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Journalism of Courage
Brisbane: Steve Finn has just had a shocker at the Gabba nets. It’s the eve of England’s first ODI after being thrashed 5-0 in the Ashes. England’s ODI coach — at the time — Ashley Giles has just pulled Finn to the side and suggested that the beanpole Middlesex seamer abort the tour immediately and return home. Serious doubts emerge whether he will ever recover from the setback.
Napier: After having landed in New Zealand only a few days back, Ajinkya Rahane is warming-up for a hectic tour. Till a month back, many had questioned whether he was mentally tough enough to deal with the challenges of international cricket. He had, however, withstood a Dale Steyn-inspired barrage from the South Africans in their backyard to extinguish that unpleasant reputation.
As it turned out, Finn would take close to a year to get over the mental scars and return to his old self. In contrast to his nemesis, Rahane would spend the same 12 months establishing himself as the bulwark of the young Indian batting line-up.
And it was at a crucial juncture of the Gabba ODI that the two came face-to-face on Tuesday. Four times Rahane had fallen previously in ODIs to the gangly pacer. In those four innings, he had hit Finn for a sum total of three fours and managed only 32 out of 56 deliveries — despite having scored 91 in one of those occasions. Here, on a bouncy Gabba surface, the Mumbai right-hander had held the Indian innings together after Shikhar Dhawan had fallen to a full delivery yet again.
Ambati Rayudu had consumed 32 deliveries and scored only 11 at the other end. The only momentum India had gotten was through Rahane, who had hit a four and a six off Broad and cruised along to 30 off 35 balls.
James Anderson, Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad had ensured that India were scoring at less than four-an-over. It was Finn’s turn to keep up the pressure. As always with him, nobody knew what was to come. An express spell that could blow the opposition away or a loose burst that would blow away the stranglehold that his colleagues had created.
This was to be a spell of self-rediscovery as far as Finn was concerned. For Rahane, it was his chance to thwart an opponent who had got the better of him way too often. The battle only lasted four deliveries though. The first three were rather innocuous, short of length deliveries that Rahane either defended or picked singles off. Then Rahane lost his head, and his wicket.
In all their exchanges, Finn’s major weapon against the opener had been the rising delivery, which Finn can produce off even a slightly fuller length thanks to his towering height. It has meant that Rahane is always jittery about committing to the front-foot against the English seamer, resulting in him often being stuck in his crease.
Here at the Gabba though he jumped out of his crease, as if to make a point. But the shot itself was anything but noteworthy. It was an ugly hoick aimed over mid-wicket off a quintessential Finn delivery that pitched on a length and jumped more than it should ideally have. The ball only caught the splice of Rahane’s bat and was easily snapped up. With that Finn had broken the only meaningful partnership of the Indian innings.
On Song
He had announced that he was at least back to his dismissing-Rahane best. Over the next few overs, he would make a grander announcement. That Steven Finn was on song again, the world beware. And it only got louder as he ran through the Indian middle-order, and finished up with his maiden five-wicket haul in ODI cricket.
Led by Finn, India were crushed for 153 in their innings, invoking nightmarish memories of their batting debacles during the Tests in England against the same attack. Ian Bell and James Taylor then saw the English home with loads of style and minimal unease with unbeaten half-centuries, further denting the world champions’ build-up towards their World Cup defence.
It all started with the Rahane wicket. Virat Kohli and Rayudu followed suit in quick succession, both falling to that ageless adversary of Indian cricket, the bouncing ball that rears up at an awkward height from just short of length.. Finn was the executioner on both occasions, as he finished his first spell with figures of 3/19 in five overs. With Suresh Raina being stumped off Moeen Ali — that other scourge from the England tour — India had slumped from 57/1 to 67/5.
Finn returned for his second spell once MS Dhoni and Stuart Binny had added 70 and the innings had reached the powerplay stage. He struck yet again. His choice of weapon: the short ball, a slower bouncer to be precise that had Dhoni attempting a pull and gloving it to Jos Buttler behind the wickets. That delivery had ensured that Axar Patel was not even thinking of bringing his front-foot out when he walked out next. And Finn didn’t need a second invitation to break through his defences to pick up his fifth wicket and break the back of the Indian innings, which folded within three overs.
“That corner has been turned,” is how Finn would describe it later in the day. We could just call it redemption, of the ultimate kind.
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