My Green Top Story

Ever wondered what it feels like to play on a green top? The green top hailed all over the world as the toughest of the pitches to play on. There is no home advantage involved; just toss advantage. Win the toss and put the opposition in to bat. Bring in your fiery fast bowlers to swing the red cherry in ways that reminiscence the batsman their shameful failures of tendering their kindergarten swing. It is so magical a strip that, one hardly finds the difference between the pitch and the ground. It is almost like a park where the bowlers are playing “Ringa Ringa Roses” with the batsmen and “all (wickets) fall down”.

We have green tops in India too. Flabbergasted by the previous statement? These green tops are the ones that we play our school tournaments on. The green mat spread to three-fourths of the pitch and in which a leg spinner can garner better bounce than a medium-pacer. And how does it feel to take a wicket in the second ball of your career – out of the green top. For most part of my tennis-ball cricket career, I was a wicket-keeper; probably because I used to have good reflexes and also because I like to sledge a lot. But, when it was time to play with a red cherry, I always wanted to bowl. A part of the reason I took up bowling was because my former tennis-ball bowlers couldn’t control the seam and it was getting difficult for me to shield away from the bruises. But the main reason was, I wanted that rugged attention that a fast-bowler gets when he runs into bowl and the crowd goes “oooooooooo000000ooooooooooh”. Bowling with an upright seam and making the ball talk was what I had always wanted to do and imagined myself doing.

This incident dates back to 1999, when I took my run-up to bowl the first ball of my career. Bowling to a Right-handed batsman, I imagined myself to be Glenn McGrath and bowled on the goodlength-off stump line, pitching on the seam and the ball deviated a few degrees towards the slip cordon crossing the batsman by his chest. The batsman was as amazed as I was, tapped the green mat, where he found a one-rupee coin on which I had pitched the ball. Mid-on comes and encourages me. “It was a neat out-swinger” says the umpire. Impressed. First ball of your career and you caused panic in the dressing room.

Second ball. Pressure building up. I ran into bowl not knowing how I was holding the seam and where the shiny side was. I pitched on the same one-rupee coin, but this time the ball moved into the batsman. With my Karizma ZMR top-speed of 140kmph, he was struck plumb in front. The whole lot of us appealed “Howzzat???” and without a doubt, the umpire raised the finger that all batsmen dread. The crowd erupted in joy. Thus a Wicket-keeper turns a Bowler! And the prolific batsman couldn’t believe the amount of swing that I could muster. I became a two-ball hero because that was one wicket we all wanted desperately. I finish that over with great zeal and enthusiasm.

After the over, I stepped out of the rope to put my pads and gloves on, when Dravid asked to steam-in with another couple of overs on the green top to castle the New Zealand team before lunch. I obliged him, telling my captain Azharuddin about Dravid’s astute decision. Christchurch was one heck of a green top to bowl on and the NZ were all-out for a menial score. Harsha Bhogle termed me as the next superstar of Indian cricket and without an option Richie Benaud agreed to it. When I walked out of the field leading the team, I showed the crowd my test cap that I got from Sachin at the start of the match. It was an innings victory for us and the next week’s Sportstar carried my bowling action as the Starposter.

 All through our childhoods, we all dream, nothing wrong in it. But how many of us take that dream to the next level? I do. I still dream playing in Indian XI, especially when sitting in a lecture where I don’t understand anything about why the strategic potential of a cutting-edge throughput should satisfy the market demand!!