|
Last week, I took the liberty of calling the Indian Premier League (IPL) a revolution. This week, I dare to call it a revelation of sorts.
Over the past two weeks, we have seen players such as Brendon McCullum and Adam Gilchrist steal the thunder with the bat and Brett Lee and Ajit Agarkar decimate batting line-ups with unrelenting pace and discipline.
This week too we have picked men who have delivered a masterclass in either department. So, then why call them revelations?
Well, it’s quite simple. Firstly, because Virender Sehwag put his best foot forward and declared himself eligible for any of the reigning Twenty20 world champions’ future international endeavours.
Secondly, because Sohail Tanvir’s bowling has proven that cricket’s shortest and fast and furious form is not just about big-hitting attention-grabbing batsmen, who serve up the goodies and bask in the imminent flashlights that follow their every move… there is something in it for the bowlers as well.
My views on the IPL have been forcefully revolving around batsmen for obvious reasons, but this week Tanvir’s phenomenal bowling has afforded me that much-welcomed, much-appreciated change and breath of fresh air.
The Pakistan star put both his left arm and foot forward as he usually does when he sets out to bowl — an action that is often the world’s most unusual and hence perplexing.
No wonder then, that he managed to finish with the tournament and Twenty20’s best figures of 4-0-14-6, and take his Rajasthan Royals side to the top of the league table.
Tanvir’s spell is a rarity. However, courtesy video-streaming websites such as Youtube; you can watch him tear apart the Chennai Super Kings batting line-up over and over again.
Believe me you will never tire watching him account for each of his six victims.
The pitch at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Royals’ home ground, seemed to favour the seamers and both Tanvir and India’s Munaf Patel were there to exploit the conditions.
Tanvir trapped former India wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel plumb in front of stumps and then, four balls later, hurled an identical delivery at Stephen Fleming, which forced the former New Zealand skipper into playing a shot he was clearly unwilling to commit to from the start because of the left-armer’s unusual action.
Vidyut Sivaramakrishan (5) was the next to depart, angling Tanvir to Shane Warne at first slip. Such was Tanvir’s impact that even the well-settled South African Albie Morkel, the Chennai side’s top scorer at 42 (four boundaries and a six), crumbled as he started his second spell.
Tanvir cleaned up the Super Kings’ tail — accounting for Muttiah Muralitharan and Makhaya Ntini with the score reading a paltry 109.
Tanvir’s supreme wizardry was reflected in the acknowledgement he received from Ntini after the South African was dismissed for 11. Ntini offered him his hand as a mark of respect.
The soft-spoken Pakistan bowler was given a standing ovation, having turned what was expected to be a tough contest for top spot in the IPL into a one-sided affair.
In the batting department, Sehwag was another revelation as he massacred bowlers to stay in contention for the top-scorer’s spot of the tournament.
The Delhi Daredevils and India opener has been classy throughout the competition and required a total of just 124 deliveries to score his 247 tournament runs, which have included 27 boundaries and 14 maximum hits.
He tops the batsmen’s index at present (last Monday) with Deccan Chargers’ Rohit Sharma in second place on 235 and another Daredevil, Gautam Gambhir third on 225.
Sehwag’s days as an India opener in ODIs may be in doubt, but Twenty20 is the flavour now and he has succeeded in handing himself a lifeline.
|
