Despite having a torrid time in the field, the Mumbai team were a happy bunch in the dressing room after close of play on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final yesterday for two reasons.
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| Birthday-boy Sairaj Bahutule of Mumbai carries out 12th man duties on the third day of the Ranji semi-final in Chennai yesterday. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE |
Despite having a torrid time in the field, the Mumbai team were a happy bunch in the dressing room after close of play on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final yesterday for two reasons.
One, they had got rid of the dangerman, considering Saurashtra needed to bat out two days to make it to final, Sitanshu Kotak. But the second reason was more important as the squad celebrated their veteran pro and former captain Sairaj Bahutule's 36th birthday.
For the birthday-boy, though, it was a day of mixed feelings. He had reasons to be delighted to have his teammates, including Sachin Tendulkar to whom the first time he bowled was during Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli's record 664-run partnership in the Harris Shield, singing for him when he cut the cake. At the same time, he was disappointed not to have made the cut to the playing XI for the semis.
"Obviously it was disappointing but it was all done to get the best combination for the team," Bahutule, who shares his birthday with the great Kapil Dev, told MiD DAY.
"And being a Mumbai cricketer, every player is always ready to do anything that's best for the team. So there's nothing sad about missing this game as long as the team is winning."
It was also a special feeling for Bahutule to celebrate his birthday at the same ground where he made his Test debut. And with the track offering bounce, Bahutule must have been ruing missing out on such a strip.
"I am sure I would have been able to extract some bounce off the wicket, but as I said, I am not sulking," Bahutule said.
The last year had been eventful in many ways for Bahutule. The leg-break bowler returned to his home team after spending three years with Maharashtra. Then in September, his father Vasant, a former Maharashtra Ranji leggie, passed away. And the next month, Bahutule became a father of a baby boy.
After such a mixed year, Bahutule was indeed keeping his fingers crossed for the coming year to be full of happiness.
