VADODARA: His heart didn’t burst into a raptrous beat to celebrate his gutsy 100th run, but Vishnu Solanki‘s moist eyes paid a scintillating tribute to his daughter, his first child, who he lost a fortnight ago.
The Baroda Ranji cricketer was shattered after losing his daughter a day after she was born, but the 29-year-old all-rounder knew that nothing would be a befitting tribute to her than his achievement on the field. Setting his emotions aside, Solanki joined his team for the Ranji tie against Chandigarh in Cuttack just four days after his death. On Friday, he scored a century and dedicated the innings to his daughter.
“The century is for my daughter. After she was born, I had decided to dedicate every run I scored to her. Her death has left me distraught but I decided to be stronger and joined my team. Every run that I score from now on will be for her, my daughter,” Solanki told TOI over the phone from Cuttack.
Solanki walked in to bat at number five on the second day of the match and scored 103 off 161 balls including 12 boundaries.
Soon after he reached 100, he had tears in his eyes and raised his bat towards the sky to dedicate the innings to his daughter.
His teammates and the support staff too walked in the middle to congratulate him for his brave innings that took Baroda to a formidable total of 398 for seven.
Baroda team officials said that the match was stopped for two to three minutes as the entire team got emotional on the ground. Solanki’s daughter was born on February 11 but died the very next day. He skipped the first Ranji tie and reached Vadodara immediately. Solanki stayed with his wife for four days and left the city on February 17 to join his team at Cuttack for cricketing duty. “I aim to score a double century,” Solanki said.
“It’s a proud moment for the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA). Solanki showed his commitment towards the game by joining the team immediately after the tragic incident in his life. The spirit of cricket lives through such players,” said Sheetal Mehta, BCA vice -president.
The Baroda Ranji cricketer was shattered after losing his daughter a day after she was born, but the 29-year-old all-rounder knew that nothing would be a befitting tribute to her than his achievement on the field. Setting his emotions aside, Solanki joined his team for the Ranji tie against Chandigarh in Cuttack just four days after his death. On Friday, he scored a century and dedicated the innings to his daughter.
“The century is for my daughter. After she was born, I had decided to dedicate every run I scored to her. Her death has left me distraught but I decided to be stronger and joined my team. Every run that I score from now on will be for her, my daughter,” Solanki told TOI over the phone from Cuttack.
Solanki walked in to bat at number five on the second day of the match and scored 103 off 161 balls including 12 boundaries.
Soon after he reached 100, he had tears in his eyes and raised his bat towards the sky to dedicate the innings to his daughter.
His teammates and the support staff too walked in the middle to congratulate him for his brave innings that took Baroda to a formidable total of 398 for seven.
Baroda team officials said that the match was stopped for two to three minutes as the entire team got emotional on the ground. Solanki’s daughter was born on February 11 but died the very next day. He skipped the first Ranji tie and reached Vadodara immediately. Solanki stayed with his wife for four days and left the city on February 17 to join his team at Cuttack for cricketing duty. “I aim to score a double century,” Solanki said.
“It’s a proud moment for the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA). Solanki showed his commitment towards the game by joining the team immediately after the tragic incident in his life. The spirit of cricket lives through such players,” said Sheetal Mehta, BCA vice -president.
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