Nilesh Kulkarni’s envy,Nathan Lyon’s pride

Back in 1997,Kulkarni had completed the dozen just a few 100 miles away in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo by getting Marvan Atapattu caught behind the wicket in near-twilight. But just like with most before him in the jinxed group,what started as a memorable debut soon turned into a nightmare for the lanky left-arm spinner from Mumbai—whose figures eventually read 1/195 in 70 overs—with the Lankans dishing out the worst hammering in Test history to Kulkarni and the rest of the Indian attack (piling on the highest-ever Test total of 952).

Lyon though not only ended up with a five-wicket haul,his proved to be an instrumental contribution towards a convincing victory for the Australians,impressing at least one in the illustrious list that he now is a part of. “Thank God he didn’t follow in my footsteps,” quips the 38-year-old Kulkarni. And you can’t help but feel at least a tad sympathetic when he adds,“It’s a question of destiny. I took a wicket with my first ball right there in Sri Lanka and we all know what transpired thereafter in my career. And here you have this guy achieving that feat in the same country 14 years later and ending up as a match-winner.”

A consistent performer for Mumbai in domestic cricket,Kulkarni unfortunately only ever got to play two more Tests for India,one of which was more or less rained off with him not getting a bowl. But the affable tweaker still remembers the most—and unfortuantely the only real—thrilling high of his truncated international career.

“Nobody really plans for something like taking a wicket off your first ball. It just happens. I was preparing for my bowl as routinely as always,chalking up plans for different batsmen,” he recalls. But with the Indians having declared at a mammoth 537/8 on the second evening of that record-breaking Test,Kulkarni’s first bite of the cherry came rather prematurely,catching even the debutant by surprise. “There was one over remaining and Marvan (Atapattu) took a single off the last ball,prompting Sachin (Tendulkar,then captain) to bring me on for the right-hander. And it helped me that way. I simply focussed on getting the ball to pitch around off-stump,and it worked perfectly with him edging the ball,” Kulkarni reminisces.

The magnitude of his achievement took a while to sink in,says Kulkarni,but with the Indians enjoying a upper-hand,the feeling in the camp was that of collective optimism. Only for Jayasuriya & Co to douse it with the most overwhelming assault of all time.

“There was little we could do. I had the likes of Anil Kumble and Rajesh Chauhan for support,but that pitch was too flat,and thankfully there are no longer wickets like that for Test cricket. Thankfully,I at least ended up as the most economical bowler in that match,” he says.

Career never took off

Kulkarni’s career never took off—a bowling average of 166—and his only other Test wicket came in his final Test,the remarkable decider against Australia at 2001 in Chennai,where he accounted for Matthew Hayden after the opener had scored a double-hundred. But despite spoiling Atapattu’s chance at getting his hands full with the run-feast of Colombo,Kulkarni insists that he did win himself a close friend.

“Marvan and I became great pals after that match. We even played for the same team—Lashings—in England. We still keep pulling each other’s leg about that wicket. He always boasts about me struggling to get him out,but I remind him that I picked his wicket when it mattered the most,” says Kulkarni. Despite his international career having frittered away without many taking much notice,Kulkarni insists that there were no complaints and definitely no bitter feelings. It’s tough to say whether the 10 others—Intikhab Alam and Englishman Maurice Tate are the only two to have enjoyed considerable success in Tests—really got over it,however. While Kulkarni and a few others at least got to play more Tests,some like New Zealand’s Dennis Smith and Australia’s Arthur Coningham never got that chance again. Spare a thought mainly for Trinidad’s Tyrell Johnson,whose only Test was followed by World War II,and he never played another Test. Just like with Lyon’s achievement,Kulkarni reveals to have been completely in the dark about the history of the wrath that befell really early-bloomers with the ball in Tests. And you almost have to believe him when he says,“If only I knew that fact,I would have bowled a full-toss to start with,and probably played Tests for five more years.”