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Former Delhi batter Bantoo Singh hilariously recalled a heated Ranji match between Delhi and Mumbai in 1991, where he was hit on the nose by a bouncer from Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin Tendulkar having a roll of the shoulder with the ball (AFP)
Over the years, the ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar has terrorized bowlers across generations with his sublime batting skills. But, what if we told you Sachin could instill the same fear with the ball too? Well, Bantoo Singh sure saw it, recalling witnessing the ‘spirit of Curtly Ambrose’ in Sachin’s bowling.
Former Delhi batter Bantoo Singh hilariously recalled a heated Ranji match between Delhi and Mumbai in 1991, where he was hit by a bouncer from Sachin Tendulkar, which left him with a bloody nose with multiple fractures.
Known to be one of the pillars of Delhi’s batting between the mid-80s to mid-90s, Bantoo jogged his memory back to the summer of 91, reminiscing about the match where Sachin ‘changed the design of my nose’.
“Mere naak ka naqshaa hi badaal gaya Sachin ke uss bouncer ke baad. Mere paas ab naya naak hai (The design of my nose changed after that Sachin bouncer. I have a new nose now),” Bantoo revealed in an interaction with PTI.
But, what led to the whole incident? Well, allow us to set the backdrop leading up to Sachin’s bouncer that literally had Bantoo on all fours.
The Mumbai-Delhi Ranji clashes in the 1980s and 1990s weren’t merely about a win. It was a clash of egos, a clash of one-upping the other to establish dominance over the other.
In this specific instance of Bantoo’s, Delhi ended up losing the intense quarter-final by one run as they finished first innings on 389 to Mumbai’s 390.
The second innings of both teams was a mere formality as Mumbai scored 719 in their second innings, riding on hundreds from skipper Sanjay Manjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Chandrakant Pandit.
“I had hit a hundred in the first innings and was high on confidence. Now, Sachin in those days would insist on bowling seam-up and was slightly more deceptive than he actually looked,” Bantoo stated.
“Once he got the ball, I punched him through covers for a boundary, and he threw a cold glance at me. The next ball, he put in effort and hit a grass patch short of length as the ball climbed up.
“Well, I never wore a helmet with a protective visor (front grill). Mine was old-fashioned with fibre glass protection on the ears. As the ball climbed on me, I tried to play the pull shot over mid-wicket, but the ball ended up hitting the toe of my bat and came like a rocket towards me.
Recalling how the old-school Keemati balls, which were in abundant use back in the day before the advent of SG balls in India, Bantoo recalled the bloody outcome that followed him taking the hit from the deflection.
“The moment it hit me, I went blurry and before I lost my balance, it was Mumbai skipper Sanjay (Manjrekar), who quickly ran from slips and I collapsed into his arms,” Bantoo stated.
“My shirt was soaked in blood, and even Sanjay had blood on his shirt as I left the field with the help of my teammates.”
Bantoo was taken to Sanjivan Hospital right behind Kotla and was diagnosed with multiple fractures on his nose, which required surgery. He had to stay on a liquid diet for at least two months.
But, with bygones being bygones, Bantoo fondly remembers Sachin, the kind human, who checked up on the Delhi batter after the horrible incident.
“The Mumbai team had left that very evening after the match ended. It was around 11 at night that our landline phone rang, and my dad picked up. On the other end, it was Sachin, who had got my contact, I don’t know how. He asked Dad, ‘How is Bantoo doing? What are the doctors saying?’ My dad was moved.”
“Later on, whenever we met, he would ask, “Naak theek hain na tera? (Is your nose alright now?).”
(with agency inputs)
