When T Natarajan came to bowl the 18th over of Delhi Capitals’ innings, on Tuesday, the match was far from over. Over the past few matches, the Indian Premier League had its fair share of late Hollywood twists and with the swashbuckling Marcus Stoinis, still, on the crease, you wouldn’t write-off another one.

But Natarajan was up for it. 

Thangarasu Natarajan had broken through the shackles of poverty by bowling pinpoint yorkers at will for a living. He has done almost everything he could for his family, except, convincing his mother to give up selling chicken on the roadside.

That she wouldn’t as she feels it had helped the family survive the tough times, said Jayaprakash, Natarajan’s mentor.

The birth of Natarajan as a death bowling specialist had taken place a few years before the ongoing IPL, where he was rattling the best of batsmen with his yorkers, ball after ball.

In the intervening period, he has managed to build his parents a house, give his sisters education, open an academy in his Chinnappampatti village in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district and convince a teammate to not give up the game.

All this while perfecting the art of bowling yorkers and carrying much of Tamil Nadu’s pace bowling hopes on his shoulders.

So that night when Natarajan shined the leather and started steaming in to bowl his last over of the match, he had lived through this reality a million times. 

17.1 overs – A yorker aimed towards the middle and leg, Axar Patel nudges it towards midwicket for a single.  

First picked by Kings XI Punjab for Rs 3 crore in 2017, Natarajan took three years to come of his age at the big stage, having proved expensive in the six games that he had played in the past.

“I am not surprised as he has worked very hard. He has gone through a lot. He has overcome injury problems, worked his way back into the state team and is now doing well when given an opportunity by SRH,” Jayaprakash told PTI.

17.2 overs – Yet again, full and straight crashing into the stumps, Stoinis pushes it on to the leg side for a quick double.

He was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018 but played his first game for them only this season.

With an added yard of extra pace, the 29-year-old helped Tamil Nadu reach the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.

17.3 overs – Right in the blockhole! Stoinis tries to negotiate with it and grab a lonely single.   

Son of a daily-wage labourer, Natarajan has ensured that his parents don’t suffer any longer and constructed a house for them while also making sure his siblings receive a proper education.

“He has settled his family. He has constructed a house for his parents. He is educating his siblings,” his mentor added.

That is not all, Natarajan has opened an academy in his village in an effort to provide the necessary facilities to youngsters, which he did not have.

17.4 overs – Coming into the left-hander Patel, once again pitched up and no room for the batsman. Nudged for a single.

The 29-year old is also helping out many people who used to play with him and G Periyaswamy, who rose to prominence in last year’s Tamil Nadu Premier League, is one of them.

“Natarajan continues to help a lot of young cricketers and those who played tennis ball cricket with him.”

“He made sure that Periyaswamy who had given up hope of playing the game, came back by convincing his family that there was a future for him in cricket,” Jayaprakash said.

17.5 overs – This time Natarajan, trying to bowl on yorker too many, gets the length wrong and Stoinis mis-hits the full toss. KXIP settle for two. 

Natarajan had issues over his action early in his career. He also faced shoulder problems and worked his way back after struggling for some time.

Avinash Khandelwal, fielding coach of the Tamil Nadu team, said Natarajan has always been known to possess a superb yorker in the state’s cricket circles.

“Yeah, Nattu works on his yorkers a lot. To bowl yorkers is not easy and to execute it under pressure is another thing. That is because he works on it. He does it regularly in events like TNPL and is now showing he can do it at the highest level,” the Coimbatore-based Khandelwal said.

“He is an amazing guy. He has come up the hard way and never forgets his roots. He is still the same person for his friends in the village and is helping young cricketers there and most of them train for free.”

17.6 overs – Stoinis tries to dance across the wicket and push the bowl to the legside. The Tamil Nadu pacer without any hint of error pitches the yorker to perfection and scalps the wicket of the Kangaroos’ all-rounder.

In SRH’s triumph over Delhi Capitals, Natarajan played his part by hurling a spell of 4-0-21-1, including the prize wicket of Marcus Stoinis.

After his exploits, the Australian pace great Brett Lee had tweeted, “That’s how you bowl at the back end of an innings! Outstanding Natarajan.” The cricketing fraternity went gaga over his discipline and dedication.

It’s got to feel good for Natarajan, finally being celebrated for the skill that he has mastered for a million years now, for a show that he puts up quite often, for yorkers that has been putting food on the plate of his family.