Playing his first Ranji Trophy match, Lokeshwar profusely had what he calls the “debutant’s luck.” He’s scored his maiden fifty (52, 129b, 6x4), and has won his first match with his team.
But he was even more fortunate than that.
He was adjudged leg before off left-arm pacer Arjun Tendulkar on the very first ball of his Ranji career. It was also the first ball of Tamil Nadu’s first innings in the fifth-round match versus Goa.
“I didn’t expect that to happen. I thought it was going down (the leg side). The moment I got it on the pad, I was waiting for the fielders’ reaction, because I didn’t look at the umpire. The fielders started celebrating. I was blank at that moment, I didn’t know what to do. I started walking back, thinking that things are over,” he said after Tamil Nadu’s seven-wicket win at the Goa Cricket Association (GCA) Academy ground on Monday.
Arjun was cock-a-hoop too. But he and his teammates were instantly deflated like a pricked balloon when the umpire signalled a no-ball!
“Fortunately, it happened to be a no-ball. The debutant’s luck, I would say. Then, I thought there’s no need to feel any jitters,” said Lokeshwar.
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It’s usual to feel jittery on your debut match, but for Lokeshwar, he had to wait for six years because the event was so overwhelming. He first got into the Tamil Nadu Ranji squad in the 2017-18 season. Subsequently, he featured in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, too. He’d been with the squad for nine matches and had debuted on his tenth.
“I was waiting for this moment for a long time. I had come to this team back in 2017. I’ve been here for around six years, but I didn’t get my debut.
“It was a memorable moment to get my cap this game. I had my jitters when I went in to bat. But I just wanted to enjoy that moment, just wanted to enjoy the four days irrespective of what happens. I wanted to make these four days a lifetime memory!”
The debut got sweeter for him as he got to his maiden fifty in Tamil Nadu’s second innings with a bit of luck again!
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He was dropped on 34 on the last day’s play on Monday morning. Nevertheless, he’d gotten himself in on both innings on a pitch where it was hard batting, and both teams had its mini collapses. The pitch was two-paced and aided sharp turn for the spinners. There was seam movement too, especially on the first half of the second day.
S. Lokeshwar (c) with his skipper Sai Kishore (l) and teammate Pradosh Ranjan Paul (r) after Tamil Nadu’s seven-wicket win over Goa at the Goa Cricket Association (GCA) Academy ground on Monday. | Photo Credit: S. Prasanna Venkatesan
“The wicket was very tricky. It’s probably the toughest wicket I have played in my life. Even if the score was around 150 (the target for Tamil Nadu was 136), it was very tricky on this wicket.
“I will definitely rate it (his fifty) in my top-three or top-five innings. Being the Ranji Trophy debut, that’s a silver lining to me. So, I’ll carry this memory for life!” he said.
That’s why the player-of-the-match Pradosh Ranjan Paul was impressed enough to give away his award to the diminutive opener!
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