin West Indies In his book on Mumbai cricket former firstclass player Vilas Godbole recalled how Adhikarirsquos six off Benaud landed in the CCI parking lot in that matchSimpson had seen Adhikari score consistently on CCIrsquos tour of Australia earlier that year and on his 196465 Test trip to India he expressed his surprise over Adhikari not being in the India Test team by thenAdhikari is fondly remembered in Mumbai cricket for arriving at the Brabourne Stadium for a Ranji Trophy match a little after his wedding ceremony He hit a hundred and rushed back for the receptionBoth men fought hard and lived a full life took setbacks in their stride and put a smile on peoplersquos faces Our heroes even if unsungmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper