Meghalaya Spinner Nirdesh Baisoya Equals Anil Kumble’s 10 Wickets in an Innings Record, Achieves Feat in U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy

Meghalaya off-spinner Nirdesh Baisoya matched Anil Kumble's 20-year-old feat by taking all 10 wickets in a single innings against Nagaland in the Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy match on November 6, 2019. Baisoya, who hails from Meerut but plays as a guest player for Meghalaya, finished with figures of 10/51 in 21 overs that included 10 maidens. The incredible feat came on the opening day of the match when Baisoya sent the entire Nagaland team packing for just 113 runs. Kumble had achieved a similar milestone in 1999 in an international Test match against Pakistan in Delhi.

One of the greatest spinners of all-time, Kumble stunned the world when he became just the second cricketer4 after Jim Laker of England to take all 10 wickets in a single inning of an international Test match. His magical figures of 10/74 against Pakistan at the then Firoz Shah Kotla Cricket Stadium in 1999 led India to a 212 run win against their arch-rivals.

“It’s yet to sink in. I was not born when Anil Kumble picked up 10 wickets, but I heard a lot about it. I always wanted to do something like that, never thought it would happen so early in my life. I just spoke to my parents and they became emotional as well,” Baisoya later told news agency IANS in an interview.

“I had picked six wickets by the first session. That is when I started to believe that I can go for all 10. My teammates backed me a lot. There was turn on the pitch since morning and the overhead conditions also helped,” added the 15-year-old, who is playing his second season in U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy and had already bagged 27 wickets from four matches.

“It was a dream come true for me and I never expected this. I have to keep working hard as I have a long way to go,” Baisoya added. “I want to make my family, sisters, brothers and parents proud,” he added. He, however, isn’t the only cricketer to achieve this incredible feat in domestic Indian cricket. Last year Manipur pacer Rex Singh Created history when he accomplished the rare feat in the Cooch Behar Trophy match.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 07, 2019 12:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).