Bhubaneswar: After a lay-off of two years, wicketkeeper-batsman Rajesh Dhuper (97) made a memorable first class comeback, helping Orissa gain three points in their Ranji Trophy encounter against Tamil Nadu which concluded Sunday at the DRIEMS Ground in Tangi. And what a memorable comeback it was for the pint-sized cricketer! He did so battling excruciating pain throughout the game.
Dhuper fractured the index finger of his right hand as early as the fifth over of the game Thursday while trying to collect a delivery from Suryakant Pradhan, which kept low. And throughout the match, he did not let it bother him either while batting or keeping wickets. Pain-killers, sprays and injections became a part of his routine for the next four days.
“I could hear my finger snap trying to collect Suryakant’s delivery,” Dhuper informed over the phone from his residence at Jagatpur. “However, I did not let the pain bother me. I knew I had to play on as I was the only specialist keeper in the side. Thankfully, as it was the right hand index finger, it did not bother me while batting. But I could feeling a jarring sensation every time the ball hit the bat,” he added.
Dhuper went into bat with Orissa in a spot of bother at 310 for five. He batted for more than five overs and when he fell, Orissa were only five runs shy of Tamil Nadu’s total of 530 for eight declared.
He missed his century by a mere three runs. However, when he got out, more than missing out on a personal milestone, what troubled him the most was that he had failed to take Orissa over the line.
“Frankly speaking when I got out, I felt I had let the team down. I was not bothered about my individual milestone,” he said. “I was very relieved when Basant bhai (Mohanty) hit the boundary to get us over the line. I then felt happy as my innings had helped the team cause,” added Dhuper, who has so far played 11 first class games.
Dhuper also said that his innings had happened because of the encouragement of the seniors and coach. “We have a great atmosphere in the dressing room. Coach (Shivsundar Das) and the seniors were constantly encouraging me to play my natural game and that worked in my favour,” informed Dhuper who idolises senior teammate Biplab Samantray.
Dhuper, who also kept wickets in a competent manner, is still optimistic of Orissa making it to the quarterfinals. “We need to win the next two games (both away) outright against Baroda and Madhya Pradesh. Then I am sure we can make it to the last eight stage. We have the capability to do that,” he asserted.
It is because of Dhuper’s injury that Saurabh Rawat has been kept as a stand-by in the Orissa team for both the away games.
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