Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Despite the increasing dominance of grey in his hair and failing health, he clearly remembers about what happened on February 7, 1999. 8220;It was this end, he says pointing to the old pavilion. Kumble bowled from here aur dus ki dus le gaya,8221; he says.
Even as Anil Kumble walked into the record books to join Jim Laker with ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan, this man watched from a distance and smiled. But curator Radhey Shyam Sharma has never got his due credit, not even to this day.
Few know that it was him, probably the only man, behind that stupendous success.
8220;I was very angry that Azhar the then Indian skipper was using him from the Delhi Gate end. I told him to bowl him from this end, but he initially didn8217;t budge. Then I went up to him during lunch and urged him to switch Kumble8217;s end. I told him he would get wickets from the pavilion end. And it happened just like that,8221; he smiles.
His prediction had logical reasons behind it that Azhar, one of the most successful skippers, had overlooked. 8220;I had made the pitch and I know that despite all patchworks, the damage after the Shiv Sena attack just days before the Test match began, had left its mark at one end of the pitch.
And as the Test progressed, the wear and tear was more prominent towards the good length areas there. I had also noticed a small spot and it needed a bowler of great accuracy to exploit that.
8220;Sirf Kumble hi kar sakta tha,8221; he says with a smile.
8220;I know him since very early days, when I used to take the North Zone U-16 team as coach and saw him turning out for South Zone against us.8221;
That was the last time Pakistan played a Test match here; this time around things will be rather different. And he says, not just Kumble, everyone will get to play a role in this result-oriented pitch.
8220;It would be a sporting pitch, the ball will come on nicely for the batsmen, though the grass will be even less than the one given to them during the practice match, the seamers can exploit conditions. Also the spinners will have their say from the second day,8221; he asserts.
Meanwhile, Daljeet Singh, the BCCI pitch and curator committee chairman and also the supervising in-charge of the Kotla wicket as assigned by DDCA, inspected the pitch at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium and appeared satisfied.
8220;There are still four days to go. It depends on the weather. It won8217;t seam much if there is not much sunshine. It would not be a hard wicket. The wicket will be quicker if the sun shines,8221; Singh opined.
Interestingly, the recent scores of the matches have been rather in contrast. While the India A match against South Africa A was a high-scoring one, the Delhi-Rajasthan match was dominated by the seamers. However, both had results coming out inside the regular duration.
Sharma is a busy man nowaday 8212; he has to tender to the practice wickets too 8212; and give the teams an exact feel of things to come in this week. All through his daily chores, he has one simple wish: to meet Kumble. 8220;Hopefully, I will get to meet him tomorrow,8221; he says.
So as Kumble now takes charge for the first time as Test skipper, this Team India knows the recipe for success. Some advice from Radhey Shyam, and some early action from Shiv Sena!
