Sudip Gharami missed his triple-hundred by just a single in Kalyani on Monday, joining Martin Crowe and former Glamorgan batter Mike Powell to be dismissed for 299 in a first-class game. Gharami is the only Indian to finish with 299 in first-class cricket.
The No.3 batter, however, is “not at all devastated” for falling short by 1 run, a feat which would have placed him with Devang Gandhi and Manoj Tiwary as Bengal’s only triple-centurions. All that matters in the end is the value of his innings, which truly was a priceless one, almost assuring Bengal of a semi-final berth in the Ranji Trophy.
Don Bradman is the only Test player to remain not out on 299, in the 1932 Test against South Africa in Adelaide, which Australia went on to win by 10 wickets.
In Kalyani on Monday, national selector RP Singh watched Gharami play at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground. He also had a word later with senior pacer Mohammed Shami.
Thanks to Gharami and his marathon 221-run seventh-wicket stand with gritty keeper-batter Shakir Habib Gandhi (95), Bengal, resuming on 418/6, finished their first essay at 629 in the quarter-final clash against Andhra on Monday. Taking a huge 334-run lead, the home team reduced Andhra to 64/3 at Stumps on Day IV with Akash Deep, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal and Shahbaz Ahmed among wickets so far.
Even if Bengal don’t win this quarter-final, they are set to secure three points by virtue of the first-innings lead. Obviously, there’s still a bit of work to be done on Tuesday, the final day of the contest. But Bengal will need Gharami to bat in a similar kind of rhythm in the semi-final, especially against a much more potent bowling attack of Jammu and Kashmir, who confirmed their berth in the last-four with a 56-run win over Madhya Pradesh in Indore.
Gharami, though, isn’t losing sleep. “I don’t think not being able to reach 300 will affect me in the semis. I’ve already started preparing for that game, watching
video clippings of the bowlers of the opposition,” the 26-year-old said.
A show of resolve and determination was a feature of Gharami’s 596-ball innings that comprised 31 boundaries and half a dozen maximums. His ability was never in question, but mindset, coupled with injudicious shot selection, betrayed him on most occasions in the past.
“I’ve worked on a few aspects in the pre-season to improve my technique. I also worked on the mindset part to convert the starts into big ones,” Gharami, also a former limited-overs captain of Bengal, emphasised.
Brief scores: Andhra 295 & 64/3 (Akash Deep 1/7, Shahbaz Ahmed 1/11). Bengal 629 (Sudip Gharami 299, Shakir Habib Gandhi 95, Mohammed Shami 53; Shaik Rasheed 4/63). At Stumps, Day IV.
