Scorecard of the Day : Kapil Dev's FC debut

[The Outsider]

Had read something about Kapil having a superb FC debut and with this scorecard of the day trend thought why not check it out, and boy, looking at the scorecard is just an amazing sight. Bowled out the opposition, Punjab, in 20 overs in the first innings taking 6/39! http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/35/35708.html I am surprised that in a country starved of fast bowlers at that time, it took him 2-3 more years to finally play for India or maybe the fact that no one cared about quicks was a reason for the long wait?

[Mr. Wicket]

Nice stuff, prof. What I find interesting is that he batted at 11 in that game. I suspect his stock rose very quickly when the selectors realized he could bat (and could be picked in an era when new ball bowlers were just batsmen who took the shine off the ball until some of the quartet began to bowl).

[Ram]

What an outstanding debut ! For a 17 year old to come and take 6 wickets in his first match is a special performance Indeed. An interesting side-note, Note the career stats of this player, Full name: Ravinder Chadha First-Class Career Batting and Fielding (1967/68-1987/88) M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Overall 114 171 15 5215 168 33.42 10 26 99 First-Class Career Bowling (1967/68-1987/88) Balls Mdns Runs Wkts BB Ave 5wI 10wM SRate Econ Overall 6972 262 3395 129 6-35 26.31 4 0 54.04 2.92 A FC batting average of 33, with 10 100s and 26 50s and bowling average of 26, at a SR of 54 is truly outstanding for a medium pacer in the 1970s and 80s. Never heard of his name before, can see that he played a few ODIs, but no test matches at all ?

[The Outsider]

Nice stuff, prof. What I find interesting is that he batted at 11 in that game. I suspect his stock rose very quickly when the selectors realized he could bat (and could be picked in an era when new ball bowlers were just batsmen who took the shine off the ball until some of the quartet began to bowl).

Yeah, in hindsight Kapil batting at 11 seems a bit lunatic to say the least, but in those days a fast bowler playing cricket primarily for his bowling skills was perhaps honor enough! Was checking up some future scorecards and it wasn't till the next season that he started batting at 8 or higher.

[The Outsider]

I'd never heard of Ravinder Chadha before either. He does not find any mention in Kapil's autobiography or any of the books I've read. Perhaps cricket history buffs like Salil, Tapioca, or Lurker might know something of him. But those are interesting FC stats. Wonder whether his wickets/match ratio is low because he was merely a batsman who could bowl or the fact that Haryana at that time was captained by one of the greatest spinners never to have played international cricket, Rajinder Goel?

[Chandan]

Can you recognise any of Punjab batsmen, other that Yashpal? What sort of team was that? And who was Kapil's bowling partner Chaddha? Was he a good bowler too?

[Lurker]

Man this is pure gold! (Please substitute a kiss icon here). As others have mentioned it is interesting to see Kapil bat as last man. What is even more interesting is he batted after Rajinder Goel who was one of the greatest left arm spinners we produced, also one of the unluckiest(alongside Shivalkar and VV Kumar who didnt get to represent India as we already had a Bedi). The scorecard throws out some familiar names. Ravindra Chaddha was a well respected medium pacer in Indian domestic circuit. However his stocks did not rise much as he was not express pace. Plus Haryana's USP at the time was the spin of Goel so no surprises as to why not too many pitches were built to support Chadda's style of bowling. Then there is Sarkar talwar who was another top class spinner. Haryana's bulk bowling was done by Talwar and Goel. Also do check out MP Pandove in Punjab side, the father of young Dhruv Pandove who many experts reckon could have been a potential Indian great had he not died so young. I would lovvvveee to see a video of this match. It would be fascinating to see how Kapil's bowling action evolved over the years.

[Tapioca]

I know Chadha only through Sportstars and the impression is that he one of the great batsmen and captains in Ranji Trophy - not as a superstar, but like people like Amol Mazumdar and Sharath who selflessly serve their team year after year knowing that they have no chance of playing for India. Started off with a wicket off his very first ball in first class cricket but became more of a batsman later. In the 1980s, even when he was the Indian captain, Kapil occasionally played under him. He was a doctor, and some years back served as the physio of the Indian team. Kapil scored two 100s in Ranji Trophy - one in 1979 and the other in 1991.

[Ram]

Aaah... yes, Dr. Ravinder Chadha. Surely, I thought something bout him sounded familiar.