The first-ever player to get to a century at No. 11 in the Ranji Trophy, former Tamil Nadu opener Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, recalled his innings on Tuesday. He scored a 122-ball 115 (17x4, 3x6) in the pre-quarterfinal versus Delhi at the IIT-Chemplast ground here in 2001. Mumbai’s Tushar Deshpande became the second No. 11 batter to score a ton in the tournament with his knock of 123 against Baroda on Tuesday.
“This is something which doesn’t happen (at all). Mine happened out of chance only. Because, I still remember, I wasn’t supposed to play that game. I think Ashish Kapoor at 9.15 a.m. (on matchday) came and told me that I was playing. I heard it as ‘You’re not playing.’
“So, till 11 a.m. or 12 p.m. on the first day, I thought I wasn’t playing! Then, suddenly (captain) Robin (Singh) came and asked who should bat at No. 10 and 11 between M.R. Shrinivas and me. That’s actually when I knew I was playing.
