The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Goswami, 225, towers over the rest
NANO. That's how Shreevats Goswami's close friends and Bengal team-mates like to call him. It's not surprising. Standing at 5'4", Goswami is one of the shortest players in domestic cricket.
And despite his obvious physical limitations, his neatly cropped hair and stubble only adds to his inherent boyish charm. International cricket perhaps got the first glimpse of this diminutive player exactly eight seasons ago during India's victorious campaign under Virat Kohli during the U-19 World Cup. This was followed by a plum IPL contract. It was a seductive start, and most expected his early successes would help him take his game forward at the Ranji level.
Inexplicably though, the heady start was followed by a string of inconsistent performances at the first-class level. More often, he would get starts, and then fritter it away playing the most impetuous shots. A string of poor scores gave ample fodder for critics to take a swipe at him. Most felt, he did not have the requisite technique to prosper at firstclass cricket. The presence of Wriddhiman Saha meant Goswami would be relegated as Bengal's second-choice keeper. An average of just 28 is a definitive case in point.
Eight seasons after the World Cup triumph, and after 34 first-class games came Goswami's defining moment. Against a pretty competent Madhya Pradesh attack and in what was in all probability Bengal's final league game this Ranji season, the 27-yearold stroked his way to his first double century.
In doing so, he took his team to a position of ascendancy at the end of the second day's play at the Airforce Sports Complex here in Palam.goswamiplayedatrickysessionagainst the MP pacers on Day 1, survived as many as three definite chances, but he hung on.
He reached his century with a slash that went between the first and third slip. But once he crossed that coveted landmark — only his third ton in 35 games — Goswami upped the ante. He played all round the wicket, and orchestrated some of the most exquisite cover drives. He was equally at ease against the spinners, using his feet well and carting them around with ridiculous ease. Such was his dominance, that at one stage in the day, he looked like he was toying with the bowlers. His unbeaten 225 was an exhibition of grace and maturity.
“I was in a trance. After I reached my 100, I don't know how I scored the next 100 runs. In fact, I did not know I was approaching my double hundred after I scored a boundary to reach 199,” he said at the end of the second day's play.
Apart from his imperious stroke-play, bulk of the credit should also go for the maturity he showed in shepherding the tail. At one stage in the morning session on Thursday, Bengal were in a bit of strife at 7/207. But Goswami stitched three crucial partnerships with the tail, helping Tiwary's side to cross the 450-run mark. The last two wickets yielded 268 runs. In fact, the unbeaten 10th wicket stand of 119 runs with Sayan Ghosh was a record for Bengal in Ranji Trophy. Surprisingly, Goswami had harboured hopes of only getting to 350 when he was joined by Ojha. "Our plan was to get to 350. But credit to the tail for the way they batted," he added.
Given the conditions and the circumstances his team was in, he rated this knock as his best. Purely going by stats, this season has been more fruitful than his previous ones. More than 400 runs from six games with two centuries only puts things in perspective. He, however, knows for a fact that when Wriddhiman Saha is fit for selection, he would again have to warm the benches as the 12th man or fight it out to claim a spot in the crowded middle-order.
“I hope Wriddhiman keeps playing for India and does not play for Bengal,” he added with a smile.
He reckoned that not having a settled spot in the line-up was the reason for his long period of drought at the start of his career. "Not being assured a place in the playing XI did affect me when I started out. I think that wasthe reason for my below par performances for so many seasons," he rued.
There is a tinge of irony, and even futility at the timing of his knock.
Bengal need to win this game if they want to progress to the knock-outs, and judging the slow track on offer at Palam, it looks difficult for Bengal to claim 20 wickets in the remaining two days and go for an outright. BRIEF SCORES: Bengal 475/9 decl (Shreevats Goswami 225, Abhimanyu Easwaran 80) vs Madhya Pradesh 19/1