During the second half of the nineties, Sanath Jayasuriya used to wreck havoc at the mercy of Indian bowlers. On most occasions, his rendition of a stroke used to be so forceful, so compelling that it put a lasting testament in the minds of the Indians. The sight of Jayasuriya’s nonchalant flick off his legs, the fielder running backwards to see the ball sailing past him, and the Indian bowlers’ heads slumping between their shoulders perfectly encapsulated Jayasuriya’s authority over the Indians in that era.
In the first Test of the 1997-98 series at home of the then-World champions, Jayasuriya had toyed with the Indian bowling attack and scored a triple hundred as he and Roshan Mahanama led Sri Lanka to a record innings total of 952 in the first innings.
After failing to make inroads at the Premadasa stadium, the Indians decided to hand a debut of a new swing bowler from the state of Odisha for the second match at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground.
Hence, on the morning of 9th of August, 1997, the entire state of Odisha was glued to the television set, and so was I. After the initial overs, the ball was thrown to the tall, lanky debutant. On prima facie basis, one could gauge the various nuances and idiosyncrasies of the bowler (his bowling action was made the official logo of 1999 World Cup). He was able to swing the ball in the air and seam the ball off the pitch, in both directions.
When the Lankan score read 53/0, he pitched the ball up to the batsman. Jayasuriya expecting the ball to come in, went for a shot towards cover but instead nicked the ball to first slip. The ball looped and the projectile motion of the ball coincided with that of all the ‘Odias’ watching at home. When Sachin caught the ball, the entire state erupted in unison. It was that Obama moment for us; the ‘audacity of hope’ that we had desperately craved for. That ‘he’ is nobody else but Debasish Mohanty.
The early days and its significance
Turning the clock backwards to 1994-95, the story of the transformation of an Odia from a nobody to somebody is quite a riveting one. The achievement is particularly striking considering the lack of sporting infrastructure, the societal impediments, the family values and most importantly, the paucity of belief.
Odisha is synonymous with floods and abject poverty. Albeit, things are changing now, but back then we were in the news for all the wrong reasons.
When Mohanty represented the country, it was like a beacon of light when things appeared turbid and turgid. Recently the whole nation was blown away by the’ Dhoni biopic’, but I would rate Mohanty’s feat (in representing the country) more significant.
Bihar is known for deceitful binaries - it is polarised between crime, lawlessness on one hand and the IIT, IAS toppers on the other side. Odisha, on the other hand, is a very docile and reticent state. It needed an achievement of a certain magnitude to put the state on the Indian map as well as inspire a particular generation.
After watching that match on television, many young kids took up cricket, rebelling against their parents. I adamantly joined Shahid Sporting, the club he represented. Hence I had the privilege of knowing him personally. Deba Bhai, as he is fondly known, belonged to a modest middle-class family. Like any middle-class family in India, his father was not in favour of taking up Cricket as a profession and for obvious reasons. The path to reach from zero to one is a lot tougher than that from one to hundred.
The dilemma arises when an individual is multi-talented or possesses equal aptitude towards multiple domains. Deba Bhai was average in academics and hence immune to any rationalist delusion. This helped him to plunge into a maniacal pursuit of perfection towards cricket.
Mohanty the bowler: his performance in international and domestic circuit
Mohanty was a natural swing bowler, possessing the innate ability to move the bowl both ways. In 1994, he was not even a part of the district team. But his ascent through the ranks was rapid. Within two years, from being a club player, he became a Test player. It wasn’t pure luck as he had his share of trials and tribulations. The incessant number of hours that he put in practice and his disciplined regime engulfed the serendipity logic.
His performance at the international level didn’t do justice to his talent. That era had a plethora of fast bowlers, who were not given a long run. They were constantly chopped and changed. Apart from his debut match, his back to back wickets against England in the 1999 World Cup, his performance in the Sahara Cup (Toronto), his 10 wicket haul against South Zone in a Duleep Trophy match stand out. Currently, he is the coach of the Odisha Ranji trophy team, which reached the quarter-final stage after a gap of 12 years.
In cricket, fast bowling is considered to be the toughest. When I joined the club, I would hear about his feats. The walls that surrounded the ground were eroded by his spot bowling. He used to spend 6-7 hours on the ground, immaculately immersed in honing his craft. The naysayers would refer him as ‘paagal’.
In a world that continues to consider ambition a dirty word, Deba Bhai was very clear of what he wanted to achieve. He went through the personal sacrifices and the rigour that the sport demands. He was relentless and maintained a no-nonsense attitude towards practice, cycling 8 km to the ground on a daily basis.
Mohanty the person
Deba Bhai’s biggest asset was the person he was. I profusely remember the first time I saw him in person. He was much taller and much fairer than he looked on television. I was completely mesmerised and awestruck by his presence. His simplicity belied a certain kind of magnetic force. He had just returned from England (post-1999 World Cup). The World Cup jumper adorned his body.
There was a huge crowd that had gathered around the Shahid Sporting ground. He repudiated the expectations of the crowd by choosing to bat instead of displaying his prodigious bowling skill. He defended the first few balls, after which literally every ball went out of the park. Such were the batting standards of a number 11 player.
I, an aspiring opening batsman, got a reality check on that day. As a person, he is extremely humble and down to earth. His behaviour both on and off the field is a reflection of what Odisha stands for in terms of culture and values. Hence he is a perfect role model to have.
Players like Ajit Agarkar (Mumbai) made five comebacks to the Indian team. There have been other examples too. But Mohanty never got a second chance. His achievements cannot be measured in terms of the number of wickets he has taken or the number of Test matches he has played.
Debashis Mohanty’s impact on subsequent generations is unmatched. It is purely about the exhilaration of excellence, inculcating the belief that even we can compete at the international level and the innate strength of pursuing our dreams. “ Deba Bhai, you will always be my hero”.
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