Dilip Sardesai
Encyclopedia
Dilip Narayan Sardesai was a former Indian
Test cricketer
. He was the only Goa
n-born cricketer to play for India
, and was often regarded as India's best batsman against spin bowling.
in the Ranji Trophy
. He was one of the five Indian Cricket Cricketers of the Year in 1960-1.
at Kanpur
in December 1961. He toured West Indies later in the season, playing in three of the five Tests. He was the batsman at the other end when Nari Contractor
was seriously injured by Charlie Griffith
in a match against Barbados. Contractor's injury created a place for Sardesai in the team. He scored 31 and 60 in the Test at Bridgetown
, opening the batting, but was dropped after a pair in the following match. Sardesai scored 449 runs in the five Test series against England in 1963-64 with 79 and 87 in the 5th and final Test as the most notable performances, helping India to secure a draw after being made to follow on.
Against New Zealand
in 1964-65, Sardesai scored a double century at Bombay
and a very fast hundred that set up a win at Delhi
. New Zealand had forced India to follow on at Bombay, but Sardesai's 200* nearly won the match for India. He played against West Indies in 1966-7, and then toured England in 1967, where he injured himself on a staircase in the pavilion at Lord's and missed the 1st Test at Headingley. He recovered to appear in the 2nd Test back at Lord's, but a broken finger sustained during that match ended his tour. He was dropped after two Tests in Australia in 1967-68 due to injury and a series of failures.
Sardesai's career had seemed over when he was picked for the Indian tour of West Indies in 1970-71. In the 1st Test at Kingston
, India lost the first five wickets for 75, before Sardesai hit 212 runs and took the total to 387. His 112 in the next Test at Port of Spain
led to India's first victory over West Indies. He hit another 150 in the 4th Test after India were 70 for 6. His 642 runs in the series stood as an Indian record for five days before Sunil Gavaskar
went past it. It was India's first victory over West Indies in a series and Vijay Merchant
, the chairman of selectors, called Sardesai the "renaissance man of Indian cricket". Sardesai scored 54 and 40 in the Indian win over England at the Oval
in 1971, which led to another series win. His career ended one Test later, and he retired from all cricket at the end of the 1972-3 season.
Sardesai played for Bombay
in the Ranji Trophy in 13 seasons, including 10 finals, and never finished in a losing side. He scored 199 against Rajasthan in the 1967 final. In the semi-final against the same team two years later, he was Mankaded by Kailash Ghattani. Sardesai's final first-class match was the famous Ranji final against Madras
in 1972-73, which ended on the first ball of the third day. He scored over 1,000 first-class runs in three domestic seasons, with a career best of 1,429 runs in 1964-65, which included his highest first-class score, 222, for Associated Cement Company against Indian Starlets in the final of the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament.http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/27/27263.html
He is survived by his wife, Nandini, who is a sociologist and a member of the Indian Censor Board for motion pictures. His son Rajdeep
earned a blue for Oxford University in cricket. He is now the CEO of the channel CNN-IBN. His daughter, Shonali, is a senior social scientist at the World Bank in Washington DC.His daughter-in-law Sagarika is a Rhodes Scholar, journalist and author. His grand-children are Ishan (17) and Tarini (15)
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
Test cricketer
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
. He was the only Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
n-born cricketer to play for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and was often regarded as India's best batsman against spin bowling.
Early career
Sardesai made his first mark in cricket in the inter-university Rohinton Baria trophy in 1959-60 where he made 435 runs at an average of 87. He made his first-class cricket debut for the Indian Universities against the touring Pakistan team at Pune in 1960-1, scoring 87 in 194 minutes. His immediate success led to selection for the Board President's XI against the same team at Bangalore, where he scored 106*, and then as a standby in the final match of the Test series. He scored 202 against the Madras university at about the same time, and was then selected to represent BombayMumbai cricket team
The Mumbai cricket team is a cricket team representing the city of Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket. It is the most successful team in the Ranji Trophy, India's top domestic cricket competition, with 39 titles, the most recent being in 2009–10. The team's home ground is the Wankhede Stadium in...
in the Ranji Trophy
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, equivalent to the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia...
. He was one of the five Indian Cricket Cricketers of the Year in 1960-1.
Test career
Sardesai had little to show in first class cricket in 1961-62, except for a 281 against Gujarat in a university match, but made his Test debut in the 2nd Test against EnglandEnglish cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
at Kanpur
Green Park
-External links:*...
in December 1961. He toured West Indies later in the season, playing in three of the five Tests. He was the batsman at the other end when Nari Contractor
Nari Contractor
Nariman Jamshedji "Nari" Contractor is a former cricket player. He was left-handed opening batsman whose international career was ended abruptly by a serious injury....
was seriously injured by Charlie Griffith
Charlie Griffith
Charles Christopher Griffith is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 28 Tests from 1960 to 1969. He formed a lethal fast bowling partnership with Wes Hall during the 1960s...
in a match against Barbados. Contractor's injury created a place for Sardesai in the team. He scored 31 and 60 in the Test at Bridgetown
Kensington Oval
The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket...
, opening the batting, but was dropped after a pair in the following match. Sardesai scored 449 runs in the five Test series against England in 1963-64 with 79 and 87 in the 5th and final Test as the most notable performances, helping India to secure a draw after being made to follow on.
Against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
in 1964-65, Sardesai scored a double century at Bombay
Brabourne Stadium
The Brabourne Stadium is a cricket ground in the Indian city of Mumbai. It is located on 90,000 square yards of reclaimed land along Marine Drive near Churchgate railway station in South Mumbai. The stadium is owned by the Cricket Club of India . Brabourne Stadium is India's first permanent...
and a very fast hundred that set up a win at Delhi
Feroz Shah Kotla
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C...
. New Zealand had forced India to follow on at Bombay, but Sardesai's 200* nearly won the match for India. He played against West Indies in 1966-7, and then toured England in 1967, where he injured himself on a staircase in the pavilion at Lord's and missed the 1st Test at Headingley. He recovered to appear in the 2nd Test back at Lord's, but a broken finger sustained during that match ended his tour. He was dropped after two Tests in Australia in 1967-68 due to injury and a series of failures.
Sardesai's career had seemed over when he was picked for the Indian tour of West Indies in 1970-71. In the 1st Test at Kingston
Sabina Park
Sabina Park is the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica and is often referred to as "The Holiday Home of Cricket"....
, India lost the first five wickets for 75, before Sardesai hit 212 runs and took the total to 387. His 112 in the next Test at Port of Spain
Queen's Park Oval
Queen's Park Oval, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, is currently the largest capacity cricket ground in the West Indies and has hosted more Test matches than any other ground in the Caribbean. It also hosted a number of matches in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. It is privately owned by the...
led to India's first victory over West Indies. He hit another 150 in the 4th Test after India were 70 for 6. His 642 runs in the series stood as an Indian record for five days before Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
went past it. It was India's first victory over West Indies in a series and Vijay Merchant
Vijay Merchant
Vijaysingh Madhavji Merchant , real name Vijay Madhavji Thakersey was an Indian cricketer. A right-hand batter and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Merchant played first class cricket for Mumbai cricket team as well as 10 Test matches for India between 1929 and 1951...
, the chairman of selectors, called Sardesai the "renaissance man of Indian cricket". Sardesai scored 54 and 40 in the Indian win over England at the Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
in 1971, which led to another series win. His career ended one Test later, and he retired from all cricket at the end of the 1972-3 season.
Sardesai played for Bombay
Mumbai cricket team
The Mumbai cricket team is a cricket team representing the city of Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket. It is the most successful team in the Ranji Trophy, India's top domestic cricket competition, with 39 titles, the most recent being in 2009–10. The team's home ground is the Wankhede Stadium in...
in the Ranji Trophy in 13 seasons, including 10 finals, and never finished in a losing side. He scored 199 against Rajasthan in the 1967 final. In the semi-final against the same team two years later, he was Mankaded by Kailash Ghattani. Sardesai's final first-class match was the famous Ranji final against Madras
Tamil Nadu cricket team
The Tamil Nadu Cricket Team ; , competes in the Super League of the Ranji Trophy, the top cricketing competition in India. The team finished as runners-up behind Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons establishing themselves as one of the strongest teams in the country...
in 1972-73, which ended on the first ball of the third day. He scored over 1,000 first-class runs in three domestic seasons, with a career best of 1,429 runs in 1964-65, which included his highest first-class score, 222, for Associated Cement Company against Indian Starlets in the final of the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament.http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/27/27263.html
Life after cricket
Sardesai used to split his time between his flat in Bombay and house in Goa. He died on July 2, 2007 at 9:15 PM (IST), after he had been admitted to Bombay Hospital on June 23rd following a chest infection.He is survived by his wife, Nandini, who is a sociologist and a member of the Indian Censor Board for motion pictures. His son Rajdeep
Rajdeep Sardesai
Rajdeep Sardesai is an Indian journalist, political commentator and news presenter. Sardesai is the Editor-in-Chief of IBN18 Network, that includes CNN-IBN, IBN-7 and IBN-Lokmat.- Biography :...
earned a blue for Oxford University in cricket. He is now the CEO of the channel CNN-IBN. His daughter, Shonali, is a senior social scientist at the World Bank in Washington DC.His daughter-in-law Sagarika is a Rhodes Scholar, journalist and author. His grand-children are Ishan (17) and Tarini (15)