Ritesh Misra, Surat, 11 June 2023
In our Icons of India series, today I bring to you some fascinating information about a great cricketer and a great human being, who set a world record almost 60 years ago, and this record may well stand the test of time. His cricketing feat was described by the well known publication “the Guardian” as “cricket at its dullest but boredom is a part of pleasure.” What feat was this? It was none other than the “miserly” world record feat of Indian spinner Bapu Nadkarni bowling a single spell of 21 overs and 5 balls without conceding a single run!131 balls bowled without a single run scored! The 132nd ball saw a single due to a misfield and Bapu was promptly taken off! This world record feat was achieved in the Madras test match versus the visiting Englishmen on 12th January, 1964, and almost 60 years later, the feat is still a record. One of the English batters was none other than Ken Barrington, whose test average of 58.67 for 6806 runs is next only to Don Bradman for batters who have completed their test careers scoring more than 6000 runs. The other batter was Brian Bolus who had started his test career in spectacular fashion, hitting Wes Hall back over the bowler’s head for a boundary off the first ball he faced! This makes Bapu’s feat even more special, achieving it versus two solid batters. It also helped that four of the English players were suffering from food poisoning and hence, Ken Barrington and Brian Bolus had the mandate to play defensively. Regardless of that, the feat of Bapu is simply amazing.
Let us take a look at the life and career of this Indian cricketer who was known for his accuracy. Bapu Nadkarni was born in Nashik on 4th April 1933, and he passed away in Pune on 17th January 2020 at the age of 86. His real name was Rameshchandra Gangaram Nadkarni but he was Bapu Nadkarni for all. He played 41 test matches for India in which he took 88 wickets, which included 4 fivers and a tenner. The ten wickets in a test match came versus Australia (once again at Madras!) where he took 5-31 and 6-91. It was, however, in a losing cause since Aussie fast bowler Graham Mckenzie also took a tenner and bowled the Aussies to a win.
India’s first overseas win was against New Zealand in 1967-68, and one of the architects of that win was Bapu who had a match-winning 6-43 at Wellington. He will, however, be always remembered for his world record of bowling 131 balls without conceding a run. Such accuracy is eerie, and to achieve such accuracy he used to practice bowling in the nets by keeping a coin on the pitch, sketching a chalk circle around it, and bowling for hours, trying to hit it. And he did so regularly! No wonder his economy rate of 1.67 over a test career in which he bowled 9165 balls is the second best amongst all bowlers who have taken at least 50 test wickets. Only the South African medium-pace bowler, Trevor Goddard, who took 123 test wickets had a more economical rate of 1.64.
Bapu Nadkarni was also a dour batter who valued his wicket very much. He had a century in test cricket which was in the same series in which he had his world record bowling feat. That ton came while batting at number 3, which for a bowler was unheard of. Another vital innings was a 46 at number 8 versus Australia and a 72 run partnership with Ramnath Kenny, who made 51, which gave the runs for Jasu Patel to bowl India to a win in the famous Kanpur test of the 1959-60 series. In that match, Jasu Patel took 14 wickets including the mind boggling 9 for 69.
Bapu’s career in test cricket came to a quick closure for two reasons. First, while he was seen as an economical bowler it was perceived that the team needed a wicket-taking bowler more. Secondly, this perception resulted in non other than Bishan Singh Bedi making his debut at the age of 20 and tasting immediate success. Bapu Nadkarni, however, took his exit gracefully and continued to play first class cricket, in which he ended up with a colossal 500 wickets. He was considered a very dogged batter as well and had as many as 14 centuries, with a highest score of 283 not out versus Delhi in the 1960-61 Ranji Trophy semi-final.
Later, he became a manager of the Indian cricket team. A detailed account of his achievements as manager is a must. Bapu Nadkarni was a mentor to Sunil Gavaskar and the little master has said in public that it was Bapu who instilled in the players the value of hanging in there since you are playing for India and you can’t give up easily. Ravi Shastri also remembered him fondly as his first manager in his debut series in New Zealand. As a manager he used to motivate his players. He only told Dilip Vengsarkar that he will give his watch to him if he scored a hundred and Vengsarkar did so. Bapu was Chairman of the selection committee as well and it was during his chairmanship that Vengsarkar became the Indian test captain. Karsan Ghavri too has praised him as a manager during the famous incident when Sunny Gavaskar threatened to walk off the field and forfeit the match. Bapu told everyone to clear the dressing room as he knew that Sunny would be furious because he thought he was wrongly given out, and inadvertently, in anger, he may say something to a young player who will feel hurt. This shows that he had a keen sense of understanding the individual psyche of his players. Ghavri, in an interview with acclaimed journalist Clayton Murzello, also said that once he had a contract to play cricket in England but could not afford the full flight ticket, and Bapu used his contacts in Air India to get him a discounted ticket, enabling him to fly out and play.
When asked how he was so accurate, Bapu Nadkarni attributed it to the tough standards of Bombay cricket. To quote him, “Bombay cricket was so disciplined. The basic principle was to be accurate to the point of perfection.”
Bapu Nadkarni Sir, you will forever remain an Indian icon for everything that you did for Indian cricket.