Beyond the boundary

Book: Final Innings: A Voyage Deep into Uncharted Waters, Set in the World of Cricket
Author: Sunil Gupta
Publisher: Notion
Price: Rs 399

Cricket may be the most followed sport in the country but not many are aware of what goes into the making of a star — the tribulations of a successful international cricketer given that failures and injuries are a part of life, the personal upheavals which often cast a shadow on performance, and the virtue of mental toughness which is needed to fight back when the chips are down. Sunil Gupta’s novel, Final Innings, takes a sneak peek into this hitherto unexplored facet of the game via a gripping commentary of events that unfold in the life of Ramdas Upreti, an acclaimed Indian batsman.

The story revolves around Ramdas’s injury during a Test at the Adelaide Oval, his recovery, and his estranged relationships with his ex-girlfriend, Anne, and the Pakistani nurse, Nargis, whom he met at the hospital in Adelaide, and her father, the umpire, Khalid Azam. It provides an insight into the history of the game, the struggles of subcontinental teams outside their home conditions, and the cultural and emotional bonding between Indians and Pakistanis despite the strained relations between the countries. There are episodes of terrorism and political bickerings over a match involving two schools from either side of the border. It also sheds light on the need to care for our environment. One refreshing aspect is that the author dwells on Test cricket when T20 franchise leagues are the flavour of the times.

The book highlights the pressures a cricketer has to endure all his life. Life is like an innings of cricket. Some will be patient and wait for the right ball (opportunity) while others will be undisciplined and fall by the wayside. But how we fall and respond to the unexpected is what will separate the good from the great in the game of life.

Since a major part of the book is based on India’s results in past series at home and abroad, certain sections become a bit predictable — the cricket board’s desire to press for a change in captaincy when a home series is lost or the call for a foreign coach in the face of poor results. In his lucid style, the author reflects on how Ramdas’s life in cricket is like acting in a play, which keeps evolving even though the setting is the same.

This work of fiction has a pace that keeps one engrossed right through but lacks lateral movement, despite a twist in the plot towards the end arising out of Ramdas’s planned association with an academy in Pakistan. A few proofreading errors at times do spoil the fun.