Crunch situations separate the men from the boys. Sijomon Joseph has come of age in Kerala’s dream run in Ranji Trophy this season.
The young left-arm spinner, who is also handy with the bat, was not picked for the first four games in the group stage before being included in the playing eleven for the match against Tamil Nadu in Chennai.
Sijomon, who went wicketless in the first innings, had a much better outing in the second essay as he claimed 4/51. When coach Dav Whatmore sent him in as night watchman on the third evening, the 21-year-old grabbed the chance with both hands.
The southpaw fought hard and gave Kerala hopes of saving the game on the final day at the Chepauk. He made a patient 55 off 132 balls and added 97 along with Sanju V Samson for the fourth wicket.
But once Sijomon was trapped by left-arm medium-pacer T Natarajan, Kerala lost their way and went on to lose the match by 151 runs.
However, Whatmore and captain Sachin Baby were impressed with Sijomon’s attitude and the way he applied himself.
The think-tank decided to play him at No. 3 in Kerala’s must-win final group game against Himachal Pradesh at Nadaun.
He made 16 in the first innings and picked up 4/51 in Himachal’s second essay with the home side going for quick runs in pursuit of an outright win.
Himachal set Kerala a challenging target of 297 on the final day and Whatmore decided to promote Vinoop Manoharan to open the innings along with Rahul P.
The move paid off and Vinoop’s brilliant 96 paved the way for Kerala’s five-wicket win and took them to the quarterfinals. Sijomon too played his part as he scored 23 and put on 73 off 97 balls for the second wicket in the company of Vinoop.
Precious fifty
The team management decided to persist with Sijomon at No. 3 in the quarterfinals against Gujarat.
He fell for eight on a wicket which offered plenty of help for the seamers on the first morning at the Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad.
But the doughty player, who lost his father when he was only one-and-a-half-years, grabbed the attention with a precious 56 in Kerala’s second innings on the second day even as national selector M S K Prasad watched from the sidelines.
It proved to be the lone fifty of the game and his 148-ball knock helped Kerala set Gujarat a stiff target of 195.
Kerala pacers Basil Thampi and Sandeep Warrier wreaked havoc as they shot out Gujarat for 81 to power the home side into the semifinals for the first time.
Sijomon was all praise for Whatmore after Kerala’s historic win. “The coach has made some gutsy decisions, especially regarding batting order and it has paid off,” he told Onmanorama over the phone from Krishnagiri.
Sijomon, who is in his second Ranji season, said that he has paid more attention to his batting this year.
“The team management told me to play my game. It was a very tough wicket to bat on and I had to cope with a few blows. Though I have made runs at the under-19 level and for the Indian youth team, I will rate this as my best knock so far considering the importance of the game,” he said.
Sijomon, who hails from Kidangoor near Pala, missed the quarterfinals against Vidarbha last year as K C Akshay was preferred over him. Kerala will take on the winners of the Vidarbha-Uttarakhand tie at home next week and the youngster will have a huge role to play.
“The only goal is to win the match and qualify for the final,” the first year BA English literature student of CMS College, Kottayam, said.
