When Baroda’s vice-captain Vishnu Solanki reached his century against Chandigarh on Day Two of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match in Bhubaneswar on Friday, he attracted applause from not only his teammates, but members in the opposite camp too.
But the recipient of kudos may well have been trying hard to hold back the tears. For, on February 12, Solanki lost his day-old daughter in Baroda while he was in Bhubaneswar for his Ranji Trophy fixture against Bengal. According to Baroda team manager Raju Arothe, Solanki moved out of the bio-secure bubble, flying to Baroda via Hyderabad to be with his family on hearing the devastating news.
After performing the last rites of his daughter, Solanki rejoined his team in Bhubaneswar on February 17 and completed his quarantine stint for the second time for Baroda’s match against Chandigarh. Baroda Cricket Association chief executive Shishir Hattangadi saluted Solanki’s grit. “A story of a cricketer who lost his new born daughter a few days ago. He attends the funeral and gets back to represent his team @BCCIdomestic @cricbaroda to get a hundred. His name may not make social media “likes”, but for me #vishnoosolanki is a real life hero. An inspiration!” tweeted Hattangadi, a former Mumbai Ranji Trophy captain.
Solanki could have only one practice session before the game against Chandigarh and it proved to be enough. Batting at No.5, he was unbeaten on 103 (12×4, 161 balls) at stumps on Day Two with Baroda, leading by 230 runs. They ended the day at 398-7 in reply to Chandigarh’s 168 at the Vikas Cricket Ground. This was Solanki’s sixth first-class century and possibly the most sentimental one. Opener Jyotsnil Singh was the second-highest top-scorer with 96. For most Ranji Trophy players, the resumption of the national championship produced a dollop of joy. But for Solanki, it will be a while before he experiences that feeling.
Mumbai on the back foot against Goa
Goa have ensured three points against Mumbai with a 164-run first innings lead as skipper Prithvi Shaw once again frittered away a good start on Day Two of the group D Ranji Trophy tie here on Friday. After Mumbai were all out for 163 on Day One, Goa scored 327 in their first innings riding on 96-run eighth wicket stand between Eknath Kerkar (71) and Lakshay Garg (59). For Mumbai, left-arm spinner Shams Mulani got 6-107. Mumbai came back to score 57 for one in the second innings with Shaw smashing 44.
