MARGAO
He announced his arrival at the First-class level with a fine and patient 85 at the top of the order batting alongside seasoned opener Swapnil Asnodkar five years ago against the visiting Jammu and Kashmir side at Porvorim. He proved more than a handful in his debut Ranji game with the ball as well with his wily offies, picking up a four-fer in the first innings including the key wicket of Parveez Rasool.
But the early promise he showed did not quite translate into performances for Amogh Desai, as he has been in and out from the Goa side since. With an eye on the future, the Margao-based batsman has been given a fair trial in the playing XI this Ranji season, but much like other batsmen in the unit he had a fairly poor sequence of scores under his belt.
But that was to change in Goa's last Group D fixture of the Ranji season away in Kolkata against Bengal in the ongoing fixture. Up against the odds, Amogh came up with a fighting unbeaten hundred to propel Goa to a decent first innings score though unable to go past that of the home team.
Talking to The Goan after Day 3, the compact right-handed batsman spoke about his sixth First-class hundred that could well define his career moving forth. "Scoring the hundred was a good feeling. The wicket was not easy to bat on against such a good bowling line-up which had the likes of Ashoke Dinda. The ball was moving a lot initially. Swapnil (Asnodkar) was at the other end and guiding me to play closer to the body and not to try anything extra. It was vital that I caught hold of one end," the 25-year-old batsman said of his game plan.
With Goa reeling at 130/5 at one point on Day 2, a significant partnership with keeper-batsman Keenan Vaz was the order of the day. "We decided to play the session off. Keenan being in good form could get us runs quickly. A partnership was crucial and we raised 110 for the sixth-wicket. Keenan batted extremely well (60). We had not planned to bat in any particular manner, but take the runs however the way it came," Amogh said.
How different was this match to his debut given that he was failing with the bat more often than not in the current season? "It is the same ball game. Any batsman goes in to score. It is true that I have not been consistent with the bat while in the squad for the last two years. I just wanted to spend time at the wicket and knew that the runs will ultimately come. (Against Bengal) I tried to do just that and it worked out well for me," the self-effacing Goa batsman stated.
Prior to the ongoing match, Amogh had stacked up 2175 First-class runs at an average of 37.50 with five hundreds and 12 fifties from 37 matches. Not exactly numbers which would impress a cricket fan but to the keen follower of his batsmanship, are veiled to his immense talent.
"My sixth hundred was special as I needed the runs and the team needed me to score as well. I was not getting big runs this season. I was getting starts, but unable to convert. And it was important for me to get a big score against Bengal," he summed up the importance of his recent three-figure knock.
Talking of what he brings to the table with his ability with the ball that saw him get a 5/48 match effort in his debut First-class game, he realises it is an advantage. "It is a plus point, bowling and getting some wickets. I need to work on my bowling and the wickets will come. But my main concern is batting," Amogh said.
Talking of Goa's chances against Bengal going into the last day on Tuesday, Amogh stayed positive. "We will put in all our efforts to draw the game. The first session will be crucial. Let us see how they (Bengal) go about it. If we get early wickets, the game can change," the centurion stated.
