It was half past 10 at the WACA. The crowd had not fully settled in, the broadcast cameras hadnāt quite started rolling, but the talk and focus was well and truly on a young lanky pacer who was in all probability about to take his first steps in international cricket. Five minutes later, a blue huddle took prominence in one part of the ground. There was a cap to be given - a priceless one at that for 23-year old Barinder Sran who had a glitter in his eye as he received the cap from India captain MS Dhoni. A round of applause followed, and then a few pats on the back, some words of encouragement from the senior players and then the moment that Sran had waited for. He wore the India cap with his head held high and in that fraction of a second a dream had come true. āWhen I was in that huddle receiving the cap from Mahi bhai, it was as if my dream was turning into a reality,ā reminisced Sran after the game. āEvery member in the team told me that I will do well and encouraged me to do well with the ball. It was an amazing feeling.ā
After India set a target of 310, Barinder was handed over the new ball. Very calmly, he walked towards his bowling mark, felt the white ball in his hands and ran towards the batsmen to bowl his very first ball in international cricket. Sran said there was absolutely no case of nervousness; he was infact eager to give his best at that moment and all that was running through his mind was to stick to his captainās plans. āI was very clear about how to bowl when I ran in to bowl the first over. It was about putting all the hardwork into practice and keeping things simple and not try anything fancy. I feel I did well in the early stages of the game and got two wickets for my side.ā
That he did, one was a result of a superb reflex catch off his own bowling to send opener Aaron Finch packing and the other had David Warner take the long walk back to the pavilion. Sran had picked two in a matter of three overs and he was charged up and how. A loud roar and a pump of the fist followed and Sran gave Warner quite a send off. āThe first wicket gave me immense joy and at the same time released a lot of pressure off me. It gave me more confidence to do well ahead. Getting the priced scalp of Warner was important and it happened in the very next over. I was overjoyed to get such a big playerās wicket which got me pumped up.ā
Sranās first spell of five overs yielded just 18 runs with two wickets in his bag. He returned to bowl in the 40th over but gave away far too many runs, something that the youngster was looking to work on in the games ahead. āI did get wayward towards the end of the match,ā agreed Sran. āI feel I could have bowled better. I did try to bowl a few slower bouncers which didnāt quite go my way, but I will put in more effort so that I can do better in the future. It feels good to pick three on ODI debut, but had we broken the Smith-Bailey partnership earlier, the result could have been different. My aim will be to bowl at the right areas in the forthcoming matches.ā
Nevertheless, Sran walked back to the dressing room amidst applause from the crowd. A few had googled his name in the stands and in the media box and Sran in his very first appearance had already managed to create quite a flutter. A placard in the stands read āThe new ZAK in the teamā - Sran would acknowledge that but deep inside he would know he is just about taking baby steps towards bigger and better things to come.
