Once was Munaf

Watching Munaf Patel bowl in his first Test match at Mohali was a bit like reading the first page of a novel that hinted at greatness. It wasn't that India hadn't produced fast bowlers before him, but here was a young man taking his first steps on the big stage as though he belonged there.

After his retirement, Javagal Srinath admitted that it had taken him years to learn the right length to bowl. Munaf, by contrast, seemed to have an instinctive feel for which length to bowl to which batsman. He took seven English wickets in the game, and showed off many skills along the way.

Seeing an Indian bowler nudge the speedometer past 145 kph was rare enough, but in Munaf's case, it was accompanied by movement with the new ball, reverse-swing, lethal yorkers and even a clever slower ball. With a wiry frame and an easy rhythmic action, India appeared to have stumbled on the man who could lead their attack for the best part of a decade.

Watch him bowl less than two years on, and you find it hard to believe you're not watching an impostor. The pace is gone, the yorkers are nowhere to be seen, and the only movement on view is the swing of the batsman's bat before the ball disappears. Apart from one over where he had Kumar Sangakkara edging over slip and then inside-edging just short of the 'keeper, Munaf's spell was an exercise in listlessness.

Even when he returned to the fray with only Chamara Kapugedera and the tail to bowl at, he was ineffectual, merely bowling length and getting hit for his troubles. At times, the pace dropped to 120 kph, sad when you consider that it wasn't even an attempted slower ball.

It's hard to put a finger on where things have gone wrong for Munaf. After that superb debut, he went on to excel during a tour of the Caribbean. Since then though, he has seldom been anything more than a passenger. The headlines he's made have been for poor fitness and dismal fielding, and a whole assortment of pace bowlers had gone past him in the pecking order.

Munaf's travails at the Bellerive Oval were in stark contrast to the success enjoyed by Praveen Kumar. A star at domestic level, Praveen might have been lost to international cricket if he hadn't been selected in the squad for the Pakistan series last November. At the time, he had an offer from the Indian Cricket League, and he would most likely have said yes if the door had been shut on him yet again.

Born into a family of wrestlers, Praveen has had to grapple for every chance that's come his way. He's no Brett Lee and his batting skills are rudimentary at best, but he's made the most of whatever ability he has. Asked to open the batting for Uttar Pradesh when they won the Ranji Trophy two seasons ago, he often produced telling cameos, before returning to pick up key wickets with the ball.

This season, he played a huge part in the team's run to the final, picking up eight wickets against Delhi, albeit in a lost cause. It was that performance, against a team that included Gautam Gambhir, that probably clinched his seat on the plane to Australia.

He hadn't taken a wicket in his previous two one-day outings, and there was certainly an element of complacency in Sangakkara's leisurely charge down the wicket. It wasn't a great ball, but his opponent's impetuousness gave Praveen the breakthrough that he must have dreamt about for two seasons at least.

After that, he bowled like a man with belief. Mahela Jayawardene's wicket arrived gift-wrapped thanks to a wonderful low catch from Rohit Sharma at point, and was followed by a magnificent delivery to Chamara Silva. From just short of a length, it kicked like a mule and moved away a touch to take the outside edge. A splendid catch from Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the last act, and Praveen had his first three-wicket haul at this level.

What it also did was set the game up for India. From 1 for 72, Sri Lanka lost 6 for 21, and only Kapugedera's defiance saved them from abject humiliation. And while Praveen took the wickets, it was Irfan Pathan that tightened the noose, giving nothing away in a tremendous spell that also snared Sanath Jayasuriya.

With Ishant Sharma and Praveen going on to pick up four-fors, Munaf's woes were even more painful to behold. There was the customary misfield too, and the cruel barb from the commentary team, and watching him, you couldn't help but think of an explorer without a map.

India's pace stocks may be in rude health right now, but it simply cannot afford to let Munaf slip through the net. When he takes charge in a few days time, Gary Kirsten, along with Venkatesh Prasad, the bowling coach, must make his rehabilitation top priority. The eyes certainly weren't playing tricks on that March morning in Mohali two years ago, and such special talent must be allowed to find its way.