Batting sides collapsed like a pack of cards when faced with CK’s tactics, executed to perfection by the left-handed Gaikwad – over after over, match after match – giving batsmen no respite.

Old timers reminisce that on a matting wicket. Gaikwad could virtually make the ball dance to his tunes, spinning a web around the batsmen. Regardless of whether the pitch was a bowler’s paradise or night mare, Gaikwad’s accurate line and length and never-say-die attitude never wavered. ”I often used to bowl for an entire day unchanged but my thirst to bowl was never quenched,” the bowling machine’ remembers.

That was not all that Gaikwad had to offer. Coming to bat at number eight, he built up a reputation as a hard-hitting batsman capable of chipping in with useful runs at decisive junctures.

Born and brought up at Nagpur, aikwad’s drift to cricket was a ‘neighbourhood affair’. ‘Adjacent to my house was a cricket ground. The players there were always short of bowlers. So they used to ask me to do what they considered a thankless job. But for me, those were the first and the most vital lessons in the art of bowling,” he said. Lessons that developed in him versatility, and the ability to bowl both pace and spin, medium pace with the new ball and then spin when the shine had worn off.

He made his Ranji Trophy debut at 20, playing for Central Provinces and Berar against Madras before his talent caught the attention of Holkar. ”In 1943, His Highness Holkar asked Col Nayudu to call me to Indore to play for the Holkar team,” he says, his face echoing a profound appreciation of the experience of playing alongside the legendary CK. ”Col Nayudu used to study cricket very deeply, implementing his attacking strategy right from the first ball. We used to discuss a particular batsman’s style and weakness for hours, and then execute it on the field.”

Gaikwad’s best bowling display was against Bengal in 1947 when he had a match winning haul of 11-74, though his most versatile display was to come a couple of years later against Bihar. Batting first, Holkar had lost six wickets with only 141 on board when Gaikwad walked in to bat. The Jamshedpur ground seemed to have been struck by lightning as he went on the rampage, scoring a scintillating 164, punctuated by four sixes and 19 fours. He had earlier finished with figures of 30-16-49-5 with the ball.

He played his first and only Test against Pakistan in 1952, where he did not do anything exceptional, but which he has no regrets about. ”To me, what mattered most was that I enjoyed my cricket and tried to give off my best. Then came a stint in country cricket for Lancashire in 1953, which he regards as a most exciting and educative experience.

Despite being located in the heart of the bustling city of Indore, C T Sarwate’s house is surrounded by tranquillity. Echoing the mood of its inhabitants. The ace all-rounder – in whose name stands the record last wicket stand of 249 runs with Shute Bannerjee – sits on the verandah, basking in the warmth of the winter sun, as he takes fresh guard to begin an eventful trip down memory lane. Having been an active participant in the game for long and having witnessed all its ups and downs, Sarwate draws immeasurable pleasure from delving into its past.

Born in Jabalpur, in 1920, Chandrashekhar (he is popularly called Chandu) Sarwate was drawn to cricket while still at school. With the passage of time, the interest became an obsession, and, later, a way of life.

Chandu was only 16 when he made his Ranji debut for C P & Berar as a leg-spinner. `In my maiden performance, I took five wickets giving away 33 runs, against Hyderabad’ he recalls, But his association with C P & Berar did not last long because the province did not participate in the Ranji trophy for the next couple of years. So the young law graduate moved to Pune, to play for the national champions, Maharashtra. In 1940-41, playing for the state against Madras in his maiden Ranji final that year, Sarwate was instrumental in Maharashtra – led by professor Deodhar- retaining the trophy. His bowling figures were 11-2-26-3 and 32-2-9-83-6.

A job in the docks in Bombay, saw Sarwate representing the metropolis. He was with them till a little time before a terrible fire that swept the dock area broke out. The sense of relief at his narrow escape has not faded even now, 40 years later. `Maharajah Yeshwant Rao Holkar wanted me to play for the Holkar team. So he sent Col C K Nayudu to invite me to Indore, and I went. A few days later, the fire broke out. The person who replaced me in my job was killed in that fire.’

In Indore, under Col Nayudu’s expert guidance , Sarwate blossomed into one of the finest all-rounders of contemporary cricket. Making his debut for the Holkars against Bihar in 1944-45, Sarwate hit a quick 72 and followed it up with match winning figures of 9 for 72. In the semi-final match versus Madras, at Madras, Sarwate bundled out the opponents single-handed, with a match haul of 13 for 149. He also chipped in with the bat, scoring 74 valuable runs. The Holkars won by 10 wickets.

Ironically enough. he was baptised to the sport by His Highness Holkar of Indore some time during the First World War. He had accompanied his father. an ardent follower of the sport, to a match. It was there that the Maharaja of Indore had introduced him to the game and also presented young Jagdale with a bat along with five gold coins for sweets.

Jagdale’s schooldays saw him develop into a fine sportsman. Excelling in hockey. Football, cricket, volleyball and athletics. However, his graduation to the college level saw him taking to cricket seriously. `With the patronage of HH Tukajirao, guidance of Col Nayudu and friendship with Mushtaq Ali and C.S. Nayadu, where else could I be but at a cricket field.’ says Jagdale nostalgically.

Statistics, like bikini, often conceal the vital revealing only the trivia. Though the record book do not speak much of Jagdale. but those who have seen him in action in the heyday put him as a distinct inheritor of CK Style. Hard hitting. Aggressive, playing-to-the-stands kind of batting thrown along with an ability to swing the arm as an effective `shock’ bowler. Jagdale played Ranji Trophy for Central India and later for Holkar. He performed well against Jardine’s Englishmen. However. He didn’t find a place in the Indian squad for England in 1936.

He did visit England the following year with His Highness of Baroda and played admirably.

So impressed was the Essex captain Conrad Baker that he wrote to Robins, the then MCC captain. `I can say with certainity that Jagdale is as good a bat as Pataudi, and a better medium fast bowler than Jehangir Khan’ Once again. His destiny played a cruel joke on him with another accident forcing him to return to India.

Jagdale was with the cavalry as a captain. His elevation to the rank of Major came in 1945 – not after a war, but a cricket match. `For the Holkar – Baroda final at Indore. His Highness announced lucrative prizes for all those who as bowler or fielder, got any bastman out. At the end of the match. His Highness looked in my direction and called `Major Saheb’ I turned and looked around. There was no Major around. It was then I realised that he had promoted me to the rank of Major.’

In 1954, following the merger of the princely states to the union, the Holkar team was disbanded and so was Jagdale’s career. `After playing under His Highness Holkar. I could not motivate myself to play under any other banner. It may be called as loyalty or anything – but that was it.’ Having played over 70 innings in the Ranji Trophy. Jagdale had scored 2282 runs with two tons and 13 half-centuries, also having claimed 53 wickets at 34.6 apiece.

The tenure of `Baba Saheb’ as a national selector coincided with the glorious period of Indian Cricket. Possibly `the best three years that we ever had.’ and ended just before the nightmare that was 1974.

To share the memories and glory that was the past or delve into the hope that is the future. or may be just share a cigarette which he is so fond of – at Bala Saheb’s house. You are always welcome.

‘India Today’ the widely circulated fortnightly magazine commented ‘the Reliance Cup has sent the subcontinent into suspended animation … what else, after all, could have got Bofors off the from page and out of people’s minds?’’

Precisely, headline sweeping issues like the IPKF intervention in Jaffna, the unprecedented stock market crash, the Himalayan car rally –were all inundated by the month long cricket festival. The stage was set for much action and drama. Glittering performances and nail biting results had become the order to the day.

June 21- 1975, June 23- 1979, June 25 -1983 and November 8 -1987 ; the final days of the four world cup cricket tournament shall always remain etched in the memories of cricket lovers, the world over. But in emotional terms, the fourth World Cup was leaps ahead of the earlier three.

The event has ended, but the nostalgia shall linger on for a long time to come. After all , who can forget the humbling of the reigning and the former world champs on the very second day of the carnival, the blitzkrieg 181 of Viv Richards against Sri Lanka, the valiant effort of Dave Houghton’s marathon century against New Zealand, Quadir’s last over magic against Windies, Walsh’s true cricketing spirit but for which history would have been different, Gavaskar’s maiden instant cricket ton, the remorse filled faces of Kapil and Imran and then the moment of triumph and jubilation for the Kangaroos.

Allan Border, the captain of the new champions, is the most experienced one-day campaigner in the world today. With 159 matches to his credit, in his side none but him had ever played in a World Cup before, That did not dampen their spirits the slightest. Infact, , that heightened their determination and they will have to prove. Branded as the team destined to be an ‘also ran’, the Kangaroos emerged glorious by keeping their feet firmly planted on the ground and their heads cool. Opportunities came – and they seized all to take away the Reliance Cup. Border’s men always lived up to the confidence placed in them.

The opening pair of Geoff Marsh-David Boon was, by far the best and most consistent in the cup and the factor most instrumental to their victory campaign.

At an average of 60 plus in 8 games, they laid the ideal foundation for the others to build on. David Boon, with his individual performance of five 50s turned the course of many a match. Both, the Aussies and the Pommies were second in their pools after the league matches and came back fighting from behind to make the final an ‘Ashes’ affair.

Jitendra Muchhal profiles this fascinating sportsman and his encounters with Douglas Jardine, C. K. Nayudu and the quixotic cricket board.

Never before, and seldom later, has any Indian cricketer been decorated with as many sobriquets as Syed Mushtaq Ali. Robertson Glasgow found ‘a close resemblance between Mushtaq at the wicket and Helen of Troy’. The great Neville Cardus described him as, ‘another juggler from the land of Ranji and Duleep’. To Berry Sarbadhikary, he was the ‘gay cavalier’, to another, ‘unorthodoxy personified’.

But what does Mushtaq Ali, the individual think about Mushtaq Ali, the cricketer? ” I played cricket merely for the fun of it. I found joy in the game and while I played it, I was intent on transporting that delight to those around me. Brilliant cricket to me is life’s elixir. And I still believe that cricket played with joie de vivre to delight millions is real cricket”.

Syed Mushtaq Ali, the elder of the two sons of Khan Sahed Yaqub Ali was born on December 17, 1914, in Indore, the then capital of Holkar state. ”As I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, it could be said that I was born with a cricket bat in my hand.”

Though he was good at both Hockey and Football, Mushtaq loved Cricket. His long association with the game began off the pitch. ”At the medical college grounds, I used to help the grounds man put up the matting, or man the scoreboard. It was only when the teams were short of fielders that I got an opportunity to play.”

In 1926, the late Colonel C.K. Nayudu and his family moved in as Mushtaq’s neighbors. ”Nayudusaheb’s brothers, C.S. and C.R. become my friends. We used to form our own team and play.”
Wrote Neville Cardus: ‘His cricket at times was touched with genius and imagination.’ Recalling the partnership 25 years later, Merchant wrote, ‘What Mushtaq displayed that day was not merely superlative batting, it was poetry.’

His baptism came in 1929, by sheer chance. C.K. Nayudu was going to Hyderabad for the Behram-ud-Doulah Cup and was on the lookout for a young player to complete the team. Remembers Mushtaq Ali,. ”Nayudusaheb was passing my residence one day. He saw me, turned around and immediately asked my father if I would be allowed to go with him. That was the turning point in my life. My father gave his consent. Had he refused, I would never have made it.”

Mushtaq Ali’s performance in the tournament was outstanding. ”I got an hat- trick against Nizam’s State railway team, taking five wickets for five runs. And against Hyderabad XI, I scored 65 runs.”