When Wasim Jaffer served notice with an unbeaten 314 in just his second Ranji Trophy game
Nishad Pai Vaidya goes down memory lane with two of Mumbai stalwarts, Sulakshan Kulkarni, currently the coach of the Mumbai team, and Amol Muzumdar to recall Wasim Jaffer’s monumental 314 not out in what was only his second First-Class match — 16 years after it transpired.
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On November 7, 1996, Wasim Jaffer announced his arrival on the Indian domestic scene with mammoth 314 not out in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra. Just 18 years old, and playing only his second First-Class game, Jaffer established himself as another classy player in the long line to emerge from the Mumbai school of batting.
Jaffer forced himself into the Mumbai team with consistent performances in junior cricket. Amol Muzumdar remembers, “There wasn’t a buzz as such surrounding his entry, although he was a prolific scorer in Mumbai club cricket. Those days were very different. Yes, we had heard that he scores heavily in junior cricket. When he played a few times in the nets, we realised that there was a lot of potential in this guy.”
Jaffer made an unspectacular debut against Gujarat, scoring just 11. In a city brimming with talent, it was a valuable chance lost. As Sulakshan Kulkarni opined, “Every player is nervous when he plays his first or second game, particularly if you consider the fact that Wasim got out early in his first match. Playing the second game is as good as playing your last game for Mumbai, if you have failed in the first. If you don’t perform, you are out of the team.”
Saurashtra batted first and piled 595 for four with Sudhir Tanna, Bimal Jadeja, Prakash Bhatt and Hitesh Parasana recording hundreds.
Muzumdar recalls an interesting anecdote from that game.
“We were tired after fielding for a very long time. Wasim fielded at short-leg throughout and was probably more tired, as fielding at that position requires one to crouch and concentrate. During one of the drinks breaks, he asked me, “Amol bhai baaki sab theek hai, par hamaara batting toh aayega na? (Everything else is okay, but will we even get a chance to bat?)” It was quite a funny line when Saurashtra’s score read something like 500 for four. Wasim was clearly looking forward to his batting.”
To complicate matters for Mumbai, their captain and mainstay, Sanjay Manjrekar, was summoned mid-way through the game by the Indian team for the Titan Cup final and wasn’t available for Mumbai’s innings.
In the absence of Manjrekar, Sulakshan Kulkarni was promoted to open the batting with the young Jaffer. “Effectively we played with 10 players — leaving us with only five specialist batsmen. Our coach suggested that since Wasim is quite new, we must send an experienced man to open and I was asked to perform those duties at short notice,” recalled Kulkarni.
What unfolded thereafter was another epic in Mumbai’s batting heroics in the National Championship. The unflappable Jaffer and Kulkarni stitched together a monumental stand of 459 — Kulkarni contributing 239.
“Wasim was always graceful in his strokeplay ever since his days in school cricket. However, he didn’t have too many strokes in his repertoire during his initial two years for Mumbai. He wasn’t playing the shots he has played in the last seven or eight years. He developed a lot of shots after the first few seasons,” says Kulkarni.
Muzumdar, however, remembers one particular shot that Jaffer played a number of times during his triple century. “When he played the pull against the spinner, he would pick it off a length. It was an indication that he had a lot of time on hand to play the stroke.”
In full flow, Jaffer’s remarkable grace and elegance is a sight for sore eyes. Kulkarni says, “Wasim has always been graceful in his strokeplay ever since his days in school cricket. He is a backfoot player and one of his best shots is the one where he plays the ball square through the off side. It’s this ability of his which helped him do well in the West Indies (on India’s tour in 2006). The West Indian bowlers hit the deck and that suited his game.”
With a huge opening partnership, Mumbai had marched towards Saurashtra’s total. However, work still had to be done when Kulkarni was dismissed as Mumbai were still 136 runs behind. Sairaj Bahutule walked in at No 3 and scored 72. By the end of the last day’s play, Mumbai had overhauled Saurashtra’s challenge and finished with 647 for four. Jaffer had seen them through.
Muzumdar says, “Getting a 300 is a fantastic. Wasim is a modern day great in Indian cricket and I have tremendous respect for him. We have shared the dressing room for Mumbai for a number of years and have often broken each other’s records. I admire him as a cricketer and adore him as a person.”
Jaffer highlighted the importance of that knock for his career in an exclusive interview with CricketCountry last year. He said, “My triple hundred in my second first-class game is special as that was the innings that cemented my place in the Mumbai side and Indian cricket. If I hadn’t scored those runs, I may not have played for Mumbai for so long.”
In the years that followed, Jaffer established himself as Mumbai’s mainstay at the top of the order. The consistent performances won him the India Test cap, but he wasn’t able to hold on to his spot for very long. His 31 Tests were spread over a period of eight years and it’s Indian cricket’s loss he didn’t play more for the country.
Both Kulkarni and Muzumdar believe that 31 Tests are far too less for a player of Jaffer’s calibre. Kulkarni said, “A player of Wasim’s calibre should have played many more matches. He played a few big series against quality attacks. He made his debut against South Africa in India – against Allan Donald. If one sees his Test record, he scored well against quality attacks in South Africa, England, and who can forget his double century against Pakistan.”
“Yes, he should have played for India for 10 years. It is a mystery to me as to why it did not happen,” says Muzumdar. Yes, that’s as much of a mystery as Mazumdar’s own non-selection despite piling up the rungs season after season, right through his career.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is Correspondent with CricketCountry and an analyst, anchor and voice-over artist for the site’s YouTube Channel. He shot to fame by spotting a wrong replay during IPL4 which resulted in Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal. His insights on the game have come in for high praise from cerebral former cricketers. He has also participated on live TV talk-shows on cricket. Nishad can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nishad_