Baroda grinds Orissa attack to dust

By Our Special Correspondent

VADODARA, APRIL 8. Baroda's intentions of building upon the substantial 288-run first innings lead left a match-winning bowler like Valmik Buch twitching his fingers in frustration in the dressing room, hoping for an early declaration so that he could have a go at the batsmen. The burly left-arm spinner waited in vain on the fourth day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Orissa, the home team batting through an entire day to reach 409 for nine to stretch the lead to a mammoth 697 at the Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation ground.

Buch's turn to bowl will come, but now he is at the batting crease, unbeaten on 23 with last man Irfan Pathan (Senior) for company. With only a day left, it remains to be seen whether Baroda declares at the overnight score to put the onus on Orissa to take up the challenge of scoring atleast 698 in a day's play, plus the mandatory overs, for an improbable win. The heat factor, coupled with the fact that the visitors have been fielding for three out of four days, puts Buch's team in a position of strength and well on road to its sixth final in Ranji Trophy history.

If and when his turn comes, the Baroda left-arm spinner will be waiting with eager anticipation. His readiness to plunge into battle, as seen in the Orissa first innings when he came on to bowl in the 20th over, indicates the confidence he has now. The wickets have been coming regularly, with four wickets so far in this match and nine in the quarterfinals against Tamil Nadu, taking his Ranji tally to 112. ``There is no change in my action, but now have a new approach to the game. I am no longer a restrictive bowler, now I try to take a wicket with every ball.''

Buch attributes his success to two factors. Firstly, skipper Jacob Martin and manager Vinit Wadkar have instilled in him a sense of purpose, the second is a piece of advise from senior teammate Tushar Arothe. ``The skipper and manager have been clear about what they want from me, besides their support has helped me get the courage to bowl an attacking line,'' said the spinner, whose victims in the first innings included Test opener Shiv Sundar Das and former India player Sanjay Raul.

He does not idolise any spin great, nor has been able to seek expert advise from them, so he picks tips from anyone willing to spend time with him. ``In cricket you are always learning and so should be receptive to suggestions from others who have played the game. I always remember (Tushar) Arothe's advise to try to restrict the batsmen, they will make their own mistakes,'' said Buch, who admits he has still a long way to go before being considered India class. The last time his talent came up for scrutiny was in 1992 when he represented the Board President's under-19 team against a visiting England under-19 side.

The Baroda batsmen did not commit many blunders on the fourth day as they were under no pressure at all. They took on the Orissa attack, where Debasis Mohanty (16-9-33-2) was the sole threat again, though others like Sanjay Raul (two for 70) and Ajay Barik (two for 71) picked up wickets when the home team batsmen adopted a carefree approach. Five of the first seven batsmen in the Baroda line-up came up with substantial contributions.

Himanshu Jadhav ended his run drought with a top-score of 78 (212 balls), opener Satyajit Parab's 60 came off 127 balls, even as the run feast continued right through the day, 340 scored off 90 overs. Arothe plundered 62 off 51 balls, hitting nine fours and three sixes. Nayan Mongia extended his batting form for another day, rattling up 53 off 52 balls with nine boundaries, Ajit Bhoite slammed 45 off 40 and the last session saw even Buch carting the bowling around the tree-line ground with a mix of orthodox and improvised shots to have a weary Orissa side walk off the field at stumps, drained and dejected, hoping Baroda would not prolong the agony on the concluding day of the five-day tie.

Buch, the batsman, is at the crease, waiting for orders or an opportunity to dump his bat for a ball, so that Buch the bowler can take over.

The scores:

Baroda - 1st innings: 586.

Orissa - 1st innings: 280.

Baroda - 2nd innings: S. Parab c & b Mohanty 56, C. Williams c Parida b Raul 11, H. Jadhav b Satpathy 78, J. Martin c Suresh b Raul 33, T. Arothe c Gopal b Barik 62, N. Mongia c Gopal b Mullick 53, A. Bhoite c Barik b Mohanty 45, R. Patel c Gopal b Barik 15, V. Buch (batting) 23, I. Pathan (jr) lbw b Jayachandra 9, I. Pathan (sr) (batting) 8; Extras (b-8, lb- 2, nb-4, w-2) 16; Total (for nine wkts.) 409.

Fall of wickets: 1-46, 2-82, 3-152, 4- 241, 5-289, 6-321, 7-368, 8-368, 9-397.

Orissa bowling: Mohanty 16-9-33-2, Barik 20-5-71-2, Jayachandra 16-5-46-1, Raul 23-6-70-2, J. Das 9-4-30- 0, Satpathy 22-7-97-1, S.S. Das 1-0-5-0, Mullick 9-1-47-1.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : West Indies in trouble
Next     : Punjab batsmen give their side an outside chance