There have been many stories of cricketers showing character on the field despite tragedy off the field. Like Virat Kohli returned to play Ranji game after his father's death, like Rishabh Pant returned to the field after losing his father's death, Baroda batter Vishnu Solanki returned to the field after losing his daughter a few days ago.
Despite suffering a great loss, Solanki returned to Baroda team and scored a century against Chandigarh in Elite Group B clash at Vikas Cricket Ground, Bhubaneswar. Seeing Solanki's gritty unbeaten 103, CEO of Baroda Cricket Association, Shishir Hattangadi gave the 29-year-old the status of a real hero.
Inspirational story
“Vishnu Solanki lost his newborn daughter a few days back and attended the funeral but came back to represent his team and scored a century. Indeed, it's an inspirational story. An inspiration to every youngster who is committed to the sport. We all know the grief. Especially the kind of grief when your newborn baby is no more. For me it's not just about scoring a century but to just be back on the cricket field. To come back is a big deal for him," Hattangadi told Sports Tak.
“For me, it is not just scoring a hundred but just being able to get back on the cricket field. It is a story in itself. It is inspirational not only from cricketing perspective but a real-life perspective. So much one can learn from a young boy who has come back to play the game. I won't hesitate to say that he is a real-life inspiration for me. I think future cricketers can take a leaf out of this and try to emulate it,” he added.
Baroda’s chance to dominate
Solanki came in to bat at no.5 when Baroda had a lead of seven runs over Chandigarh. Solanki played himself in and shared a 59-run partnership with Jyotshnil Singh, who missed his century by just four runs. Solanki batted with the lower middle order and got to his century in the third session of Day 2. He remained unbeaten for 103 runs off 161 deliveries including 12 boundaries.
Solanki will look to help Baroda extend the first innings lead on Day 3. At the end of Day 2's play, Baroda had a 230-run lead. Baroda are in driver's seat with a massive lead in their bag. Earlier, Baroda lost their first match as Bengal chased down 349-run target at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack.
