Not yet a spent force: Stuart Binny sends a sizzling reminder in Mysuru
A couple of days after arriving in Mysuru for their second game of KPL 2017, the Belagavi Panthers assembled in the side grounds of the SDNR Stadium for a routine practice session. As they indulged in some light tennis-ball cricket towards the evening, the two biggest names in their squad, Stuart Binny and Sreenath Aravind, were conspicuous by their absence.
Binny was on the main grounds, sprinting around in full tilt, completely detached from the rest of the players. Even as the floodlights started going off one by one, Binny continued, steaming back and forth along the outfield with a resistance bands tugging him at the chest, the team trainer right behind.
The entire team had packed their bags and were on the team bus, but Binny still didn't give up, putting effort in each stride as if determined to cleanse some misdeed from the past.
Two days later, he was on the main ground once again, this time with a bat in hand, striking the ball as cleanly as he ever has.
His Team India career may have been a strange mix of unprecedented highs and abysmal lows. and at 33, chances of making a comeback aren't exactly bright, but Binny, as he has done in the past, showed how he has a knack of prising out jaw-dropping feats when least expected.
The oft-trolled cricketer was the cynosure of all eyes at the Mysuru grounds in a tournament that finds itself bereft of star names. Donning a jersey with shades similar to the IPL side he represents, Binny, in his side's first game in the city, went after the Bengaluru Blasters' bowling like there is no tomorrow. In 46 balls, he hammered 87 runs, studded with eight boundaries and four monstrous maximums. It was his highest score in any form of limited-overs cricket.
Walking in at No.5, with his team in doldrums at 23-3, he eased to four runs off his first eight balls, before kick-starting the carnage.
Even in his madness, there was a method. He made sure that he rotated the strike after a big hit, was always on the look out for gaps, and ran super-hard between the sticks. The six hits were clean strikes, and throughout the innings, he constantly made room and creamed the ball on both sides.
Perhaps the most memorable shot he hit was off a no-ball. Prasidh Krishna hurled a horrible full-toss, directed right on Binny’s face. With hardly any time to react, Binny, in the process of ducking, pulled the ball right in front of his eyes to fine leg. The ball had enough fuel to cross the rops and a startled Binny, on all fours, looked back at the bowler with bewilderment.
The cameras kept hovering towards Mrs. Binny, one of the presenters for the broadcasters, who replied with a simple smile back. Today was about the Binny on the field, and he made sure it stayed that way.
The Blasters’ horrid bowling was accentuated further by an abysmal day on the field. Twice they dropped Binny, once by captain Shishir Bhavane himself, who spilled a dolly at cover when the latter was motoring along at 80. The look on Binny's face said it all. He looked up in the air with the his hand on his helmet, realising that he had been lucky, once again.
Right after, he had another close shave. In trying to complete a single, his bat got stuck in the pitch, just before reaching the crease, with the fielder effecting a direct-hit. It would have been a very 'Binny' way of getting out, but the 33-year-old's managed to get his heel inside in time.
When he finally ended, he walked back to a raucous response, with the entire team and support staff applauding his efforts. "Lady Luck was with you", Mayanti said to Stuart in the mid-game chat, and they both smiled.
The last memory Indian fans have of Binny was Evin Lewis’ carnage on the medium pacer in the US, looting 32 runs off one over in a T20I that has been, till date, his last game in Indian colours. Shades of it resurfaced when the Bengaluru Blasters opening pair ate into his opening spell, and a second coming wasn't fruitful also. But it was his day, and he was in no mood to give up.
Called back for his third spell, he conjured another moment of brilliance, first getting rid of the dangerous looking M Vishwanathan with an assisted run-out, and then gobbling up Pavan Deshpande off his own bowling. The game opened up, the tables turned, and the Panthers managed to drag back the game. Binny must have, for once, felt vindicated.
The scars of Florida might never heal, but Stuart Binny is still not a closed chapter in the annals of Indian cricket.