Playing It My Way: My Autobiography (34 page)

At Multan, Virender Sehwag played a blinder. We won the toss and from the word go he was in control. He played some outstanding shots and his innings had the effect of demoralizing the opposition on the very first day of the series. He flayed the Pakistani bowlers to all parts of the ground and by the time I joined him in the middle he was already well past his century.

I remember that just after tea Sehwag seemed to lose concentration. He began trying to hit every ball and looked a bit agitated. I walked up to him to calm him down and told him that he just needed to hang in there and let this spell pass. I also said to him that he should check himself a bit, as something big was about to happen. It was important to grab this opportunity and not let it slip away. I was glad to see him grind it out on his way to a double hundred. As soon as he reached the milestone, he was back in his groove and the shots started to flow again. I was even more delighted when he managed to get to a triple hundred on the second morning. It was an incredible effort and coming against Pakistan made it all the more special.

By the time Sehwag reached that landmark, I had made a century. I had paced my innings nicely and we were now firmly in the driver’s seat. At teatime I asked stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid, who was in charge because Sourav was out with a back injury, and coach John Wright what the plan was. I was informed that we were looking to give Pakistan an hour to bat and so would put them in with fifteen overs left on the second day.

It was perfectly sensible and I went about my business after tea with this plan in mind. In fact, I was pacing my innings so that I could reach my double hundred and we could still give Pakistan fifteen overs to bat, as was the plan. But then, a little more than half an hour into the post-tea session, Ramesh Powar, who was substituting in the game, came onto the field and asked me to accelerate. I even joked with him, saying I was aware that we needed quick runs but with the field totally spread out, there was only so much we could do.

A little later, when I was on 194, he came out again and said that I should try and get to my double hundred in that over itself because Rahul had decided to declare. I was startled, to say the least, because in my mind I still had twelve balls in which to score the remaining six runs before fifteen overs were left for the day. However, as it happened, I did not get to play a single ball in that over, with Yuvraj on strike against Imran Farhat, Pakistan’s opening batsman and part-time leg-spinner. He blocked the first two balls before picking up two runs off the third ball. He once again blocked the fourth ball and was out to the fifth ball. Then, just as Parthiv Patel, the next batsman, started to come out, I saw Rahul gesturing us to go back to the pavilion. He had declared the innings with me stranded on 194 and with sixteen overs still left for the day, one more than we had agreed at tea. I was shocked, as it did not make any sense. It was day two of the Test match and not day four, as it had been in Sydney a month earlier.

Disappointed and upset, I made my way back to the dressing room and could sense that the whole team was surprised at the decision. Some of my team-mates perhaps expected me to throw my gear about in the dressing room in disgust and create a scene. However, such things are not in me and I decided not to say a word to anyone about the incident. I calmly put my batting gear away and asked John Wright for a little time before I went out to field because I was feeling a little tight after batting for so long. Inside I was fuming.

Just as I was washing my face in the bathroom, John walked up to me and apologized. He was sorry about what had happened and said he had not been party to the decision. I was surprised and said to him that as coach he was one of the decision-makers and there was no reason for him to be sorry if he believed in what had been done. I also said that what was done could not be reversed and it was best to leave it alone. Finally, I couldn’t help reminding him that the declaration was contrary to what had been discussed at tea and it was strange that I was not given even one ball to get to my double hundred after a message had been sent out asking me to get there as quickly as possible.

Soon after my exchange with John, Sourav came up to me and said he was very sorry at what had happened and that it wasn’t his decision to declare. This was a little surprising because Sourav, as the skipper, was part of the teatime discussion and was also present in the dressing room at the time of the declaration. I said to him there was no point going over it any more.

At the end of the day’s play I was asked by the press if I was disappointed by the declaration and I had no reason to shy away from the truth. Soon after the press conference I put my headphones on and listened to music all the way back to the hotel. Then I hit the gym to work out my frustration. Some of the Pakistan players were also in the gym but none of them spoke to me, sensing the state of mind I was in. I worked myself hard, trying to get the declaration out of my mind, then headed up to my room for some time alone.

In the evening Professor Ratnakar Shetty, our manager, came to my room for a chat. I had known Professor Shetty since I was a youngster in Mumbai. He apologized for what had happened and said he did not agree with the declaration. However, it was a cricketing decision and he did not ever interfere with cricketing decisions as manager. I assured him that it was over and done with and would not affect my contribution to the team.

It was when I was talking to Professor Shetty that Sanjay Manjrekar, who was in Pakistan as a commentator, turned up in my room. Sanjay said that it had been a brave decision to declare and that it was a good sign for Indian cricket. He carried on in that vein until I asked him if he really knew what he was talking about. I explained to him that he was not aware of what had transpired in the dressing room and had arrived at his judgement without knowing the real facts of the matter. I made it clear that I did not appreciate his opinion, which I thought was a deliberate attempt to be different.

The following morning, Rahul finally came to me and said he had heard that I was upset and wanted to have a chat. I informed him that I was indeed upset and there was no way I would pretend otherwise. I asked him what the thinking was behind declaring at the time that he did. It wasn’t as if we were pressing for a win, and one over wouldn’t have made much difference. We had agreed to a plan at tea and I was doing exactly as I had been told.

Rahul said that the call was taken with the interests of the team in mind. It was important to demonstrate to the Pakistanis that we meant business and were keen to win. I wasn’t convinced. First, I said to him that I was batting for the team as well. Yes, I had scored 194, but the 194 was meant to help the team and it was my individual contribution to the team’s cause. So to say that the decision was taken in the best interests of the team wasn’t altogether correct.

I reminded him of what had happened in Sydney less than a month earlier, when we had both been batting on the fourth evening and Sourav had sent out two or three messages asking when we should declare and Rahul had carried on batting. The two situations were comparable and, if anything, the Sydney declaration was far more significant and may have cost us a Test match and series victory. If Rahul was so keen to show intent here in Multan, he should have done the same in Sydney.

Rahul didn’t say anything to this and stated that I would surely get another opportunity to score a double hundred. I disagreed, saying it would not be the same. I would have to bat from zero to score a double century and would not be starting my innings at 194. Before I brought the conversation to a close, I assured Rahul that the incident would have no bearing on my involvement on the field, but off the field I would prefer to be left alone for a while to come to terms with what had happened.

Despite this incident, I am glad to say Rahul and I remain good friends, and even on the field our camaraderie remained intact until the end of our careers. We continued to have some good partnerships and neither our cricket nor our friendship was affected.

A very similar situation arose a few years later, in December 2008, when we were playing England at Mohali. It was the last day of the Test match and Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj were both in the seventies. Yet again there was talk of a possible declaration in the dressing room. It was being argued that we needed to declare immediately and put the English in for some thirty overs so that we could try and force a win.

I intervened and stopped the declaration. Dhoni was our captain then and Gary Kirsten our coach. I said that I had been in this situation before and did not want a repeat of what had happened to me. There was no way we could win the game by putting the English in after lunch. There was not enough time – particularly because on each day so far, play had finished early because the light in Mohali did not last long and the last day was expected to be no different. In such a situation, what was the point of declaring and depriving the two batsmen of the chance to get their hundreds? Gautam had already scored one in the first innings, so he had a rare opportunity to make a hundred in each innings. Yuvraj, on the other hand, had played a key role in winning us the first Test at Chennai and it was only fair to give him the chance of a Test hundred.

Finally, I said it was our responsibility to look after the interests of all individuals who were part of the team, because a bunch of happy individuals make a happy team. I wasn’t suggesting that we should place individual interest ahead of team interest. However, in a situation where there was no chance of winning the match, it was essential to give both batsmen a chance to get their hundreds. I convinced Gary that it was the right thing to do for the team and was glad that he agreed with me.

Unfortunately, however, both Yuvraj and Gautam missed their hundreds. Yuvi was run out for 86 and then Gautam was out for 97, which was when we finally declared the innings at 251–7. Soon afterwards, I joked with Yuvraj and Gautam, complaining that I had delayed the declaration for them both and yet they had not scored their hundreds. In fun, I said to Yuvraj, ‘
Tumhe mein ek laath dunga, tum run out ho kar aaye for 86 aur maine tumhare liye declaration ko roka!
’ (I will kick you. I stopped the declaration for you and you got run out for 86!)

In the end it took us just thirty minutes on the final day to wrap up that first Test at Multan in 2004. Before that I had had a part to play with the ball against Pakistan wicketkeeper Moin Khan. I had dismissed Moin before in exhibition games and started playing mind games with him, telling one of my team-mates, ‘
Main ise pehle bhi out kar chuka hoon. Aaj bhi yeh main isko out karunga.
’ (I have dismissed him before and today also I will get him out.) Moin heard the conversation and smiled at me, saying, ‘
Aaj toh main tujhe chakka marunga.
’ (Today I will hit you for six.) I told him that I promised to flight the ball, so ‘
Chalo mar ke dikhao.
’ (Come on, try and hit me.) Then I shouted to my team-mates to give Abdur Razzak a single and get Moin back on strike. For the last ball of the day, I decided to bowl him a googly, because he was trying to pad up to every delivery. The ball pitched on off stump, turned exactly as I had hoped and went through his legs to hit leg stump. It was a key wicket and helped to swing the momentum in our direction. In the second Test at Lahore, however, we were outplayed. Though Yuvi scored a very good hundred for us, we were always playing catch-up and were never in the contest.

The third and deciding Test at Rawalpindi started on 13 April. Sourav was back in the side and to maintain balance we decided to open with Parthiv. Lakshmipathy Balaji and Irfan Pathan, our two swing bowlers, bowled very well throughout the series and this match was no different. Balaji picked up four wickets and we restricted Pakistan to 224 in the first innings. Then, with Rahul leading the way with a spectacular double hundred, we put 600 on the board in reply.

This time Pakistan had been outplayed and we finished the formalities on day four by bowling them out for 245. Anil took four wickets and I took the tenth and final wicket of the innings bowling leg-spin. Though the match was over on the fourth day, it was not without drama or embarrassment. That morning we dropped four catches in no time. They weren’t difficult and we all seemed to be dropping the ball like a hot potato.

It was a terrific series win and our first in Pakistan in fifty years. Coming at the back of the 3–2 ODI series win, it marked the end of a brilliant tour.

1st Test. Brisbane. 4–8 December 2003

Australia 323 (JL Langer 121, RT Ponting 54; Z Khan 5–95, AB Agarkar 3–90) and 284–3 dec (ML Hayden 99, DR Martyn 66*, SR Waugh 56*, RT Ponting 50)

India 409 (SC Ganguly 144, VVS Laxman 75,
SR Tendulkar 0
; JN Gillespie 4–65, SCG MacGill 4–86) and 73–2 (R Dravid 43*; NW Bracken 2–12)