The Hindu : All eyes will be on Golwalkar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 26, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

All eyes will be on Golwalkar

By Our Special Correspondent

PUNE, MARCH 25. Last week Madhya Pradesh discovered a match-winner in a young leg-spinner in Yogesh Golwalkar. He created ripples capturing eleven wickets (6 for 95 and 5 for 102) and played a decisive role in Madhya Pradesh's victory over Orissa at Cuttack. Golwalkar's match-winning performance did not receive wide publicity, with nobody paying attention to a second division semifinal of the National championship, but his big haul put Madhya Pradesh in the final.

Golwalkar is a tyro in first class cricket, but according to Devashish Nilosey, former Madhya Pradesh left-arm spinner and presently its coach, Golwalkar is nippy off the pitch and has the potential to go far in the years to come.

Golwalkar has 50 odd wickets under his belt in first class cricket which is just a patch on Narendra Hirwani's 710. Hirwani's days in international cricket are over, but Golwalkar will be the tweaker to watch against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy `Plate Group' final beginning at the Nehru Stadium from Friday.

Golwalkar's first major test of skill and temperament will come up against the talented and in form Maharashtra batsmen and on a pitch that is generally regarded as bowlers' graveyard. Last week the Maharashtra batsmen put the Railways' bowlers to the sword and amassed over 500 runs to win the match on the first innings and enter the final. There are exceptions though with quality bowlers getting the better of the batsmen.

The two teams have come through the tough part of the National championship's second division and have earned a promotion to the `Elite Group' for the 2004-05 season. For Maharashtra, skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Dheeraj Jadhav and Kaushik Aphale have been prolific with the bat; for Madhya Pradesh, the runs have come from Devendra Bundela, Naman Ojha and Syed Abbas Ali, grandson of Mushtaq Ali.

Madhya Pradesh will take the field without seamer Harvinder Singh Sodhi who underwent a knee surgery on Thursday,.

The teams (from):

Maharashtra: Hrishikesh Kanitkar (captain), Dheeraj Jadhav, Niranjan Godbole, Kaushik Aphale, Ranjit Khirid, Satyajit Sathbhai (wk), Kashinath Khadkikar, Iqbal Siddiqui, Kiran Adhav, Sachin Nair, Dhruv Mohan, Mandhar Dalvi, Nikhil Pandey, Charudutt Kukarni, Parag More.

Madhya Pradesh: Devendra Bundela (captain), Naman Ojha (wk), Muddasir Pasha, Sachin Dholpure, Syed Abbas Ali, Nikhil Patwardhan, Brajesh Tomar, Sanjay Pandey, Narendra Hirwani, Yogesh Golwalkar, Shantanu Pitre, Rahul Bakshi, Amol Kokje, Rishi Yengede, Sunil Dholpure.

Umpires: Vijay Chopra and I. Sivaram.

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