It boggles the mind how cricket keeps producing amazing stories — stories of how bats gifted by famous cricketers can sometimes turn a rookie’s life around.
On Sunday, Urvil Patel, a wicketkeeper-batter from Gujarat, produced a stunning 13-ball half-century to set up Chennai Super Kings’ five-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants.
Patel’s was the joint-fastest half-century in the IPL. Walking in at 45 for one after Lucknow had set a big target of 204, the 27-year-old launched a stunning counter-attack, hitting eight sixes as he made 65 off just 23 balls.
Reaching his half-century proved an emotional moment for Patel, who held up a note reading: “This is for you, Papa.”
On Mother’s Day, Patel’s tribute to his father, who had sacrificed a lot for his cricket dreams, won every cricket fan’s heart.
But there is also an equally incredible backstory to the Chennai batter’s first big knock in the IPL.
According to a report in The Times of India, it was Chennai icon MS Dhoni who gifted Patel a bat with a strong bottom hand after the World Cup-winning former Indian captain saw his six-hitting talent during a net session.
Dhoni was confident that the bat would help Patel’s six-hitting ability.
Patel used the bat in a practice session, attempting the big hits against both pacers and spinners.
On Sunday, Patel walked into bat with the same bat as he decimated the Lucknow attack to keep Chennai’s playoff hopes alive.
Now this Dhoni bat connection brings back memories of the 1996 one-day international between Sri Lanka and Pakistan when Shahid Afridi famously hit a hundred off just 37 balls, the fastest one-day century at the time.
Playing only his second international match, Afridi, who was only 17 then, became an overnight star with his hurricane knock (102 off 40 balls, 6 fours, 11 sixes), setting up a big win for Pakistan against the then world champions Sri Lanka at Nairobi in the KCA Centenary Tournament.
But many years later, it was revealed that the bat Afridi used for that magical knock actually belonged to Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar.
The four-team KCA Centenary Tournament didn’t feature India.
But Afridi got Tendulkar’s bat from his teammate Waqar Younis. Tendulkar had given his bat to Waqar, asking the Pakistan fast bowler if he could help him get similar bats from Sialkot, the Pakistani city famous for producing world-class cricket equipment.
The bat was still with Waqar when the tournament in Kenya started.
“Waqar gave me the bat in Nairobi and said it could prove lucky as it belonged to a great player (Sachin Tendulkar),” Afridi told PTI.
“I also got other good scores with this particular bat, so it is very valuable for me, and I have no intention to auction it off to anyone.”
Afridi has long retired from the game as one of Pakistan’s greatest-ever cricketers.
Despite his myriad heroics with the bat, Afridi is still remembered most fondly for that one knock against Sri Lanka in Kenya.
He promised never to auction that bat off.
Now, if Patel produces more such knocks with Dhoni’s bat this season in the IPL, he may have to field a few questions from journos about whether he would put the prized willow up for auction.
Source: Khaleej Times