Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai
The first question that Dinesh Lad asked his son Siddhesh was about the nature of his dismissal. The father and the son spoke on the phone after the first day’s play of the Ranji Trophy match between Jammu and Kashmir and Mumbai in Srinagar. Siddhesh’s 116 off 156 balls resurrected Mumbai from a tricky 74/3. They were 336/5 at stumps.
How did Siddhesh respond to his father’s — who also happens to be his coach — query? “He told me in mock anger, ‘you are asking how I got out, rather than talking about my century’. He knows that as a coach, I’m a hard taskmaster,” Dinesh told RevSportz.
Siddhesh was stumped off left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq, but by then he had helped Mumbai get out of the woods. His innings had 17 fours and three sixes in favourable conditions for the seamers. “He told me the ball was moving a lot initially. It wasn’t coming on to the bat as well,” said Dinesh.
Jammu and Kashmir had beaten Mumbai in their lair last season. At Sher-I-Kashmir Stadium on Wednesday, they sent the 42-time champions in after winning the toss. Musheer Khan perished in the first over. Ayush Mhatre (28) and Ajinkya Rahane (27) got out after getting starts. Sarfaraz Khan stitched a 67-run fourth wicket partnership with Siddhesh, but he was run out on 42. Siddhesh rebuilt the innings with a 159-run fifth wicket stand with Shams Mulani. At stumps, the latter was batting on 79.
Siddhesh was Mumbai’s highest scorer last term, with 602 runs at 60.20 from seven matches. He knows that another strong Ranji Trophy season might make the national selectors take note. He has played for India A.
“He spent extra hours at the nets ahead of this season. An extended monsoon was a serious impediment to outdoor practice. He put in serious shifts at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) indoors,” said Dinesh.
At 33 years of age, time is not quite on Siddhesh’s side, but consistency remains his currency. It would be interesting to see how things pan out in the future. For the moment, though, Mumbai’s ‘crisis man’ continues to revel under pressure.
Brief scores: Mumbai 336/5 (Siddhesh Lad 116, Shams Mulani 79 batting; Yudhvir Singh 2/82) vs Jammu and Kashmir.
