Jasu Patel

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Jasu Patel
India (IND)
Jasu Patel
Batting style Right-hand bat (RHB)
Bowling type Right-arm off-break
Tests First-class
Matches 7 68
Runs scored 25 780
Batting average 2.77 12.78
100s/50s 0/0 1/3
Top score 12 152
Balls bowled 1725 5,382
Wickets 29 248
Bowling average 21.96 21.70
5 wickets in innings 2 19
10 wickets in match 1 5
Best bowling 9/69 9/69
Catches/stumpings 2 26

Test debut: 26 February 1955
Last Test: 23 January 1960
Source: [1]

Jasubhai Motibhai Patel pronunciation (help·info) (born November 26, 1924, Ahmedabad, Gujarat - died December 12, 1992, Ahmedabad ) was an off-spinner who played Test cricket for Indian cricket team. His fame lies entirely on a single match against Australia where he took 14 wickets.

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[edit] Early days

At the age of ten, he broke his arm falling from a tree. Because of this injury he had a jerky bowling action, which some considered suspicious. He bowled off-cutters more than conventional off breaks. He was particularly dangerous on matting wickets where he got prodigious turn.

He took 35 wickets at the average of 10 in the tour of Pakistan in 1954-55 but played in only one Test. In the first five years of his career he played only four Tests in which he took ten wickets. He was already thirty five and on the verge of retirement when he enjoyed his one great success against Australia at Kanpur in 1959-60.

Australia came to India on the back of convincing wins over England and Pakistan. For India, the loss in the first Test of the series was their fifth innings defeat of the year. Kanpur had a newly laid pitch. Patel was picked as a gamble, on the insistence of the chairman of selectors, Lala Amarnath.

[edit] "Patel's Test"

India was out for 152 before close on the first day. Patel got his first wicket on the second morning when he caught Gavin Stevens left handed off an attempted big hit. At lunch, Australia were well on top at 128 for 1. Till that point of time, Patel had bowled from the city end, where had not been able to exploit the footmarks created by the left arm bowlers Davidson and Ian Meckiff. Amarnath presumably had a word with captain Ramchand during the lunch. Patel switched to the pavilion end after the break.

Patel's first ball after lunch went between the bat and pad to bowl Colin McDonald. Norman O'Neill who replaced him was all at sea and offered an easy chance to Bapu Nadkarni at midwicket, who missed it. This was to deprive Patel of a chance to take all the ten wickets. Neil Harvey completed fifty before he was bowled. Patel pitched one well outside left handed Harvey's off-stump. Harvey raised the bat and left it but the ball to cut back and hit the stumps.

Once Harvey was out, the others followed quickly. Alan Davidson hit out at the end to take the score to 219. O'Neill, bowled by a full-toss from Chandu Borde, was the only wicket that Patel missed. His figures were 9 for 69.

India batted much better in the second innings to set Australia 225 to win in 400 minutes. Patel dismissed Stevens and Polly Umrigar took the important wicket of Harvey before close of the fourth day. Umrigar took two more wickets on the final morning to reduce Australia to 61 for 4. Patel took 4 of the remaining five wickets, Gordon Rorke being unable to bat. Australia was allout for 105 and India won by 119 runs. It was India's first win over Australia.

Patel's 14 for 124 were the best bowling figures by an Indian bowler. It remained so for nearly thirty years before it was bettered another one-Test wonder, Narendra Hirwani.

[edit] Remaining career

The Kanpur Test stayed as the lone bright spot in Patel's career. He played two more Tests in the series for five wickets. These were his last Test matches. He played two more years of first class cricket and ended up with 140 wickets for Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy. He and Vijay Hazare were the first cricketers to be honoured with the Padma Shri.

[edit] References

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