da leao： RP made it a memorable debut to boot
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Faisalabad22-Jan-2006
Rudra Pratap Singh was rewarded for his diligence © Getty Images
Around 20 years ago, a left-arm seamer called Rudra Pratap Singh playedhis first and penultimate one-day game for India. Hailing from UttarPradesh, he was one of the several new-ball bowlers who were tried out inthe mid ’80s, when India were almost obsessed with choosing medium-paceover spin, but ended with a lone international wicket and failed to makethe Test grade. In a queer parallel, another Rudra Pratap Singh, also fromUttar Pradesh, also a left-arm seamer and also a consistent domesticperformer, turned out for India. However, this was a Test and RP made it amemorable debut to boot.RP Singh’s selection made the headlines primarily because of the man whomhe replaced but he carved a niche of his own with a diligent effort.Dennis Lillie, who bowled on this ground around 25 years back, had termedthe pitch as a “graveyard for bowlers” and it appears to have retained itscharacter over the years. Having being given the new ball on his debut, RP Singhinduced a chance in his very first delivery, only to see a thick edge flythrough Anil Kumble’s outstretched hands at gully. “I just treated it likea normal ball,” he said when asked about what he had thought before thebig moment. “I didn’t try anything different. I always try to maintain adisciplined line and that is exactly what I was attempting right through.”He revealed that he had been told about his selection on the morning ofthe game, and acknowledged his team-mates for helping him cope with thenervousness. “We were told to be prepared before every game and I foundout that I was playing in the morning. I got a lot of advise from thefielders and they told me to treat it like a one-dayer, maintaining an offstump line. That released the pressure. I needed to bowl to a disciplinedline and the results followed.”He’s not the sort of bowler who will have jaws dropping but the ability topersist with a certain length, to worry only about hitting the rightareas, and to weather a torrential run-glut make him a valuable asset. Hesaid he wasn’t too intimidated to bowl to a “great batsman” likeInzamam-ul-Haq adding, “my job was to keep a disciplined line. I did notthink of anything else. I think four wickets on this track is a goodperformance.”He revealed that making one’s debut against Pakistan was a “specialfeeling” and added that he had hoped for a chance on this tour. “I didn’tget a chance against Sri Lanka and was hopeful of playing here,” he added.”The conditions are the same here and playing here is a different sort offeeling.” It was interesting to see Dean Jones getting excited about RPSingh and praising his accuracy. Jones probably remembers his dismissal ina one-dayer at Rajkot in 1986, when another Rudra Pratap Singh snapped himup to get his only international wicket.