India and Bengal glovesman clinches man-of-the-match award - a rarity for wicketkeepers - after India beat New Zealand by 178 runs to become No. 1 Test side
Wriddhiman Saha
Wriddhiman Saha
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Kolkata: Wriddhiman Saha can tell his grandchildren that his two unbeaten, match-winning half centuries on his home ground not only helped India reclaim the World No 1 Test rank, but also resulted in a rare occurrence of the wicketkeeper winning the man-of-the-match award."
At one time, Saha's Test career hinged on injuries or suspension (like in Australia 2011-12) for Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But with Dhoni quitting Test cricket on the 2014-15 tour of Australia, Saha's Test career took a turn for the better.
His big gloves have grabbed opportunities and save one Test which he missed through injury in Sri Lanka last year, Saha has not looked back.
A few hours after collecting his man-of-the-match award at Eden Gardens where India beat New Zealand by 178 runs to win the Test series with a match in hand, Saha said yesterday: "I did not allow the pressure of the occasion get to me. In both innings I was determined to bat for long periods because that is what would thwart the New Zealanders and help us get a substantial score."
He was the overnight batsman on two of the four days in the Test. On Day Two, New Zealand pace ace Trent Boult decided to start of the proceedings with a bouncer which Saha took evasive action to.
The next ball he played the most heartening of cover drives which drove home a message, 'I'm no rabbit with the bat.'
"They (New Zealand bowlers) bounced me but I didn't throw away my wicket. The century in the West Indies taught me a lot of lessons. It also gave me the belief that I can bat well in any situation," he said.
He indicated that he is willing to take on any challenge wherever he is sent in the batting order: "No. 6, 7 or 8… wherever I am sent, I won't throw it away. I want to make it count.
The Kolkata Test will be remembered for Saha's batting, but his captain Virat Kohli paid him the biggest compliment when he said Saha is the best wicketkeeper in India. "Saha was brilliant, he's the best 'keeper in the country, he's doing a great job in Test cricket. That hundred in the West Indies really improved his confidence.
He understands how to bat with the tail now," Kohli told reporters.
India's wicketkeeper-batsman hails from Siliguri, near Darjeeling. His parents were not at the Test while his wife didn't want to be at Eden Gardens because invariably he fails when she is in the stands. Some members of the Saha family caught up with the Eden Test hero at the team hotel yesterday before he leaves for Indore today.
There's something else he can tell his grandchildren – 'I helped India win their first Test against New Zealand at our beloved Eden Gardens.'
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