Just when Sanju Samson, the local hero, strode out to bat, groundsmen with black tarpaulin sheets rushed to cover the square, killing the brimming joy of the handful in the gallery that had come to watch him. Shortly, in encroaching darkness and smouldering clouds, the second day of the Kerala-Maharashtra encounter was called off. The day, thus, ended in darkness, both literally and figuratively for Kerala. After letting Maharashtra recover from 18 for 5 to 140 for 6, three of the hosts batsmen were in the dugout for only 35 runs. The brightest spot was MD Nidheesh, the 34-year-old seamer who is quietly putting on shifts and shows that make him one of the finest his state has produced.
After grabbing his fifth wicket, Nidheesh shut his eyes, raised both his arms, the index finger pointed towards the sullen skies, and whispered a quiet prayer. He sank to his knees and kissed the turf, amidst a mob of teammates piling on him. Before winding up for the next ball, he drew an imaginary cross and offered another silent prayer. His mannerisms originate from the two biggest influences of his life — his faith and his devotion towards former seamer S Sreesanth. The maverick India pacer, used to unfurl similar routines upon milestones.
Nidheesh is Sreesanth lite, without his theatrics or petulance. Soft-spoken and mild-mannered, he is not as blessed as Sreesanth, neither with the wrists of gods or the arresting aggression in his demeanour. He was a late-bloomer, the first half of his career was scattered, the next quarter was spent on dispensing workhorse duties to Sandeep Warrier and Basil Thampi. In the last two years, though, he has been the lead act, nabbing wickets in big games and all conditions, striking in decisive moments of the game, and grooming the youngish battery of seamers.
Every time he has the ball, Kerala look up to him. The tired vocal cords regather the voice, the fielders become more energetic and the batsmen begin to focus harder. In the first passage of the rain-hit day, where the first session was entirely washed out and only 35 overs were possible, he provided the breakthroughs that prevented Maharashtra’s lower order from running away with the game, which looked destined to be decided by the first-innings lead, given the sinister rain forecast. The previous season, wherein Kerala reached its maiden final, was also his best season, when he grabbed 27 wickets at 22.92.
He might be a little aged for national contention, even though he has the requisites, but for Kerala he is a prize horse. Even more so after the departure of spinner Jalaj Saxena, which has forced last year’s Ranji finalists to revise their strategies. For much of Saxena’s 10-year-reign, Kerala’s prime strategy has been spun around his prowess to run through the sides on turners, especially at the St Xavier’s ground in Thumba, where strips were stitched to suit Saxena.
This was a knee-jerk reaction to Kerala losing the Ranji semi-final to Vidarbha on a spicy track in hilly, dewy Wayanad six years ago. The unprecedented diminishing of Sandeep and the injury-proneness of Thampi too played a role in the tactical shift which saw Saxena snare 269 wickets at 20.68 in nine years for his adopted state. Last year, he had the services of Vidarbha veteran Aditya Sarwate as well. Traditionally not a nursery of spinners — only three have taken 100-plus wickets in their history — Kerala scrambled for replacements but could only acquire former Madhya Pradesh left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma, whose average in 69 first class games is an unflattering 39.54. With not many options on the reserve bench, it is improbable that Kerala would roll out turners.
Instead, they could dish out surfaces with luxuriant grass and life, as the Greenfield deck for this game is, and hunt with the three-pronged pace attack. NP Basil hinted at the strategy. “In the pre-season we did a lot of bowling on these sorts of tracks, with grass and assistance. We knew we could get such conditions,” he said.
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But fast-bowling clearly is their biggest strength. Nidheesh has resourceful accomplices in Basil and Eden Apple Tom. Basil, who winkled out three wickets, is the tireless workhorse that can bowl through an entire session. He is almost as tall as Nidheesh, but is more limited. Nidheesh extracts bounce, with his height as well as the whip of the wrists and movement both ways at a lively pace. Basil, 28, is slower and relies on conditions to move the ball, but he has the knack of producing that one devilish ball that foxes batsmen. He pounds the hard length, and the effort ball produces extra skid and bounce. Just 13 games old, he is ripening with experience.
Eden’s magic ball gift
Eden is the youngest, at 18. He has rough edges, but the talents to metamorphose into a quality bowler. He is quick, has variations and the gift of the magic ball. The curling outswinger that grazed the edge of Vidarbha’s Yash Rathod, the highest run-getter of the previous season, was a classic example. But he could be erratic and over-exuberant at times. On Thursday, he began with a peach of a yorker that Ruturaj Gaikwad somehow blocked, but thereafter he turned scattergun. Whenever he erred, Nidheesh would calm him down and offer advice. But with systematic grooming and fitness management, he could be a lethal weapon for Kerala in the coming years, thus continuing a rich legacy of pacers in the State. For Basil, bowling with Nidheesh has been a dream. “I have looked forward to bowling with him. Even last year, we synced well and shared a room. He has been a guiding influence,” Basil added.
The only peril of reliance and seamers is the repeat of Wayanad 2019, where incompetent batsmen let them down. Fate looms in Greenfield too. But Kerala would pray for its favourite son Sanju to deliver a Friday mega hit.
