The Shawshank Redemption: In Hollywood movie The Shawshank Redemption, Morgan Freeman playing Red says, “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” In reply, Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, said, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
It was this theme that brought scores of fans to day two of play in the Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. They took their seats early in anticipation of a big knock from their hometown lad Virat Kohli.
But that promising hope didn’t translate into desired reality as Kohli’s off-stump was sent for a ride by Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan, who till last domestic season was in Delhi’s set-up, ending his stay of 23 minutes at the crease.
As the batting stalwart walked back to the pavilion named on him after making six off 15 balls, spectators who had lined up outside the venue from as early as 6 am, started to leave the stands quickly, with their hope of something big coming from Kohli’s willow crushed and not getting what they wanted.
If day one’s play was all about an overwhelming number of people creating the ‘mahaul’ of Kohli’s homecoming, day two’s morning was all about the hope of spectators seeing him hit the ground running and put up a big score, just like how Cheteshwar Pujara (99) and Ajinkya Rahane (96) did in their respective Ranji Trophy games.
From the time Delhi’s innings began, cheers grew loud from the Bishan Singh Bedi stand whenever Yash Dhull or Sanat Sangwan were in a tangle or involved in an lbw shout. With a padded-up Kohli sitting next to head coach Sarandeep Singh near boundary ropes, people were eager to see a wicket to fall quickly and even shouted ‘out hai, out hai’ whenever Dhull defended well.
But on second-last ball of the 24th over, Dhull was trapped lbw for 22 by Rahul Sharma and the cheer from the crowd made it sound like it was most celebrated dismissal in a Ranji Trophy game in ages. Once Dhull’s lbw was confirmed, Kohli walked into the rapturous atmosphere and thunderous applause from his home crowd chanting his name in unison, making the air around the venue electric.
Kohli had a conversation with Sangwan before proceeding to take his guard. The first ball he faced from Rahul, it was a yorker coming in from around the wicket which Kohli looked to flick, but missed it. On the very next ball, Kohli went for a drive on a full delivery angled across him, with his bottom hand coming off the bat giving very nervy vibes, as compared to the positivity he generated in his prime.
While Kohli practised an imaginary square cut at the non-striker’s end, it never made it to the picture as Railways’ bowlers never allowed Kohli to go beyond the defence and dabs while being beaten twice by Kunal’s pace outside the off-stump, something which triggered his downfall all times in the Test tour of Australia.
Kohli broke the shackles prepared by Railways’ bowlers on his 14th delivery when he walked down the pitch to unfurl a powerful and ferocious straight drive against Sangwan, which was greeted with a round of applause from the partisan crowd.
But on the very next ball, the applause made way for pin-drop silence as Kohli danced too far down the pitch towards an incoming delivery from Sangwan. In his attempt to drive expansively, Kohli didn’t account for the inward movement which jagged in from outside the off-stump and low bounce as the ball went past his bat to send the off-stump on a cartwheel ride.
People in stands were worried if the outside off-stump deliveries would get Kohli out again, but it was the inward movement which consumed him. As Sangwan, a resident of Najafgarh and product of Sporting Club in the national capital, celebrated the dismissal by yelling loudly, Kohli walked back dejected and played an imaginary drive while wondering if he had tried playing at the ball with a straighter bat.
With Kohli walking back, fans made a beeline to exit the stadium hurriedly. Some faithful fans, though, still stayed back in the Bishan Singh Bedi stand and cheered for Kohli four times by inching closer to the fence near the dressing room balcony.
People in stands were worried if the outside off-stump deliveries would get Kohli out again, but it was the inward movement which consumed him. As Sangwan, a resident of Najafgarh and product of Sporting Club in the national capital, celebrated the dismissal by yelling loudly, Kohli walked back dejected and played an imaginary drive while wondering if he had tried playing at the ball with a straighter bat.
Article Source: IANS
