Saha makes his presence felt

Saha makes his presence felt

Wriddhiman Saha is as unassuming as they come in international cricket. He is soft spoken, genial and goes about his business drawing very little attention on to himself. He rarely stands out in India's trophy pictures, doesn't conform to the ongoing beard revolution in the Indian team and when asked about his second Test match hundred, he chuckles gently and attributes it to destiny.

Such is the understated nature of his position - ironic considering he is the keeper - that while Ajinkya Rahane and Karun Nair became the central theme of discussion ahead of the Hyderabad Test against Bangladesh, Saha's return hardly made a noise.

But the last few months have been tricky for the 32-year-old Bengal gloveman. He'd worked himself into an indispensable member of the squad before a thigh strain cut short his England series to just two Tests. In came Parthiv Patel and sparkled with the bat. And all of a sudden, there were questions over Saha's position heading into the one-off Test for Bangladesh. The Irani Trophy clash against Parthiv's Gujarat seemed like a straight shoot-out for the senior spot, one which Saha grabbed with a glorious second innings double century in a match-winning cause.

If there were still doubts about that return of his, then he dispelled them in Hyderabad, clinically dismantling Bangladesh with his unbeaten 106 - his second Test hundred. By his own admission, his twin half-centuries in the Kolkata Test against New Zealand rank higher in his books because they had come in tougher situations and against a more potent attack. But this innings, despite India's position of dominance, served as a timely reminder of Saha's value to the side and because nothing screams for attention more than a century in modern cricket.

It was as contrasting an innings as any follow-up to Virat Kohli double hundred could be. But it was not too dissimilar to his own efforts from three weeks ago in that Irani Trophy game. Saha began tentatively against spin before Lunch but after the interval he was seldom troubled. He got going with flicks down to mid-wickets and the cuts behind point before bringing out his sweep to good effect.

"This attack was more challenging than Gujarat attack as this one is an international attack. There is some difference but the approach was same like my second innings double hundred during Irani Cup. Initially I got a chance but after that I carried on with positive intent," he said after the game.

He got to his 50 off 86 deliveries and moved up the gears almost unnoticed as India readied for a declaration. It was only when after he spoke to batting coach Sanjay Bangar at the Tea interval, when he was on 83, than he decided to nudge his way to the milestone. The stroke to get to the 100 though was no nudge as he stepped down the wicket and slammed the ball over the spinner's head for six.

"Sanjay bhaiya told me that you need 17 runs so first play with straight bat and score the 17 runs and then try to hit. Hundred is a special milestone, more so for me as I have played only 20 odd Tests. That's why I took the approach suggested by Sanjay bhai. "

The blemish, the only one in an otherwise incident-free innings, came at the start, when Kohli was still going strong. In a bid to unsettle the left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, Saha ran down the wicket - not too dissimilar to the time he was cleaned by Nathan Lyon during the Adelaide chase - and was beaten all ends up. Mushfiqur Rahim though, failed to break the bails on his first attempt, thereby allowing Saha to make his ground in time. And like at Adeialide, Kohli wasn't one to dissuade his approach.

"Whenever one bats with Virat, he backs everybody, he would always tell you that play your natural game. If you feel you can hit the ball, go for it. Not that if you are new to the crease you have to defend. That's why I tried playing that shot but Virat said that it's not a problem, if you again get a chance, hit it."

It was a costly miss for a Bangladesh side that were struggling to force an opening. But not one that would have affected Saha's position in any way. Kohli had made it very clear that team was willing to back their core players upon return from injury and through temporary loss of form. A grateful Saha offered his thanks not just with a century but also by coaxing his captain into a review, when he was adjudged LBW on 180, thereby allowing him to score that record-breaking double century of his.

When Kohli was eventually adjudged LBW, he didn't review when he should have, Perhaps, he felt safe in the knowledge that his wicket-keeper had the team's back.