Rush Kalaria - Gujarat's pace workhorse

At 23, a budding Indian cricketer will have his dreams and aspirations of donning the Test cap. If not, he will be knocking the doors of selectors - with an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract safely tucked in a corner. In that sense, Gujarat's lead pacer Rush Kalaria is from a different planet. A World Cup winner at the age of 19, he is one of the few Indian players who has already played at the 'A' level and doesn't hold an IPL contract.

With 24 wickets from seven Ranji league games, before the quarter-final clash against Odisha, Kalaria has been the go-to man for Gujarat - which is quite a feat, considering that he is in just his fifth season, having made his first-class debut back in 2012-13. Bowling with a largely open-chested action, his smooth run-up to the wicket is followed by a lovely drift towards the crease. He might not be express pace, but the disconcerting bounce he manages can put any batsman in trouble.

Gujarat needed an early response after being bundled out for 263 in their first innings during their quarter-final game against Odisha at the Sawai Man Singh (SMS) stadium in Jaipur. In a four-over burst before Lunch, Kalaria brought his discipline to the fore, constantly bowling in that corridor outside the off-stump and keeping the batsmen in check. It was evident early on itself that the Odisha batsmen lacked the patience to play him out, Ranjit Singh pushed at one that shaped away and nearly edged it to the keeper. However, it didn't take long to find his edge, Kalaria went slightly wider and drew the batsman into poking one that left him, the edge comfortably taken by Samit Gohel at second slip.

Kalaria changed ends in the post-Lunch session on the second day, but his primary focus didn't waver. Constantly egged on by a vociferous slip cordon, the left-handed pacer kept testing the channel outside the right-hander's off-stump, reeling away over after over and testing the patience of the batsmen. There were the occasional wider ones, designed to make the batsman reach out, else, he kept it on a good length - happy to provide the safety blanket that captain Parthiv Patel wanted. It was just a three over spell, but the 23-year old had already shown enough signs of being the workhorse of this Gujarat bowling line-up for years to come.

"It's (Gujarat) a young bowling attack and the likes of Kalaria and (Jasprit) Bumrah can go on and play for India for a long period of time," Vijay Patel, the coach of Gujarat, told Cricbuzz. On first impressions, the coach isn't too far from the truth. While Kalaria is a World Cup winner with the Under-19 Indian team (in Australia, 2012), his opening partner, Bumrah, has created a sensation, in the shorter formats of the game - fast becoming India's answer to Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga, with his awkward and deceptive bowling action.

The two pacers have earned the respect of their team, something that bodes well especially in an outfit such as Gujarat. "Rush (Kalaria) has been brilliant for us right through the season, nothing needs to be told about (Jasprit) Bumrah, everyone know what he is capable of", gushed opening batsman Gohel, fresh from his unbeaten 261 which propelled Gujarat into the semi-final.

While Kalaria keeps things quiet, it allows Bumrah the freedom to express himself. Together, the duo have emerged as long-term prospects, a fact that has pleased the team management. While Kalaria's bowling has developed nicely, he has an additional bow in the form of his more than useful lower-order batting. Consider this, he walked into the cauldron of the SMS stadium with his team reduced to 71 for 6. There was uncertainty all around, Gujarat's batting was threatening to implode and they needed someone who could save the sinking ship.

"They (Chirag Gandhi and Kalaria) were extremely good, the partnership (of 154 runs) gave us the confidence that we could go out and restrict them (Odisha) to a lower score," Gohel said about Kalaria's splendid hand which gave hope to his team.

Kalaria has shown appetite with the bat and came into the match with some batting form. With the team in trouble, it was also an opportunity for Kalaria to show his all-round skills. He started off defensively, understandable with the position his team had found themselves in. As his innings grew, so did his confidence as he played shots all around the ground. Kalaria used his height to good advantage, getting well forward/back and reading the bowler's lengths with aplomb. The pitch which played on the minds of the top-order had settled down under the hot sun and Kalaria began to prosper - goaded along by his senior partner, Gandhi.

Preferring the back-foot game, the young bowling all-rounder played the pull and the cut with panache and was equally at home when the bowlers went full. It did help that the pitch went to sleep past tea and Odisha inexplicably went defensive, but there's no praise that's small enough for the way Kalaria constructed his innings.

By the end of the match, Kalaria's all-round efforts was completely overshadowed, first by Bumrah, who finished with five wickets, in a sensational spell - either side of the tea break on the second day - and then by opening batsman, Gohel, who put a disappointing season behind him to compile a superb double ton.

But true to his nature, Kalaria wouldn't be a disappointed man, he had played his part in a superb rearguard action - first with the bat and then with the ball. It is this quality that has seen him leapfrog a senior such as RP Singh - though in a compact team like Gujarat, the bonding that's shared by the team members make them stand out.