A stream of local dignitaries were in attendance for Day 2 of what would be an ordinarily non-descript group stage Ranji Trophy fixture between Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir at the Feroz Shah Kotla grounds here on Sunday.
Newly-elected president of the BCCI Mithun Manhas turned up to his former hunting ground, where he scored hordes of First-Class runs as a middle-order batter for Delhi, for a felicitation ceremony. His long-time teammate Rajat Bhatia was on commentary for the game. National selector and former India pacer RP Singh, too, showed face.
And in front of fellow domestic cricket stalwarts, who happen to be former teammates and friends, J&K’s 40-year-old skipper Paras Dogra stole the show with a measured century that was pivotal to putting his side in control of the game. Dogra’s 139-run stand with Abdul Samad spurred the visitors to a total of 310, handing them a crucial 99-run lead against a beleaguered-looking side whose poor bowling effort was in line with the aptitude of a team that has failed to win a single game so far this season.
Dogra, who further strengthened his credentials as an unwavering veteran of this competition with a 33rd century in Ranji Trophy, was happy to do well in front of a few familiar faces.
“They are always telling me they are happy to see me and kept telling me to keep going until I can make it last. They know what life is like on the other side,” he told reporters here on Sunday after his 183-ball 106.
Sunday’s innings would further underline Dogra’s place in the history of this tournament. He inched to just a 100 runs shy of hitting the 10,000 mark, only Wassim Jaffer has hit more. Jaffer is also the only batter to score more centuries than him (40).
But top performers in domestic cricket live in a bubble of their own; the eye-catching numbers they accumulate at this level are partly a result of never making it to the international stage, and often come with relatively little recognition. Even more so for journeymen like Dogra, who spent a decade-and-a-half with his home state, Himachal Pradesh, before moving to Puducherry and now J&K as a professional.
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Not playing for a big-name side has hurt his cause, he feels, and there remains a wistfulness for never making a cut to the next level but he remains hungry as ever to keep playing. He believes that feeling comes from an obsession with the game. Be it at first-class level or in the league-level games he plays while representing his organisation, the Food Corporation of India.
“It’s all about enjoying the routine. Waking up every day and training to be fit and practicing batting to be ready to play, taking care of my nutrition, even when it is the off-season,” he said. “I am still training with the mindset of a youngster, even at this age. I play like I’m still a kid because that’s what is fun.”
On Sunday, he led from the front. Arriving at the crease late on Saturday, when three wickets had been castled, his side were in a precarious position. An early wicket at the start of Day 2, an avoidable run out, put further pressure. But he dropped anchor and saw out spells of danger early, taking his partnership with Samad deep into the afternoon session when conditions became easy for run scoring. Samad would accelerate in his white-ball style and J&K would eventually reach a decent enough total even if they left a few runs on the board as wickets fell rapidly after Dogra, who was dropped twice — first at the start of the day, left the crease at the stroke of tea.
It may be too early to call but with J&K’s healthy lead, another victory over a better-established state team, and a good position to potentially qualify for the quarterfinals, is on the cards. It will be another feather in the cap of their seasoned leader.
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Brief scores: Delhi 211 & 7/0 in 2 overs trail Jammu and Kashmir 310 all out in 91.1 overs (Dogra 106, Samad 85; Simarjeet 6/52) by 92 runs.
