da apostaganha： Manpreet Gony had finished the league stage with 14 wickets, twice whatIshant Sharma managed, but he saved his best for the biggest game that he’s ever played in

da fezbet： Cricinfo staff31-May-2008
Manpreet Gony dismissed two of Punjab’s most dangerous batsmen – Yuvraj Singh and Kumar Sangakkara (file photo) © AFP
When Ishant Sharma went for US$950,000 at the IPL auction in February,Manpreet Gony’s name would have elicited a blank stare from most Indiancricket aficionados. You couldn’t blame them either. In five first-classgames, Gony had just 13 wickets, and there were no howls ofprotest when he was signed by the Chennai Super Kings rather than his homefranchise, the Kings XI Punjab.On Saturday night, with a global audience watching, he returned tosilence the thousands that had been given Punjab flags to wave in thestands. He had finished the league stage with 14 wickets, twice whatIshant managed, but he saved his best for the biggest game that he’s everplayed in.Mahendra Singh Dhoni had gambled by opening the bowling with MuttiahMuralitharan, but after a relatively tidy over, he sensed that pace wasthe key to settling the contest. With Makhaya Ntini back to hisspring-heeled best at one end, Gony was unleashed from the GarwarePavilion End.It took Gony just two balls to justify his captain’s faith. When he movedone away from Kumar Sangakkara, there was little response from the Chennaifielders and only a half-hearted plea from his side. Astonishingly though,Sangakkara walked, as Adam Gilchrist had in a World Cup semi-final againstSri Lanka at Port Elizabeth five years ago.In his next over, Gony landed the big fish. It was a short delivery andwhen Yuvraj got into position for the pull, Chennai fans must have fearedthe worst. Few hit the ball harder, and most eyes had already veeredtowards the rope by the time Murali stuck his hands out to take a blinder.At 28 for 3, the game was slip-sliding away from the men in red and grey.When he next stepped up to the bowling crease, Gony came up with what mustcount as the T20 equivalent of a tiger sighting – the maiden over. And hewasn’t bowling to some chump either. Irfan Pathan can wallop the ball along way, but he couldn’t even play it out of the circle as Gony bowledthe perfect length at lively pace. And though Mahela Jayawardene finallytapped one behind point for four in his final over, the match hadeffectively been decidedly two balls earlier, when a catastrophic mix-upsent Pathan on his way.Gony’s delight as he whipped off the bails was palpable, and his spell atrue reflection of the manner in which Chennai have revived theirseason after a really sticky patch. His 16 wickets are the second highest for an Indian fast bowler and it was no surprise that his name came up for consideration when the squad was being chosen for the tri-series in Bangladesh and the Asia Cup.Compared to what he has gone through recently off the field, bowling sixdot balls would have been a breeze. He and his wife lost their first child, a boy, 15 days after he was born. For him, the IPL hasn’t just been a chance to stake his cricketing claim, but also an opportunity to move on. Jayawardene lost a younger brother to cancer when he was a star in the making, and has often spoken of how that traumatic experience helped him to treat what happened on the field with equanimity. The man who shredded his team’s hopes tonight would probably be inclined to agree.