>Blue Square Thing at 15:41, 11 February 2021

2021-02-11T15:41:07Z

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{{short description|Indian cricketer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Bapu Nadkarni
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1933|04|04|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Nashik]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|1|17|1933|4|4|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Pune]], [[Maharashtra]], India
| batting = Left-handed
| bowling = Slow left arm orthodox
| role =
| columns = 2
| column1 = [[Test cricket|Test]]
| matches1 = 41
| runs1 = 1,414
| bat avg1 = 25.70
| 100s/50s1 = 1/7
| top score1 = 122[[not out|*]]
| deliveries1 = 9,165
| wickets1 = 88
| bowl avg1 = 29.07
| fivefor1 = 4
| tenfor1 = 1
| best bowling1 = 6/43
| catches/stumpings1= 22/–
| column2 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| matches2 = 191
| runs2 = 8,880
| bat avg2 = 40.36
| 100s/50s2 = 14/46
| top score2 = 283[[not out|*]]
| deliveries2 = 38,193
| wickets2 = 500
| bowl avg2 = 21.37
| fivefor2 = 19
| tenfor2 = 1
| best bowling2 = 6/17
| catches/stumpings2= 140/–
| international = true
| country = India
| testdebutagainst = New Zealand
| testdebutdate = 16 December
| testdebutyear = 1955
| lasttestdate = 12 March
| lasttestagainst = New Zealand
| lasttestyear = 1968
| source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1035/1035.html CricketArchive
| date = 11 February
| year = 2020
}}

'''Rameshchandra Gangaram '''"'''Bapu'''"''' Nadkarni''' {{audio|Bapu_Nadkarni.ogg|pronunciation}} (4 April 1933 – 17 January 2020) was an [[Indian cricket team|Indian international]] [[cricket]]er, mainly known for being an [[Cricket terminology#E|economical]] [[bowler (cricket)|bowler]]. The chances of scoring against him was either nil, or negligible.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/28502521/former-india-allrounder-bapu-nadkarni-dies-aged-86 |title=Former India allrounder Bapu Nadkarni dies aged 86 |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=17 January 2020}}</ref>

==Career==
Nadkarni entered the cricket scene appearing in the [[Rohinton Baria Trophy]] for [[Pune University]] in 1950-51. He made his [[first-class cricket|first-class]] debut for [[Maharashtra cricket team|Maharashtra]] the next year. Two years later he scored his first hundred, against [[Mumbai cricket team|Bombay]] at the [[Brabourne Stadium]]. Nadkarni scored his 103* in just over three hours, and added 103 runs for the last wicket with [[Sadashiv Patil]].

Nadkarni got a lucky break when he was picked to play against [[New Zealand cricket team|New Zealand]] in the Test at [[Feroz Shah Kotla Ground]] in 1955-56 when [[Vinoo Mankad]] rested himself. He scored 68*, but bowled 57 overs in the match without taking a wicket. When Mankad returned, Nadkarni found himself out of the team. Nadkarni became the captain of Maharashtra the same year.

Nadkarni was famous for bowling an unerring line to batsmen which made it nearly impossible to score. It is often told that he used to put a coin on the pitch when he practiced in the nets, and would practice hitting the coin with every delivery.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jan/21/nadkarni-maiden-epic-cricket-dull-boredom-pleasure-india-england|title=Nadkarni’s maiden epic was cricket at its dullest but boredom is part of pleasure {{!}} Andy Bull|last=Bull|first=Andy|date=2020-01-21|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-01-22|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> He had a career economy rate of less than 2.00 runs per over.

Nadkarni was perhaps best known for his bowling in the [[Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai|Madras Test]] against [[English cricket team|England]] in 1963-64. His figures at the end of third day of the match, bowling mostly against [[Brian Bolus]] and [[Ken Barrington]], read 29 overs, 26 maidens, and no wickets for three runs. He finished with figures of 32-27-5-0 and bowled a record twenty one consecutive maiden overs (131 [[Cricket terminology#D|dot balls]] in a row) in a 114-minute bowling spell.<ref name="Beard">{{cite book |title=Ask Bearders |last=Frindall |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Frindall |year=2009 |publisher=[[BBC Books]]|isbn=978-1-84607-880-4 |pages=124–125 }}</ref> In the final Test of that series, Nadkarni hit 52* and 122*. It remained his only hundred in Test cricket.

Nadkarni took 5/31 and 6/91 against Australia in Madras in 1964-65, but with the emergence of [[Bishen Bedi]] as a left arm spinner, his chances became scarce. He was dropped from the tour of England in 1967 but, in New Zealand that winter, he bowled India to a win at [[Basin Reserve|Wellington]] with career best figures of 6/43. On return from this trip, he announced his retirement from first-class cricket.

Nadkarni represented Maharashtra in [[Ranji Trophy]] from 1951-52 to 1959-60 and Bombay thereafter till 1967-68. He scored 201* and took 6/17 and 3/38 against Saurashtra in 1957-58 and 167 and seven wickets in the match against Gujarat in 1958-59. His highest score was the six hour innings of 283* against [[Delhi cricket team|Delhi]] in the 1960-61 semifinal.

He went on to work as the national team’s assistant manager, and was a mentor to Sunil Gavaskar. “His favourite term from where we all learned from was ‘''chhodo mat''’,” Gavaskar said following his death. It means hang in there. “''Chhodo mat.'' You are playing for India. That thing we learned from him.”<ref name=":0" />

==Notes==
* Nadkarni bowled 21 maiden overs,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/149420.html |title=Captain calypso |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> or 131 scoreless balls, in succession. The record for most consecutive balls without conceding a run is held by [[Hugh Tayfield]] of [[South African cricket team|South Africa]], who bowled 137 [[Cricket terminology#D|dot balls]], or 16 eight-ball overs, across two innings against [[English cricket team|England]] at [[Kingsmead cricket ground, Durban|Durban]], in 1956-57.<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/22/22334.html Cricketarchive.com]</ref> In first-class cricket, Nadkarni comes third after Tayfield and Manish Majithia of [[Madhya Pradesh]], who bowled 136 dot balls in a row against Railways in 1999-00.[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/68/68623.html] {{ref|Frindall1}}
*The records for maidens in succession with different balls-per-over are : {{ref|Frindall}}
:4 ball overs : 23 - [[Alfred Shaw]], North v South, Nottingham, 1876 [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/2/2043.html]
:5 ball overs : 10 - Ernie Robson, Somerset v Sussex, Hove, 1897 [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/4/4781.html]
:6 ball overs : 21 - Bapu Nadkarni, India v England, Madras, 1963-64
:8 ball overs : 14 - Hugh Tayfield, South Africa v England, Durban, 1956-57

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Sujit Mukherjee, ''Matched winners'', Orient Longman (1996), p. 120-132
* {{note|Bose}}Mihir Bose, ''A History of Indian cricket'' (1990)
* {{note|Frindall}} [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/sports_talk/2268570.stm Maiden over statistics]
* {{note|Frindall1}} [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/sports_talk/stump_bearders/4582183.stm Dot ball statistics]

==External links==
* [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/31760.html Cricinfo profile]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadkarni, Bapu}}
[[Category:India Test cricketers]]
[[Category:Indian cricketers]]
[[Category:Mumbai cricketers]]
[[Category:Maharashtra cricketers]]
[[Category:West Zone cricketers]]
[[Category:Associated Cement Company cricketers]]
[[Category:Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:1933 births]]

Bapu Nadkarni - Revision history

>Blue Square Thing at 15:41, 11 February 2021