Former India all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni, best known for bowling a record 21 successive maiden overs in a Test match, passed away on Friday, family sources confirmed. (More Cricket News)
Nadkarni was 86 and is survived by his wife and two daughters.
"He died of old-age related problems," his son-in-law Vijay Khare told PTI.
Nadkarni, a left-handed batsman and slow-left arm orthodox bowler, played 41 Tests in which he scored 1414 runs and grabbed 88 wickets with 6/43 as his best bowling figures.
Chronicling Nadkarni's career, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wrote in a statement: "One of the most economical bowlers to have ever played the game, Nadkarni conceded just 2559 runs from 9165 balls he bowled in Test cricket. His miserly Test economy of 1.67 is still the fourth-best among bowlers with a minimum of 2000 balls bowled.
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"In one of the best displays of frugal bowling, Nadkarni bowled 21 maiden overs during the first Test against England at Madras in 1964. In the fifth and final Test of the same series, he scored 52 not out in the first innings and batted for 418 minutes and remained unbeaten on 122 when India were made to follow on."
His figures in that Madras (now Chennai) test read 32-27-5-0.
He was known more for his accuracy as he also had Test match figures like the 1960-61 series against Pakistan where he returned with figures of 32-24-23-0 at Kanpur followed by 34-24-24-1 in Delhi.
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Nadkarni was a Mumbai stalwart having played 191 first-class matches and taken 500 wickets and scored 8880 runs.
The Nashik-born Nadkarni made his Test debut against New Zealand in Delhi in 1955 and played his last Test at Auckland against the same opponents in 1968 under MAK Pataudi's captaincy.
Legends Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar offered their condolences on former India all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni's death.
"Very sad to hear about the demise of Shri Bapu Nadkarni. I grew up hearing about the record of him bowling 21 consecutive maiden overs in a Test. My condolences to his family and dear ones," Tendulkar tweeted.
For Gavaskar, it was more of a personal loss as he fondly recollected Ndkarni's pro-active role as an assistant manager who doubled up as a tactician during India's tour of Australia in 1980-81.
"He came as an assistant manager for quite a number of our tours. He was very encouraging. His favourite term was "chhoddo matt" [hang in there]. He was a gritty cricketer despite playing in the days when gloves and thigh pads were not very good, not much protective equipment as you would get hit. But still hang in there as he believed in "chhoddo matt",' Gavaskar told reporters in Rajkot on Friday.
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(With agency inputs)
