Son of fisherman, Kerala’s MD Nidheesh grabs a five-for to rattle Jammu & Kashmir in Ranji Trophy quarter final | Cricket News
It’s unclear why Jammu & Kashmir chose Pune’s my MCA stadium as their preferred venue for the Ranji quarterfinals. But Mattakandathil Dineshan (MD) Nidheesh knew his ears pricked up when he heard Kerala would travel away from the usually preferred flat wickets or turners, aiming for the semifinal.Nidheesh, the right-arm outswing special conjuring wicked angles, knew he was On. His time to strike, was now.
MCA’s serene field and spicy pitch have plenty of fans in both Ranji teams, notably their quicks. “This was like heaven for us!” Nidheesh would say after his 5-for 56 from 23 overs, regularly stubbed out flickers that J&K batsmen lit, while reaching 228/8 in 85 overs on Day 1.
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It wasn’t just the 5 wickets and the fact that he put in 27 percent of the overs Kerala bowled, maintaining impressive stump-to-stump discipline with variations thrown in when least expected. It was the fact that he removed four dangerous J&K batsmen, right when they were threatening to let loose.
Seasoned opener Shubham Khajuria was looking extremely comfortable on 14 off 19 when Nidheesh rushed one onto him and had him evading to Sachin Ba at second slip. Nidheesh named the strokemaking Yawer Hassan Khan his favourite snare. “He was starting to dominate our bowlers, reading pace and movement real well, building good momentum,” Nidheesh explained of the U23’s off-stump he sent flying with one that jagged sharply on 25 off 65. “I bowled in the right areas to him, and our set-up plan worked well,” he said as J&K faltered to 48/3, their safe tenacious approach cleaved open.
J&K wicketkeeper Kanhaiya Wadhawan was lured into an uppish drive for 48 ending a crucial 55 run partnership after 115 wicketless deliveries. Then, when Nasir Lone, batting at No 7 counter attacked for 44 off 97, Nidheesh struck again – right after an intentfully punched 4, getting an edge off a full-length yorker this time.
Kerala have backed their offies Jalaj Saxena (season’s lead wicket taker with 33, but wicketless on Day 1) and Aditya Sarwate (23 wickets) to get them wins. But Pune with its post-moure eccentricity rewards quicks. “Initially there was nothing even when wet, but the bounce picked up progressively. I just bowled in right areas, not trying unnecessary things and was disciplined,” Nidheesh described the whimmy wizardry of the track.Story continues below this ad
He credited Kerala batsmen for bolstering his determination. “In the Kerala nets we bowl to Sachin Ba, Md Azharudeen, Jalaj bhaiyya and Shoun Roger. They are brilliant batters and to get them out in the nets is tough,” he said.
Determination in his veins
Nidheesh, who set up the MP win for Kerala, started cricket rather late at 17. He belonged to an impoverished fisher-community from Kanjiramattom of Ernakulam, 35 km away from Kochi, and knew nothing of cricket till he watched S Sreesanth win the 2007 T20 World Cup, firing his imagination. “Sreesanth’s debut and World Cup magic spell inspired me. I come from a rural village, where even Kochi is far,” he recalled, adding he played a spot of football, but nothing serious.
Subsequent coaches have praised him for his ability to bowl long spells and keep learning – from Dav Whatmore to local mentors Sony Cheruvathur and MA Sunil. He sharpened his bowling brain working with Tinu Yohannan, Sreesanth, Lasith Malinga, Shane Bond and admired Mustafizur, always craving a variety of tricks. “Last season Chandu Pandit Sir helped,” he recalls.
But the patience was honed when very young and far from cricket. His father was a clam shell harvester, and that typically is a tedious process with the whole family working hard, though with limited returns. Harvesting involves diving and raking out 30-40 cms from lake beds, boiling the clams over fire, sieving them to separate shells from meat – and it courts toxicity as a professional hazard due to the state of shallow waters. Mining departments typically oversee the vocation, not fisheries.Story continues below this ad
Clams are not oysters, so the world wasn’t magnificently opening up for him. Nidheesh barely noticed anything outside raking up sea shallows – that included ignorance of cricket, hence the late start at 17. He needed to travel nearly 20 km to Tripunithura Palace Oval grounds to understand all the fuss and frenzy about cricket’s fast bowling.
He simplifies his community’s back-breaking exence. “Financial struggles were big. My dad was a fisherman and my mother sold fish, so it was daily wages. But they ensured they paid my first fees for a cricket camp,” he says, now happily immersed in the sport. On Saturday, he baited and netted J&K’s big fish, like a proper angler.
Brief scores J&K 228 for 8 (Wadhawan 48, Nidheesh 5/56)
