Thread by @ovshake42

Allan Donald turns 54.

Here is the tale of my first sighting of him, a story I never get tired of telling.

1991.

South Africa were just back from exile. While we knew why they had been exiled, we had little idea about their cricketers.
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I had vaguely heard of Richards and Pollock.

The newspapers had also (rightly) told me that Rice and Wessels were the experienced players. But that was it.

They scored 177/8 in 47 overs. The batsmen did not impress.
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Only Kuiper looked threatening. He played some nice shots, and the general notion in the stands was he was their best batsman.

India would win by 8 or 9 wickets – or that was what we thought.

Cakewalk.
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Shastri took guard. He was among the ugliest of batsmen, but he could handle pace.

Now, at the same time, we saw a figure measuring out his run-up at the High Court End.

He was tall, broad-shouldered and blonde, and it looked like he meant business.
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But the real shock came when we saw how far Richardson and his neighbours stood.

I had not got good seats this time.

I was behind deep extra cover, so I had a square view of the ground, which made the distance between the stumps and Richardson seem even more ominous.
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Now I was just too young for the Marshall-Holding carnage of 1983-84, but I had seen Imran, Wasim, Patterson, and Walsh bowl at the Eden Gardens.

But I could see the ball when they bowled.

When Donald bowled, I could not see the ball at all.
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Note that this was not a white ball under lights.

This was a new red ball, and from the square I had the full view, from Donald to Richardson.

And yet, all I saw was a mild puff of dust at the point at which the ball hit the pitch, followed by a thud.
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Have you heard a hundred thousand people draw breath together? I remember that sound even today.

I am not sure how comfortable Shastri was (he always looked uncomfortable, even when he hit a six).

Four balls later he edged one and walked back.
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Manjrekar was next.

At that point he was considered technically the soundest batsman in the country.

But Donald possibly got faster in his second and third overs.

It could have been my imagination as well, for I could still not see any of his deliveries.
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Manjrekar was bowled.

Sidhu actually timed (the sound suggested so), but it went to McMillan at gully.

India were 20/3, all wickets falling to Donald.

The old-timers of Eden sprung into action. Marshall Holding Patterson etc were mentioned before the topic shifted to Donald.
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They were aware of Marshall or Holding were before they had set foot in Eden Gardens. The spectators were prepared. The media had warned them.

Donald was unheard of in India, and in that pre-internet pre-satellite TV world, in virtually the entire world.
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Back to the match now.

Donald continued to beat both Tendulkar and Azhar, looking threatening throughout that first spell.

He was taken off (you are, after all, allowed only 10 overs).

When he returned, he got Tendulkar, India's top scorer of the day, almost immediately.
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He had to be taken off again.

When he returned for the last time, he beat Amre, India's second-highest run-scorer for pace.

He was named joint Player of the Match, with Tendulkar.

The crowd agreed that Donald should have won it alone.
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It was an unforgettable day, especially for a teenager.

It remains unforgettable.