The former Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar looked back at the point in time when a young Sachin Tendulkar impressed him during a Ranji Trophy match to keep on going for a long time and make the country proud with his bright future.
The former top-order batter had a memorable time with the bat in hand, as he notched up 6868 runs in 185 innings, at an average of 42.13, celebrating 35 half-centuries and 17 centuries, with a best score of 166.
Dilip Vengsarkar, during the launch of the book named, ‘Fab Five The Pandavas of India’s Batting’ in Mumbai, recalled how he had a great partnership with the former Indian captain, who kept on moving up in his career with phenomenal performances.
“That is what happened”- Dilip Vengsarkar on Sachin Tendulkar’s batting
Dilip Vengsarkar, similar to Tendulkar, has crossed the hard years of Mumbai cricket before being part of the Indian set-up, as he highlighted an old match against Hyderabad on a challenging slow and low-turning track.
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“I remember, we were playing against Hyderabad on a turning track. Arshad Ayub and Venkatapathy Raju were bowling. They were very good and me and Sachin had a long partnership.” The Rajapur-born expressed in the Programme.
Ayub has featured for the national side in 13 Tests, picking up 41 wickets at an average of 35.07, while the left-arm spinner Venkatapathy Rajumpicked up 93 wickets for India in 28 games at an average of over 30.
The way Sachin batted on that day against both of these bowlers gave a hint of his upcoming success in the game to the veteran.
“He was going so well on a turning track. I thought he was going to go place and that’s what happened.” Dilip Vengsarkar remarked.
The former chairman of the selection committee also shared the memory of the famous final game between Mumbai and Haryana in the Rajni Trophy during the 1991 season.
“There was this match in 1991 against Haryana- the Ranji Trophy final- and the way he batted. We were chasing 355 and were 22 for three wickets (34/3 to be precise).” Dilip Vengsarkar, who cracked a top-class knock of 139 runs, spoke about the 96 runs of Tendulkar. “The way he played in that innings was brilliant. We could have won the game had he stayed there a couple of overs more.”
The giants of domestic cricket- Mumbai lost that final by a mere two runs against Haryana, which was led by the former world-cup-winning Indian captain, Kapil Dev.
The former top-order batter also remembered the moment when another former captain and the opening batter of the team, Saurav Ganguly, was picked as the fourth seamer during their tour to Australia, initially.
“On that tour, he (Ganguly) was selected as the fourth seamer, and he was asked to go to the nets. After two deliveries, he said ‘I am not a bowler and I want to bat.” Dilip Vengsarkar shaded light. “Ganguly was told that he was picked as the fourth seamer. But he didn’t get opportunities on that tour. After a few years, he was picked for the tour of England.”
The former batter also praised the World Cup-winning coach of the team, Rahul Dravid, for his gradual development, which made him the best in the world.
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“Every batsman must improve. You can’t bat in the first gear all the time, You have to bat in the second, third, and fourth gear. As the years passed by, Rahul improved tremendously and was one of the best batsmen in the world.” He noted.
Dilip Vengsarkar concluded by touching on the point of how the knock of 281 runs by VVS Laxman against Australia in Kolkata changed the mentality of Indian cricket.