da realbet： By 1959, at the end of a sorry decade for Indian cricket, not onlywere there no bowlers in the country who could bowl anythingabove military medium, but the batsmen also were getting bombardedby pacemen from other countries
da wazamba： Partab Ramchand05-Sep-2017By 1959, at the end of a sorry decade for Indian cricket, not onlywere there no bowlers in the country who could bowl anythingabove military medium, but the batsmen also were getting bombardedby pacemen from other countries. Through the decade, bowlerslike Ramchand and Phadkar gamely had carried on the Indian newball attack but their effectiveness had gradually declined. Thedays when the Indian opening attack included names like Pataudi, Kunderan, Gavaskar, Wadekar and Subramanyam were still ahead butthe scenario was pretty desperate by the end of the fifties.It was at this stage that Ramakant Desai burst upon the scene. Notyet 20, only around 5 feet, 6 inches in height and slightly built,he seemed an unlikely prospect. But somehow from that comparatively tiny frame, he was able to unleash pace and bounce that disconcerted the best of Indian batsmen. A series of wicket taking performancesin his maiden season in first class cricket in 1958-59 saw him pitchforked into the Indian side to play West Indies in the finalTest of the series. The visitors had already wrapped up the seriesby winning three successive Tests and it was taken for grantedthat they would record a fourth straight triumph at the Kotlaground in New Delhi.The selectors had cast the net around in trying to build a teamfor the tour of England in 1959 and Desai got the nod for thelast Test. The heartless Kotla ground is not exactly the bestpitch for a fast bowler to be making his debut. But even as theWest Indies piled up the runs, Desai was the only bowler who wasnot collared. Not only that, he surprised the much vaunted battingline up – Holt, Hunte, Sobers, Kanhai, Butcher, Solomon, Smith -with his pace and lift and even was bold enough to bounce the ballat them. And at the end of the West Indies innings which lastedtwo days and realised a total of 644 for eight declared, Desaicould walk back to the pavilion with his head high for he hadtaken four wickets for 169 off 49 overs. His victims were Holt,Kanhai, Smith and Sobers – a dream bag especially on one’s debut.To put Desai’s feat in proper perspective, it must be pointed outthat the two great spinners Mankad and Gupte finished wicketlessafter bowling 55 and 60 overs and conceding 167 and 144 runs respectively.So Desai had arrived and it did seem that Indian cricket haddiscovered a medium fast bowler of quality. He finished with 50wickets in his first Ranji Trophy season, a record that stoodtill 1972-73 and embarked on his first tour with confidence. Heplayed in all five Tests in England in 1959 but his inexperienceshowed and he was quite expensive. But he did enjoy a golden momentin the second Test at Lord’s when he took five wickets for 89 runsin the first innings. He fared better against Australia in 1959-60 taking four wickets in the first innings of the fourth Test atMadras and repeated the feat in the final Test at Calcutta.By the time Pakistan came over the next season, Desai was at hispeak. He had even the great Hanif Mohammed hopping at times andthe legendary opening batsman was generally all at sea as Desai troubled him with his pace and bounce. He finished the series with21 wickets. But he had a less happy time against England thefollowing season as also in the West Indies in 1962.By the early sixties, the Indian pitches had become so spinoriented that pacemen were used for just a few overs. It was sadto see a bowler like Desai reduced to this state and indeed he wasmore out than in the team for some time. Still whenever he wasgiven a chance, he showed he still had a lot of fire in him asproved by his four for 128 in New Zealand’s first innings atCalcutta in 1965 and his six for 56 against the same opponentsin the next Test at Bombay. But by now, the Indian pitches wereheavily loaded against pacemen and he missed many matches – theentire series against Australia in 1964-65, the entire seriesagainst West Indies in 1966-67 and the tour of England in 1967.He was however recalled for the tour of Australia and New Zealandin 1967-68 but by now, he was no more the force he had once been.The continued neglect by the selectors and the benign nature ofthe pitches had discouraged him and with his own slight frame notbeing able to take the load further, his effectiveness had beengreatly reduced and it was a matter of time before he called ita day. Desai’s tale is one of the tragic episodes in Indiancricket.Desai was no rabbit with the bat. He was good enough to get acentury in the Ranji Trophy final against Rajasthan in 1962-63.And against Pakistan at Bombay two years before, he hit a brisk85 dominating a ninth wicket partnership of 149 with PG Joshi,which still stands as the Indian record. A popular team man,Desai’s premature retirement was still a loss to Indian cricket.Many years after his playing days were over, he emerged as thechairman of the national selection committee. But it was a farfrom happy tenure. By this time he had health problems and died following a heart attack shortly before his 59th birthday. Todayon his 61st birth anniversary, it is worth recalling the deedsof `Tiny’ Desai who strove manfully in uphill conditions.
