Delhi vs Chandigarh

Delhi Jets team is taking on Chandigarh Lions in their Indian Cricket league semi final match currently. The match is in progress and I don't know the results. This match reminds of an old, eventful match which was significant for me.

I started watching cricket in 1994 and soon took to the game, the statistics and so on. The cricket fever was so dominant in me that I wanted to even follow Ranji Cricket. As we know Ranji cricket, during those days was not shown live on TV and if you wanted to watch it, you went to the grounds.

I did go to see one match and it was the only time that I have ever gone to see a First Class match in the ground. I have never seen an International match in the ground. So, coming back to the match in question, it was the same two teams (of course, in the avatar of Delhi vs Punjab) fighting it out in the 1994-95 Ranji Trophy semi final match at Ferozeshah Kotla. In the first 3 days, Delhi had scored 554 and had got Punjab's first six wickets for 298. At that point, Bhupinder Singh Jr and Pankaj Dharmani got together. I went to watch on fourth day hoping that Delhi will bowl them out, enforce or follow on, or otherwise bat and set a nice target.

What happened was history-in-the-making. The two put on a massive
460 for seventh wicket, which is still the First-Class record for 7th wicket. By the time the time ran out (on 5th day), Punjab put on 780/8 and were through to the finals against Mumbai. They eventually lost the finals. Delhi, after scoring 554 could not believe that they could not make it to the finals and it was a humiliating match for them.

Pankaj Dharmani went on to make his Debut for India in ODI, but then never again played for India. If my memory serves right, Bhupinder Singh Jr never got an India reckoning. I can never forget the mauling that the two gave to the Delhi bowlers, Prabhakar, Wassan and co. Such matches come one in a long long time and I can proudly say I was there to witness this part of cricket history.