A ‘first’ in the 91-year history of the Ranji Trophy national cricket championship – two hat-tricks by different bowlers in one innings – and then repeated collapses on an unfit pitch. The unbelievable events occurred in a match between Services and Assam played at the Tinsukia District Sports Association Ground in Tinsukia, Assam, on October 25 and 26. It was a four-day match, but poor batting and a pitch assisting spinners from the start meant that it got over within two days – the shortest-ever match in Ranji Trophy history. It lasted a mere 90 overs, with Services winning by eight wickets.
After Services off-spinner Pulkit Narang opened the bowling and captured the first two wickets of Assam, pacer Arjun Pawan Sharma performed the first hat-trick, and then Mohit Jangra took the second one. Sharma, 29, dismissed Riyan Parag Das (36), Sumit Chandrakant Ghadigaonkar (0), and Sibsankar Arabinda Roy (0) in the 12th over of the innings. Sharma finished with figures of 6.2-1-46-5.
Second hat-trick
Then, 26-year-old left-armer Jangra dismissed Pradyun Saikia, the top scorer with 52 (42 balls, 3x4s, 6x6s), on the last ball of the 15th over of the innings. One over later, in the 17th over, off the first and second balls of his next over, he accounted for Mukhtar Hussain (1) and Bhargab Lahkar (0) to complete his hat-trick. He finished with astonishing figures of 4-2-5-3, as hosts Assam were bowled out for 103 in 17.2 overs.
Services managed a five-run lead (108 in 29.2 overs), and Assam, in their second innings, performed even worse and were bundled out for 75 in 29.3 overs. Services notched up the required runs (73 for two wickets) in 13.5 overs for a dramatic win, as Sharma bagged four more wickets for a match haul of nine for 66. Services collected six points, while Assam got none.
‘Bad pitch’ assisted spin
An eyewitness of this Elite Group C match said that batsmen didn’t seem inclined to stay at the wicket. “It was not an ideal pitch to play first-class cricket on. It was a bad pitch and assisted spin bowlers from the first morning, though it didn’t pose any danger. The batsmen, too, are to be blamed, as they didn’t seem to have the temperament to stay at the wicket. Their habits seem to have been badly affected by the amount of T20 cricket they play these days,” the veteran eyewitness told Patriot.
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“Also, before play began on the first day, it had rained. That might have also contributed to the quick end of the match. An estimated 7,000 spectators who turned up at the venue went away disappointed. The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) should have staged this match in Guwahati,” he pointed out. Therefore, the BCCI has shifted the Assam-Railways game, starting November 1, from Tinsukia to Barsapara.
BCCI launches inquiry
As per protocol, match referee Amit Sharma, a member of the Punjab team that won its first-ever Ranji Trophy title in 1992-93, will send a report, including details about the behaviour of the pitch, to the BCCI. Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, a former ACA secretary, has asked the ACA to probe the pitch and file a report. It remains to be seen if the BCCI, whose secretary is from Assam, will take any punitive action.
It was only the fourth first-class match played at this ground, also known as Kachujan Stadium. The first two matches were played against Bihar, in 1992 and 2000, the third against Orissa in 2001, and the fourth after almost 25 years.
