Published: Jun 17, 2016, 10:43 AM (IST)
Edited: Jun 17, 2016, 10:44 AM (IST)
The Poona Club Ground was the scene of the Western Zone Ranji Trophy match between Bombay and Western India, played in December 1935, in the second year of the National competition. LP Jai, captain of the Bombay team, opted to bat first. The start was not an auspicious one: wicketkeeper Dattaram Hindlekar, opening the innings, was dismissed by Amar Singh for a duck, the first wicket falling before the team had opened its account. ALSO READ: LP Jai: First captain to lift the Ranji Trophy
The other opener, SM Kadri, forged ahead cautiously, sharing a 2nd-wicket stand of 59 with Champaklal Mehta (25). First-Class debutant Babubhai Patel was also dismissed without scoring, another victim of Amar Singh. And so it went, captain Jai scored 6. Batting at No. 7, Raghunath Wadkar scored 31. The innings folded up at 243, with Kadri scoring 105, his maiden First-Class century. Unfortunately, there is no record of how long he batted or of how many balls he faced in his century.
For Western India, Amar Singh captured 4 for 70, including 3 of the first 4 batsmen, completing a tally of 300 First-Class wickets in the process. Hari Mali picked up 4 for 34. Western India were dismissed for 181, Oghadshankar Manilal making 63 of these. The next highest scorer was Mali, at No. 10, with 29. A teenager Vinoo Mankad batted at No. 11, and remained not out without scoring. For Bombay, Dadabhoy Havewala took 4 for 46 and Mahendra Hansoti 3 for 36.
At the end of Day Two, Bombay, in their second innings, were 267 for 3, Kadri, on 106 not out, with his second century of the match, becoming the first man to perform the feat in the history of Indian First-Class cricket in general and Ranji Trophy cricket in particular.
Bombay finally totalled 484 with centuries from Kadri (114), Babubhai Patel (131*), and Havewala (103). The match notes inform us that Patel had retired hurt on 185 for 2 and came back to continue on 327 for 5. Surprisingly, Mankad was not bowled at all in the Bombay first innings and did not take any wickets in the second innings in his 4 overs. The wicket-takers were Mali (5 for 129), Narsingrao Kesari (3 for 115) and Amar Singh (2 for 48). Our hero was playing his 8th First-Class match.
The match notes make another interesting observation regarding the outcome of the match, which was, prima facie, a draw. But it seems that “Bombay won by a concession”.
There is no date of birth recorded in Kadri’s bio-data; we only know that he was a right-hand batsman. The archives tell us that in a span of 1929-30 to 1943-44, Kadri played 34 First-Class matches, scoring 1,403 runs at 26.98. His only 2 centuries came in the same match. He also had 7 fifties and held 8 catches.
Kadri made his First-Class debut for Muslims against Hindus in the Bombay Quadrangular Tournament of 1929-30. For Hindus, Prof. DB Deodhar opted for first strike. In an innings of 291, the main scorers were the incomparable CK Nayudu (155, caught by the debutant Kadri off the bowling of Shahabuddin, another debutant) and KG Pardeshi (76). Although he did not create much of a flutter in this match, scoring only 9, one Hindu debutant was to carry the batting for his team in many, many matches to come — Vijay Merchant.
For Muslims, Abdul Hakim with 4 for 80 and Shahabuddin, with 4 for 54, were the main wicket-takers. The Muslims folded for 123 in the first innings, ME Sheikh, opening the innings, scoring 39. Kadri was bowled by SS Joshi for a duck.
Following on, the Muslims could only score 154, wicketkeeper Dilawar Hussain, opening the innings, scoring 72 for them. Kadri collected his second duck of the match, thereby joining the ranks of those who have had the misfortune of registering pairs in their debut First-Class matches. For the Hindus, Ladha Ramji dismantled the innings almost single-handedly, taking 8 for 55. ALSO READ: Dr Dilawar Hussain: a fierce competitor on both sides of the wicket
Kadri’s second match was against the Parsees in the Bombay Quadrangular of 1934-35, and again, he could not cover himself with glory. Muslims were under the leadership of Wazir Ali, who opted to bat first. It turned out to be a good decision because they put up a score of 334, built around a magnificent innings of 197 from Nazir Ali, brother of the skipper, who contributed 34. The Parsees pressed 6 bowlers into service and each picked up at least 1 wicket, captain Hormasji Vajifdar taking 4 for 61. Kadri scored 3, opening the innings with Dilawar.
The Parsees succumbed to 101, the best effort being the 23 by Jal Wadia. Baqa Jilani (4 for 30), Mohammad Nissar (3 for 14), and Mushtaq Ali (2 for 24) were the main wicket-takers. The Parsees followed on and made 232. Vajifdar scored 52, Sorabji Colah 43, Framroze Kapadia 37; Nissar took 4 for 69 and Baqa Jilani 3 for 55 in a victory for the Muslims by an innings and 1 run.
In his 3rd match, Kadri made a significant contribution to the Muslim victory by an innings and 106 runs against Europeans the same season. Batting first, Muslims scored 357. Kadri, opening with Mushtaq, scored 84. Wazir Ali remained not out on 148. For Europeans, Robert Gourlay took 5 for 70 and Charles Hill-Wood, playing his last First-Class match, chipped in with 3 for 57.
Europeans were dismissed for 148 in response, only Reginald Hopkins (53) going past 50. Nissar (4 for 15) and Mubarak Ali (4 for 39), the opening bowlers, did most of the damage. The Europeans fared even worse after following on. They were dismissed for 103, the highest scorer turning out to be Frank Warne (23).
Kadri’s first match for Bombay was against the visiting Australian side of 1935-36, at the Bombay Gymkhana Ground. The visitors, under Jack Ryder, who won the toss, batted first, putting up a healthy total of 468 for 8. Wendell Bill, opening the innings, scored 107, while No. 6 Francis Bryant, scored 155. For Bombay, Grimley Richards took 4 for 133.
The Bombay 1st innings was of 241, wicketkeeper Hindlekar (32) and Kadri (41) sharing a 1st-wicket partnership of 55 runs. Havewala (71) and captain Jai (59) were the other principal scorers. For the visitors, Frederick Mair (5 for 101) and Thomas Leather (3 for 60) did the most damage.
Bombay followed on and scored 171, LP Jai scoring 115. The wickets were shared around, Mair capturing 3 for 73. The match was drawn, and this was Kadri’s first experience of an international opposition.
Kadri’s Ranji Trophy debut came against Maharashtra in 1935-36. In the Bombay 1st-innings total of 308, Kadri’s contribution, opening the innings, was 40 in a 77-run opening partnership for the 1st wicket with Hindlekar (29). Jai scored 81. For Maharashtra, SV Datar took 6/81.
The Maharashtra 1st innings realised 228, with Nazir Ali (63), making his Ranji Trophy debut, MA Deshmukh (42), also on Ranji Trophy debut, and captain Deodhar (32) being the chief scorers.
Bombay then scored 295, Jai again top-scoring with 97, and Mehta weighing in with 78. As many as 9 bowlers were used by Maharashtra as the match ended in a draw, but was awarded to Bombay on the 1st-innings lead.
In his 7th First-Class match, a Ranji Trophy match against Sind at Poona that season, Kadri gave a fair account of himself in both innings. Sind, under Ghulam Mohammad, won the toss and batted, scoring 230. Jacob Harris top-scored with 78, and MA Gopaldas, making his Ranji Trophy debut, scored 53. For Bombay, Dinkar Talpade ran riot, taking 7 for 54.
Bombay’s 1st-innings total was 369, with a 1st-wicket partnership of 92 between Hindlekar (38) and Kadri (72). The top-scorer was Mehta with 96. Ghulam (3 for 73) and First-Class debutant WL Mascarenhas (3 for 38) were the main wicket takers.
Sind declared on 329 for 7: Naoomal Jaoomal remained undefeated on 103, and there were good hands from wicketkeeper Abdul Aziz (65, at the top of the order) and captain Ghulam (51). Jehangir Khot took 4 for 50.
In the time remaining, Bombay scored 105 for 2 with Kadri hitting 53. Although the match was drawn, it was awarded to Bombay on the 1st-innings lead of 139.
In the timeless final against Madras at Delhi (a neutral venue) at the end of March 1936, Kadri had a solid 83 in the 1st-innings total of 384, sharing a 1st-wicket stand of 105 with Hindlekar (54). Ahmed Baporia scored 90, and Wadkar 64. MA Uttappa, in his last Ranji Trophy match, took 4 for 70.
In the Madras 1st-innings total of 268, AV Krishnaswamy top scored with 77, and Bomanji Kalapesi, opening the bowling, took 5/92.
The Bombay 2nd innings terminated on 199, Merchant scoring 79. Captain Vajifdar, playing his last First-Class match, made 48, reaching 1,500 First-Class runs in the process. AG Ram Singh, the champion left-handed all-rounder from Madras, took 5 for 92, completing the landmark of 50 Ranji Trophy wickets.
The Madras 2nd innings folded up for 125, Cotar Ramaswami top-scoring with 40. Bomanji Kalapesi, Merchant and Rustomji Jamshedji, each picked up 3 wickets. Bombay won this final by 190 runs, and with it, the title for 1935-36. In this Ranji Trophy season, Kadri, with 515 runs, was adjudged Best Batsman and Ram Singh, with 28 wickets, was adjudged Best Bowler. ALSO READ: Ranji Trophy: Mumbai’s 40 title triumphs — Part 1 of 4
In the Bombay Pentangular final of 1938-39 against Hindus, Kadri scored 65 (out of 340) and 12 (out of 107 for 4, in a game Muslims won by 6 wickets), completing the landmark of 1,000 First-Class runs.
Against the Rest in the Pentangular 1941-42, Kadri, captaining the Muslims, scored 76 (out of 359) in the only innings he batted. Kadri’s last fifty was for Bombay in the Ranji Trophy 1941-42 clash against Sind at Bombay, when he scored 59 in the Bombay 1st innings, captain Merchant scoring 153 not out in a team total of 405.
Kadri’s last First-Class match was for Muslims against the Rest in Pentangular 1943-44. Alas, captaining Muslims, he scored a duck in the only innings he batted in a drawn match that was awarded to the Rest on a 1st-innings lead. His First-Class career had come full circle, with a duck in the first innings on debut and duck in the last innings of all.
Kadri played 3 matches for Vizzy’s Freelooters in 1936, but they were not First-Class fixtures, and his performances in these were nothing special.
All that is known about the passing away of Kadri, this pioneering cricketer, is that he died on January 25, 1963, in Saudi Arabia.
(Pradip Dhole is a retired medical doctor with a life-long interest in cricket history and statistics)
