“ Way to go Sandeep! One ball landed here in Fort Collins” read a Face book message congratulating Sandeep on his achievement. “I was wondering what a season ball was doing in my parking lot in Broomfield “ read another. Those of us who have seen him play, very well know that these comments are not far off from the truth…He is one of the cleanest hitters of the cricket ball in CCL. The last weekend of the 2012 CCL cricket season saw a special performance from him that a lot of us will cherish forever. Opening the batting for CCCC against YCC, Sandy made a brilliant 203 of 115 balls. The 22 sixes that he scored in this inning is probably another CCL record in itself. The fact that non-strikers in our team focus twice as much on the ball when he is batting than when we are on strike is a testament to how hard he hits the ball. This innings in particular, was not all flair. It involved a combination of good leaves, strike rotation and great shot selection. To YCC’s credit, they bowled quite well to the other batsmen. They even managed to bowl a number of dot balls at Sandeep. Boundaries and sixes apart, it took Sandy 84 balls to get the other 35 runs. What is amazing is that, inspite of the seemingly cautious innings (by his standards), he got his double hundred off a six in the 33rd over. There were seven full overs left in the game when he selflessly decided to retire to give the other batsmen in our team an opportunity. On this day, this was a significant gesture because less than 12 hours ago, we only had 5 available players and had to take the help of a number of cricket lovers to make up our playing 9 on the game day. Had he continued to bat on, at the strike rate that he was going, he could have made well over 250 runs. In him we see, not just a terrific player but also a true team player and a good leader. Records are meant to be broken. May be someday this one will be too... Regardless, this double ton will stay close to my heart not just for the sheer symphony of Sandy’s batting, but also for the humility and dignity with which he carried himself around during and after the knock, always putting his team ahead of him.

Congratulations to him on this outstanding feat.

view Sandeep's profile