Ujjain bowler picks up 10 wickets in an innings, does an Anil Kumble
Six decades after legendary English spinner Jim Laker and 16 years after ace India leggie Anil Kumble led their teams to victory by clinching 10 wickets in an innings, an MBA from Ujjain has achieved similar feat in a local league match in Hoshangabad district of MP.
Six decades after legendary English spinner Jim Laker and 16 years after ace India leggie Anil Kumble led their teams to victory by clinching 10 wickets in an innings, an MBA from Ujjain has achieved similar feat in a local league match in Hoshangabad district of MP.
Twenty-three-year-old right arm leg break bowler from Ujjain, Palash Kochar achieved the feat in an innings of a four-day match against Naramdapuram division side at Gupta Sports Ground in Hoshangabad town of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.
An MBA in marketing from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Palash, foxed the Narmadapuram batsmen with mélange of flippers in just 28.1 overs, giving away just 53 runs in the league-cum-knock out match of Maharaja Yeshwantrao Memorial Senior Division Cricket Tourney.
While five of the dismissals were catch outs, two willow wielders fell to leg before wicket, two were clean bowled and the last one was caught and bold by Palash.
The 10 wicket haul in the second innings, however, was not enough to power Ujjain division side into the quarterfinals of the tourney organised annually by the MP Cricket Association, as the hosts stormed into the last eight based on first innings lead.
“Right now I am definitely feeling on cloud nine, but had my team won the match, it would have been the perfect icing on the cake for me,” Palash told HT.
Palash, who has been playing cricket since Class 4, said his next target will be to go for a hat-trick in the next match.
“I hope to make it to the MP Ranji team and be part of Team India just like Anil Kumble,” said Palash, who has been part of state’s under-19 and under-23 sides.
Son of an agriculture department statistical officer Tarun Kochar, the Ujjain’s Alakdham resident had claimed four wickets in the first innings of the match too. “When I claimed three wickets of Narmadapuram’s second innings on day three of the match on Friday, I had set a target of grabbing all the wickets on the last day.”
Narmadapuram Divisional Cricket Association honorary secretary Anurag Mishra also lauded the phenomenal feat of the leggie.
English spinner Jim Laker was the first bowler to claim all 10 wickets in an innings against Australia in a test in 1956, while Kumble matched the same feat in the second innings of the test match against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi in 1999.