Resounding win for Karnataka

Mohd. Kaif, RP Singh, Piyush Chawla are familiar names to all cricket followers who know the state that produced them. Back in the times when I was behind the mike in the 70s & 80s, UP were known for the politicians it produced in abundance rather than for its cricketers.

In 1977-78, UP shocked themselves more than the followers of the games by entering the Ranji Trophy final - only the second time the state had advanced so far.

The first occasion was in the early years of Ranji Trophy when P.E. Palia led up to their first final where UP lost to Maharashtra led by Prof. DB Deodhar who was then 49 years of age & who at 50 next year again led Maharashtra to victory in 1940-41. He was always considered too old for national honours, an injustice reversed by BCCI decides later when it named one of its premier championship in his name – Deodhar Trophy.

The year 1977–78 was one of several upsets. Twenty seven times champions Bombay failed to make the knockout stage. In the league phase for Talim Shield, they were knocked out of contention – Gujarat & Maharashtra qualifying.

Maharashtra lost to Rajasthan who then lost to Delhi whilst UP from Central Zone with no one in the Test team beat Punjab from North Zone and then Hyderabad whilst Karnataka beat Bihar & then Delhi in the semifinal to qualify to play UP in the final.

The final was held in a small industrial town – Mohan Nagar on the UP-Delhi border on a small but well kept ground, privately owned by Mohan Meakins. Some of the UP players were employees of the owners of the ground. A fair amount of controversy had plagued the final, first the choice of venue by the hosts UP and then the postponement of the final, ostensibly, to accommodate GR Vishwanath who had got married to Gavaskar’s sister Kavita.

The match – a five-day affair began on 4th of April, with the hosts as the underdogs. And why not – the Karnataka team included Binny, Viswanath, Brijesh Patel, Sudhakar Rao, Syed Kirmani, Prasanna (Captain), Chandrashekhar & Jayaprakash (well known in later years as an umpire).