My Memorable Ranji Trophy Season: Anand Yalvigi (Karnataka, 1998-99)

He was born in Pune, brought up at Shivaji Park in Mumbai and was a vital cog in Karnataka's Ranji Trophy triumph in 1998-99. Meet Anand Yalvigi, the offspinner who was no muck with the bat. Yalvigi, a now a successful sports marketing professional, narrates: * How he made his Ranji debut for Mumbai and how Rahul Dravid was instumental in him switching allegiance from Mumbai to Karnataka and the turmoil it led to in Karnataka cricket * Tales of Dodda Ganesh and Vijay Bharadwaj, who were the anchors of Karnataka's fairytale ride while defending the title* Facing Mumbai senior Chandrakant Pandit's Madhya Pradesh on a dustbowl in Bhilai* Working with the legendary offspinner Erapalli Prasanna midway through the season * The high-voltage semifinal versus Punjab that saw multiple squabbles between Navjot Singh Sidhu and Harbhajan Singh with Dodda Ganesh and others * The memorable final against MP with Pandit weeping after the game* Most cherishable memory and the best learning from the season