Bengaluru: Carrying the weight of a defeat that hurt more than most for over two decades, one couldn’t fault Chandrakant Pandit for those moistened eyes as he folded his hands as a mark of respect towards the Mumbai dressing room.
After Rajat Patidar ran the most important single in the history of Madhya Pradesh cricket, it completed a cycle for head coach Pandit, 23 years after his failure to win the state side’s maiden Ranji Trophy title as a player.
“Every trophy gives satisfaction but this one is special. I couldn’t do it as an MP captain years back (23 years). All these years, I have always felt that I had left something back over here. That’s the reason I am a bit more excited and emotional about it,” a visibly exhausted Pandit said after his latest Ranji Trophy triumph.
Pandit has seen heartbreaks as a player his best Test knock of 39 came in the famous tied Test against Australia at Chepauk. Then, he was well set on 24 in the World Cup semi-final versus England at the Wankhede Stadium in 1987, but India lost the game. Or the gut-wrenching one-run defeat in the Ranji Trophy final against Kapil Dev’s Haryana.
—PTI

Press Trust of India