 Ranji winners after 50 years
The first time Hyderabad won the Ranji Trophy was way back in 1937-38, when the national championship was barely three years old. Though several distinguished cricketers played for and led Hyderabad, the second triumph did not come till the 1986-87 season, under the captaincy of leg-spinner batsman M Narasimha Rao. The charismatic M L Jaisimha led it for 23 years, and the venerated Ghulam Ahmed for quite a while before him, but neither of them had the pleasure of holding aloft the ultimate prize in Indian cricket.
Jaisimha often captained a star-studded team but never did succeed in translating all that talent into triumph despite being arguably the best captain in India. After 1986-87, Mohammed Azharuddin and V V S Laxman, not to mention S L Venkatapathy Raju, have played for and captained Hyderabad, but again without success.
When that epochal season started, Narasimha Rao, popularly known as Bobji, had a streamlined outfit under his command, with almost every department well-manned, had two off spinners in Shivlal Yadav and Arshad Ayub, both of whom played for India. Rajesh Yadav and M V Ramanamurthy were hard working medium pacers, capable of working up good pace and tireless over long spells. Venkatapathy Raju, whenever not doing India duty, was a quality left arm spinner available to Hyderabad. The captain himself was a fine, attacking leg spinner of the faster variety. Azharuddin was away playing for India, but the batting was well served by openers Vijay Mohan Raj and Abdul Azeem, Narasimha Rao, Khalid Abdul Qaiyyum, and Arshad Ayub was more than useful in the middle order.
In the league stage, Hyderabad’s batting reached great heights against Tamil Nadu, when Abdul Azeem made 303, Vijay Mohan Raj 115 and Qaiyyum 104 in a Hyderabad total of 611 for 4 declared at the Secunderabad Gymkhana. Arshad Ayub took 3 for 84. Mohan Raj made 180 not out against Kerala, Qaiyyum 114 against Andhra, and Ehtesham Ali Khan, the wicket keeper chipped in with 70 against Karnataka and 89 against Andhra. Medium pacer Rajesh Yadav too made useful runs and the captain was a steady performer. Narasimha Rao and Ayub were the most successful bowlers, well supported by the two medium pacers.
In the knockout stage, Qaiyyum made the quarterfinal against Gujarat memorable scoring 203 in a total of 605 for 7 declared, with the skipper, Vivek Jaisimha (141*) and V Manohar making centuries in the match. Rajesh Yadav and Arshad Ayub supported Narasimha Rao (4 for 88) admirably with the ball. Hyderabad then made a huge 783 for 8 declared in reply to Bihar’s 468 in the semifinal match. Rajesh Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 106, and Ayub quietly picked up four wickets. Ayub (206 not out0 played a monumental knock, adding an unbeaten 244 for the ninth wicket with M V Ramanamurthy (101 not out). Earlier, Vijay Mohan Raj had made 93, Bobji 74, Vivek Jaisimha an elegant 120 and Qaiyyum 55.
In the final, Abdul Azeem (114) and Arshad Ayub (174) stood firm as wickets tumbled all around them, putting on 180 for the sixth wicket and making a total of 457 possible. When Delhi batted, the steadfast pair of K P Bhaskar (160 not out) and Mohinder Amarnath (85) threatened to take the game away from Hyderabad, but Rajesh Yadav dismissed Amarnath through a catch by Arshad Ayub, proceeding thereafter to strike several telling blows, to dismiss Delhi for 433, to snatch a thrilling first innings lead of 24 runs.
Rajesh (5 for 114) received good support from his elder brother Shivlal (3 for 74) and his medium pace partner Ramana Murthy. In the Hyderabad second innings some who missed out in the first came to the party, with Mohan Raj staying unconquered on 211. Ayub played yet another quality innings, scoring 80, thus completing a great personal match, reminiscent of the Mankad Test in England in 1952.
Hyderabad won by virtue of their first innings lead and when Bobji and his boys brought the trophy home, they were given a fitting reception. They had won the national championship against all odds, defeating some strong opponents on the way. Their feat has not been repeated so far.
V Ramnarayan
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