Indian Cricket has seen many top players like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni and in the recent times, Virat Kohli, who have performed brilliantly and consistently for the national squad. They have taken Indian Cricket to heights and cricketing world by storm either with bat and ball.
There are many players in Indian Cricket who have shown glimpses of their excellence on few occasions and could not become a part of the national team on a regular basis.
Here we look at the 7 Indian such Cricketers who are remembered for just one or two great innings:
Karun Nair one of the promising talents in Indian Cricket made his test debut on 26th November 2016 against England. His best innings came during the 5th test against England at Chennai; Karun Nair became the second Indian player to score a triple century after Virender Sehwag in his 3rd test match
He played a marathon inning and remained not out on 303* with 32 boundaries and 4 sixes. India posted 759 for 7 declared in reply to England 477 mainly due to his outstanding performance. The Indian team won the match by an innings and 75 runs to win the series 4-0. After that innings, Nair played another 3 test matches but could not replicate his form and has not been in the Indian test team.
Karun Nair is the captain of Karnataka stateside and would be looking to make a comeback in Indian test team.
- Stuart Binny
Stuart Binny son of Stalwart Roger Binny a regular for Karnataka state team made his ODI debut in 2014 against New Zealand. His performance in 14 ODI’s he played did not meet the expectations him as an all-rounder. His best performance came against Bangladesh on 17th June 2014.
However, his stellar performance was in the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh for the second string Indian side that was bowled out for a paltry total of 105 with Suresh Raina the top scorer with 27. Stuart Binny broke the backbone of Bangladesh batting line up taking 6 wickets for 4 runs. Bangladesh team was finally bowled out for just 58 runs. Binny was named the man of the match award for his brilliant bowling.
Since his debut in ODI cricket, Binny has played only 14 ODI’s, taking 20 wickets. With the bat, his best score was 77. He plays for Karnataka in the Indian domestic tournaments and is an important member with both bat and ball.
- Joginder Sharma
Joginder Sharma will be remembered for his brilliant bowling in the finals of inaugural World T20 Cup held in 2007 at Johannesburg between India and Pakistan.
The less known medium pace bowler had played only 4 T20Is matches for team India. He was selected to the Indian T20 squad for World Cup. In the finals, India posted 157 for 5. Captain MS Dhoni gave the ball to Joginder Sharma for the 20th over with Pakistan needing 13 runs to win with the last pair on the crease.
Joginder Sharma bowled a wide ball and then was smashed for a six by Misbah UL Haq. Sharma dismissed Pakistan captain on the 3rd ball of the over, helping team India to win the first T20 World Cup by just 5 runs and 3 balls to spare. He could not play many matches for Men in Blue.
- Hrishikesh Kanitkar
The left-handed Maharashtra batting all-rounder had a great record in the domestic tournaments but could not convert his form to represent Men in Blue. He made his ODI debut for team India in 1997 against Sri Lanka.
His best innings came against Pakistan in the finals of Silver Jubilee Independence Cup on 18th January 1998. Pakistan posted a massive total of 314 for 5 in 50 overs. India needed 316 runs off 48 overs as, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Robin Singh made sure that India was on for an easy win, Pakistan came back with quick wickets.
In a nail-biting finish with 3 runs needed off 2 balls, Kantikar hit a boundary and helped team India win the match by 3 wickets. He played 34 One day international matches scoring 339 runs and took 17 wickets.
- Ajay Ratra
Ajay Ratra made his test debut for India against West Indies in 2002. Indian Cricket team during that period experimented with lots of wicketkeepers. In the second test match against West Indies at St John’s, Antigua, Ratra remained not out on 115 and became the second youngest wicketkeeper from India to score century overseas.
The wicketkeeper could play 6 test matches only and scored 163 runs with the best score of 115. Ratra was replaced by Parthiv Patel. In 2015, Ratra announced retirement from cricket.
- Dinesh Mongia
Dinesh Mongia made his ODI debut against Australia in 2001. He could not perform according to the expectations in the earlier part of his life, with the series tied at 2-2, Dinesh Mongia played a match-winning knock of 159* against Zimbabwe on 19th March 2002 at Guwahati. During that innings, the left-handed batsman opened the innings and remained not out smashing 17 fours and 1 six.
The Indian team posted a massive total of 333 for 6. In reply, Zimbabwe was bowled out for 232 which helped Men in Blue win the match by 101 runs. Mongia was named the man of the match.
Mongia played just 57 ODI matches and scored 1230 runs and took 14 wickets with the ball.
- Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer called the unsung hero of Indian domestic cricket, made his test debut for India against South Africa in 2000. As an opener, he is known for solid defence technique and
Jaffer’s top innings came against West Indies in a 1st test match at St John’s, Antigua from 2nd June 2006. In the first innings, India was bowled out for 241; in reply West Indies got a lead of 100 runs. Wasim Jaffer while opening in the second innings made 212 runs off 399 balls with 24 fours and 1 six. The match ended in a tame draw.
After that Wasim Jaffer could only play for team India in 31 test matches and scored 1944 runs with 5 centuries and 11 half-centuries. He played his last test in 2008 against South Africa. He still plays for Vidarbha in the domestic tournaments and demonstrated his batting skills in recently concluded Irani Trophy.