LUCKNOW, Feb. 3 -- Exactly 20 years back on February 1 in 2006, a catch at the KD Singh 'Babu' Stadium in Lucknow changed the cricketing history of Uttar Pradesh in Ranji Trophy. That catch was taken by none other than Ali Hamid Zaidi, a substitute then, and it helped hosts Uttar Pradesh take a small but crucial 14-run first innings lead over Bengal on the penultimate day of the five-day final in front of a huge crowd. It was the most dramatic turnaround in the game as while chasing Uttar Pradesh's first innings total of 387, which included sparkling knocks from skipper Mohammad Kaif (92) and Suresh Raina (90), Deep Dasgupta-led Bengal were within the striking distance of taking the lead with scoreboard reading 363/9, and no one anticipated the surprise that lay ahead on February 2, 2006. Even before that happened, Laxmi Ratan Shukla had hit four sixes off Piyush Chawla's deliveries. But Kaif played a gamble, allowing Chawla to bowl one more over to Shukla and this time it paid rich dividends to Uttar Pradesh. As Shukla whipped Chawla's full-toss towards deep midwicket, substitute Zaidi, a 19-year-old uncapped talent from Lucknow then, sprinted 30 yards, dived full-length to his right, and plucked a one-handed stunner-fingers underneath, elbows high-dismissing Shukla for 66. The catch on the fourth ball of Chawla's over ended Bengal's innings at 373 in 126.4 overs, handing UP victory with two balls remaining. Zaidi's athleticism, evoking Jonty Rhodes, ignited KD Singh Babu Stadium's 15,000 fans into frenzy. Twenty years on, the excitement of taking that catch and winning UP's maiden Ranji Trophy brings sparks in the eyes of Zaidi, son of a former basketball coach of Uttar Pradesh Sports Directorate, Zareen Zaidi. "I was expecting such a catch and when I saw the ball dropping in the air, I just pushed myself to the hilt and I still felt the warmth of that ball in my hands when I grabbed it single handedly," said Zaidi on Monday. He also said that he always wanted to do something amazing in fielding and even while sitting on the bench. "I knew that dropping that catch could have been a risky affair as the ball could have rolled for a boundary, but I chose to go for the catch and I felt it when the ball landed on top of my right hand finger," he added. "I got thousands of joys so far in my life, but there is nothing like that catch. Even today, I feel this way. Sachin Tendulkar's catch by Jonty Rhodes was always my inspiration in the field so I always thought that I should do like him or I should become like him." Despite being a top-class fielder and a utility white-ball leg spinner and batter, Zaidi could play just three first-class matches and 10 List A matches, but he sounds satisfied with his cricketing career. "My biggest achievement in cricket was that catch in the Ranji Trophy final and I feel proud that I could win the match for Uttar Pradesh," said Zaidi. "In the last 20 years, things have changed a lot in cricket too, and I am still waiting to see Uttar Pradesh winning the Ranji Trophy one more time. It would be good for state cricket, if our boys could win it again," he concluded....