Away from the limelight, Baroda batter Vishnu Solanki displayed stellar grit and tenacity to notch up a remarkable and a rather emotional hundred in the Ranji Trophy match against Chandigarh. Solanki was battling not only the tricky conditions on offer but also personal tragedy as he lost his newborn child just a few days back.
On a pitch that had plenty of assistance for the fast bowlers, Chandigarh was skittled out for 168. When Solanki came out to bat, the match was still in the balance, but he showed great mental fortitude to bring up his century in the final session on Day 2.
His innings consistent of 12 boundaries and he received great support from opener Jyotsnil Singh. The Baroda duo controlled the pace of the game perfectly and dominated the Chandigarh bowling attack.
Solanki was in Bhubaneswar for the Bengal match when the unfortunate news reached him. He rushed back to Baroda to attend the funeral of his daughter and then made it back to join the team for this match against Chandigarh.
He was dismissed for 104 on Saturday but half centuries from Bhargav Bhatt and Atit Sheth took Baroda past the 500-run mark.
It was an innings that not only bailed out Baroda, but also showcased the immense resolve in the batter. Taking to Twitter, Baroda Cricket Association CEO Shishir Hattangadi called him an inspiration.
He tweeted: “Story of a Cricketer who lost his new born daughter a few days ago. He attends the funeral and gets back to represent his team to get a hundred. His name may not make social media “likes”, but for me #vishnoosolanki is a real life hero. An inspiration,”
“What a player. Has to be the toughest player I have known. A big salute to Vishnu and his family by no means this is easy. Wish you many more hundreds and a lot of success,” Jackson tweeted.