Sports News Desk!! Rameshchandra Gangaram ‘Bapu’ Nadkarni (English: Rameshchandra Gangaram ‘Bapu’ Nadkarni, born 4 April 1933, Nashik, Maharashtra; died 17 January 2020) was a former Indian cricket player. He started his international career in 1955 against New Zealand. Played 41 Tests in a 13 year long journey. 88 wickets came in the account. His economical bowling became famous. Bapu Nadkarni’s ability to tie down any batsman was his identity. Bapu Nadkarni is always remembered as a stingy bowler in the history of Test cricket. He has an amazing record of bowling 21 consecutive maiden overs. Bah was a left-handed batsman and left-arm spinner. The favorite phrase of this all-rounder was ‘Don’t quit’. Bapu Nadkarni was a tenacious cricketer who played when gloves and thigh pads were not good, there was no safety equipment to protect against the ball, but he still believed in ‘don’t quit’.
Introduction
Bapu Nadkarni was born on April 4, 1933 in Nashik, Maharashtra. He played 41 international test matches for India. Played 191 first class matches. Bapu Nadkarni is still remembered for bowling 21 consecutive maiden overs, which no other bowler has been able to do till date.
Bapu Nadkarni used to bowl by placing a coin on the nets. His left arm spin was so precise that the ball used to fall there. His economy in his Test career was 1.67 runs per over. Bapu Nadkarni played 41 tests, gave 2559 runs in 9165 balls and took 88 wickets. An expert in every department of cricket, Bapu not only thrashed the batsmen with his spin, but his batting was also amazing. He was also a courageous fielder, who would stand in front of the batsman on the field. Bapu Nadkarni saved India from defeat by scoring an unbeaten 122 runs in the 1963–1964 series against England at Kanpur.
record
Bapu Nadkarni is remembered for maiden 21 consecutive overs. His bowling analysis in the Madras (now Chennai) Test match was 32-27-5-0. He had bowled 131 consecutive dot balls, meaning no runs were scored on these balls. He gave runs with only 0.15 economy in the first innings, which seems difficult to even think in this era of fast cricket. Ever since six balls were bowled in an over in cricket, no other bowler has been able to repeat this charisma till date. For so many years this record has been recorded in the name of Bapu Nadkarni only. In terms of overs, this record is in the name of Bapu Nadkarni and in terms of balls, this record is in the name of South African off-spinner Hugh Tayfield. Hugh Tayfield had bowled 137 consecutive dot balls in the eight-ball over period in 1956–1957. He had bowled 17.1 consecutive maiden overs.
economical bowler
Bapu Nadkarni was known for his economical bowling. His bowling analysis against Pakistan in 1960–1961 at Kanpur was 32-24-23-0 and 34-24-24-1 at Delhi. He was among the top cricketers of Mumbai. He played 191 first-class matches, taking 500 wickets and scoring 8880 runs. Bapu Nadkarni made his Test debut in 1955 against New Zealand in Delhi and played his last Test match against the same opponent in 1968 in Auckland under Nawab Pataudi. Bapu Nadkarni took 500 first-class wickets and scored 8880 runs.
madras test
Bapu Nadkarni, with his left-arm spin bowling, left the British starving for runs at the Nehru Stadium in Madras in 1964. During the test match played here, he bowled 131 balls one after the other, on which not a single run was scored. In that innings, he bowled 27 maidens in a total of 32 overs, of which 21 were consecutive maiden overs and gave only 5 runs. His bowling analysis was- 32-27-5-0.
four spells
First spell- 3-3-0-0 Second spell- 7-5-2-0 Third spell- 19-18-1-0 Fourth spell- 3-1-2-0
When injured Patil was prepared
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar says- “Bapu remained with the team as an assistant manager in many tours. He was always at the forefront in encouraging the players.” In the very first Test (Sydney) of the 1981 Australia tour, Sandeep Patil was hit by a stormy bouncer from Australian pacer Len Pascoe, due to which he fell on the pitch. After this, Bapu Nadkarni made Patil so mentally strong that he took revenge of that bouncer by scoring a century (174 runs) in the next Test (Adelaide).
death
Bapu Nadkarni died on January 17, 2020 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Due to illness, he left this world at the age of 86. Bapu Nadkarni was a left-handed batsman and left-arm spinner. He scored 1414 runs and took 88 wickets in 41 test matches for India. His best performance was six wickets for 43 runs.
