Separated by continent, shared by destiny
Separated by a continent, they strangely share their destiny. At least their Test debut. They couldn’t be more different in their skills yet they are joined by their craft of making the ball talk. Often hiss like a bad-tempered serpent. One runs in hard and plays a perfect temptress with his fourth-stump line and medium pace; the other takes a few steps and makes the batsman squirm with his guile, often wrapped in cotton wool. Result, however, is similar: Panic in opposition camp.
In their first Test , India South Africa Champagne bottle proud. While Ashwin’s 9 for 128 and Philander’s 8 for 78 caused absolute carnage, Kotla and Cape Town
The 25-year-old Chennai lad has the looks of an innocent painter but a mind of a con artist. The six-step run up, which he takes almost apologetically, is actually an innocuous diversion. It gives him time to conspire. The tall built, long fingers, quick arm action, which at times can rival a super slo-mo camera, and the ball come together in perfect alignment to lay a trap. And then, finally, the bait is thrown at the unsuspecting batsman. Every delivery appears similar yet deceptively different in trajectory, revolution, length and line. The staggering variety and that beautiful mind, which perennially creates a con game, make Ashwin a special off-spin bowler.
The Kotla wasn’t quite playing to its reputation. Into his first Test, Ashwin almost willed it to play a co-conspirator. Initially, he did show signs of a nervous debutant but then the combative juices kicked in. The nervous trot, almost imperceptibly, made way for the impressive gallop of a thoroughbred. The three wickets, in the first innings, confirmed the promise; the 6 for 47 later showcased his class.
The dismissals of Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul was almost a work of a professional hired gun, with the victim locked-in in the viewfinder of a sniper rifle and the trigger pulled with deadly accuracy. Both the batsmen played for off-spin where there was none. Samuels lost his off stump; the latter was embarrassingly plumb. A little later, captain Darren Sammy, whose innings of 42 was threatening to acquire some flourish, was beaten neck and crop with a customized carrom ball. In the end, a handshake from Tendulkar, in recognition of his fine effort, would have made the off-spinner’s debut memorable.
Almost on cue, Philander, a year older, started from where Ashwin left off. Sharing the new ball with arguably the finest contemporary fast bowler, Dale Steyn, Philander showed remarkable discipline and composure for a debutant. A rather bustling run up, strong shoulders and a monk-like discipline produced disconcerting bounce and movement to unsettle the Aussies. A 3 for 63, in the first innings, was impressive but in no way did it reveal any sign of what was to follow. Just like Ashwin, he had saved his best for the second innings. Where the Indian bowler conceded 47 runs, the Proteas medium-pacer lead from the front to flatten Australia
Though Philander matched Ashwin in his first innings effort with three wickets, he fell short in the second by a solitary wicket. However, his feat of 5 for 15 in 7 overs was truly spectacular. He showed exceptional control and hunger. With metronomic regularity he bowled the fourth-stump line on the off side and used his shoulders to extract bounce from the good length. Batsmen went for it hook, line and sinker and perished. Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were sorted with absolute beauties. The ball predictably pitched slightly outside of the off-stump and jagged back viciously to catch them plumb in front. The two dismissals completely deflated the famous Aussie confidence. The rest was merely a ritual.
The two latest ‘ball boys’ are breed apart; one trades in speed and the other in the lack of it. However, what unite them is their craft and combative spirit.
The mines of the two countries have produced some extraordinary gems; these two will hopefully shine in the cricketing firmament for a long time to come.
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