Finding his voice

Finding his voice
Saha may not be a Dhoni with the bat, but two half-centuries in his last three innings show he is...

MS Dhoni’s Test retirement has left a dry well in India’s lower-order. Who will provide the late impetus now, farm the strike like he could, and shepherd the tail? Wriddhiman Saha may not be a ‘spiritual heir’ to Dhoni with the bat – one of the most abused phrases in the sport along with greatness – but with two half-centuries in his last three innings, he may be just be finding his own voice.

Wicket-keeping batting has evolved over the years – until recently, keepers used to be the best batsmen in their sides. With Saha the expectations are realistic. Not blessed with Dhoni’s incredible striking ability – though he has a tighter technique – he’s more of a Kiran More in his approach, competent enough to chip in with a busy, battling knock.

India added 74 more to their overnight 319, with Saha (56) getting 37 of them yesterday. Saha played a charmed innings, never looking like a charmer even when well set.

One ball struck his off-stump without dislodging the bail, edges didn’t carry to fielders, half-volleys were patted away gently, strong shouts for both leg-before and an inside edge to the keeper were turned down, and he wasn’t making connections from desperate heaves.

For now, Saha doesn’t quite exude the confidence that India can field five batsmen, especially since R Ashwin, of whom much was expected with the willow, hasn’t delivered consistently enough.

Had not Naman Ojha’s keeping dropped in the recent ‘A’ series, who knows whether Saha would have played this series at all.

But it’s not cricket to assess his career with cynical lens. He is playing only his seventh Test and his first full series ever since Dhoni retired. He had compiled a tenacious half-century in Galle and looked as unwieldly as India’s frontline bats in the second.

Another good show

Yesterday too he soldiered on resolutely for nearly three hours, cobbling some useful runs with the tail: 46 with Amit Mishra and 19 with Ishant Sharma. Despite not looking assured, he propped India to something in range of 400. With Mishra threatening to get dismissed every ball, Saha seldom had space to organise his own game.

Interestingly, he doesn’t get worked up on his Test preparation. “He takes it as coolly as he would while playing for Bengal or any other club game. In his mind he’s always relaxed, which helps him focus better,” said a former Bengal teammate of Saha.

It was different for this series. Aware that Rangana Herath would pose the biggest threat, Saha felt the need for specific practice. Prior to landing in Sri Lanka, he trained for hours against Bengal’s left-arm spinner Irish Saxena. He may not write glorious pages in the annals of Indian cricket, but India will take his short compositions.
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