DINDIGUL : Homecomings don’t get better than this. M Mohammed had been dreaming of playing at his hometown ever since Dindigul appeared on the Ranji Trophy map. As a 14-year-old, this is where he picked up the sport, not knowing where it will lead him. Like many other Indian cricket stories, he too didn’t receive any formal coaching. He was oblivious to how the game operates in the country.
Mohammed wasn’t dreaming of a Ranji cap because until he made his first-class debut back in 2012, he wasn’t aware that a tournament by this name even existed. On Friday, he took a hat-trick against Madhya Pradesh — including top-scorer Rajat Patidar (196) — in the same event to help Tamil Nadu restrict them to 393. On a flat deck, it give his side hope of taking the first-innings lead.
Dindigul District Cricket Association secretary N Venkataraman would have been a very proud man as Mohammed tore into Madhya Pradesh’s middle-order. This particular bond goes back a long way.
“He spotted me at a local tournament and asked me to come for practice every day at GTN Arts College,” recollects the right-arm pacer. “But to travel from Chinnalapatti, I had to switch two buses. I did not have enough money for the fare. At the start of every week, sir used to give me adequate money for my journey. That is how it all started. He bought me my first kit and even today, the kits I have are all provided by him.”
The youngest of five siblings, Mohammed grew up in a lower-middle-class family, with his father running a small-time scrap business. Weekend matches with brothers — mostly tennis-ball and rubber-ball tournaments — had seen him make a name for himself as a hard-hitting batsman.“Even my brothers used to practice at GTN College. On days when appa (father) used to leave his bike, we rode triples to save on bus fare. Three of us managed with a litre of petrol, which was affordable. Though it was risky, we had little choice.”
With the hope of becoming a batsman, he joined Purasawalkam, a fourth-division club in Chennai’s Tamil Nadu Cricket Association League. After various stints with third and second-division clubs, former Tamil Nadu player Abdul Jaffar roped him in for India Pistons, which eventually saw him being fast-tracked to the state side.
Despite becoming only the sixth Tamil Nadu player to claim a hat-trick in this tournament’s history, his friends in Dindigul still don’t think that Mohammed is a bowler.“They still see me as the batsman whom they used to know back then. Whenever I turn out for St Peters (his local club), I am their No 3. When I moved to Chennai, I was the fastest in that age-group. Hence I was coached to bowl,” said the Income Tax (Chennai) employee. “But, when I come here, I get a chance to bat. That’s why whenever there is a match here, I take leave and come down.”
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com
Elite Group B
T’Puram: Kerala 495/6 decl (Baby 147, Jagadeesh 113 n.o; Sairam 3/110) vs Hyderabad 1/0.
Dindigul: Madhya Pradesh 393 (Patidar 196; Ashwin 4/85, Mohammed 4/93) vs Tamil Nadu 0/0.
Vizag: Punjab 414 (Sanvir 110, Markande 68; Ayyappa 3/78, Karn 3/115) vs Andhra 54/3.
Elite Group C
Bhubaneswar: Odisha 324 (Sarangi 114, Mishra 71; Kundu 4/44) vs Haryana 239/3 (Rana 113 n.o, Bishnoi 75).