Scored a 100, Lived a 100

Known as the Grand Old Man of Indian Cricket, he played before WWI and after WWII. His exceptional performance has resulted in a memorable legacy of his. Here’s a look at the man after whom the Deodhar trophy is named.

Deodhar; Image Source: Public Domain

Dinkar Balwant Deodhar never got to play test cricket, but he was surely one hell of a primary Indian cricketer. Here’s a story of Maharashtra’s first Ranji Trophy match of 1944-45. With a disastrous score of 34 for 3, Maharashtra seemed to be stuck against the Nawanagar medium-pacer: Mubarak Ali. Moments later, a 52-year-old Deodhar walked in and hit a century under 150 minutes. The tables were turnt and so was his batting spirit.

Considered as an aggressive right-handed batsman, Professor Deodhar (yes, he was a professor) had led the Maharashtra team twice as a captain for the Ranji Trophy matches. Specifically strong on the off-side, Deodhar would combine his wristy strokes with perfect timing that would result in the best speed to fool out the fielders. On that day of the match, he had crossed the 4000 First Class runs while he was at 91.

In his entire First-Class career, D.B Deodhar had played a total of 81 matches by scoring 4,522 runs at an average of 39.32 with the highest score of 246.

Deodhar was born in Pune on the 14th of January, 1892 who grew up to become a Sanskrit professor at the Pune SP College. He can surely be considered as a man with vivid ambitions since he became a cricketer too successful. His days as a batsman for India spanned for a lengthy 34 First-Class seasons and in this duration, he had even managed to score a hundred against Lord Tennyson's MCC.

His famous feat during the Maharashtra Vs Nawanagar 1944-45 Ranji match has remained to be a highlight of all times. It was a three-day match with two innings and Deodhar's team had managed to sweep victory with a whopping 489 runs. It was all thanks to his leadership and mind-blowing centuries that had led to such enormous wins for Maharashtra.

Deodhar was later made the Vice President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the President of the Maharashtra Cricket Association.

Along with that, he was also made the national team selector. He played his last innings till the 1946-47 season. This man who was a professor had managed to hit centuries and lead his team with wins when he was 52 but one thing he never got to do was play the test series for India. By the time India had become a Test-playing nation, Deodhar was 40 and considered beyond his prime.

He might have been old in the eyes of the selection committee but he would never be old for all the fresh wins he is credited with. He passed away on 24th August 1993 scoring a century in his life as well.

Deodhar was later awarded the Padma Shri in 1965 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991. Today his legacy of 100s still remains a thriving cricket fact for many.