Cricket conquest

RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE

Time was when I dreamt of becoming a cricketer of substance. My cricketing idols were Test stars EAS Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar, and GR Vishwanath. Voicing my ambition, I forced my father to buy me a brand new cricket bat. I procured a new set of white flannels, a wristband, and a pair of boots, socks, and other gear. Every evening would see me swagger to the grounds, willow in hand and engage in a game with my buddies. I got to represent only the school, college and club sides, but there were moments when I left an indelible stamp on the pitch.

My interest in cricket gathered steam after joining Coles Cricket Club (CCC) during my pre-university days. CCC had their nets at the nearby Indian Gymkhana Ground. The club comprised two squads — A and B — that figured in the fourth and fifth division league. I got into the senior team.

We kicked off our season opener by locking horns against a strong Rajajinagar Cricket Club (RCC). Our rivals elected to bat first on winning the toss but found the going tough against our speed merchants who ran through the side like a hot knife through butter.

We began the chase to pursue a modest target but lost nine wickets in a hurry. We needed another seventy to get when the last man joined me in the middle. The handful of spectators who had already written us off got up to leave. A few balls later, a bouncer grazed my gloves on its way to the wicketkeeper. As the rivals celebrated and I stood dejected, 'Lady Luck' smiled on us. It was a no-ball!

The reprieve made us put a price on our wicket. The runs trickled as we stole the singles and twos and crunched the odd boundary. Our teammates egged us on as the target began to whittle down. Finally, victory arrived when I smote a full toss to the boundary ropes. The frenzied teammates swept into the ground, hoisted us on their shoulders and trooped back to the pavilion! We had turned the match around, stitching 70 precious runs. The next day, the caption on the DH sports page read, "Last wicket pair gets the victory for Coles".

Later in May 1987, I led Spencer's Cricket Club (SCC) to a sensational three-run victory in the Bangalore Cup Limited Overs Cricket Tournament. The St. Joseph's New Fields match witnessed umpteen twists and turns. Our adversaries, Karnataka Power Corporation Cricket Club (KPCCC), in pursuit of 169 in 30 overs, lost seven wickets, but their tail wagged merrily. Finally, they needed just a boundary to triumph.

My innocuous-looking first delivery was skied straight to the long-on fielder. We had just rocked their boat! The next batsman went for a wild heave but perished similarly. Then, as number XI took guard, the ball sneaked through his defence and rattled the timber!

The following day, the headline in DH screamed, "Ravi Chander hat-tricks for Spencer's CC". And I was on cloud nine!