included two future Ranji players, Shishir Hattiangadi and Jignesh Sanghani. The next year, under Shastri's captaincy, Don Bosco won the Giles Shield in 1977, the first time in the history of that school. At school, his coach was B. D. Desai, once a Tatas and Dadar Union player. While Don Bosco was not traditionally a major force in schools cricket, the R. A. Podar College, where Shastri later studied commerce, produced many good cricketers. Vasant Amladi and, in particular, V. S. "Marshall" Patil, were integral figures in Shastri's development as a cricketer. When not in Mumbai, Shastri lives in Alibaug. Domestic career In his last year at the junior college, he was selected to represent the Bombay team in the Ranji Trophy. At 17 years and 292 days, he was then the youngest cricketer to play for Bombay. An Indian under–19 team was scheduled to tour Pakistan in 1980–81. Shastri was included in the coaching camp at the last minute by the National Coach Hemu Adhikari. Shastri captained one of the two teams in a trial game and was then asked to lead the Indian Under-19 team. The tour, however, was cancelled. The team later went to Sri Lanka, but the games were frequently interrupted by rain. His only notable achievement in his first two Ranji seasons were bowling figures of 6-61, which he took against Delhi in the 1979–80 Ranji final that Bombay lost. While he was playing against Uttar Pradesh at Kanpur in the next season, he was called up to the squad touring New Zealand to stand in for the injured left arm spinner Dilip Doshi. Shastri arrived in Wellington the night before the first Test. His first over in Test cricket was a maiden to the New Zealand captain Geoff Howarth. In the second innings, he took 3 wickets in four balls, all to catches by Dilip Vengsarkar, to bring a quick close to the New Zealand innings. In the third Test, his seven wickets won him the man of the match award, while his 15 wickets in the series were the highest for either side. The Ranji final of 1984/85 turned out to be one of the finest matches in Indian domestic cricket history. A sleepy Gavaskar won the toss and batted. He could hardly close his eyes before Bombay was 3 down for 42. Batting at No.5, he scored his 20th and last Ranji