DEHRADUN: Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran scored a century against Uttarakhand on the first day of the Ranji Trophy match being played at the stadium named after him: the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy Stadium, which was built by the batsman's father.
It was a bittersweet day for Abhimanyu as he ended the day batting on 141, just 24 hours after losing a close family friend, Prabhjot Singh. Abhimanyu dedicated the ton to Singh, whom he called 'mamu'.
Abhimanyu's father Ranganathan Parameswaran Easwaran, a chartered accountant from Tamil Nadu who started building the stadium in Dehradun back in 2006, told TOI, "Abhimanyu was close to Singh. In fact, he was supposed to be at the ground on Tuesday to watch him play. It was a very emotional match for him. But he passed away due to a heart attack on Monday. Abhimanyu dedicated the ton to his 'mamu', on the same day that he was cremated. "We have been friends for nearly four decades and Abhimanyu has several fond memories of Singh."
By the end of Day One, Bengal were 269/2, with Abhimanyu still at the crease. The 27-year-old right hand batter has played 238 balls and hit 12 boundaries and a six. "This was his fifth consecutive century in the matches he played so far.
"In the last four innings, Abhimanyu scored 122 against Services in Vijay Hazare Trophy, 142 and 157 against Bangladesh 'A' and 170 against Nagaland. He is just nine runs short of bagging 10,000 runs in first-class, List A and domestic T20 combined. Once he scores that, it will be a major milestone," said his father.
Easwaran Sr, who sold newspapers and ice cream to fund his CA studies, started the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy in 1988. He then bought a piece of land in Purukul area of Dehradun in 2005 and started constructing the stadium in 2006. He still spends on upgrading the stadium.
