A post slightly overdue!
The 2013-14 cricket season has been a roller-coaster ride to
say the least, and it hasn’t even ended yet. All the on/ off-field drama aside,
for me it was one where I saw two teammates walk away from the game. Both girls
had major impacts on my career and were very good friends—something that made
their stepping aside even harder to deal with.
The first was Sowjanya Nath, the leader of the Hyderabad
pace attack. Sowji taught me so much about the art of fast bowling. I watched
in awe as she ripped through top quality batting sides. We fed off each other,
monitoring each other’s progress and willing the other to do well.
Initially, my relationship with Sowji was purely
professional. We spent years in the same camp and same dressing room, but
things didn’t look like they would change. I looked up to her and respected
her. I admired her too, but all from a distance. She was, after all, my senior;
I couldn’t possibly expect her to treat me as an equal!
One day in Mumbai though, all this changed. We were playing
the All India Super Leagues and Sowji had a shoulder injury. She couldn’t bowl
that entire season and played purely as a batswoman. The fast bowlers (of which
I was one) hadn’t particularly done very well in the previous games and we were
due to play Indian Railways next—the giants of domestic cricket. In every team
meeting the pacers would take a lot of stick, and that day it seemed like Sowji
had heard enough. She vouched for us and said she would take complete
responsibility for our performance. She stood up and defended us saying we
would come to the party when it really mattered. The next day, almost fairytale
like, we gave the team the best ever start—Railways was reeling at 36 for 4
after 20 overs, both fast bowlers having bowled their full quota of 10 overs!
All through my spell, Sowji stood at mid-off and talked me through each
delivery. It was then that I realized our relationship was changing—here was a
girl I could call my friend.
What Sowji did (for us as a group, and me, personally) that
evening taught me a great deal. I learned that in the face of failure,
sometimes all you need is a friendly hand on the shoulder; someone to stand up
for you and show faith in your ability. That’s exactly what Sowji did for us,
and we flourished under that support. For me, that was the day that Sowjanya
Nath became my friend, and that was the day she became the leader of the
Hyderabad attack!
I saw Sowji at her best, and at her lowest point. A year
away from the art she so loved brought back the fire that had been missing the
previous season. She took the new ball in 2012 and didn’t look back—4 wickets
in her comeback game, couldn’t get better!
When Sowji did well, the team was always on top. She brought
an energy and life to the group that without her, could at times seem dead. Her
laugh was infectious, and boy did she know how to have a good time! Her ability
to laugh through the difficult phases was what increased my respect for her. To
Sowji, I owe a great deal. She was a mentor and teammate who contributed much
more than she knows to my growth as a cricketer. Sharing the new ball with her
only increased my love for the game. I cannot say we had the most successful
opening partnership, but for me, it was one that helped me grow as a bowler.
Bowlers really do hunt in pairs, and I count myself as lucky to have been the other
half of this pair!
(To be continued...)
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