It would be the first of four wickets Mukesh would take on Friday, recording his first-ever five-wicket haul in First-Class cricket.

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“I feel really good with the way I bowled. I was able to get wickets with different variations — inswingers, outswingers, and bouncers,” he would say after the day’s play.

For a bowler of his calibre — having decent pace and the ability to swing the ball both ways — the milestone should ideally have come much earlier. It arrives in the ninth year of his domestic career, but in only his 22nd First-Class match. His has been a decade of erratic appearances, interrupted too often by a myriad of injuries.

“I have dealt with multiple injuries in my career. I have had a rib fracture, a back injury, and a side strain. In the past, I used to overexert myself in the Ranji Trophy by bowling extremely long spells. Like in the previous edition, I bowled an 11-over spell which led to a side strain,” he reflected, the Srinagar air perhaps carrying a whiff of what might have been.

But Mukesh is unwilling to let ghosts of the past haunt him ever again.

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“I have become much smarter about how I train and bowl in matches. I know when to put in maximum effort and when to conserve energy if the pitch is not offering much assistance. Earlier, I bowled excessively and trained comparatively less. Now, I prioritise physical conditioning alongside a regulated bowling volume of about 30 to 35 overs per week, creating a balanced routine. Prior to my back injury, I generally operated at around 130 to 135 km/h. During rehabilitation, I worked intensively on physical strength, which now allows me to hit 140 km/h comfortably.”

What drives him is his firm self-conviction, and his willingness to acknowledge mistakes.

“Missing matches is always difficult, but I believe that whenever I am fit, I can get into any line-up. I avoid playing if I am even 10 percent below peak fitness because breaking down mid-game hurts both the team and my career. I was not smart enough before, which is a reason I played less than I should have.”

Setback

Having made his debut for Maharashtra in 2017, Mukesh had to wait five years to be presented with an opportunity in the Indian Premier League. When it arrived, however, he wasted no time announcing himself, taking 16 wickets in his maiden campaign with Chennai Super Kings — the franchise’s joint-highest in the 2022 season.

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It seemed that he would not have to look back. Until, a stress fracture in the back ruled him out of IPL 2023.

“When I got ruled out before the 2023 IPL, (CSK CEO) Kasi (Viswanathan) sir told me, ‘You just get fit. Once you are back, there will always be a place in CSK for you.’ He encouraged me not to take any pressure or feel disappointed. He used to keep saying, ‘Whenever you get fit, you will play matches for CSK.’ Coming from an owner, those words gave me a lot of confidence.”

Mukesh would take three more wickets on Friday. A bouncer would catch Jammu & Kashmir opener Qamran Iqbal by surprise. Wicketkeeper Kanhaiya Wadhawan edged an outswinger to Ravichandran Smaran at first slip. A vicious short ball then proved the undoing of captain Paras Dogra.

And yet, the hosts still managed to take a 41-run lead. Dogra laid the foundation with 75, but it was Lone Nasir who commandeered the limelight. A bowling all-rounder by his own description, he came in at No.10 and made a 58-ball 64.

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“My mindset was simply to build a partnership because Paras bhai was batting at the other end. It wasn’t the first time I had found myself in such a situation. I have pulled my team out of similar collapses many times in junior cricket. I had complete self-belief that I could do it,” Lone said.

With Rest of India trailing by 17 at stumps, and having already lost in-form batter Shikhar Mohan, the hosts, undeniably, are in the driver’s seat. For Rishabh Pant’s side to emerge victorious, Mukesh must summon another day like this one.

Should he do so, he might find himself in the national team reckoning — Mukesh has recently been added to BCCI’s targeted players’ programme, and selectors Pragyan Ojha and Shiv Sunder Das were in attendance on Friday.

But the pacer has learnt the risk of expectations the hard way.

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“Before, I used to feel that if a selector is watching me, I have to bowl well. But nowadays, I don’t have any fear of failure. I don’t expect anything. I just want to enjoy my cricket. This is not Mukesh 2.0. This is the same Mukesh — just mentally stronger and fearless.”

Brief Scores: Rest of India 237 and 24/1 trail Jammu & Kashmir 278 (Paras Dogra 75; Mukesh Choudhary 5/78) by 17 runs.