Utility Man
`When I started playing, I did not pay much attention to my batting,’ reminisces Sarwate. `But after coming to Indore, I improved my batting so that I was opening the innings and later went in to bat at no 4. Even with the ball, I developed a quick, well-disguised off-break along with the stock leg-spin which proved fatal to many.’
Domestic cricket was dominated by the Holkars. From 1944-45 to 1954-55, the Holkars featured in the final of the Ranji trophy four out of five times, clinching the trophy on all four occasions.
In a match against Mysore in 1945-46, the Holkars posted a mammoth total of 912 for 8 declared. Sarwate’s contribution was 101. Mysore was bowled out for 190 in the first innings, with Sarwate claiming nine wickets for 61 runs. In a semi-final match against Delhi in 1949-50, the Holkars were struggling at 3 of 29 when Sarwate walked in to bat. Blasting 27 fours he amassed 235 runs carrying the total to 615. Sarwate and R P Singh notched up 236 for the eighth wicket, which is still a first-class record in India.
A magnificent double century by Sarwate overshadowed all other performances in a match against Bengal in 1950-51. Executing scintillating strokes, Sarwate scored 246 in 345 minutes and hit as many as 33 fours.
The 1950-51 Ranji final against Gujrat bore Sarwate’s stamp of supremacy. He scored a sparkling 234 runs – his second double century of the season – consisting of 29 fours in 350 minutes. The second highest scorer was Bhaya with 49 runs.
In fact, Sarwate could well be called the Vinoo Mankad of domestic cricket, owing to the obvious similarities in style, stature, and the star status both men attained. His aggregate in Ranji trophy matches reads like this: 123 innings; 4849 runs; highest 246; three double centuries; 12 centuries; 500 or more runs in a season – twice; 281 wickets at 27.42 apiece; hattrick – once; 70 or more overs in an inning – thrice; 10 or more wickets in a match – five times.
There was one drawback, though. Unlike Mankad,. Sarwate made little mark in international cricket. `The second world war robbed me of what could have been six years at the pinnacle of international cricket.’ he says. In all, he has played a mere nine Tests – against England, Australia and the West Indies. Nevertheless, there were two memorable performances. `In 1946, playing against the champion county side Surrey, at the Oval, we were down in the dumps at 160 for 9, when Shute Bannerjee joined me at the crease. We put up a match- winning stand of 249 runs for the last wicket, which is still a record, both in England and in India for the last wicket.’
Strangely, a year later, Sarwate featured in an opening stand of 124 runs with Vinod Mankad, at Melbourne, in the Test against Miller, Lindwall & Co. This one, however, was bettered 33 years later by Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan, again at Melbourne.