Published: Dec 10, 2014, 04:42 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 10, 2014, 04:42 PM (IST)
The 1990-91 Ranji Trophy contest between Andhra and Kerala at Vishakhapatnam included forfeiture. After scoring 420, Andhra restricted Kerala to 346. Willing to go for the kill, Vankenna Chamundeswaranath, the Andhra captain, forfeited their second innings, setting Kerala a target of 75 in 13 overs. Some frantic hitting from Bhaskaran Ramprakash saw Kerala home with ten balls to spare.
Despite having displayed exceptional character, Chamundeswaranath became a part of the scorecard entry when he was dismissed in Andhra’s only innings. Chamundeswaranath was caught by Karumanaserri Narayanaiyer Balasubramaniam off his younger brother Karumanaseri Narayanaiyer Ananthapadmanabhan — easily the greatest spinner Kerala has ever produced.
The dismissal — Chamundeswaranath (17 letters) c Balasubramaniam (15 letters) b Ananthapadmanabhan (19 letters) — is easily among the ones in terms of length. Between them the trio accounted for 51 letters; it seems a waste when one thinks that Chamundeswaranath had scored a mere two. The third seems almost impossibly insignificant when pitted against the first two.
