Source – indiatoday.in
On Thursday, Jharkhand became the only team in the rich 85-year-old history of the Ranji Trophy to win a first-class match after being forced to follow on. After conceding a 153-run lead in the first innings against Tripura in their Group C match, with more than 2 days of play left in the game, the visiting side was asked to follow on by opposition captain Milind Kumar. The rest, as they say, is history!
But the match was still in Tripura’s favour when Jharkhand batsmen Ishank Jaggi and Saurabh Tiwary got together in the middle with half their side back in the pavilion while still needing 15 runs to avoid an innings defeat. However, Jaggi’s conversation with the team manager PN Singh which had happened before the 2nd innings inspired the duo to launch a stunning fightback.
“Eden Gardens ka repeat ho jaaye? (Should we have a repeat of Eden Gardens)” Singh had asked Jaggi after Jharkhand were asked to follow on, according to ESPNcricinfo. Jaggi, though wasn’t feeling so positive and replied: “Kabhi Kabhi ho sakta hai, baar baar nahi(It might happen once in a way, not always).”
The reference to Eden Gardens was obviously the famous Test win by India over Australia in 2001 when the hosts under Sourav Ganguly stunned the then world champions to win by 171 runs in Kolkata. Even though Jaggi might not have believed it initially, his performance on the field suggested otherwise.
Jaggi retired hurt after scoring 107 off 207 balls and in partnership with Tiwary (122* off 190 balls), helped set up their team’s eventual total of 418/8 when Jharkhand decided to declare the innings.
Being set a target of 266 to win with less than a day left in the game, Tripura crumbled under pressure as Jharkhand pacer Ashish Kumar made good use of the rest to pick up a 5-wicket haul even as MB Murasingh struck a counterattacking 103 for Tripura. The game actually came to an end in the last over of the match in fading light when Ashish trapped Rana Dutta LBW to fuel joyous celebrations from all his teammates.
With the victory, Jharkhand are now the 1st team after Ganguly’s India to win a first-class game in India after following on.