CHENNAI: Aditya Tare has come a long way from playing gully cricket in Mumbai’s suburb of Chembur to leading his team to a Ranji Trophy triumph last season.
This season too his team reached the final of the event, where they lost to Gujarat. But, Tare is keen to carry on that momentum to the Vijay Hazare tournament.
“It is a huge honour to lead Mumbai. The team has a big legacy, and I’m keen to carry that on,” said Tare after his team’s 98-run win against Gujarat in their Group C clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.
When one speaks of domestic cricket, the first name that comes to mind is Mumbai, courtesy their 41 Ranji titles. Batting has been their hallmark, with players like Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar leaving an everlasting impact on the sport.
“There is huge pride among our players wherever we may turn out, whichever level it may be. The desire to excel is immense, and our players’ grit has helped conquer one peak after another. I’m blessed with a young, energetic side, and I look forward to keep Mumbai’s reputation going,” was how Tare explained Mumbai’s ability to produce match-winners on a regular basis.
Tare singled out Shreyas Iyer and Prithivi Shaw as two promising players from the younger lot. The former recently made headlines, courtesy the double hundred he notched up for India against the visiting Australian contingent.
Though some former players have advised Iyer to curb his natural instincts, Tare begs to differ. “No. I will leave it to him to play his natural game. There is no point in curtailing him. I am sure that it is only a matter of time before he turns out for India.”
As a captain, Tare believes that bonding at an individual level is instrumental while carrying out skipper-ly responsibilities. “It is a challenge and part of the job. There will be 15 members in the team with 15 distinct mindsets. Part of the job is to understand each one and act accordingly.”
South wrap: Group A: Haryana 230/5 in 48.2 ovs (S Pattanaik 91, A Sarangi 77) bt Odisha 229 in 47.5 ovs (CK Bishnoi 83 n.o, RK Tewatia 62 n.o); Group B: Delhi 272 in 46.4 ovs (G Gambhir 51, D Shorey 57, M Kumar 68; A Das 3/52) lost to Tamil Nadu 314/8 in 50 ovs (D Karthik 118; A Nehra 4/39, M Sharma 3/52); Kerala 233/9 in 50 ovs (S Baby 77, S Nizar 82 n.o; AK Sarkar 3/41) lost to Tripura 235/8 in 49.2 ovs (G Singh 61). Group C: Andhra 225/8 in 50 ovs lost to Bengal 226/6 in 48.5 ovs (S Goswami 66); Group D: Hyderabad 257 in 49.3 ovs (T Agarwal 68, A Reddy 60) bt J&K 228 in 42.4 ovs(A Banday 87; R Kiran 3/49, M Hasan 3/52); Karnataka 266 in 49.4 ovs (Samarth R 71, M Pandey 77; R Shukla 4/45) bt Jharkhand 261 in 49.5 ovs (S Tiwary 68; K Gowtham 4/58).
ashok.v@newindianexpress.com