Jaffna’s tiny terror tames India’s super brat

By Callistus Davy

Kugathas Muthulan

A raw rookie fast bowler from Jaffna became an instant hit and the toast of his Sri Lanka A team as he stood up to conquer India’s mercurial super hero turned spoilt brat in a 50-over cricket encounter at Dambulla on Monday.

Having played just one first class match, Kugadas Muthulan grabbed the ball with both hands and shouldered his team to victory bowling three bullet-like balls that caged Indian batters Suryansh Shedge and the pampered Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in what was called a six-ball super-over as Sri Lanka successfully defended 16 runs to win what eventually became the stuff of dreams and nightmares.

Muthulan conceded just nine runs from the six balls as students from his St. John’s College in Jaffna gazed at television sets and saw their own trend-setter knock the daylights out of the teenage heart-throb Sooryavanshi who just three weeks ago smashed cricket’s hardcore professional bowlers at the Indian Premier League (IPL) from which he picked up five awards, one for being the showpiece’s Most Valuable player.

But the 19-year old Muthulan blew up the boy wonder from India who turned into an angry pup after India failed to break-out and then picked a physical altercation with one of the Sri Lankan players, Vishen Helambage, in a no-smoke-without-fire situation. 

It was the match of a tournament that had very little public or fanfare interest but one that also marked an occasion where Indian captain Tilak Varma went into a rage pressing the umpires for what is called a deciding super over to break a stalemate tie with both teams ending on equal scores of 265 and the contest already passed the clock with the shadows lengthening.

But the scenario backfired on Varma whose two opening batters had to strike the ball in conditions that were not the brightest amid a lurking thunderbolt Muthalan to whom his captain Sahan Arachchige flung the ball to kick-start the super-over 16-run defence.

Muthulan did not care two hoots that he was bowling to a bowler killer at the Indian Premier League only days ago.

What not many will be able to know is how long will it take for Sooryavanshi to restore his image in Sri Lanka after earning more than a billion admires in India and elsewhere in the world with his batting artistry.