Sweet chin music

Parthiv Patel shows remarkable ease while facing Englands most potent weapon.

As the powerfully built Tim Bresnan steamed in for his seventh over of the day,the pint-sized Parthiv Patel stood unmovingly at the batting crease. Bresnan was the pick of the bowlers until then,with an economy of just four runs/over. And Parthiv was yet to hit a boundary off the burly Yorkshireman,despite smacking seven fours off other bowlers for his 61. The pacer clearly had an edge over the left-handed opener,considering he nearly dismissed him early in the innings only to be dropped at backward point when on seven.

Everything was set-up for a Bresnan short-ball. He walked to his mark with a confident swagger,stared hard at the batsman at the end of his follow-through,holding his glare those extra few seconds to show who is the boss in the situation. So going by the bowlers past,the size of his strapping frame and the match situation,Parthiv probably expected it too. He surely must have watched Bresnan announcing his arrival during the Test series at Trent Bridge by breaking the back of the Indian middle-order with those throat balls. Now,in the opening one-dayer,the stage was set for an encore.

But from the time he walked in as Sachin Tendulkars replacement to open the innings on Saturday,Parthiv seemed to be ready for the chin music. He didnt uglily fend at rising deliveries with a straight bat. Instead,he was more inclined to go horizontal against the short ones and swatting the ball through square,if not cheekily guiding it over the slips. But Bresnan the man who has enjoyed most success with the short ball on this tour was a completely different challenge.

Patel trap

After consulting skipper Alastair Cook,Bresnan emptied the mid-wicket region,but square-leg and fine-leg remained rooted at their respective spots. Bresnan smiled as he knew that to hit the ball in front of square,Parthiv will have to connect his pull from the meat of the willow. And the sweet spot is hard to find when the ball rushes on to the body at Bresnans speed. It will in all probability Bresnan must have thought while running in catch the makers logo or take the edge and blade towards the positioned fielders behind square.

The inevitable happened on the fourth ball of the over as Bresnan bent his spine and dug the ball short. But Parthiv was ready for it. The lad from Gujarat connected it perfectly to dispatch through the recently vacated mid-wicket area. Fast bowlers are known to have big egos; even more so for those built like heavyweight boxers. So thanks to his ego,Bresnan made the mistake of not changing either his tactics,or the length of his deliveries. He pitched another one short,and Parthiv helped himself to another boundary through the same region. The only difference was that the second shot was better timed than the first. Parthiv proved an age-old point that the Indians seemed to have forgotten on this tour size doesnt matter in cricket.

The over did a lot of good to Parthiv,injecting his veins with confidence. Considering the troughs that he hit during his decade-long career,Parthiv surely needed that self-assurance. The track at the Riverside Stadium was flat,but two perfect pulls against a bowler with a snarling reputation cleared the cobwebs in his mind. He may have narrowly missed his first ODI ton by just five runs,but Parthiv will remember those two pulls for a long time to come. Understandably at the other end,those two strokes werent appreciated much,and Bresnan now looked quite deflated.

Bundle of nerves

On match eves before the practice games and the internationals,Parthiv has been a bundle of nerves. Without the safety net or assurance of making the playing XI despite all the injuries to senior players he has spent his net sessions with crossed fingers and the rest of the time in hope. But when at the crease,that anxiety has been successfully replaced by a spirit of adventure. He has been flashier than his partner Ajinkya Rahane,but equally effective.

Story continues below this ad

While Rahane keeps his head still and strikes a perfect balance as he waits for the ball,Parthiv premeditates most of his strokes,dancing down the track and throwing the kitchen sink at the ball. Before Tendulkar aggravated an old injury,Parthiv and Rahane were competitors for the same place in the XI. But now,it is likely that the two might just end up as the ideal opening pair for the rest of this ODI series. The contrasting combination at the top is the perfect remedy for Team India,something that might just induce several changes in Englands tactics. Plus,the fact that it is a left-right combo always helps.

The change in tactics for England could have an adverse effect on the tremendously successful bouncer,one that has caused so much damage on this tour. But now both Stuart Broad and Cook T20 and ODI captains respectively know that the diminutive opening pair can deal with,and quite relish the challenge of the rising delivery.