Top 3 Sandeep Patil knocks in international cricket
Sandeep Patil, a former Indian middle-order batter, who was the backbone of the middle order in the early 1980s, turned 67 on August 18th.
Patil was in the league of those cricketers who were not only famous for what they did on the field but also for their off-the-field endeavors.
After making his Ranji debut in 1975 while playing for Mumbai, Sandeep Patil played his first international match against Pakistan in January 1980. He played 29 Test matches and 45 ODIs for India, taking 24 wickets and scoring 2,593 runs across the formats, including four centuries and 16 fifties.
He was a key member of the 1983 World Cup-winning campaign, which turned the dynamics of Indian cricket upside down.
Sandeep Patil also had a short stint as the coach of the Indian team. He also coached the Indian A team. Sandeep’s spectacular achievement as coach was with the Kenyan team, who entered the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup. He also coached the Oman team, who managed to qualify for the ICC Intercontinental Cup.
On that note, let's discuss some of his best knocks from his cricketing career.
#3 129* against England, Old Trafford, Manchester, 1982
England batted first and posted a total of 425, thanks to a superlative century from Ian Botham in 1982 at Manchester. In reply, India were in a mess at 133/5.
The onus was on Sandeep Patil and Kapil Dev to bail the team out of this precarious situation.
Sandeep took his time, but soon started counter-attacking along with Kapil Dev. Soon both reached their respective half centuries, avoiding the follow-on for the side.
But he was not done yet. Batting on 80, Sandeep hit Bob Willis for six 4s in a seven-ball over (one of the balls was a no ball). In just nine balls, he had moved from 73 to 104. Willis, showing sportsmanship, congratulated Sandeep Patil for his 100, despite getting hammered.
#2 174 against Australia, Adelaide, 1981
This innings from Sandeep Patil was probably one of the finest and bravest innings ever by an Indian on an away tour.
In the second test at Sydney, Sandeep was hit twice, first by Rodney Hogg and then by Leonard Pascoe, while batting at 65 off just 78 balls, and had to retire hurt.
In the next test match at Adelaide, Sandeep walked out with India reeling at 130/4 after Kim Hughes’ double century had taken the Aussies to an imposing 528.
A loss was not an option, as the series was in line for the visitors. Sandeep, despite his injury, was batting like a champion, smoking boundaries for fun.
He first combined with Chetan Chauhan and later with Yashpal Sharma to take India to 419, a score that was looking like a distant dream for the side.
When Sandeep got dismissed, he had already scored 174 runs off just 240 balls, with 22 fours and a six. His knock went a long way toward saving the match and got him the attention of the entire cricketing world.
#1 51* against England, Old Trafford, Manchester, World Cup 1983
Chasing in a knockout match, even in a World Cup, is never easy. The level of pressure becomes insurmountable when you are up against the tournament's host and one of the favorites, England, in the semifinals.
India, chasing a modest total of 214 in 60 overs, were going nowhere in their chase, with the batter's scoring rate hovering around just three runs per over.
However, the arrival of Sandeep Patil changes things dramatically, as he took his side into the first-ever World Cup finals.
The stylish batter played an electrifying knock of 51 not out off just 32 balls. His strike rate of 159.38, which we associate with modern-day batter, propelled India to a comfortable six-wicket win. Patil's knock also had four consecutive boundaries for Bob Willis.