On the eve of Mumbai's 500th Ranji Trophy tie, Clayton Murzello gives you his final dose of city trivia
Polly Umrigar took no time to prove his versatility as a player. In his second match for Mumbai – against Sind at Karachi in 1946 – the burly Parsi stood at leg trap and claimed two catches off the bowling of Dattu Phadkar. His brilliance prompted teammate Madan Raiji to remark, "Aey… Polly…do you work part-time at a circus?"
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Polly Umrigar
Sankaran Srinivasan, a top order batsman, made his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai against Baroda in 1978-79 at Wankhede. After getting picked in the playing XI for that one game then, Srinivasan, who also represented the Associated Cement Companies, shifted to Tamil Nadu. He was destined to face Mumbai in his last Ranji game at the same venue where he started off as a 22-year-old batsman. The opposition team had three of his 1978-79 teammates – brothers Ghulam and Zulfiqar Parkar as well as Rahul Mankad.
Padmakar Shivalkar and Sudhakar Adhikari, both consistent performers for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, were part of a CCI team which toured Australia in 1961-62. Shivalkar and Adhikari gave a good account of themselves on the tour. When Australian captain Bob Simpson visited India in 1964-65, he expressed great surprise over Shivalkar and Adhikari not being in the India side.
Sanjay Jaywant played just one Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai – against Saurashtra at the Wankhede Stadium in December 1975. Those who watched the game reckon he was unjustifiably given out leg before wicket in the only innings he featured in. He did not get another chance in the Ranji Trophy.
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