© CricInfo Kapil Dev may have been the pace-setter, but it was JavagalSrinath who took the baton from him and carried on the torch ofIndian fast bowling

Partab Ramchand03-Jun-2002
© CricInfoKapil Dev may have been the pace-setter, but it was JavagalSrinath who took the baton from him and carried on the torch ofIndian fast bowling. The gallant deeds of the “Mysore Express”ensured that pace bowling in India would continue to be nurtured.Like Kapil, Srinath too, in his own way, inspired a new set ofbudding young men who loved to hurl them down.As he now exits the Test arena, there is no doubt that Srinathmust be doubly pleased ­ first, because he has served Indiancricket admirably, and secondly, because he is secure in theknowledge that the tradition of Indian pace bowling will becarried forward by the likes of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, AjitAgarkar, Tinu Yohannan and other young hopefuls.Srinath’s sudden decision to quit Test cricket, even while he hasmade it clear that he would be available for one-dayinternationals, did come as a surprise. True, he did not have avery successful series in the West Indies, but there was nothingto suggest that he would be calling it a day so soon, especiallywith the tour of England round the corner.After all, if anything, his tremendous showing in the Test seriesin England in 1996 should have encouraged him to carry on. Butperhaps he was taking a leaf out of Vijay Merchant’s book, whichadvocated that a cricketer retire when people ask “Why?” and not”When?” Indeed, it is generally felt that Srinath, even in his33rd year, still has much to offer Indian cricket.Perhaps the true value of this lion-hearted bowler will berealised only now. In his absence, is there a fast bowler who canregularly provide the early breakthroughs? Is there a fast bowlergood enough to take eight wickets in an innings and 13 in amatch? Is there a fast bowler who can win Test matches for India?Srinath did all this and more. Taking well-deserved breaks inbetween, he reserved his best for the big occasion and, in theultimate analysis, emerged as a dedicated and disciplinedspearhead.Not to forget intelligent. When he arrived on the scene in1991-92, he was a bit of a tearaway. But that tour of Australiawas educational. The learning curve continued in South Africa,even as he still came on after Kapil and Manoj Prabhakar hadshared the new ball. A fiery spell of four for 33 off 27 overs inthe final Test at Cape Town ­ the victims were Hansie Cronje,Kepler Wessels, Daryll Cullinan and Andrew Hudson ­ did not markany upward change in his fortunes, and back home, he was notconsidered for the series against England.By now, though, Srinath had added cut and swing, greater controlover length and direction, as well as judicious use of thebouncer and a well-disguised slower delivery. By 1993-94, whenKapil played his last Test, Srinath was ready to take over as thecountry’s number one pace bowler.Since then, Srinath has been the bowler to whom the countrylooked for great deeds. While statemate Anil Kumble carried thespin fortunes on his shoulders, Srinath was the one to make theinitial breakthroughs, break a troublesome partnership, or polishoff the tail.Some of his feats have been special indeed, the kind that willlive in memory for long. Can anyone forget the manner in which herouted South Africa at Ahmedabad in 1996? The target was just170, and while South Africa were the favourites to win, it wasreckoned that Indian hopes rested on the spinners – Kumble,Narendra Hirwani and Sunil Joshi – who had shared eight wicketsin the first innings.Instead, Srinath took minimum time to strike, dismissing Hudsonand Cullinan without a run on the board. He came back to dismissJonty Rhodes for a duck as well as the obdurate Dave Richardson,and then, in true fast-bowling tradition, bowled Allan Donald andPaul Adams to polish off the innings. His figures were six for21, and the result was a 64-run victory.A little over a year later, he was at it again. This time,against Australia at Kolkata, he dismissed Michael Slater andGreg Blewett with successive deliveries in his first over toleave Australia gasping for breath at one for two. Within half anhour, he had Mark Waugh leg-before, and Australia were 15 forthree. Srinath again dismissed Slater and Blewett in the secondinnings, and his match haul of six wickets got him the Man of theMatch award. All this on an amiable pitch that let India score633 for five declared. But then, Srinath had an ability toproduce extra bounce from a good length, and he was never one toget discouraged by a benign wicket.India won that match by an innings, but a year later, anotheroutstanding performance could not produce a victory. In theopening match of the Asian Test Championship at Kolkata, Pakistanwere groggy and seemingly on the ropes on the first day. Srinath(four) and Venkatesh Prasad (two) took wickets fast as Pakistanslumped to 26 for six. How they recovered from that position towin the match by 46 runs is now part of history, but Srinath’sperformance did not go unnoticed ­ or unrewarded.His first-innings bag of five for 46 was only a prelude to agallant show in the second innings. Srinath scythed through thetop, middle and tail, taking six wickets in nine overs with thenew ball on his way to career-best figures of eight for 86 and amatch haul of 13 for 132 ­ the best-ever return by an Indianmedium-pace bowler. Sure enough, he got another Man of the Matchaward ­ even if he had to share it with Saeed Anwar, who carriedhis bat for 188.Another Man of the Match award came his way in the first Testagainst Zimbabwe at New Delhi in November 2000. Even on thatplacid Feroze Shah Kotla surface, Srinath extracted enough paceand bounce to have a match-haul of nine wickets – the decisivefactor in India’s seven-wicket victory.If he did so well on the comparatively unfriendly Indian pitches,Srinath served the country even better abroad, where conditionswere better suited to his mode of bowling. In England in 1996 andin South Africa on both tours, he was a model of consistency.About half of his overall haul of 232 wickets were takenoverseas, a truly commendable feat. An average of just over 30,covering 64 matches, speaks volumes about his ability to carrythe Indian seam attack on his tall frame and broad shoulders.While Srinath has an excellent record in limited-overs cricket ­indeed, it is heartening to know that he will be around torepresent India in the World Cup next year – there is littledoubt that Srinath will be remembered most for his big-heartedexploits in the Test arena.