Deepak Chahar wreaks havoc on debut in Ranji Trophy

Rajasthan pacer Deepak Chahar made a sensational first-class debut grabbing eight wickets against Hyderabad in a Ranji Trophy Plate division match in Jaipur on Monday. His performance was not only the second best effort on a Ranji debut but also helped Rajasthan pack off Hyderabad for 21 — the lowest total in the Ranji history.

The 18-year-old medium pacer came up with an outstanding spell, giving away just 10 runs in 7.3 overs. Chahar’s magical spell of 7.3-2-10-8 brought back memories of another Rajasthan player — Pradeep Sunderam, who had bagged 10 wickets for 78 runs against Vidarbha in the season 1985-86.

It was a brilliant effort by Chahar, son of Lokendra Singh, an retired Indian Air Force officer who hails from Hanumangarh, Rajasthan. So what was the secret of his superlative effort on Monday? “Pitching the ball in the right areas”, Chahar said.

He said that it was his father’s coaching that sharpened his game which he began playing at the age of 13 in Hanumangarh. “Ever since my father retired a couple of years back, he accompanies me on all the matches. Yes, he was present today too,” he pointed out.

In fact, it was Chahar’s tally of 21 wickets in four matches that helped Rajasthan qualify for the Central Zonal under-19 tournament in Indore last year. Chahar is not only brilliant on the field but in studies too, which can be gauged from the fact that he passed class XII (Arts) with 60% marks this year.

“The result was not bad, though I could devote only 10 days preparing for the exams. “But I can’t help it, it’s quite natural given that I was concentrating on cricket,” he said, adding that he would certainly complete his graduation. Rated as the best bowler at the National Cricket Academy camp held in June-July By Sudhanshu Mishra in Jaipur this year, Chahar’s idols are Sachin Tendulkar and legendary pacer Waqar Younis.

Coming to the match, Rajasthan skipper Hrishikesh Kantikar opted to bowl first. The Hyderabad batsmen came and went in a procession as the innings lasted a mere 15.3 overs in the morning session at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. At stumps, the hosts had taken a commanding 199-run lead with eight wickets in hand after they finished the day at 220 for two.

Rajasthan lost openers Aakash Chopra (65), their guest player for this season, and Vineet Saxena for nine. But skipper Kanitkar led from the front with an unbeaten on 100 and had Robin Bisht (33) for company at the close of day’s play. Earlier in the day, Chahar started the rot by removing Akshat Reddy (6), who was caught behind. Reddy turned out to be the top scorer for Hyderabad as none of the other batsmen reached double- digits.

Chahar’s new-ball partner Pankaj Singh scalped two wickets for 11 runs as the two bowled unchanged. Three Hyderabad batsmen recorded ducks and it was skipper D Ravi Teja who stayed the longest at the crease, facing 22 balls for one run. Chahar had a chance to claim a hat-trick after dismissing MP Arjun and Alfred Absolem off the last ball of his seventh over and the first of his eighth over. But Pagadala Naidu denied him the hat-trick.