When Dutt bowled the maidan over!

A couple of weeks ago I became a beneficiary of several old Dr HD Kanga Cricket League fixture books thanks to the generosity of Smita Vijayakar wife of the late versatile sports writer PradeepAlong with bats and leg guards gloves and other protective equipment these fixture books find space in a Mumbai cricketerrsquos kit bag during this time of the year when the Kanga League is heldThe bonus features as it were in these little books that Pradeep preserved come in the form of newspaper clippings for each day encompassing all divisions A to G Itrsquos an old school way for journalists to keep track of Mumbairsquos bestloved cricket leagueAmong the many clippings was the one of Dadar Union pacer Vikram Dutt claiming all 10 wickets in an innings achieved against Rajasthan SC at the Karnatak Sporting Association ground 40 years ago on September 5 1982Vikram DuttThe rare factor in Duttrsquos feat is manifest in the fact that he became only the third bowler in the leaguersquos then 34year history to claim all 10 wickets after Sunder CCrsquos Aby Abraham in 1952 and Fort Vijayrsquos Bharat Dalal in 1956 In 2014 Payyade SCrsquos legspinner Pradeep Sahu claimed all 10 MIG CC wicketsDutt a Mumbai probable opted to play Ranji Trophy cricket for Uttar Pradesh Suru Nayak who played for Rajasthan SC that season had returned from Indiarsquos 1982 tour of England He was clean bowled by Dutt who got his revenge after Nayak hooked and square cut him for runs Dadar Union declared at 98 for three Known also for their splendid fielding and catching Dutt 10 for 20 had four batsmen caught in close positions Three including Nayak had their furniture disturbed while three were trapped leg before wicket Rajasthan who folded up for 37 just 10 minutes before the 6 pm close resisted through a fine innings from lefthanded Arvind VaidyaRajasthan SCrsquos Mobin Shaikh recalled the match starting in the afternoon and Dadar Union skipper Dilip Vengsarkar opting to bat on a wet surface ldquoWe were caught on a drying surface Vikram was just superb and bowled with fire He was also mentioned in the Marathi news on televisionrdquo remarked MobinNayak told me on Tuesday evening that the stronglybuilt Dutt was sharp and troubled Dadar Unionrsquos opponents a great deal throughout that seasonGoabased Dutt came up with an example of what tough cricket actually is ldquoI had bowled 14 overs eightball overs nonstop I had my rhythm going but was tired Dilip and Vasu Paranjape urged me to keep bowling and convinced me that I could run through our opponents At Dadar Union we were told that three to four early wickets from the pacers were a must no matter how strong the opposition team were and then you got a break lsquoGet them out fast Crsquomon you can do itrsquordquo they saidDutt then 21 was bowling well but he was not inducing the edges Once his luck opened up the Dadar Union fielding unit came into play Dutt recalled the catching efforts of Paranjape Ramnath Parkar Suresh Tigdi and Subhash Kshirsagar with Subhash Bandiwadekar behind the stumpsSitting with the scorebook in the Karnatak tent was a future Dadar Union regular Salil Shah a collegian leftarm spinner Shah told me on Tuesday that it was thrilling to get a close view of Dutt running into bowl from the Karnatak end of Cross Maidan with his long hair tossing up and down ldquoVikram put the fear of God into the batsmen He was fast and dangerous that dayrdquo said ShahDutt was in the news again the Sunday after his 10wicket feat This time Young Maharashtra were Dadar Unionrsquos opponents at their ground at Shivaji Park The hosts bowled out Dadar Union for a mere 36 through pacers Sandeep Walawalkar 611 and Austin Coutinho 425 But like Dadar Union were so used to doing they defended their low score and Young Maharashtra were dismissed for 34 with Duttclaiming 716Dutt had to miss the October 3 game against Shivaji Park Youngsters as he got picked in Central Zonersquos Duleep Trophy team But he was back in Dadar Union colours for the final day of the league at the Cross MaidanDadar Union and CCI led the pack with on 17 points each Dadar Union had to beat hosts MB Union while Shivaji Park Gymkhana at Shivaji Park challenged CCI armed with Sandeep Patil CCI couldnrsquot get the better of Patilrsquos former team while Duttrsquos 4ndash37 helped Dadar Union beat MB Union by 42 runs to regain the lsquoArsquo division title after four years He ended the Kanga season with 44 wicketsEarlier in the day a 17yearold Sanjay Manjrekar hit a priceless halfcentury for Dadar Union to put up a competitive 146 Many years ago I asked Manjrekar about the best bowling performance he had seen in the Kanga League ldquoVikram Duttrsquos 10 wickets in an inningsrdquo he saidDuttrsquos feat hasnrsquot been emulated by a pace bowler since Pradeep Vijayakar who took pride in his legspin would have been happy to see a legspinner and namesake Pradeep Sahu who took all 10 for Payyade SC v MIG CC in 2014 as the last bowler to do itmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper