Bhajji maths out Ponting

AUSSIES are struggling to save the Kolkata Test on the fifth day and time is ticking away for the Indians as well as they have to bowl out the opposition before the end of the day. A wicket falls and Ricky Ponting joins skipper Steve Waugh at the crease. He will have to face Harbhajan Singh, the little man from Jalandhar, who has got him every time so far in this series.

Ponting decides to pad out most of his balls this time to eliminate the chance of getting caught in the close-in field. Bhajji begins with a no ball and Ponting pads it out. Ponting shows the pad to the second ball as well, which makes it one ball in the over so far. There are strong appeals from the fielders as the second and third balls, too, strike Ricky’s pads, but are promptly turned down by umpire Peter Willy because the batsman is struck outside the off stump on both occasions.

Saurav Ganguly approaches his strike bowler and asks him to keep the next ball in the line of stumps. Bhajji delivers a fast, low and straight ball, but Ricky frustrates him by playing it with the bat this time. The fifth ball, which is outside the leg stump, again meets the pad. About 1 lakh Kolkata spectators give Ricky Ponting out, but Peter Willy does not. The sixth ball is over pitched and gets the right treatment — it is hit out of the stadium. Ponting opens his score with a six and Bhajji doesn’t know where to bowl him now. Round one to Ricky.

In the following over, Ponting hits Tendulkar for 19 runs and Kolkata goes dead silent. Ricky is looking dangerous and Ganguly worried. Ponting faces Bhajji again. Harbhajan’s seventh ball to Ponting is seen outside the boundary moments after it is bowled. This does not shake Bhajji, but the next ball does, as Ricky shows it the pad. Peter Willy lifts a finger, but only to show that the ball was not going in the stumps. The next four balls of the over are straight, but the batsman is able to read these well and offer his bat to all.

Steve Waugh takes a single on the first ball of the next over to allow Ponting to murder Ganguly’s bowling. Ganguly is hit for 16 runs in this over and his thinking cap goes empty. Ricky Ponting will not be stopped today. Bhajji’s first ball of the next over hits Ricky’s pads, but Harbhajan knows that it is fruitless to ask Peter Willy for a decision. Bhajji bowls a maiden over to restore some normalcy, but Raju proves to be expensive in the next one.

Bhajji versus Ponting again. Ponting plays out the first two balls and pads out the third. All the energy that Bhajji puts in his appeal doesn’t find him Willy’s favour. The over is up and Ricky is still there. The weak attack from the other end receives a pounding from Ricky’s bat, while Steve admires the fireworks from the non-striker’s end. Ricky races into the 40s. Will it be the quickest half century for Ponting or will the Turbanator strike in the coming over? For answers, join us after the drinks break.

The Indians know that if they do not get Ponting in this over, they might as well forget about winning this Test. This Australian looks set to spoil the gains of the fourth day’s partnership between Laxman and Dravid. "Bhajji, we need this man and I am counting on you," says Saurav. "I am counting, too, but in my mind," Bhajji replies. "What are you counting, the number of overs left?" says the skipper. "No, I am trying to figure out which ball of this over will he play with his pad," says Bhajji. "How will you do that? You are not a soothsayer," says Sachin. Bhajji says, "Let us consider which balls of my overs have been padded out — 1 (no ball), 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 and 21. Now, do you get it?" "No," say the ten men.

Bhajji says, "He is following a definite pattern in padding out the balls and this pattern is the Fibonacci series, which is generated by setting the 0th digit (a₀) = 1 and first digit (a₁) also as 1 and then using the formula a_n=a_n-1+a_n-2 to get the rest of the numbers. This sequence is found all over mathematics and also in nature. However, to find out the 100th term of the series, lot of calculations are required, for which, there is an easier formula — a_n=[phin-(-1/phi)n]/sqrt[5], where phi=(1+sqrt[5])/2 (which is called the golden mean). This formula was discovered by Binet in 1843, though it is said that Euler knew it before him. So, in the series 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 and 21, the next number is 34. I have bowled 30 balls, which means that Ricky will play the fourth ball of this over with the pad. I will make sure that it is the straighter one to trap him lbw."

"We hope you are right Bhajji," says Sachin and Zahir, before they disperse to take their positions on the field. The first three balls are all wide outside the off stump and there is no way that Ponting is reaching out to those. "I have puzzled this chap," Ricky thinks. The fourth ball of the over turns the match and Bhajji does the bhangra.

— Aditya Rishi