da brdice： Indian cricket these days is full of cricketers who want to make be strokemakers. But Badrinath is different, and is proud of the fact that he began as a grafter
Anand Vasu in New Delhi23-Nov-2006
‘I would rate this innings among the best I’ve played’ – Subramaniam Badrinath © Cricinfo
After lasting 205 balls and not having played a shot in anger, S Badrinathdanced down the pitch to Rahul Sanghvi and hit him straight back over hishead, clean as anything, and the ball thudded into the sightscreen,signalling the only six on a day where the scoring rate was just in excessof two runs per over. It was an amazing moment not because Badrinath isincapable of the big hits, but simply because it was a startling shot on aday when batsmen had to shelve their shots.Indian cricket these days is full of cricketers who want to make aninstant impact – and the best way to do that is to be a strokemaker. ButBadrinath is different, and is proud of the fact that he began as a grafterand from that solid base has grown into something more. “I started off asa grafter,” he told Cricinfo at the end of the day’s play. “My range of strokes hasincreased over time, has become broader. Now I think I’ve got all theshots. It’s basically a question of shot selection – which shots to playon which wickets, that’s important.”Badrinath has made eight first-class centuries, and some of them have beeninvaluable to Tamil Nadu’s cause, but this was perhaps the most critical,and he acknowledged that. “Given the circumstances I went out to bat in,11 for 2, and the fact that this was not the easiest wicket to bat on, Iwould rate this innings among the best I’ve played,” he said. “Perhapsthis isn’t my best-ever, but I’d rate it very highly.”There was another grafter on display on the day, in M Vijay, the debutant,who played almost five hours for his 59 and shared in a critical 127-runpartnership for the third wicket after an early wobble. “He looks a goodplayer, and has made plenty of runs in league cricket in Chennai,” saidBadrinath of Vijay. “He’s a bit inexperienced in that he’s playing hisfirst Ranji match, but he’s definitely a player for the future.”There is plenty of experience the team, though, with the likes of SSharath and Ashish Kapoor having played domestic cricket for years, andBadrinath is not ignorant of this. “There are times when I can talk tothese guys and get some inputs,” he said. “I’ve played a bit of cricketmyself, but you must remember this is just my third match as captain. Soit certainly helps to have the right blend of guys, like we do.”Badrinath was also not especially concerned that his team had only managed184 after winning the toss and choosing to bat. “The wicket was reallyslow and the ball was just not coming onto the bat,” he said. “Consideringthat you had to be patient and look to play long. The runs will eventuallycome. Losing only three wickets in the whole day was a good effort, evenif we only made 184 runs.”With the bounce not being consistent, it was hard work for the batsmen allround, and it’s only going to get tougher as the pitch wears down. “It washard to play both the spinners and the fast bowlers,” he said, refusing tobe drawn out on what was the easiest type of bowling to make runs againston this pitch. “The bounce isn’t true, so the horizontal bat shots arecompletely ruled out. This makes it hard to get boundaries. In suchsituations you just have to work, work, work and try and pick up the onesand twos wherever you can.”The hundred was a timely one for Badrinath, with Dilip Vengsarkar, thechairman of selectors, watching the game from near the players’ enclosure.When asked if Vengasarkar’s presence put any added pressure on him,Badrinath laughed off the suggestion. “It wasn’t a distraction,” he said”I’m just going to go out there and play my game, whoever is watching orisn’t. It wasn’t any added pressure on me.”