Vidyut: I never knew it would be this good
The touring young England side is a very careful one
By Anand Vasu
14-Jan-2001
The touring young England side is a very careful one. They take no
chances with food or water that comes from less than completely
reliable sources. They have an elaborate routine that ensures that no
one pulls a muscle or develops an injury that is avoidable. They are
prepared for every situation that can crop up. Well, almost every
situation anyway. They certainly had no answer to the left arm spin
that Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan dished out on a fourth day wicket at the
Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Ending with the remarkable figures of
8/38, Vidyut powered India Under-19s to victory. The last spell he
bowled, was easily the most lethal of the match and read 18.3-15-6-7.
"I never knew it would be this good," said an excited Vidyut in a chat
with CricInfo shortly after his match winning haul. "I always believed
that on a fourth day wicket I could take five wickets and help my team
win if I bowled well. But I didn't even dream about 8/38 before the
match," he added unable to contain his joy at propelling India to a
1-0 lead in the three Test series.
However, it wasn't all rosy for the left arm spinner. At 160/1 England
were well on the way to saving the game. Skipper Ian Bell and southpaw
opener Gary Pratt were getting comfortable against the spinners. Did
this worry Vidyut? Hardly. "All we needed at that stage was one
breakthrough. They were going along very nicely, scoring a boundary
almost every over," he said.
Fortunately for India, Vidyut's confidence was not misplaced. Off
spinner Mulewa Dharmichand provided the breakthrough they badly needed
and then the floodgates opened. Even on a fourth day wicket that is
turning square, an eight wicket haul stands out as a phenomenal
effort. So what was special about Vidyut on the day? "I just stuck to
my basics and let the wicket do the rest," he says humbly.
If Vidyut just stuck to the basics, then the England batsmen must have
contributed heavily to their downfall."The biggest mistake the England
players committed was adopting an excessively defensive approach. They
were not trying to hit a single ball. They wanted to defend every
single ball. On a wicket that is spinning, with men around the bat,
you just can't do that for any length of time," concluded Vidyut. That
analysis just about summed up the game.
Anyone who takes eight wickets in an innings is bound to have a huge
psychological advantage. For Vidyut this edge is further sharpened by
the fact that the second `Test' will be played in Chennai, his
hometown. Having grown up playing on Chennai wickets, the son of
former Tamil Nadu and South Zone opening batsman V Sivaramakrishnan
should know exactly what to do. While he is confident, Vidyut's head
remains firmly on his shoulders. "Every game is a fresh game. I have
to put my head down and bowl well once more. It is nice to get a lot
of wickets, but to me it is more important to bowl well. If I can
trouble the batsmen all day, I would consider my day a satisfactory
one," he said contentedly. The Indians will certainly hope he has more
satisfactory days. If he does, life is bound to become increasingly
hard for the tourists.