Many of you may not know who the first Indian cricketer is to take a wicket off his first ball in an ODI. It is surprising to see the name of Sadagoppan Ramesh, who was a left-handed opening batsman and part-time off-break bowler.
Ramesh is born on 16 October 1975 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Sadagoppan Ramesh made a string of noteworthy performances with the India A team, ending in a dazzling century against West Indies A, that pitchforked him into the national senior side.
He started his Test career in an excellent way to have a 50 plus average in his first six Tests. But after that, his performance somehow dipped, and he was dropped from the team after the tour of Sri Lanka in 2001. Although Ramesh passed 30 runs in five innings, only one innings was converted into 50.
He started his cricket career as a middle-order batsman but moved to open slot in an under-22 match where he scored 190. Then people applaud his batting and look at me as a potential batsman. He feels the best thing is for an opening batsman to concentrate a little until the ball is about to be bowled.
In fact, he was a capable batsman, could easily play against world-class bowlers. Unluckily he could not convert his innings into big scores. Sadagoppan Ramesh played first-class cricket for Tamil Nadu from 1995 to 2007-08 season. After cricket, he also acted in a few movies and played a lead role in a Tamil movie Potta Potti.
Srikkanth was a big fellow of this young boy, who played some brilliant first-class innings. This brings good luck for him to include in the Indian side against Pakistan in 1999. The Tamil Nadu left-handed gets the big break in his hometown of Madras (now Chennai). He showed great courage in displaying some qualities against the pace of Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, and off-spin magician Saqlain Mushtaq.
Ramesh ran up a series of incessant scores including two hundred had abruptly unearthed a world-class opening batsman. Pakistan had probably the most varied best attack in the world, a complete package for any captain to have such a dream attach. He showed brilliant technique against them.
In the 1999 series against Pakistan, the Kargil War creates massive tension between the two countries. Romesh could not get a hundred in the Pakistan series. But his contribution was very significant. The historic Test match at Delhi, where Anil Kumble ten-wicket haul, where he scored 60 and 96 has made him remember that.
Huge pressure was built by fans in that series due to this. The first Test was supposed to be played in Delhi which wicket was dumped up by activists. All over a lot of protests about Pakistan playing in India. Hence, in that crucial series, he played excellent cricket. He scored 50 plus in his last Test, then never given a chance. Even though he was the second-highest runs getter in this series.
Saddagopan Ramesh was also part of another historic Test match against Australia played at Calcutta, where India come back from nowhere (follow on) and won the Test match. Rahul Dravid (180) and VVS Laxman (281) inspired the dressing room and battled it out for India. In the first inning, Ramesh out without opening up his score, but played a defiant 30 in the second inning.
Overall Ramesh played 19 Test matches for India, in which he scored 1,367 runs at an average of 37.97 with the best score of 143 including 2 hundred and 8 fifties. As a fielder, he held 18 catches as well. In 24 ODI’s he scored 646 runs at 28.08 with the best of 82 including 6 fifties, and 3 catches. In first-class cricket, 7,696 runs under his belt at an average of 43.23 with the highest score of 187 including 20 hundred and 38 fifties.
