Playing It My Way: My Autobiography
Page 42
Cheteshwar Pujara, who batted sensibly for his 44, kept me company and I was unbeaten on 71 at the end of the second day, confident of kicking on and getting a big hundred. However, it didn’t turn out that way as I was bowled for 81 by the off-spinner Nathan Lyon on the third morning with a ball that was slightly fuller in length than I expected. I had made up my mind to get to the pitch of the ball and hit it between midwicket and long on with the turn. It was only when I realized that the length was full that I quickly changed my shot and that was my downfall.
Thankfully, the dismissal did not affect the team’s momentum, with Virat getting a hundred and Dhoni a blistering double hundred, one of the best innings I have seen at the Chepauk, to give us a lead of 192. Our spinners, led by Ashwin, then ran through the Australians in the second innings, leaving us needing just 50 to win the match. In my second innings, I played the same shot to Nathan Lyon’s first two balls and on both occasions the ball flew between midwicket and long on for six and we soon closed out the match.
In the second Test at Hyderabad, starting on 2 March, we played brilliantly to reach 503, with Murali Vijay scoring 167 and Cheteshwar Pujara making a double century. Australia had managed a disappointing 237 in their first innings and the second-wicket partnership of 370 between Vijay and Pujara meant our bowlers had enough runs on the board to bowl the Australians out in the second innings without us having to bat twice.
I got out to James Pattinson for seven, getting the faintest edge down the leg side. I was cursing my luck for having got bat on ball, prompting the caught-behind appeal, but was also surprised to see the umpire, after he had initially given me not out, deciding to check with the third umpire after a prolonged rethink. In a series in which there was no Decision Review System (DRS) there was no reason for the umpire to reconsider his decision once he had given me not out. If he had not seen or heard the nick, that should have been the end of the decision. I do not know what prompted the rethink and it was strange to see the umpire deciding to check with the TV umpire.
The reason that India has steadfastly refused to use the DRS in bilateral series is because the technology is inconclusive on occasions. We witnessed how random it could be during our tour of England in 2011–12, when DRS resulted in a number of wrong decisions. We are not against technology per se, but we do think that DRS needs to be close to 100 per cent correct before we can accept it. We feel it is a perfectly reasonable stance and I am sure we will revisit the situation when the technology has improved. The other point is that we believe that the technology used should be the same across all countries, because only then can we achieve uniformity in decision-making.
At Hyderabad, we won the match comfortably and were gradually starting to establish a stranglehold over the series. We had never beaten Australia 4–0 in a Test series, but such a scoreline was now beginning to seem a distinct possibility.
The third Test started in Mohali on 14 March and the Australians scored a healthy 408 in their first innings, with Mitchell Starc contributing 99 batting at number nine. Our response was emphatic, with a 289-run opening partnership between Shikhar Dhawan, playing superbly on debut for his 187, and Murali Vijay, who got his second consecutive Test hundred. I started my innings well and was feeling confident when Steve Smith, the part-time leg-spinner, came on to bowl. I had never faced Smith before and walked up to Vijay to check if the ball was turning. Vijay said that Smith was giving the ball a rip and I should play for turn. The first ball I faced was the perfect line and length – and it didn’t turn an inch. I was out caught bat-pad at forward short leg for 37.
On the last day at Mohali, we needed 133 to win and I went in to bat with the score at 70–2, intent on finishing the game. Australia were keeping things tight and we finally reached a stage when Dhoni and I were at the crease and we needed 24 off twenty-five balls to win. They had bowled a couple of tight overs and we needed to play a few shots to ease the pressure. I did exactly that to a delivery from Mitchell Starc that was angled in to me. I hit it over mid off for a four. In the next over by Peter Siddle, I missed a ball that came in and hit my pad before rolling off on the off side. I thought the ball had gone towards point and started running. The ball had actually gone more towards short cover, but I had committed myself to the single. David Warner came darting in and picked up the ball before flinging himself on the stumps. I had no chance. It was a spectacular effort from him and I was left to rue not checking where the ball had travelled. It was disappointing not to stay till the end and close out the game myself, but Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja did the job. We were 3–0 up and a whitewash looked distinctly possible as we headed to Delhi for the fourth and final Test of the series.
At Delhi, one look at the wicket was enough to suggest that it would assist the spinners from day one. I remember telling Anjali that the match was not likely to last the distance and I might well be home early. I said the same thing to Ajit, who had come to Delhi to watch the game. Sure enough, the spinners got into the action very early and it promised to be a low-scoring game. Australia batted first and scored 262, a reasonable total in the conditions. In reply we made 272, of which I scored 32.
In the second innings, our spinners ran through Australia, with Ravindra Jadeja again picking up a five-for. Ashwin and Jadeja had bowled well right through the series and Jadeja had even managed to get the Australian captain Michael Clarke out a number of times, which may have started to play on Clarke’s mind. Some of the deliveries Jadeja bowled to him in the first three Tests were excellent (Clarke was injured for the fourth), pitching on leg and spinning right across his bat face to hit the off stump.
Eventually we cruised to a win, thanks to a courageous knock from Pujara, who batted with a broken finger and remained unbeaten on 82. It was an act of real courage and will do him a lot of good in the rest of his career.
It was the first time in our history that we had achieved a 4–0 series win against Australia and the victory could not have come at a better time for Indian cricket. At one swoop we had managed to erase the unpleasant memories of losing to England at home and the team had started to come together again.
From a personal point of view, I had started the series well in Chennai and had looked good in patches, but I lost my wicket after getting a start on at least three occasions. Unfortunately for me, I was not able to get a century in the 2012–13 season and it was something I was looking to change at the start of the following season.
* * *
New Zealand in India 2012
1st Test. Hyderabad (Deccan). 23–26 August 2012
India 438 (CA Pujara 159, MS Dhoni 73, V Kohli 58, V Sehwag 47, SR Tendulkar 19; JS Patel 4–100, TA Boult 3–93)
New Zealand 159 (JEC Franklin 43*; R Ashwin 6–31, PP Ojha 3–44) and 164 (f/o) (KS Williamson 52, BB McCullum 42; R Ashwin 6–54, PP Ojha 3–48)
India won by an innings and 115 runs
2nd Test. Bangalore. 31 August–3 September 2012
New Zealand 365 (LRPL Taylor 113, CFK van Wyk 71, MJ Guptil 53; PP Ojha 5–99) and 248 (JEC Franklin 41; R Ashwin 5–69, PP Ojha 2–49, UT Yadav 2–68)
India 353 (V Kohli 103, MS Dhoni 62, SK Raina 55, SR Tendulkar 17; TG Southee 7–64) and 262–5 (V Kohli 51*, CA Pujara 48, SR Tendulkar 27; JS Patel 3–68)
India won by 5 wickets
India won the series 2–0
England in India 2012
1st Test. Ahmedabad. 15–19 November 2012
India 521–8 dec (CA Pujara 206*, V Sehwag 117, Y Singh 74, SR Tendulkar 13; GP Swann 5–144) and 80–1 (CA Pujara 41*)
England 191 (MJ Prior 48; PP Ojha 5–45, R Ashwin 3–80) and 406 (f/o) (AN Cook 176, MJ Prior 91; PP Ojha 4–120, UT Yadav 3–70, Z Khan 2–59)
India won by 9 wickets
2nd Test. Mumbai. 23–26 November 2012
India 327 (CA Pujara 135, R Ashwin 68, SR Tendulkar 8; MS Panesar 5–129, GP Swann 4–70) and 142 (G Gambhir 65, SR Tendulka
r 8; MS Panesar 6–81, GP Swann 4–43)
England 413 (KP Pietersen 186, AN Cook 122; PP Ojha 5–143, H Singh 2–74, R Ashwin 2–145) and 58–0
England won by 10 wickets
3rd Test. Kolkata. 5–9 December 2012
India 316 (SR Tendulkar 76, G Gambhir 60, MS Dhoni 52; MS Panesar 4–90, JM Anderson 3–89) and 247 (R Ashwin 91*, V Sehwag 49, SR Tendulkar 5; JM Anderson 3–38, ST Finn 3–45)
England 523 (AN Cook 190, IJL Trott 87, NRD Compton 57, KP Pietersen 54; PP Ohja 4–142, R Ashwin 3–183) and 41–3 (R Ashwin 2–31)
England won by 7 wickets
4th Test. Nagpur. 13–17 December 2012
England 330 (KP Pietersen 73, JE Root 73, MJ Prior 57, GP Swann 56; PP Chawla 4–69, I Sharma 3–49) and 352–4 dec (IJL Trott 143, IR Bell 116*; R Ashwin 2–99)
India 326–9 dec (V Kohli 103, MS Dhoni 99, SR Tendulkar 2; JM Anderson 4–81, GP Swann 3–76)
Match drawn
England won the series 2–1
Australia in India 2013 – The Border-Gavaskar Trophy
1st Test. Chennai. 22–26 February 2013
Australia 380 (MJ Clarke 130, MC Henriques 68, DA Warner 59; R Ashwin 7–103) and 241 (MC Henriques 81*; R Ashwin 5–95, RA Jadeja 3–72)
India 572 (MS Dhoni 224, V Kohli 107, SR Tendulkar 81; JL Pattinson 5–96) and 50–2 (V Sehwag 19, SR Tendulkar 13)
India won by 8 wickets
2nd Test. Hyderabad (Deccan). 2–5 March 2013
Australia 237–9 dec (MJ Clarke 91, MS Wade 62; RA Jadeja 3–33, B Kumar 3–53) and 131 (EJM Cowan 44; R Ashwin 5–63, RA Jadeja 3–33)
India 503 (CA Pujara 204, M Vijay 167, SR Tendulkar 7; GJ Maxwell 4–127, XJ Doherty 3–131)
India won by an innings and 135 runs
3rd Test. Mohali. 14–18 March 2013
Australia 408 (MA Starc 99, SPD Smith 92, EJM Cowan 86, DA Warner 71; I Sharma 3–72, RA Jadeja 3–77) and 223 (PJ Hughes 69; B Kumar 3–31, RA Jadeja 3–35)
India 499 (S Dhawan 187, M Vijay 153, V Kohli 67*, SR Tendulkar 37; PM Siddle 5–71) and 136–4 (V Kohli 34, SR Tendulkar 21)
India won by 6 wickets
4th Test. Delhi. 22–24 March 2013
Australia 262 (P Siddle 51, SPD Smith 46, PJ Hughes 45; R Ashwin 5–57) and 164 (P Siddle 50; RA Jadeja 5–58, PP Ojha 2–19, R Ashwin 2–55)
India 272 (M Vijay 57, CA Pujara 52, SR Tendulkar 32; NM Lyon 7–94) and 158–4 (CA Pujara 82*, V Kohli 41, SR Tendulkar 1; GJ Maxwell 2–54)
India won by 6 wickets
India won the series 4–0
26
WINDING DOWN
After surgery on my left hand in London in July 2013, I worked hard on getting back to full fitness. It was painful and time-consuming and it was a great relief to be able to resume practice by the end of August, some weeks ahead of the Champions League Twenty20. However, the period of recuperation was never boring. When I’d got back from England my friends Atul Ranade, Faisal Momen and I decided to start cycling as a part of my cardio exercise. Atul was already cycling on alternate days to stay fit, and Faisal decided to join in, making the whole thing more enjoyable. On the first day, after cycling for nearly forty minutes in the early morning, we decided to attempt the really steep incline that leads to the Mount Mary Church in Bandra. Faisal opted out when he saw the steepness of the slope, but Atul and I embarked on the climb. It was a difficult one, and by the time we reached the top we were both breathing heavily. I suggested repeating it, and Atul and I tried going up again. On the second attempt, I overtook Atul halfway up, but when I got to the top I started feeling seriously giddy. I tried drinking some water and did a few stretching exercises, but things did not improve and, by the time Atul had reached the top too, I was seeing white in front of my eyes and was forced to sit down on a divider on the road with my arms stretched out. In panic, Atul even started fanning me with a huge leaf that he plucked from a nearby tree! Things did not improve and I soon realized that what I really needed was to lie down to get the blood circulation back to my brain. When I told Atul, he saw an open-top jeep standing next to the church and, in desperation, suggested I lie down in it. That’s when I spotted a rickshaw and asked Atul to persuade the driver to allow me to lie on the back seat for a while. The driver was shocked to see me in that state, to say the least. As Atul stood outside explaining to him what had happened, I got onto the seat and lay flat for a good five minutes. Never in my life had I imagined I’d be doing such a thing just a few minutes from my house, at 6 a.m.! When I was feeling a little better we thanked the rickshaw driver profusely for his help, paid him a hundred rupees and started slowly cycling back down the hill. By now Faisal, at the foot of the hill, was getting impatient, because he thought we must be drinking tea at the top, and he was stunned to hear what had happened. However, none of this deterred me from continuing with my training ahead of what turned out to be my last few months in international cricket.
I had announced my retirement from the IPL in May 2013 and this was to be my last Champions League. To my great satisfaction, the Mumbai Indians won the trophy, beating Rajasthan Royals in the final, and it meant my team had won both the IPL and the Champions League in my last season as a player. We had gelled well as a team and Rohit Sharma did well as captain.
It was during the Champions League campaign that, for the first time in my career, I found I had to force myself to go to the gym. It was also the first time in my career that I didn’t feel bad about missing a session. Now, it wasn’t as if I hit the gym every day of my career. I have always tended to train in bursts, before taking a break for a few days. But this was the first time that I just did not feel like pushing myself. I was also taking far longer to recover from injuries and was feeling a number of aches and pains.
India’s next scheduled Tests were in South Africa in December 2013 and that’s where I was expecting to play my 200th Test match. After that, there was an away series in New Zealand in early 2014 and I was looking forward to both tours. A number of my friends had discussed the 200th Test match with me and made plans to travel to South Africa to watch me reach this milestone. In fact, I had to keep reminding Ajit to book his tickets. But then the BCCI announced that there would be a two-Test home series against the West Indies at the beginning of November 2013 and I had to rethink my plans. It was then, and I don’t know exactly how and when, that the thought of retirement first came to me. I started to wonder whether those two Tests against the West Indies should be my last.
I remember discussing it with Anjali and Ajit. We were sitting in the first-floor lounge of my house when I told them that I was thinking about retiring after the West Indies series. The second Test would be my 200th and I would not have another opportunity to retire on home soil till the end of 2014 and I wasn’t sure if I could battle with injuries for that long. There was no point in dragging things out if my heart wasn’t in it.
Anjali and Ajit were both fully supportive and Anjali said that she was behind me in anything that I decided. She just wanted me to be sure that I wouldn’t regret the decision a few months down the line. Ajit agreed that the timing was right and that it was a good decision to retire in India. Playing my final Test away from home just wouldn’t be the same.
Once I had made up my mind, I decided to ask the BCCI if they would consider allotting the second Test to Mumbai. It would mean that I would play my last series in front of my home crowd and above all I would get my mother to watch me for the first time in my life. My mother had never watched me play live and this was something I really wanted to do for her. I had begun my first-class career in Mumbai in 1987 and playing my last Test at the Wankhede would mean I had completed the circle. It was as if I was being told from above that this was an opportunity to thank cricket. There would be no better occasion to pay my respects to the game than in a farewell Test match in Mumbai.
When I talked through the decision with
my friend and manager Vinod Naidu and our close friend Aparna Santhanam, it turned out to be a memorable and magical evening. I opened a bottle of champagne and we toasted the game of cricket and all the years gone by. There was no sense of gloom or dejection or talk of anything ending. Instead, there was a sense of joy, of anticipation and fulfilment. We laughed and reminisced about twenty-four years on the cricket field and chatted happily about the upcoming series. It all convinced me that I had taken the right decision. The timing was perfect. It was a call made from the heart. I wasn’t prepared to let my mind interfere in the decision because the mind has a habit of asking too many awkward questions. I had not given a thought to what I would do after retirement. I was simply sure that this was the best time to stop.
It was a day later, on the morning of 10 October 2013, that I called BCCI President N Srinivasan to communicate my decision to retire. He said that while the BCCI would always want me to continue for as long as I wanted, they would also back me on any decision. He was clear that retirement was entirely my call. Then I raised the question of allotting my last Test match to Mumbai and he promised to look into the matter. Allotting a Test match to a city based on a request from a player was a rare and touching gesture.
Before speaking to the BCCI president, I had informed my family that I was planning to retire. Sara asked me if I was retiring from all forms of cricket. I realized she was feeling emotional about the decision. It was natural, but she did her best to conceal it. Arjun was in South Africa at the time and I knew that telling him wouldn’t be easy. I was aware of just how much my cricket meant to him. Arjun and I used to laugh about retirement and I often joked that the next series would have to be my last as I was getting so old. This time it wasn’t a joke.