When Kambli enchanted the Wankhede
Vinod Kambli talks to Cricinfo about the days when he was still king, and when his home crowd inspired him to his greatest height - 224 against England at the Wankhede in 1993
Nagraj Gollapudi
17-Mar-2006
When he burst onto the scene three seasons after his great pal Sachin
Tendulkar, with whom he had once added a world-record 646 in a schools match, the sky appeared the limit for Vinod Kambli. Sadly, his fall from grace was as spectacular and sudden as the elevation to star status. Worked over by West Indian quicks and troubled by indiscipline and injury, he faded away to become Indian cricket's greatest regret of the
modern era. No one knows how good he could have been, perhaps not even
Kambli himself. Here, he talks to Cricinfo about the days when he was
still king, and when his home crowd inspired him to his greatest height -
224 against England at the Wankhede in 1993.
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My first double-hundred was really memorable for various reasons. Playing
on my home ground, encouraged by the vociferous crowds, against a
well-balanced England bowling side, I was enjoying every moment of my
innings. Once England spared me early on in my knock - on 57, I
stepped out to a flighted delivery from John Emburey and didn't connect
properly, but Phil Defreitas at long-off failed to latch on to a simple
chance - I didn't look back for a long time. Still being a raw player,
there were many rush-of-blood moments.
Keith Fletcher, the England coach, was getting desperate at the
partnerships that India were steadily building and was charging in
and out of the dressing room and making patrols around the ropes,
instructing his bowlers to bowl at a particular length and line. I had
been observing him for a while and decided to take him on - every time the
bowler would try the Fletcher-way, I would dispatch him to the ropes. The
crowds would go manic and applaud every shot like I had scored a century.
That would egg me on to play the next shot.
Amidst this excitement, it was a heady feeling to score my first hundred
in my third Test. Later that evening Sunil Gavaskar came to me and offered
words of caution: "You are shuffling too much across and exposing your leg
stump which the England bowlers will try and attack, so mind that." Words
of wisdom, and I would never forget them. I went on to complete my
double-century and what a moment it was with the thousands in the ground
chanting "Kambli, Kambli".
England seniors, Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting, whom I used to watch as a
kid, came and patted me on the back, which sent a chill down my spine as
these were some of the heroes I had seen so much and read about and one
day wanted to emulate. I got out on 224, not knowing that I was so close
to Gavaskar's 236, then the highest score by an Indian. And the man
himself congratulated me on my feat and taking me aside, he took off
his wristwatch to give to me as a gift. I have treasured that, and kept it
safely till date.
Want to buy the DVD of the 1993 Bombay Test? Click here for more details.
Nagraj Gollapudi is Assistant Editor of Cricinfo Magazine