Playing It My Way: My Autobiography (33 page)

Rahul was outstanding and his double hundred helped us get close to the Australian first-innings total. Laxman too was majestic and it reminded us of the incredible partnership Rahul and Laxman had put together at Eden Gardens in March 2001, only this time the roles were reversed, with Rahul getting a double hundred and Laxman a hundred. I lasted just six balls before I was caught by Gilchrist off the fast bowler Andy Bichel. It was an annoyingly soft dismissal.

The Australian second innings belonged to Ajit Agarkar, my team-mate from Mumbai. He produced his best ever spell to set up the match for us. He took six Australian wickets for just 41 runs as we bowled the Australians out for 196, leaving us with 230 to chase. We fielded brilliantly in this innings and took some amazing catches, Aakash Chopra’s catch of Ponting at point off Ajit being the stand-out. I chipped in with two crucial wickets, bowling leg-spin. Steve Waugh and Damien Martyn had put together a good partnership and it was immensely satisfying to be able to get both of them out caught in the slips. It was time for the batsmen to close out the game.

Rahul was yet again the star performer and I managed to contribute 37 before falling lbw to leg-spinner Stuart MacGill. We had put together a 70-run partnership at a critical time in the match, which was particularly satisfying. Rahul hit the winning runs for us, remaining unbeaten on 72, and the team was thrilled to have taken a 1–0 lead in the series. We stayed in the dressing room till late and thoroughly savoured the moment. Never in our history had we managed a 1–0 lead against Australia in Australia. We had matched the Australians in every aspect of the game and had a very good chance of winning the series if we continued to play at our best. Rahul and Laxman were in imperious form; Sehwag and Sourav had made important contributions in both Tests; Aakash Chopra, our second opener, had done a good job of blunting the new ball.

On the eve of the next game – the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne – I decided to take Anjali, Sara and Arjun out onto the ground, just to give them a feel of what it is like to be inside a stadium. Standing in the middle of the MCG, they could imagine for themselves what we go through with more than 80,000 people in the stands. It was Arjun’s first visit to a stadium.

We batted first after winning the toss on 26 December and Virender Sehwag played what must be one of the best Test innings ever seen at the MCG. He was in his attacking mode and played some strokes that only he can play. I have no doubt that Sehwag at the top of the order was one of the best things to happen to Indian cricket and he played a key role in leading us to the top of the world Test rankings in 2009. He really should have got a double hundred at the MCG, but was out for 195 hitting a Stuart MacGill full toss to long on.

The rest of the batsmen unfortunately failed to capitalize on the start Sehwag and Aakash Chopra had given us and we were all out for 366, allowing Australia back into the game. I faced only one ball, getting a faint tickle down the leg side to Gilchrist, who was standing way back to Brett Lee. I turned around to see the ball travelling to Gilchrist and knew that it was the end of me. That is one of the worst ways of getting out and I felt embarrassed. I felt even worse when I was told that Anjali had come to the MCG to watch after being persuaded by some of the other wives. I heard that she left the ground the moment I was out and walked all the way back to the hotel. I couldn’t help reflecting on the occasionally cruel and unpredictable nature of our much-loved game.

Australia responded impressively, playing brilliantly in their first innings and, with Ponting scoring 257 and Hayden 136, effectively batted us out of the game with their 558 total. Close to 200 runs behind, we would have to bat exceptionally well to save the match. We did not, and the series was 1–1 with one Test to play.

Once again, I did not make the contribution I had hoped for in the second innings at the MCG. To change things a bit, I asked Sourav what he thought about batting ahead of me. It was towards the end of the third day’s play and Sourav, who was in good form, agreed to step up, allowing me the cushion of going in to bat the following morning at number five. The ploy seemed to work and all was going well until I got out for 44, caught by Gilchrist off the fast bowler Brad Williams. I had been in control until I played one false shot, the feature of my batting in the series. It seemed that every time I tried to move up a gear, I lost my wicket.

On the eve of the fourth and final Test match in Sydney at the beginning of January 2004, John Wright came to my room to try to get me to think positively and boost my confidence, which was a great help. I had also had a long conversation with Ajit, and one challenge he put in front of me was to try to remain not out in both innings. He said that I was allowing myself to get out to bowlers, rather than making them have to take my wicket, and that if I decided to rein myself in, no bowler would be able to get me out. I took up the challenge and decided to play a waiting game. Even if I looked ugly in the middle I was intent on sticking to my plan. Having got out twice in the series playing aggressive shots, I was simply not going to try anything extravagant at the SCG. True to my promise, I played what was in some ways one of my most difficult Test innings. I consciously checked my shots and was determined not to get out. In more than ten hours at the crease I did not play a single cover drive. When the Australian bowlers cracked a few jokes at my expense, I remained focused. It was a real test. Even when balls were there for the drive, I let them go. It was all totally against my natural instincts and it left me drained but immensely satisfied. At the end of our first innings, I was not out on 241 and had taken the team score past 700.

When I think about this Test, I can’t help remembering that for some reason I turned unusually superstitious. Anjali, her parents, Sara and Arjun were with me on the eve of the match and we decided to go to a Malaysian restaurant for dinner. The food was excellent and we ended up ordering noodles, chicken and a host of other dishes. My family then left for India the next morning, but I had a very good first day and was unbeaten on 73. In the evening I decided to stick to the routine of the previous night and went to the same Malaysian restaurant, this time with Ajit Agarkar and a couple of other players. Not only did we sit at the same table, but I had exactly the same food. The next day went even better and I was not out on 220. That night, I again went to the same restaurant and occupied the same table and ate the same food. On the third day of the match, with the Test match going really well for us, we went to the same restaurant one final time. The restaurant manager must have thought we were mad. At the same time he must have been elated at the thought that we had returned because of the food. Little did he know the real reason for our fourth consecutive visit!

After my double century, I was sent to address the media. A local journalist said that I had been getting a lot of flak in the press recently but, now that I had scored an unbeaten double hundred, would I be reading the papers the following morning? All I said to him was that I had not read anything during the series – which was my way of keeping myself insulated from all the hype – and I was unaware of what they had written about me. I didn’t have a problem with getting flak if I had not performed. The media needed to do its job, after all. But I was not looking forward to reading the papers just because I had scored some runs – I did not need validation from the media. Criticism and praise are two sides of the same coin and, having played international cricket for fifteen years, I had learnt to take these things in my stride.

We backed up the first-innings batting performance with a very good bowling effort and dismissed Australia for 474, with Anil taking a remarkable 8–141. We were ahead by 231 and now we needed quick runs to give our bowlers time to close out the match. Yet again we batted well and Rahul and I were in the middle of a good partnership when Sourav sent two or three messages out to check when we should declare. Rahul was the vice captain of the team and I said to him that it was his decision as much as Sourav’s. I was ready to go off whenever they wanted. Rahul was keen to bat on for a little longer and we finally declared just after he was hit on the head by a Brett Lee bouncer when he was on 91 and I was on 60 not out. In hindsight I must say we delayed the declaration too long. The ball was turning and bouncing, and we should have given Anil and the bowlers a few more overs on the fourth evening than the four they eventually bowled.

Set 443 to win, Australia were under pressure throughout their second innings. Anil bowled a marathon spell of forty-two overs, picking up four more wickets on the fifth day. In his final innings in Test cricket Steve Waugh played well to save his team some blushes. He was eventually out for 80, caught by me at deep square leg off Anil. The crowd was desperate for a final Steve Waugh hundred but it didn’t work out that way. Straight after taking the catch, I ran over to Steve and congratulated him on a fantastic career and wished him all the best for his future endeavours as he received a standing ovation from the Sydney crowd.

Australia held on for a draw and the series finally ended 1–1. Personally, it had been a great Test match for me and I was satisfied at having kept my promise to Ajit not to get out in both innings. It had been extremely difficult to go against my natural instincts. But it was a series we really should have won. We were the better team for most of it and had played exceptional cricket in patches. Had the declaration on the fourth evening come a little earlier, and had we grabbed more of the chances that came our way, we might have made history. Despite missing out on a series win, we still had reason to be happy and were looking forward to the tour of Pakistan that was just round the corner.

There was a lot of excitement about our tour to Pakistan. Playing Pakistan is always a big occasion for an Indian cricketer, and this was the first time we had played them in Pakistan since my debut series in 1989. The tour also seemed to have come at the best possible time for India; we had done well in the series Down Under and most of the players were in good form.

As soon as we landed in Pakistan we realized just how different this tour would be. Unlike the first time, when I was just sixteen, in 2004 I understood the full significance of an India–Pakistan series. The security was simply unbelievable. We were whisked through immigration and on our way to the hotel we had a security vehicle ahead of the team bus. There were also bikes escorting the bus and we even had a chopper flying above us. In the hotel we were received warmly and given instructions about the security protocols we were expected to follow. We were informed that the first room on our floor was to be occupied by security personnel, who would check every visitor who came to the floor. The floors above and below us had been sealed off. I had not experienced security like that before and it was a very strange feeling, because we were just sportsmen who had come to Pakistan to play cricket.

Leaving the hotel wasn’t an option and this meant the players spent a lot of time in each other’s rooms having dinner, playing cards and watching movies. It was always fun to be able to spend time together and the spirit of the team was excellent as we prepared for the first one-day international in Karachi on 13 March 2004.

It was the best possible start to the series, with the match decided on the very last ball. After we had scored 349 batting first, Pakistan responded well but came up short, with 344 in their fifty overs. Unfortunately, we lost the next two matches, but we did well to come back with victories in the final two games, winning the series 3–2. The final match was a thriller and we beat Pakistan by 40 runs in the end. I have fond memories of this match, having taken a very good catch to dismiss the Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq. In this series Inzamam would invariably try and hit the slow bowlers straight back over the bowler’s head, so before the fifth ODI Murali Kartik and I made a plan for him. We agreed that I would stand far straighter than normal at long on and would be ready to move towards the sightscreen the moment Inzamam was on strike. Sure enough, he hit Kartik straight back over his head and I was ready for the opportunity. I caught the ball above my head just inches from the boundary rope and then sprinted towards my team-mates in the middle, knowing we had managed to prise out the most important Pakistan wicket. In the end it was a terrific result and it gave us tremendous confidence ahead of the first Test at Multan.