Cricket-tricks

My uncle R Krishna Murthy (nicknamed Kitta) was a leg spinner for Bengaluru’s Central College cricket team once upon a time. He played for one of the few private cricket clubs in the city at that time.

Once his club arranged a match with a team from Tumkur. As the team travelled to Tumkur on the scheduled date, they were feeling good about their chances: a big city club taking on a small-town cricket team. It was a beautiful day. The Bengaluru team sported their white flannels, brimming with confidence. After team introductions, the Tumkur team won the toss and chose to field. It was a mat pitch, as was common then, so inspection of the pitch was deemed unnecessary prior to the match.

The Bengaluru openers easily handled the Tumkur pacers bowling with the new ball. After the ball lost its shine, the Tumkur captain called in the leg spinner, a young man of slight build. Once he found his line and length, the batsmen found it extremely hard to play. Soon, wickets started falling and the Bengaluru team suffered a collapse. Even their best batsmen couldn’t hold the line. The team’s paltry score shocked everyone, and the already red faces of the English players on the Bengaluru team turned redder!

During the lunch break, they concluded that the young spin bowler had played havoc with his leg spinners. So they turned to Kitta. They all agreed that he was their best chance if he could work out the same magic as the opposing team’s spinner.

Tumkur started batting after lunch and their openers had no difficulty with the Bengaluru pacers. After the ball lost its shine, the captain handed the ball to Kitta. Kitta found his line and length soon, and the bowling turned deadly for the Tumkur batsmen! They just could not play him. Soon, they too collapsed and Bengaluru went on to win the match!

The Bengaluru team was ecstatic, and they hoisted Kitta on their shoulders as they walked back to the pavilion! Kitta said with a twinkle in his eyes that he had only tried to imitate the Tumkur spinner, and picked the same spot to pitch the ball. When asked to explain, he led the team to the spot and lifted the mat. To their shock, they saw a hole in the ground filled with stones. This made the balls pitched there unpredictable and unplayable. The Tumkur club had tried to get an unfair “home ground advantage”!

Notwithstanding their win, the Bengaluru team was apoplectic and reported the matter to the umpire. The umpire was shocked and the opposing team was embarrassed. The umpire calmed the two teams down and reminded them that cricket is a gentleman’s game and that such tricks were unsportsmanlike.

Kitta went on to earn a spot on the Board of Honors at Central College Cricket Grounds, a point of pride for me, especially when I was in high school.