Vidharbha’s Parth Rekhade celebrates the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
He had dismissed Ajinkya Rahane, India’s Test series-winning captain Down Under, off the first ball of his ninth over. Then he accounted for Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain at present, off the third ball. But it was the wicket of Shivam Dube two balls later that meant the most for Parth Rekhade, a rookie allrounder himself whose babysteps turned into a giant stride in a matter of minutes on Tuesday.
“Obviously it meant the most special since it gave the ‘over hat-trick’,” said Rekhade, who adorns a beard in sync with the trend of India’s top cricketers. “I have performed a few hat-tricks in local games but never while wearing Vidarbha jersey. Ever since my age-group days, this is the first ‘over hat-trick’ in inter-state cricket.”
‘Over hat-trick’ is a term largely used on the streets, during extremely competitive gully cricket games, in nooks and corners of the country. Rekhade’s usage of the term symbolised his connect to his roots, that started with his parents deciding to enrol “a naughty and hyper-active child at a cricket academy when I was nine or 10 years old”.
The 25-year-old made his debut during Vidarbha’s last league game against Hyderabad. With Harsh Dubey – the primary left-arm spinner – enjoying a dream season, more than a few eyebrows were raised when Rekhade was preferred ahead of veteran off-spinner Akshay Wakhare for the big semifinal against Mumbai.
While he showed his confidence by batting for almost 90 minutes when promoted at No. 3 in a bid to take shine off the ball on the opening day, his primary skill came to the fore in the ninth over of his first spell that read 13-5-13-3.
“They had a partnership. My captain had clearly told me that I need to bowl a tight line from one end. Even when I got two wickets, I didn’t change my plan,” he said.
“Mumbai players are gritty and they will play shots. So it was important to keep bowling tight.”
Rekhade knows that with more than half of the game – both in terms of wickets and time – still remaining, his job is far from done.
Published – February 18, 2025 08:16 pm IST
