Another 'blast from the past' from Pradipto......from being a 'guest' blogger he is becoming the 'main' blogger !! Another superbly written piece about a very memorable occasion from our youth.
Please also checkout my memories of this important cricketing milestone at the bottom of the blog..............
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One Day Wonders and Meeting Saba Bhai…..
“Keenan mein ODI dekhne Jana Hai?” My question propped up Azfar and Danish from their prone positions while lazing on the football ground of St. Xavier’s College. I was not too sure of Danish, but I knew Azfar could possibly give up his right hand to watch the India-England ODI in Keenan Stadium at Jamshedpur which was to be played on 1st March, 1993.
It was the Holy month of Ramzan and both Danish and Azfar were on their fast. Danish reacted as expected – “Ramzan hai yaar, how will we manage?” Roza Kaise Todenge?” etc etc…For Azfar of course, these road blocks were inconsequential. As one of the biggest cricket fanatics I know (as you can see from his blogs), he definitely could not let go off the experience of watching Kapil, Sidhu, Sachin and the team in flesh and blood. My uncle used to work for a bank in Jamshedpur and he knew some officials of Bihar Cricket Association who were his customers. He had promised me 3 passes for the match. We promptly overruled Danish’s feeble protests and quite obviously decided on going to Jamshedpur.
It was Sunday when we landed up in my Nanihaal in Jamshedpur, and my Mamas, Mamis, their kids and my Naani were all at home and we got a tremendous welcome. The weather however, had different plans. It was raining incessantly and we kept praying for a clear sky the next day. Till this day, I am touched and proud of my aunts as they woke up early in the morning and prepared Sehri for Danish and Azfar.
We reached Keenan well in time and moved through the snaking line to the stands. The first thing that I remember was the greenness of the turf. It was captivating. They say that Keenan has the greenest and fastest outfield in India. The rain had ceased and it looked as if they could manage a full day’s game. There was not a single empty seat. We were lucky to have our seats perpendicular to the pitch and in the middle stands. All went well and the toss was about to happen when the skies opened up again. Torrential rains! We could do nothing but sit there and get wet. The groundsmen went into a tizzy, covers were up and our morale down. In no time, the crowd started getting restive and unruly. We feared a riot and were preparing to leave in case the police were unable to control the crowd. It was a horrendous let down.
By lunch time, the rains again stopped and much to our joy we got to know that the match will start. Thank God for not giving up. It was reduced to a 26 over fair. Something was better than nothing. England won the toss and put us to bat. After all these years, I do not remember the details of the match and it will be unfair to establish the longevity of my memory by stealing details from espncricinfo, but it was definitely riveting to watch a match live at the stadium. The only incident I remember was Prabhakar’s wicket. We could not make out at all. The ball came in and was collected by the keeper and we saw Manoj Prabhakar walking out. Apparently there was a nick – something that you cannot figure out in live matches in the stadium. Every time Sachin or Kapil or Prabhakar came close to the boundary, there was uproar. It was funny to see how the Bihari crowd treated Sachin. A bachelor and young lad at that time, he was shown posters of improperly clad playboy models the moment he rushed to field a ball near the boundary. We saw the legendary British stalwarts of the game …… Gooch, Robin Smith, Graeme Hick, Fairbrother and Jarvis in action, which was like dream come true. The one player whose presence still confuses my memory – Gladstone Small, the neck-less pacer for England. I thought he was there in the team, but I couldn't find him in the records of this game on cricinfo (http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64414.html). To see our demi-gods out of the television screen is a memory that can never be erased in this lifetime. It was heartbreaking to see India lose the match. For us however, the despair of India’s defeat was somewhat balanced by the experience of watching a live match for the first time. We came back to my Nanihaal and described the whole experience in great details to my uncles.
While returning to Ranchi the next day, we were flabbergasted to see the crowd at Jamshedpur bus stand. Each of the Ranchi bound buses were pickle- packed and we were unable to board the first two or three. We worked as a team strategically and braced ourselves to somehow get a foothold on the next one. Teamwork paid and we could finally squeeze in through the door and managed to win some seating place on the bonnet of the bus next to the driver. It was hot on our posteriors, but at least we were assured of sitting through the 3 hours journey. While, we were marveling at this great feat, my dearest friend Azfar abruptly shot up. Initially we though the heat would have scalded his derrière to the point of no return, but no…… he not only shot up from the bonnet, but shot right out of the bus.
Before any prohibitive reactions could come out of us, we saw him talking to a tall and thin guy carrying a ruck sack and wearing tracks. We had no clue what he was up to, but very shortly he again climbed up the bus and grinned ear to ear – “Saba Bhai they yaar – I went to greet him”.
The gentleman was Mr. Syed Saba Karim, wicket keeper batsman of the Bihar cricket team, who few years later went on to play 56 ODI’s for India. We also know him as a TV commentator and cricket expert appearing on Zee TV. He is distantly related to Azfar.
It is a mystery whether Mr. Karim recollected Azfar over that few seconds meeting (we leave it to Azfar’s justification), but we were definitely amazed at his skills of identifying a state level player among a milling crowd of thousands of cricket fans.
Please also checkout my memories of this important cricketing milestone at the bottom of the blog..............
*******************************************************************************
One Day Wonders and Meeting Saba Bhai…..
“Keenan mein ODI dekhne Jana Hai?” My question propped up Azfar and Danish from their prone positions while lazing on the football ground of St. Xavier’s College. I was not too sure of Danish, but I knew Azfar could possibly give up his right hand to watch the India-England ODI in Keenan Stadium at Jamshedpur which was to be played on 1st March, 1993.
It was Sunday when we landed up in my Nanihaal in Jamshedpur, and my Mamas, Mamis, their kids and my Naani were all at home and we got a tremendous welcome. The weather however, had different plans. It was raining incessantly and we kept praying for a clear sky the next day. Till this day, I am touched and proud of my aunts as they woke up early in the morning and prepared Sehri for Danish and Azfar.
We reached Keenan well in time and moved through the snaking line to the stands. The first thing that I remember was the greenness of the turf. It was captivating. They say that Keenan has the greenest and fastest outfield in India. The rain had ceased and it looked as if they could manage a full day’s game. There was not a single empty seat. We were lucky to have our seats perpendicular to the pitch and in the middle stands. All went well and the toss was about to happen when the skies opened up again. Torrential rains! We could do nothing but sit there and get wet. The groundsmen went into a tizzy, covers were up and our morale down. In no time, the crowd started getting restive and unruly. We feared a riot and were preparing to leave in case the police were unable to control the crowd. It was a horrendous let down.
By lunch time, the rains again stopped and much to our joy we got to know that the match will start. Thank God for not giving up. It was reduced to a 26 over fair. Something was better than nothing. England won the toss and put us to bat. After all these years, I do not remember the details of the match and it will be unfair to establish the longevity of my memory by stealing details from espncricinfo, but it was definitely riveting to watch a match live at the stadium. The only incident I remember was Prabhakar’s wicket. We could not make out at all. The ball came in and was collected by the keeper and we saw Manoj Prabhakar walking out. Apparently there was a nick – something that you cannot figure out in live matches in the stadium. Every time Sachin or Kapil or Prabhakar came close to the boundary, there was uproar. It was funny to see how the Bihari crowd treated Sachin. A bachelor and young lad at that time, he was shown posters of improperly clad playboy models the moment he rushed to field a ball near the boundary. We saw the legendary British stalwarts of the game …… Gooch, Robin Smith, Graeme Hick, Fairbrother and Jarvis in action, which was like dream come true. The one player whose presence still confuses my memory – Gladstone Small, the neck-less pacer for England. I thought he was there in the team, but I couldn't find him in the records of this game on cricinfo (http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64414.html). To see our demi-gods out of the television screen is a memory that can never be erased in this lifetime. It was heartbreaking to see India lose the match. For us however, the despair of India’s defeat was somewhat balanced by the experience of watching a live match for the first time. We came back to my Nanihaal and described the whole experience in great details to my uncles.
While returning to Ranchi the next day, we were flabbergasted to see the crowd at Jamshedpur bus stand. Each of the Ranchi bound buses were pickle- packed and we were unable to board the first two or three. We worked as a team strategically and braced ourselves to somehow get a foothold on the next one. Teamwork paid and we could finally squeeze in through the door and managed to win some seating place on the bonnet of the bus next to the driver. It was hot on our posteriors, but at least we were assured of sitting through the 3 hours journey. While, we were marveling at this great feat, my dearest friend Azfar abruptly shot up. Initially we though the heat would have scalded his derrière to the point of no return, but no…… he not only shot up from the bonnet, but shot right out of the bus.
Before any prohibitive reactions could come out of us, we saw him talking to a tall and thin guy carrying a ruck sack and wearing tracks. We had no clue what he was up to, but very shortly he again climbed up the bus and grinned ear to ear – “Saba Bhai they yaar – I went to greet him”.
The gentleman was Mr. Syed Saba Karim, wicket keeper batsman of the Bihar cricket team, who few years later went on to play 56 ODI’s for India. We also know him as a TV commentator and cricket expert appearing on Zee TV. He is distantly related to Azfar.
It is a mystery whether Mr. Karim recollected Azfar over that few seconds meeting (we leave it to Azfar’s justification), but we were definitely amazed at his skills of identifying a state level player among a milling crowd of thousands of cricket fans.
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From Azfar -
Pradipto, as you have explained, it was certainly an unforgettable occasion for me, my first 'live' international match. At that time it was very rare to have an international match in our state.......now I am very pleased to see that Ranchi hosts many IPL matches and ODI's!
It was great to see Kapil, Sachin, Azhar, Prabhakar, Gooch and Gatting live.....
Regarding Saba Bhai (Syed Saba Karim), as you have mentioned he is a relative of mine. I had met him a couple of times in Patna. I think it was after his first international tour to West Indies in 1989 in which unfortunately he was just a tourist and didn't get to play a single international match. Hence I knew him pretty well though the reverse maynot be so true! At Sakchi Bus Stand that day, I was surprised to see him among the milling crowds. I jumped out of the Bus and made him recollect who I was. He recognized the connection immediately and talked to me for 5 min. He explained that he had come to see off some friends. I was surprised to see an international player like him in the dust and grime of Sakchi Bus Stand. But he is a very down to earth person. I think he made a comeback to the Indian ODI side in 2006 under Ganguly's captaincy and had a decent run till a very bad eye injury cut short his career.
I am very proud that someone from my family has played for India.
Another thing I remember about this match, was the unruly crowd behaviour, maybe because of the first half being washed out due to rain. When the match started, they were throwing bottles into the field. Mike Gatting came to boundary line with folded hands requesting the crowd to behave......
Another thing I remember about this match, was the unruly crowd behaviour, maybe because of the first half being washed out due to rain. When the match started, they were throwing bottles into the field. Mike Gatting came to boundary line with folded hands requesting the crowd to behave......
But as you say, the most touching part of that visit to Jamshedpur, was the welcome accorded to us by your Nani, Mama's amd Mami's. They were so loving and affectionate. The fact that your Mami's woke up at 3am to prepare the Sehri so that Danish and me can keep Roza (Fast) is something I will never forget. Please convey it to them that I do remember that gesture.
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