“I felt very good, For a moment, I couldn’t believe it,” Yashvardhan Dalal told RevSportz about his record-breaking innings in the CK Nayudu Trophy. “The kind of support that I received from the teammates, coaches; there was a great atmosphere that the record was all set to be broken.” The unbeaten 428 against Mumbai included as many as 46 boundaries and 12 sixes. The 465-ball effort also ensured that Haryana would post a thumping innings and 400-run victory.
As the youngster neared the landmark, the Shri Ram Narain Cricket Club (SRNCC) ground in Sultanpur was filled with claps and roars. Dalal delved deeper to look back at his splendid effort. “The wicket was slow, it was good for batting, they opted to bowl, we wanted to bat for two and we succeeded in our goal. The players in the dressing room were pushing me, when I reached milestones – 200, 250 and so on.”
On expected lines, as soon as Dalal broke the previous record of 312 held by Sameer Rizvi of Uttar Pradesh, enough cameras zoomed in on the 19-year-old as he hogged the limelight. But with any athlete, there is invariably a backstory of navigating through times. Dalal’s fledgling career also has had its share of ebbs and flows. It wasn’t long ago that the same player was having self-doubts about his career path: “I have been playing for Haryana since my Under-14 days, in Under-19 cricket, it hadn’t gone well for me, I used to feel sad about it, I didn’t give up, kept working hard,” he noted.
So, how did it all start for Dalal? Was he interested in other sports? Did he have any formal training? Dalal, who is originally from Jhajjar, has this to say: “I started playing cricket when I was six. When I became older, it turned into my main interest. People were telling me, you can do something in this field. I joined SRNCC Academy (in Rohtak), where I got support, especially from Anirudh sir – former BCCI treasurer. We were getting facilities, there used to be camps. I used to travel 30-35 km by bus, so I used to travel up-and-down.
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“I don’t have any brother or sister, I am alone. My parents used to give me support right from my childhood days. My father (Shailendra Dalal) has a private job, he has never played cricket, when he got to know I was good at cricket, he made me take it up,” he noted.
What about his future plans? Does he have a role model? Even before yours truly could complete the question, Dalal answered it in a flash, “Virat Kohli, it is Virat Kohli!” He further observed, “When it is going well, everyone admires him. But I like his attitude when it comes to how he reacts to bad times. I also like his consistency and temperament.”
It is also true that he looks up to Kohli for his focus on red-ball cricket. His mindset goes against the modern-day trend of younger players choosing white-ball cricket as their preferred format. Fingers-crossed, the marathon innings versus Mumbai is just a stepping stone for many more heroic efforts from his willow in the longest format of the game.
Also Read: Sanjay Manjrekar and the urge of being different.