Wait over,Tahir starts with a dream debut

The loopy delivery appeared to be an open invitation for a well-set Devon Smith to hit over mid-wicket.

The loopy delivery appeared to be an open invitation for a well-set Devon Smith to hit over mid-wicket. Only,it wasnt. The left-hander couldnt quite reach out to the play the ball and hit it straight back to the bowler. For that one fraction of a second before the ball safely entered his cupped hands,Imran Tahirs eventful life might well have flashed in front of his eyes. Risking a fledgling career and leaving his country Pakistan to marry a South African woman; plying his trade,leg-spin,on fast and bouncy pitches in South African domestic cricket for four long years; waiting nervously on the fringes of the Proteas national team.

But obtaining South African citizenship and making the squad was the relatively easier task: to be accepted as one the Proteas needed much more than just your name on the team sheet. And so,after taking the catch and throwing the ball high in the air for his maiden international scalp,the first thing the jubiliant Tahir did was to kiss the South African badge on his chest.

As his team mates surrounded him in a huddle,suddenly the bleach-blond mop of hair on his head didnt look odd. The Punjabi/Urdu-speaking player for once looked very much like one of them. After gaining acceptability,Tahir endeared himself further by snaring three more wickets,to make it 4 for 41 on debut. He might have taken a fifth as well,but spilled a difficult caught and bowled chance against Dwayne Bravo.

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Im over the moon,Im really grateful to God,and everyone who has supported me, he said during the innings break,having helped restrict West Indies to 222 in 47.3 overs.

A cracking debut,but nevertheless a belated one. The former Pakistan under-19 captain,who was born in Lahore had a promising career ahead of him when he decided to leave those shores for good. Not that he couldve helped. Cricket was after all not the only love in his life.

Love of his life

During the junior World Cup in South Africa,he fell for a Durban girl Sumayya Dildar. After nearly eight years of courtship,they married in 2006. Dildar wanted to stay in South Africa,so he obliged,even though that meant giving up on his hopes of playing top-flight cricket. For citizenship norms required him to stay in South Africa for four years before gaining residency. Having made the choice,he started playing domestic cricket for South Africa. Talented as he was,he impressed everyone,taking 535 wickets at an average of 25.09. The selectors named him in the Test team against England last year,but it became an embarrassing issue for the South African board as it came to light that he didnt fulfil the criteria to play for the country.

After one year of painful wait,Tahirs fortune took a u-turn in the New Year,as he was granted permanent residency. Almost immediately he was named in the squad to play the ODI series against India. While he had to sit on the bench for those five games,it was almost sure that South Africa would play him in the World Cup,given the slow and turning wickets in the sub-continent.

And on Thursday,Smith handed him the cap.

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South Africa were long touting him as an ace in the hole. On the evidence and skill on display at the Ferozeshah Kotla,the other teams need to be wary of him.