Dilip Sardesai complete information
India
Full name Dilip Narayan Sardesai
Born August 8, 1940, Margo, Goa
Died July 2, 2007, Mumbai (aged 66 years 328 days)
Major teams India, Mumbai
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm bowler
Relation Son – RD Sardesai
Dilip Sardesai complete information Early life and career
Sardesai grew up in Margo, a town in the erstwhile Portuguese India (in the present-day Indian State of Goa). He studied in the New Era high school there. The region had no cricketing infrastructure during his growing days in the early 1950s. His family moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1957, when Sardesai was 17. He attended the city’s Wilson College where his cricketing talent was spotted by coach ‘Mania’ Naik.
Sardesai made his first mark in cricket in the inter-university Robinson Barea Trophy in 1959–60 where he made 435 runs at an average of 87. He would later recall that he was called up for the trials for the Combined Universities team that was to play the touring Pakistan side in 1960–61. Impressed by his technique, Lela Amarnath, the chairman of selectors, drafted him into the team. Sardesai made the playing XI, thus making his first-class debut, against Pakistan in Pune in November 1960. Sardesai went on to make 87 in 194 minutes in his only innings of the match, while also taking Hanif Mohammad’s catch with his fielding. In his next game, playing for Board President’s XI against the same Pakistan side prior to the Fourth Test of the tour, he scored an unbeaten century (106 in 260 minutes), putting together a 134-run stand with Vijay Mehran for the third wicket.
Dilip Sardesai complete information Test career
Sardesai had little to show in first class cricket in 1961–62, except for a 281 against Gujarat in a university match. He was included in the India team for the Second Test of England’s India tour, in Kanpur, in December 1961. Leading up to the Test, he was described as an “aggressive stroke player”. In his debut innings Sardesai made 28 before he was out hit wicket while trying to late-cut spinner Tony Lock through the vacant slip region to the third man boundary. His innings lasted 108 minutes. Sardesai toured the West Indies later in the season, playing in three of the five Tests. He was captain Nair Contractor’s opening partner in a tour game against Barbados that saw the former hit on the head by a Charlie Griffith delivery after Sardesai had lost his wicket. Contractor’s injury created a place for Sardesai in the Test team. He scored 31 and 60 in the Test at Bridgetown, opening the batting, but was dropped after he was dismissed for a pair in the following match. Sardesai scored 449 runs in the five Test series against England in 1963–64 with 79 and 87 in the Fifth and final Test as the most notable performances, helping India to secure a draw after being made to follow on.
Against New Zealand in 1964–65, Sardesai scored a double century at Bombay and a very fast hundred that set up a win at Delhi. New Zealand had forced India to follow on at Bombay, but Sardesai unbeaten double-century nearly won the match for India. He played against West Indies in 1966-67, and then toured England in 1967, where he injured himself on a staircase in the pavilion at Lord’s and missed the First Test at Headingly. He recovered to appear in the Second Test back at Lord’s, but a broken finger sustained during that match ended his tour. He was dropped after two Tests in Australia in 1967–68 due to injury and a series of failures.
Sardesai career had seemed over when he was picked for the Indian tour of West Indies in 1970–71. In the First Test at Kingston, India lost the first five wickets for 75, before Sardesai hit 212 runs and took the total to 387. His 112 in the next Test at Port of Spain led to India’s first victory over West Indies. He hit another 150 in the Fourth Test after India were 70 for 6. His 642 runs in the series stood as an Indian record for five days before Sunil Gavaskar’s went past it. It was India’s first victory over West Indies in a series and Vijay Merchant, the chairman of selectors, called Sardesai the “renaissance man of Indian cricket”. Sardesai scored 54 and 40 in the Indian win over England at the Oval in 1971, which led to another series win. His career ended one Test later, and he retired from all cricket at the end of the 1972–73 season.
Sardesai played for Bombay in the Rajni Trophy in 13 seasons, between 1961 and 1973, including 10 finals, and never finished on the losing side. He scored 199 against Rajasthan in the 1967 final. In the semi-final against the same team two years later, he was Manmade by Kailash Battani. Sardesai final first-class match was the famous Rajni Trophy final against Madras in 1972–73, which ended on the first ball of the third day. Sardesai scored over 1,000 first-class runs in three domestic seasons, with a career best of 1,429 runs in 1964–65, which included his highest first-class score of 222, for Associated Cement Company against Indian Starlets in the final of the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament.
Dilip Sardesai complete information Personal life
Dilip Sardesai complete information Dilip Sardesai married with Nandini
Wife Nandini Sardesai
Daughter Somali, a senior social scientist at the World Bank in Washington DC
Dilip Sardesai complete information International information
National side
India
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class
Matches 30 179
Runs scored 2001 10,230
Batting average 39.23 41.75
100s/50s 5/9 25/55
Top score 212 222
Balls bowled 59 791
Wickets 0 8
Bowling average – 69.00
5 wickets in innings – 0
10 wickets in match – 0
Best bowling – 2/15
Catches/stumpings 4 85
Dilip Sardesai complete information Dilip Sardesai Biography
Sardesai made his first mark in cricket in the inter-university Robinson Barea Trophy in 1959– 60 where he made 435 runs at an average of 87. He made his first-class cricket debut for Indian Universities against the touring Pakistan team at Pune in 1960–61, scoring 87 in 194 minutes. His immediate success led to selection for the Board President’s XI against the same team at Bangalore, where he scored 106*, and then as a standby in the final match of the Test series. He scored 202 against Madras University at about the same time and was then selected to represent Bombay in the Rajni Trophy. He was one of the five Indian Cricket Cricketers of the Year in 1960–61.
Dilip Sardesai complete information Dilip Sardesai Death and Cause
Sardesai used to split his time between his flat in Bombay and house in Goa. He died on 2 July 2007 at 9:15 pm (IST), having been admitted to Bombay Hospital on 23 June 2007 following a chest infection.
Dilip Sardesai complete information Dilip Sardesai Family
He was survived by his wife, Nandini Sardesai, who is a sociologist and a member of the Indian Censor Board for motion pictures. His son Randee Sardesai is a prominent journalist, earned a blue for Oxford University in cricket. He was the Editor-in-Chief of IBN18 Network, which includes CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokma from where he left in July 2014. His daughter, Somali, is a senior social scientist at the World Bank in Washington DC. His son-in-law Timor Baig is the Principal Economist at Monetary Authority in Singapore. His daughter-in-law Samaria Ghost is a Rhodes Scholar, journalist and author. His grandchildren are Ishan, Tahini and Aman.
Sardesai was popularly known as ‘Sarcee-man’. During his successful 1970–71 tour there, Sardesai was asked at the airport whether he had anything to declare. ‘I have come here with runs’, he replied, ‘and I’ll go back with more’.
Dilip Sardesai complete information Post retirement
Sardesai first met Nandini Pant (born c. 1945) in Mumbai’s Berry’s restaurant when she was holidaying in the city after her exams. Sardesai was a university cricketer during the time. The two kept in touch during the latter’s tour of the Caribbean with Indian team in 1961–62, before marrying a couple of years later. Pant worked as a sociology professor for 35 years and later as member of the Central Board of Film Certification till 2015. She is currently a visiting faculty in some of Mumbai’s leading colleges. Sardesai cousin Spandex was also a cricketer, who played as a wicket-keeper in the first-class level for Rajputana. The Sardesai had three children together: son Randee, and two daughters. Randee is a television journalist and former cricketer. As a cricketer, he earned an Oxford University blue, before beginning a career in journalism. He was the editor-in-chief of IBN18 Network prior to his resignation in 2014; his wife Samaria Ghost is also a journalist. One of Dili’s daughters, Somali, is a senior social scientist with the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
After retirement from cricket, Sardesai would split his time between his residences in Mumbai and Goa. In June 2007, he was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai for a chest infection. Suffering from kidney ailment during the time, he was on dialysis. He died on 2 July from multiple organ failure. The last rites were performed by Randee at Mumbai’s Chandan wadi crematorium the following day.
Sardesai was popularly known as ‘Sarcee-Singh’. During his successful 1970–71 tour there, Sardesai was asked at the airport whether he had anything to declare. ‘I have come here with runs’, he replied, ‘and I’ll go back with more’. On 8 August 2018, search engine Google commemorated Sardesai with a Doodle on his 78th birth anniversary.
The Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Goa, instituted the Dilip Sardesai Sports Excellence Award in 2009, which is given on the occasion of National Sports Day (29 August) each year. It is presented to achievers among Guan sportspersons who represented India at any international-level sports competition during the preceding year.
Dilip Sardesai complete information Double Centuries
212 v West Indies at Sabina Park, Kingston, Feb 18–23, 1971
200* v New Zealand at Mumbai, Mumbai, Mar 12–15, 1965
Dilip Sardesai complete information Centuries
150 v West Indies at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Apr 1–6, 1971
112 v West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Mar 6–10, 1971
106 v New Zealand at Firoz Shah Kgotla Ground, Delhi, Mar 19–22, 1965
Dilip Narayan Sardesai Explore Dilip Sardesai performance Batting and fielding averages
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 6s Ct St
Tests Insights on test 30 55 4 2001 212 39.23 5 9 2 4 0
First-class 179 271 26 10230 222 41.75 25 56 85 0
Bowling averages
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wits BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests Insights on test 30 5 59 45 0 – – – 4.57 – 0 0 0
First-class 179 791 552 8 2/15 69.00 4.18 98.8 0 0
Career statistics
Test debut India v England at Kanpur, Dec 1-6, 1961 scorecard
Last Test India v England at Delhi, Dec 20-25, 1972 scorecard
Test statistics
First-class span 1960/61 – 1972/73
Profile
The 1970-71 West Indies tour was the last chance for Dilip Sardesai. He was lucky to be picked – it had looked as if his career was dead and buried – he went on to be Indian cricket’s Renaissance man in the watershed year of 1971. A technically correct player, the solid, wrist Sardesai was proficient against spin, but in West Indies he showed his mettle against pace, and pulled India repeatedly out of quicksand. He scored 642 runs, with two single hundreds and a double, and provided an inspirational launching-pad for a legend – Sunil Gavaskar’s, in his first series. In England later in 1971, Sardesai pivotal double of 54 and 40 allowed Chandrasekhar to hasten England’s defeat at The Oval. Sardesai was limpet-like and usually defensive, but he could attack when he needed to, and scored one of India’s fastest hundreds, against New Zealand at Delhi in 1964-65. In the previous Test, his 200 not out at Bombay salvaged a draw after India had been skittled for 88 in the innings. Sardesai enjoyed playing against England: he made his Test debut against them in 1961-62, even before he’d played for Bombay, and it was against England, at Kanpur two years later, that he scored 79 and, after India followed on, 87 to help save the game.
