India and New Zealand – One photo frame connects two countries miles apart

A still frame can convey a powerful message. At approximately 19.40 local time at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand needed one run off one ball to script a heist against Sri Lanka. The subsequent delivery saw Kane Williamson missing out on playing the hook as he tried to steal a bye. The wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella duly looked to run out Wagner at the striker’s end but he wasn’t successful in his attempt. That was exactly the moment for the cameras to zoom in. The two main protagonists now were Asitha Fernando and Williamson, one still learning his trade in Test cricket and the other nearing his 100th Test milestone.

The ball rolled towards Fernando, who turned around in his follow-through, to effect the direct-hit. Meanwhile, four of the close-in Sri Lankan fielders were appealing in unison for a run out. At the non-striker’s end, Williamson had made a desperate dive. His batting partner Wagner was nursing a torn hamstring and a bulging disc, but the veteran ran like a jackrabbit and put in a dive. The umpire too had scampered across, so that he wouldn’t come in the way of any of the players or the ball. It was mayhem, it was a bedlam, and it was Test cricket at its very best. The eventual decision was not out and New Zealand won by the barest of margins – a difference of just a few inches would have meant a thrilling draw.

If that one photo frame captured the grand theatre of Test cricket, then the next photo frame gave an inkling about the bittersweet nature of sport. On one hand, Wagner hugged Williamson tightly while the Sri Lankan players looked shell-shocked and heartbroken.

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Just a few hours ago, when the play resumed after spells of rain, heartbreak wouldn’t have crossed anyone’s mind while analysing the match situation. The visitors, who needed to win the series 2-0 to have a chance of making it to the WTC final, still had the upper hand. After all, New Zealand required 257 more runs in just 53 overs. In rather pleasant climes, New Zealand also began on a cautious note before losing Tom Latham.

At the other end, the experienced Williamson seemed to be wading through a quagmire as he struggled for batting rhythm. While describing most of Williamson’s knocks, two words flash like a bulb: neat and tidy. But on the final day, he was anything but neat and tidy at the crease. Williamson survived a close LBW shout off Kasun Rajitha, he was beaten on both edges of the bat and Dickwella fluffed a chance in the 35th over. But as it is said a champion sportsperson spots a window of opportunity when it doesn’t seem to exist. Williamson certainly did find one.

With a diet of singles and twos and the occasional fluent drive, Williamson slowly began to find the right gears. Williamson still needed an able ally and he found one in Daryl Mitchell. The gritty cricketer took on Prabath Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin by cracking flicks and lofts. Mitchell’s daring assault negated the threat of Jayasuriya as the spinner was imparting some purchase. At 232 for 4, with the required run-rate hovering around 6 an over, New Zealand seemed in control. But in a Test that had its share of ebbs and flows, one was left wondering whether there was a final twist.

Yes, the pendulum swung once again a touch as Fernando bowled a zestful spell to pick up the key scalps of Mitchell and Tom Blundell. There was a run out too in the final over before Williamson tailored the gap through point with near-perfection to bring it down to one run.

Some 12,524 km away, during the lunch break of the final India-Australia Test in Ahmedabad, the home team’s camp also would have celebrated the last frame, where Williamson made a full-length dive as it meant they progressed to the summit clash of WTC. Not just the Indian set-up but perhaps more than a billion fans would have jumped in joy. The powerful message of that one photo frame…