Well begun is half done.......

Recently, we lost veteran and 83' world cup hero Yashpal Sharma due to cardiac arrest. But his exploits in the world cup as well as classy performances in domestic circuit would always remain invaluable and cherished in hearts of die-hard cricket fanatics!

The right-handed batsman, who also served in the Indian selection committee, forced the pundits to take a note when he slammed a whopping 260 for Punjab Schools against Jammu and Kashmir. 

Such splendid performances and his stubborn - never say die attitude earned him a spot in the series against Pakistan in 1978. But all he could do was warm the benches. The England series of 79' was a turn around for his career after which he became a regular member of the squad. 

He scored his maiden century against Australia in Delhi later that year. 

As a tribute to this epic middle rder batsman I am bringing you a story about his aggressive yet promising performance for the Kapil's Devils!

The Indians were still minnows and not even considered contenders when they landed in the Queen's territory. To add to their woes the were pinned against the brutes of the West, the defending champions and the most fearsome team - West Indies.

India were forced to bat first in the English conditions and as any naive would predict their top order collapsed like a house of cards and Yashpal Sharma was forced in early though being a middle order batsman.

Starting steadily he seemed quite set in a few deliveries he showed his true colours by smashing two boundries in that over. Wickets fell from one end but he stood his ground against the Clive's Boys. He had the best numbers on board scoring 89 off 120 with 9 fours. This was a real feat in the red ball era!

The score 262 was surprisingly more than enough as the Giants fell shy of 32 runs and Yashpal's heroics granted the Indian underdogs the dream start and a perfect momentum in for the tournament which later on would be lifted by them!

But Yashpal Sharma was not done yet! In the Semi Finals against the home team, the Queen's men bundled Sunny paaji and Kris Shrikant before the board reached 50 runs. In came Sharma confident about chasing the 214 posed by the Brits. Playing with complete authority he scored 61 off 115 with 3 fours and 2 sixes. Twin partnerships between him and Mohinder Amarnath, him and Sandeep Patil halped India amass a 6 wicket win and reach the fabled Finals at Lord's.

Yashpal scored 240 runs in 8 matches in the 1983 World Cup, which India went on to win after beating West Indies in the final at Lord’s.

In Ranji Trophy, where he represented three teams - Punjab, Haryana and Railways - Yashpal played 160 matches amassing 8,933 runs which included 21 centuries with the highest score of 201 not out.

Such was Yashpal Sharma's contribution to the Gentleman's game which yet again like many others hidden in the pages of history!

                                              - Shounak Kulkarni