“Come on! India has to defend 106 runs to win? On a sunny day? Against New Zealand? That is impossible.” That was my wife. It was the day when I got up and looked out through the balcony to see if there were any dark clouds on the horizon. I went out for a walk around 9.50 AM. That was the time the match had just started. Bumrah got a wicket in the initial overs and Harsha Bogle commented, ” The door is ajar”.
These days my wife has a good knowledge of cricket. The other day she was asking the name of a field position. Is it silly point or a short leg? Thanks to what we were up to from last year, her knowledge of cricket has multiplied exponentially just like the way AI is making an impact in the world. I even harboured the idea of watching cricket in the stadium. But that was not to be. The latest craze, maybe after our series win over England this year, is watching test cricket. I remember in the 90s when I used to hate test cricket. Test matches were all about massive defence mechanisms and would always be a draw. Also, there was a rest day in between. These days, nations play for results even if we lose days in between because of rain. I have noticed that these days hardly any of the matches stretch into the 5th day. We are living in a binary world and so a draw is out of question. A marked change in the way test cricket has been bringing entertainment ever since I guess we have the world test championship. Back in the day, I used to hate the idea of even watching cricket on TV except for the occasional checking on our radios and TV of the time. Today on an internet platform I go around walking in the street, jostling my way onto the metro train and with one hand watching the so-called test match session by session.
It was the morning of 20th October. This match was poised for a win for the black caps. If there was one reason we felt sad for a moment on an otherwise fine day was when Pant got out at 99. A day before I was floating the idea with my wife, “ Shall we go to the stadium and see the match”. We knew we didn’t want to go there and see India lose a match. This particular match which started on Day 2, as Day 1 was a washout, was precariously placed. One reason why I wanted to see the match could have been to see Rishab Pant. I have become a big fan of him of late. I have an article on Pant pasted in my room titled, “Tracking Rishab Pant’s miraculous return”. I finally thought that seeing the match on screen with lively commentary by Harsha would be better than being in the stands. I adore Harsha who is the face and voice of Indian cricket. How can we forget what he said…
My wife and I have been taken over by cricket to the extent that we watched it on our mobile phone having food by the side. I was fascinated with the way I kept my Phone on a stand on one side of the rectangular table and we sat on the sides enjoying the same. We got our daughter forcibly also to sit with us to chat. But the only thing she noticed was that we were chewing and applauding Rishab Pant and Sarfaraz. It was Razzmatazz. On a good Saturday afternoon, we saw how both of them were committed to erasing the deficit of our first innings and as Harsha said, ” We now have New Zealand to bat”. That is what cricket is made of- twists and turns. One bad shot off of a new ball from Sarfaraz and that was the turning point of the match. We wanted to cheer for Pant. A reminder of a person’s resolve. I read an interesting article and that made me so good that summarised what Rishab Pant means to the world. A selfless cricketer who puts valiant effort into getting over that mountain in front of him. He is the David whom we admire against the Goliath. If David used 5 slingshots to down Goliath, Pant used the willow to good effect particularly the one where the ball went out of the stadium. It was mesmerising to see him bat the way he did. There was suspense and I was also personally tensed when the commentator mentioned that one run can get him to put one more 100 against his name. But that was not to be. His 90’s is more than his 100’s. I would have loved a 100 against his name, but he is praised more for his 90’s. We can always conjecture that had he got his 100 and stayed we could have put more runs on the board and made a match out of it. That is for serious viewers. From my point of view, Pant is a role model of selfless acts.
Harsha summarised it nicely, “Match was in New Zealand’s pocket, India plucked it out for a moment and then they were caught by the policeman”. We lost the match but my admiration for Rishab Pant soared high. I thank Harsha for entertaining us with his words around that action in the field. For me, Rishab Pant was the difference maker and when Harsha again commented about him I couldn’t agree more with him, “Pant’s comeback is one of cricket’s most romantic stories”
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