Random Cricket Photos Post 30
Sports can be cruel. One day you’re a hero and just the next day, you’re banished. Something similar happened to Sandeep Patil. One of the heroes of the 1983 World Cup win, who played a major part in the win over England in the semi-final of the tournament, Patil found the going particularly tough in Test cricket in the year 1983. A batsman who had notched tons in Adelaide and Manchester, Patil promised a great deal before the returns dried up. He endured thirteen innings without a score of 50.
There wasn’t a great deal of Test cricket in 1984 and when India did play Tests, Patil found form. He scored 127 against Pakistan in Faisalabad on a benign batting track. And a couple of matches later, despite scoring 30 and 41 in his final Test, his Test career was over.
Patil’s final Test is a much controversial one in the annals of Indian cricket history. Playing against England in Delhi, India were 207 for the loss of four wickets in their second essay when Patil got out for 41. Kapil Dev, after hitting a six, fell trying to repeat his heroics and India slid down to 214 for 6. Soon, India were all out for 235, leaving England with just 125 to chase. The collapse cost India the match and repercussions followed.
For the first time in his career, Kapil Dev was dropped when India played England next in Kolkata on grounds of ‘indiscipline’ which many believed was a way to punish him for his manner of dismissal in Delhi. While skipper Gavaskar maintained that he had no role in his omission, the Kolkata crowds were having none of it and came out in support of the excluded World Cup winning captain. The acrimonious Test was only saved by debutant Mohammad Azharuddin’s sparkling ton.
When the dust settled, Dev was back into the team after missing the only match of his career which was duly celebrated. But another man who was dropped with Dev got completely forgotten and could never make his way back to the team after playing his last at 28. Of course, the fact that his replacement would go on to score tons in the first three matches of his career didn’t end Patil’s cause.
Clicked by Adrian Murrell during the Delhi Test of 1984, this photo captures the freakish nature of sport. On one hand, there’s a crowd waiting to get his autograph while the man in the limelight cuts a forlorn figure, probably worried about the future of his Test career which, he would later find out, ended with this match.
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