Eknath Solkar, 1969

The cliché, ‘catches win matches’, has a distinct ring of truth about it. The best of cricket teams not only accept the catches that come their way, but they also convert a few more, whereas teams that do not put a premium on their fielding skills invariably land among the losers.

Over the decades, cricket enthusiasts have seen some magnificent exhibitions of fielding skills at the Eden Gardens. People fortunate enough to watch cricket at the lush green ground during the 1930s and 1940s would regale us with stories of the exploits of C.K. Nayudu, Mushtaq Ali and Gul Mohammad. Nayudu was a superb example of a player with the perfect physique. Tall, strong and supple, his athleticism was a sight to behold. Brilliant anywhere, he specialized in the gully region. Nayudu’s Holkar players put in hours of practice in improving their fielding skills and, invariably, Holkar dominated Indian cricket before Independence.

Mushtaq Ali, too, belonged to the Holkar school of cricket. He was strongly influenced by Nayudu. Mushtaq was a fleet-footed fieldsman who monopolized the cover region. So did Gul Mohammed. Although Gul’s international experience was limited, he had created a fair impression among his peers within that short span of time. Another cricketer who earned plaudits for his fielding skills was Lall Singh, who had gone to England in 1932 with the India team led by Natwarsinhji of Porbandar. Later, Lall Singh settled down in Malaysia where he owned a night-club.

When Lindsay Hassett came to India in 1944-45 with the Australian Services team comprising entirely of players who had taken part in the Second World War, the cynosure of all eyes was Keith Miller, whose facial features and physique could force Hollywood’s heroes to seek sanctuary. Miller was among the greatest all-rounders of all time. His catching ability, especially in the slips, became the stuff of legends.

In 1948-49 arrived John Goddard’s West Indian side. They were the first side to visit Independent India. Eden Gardens hosted the third Test match. In spite of some outstanding batting and bowling performances during the match, the man who attracted undivided attention was the handsome Robert Christiani. The bespectacled, lithe man was a brilliant fielder with an unerring return from the deep. Among the prominent Indian fielders of the time were Hemu Adhikari and Madhav Apte in the outfield and Polly Umrigar in the slip cordon. Gulabrai Ramchand was a daredevil, who would stand barely three yards from the batsman at ‘silly positions’ and pluck catches off firm drives.

Old-timers still recollect Ramchand’s fabulous catch at silly mid-off when the world-class opener, Hanif Mohammad, stretched into a powerful drive off Dattu Phadkar. Ramchand kept his eyes on the ball, did not shy away on anticipating the shot, and showed quick-silver reflexes to pluck the red cherry on his right hand inches from the ground. Hanif stood transfixed for a moment and then walked back, nodding appreciatively on the way to the cool shade of the pavilion. The former Bengal player, Shivaji Roy, still vividly remembers every detail of the fabulous catch. No wonder Ramchand was popular as the ‘Tiger Cub’ at the Eden Gardens.

I remember my first Test at Eden in 1955 for the only reason that I had offered a piece of bubble gum to the New Zealander, Noel Harford, who was fielding near the fence at square leg in front of the old pavilion. Unfortunately, the gum restricted his cricket career to just eight Tests but his brilliant out-cricket left behind a deep impression on a five-year-old debutant spectator.

By 1958-59, I was learning to appreciate the finer points of cricket. At Eden Gardens, against the furious pace of the West Indies’s Roy Gilchrist, the gutsy Indian batsman, Pankaj Roy, glanced a lifter off his hips. The ball was travelling like a bullet. But the young Guyanese, Joe Solomon, then on his first overseas tour, flung himself forward and came up with the ball in a flash. Solomon was stationed at leg slip. Considering Gilchrist’s speed, he must have been at least 30 yards from the batsman. To take a catch by diving forward from leg slip — from where the fielder momentarily loses eye-contact with the ball and has a very late look at the inside edge of the bat — was nothing short of a miracle. Later, at Brisbane in 1961, when Solomon threw down the single wicket visible from square leg to register the first tie in the history of Test cricket, it came as no surprise to those who had seen the brilliance of the man at Eden in 1958.

As if this were not enough, the genius of Garfield Sobers showed us what acrobatic fielding was all about. In that same match, facing the ferocious Roy Gilchrist, the veteran all-rounder, Dattu Phadkar, did not go behind the line of the ball and took evasive action. As the ball took the edge and flew towards the slip cordon, Sobers dived to his left from the second slip and caught the ball double-handed. In the very next over, it was Naren Tamhane’s turn. As Wesley Hall, the ebony giant, was moving in to release his thunderbolt, the batter, Tamhane, discreetly moved towards short leg and held his bat away from his body. The edge went crashing towards the left toe of third slip. But Sobers, from second slip, flung himself to his right and came up with a big smile with the ball safely lodged in his right hand. Instinct, reflex, athleticism — everything came together to reveal what a genius Sir Gary was.

The following season, our own favourite, Chandu Borde, did us proud with an exemplary caught- and-bowled dismissal of the Australian, Richie Benaud. Benaud had played a firm drive down the wicket when Borde, at the time a regular leg-break googly exponent, changed direction on his follow-through and dived to his right with the ball firmly in his clasp. This was surely among the best of return catches the cricket connoisseurs have seen at the Eden Gardens.

Later in 1960-61, Fazal Mahmood’s Pakistan came to play. The interesting match was truncated due to rain. But in the course of the game, Polly Umrigar showed us why he was considered to be among the best slip-fielders in India. Wallis Mathias snicked an out-swinger from Ramakant Desai and offered a straight forward chance to Tamhane. Unfortunately, the ball ricocheted off the wicket keeper’s right-hand glove and was about to fall on the ground when the burly Umrigar stretched his hand out and rolled over with the ball safe in his palm.

Then arrived Ted Dexter with his England team (then known as MCC) and Eden enjoyed its first official Test victory. Two catches remain etched on one’s mind. One was a powerful sweep by Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, which Tony Lock accepted with glee written all over his face. Pataudi swept David Allen but Lock, at short-leg, was not the sort to take evasive action. He watched the ball being hit, kept himself still and then picked up the ball as it was about to strike the grass. For sheer anticipation, this was a master-class.

Not to be outdone, India’s Salim Durani took a remarkable catch at square -leg. No, it was not a catch to come under the ‘outstanding’ category’. It was a memorable catch because it began the slide in the England innings from which they could not recover, thereby giving India the first taste of victory at Eden.

The skipper, Nari Contractor, had left the ground indisposed and Polly Umrigar took over the captaincy. He introduced Ramakant Desai from the High Court end. Desai bowled a bumper to the in-form Ken Barrington, who had scored centuries at will in the previous Tests. Barrington hooked the ball hard but straight to Durani standing to the right of the leg umpire. The rasping stroke was going towards Durani’s throat like a missile. Without any hesitation, ‘Prince Salim’ caught the ball in his characteristic casual manner as if nothing had happened. Not a catch to be highlighted for the quality of the take itself, but a catch everyone present at the ground that afternoon still remembers to this day, for it plunged England to its first defeat at Eden.

In 1964-65, the Test match against Australia was affected by rain. Hardly any cricket was possible. However, Salim Durani’s outstanding spell of three wickets in one over is still fresh in the mind. Some die-hard cricket fans may also recollect a magnificent diving take by Hanumant Singh. Bobby Simpson played forward defensive to Rusi Surti, who was bowling orthodox left-arm spin at the time. The ball jumped slightly and Simpson’s jab carried the ball a little uppishly but well within the pitch. Hanumant Singh flung himself from silly mid-off and clung to the ball for dear life. He must have covered at least two full yards to place his right palm beneath the ball.

In 1967, Bishan Singh Bedi made his Test debut at Eden. The frail sardar’s bowling action was all rhythm and rhapsody. His deceptive flight had Basil Butcher playing far too early and the ball went up towards the extra-cover region. Tiger Pataudi from short extra- cover gracefully ran back at least 20 yards — he moved sideways, as is theoretically correct — and made the catch look like the easiest of chances. Tiger was the ultimate out-fielder with his sense of anticipation and his accuracy of return. He also had the safest of hands. Mind you, he achieved all these qualities with a defective eye.

M.L. Jaisimha, too, had taken a wonderful catch at long-on to dismiss Sobers. The ball went up and it took a while to come down. All eyes were on Jaisimha, ‘the original playboy’ of Indian cricket, as the handsome man waited for what appeared to be an eternity for the ball to descend. When it did, the elegant Jaisimha calmly collected the ball before it reached the ground. Jaisimha was facing the sun, to begin with. How he kept his eyes open for that length of time boggles the mind. A ball that goes up high in the sky does not come down straight. It sways and changes direction several times. It was a remarkable catch against all odds.

That particular Test of January 1967 became infamous because of police highhandedness and the resultant crowd violence. But no onlooker present would ever forget the chance that Sobers went for. The dashing Budhi Kunderan went for a hook off Hall and edged the ball towards the third-man region. Gary Sobers, fielding at second slip, sprinted nearly 70 yards but dropped the catch near the fence. That a slip fielder attempted to go for a chance at third-man is truly beyond imagination. The attempt itself was as miraculous as the greatest of catches. Every spectator present at the Eden Gardens had stood up and applauded the genius.

In 1972, the Solkar magic at short-leg astounded the crowd at the Eden Gardens. Did it really happen? Was it humanly possible? Batsmen would sweep hard and Solkar would stop the ball and return it to the bowler! Batters would play forward defensive and Solkar would dive, catch and jump with glee as the umpire raised his finger. Solkar’s ability was unique. He was capable of prodigious feats with remarkable consistency. Never before or after did we see anyone replicating his exemplary feats of catching.

Even by his standards, the Tony Lewis catch defied all comprehension. Bishan Bedi ran in to bowl and found Tony Lewis stepping out. Bedi dropped it short and Lewis waited to pull the ball hard and square. As Lewis stepped out, Eknath Solkar at short-leg actually took a step to his left! As Lewis pulled, instead of ducking as any normal fielder with or without a helmet would, Solkar instinctively put his left arm out and gripped the hard pull. It was an astounding catch by any yardstick and nothing short of a miracle. I am yet to see another catch like that one.

In that match, the skipper, Ajit Wadekar, took a catch that should have been taken by the wicket-keeper, Farokh Engineer. Again, the bowler was Bedi. The England tailender, Derek Underwood, played a forward defensive prod but could not decipher the amount of turn and snicked the ball for a regulation catch to the keeper. Unfortunately, Engineer, too, was deceived by Bedi’s spin. He was not in position, and the snick carried almost over the off stump. Wadekar, the lone slip, dived full length to his left and pulled off a brilliant one-handed catch.

Later, over the last four decades, we have had seen some excellent catches being taken by various fielders, especially in the deep. But the catching, particularly in close-in positions, has left a lot to be desired. Although the average standard of ground fielding has improved considerably in the recent decades with fielders making acrobatic saves, throwing down the stumps from various angles and effecting sliding stops, the quality of close-in catching has declined remarkably. The exploits of Sobers and Solkar are yet to be matched.