Manipur’s T-Rex takes 10 wickets in Cooch Behar Trophy
NEWDELHI: Talented left-arm pacers are a rarity in Indian cricket these days, and even rarer are the ones who take 10 wickets in an innings! Manipur’s U-19 left-arm pacer Rajkumar Rex Singh seems to fit perfectly in that slot. The 18-year-old Rex hogged the limelight in an U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy Plate match against Arunachal Pradesh, finishing with enviable figures of 9.5-6-11-10 in the second innings. In the first innings, his figures read 10.5-3-33-5. Courtesy his exploits, Manipur won the match by 10 wickets.
With a sprightly run-up and a smooth loading, Rex generated movement off the pitch to leave the Arunachal batsmen reeling.
Five of his victims were bowled while two were trapped in front of the wicket. Two batsmen were also caught behind. Rex was on hat-trick twice but missed on both the occasions.
Rex’s five-wicket haul in the first innings had restricted Arunachal to 138. In reply, Manipur could manage only 122. Rex led Manipur’s charge again with a 10-wicket haul as Arunachal were dismissed for 36 in the second innings. Manipur reached the target without losing a single wicket.
Rex played in the Ranji Trophy this season and took three wickets in two matches. He also featured in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, taking seven wickets in six matches. In Indian domestic cricket, Subhash Gupte was the first to take 10 wickets in an innings. He took 10/78 in 1954 for President’s XI against a team consisting Pakistan Services and Bahawalphur CC. Bengal’s Premangsu Chatterjee took 10/20 against Assam in the 1956-57 Ranji Trophy.
Rajasthan’s Pradeep Sunderam took 10/78 against Vidarbha in the 1985/86 season. Debashish Mohanty took 10/46 for East Zone against South Zone in a Duleep Trophy match in Agartala in 2001. Only two players have taken ten wickets in an innings in international cricket – Anil Kumble (vs Pakistan) and Jim Laker (vs Australia).