The all-important boundary!

It was an unusual role for me. For some reason, which I don't recall now, I featured in the second-half of the batting order (instead of the usual two-down). A brilliant 12-year-old all-rounder with a name quite absurd for a Tamilian, Raja Singh, had just turned around the game with a fantastic cameo. He couldn't continue his exploits for long and I soon found myself in the middle (as the expression goes) with the propect of undoing whatever good Singh had done in the past 30 minutes if I played my natural game, which was looking for the ones and twos.

I was by no measure an aggressive batsman. My USP, if at all there was one, was holding on to one end. And my Kashimir willow bat helped me achieve that without much fuss. But the situation of that day demanded a different approach, and also a different bat.

Singh handed me his Symonds (which by virtue of its English willow make was at the top of the bat hierarchy; and it was heavy). I don't remember the minute details of my innings that afternoon in plus 40 degree Celsuis temperatures (and I don't mind that) but one of the things that I do remember vividly is an uncharacateristic slog over mid-wicket that fetched me a boundary.

I have never seen a coaching manual but I am pretty sure you won't find that shot there. What made the four even sweeter was the fact that the left-arm medium pace bowler, representing another summer camp team, though talented didn't earn himself many fans. His own teammates considered him a snob. And his upright gait (people used to make fun of that) and a general aloofness possibly helped enhance that image.

So, to get back to the replay, I swung the ball pitched just short-of-a-good length on leg stump wildly and it just about managed to reach the boundary. Actually, the fielders chasing it weren't convinced as to whether it actually crossed the boundary but our entire team had camped there and that helped settle matters in our favour.

The left-arm seamer had the last laugh, though. The next ball was on good length and directed at the middle stump. I tried repeating the shot, this time over the bowler, only to get a top-edge. I was out, caught and bowled by the bowler, Kartik M. That was how Murali Kartik, India's hero in the just-concluded series against Australia, was known then.

Ever since Kartik made his debut some seven or eight years back, I have been telling this story to my friends and relatives (good timing, isn't it!). There are three essential components in this story: that I played alongside Kartik; I hit him for a four; and I got out. The first two ensure people are aware of my cricketing skills. The third is to make sure it doesn't sound boastful.

I think not long after that Kartik's father got transferred to Delhi, where the medium-pacer converted to spin. And I think he has been quite an impressive spinner, having the gift of beating batsmen in the air, and could have achieved much more till now had Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid given him enough chances. It's great that Dhoni's backing him now.