Amay Khurasiya has done for the Kerala cricket team what no coach before him could. He took Kerala to the Ranji Trophy final.
And he recorded this historic feat in his first season as the Kerala coach. He is proud of the way his boys braved the odds to reach the final, and came close to overtake Vidarbha in the race for the first-innings lead in Nagpur.
Kerala fell short by 38 runs. At 324 for six, chasing the host’s 379, with skipper Sachin Baby playing the innings of his life, in the company of the vastly experienced all-rounder Jalaj Saxena, the target seemed achievable.
Then, almost out of character, the captain played a slog-sweep, and was caught at deep midwicket. “Baby was batting exceedingly well on a challenging surface till then,” Khurasiya, who played in 12 ODIs for India and 231 matches (First Class and List A) for Madhya Pradesh, told Sportstar.
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“He could have become the biggest superstar of Kerala cricket, but for that one weak moment. He still did well overall and led the side well, too.”
Looking back at Kerala’s campaign, he feels one moment that stood out was Salman Nizar’s valour. It was the catch Baby took off the deflection from Salman’s helmet, while he was fielding close in during the semifinal against Gujarat, that gave Kerala the two-run lead.
“Because Salman didn’t budge, that moment defined history for Kerala cricket,” says Khurasiya. “And the catch went to the best hands in the Kerala team.”
Salman’s bat also played a major role in Kerala’s campaign. Someone who had never scored a First Class hundred before, he hit two this season. In the middle-order, and often with the help from the tail, Salman and Mohammed Azharuddeen made up for the lack of runs by the Kerala top-order.
The tail really wagged for Kerala this season. Khurasiya’s boys showed a lot of resilience and never gave up the spirit to fight back. “Azharuddeen’s 177 not out against Gujarat in the semifinal was a great innings,” he says. “Here was someone who could score quick hundreds in white-ball cricket, playing a patient, match-winning knock, off 341 balls.”
Khurasiya says he received total backing from the Kerala Cricket Association. “The secretary and the president were very helpful and they gave me a free hand to work,” he says. “And our manager Nazir Machan also made my job easier.”