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Fielding let West Zone down

Well, at last we all are into the new millennium. I think we all should spare a moment of our lives thanking the Almighty for making this possible as no one will be there to witness the next millennium. I also hope that this great sport called 'cricket' will be still alive.

Anyway coming back to cricket, the last month of the year saw the conclusion of the all-important Duleep Trophy. Nayan Mongia was named to lead West Zone, comprising players from five different states in the west of the country. But the skipper got on SOS from the Indian team Down Under and had to rush to the airport to catch the first flight available. In the mean time, yours truly was named captain of a talented West Zone side.

The tournament was held in East Zone. West were to meet East in their first encounter, which itself was a semi-final match, at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta. So we all set off for Calcutta on December 6. Calcutta has been always a sports-loving city. Whether there is a football match or a cricket match, the people are just crazy about their players. There is a lot of favouritism among the crowd. But they are knowledgeable. Football is the main sport in the city, but slowly, following the exploits of Sourav Ganguly, cricket mania has gripped the people.

The wicket at the Eden Gardens has always had runs written all over it. One who wins the toss has an upperhand. I called correctly and decided to bat. We posted a huge total, around 600, for the East to chase. The prime contributors were Vinod Kambli, with a sizzling and entertaining 150; Connor Williams, with a patient and painstaking 107 on debut; Wasim Jaffer (62) and myself (90).

East Zone struggled to get those runs and were bundled out for 270. Iqbal Siddiqi from Maharashtra bowled extremely well.

Thus, on the basis of the first innings lead, West Zone entered the Duleep Trophy final. It was played at the same venue, but our opponents were North Zone.

I was extremely happy with the way all the players applied themselves, especially while batting and bowling. However, fielding - more precisely catching - was one aspect of the game in which we were way behind the rest. With the Eden wicket a sleeping beauty - we call it a patta in cricketing terms - we knew that to win the tournament we needed to improve our fielding as we could not afford to drop catches of the dependable North Zone batsmen.

The final was from December 17. It was covered live by DD Sports and all the selectors were present. North Zone won the toss and elected to bat. At the end of the first day's play they were 260 for 4, thanks again to some shoddy catching by our players. By the end of the second day, North were 467.

West Zone started their chase in a style and were 220 for 2, with Wasim Jaffer on 107 and I on 52. Then came a doubtful decision, which, in the end, could be called the turning point of the match.

After my departure, adjudged lbw, there was a collapse late in the order. There was no one to reconstruct the innings though Wasim stayed at one end holding the fort for 173 personal runs. West Zone succumbed to 368, exactly 100 runs short of their target.

In my opinion, it was North's fine bowling and our poor catching which was the difference between the two sides. Robin Singh Jr was the pick of the bowlers. He bowled magnificently for his six-wicket haul.

As for West Zone, there were just a few bright spots in Nilesh Kulkarni, who scalped five wickets, and the dependable Wasim Jaffer. Ever since he came on the scene Jaffer has impressed me with his sound technique and unflappable temperament. Sure he has a bright future.