Hattrick

He had been just hit for two consecutive sixes....the ball seemed to betray him...he looked at it with a expectant face...as a friend would do to another at a time of crisis..wouldn`t say a word but expect the friend to just understand...pick up and come forward. He wasn`t sure if cricket balls behaved that way!! Seemingly not when the going flow is up against you , pushing you , testing you, mocking you. He just wished the ball would land as he wanted, turn as he would envisage and the batsman would make the mistake he prayed for!!

He was Rajat. The newbie in the team.People were not surprised, they kind of expected him to get beaten like this, the look of ..`see I told you’ lurking in the face of Sekhar, his captain ,who looked at Ashim sir after each six . He didn`t miss the glance exchanged between them. Ashim sir`s look said it all, he wanted Rajat to just do it, to just take a few wickets, to just repay the faith he had shown on him.

4 balls in in his 2nd over were left, the first over was hit for 7 runs broken up into a four, 3 dot balls, a double and a single. Not bad , he had thought considering the raging bats of Dinesh and Mithun. The over before his , bowled by Raja, had gone for 12 runs and seemingly 7 runs seemed nothing out of place. He was surprised to see the cold shoulder given by Sekhar to him after he finished his, he didn’t say anything, but Rajat could feel it. He had gone  back to the boundary line and tried to get back his attention on the game. He needed to watch closely, very closely for any weakness in the batsmen, any small clue of uneasiness that they would show and he thought that he had found something. Dinesh swayed his bat at an uppish delivery by Raja and in the next , rode his luck as the ball missed the stumps by inches, there was no footwork.

He also thought that Dinesh was getting a little restless with each dot ball. He prayed that he should get the next over. Sekhar tossed the ball to Satya, the off spinner and Rajat thought he`d better get down to the ropes. Satya and Sekhar had a small chat and Rajat was called, Sekhar tossed the ball to him and gave him a look of ‘you better do it’. He got the over he wanted and though he came in confidently, he was whacked for two straight sixes by Dinesh. Both times lofted straight over mid on. He had to do something, this over would define him, his confidence, his self. It was not just about wickets....it was more...it was not just about this match....it was his match. He wanted to make a mark. He had worked on it ,risen mornings, toiled hard and he wouldn`t just let it go.  

They were playing the annual inter club cricket, the winters had set and the action had begun. He hadn`t expected to be in the team in the first place. But he had made it riding on some of his feats in the opening matches. Those were league matches and now they were playing the semi final of this big tournament. There were some India players in action too, some Ranji players in most of the clubs. Sekhar was a permanent fixture of Bengal`s Ranji team and was touted to get into the big league in the next series. Ashim sir had insisted on playing him and was proved right in the very first match against Dhakuria club. He had taken 3 wickets, all bowled. The ball had turned sharply each time taking the batsmen by surprise. He knew he could turn the ball and make it tough for batsmen.

He was a leg spinner, orthodox, right handed, short run up, almost mocking his idol Paul Adams, the forgotten South Africa player who would have soared into bigger heights had he just continued some of his momentum. He had watched youtube endlessly for footages of Abdul Qadir, Warne,Hirwani and of course the unorthodox Paul Adams. He was just taken in the delivery style of Adams, who would have his head down and still release the ball perfectly without even seeing it. He would work on flighted and turning deliveries that would make batsmen either come out and try to hit and then miss or taking them by surprise with the turn he generated. 

He was a local player and had never made it to any bigger team. So, when Ashim sir spotted him playing in the park with his buddies, where he was coaching some junior club boys, he asked him to join Tollygunj Agragami , the 1st division club.

It was not as easy as it sounds, he had seen Rajat a few times earlier too and had taken keen interest while he bowled. Ashim sir, as he was known to all, felt he had spotted someone to look forward to, to give something to. Soon, after seeing him practice and with some coaching, he decided to play him. He was a surprise to most batsmen and had walked home with 3 wickets in the 1st match, 4 in the 2nd and so, became one to fall back on in a short span. However, the quarter final game had been bad for him, he was hit for 70 runs in his 5 overs and had got a solitary lower order wicket. Sekhar didn`t want to risk playing him again in the semi finals . Ashim sir stood up for him and pushed Sekhar to play him. Now was payback time. Rajat could feel it.

His 3rd ball, Rajat tried to forget the 1st two balls, to forget what had happened to them. He got a glimpse of his 1st match and the wicket of Papon that he had taken,looked at Dinesh and thought he could see hint of a smile, the smile which is to show the least respect to a bowler. Okay, he would handle this. He will decide at the last instant how to release the ball after seeing him move. He felt Dinesh had made up his mind to hit him again, there was a kick after all for hitting sixes in a row. He started his run up, one-two-three-four and saw that Dinesh had already moved forward with the menacing look of butchering his ball straight for another hit. He released the ball to make sure it landed wide and way before Dinesh had expected, it did and took a sharp turn from leg straight into the leg stump..

Whoaaaa!!!! He had got him....a stunned Dinesh looked back at his stumps and then back at him, still reeling under the shock. Shekhar, Robin ,Raja, Soumya,Satya all rushed to him and the ecstasy was absorbed by all of them for a few moments. He quietly looked at Ashim sir and in his mind dedicated this wicket to him. He felt he had to do more and tried to get back his concentration

Rajat always yearned to become a bowler , he would think it as a big skill to beat batsmen into giving away their wickets. It seemed to him like an art. It was an art. He always thought that the grip for off spin was easier than that of Leg spin and had started off as an offy. He would get some turn and some wickets too,it seemed nothing out of the ordinary. But that one ball where Warne had bowled Gatting with the ‘ball of the century’ had shaken his world topsy turvy.

He was spellbound to say the least. In his mind he would see the scene playing out frame by frame and he would keep gripping the ball and think of how to deliver that kind of a ball. He would practice and toil and would never seem to get satisfied with the turns he achieved. There was no leg spinner around that he had seen in these clubs and could sense his chance. He would see footages , wake up early, run a few rounds,work on the grip, the length, the flight , the dreams, his dreams. It had taken him a while to get the grip correctly and to get the ball moving. The toughest part was releasing the ball, a small error and the ball could go thud. The release had to be perfect, the landing had to be perfect and the turn had to be decisive.  

4th ball, new batsman, number 5, the hard hitter , Bikash. Bikash had played him earlier in local matches and had once hit him hard for some quick runs in a few overs. Rajat knew that Bikash didn’t really pay much heed to him and he felt fine with it. He didn`t want anyone to take him seriously, it was his ploy, so called ploy. Now was the time, and Rajat made his plans. He wouldn`t make it easy. He would mix a little pace, there were some times when you would also rely on the speed mixed with the turn. He knew, this was the time. He walked back to the start of his run up, took a different grip, waited for the batsman to be ready , tossed the ball a few times in his hand and started the run. Bikash held his bat up in his usual style and looked menacing enough to whack him. Rajat saw him relaxed, the easiness in his eyes and gait , just as he wanted. He wanted him to take him lightly . He released the ball and mixed a little pace with it , ensured a short ball to the leg which turned left and bounced high into Bikash as he put his bat in the middle giving away a catch back to Rajat. Two in two!! Here he was, as an unbelieving Bikash walked back, while his teammates rushed to him. The atmosphere had changed. Sekhar lifted him up and the boys celebrated. Ashim sir had a smile of reposed faith on his face when he met his eyes.

There was another reason for him for taking up bowling, he didn`t need to buy a batting kit. Bats, pads, gloves, entire set costing nothing less than a fortune to him. It`s not that his family could not afford it, but it was more of him not wanting to go up to his father asking for it. Again a host of other discussions on his life, his plans, his studies, aimlessness, not wanting to take responsibility, I did so n so in your age and this and a that. Rajat would think - spare it, give me some time, I don`t know yet, but I want to play now, don’t know even if I play well what`s going to happen. It`s also that he didn’t bat as well, he would be sent at number 10 or 11 and wasn`t really expected to do something with the bat. But he understood, he will have to do something worthwhile with the ball to cover for his lack in batting.

This was soaking in now, he had taken 2 wickets in two balls. Suddenly there was a different look in the eyes of his captain and his teammates. He knew, this all would last short, one bad over and he would be squared back. He couldn`t afford to float, couldn’t appear satisfied. He checked himself, looked at the incoming batsman, a left hander now, Rishi, having a reputation of a solid middle order batsman. Captain was setting up the field, he wanted a hattrick, Rajat`s heart played out loud, can he? There was no advise from Shekhar, he`d just said “hattrick” ,looked in his eyes and got back in the field.

5th ball - Rishi had taken his post, seemed unaffected by the hattrick in offing, another day in office, struck his bat a few times on the crease, made a mark on the line, he was ready. Rajat could only see a stiff face expecting a ball to be hit, hard. What would he deliver? A googly? A flipper? An orthodox leggy or a flat slower one? Huff...it seemed getting on to him. He walked back to his startup, flicked the ball a few times, and stopped thinking of what to deliver, he would decide after seeing Rishi move just a moment before releasing. He started his run, saw a little movement in his left leg, it went back and forth once, he also realised that the normal leggy would be an offy to this left hander and so it would be a little easier for him to read. No, it would be a straight one at yorker length, on the wicket.

He ran , fixed his gaze on Rishi and released the ball, Rishi charged ahead and.....

Story composed by Digbijay Bandopadhyay for Jhaalmuri Puja Special 2014