Sports

why-shubman-gills-father-doesnt-like-him-batting-at-no3

Fri Mar 08 14:22:56 IST 2024

Shubman Gill's first coach and father, Lakhwinder, says his son stepping out to the bowlers again has allowed him to get back among the runs in Test cricket though he doesn't agree with his decision to bat at number three.

Pressure was mounting on Shubman following the conclusion of the series opener against England. He had gone without a fifty in 12 innings and was guilty of not playing his attacking game. Playing with hard hands made matter worse.

However, he struck his maiden hundred in the second innings of Vizag Test to silence his critics. It was also his major knock since dropping himself down to number three from the opening spot.

His father, who watched Shubman get to his second hundred of the series with a slog sweep in Dharamsala on Friday, spoke about the reasons that helped the India batter arrest his slide in red ball cricket.

"Stepping out has made a big difference, he had stopped doing that and that created pressure. Since his U-16 days, he has been stepping out to the spinners and pacers as well to cut the movement," Lakhwinder told PTI.

"The moment you don't play your natural game you are in trouble. The whole game is about confidence, when you get one good innings you are back to your best. Since his U-16 days, he used to make tons of runs."

Gill charged down the track to both spinners and pacers on Friday including against the great James Anderson. In the first hour of play, Gill was at his sublime best as he took two steps to hit Anderson down the ground for a six with dead straight bat.

Lakhwinder loves when his son plays the square cut and cover drive, and, both were on display at the HPCA Stadium here.

'He should have continued to open'

Lakhwinder, who continues to train with Shubman whenever he is home in Mohali, also doesn't agree with his son's decision to bat at three.

"He should have continued to open. It is not right at all I feel. When you sit in dressing room for longer, the pressure tense to increase. Number 3 is not opening neither it is a middle-order spot.

"Plus his game his not like that, it suits the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara who has a defensive game. When the ball is new you get more loose balls, when you come in after 5-7 overs, the ball is still shiny and the bowler is also settled with his length."

However, he is a proud father and respects the decisions taken by his grown up son.

"I don't interfere in his decisions. I just train with him. He is old enough to make his own decsions. I made decisions on his behalf only when he was a teenager," he said.

He also lauded the BCCI for making Ranji Trophy appearances mandatory for India players when they are not national duty.

"The calendar is so busy that he hardly trains for red ball, it is white ball mainly. That is why it gets tougher against spinners with the red ball. It is good that BCCI has taken this step," said Lakhwinder who attends majority of Shubman's games in India.

cricket-england-succumbed-to-pressure-of-facing-indian-spinners-graeme-swann

Thu Mar 07 20:20:44 IST 2024

England succumbed to the pressure of standing up to a world-class band of Indian spinners at the "absolute top of their game", feels former spinner Graeme Swann.

Batting first after winning a good toss, England were bowled out for 218 on a flat deck on the opening day of the fifth and final Test against India in New Delhi.

Doing the bulk of the damage was the spin of Kuldeep Yadav (5/72) and Ravichandran Ashwin (4/51).

Asked what could have led to England's downfall, Swann told PTI Videos, "Well you got to look at like I say you have got world-class spinners at the absolute top of their game.

"So I don't think it's a capitulation from England, just succumbing to the pressure maybe, so there's two ways of looking at it.

"England certainly knows they can do better but for India, you should be championing the fact that you have got an absolute world-beater at the moment, and he is bowling like a dream."

India finished Day 1 at 135 for one with skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill going strong after Yashasvi Jaiswal's blazing fifty.

Summing up, Swann called it a "disappointing" day for England.

"Disappointing day at the end of it, it started so well, with the ball sort of swinging and seaming around so lavishly. To not lose any wickets in that early spell was brilliant from England's point of view," said the 44-year-old former England spinner.

"But then they came up against Kuldeep who is in rich form at the moment and he was just too good for them.

"At the end of the day, so very disappointing after winning the toss on a good pitch but then finding yourself in such a weak position at the end of day one, it's been a bad day for England."

While India have done extremely well to win the ongoing series, when asked about their chances in the upcoming T20 World Cup, Swann picked them as one of the strong favourites.

"Look, India is always going to have a massive chance at the T20 World Cup, you know the IPL is the home of T20 cricket basically and you have got some incredible players, it's about time someone knocked Australia off the world champion perch as well.

"If it's not England I hope it's India," Swann said.

cricket-india-vs-england-test-kuldeep-yadav-reveals-what-r-ashwin-told-him-while-leaving-field

Thu Mar 07 20:02:11 IST 2024

Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Ashwin shared an emotional moment after England got all out shortly after tea. Considering Ashwin is playing his 100th Test, Kuldeep wanted him to keep the ball and his more experienced wanted the other way round. The premier off-spinner cleaned up with the tail with a four-wicket haul.

On that exchange, he said: "Ash bhai told me I have 35 balls, and asked me to keep this one."

Take a bow, Kuldeep!

A regular place in the playing eleven during the ongoing series has done wonders for Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist spinner believes that he has got more sharper with better game awareness due to consistent opportunities.

Kuldeep in the past seven years since his debut has only made 12 Test appearances, with four of them on trot in the current series against England. On the opening day of the fifth Test against England, Kuldeep set the ball rolling with five top-order wickets.

"If you play regularly, you get more confident about your bowling. Game awareness also comes with it. It is very important to keep playing regularly as it makes your bowling sharp," said the 29-year-old, who now has 17 wickets in the series with hopefully one more innings to increase his tally.

"In the beginning, it was very challenging. I had changed my action. It took six to eight months to find that rhythm. Now, things are all set and I am enjoying it. In Ranchi, I tried something with my run-up (faster approach to the crease as it was a slow surface), and I practise that regularly."

Kuldeep bowled a highly productive 15-over spell on either side of the lunch break on day one, something he says he has been able to do of late purely because of his improved fitness.

Following a knee surgery in September 2021, Kuldeep changed his fitness routine, increased his pace and straightened his run-up.

After a five-wicket haul that helped India bowl out England for 218 on a flat track, Kuldeep said it is only because his targeted fitness regimen that he has been able to make those changes and bowl long spells.

"Bowling is all about fitness. I have worked a lot on my fitness in the last 18 months. I have been able to make certain changes in my bowling because of improved fitness," Kuldeep said at the day-end media conference.

"I am doing specific things on my fitness which is allowing me to bowl long spells. At Rajkot (12 overs in first innings) and Ranchi (14 overs in second innings) also, I bowled log spells. I have gotten used to it."

Kuldeep has been getting more bite from flat surfaces compared to the other spinners and that was also evident on Thursday when he got the ball to drift and turn back sharply to castle Zak Crawley. The ball turned from the imaginary fifth off-stump and ended up shattering the England opener's leg stump.

"I was using the drift well on both sides. I am very happy that we were able to get them out for 218 as it is a good wicket. As a spinner, you focus on the length and try to hit good length.

"At times, you change plans as per conditions. If you are getting drift, then you have to think about the lines as well. The more you play, the easier it becomes to control.

"Speed also matters. If you bowl at a certain speed and change your pace, it gets difficult for the batters," said the cricketer from Kanpur.

- With PTI inputs

cricket-india-vs-england-ravichandran-ashwin-the-product-of-a-master-coach-and-cricket-crazy-family

Thu Mar 07 19:45:02 IST 2024

Sunil Subramaniam could never quite put his finger on why he failed to break into the Indian team despite being one of the country's best left-arm spinners in the early 1990s.

It bothers, but the pain pales in comparison to the joy his most illustrious ward, Ravichandran Ashwin, brought to his life, years after he had quit playing competitive cricket.

The 57-year-old, who taught Ashwin the nuances of spin bowling in his formative years, takes great pride in saying that the senior India spinner "was born to play Test cricket."

"I had a lot of confidence that he would become a good Test player and a quality Test bowler, first a match-winner for the state then a match-winner for India," Subramaniam told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview.

"At that time, it was difficult to say that his journey would be this long. As he was on his journey, it became obvious he would have a long career.

"I'd be lying to say that we think that he is going to end up playing 100 Tests. But, I certainly knew that we had a Test cricketer in the making, and a good one at that," he added.

Despite enjoying a fairly successful career in first-class cricket, Subramaniam is best known as Ashwin's childhood coach, but he has no qualms about it.

"When I met him in 2007, at the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association's bowler's camp, the journey started there. We had to discover the next generation of bowlers.

"Slowly, he progressed from first-class cricket to Test cricket, his bowling evolved, and he understood how to study the wicket.

"When you play first-class cricket, you have a different mindset compared to Test cricket; you take time to adapt to the environment, but he took no time at all, and it felt like he was born to play Test cricket."

Ashwin is going strong at 37, claiming a bagful of wickets with his absolute control and consistency. So, Subramaniam has no reason to believe that the man would hang up his boots anytime soon.

"As a player, definitely about three to four years for sure at the international level, and the call will be his after that," Subramaniam said when the discussion turned to Ashwin's future.

"He debuted at the age of 25, how long will he be able to play? Because many people in India play cricket, how much competition will he have. If you look at the bowling attack of India in the last five to 10 years, it has become really potent.

"How long his journey will be? At every stage, he has evolved. And his bowling for the last nine years has been the fulcrum for India."

Besides his incredible numbers, Ashwin's relentless quest for perfection is a matter of great pride for Subramaniam.

"It is something to be happy about because we coach many players, he has performed at every level, he has maintained his balance. The way he used to bowl in the beginning he still bowls the same, and the man is also the same.

"He has stability, and other factors did not distract him, and this is a lesson for all youngsters. If you focus on your game you can achieve anything."

Coming back to what the future holds for Ashwin, Subramaniam feels Ashwin can go on to play at the elite level till at least he is 40.

"There can be many roles in sports if you are talking about the role of a player, today's fitness standards are such that he can play till he is 40 at the international level, because his quality of bowling is good.

"It will be his call, what role he wants to play, how many years he wants to play, that call he will take on his own."

Ashwin has 511 Test wickets at present, making him only the second Indian bowler after Anil Kumble to go past the 500-wicket mark.

"He is somebody who understood the game and the wavelength was pretty good. I'm someone who was looking for an intelligent spinner and he was both intelligent, hearty and knew what he could do.

"Right from the time he made his first-class debut and the kind of bowler he was in his first twenty-odd Test matches, and then to have evolved further from that and to go on to reach different milestones, he has reinvented himself at every point in that journey and kept himself relevant.

"So, it has been a fascinating journey for him, to see the way he has evolved over some time in his career, developing new balls, setting up new batsmen, adapting to different conditions."

Ashwin's mother Chitra Ravichandran was lying in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a Chennai hospital, slipping in and out of consciousness as he breached the 500 Test-wickets barrier.

His mother had just one query for her son when she saw him by her bedside -- "Why did you come?"

To this, Subramaniam stated, "I have said this before the whole family is cricket crazy, and cricket is a huge priority there, and everybody is obsessed with the game. It's only that kind of obsession that has carried him and I am not surprised to hear all that.

"Cricket is the number one priority even during the health crisis."

cricket-lucknow-supergiants-kl-rahul-s-latest-social-media-post-hints-at-ipl-comeback

Wed Mar 06 22:19:53 IST 2024

India batter KL Rahul, who is back after seeking injury consultation in London, on Wednesday, shared photos of his training at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, signalling his comeback in the IPL.

Rahul, who captains Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, shared photos of his intensive training on his Instagram and X accounts with the caption "Hi".

The next season of the IPL gets underway on March 22 and LSG begins their campaign against Rajasthan Royals in an afternoon fixture in Jaipur on March 24.

Rahul is being considered for the wicketkeeper-batter's slot in the squad for the T20 World Cup slated in the USA and the West Indies in June.

The 31-year-old pulled out after the opening Test in Hyderabad in the ongoing five-match series against England with a quadricep tendon injury.

Rahul, who scored 86 and 22 in the Hyderabad Test, complained of pain in his right quadriceps and was initially ruled out of the second match of the series in Vizag.

He was initially named in the squad for the last three Tests subject to fitness, but he was "not 100 per cent" for the third Test in Rajkot as he flew to London to seek medical consultation.

Rahul had gone under the knife last year after sustaining a quadriceps injury in their IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

He went on to miss the entire IPL and the World Test Championship final. He returned to action in the Asia Cup.

cricket-latest-bangladesh-beat-sri-lanka-in-second-t20i-to-level-series

Wed Mar 06 22:01:00 IST 2024

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto led from the front with an unbeaten half-century as Bangladesh levelled the three-match T20 international series with an eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. The Tigers chased down Sri Lanka's 165-5 with 11 balls to spare.

Shanto hit a six off pacer Dasun Shanaka over deep backward square to bring up the victory as well as his fourth fifty. He finished with a 38-ball 53, hitting four fours and two sixes. Towhid Hridoy was on 32 off 25 balls, including two fours and one six.

Hridoy and Shanto added 87 in an unbeaten third-wicket stand to hasten the victory. Bangladesh lost the first game by three wickets after a thrilling contest. The third and decisive game will be played Friday.

The hosts got off to a solid start, courtesy of openers Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar as they combined for 68 runs in 6.5 overs. Pacer Matheesha Pathirana broke the partnership when he had Sarkar (26) caught by Angelo Mathews at midwicket with a short ball. Pathirana's short ball also accounted for the wicket of Das after his 24-ball 36.

Hridoy and Shanto then played sedately to bring up the victory in a comprehensive manner.

Bangladesh's bowlers also put on a disciplined show after Shanto sent Sri Lanka in to bat first.

The Sri Lankan openers took eight balls to open the scoreboard. Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed removed Avishka Fernando with a return catch for a seven ball-duck but Kusal Mendis and Kamindu Mendis put on 66 runs to bring the side back in the contest.

The Bangladeshi bowlers regrouped well and further established their dominance, taking wickets in quick succession. Soumya Sarkar dismissed Kusal for 36 before Kamindu was trapped run out after making a team-high 37. Mustafizur Rahman got the better of Sadeera Samarawickrama (7), who hit a half-century in the last match.

Stand-in captain Charith Asalanka struck a typically aggressive 28 while Angelo Mathews hit a 21-ball 32 not out.

Mathews and Shanaka, who was unbeaten on 20, added 53.

badminton-french-open-super-kidambi-srikanth-stuns-chou-tien-chen-hs-prannoy-loses

Wed Mar 06 19:03:06 IST 2024

India's Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the men's singles second round with a stunning win over Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen but HS Prannoy fell short to make an early exit from French Open Super 750 badminton tournament, here on Wednesday.

The world No 24 Srikanth, who is racing against time to qualify for the Paris Olympics, outwitted 14th-ranked Chen 21-15, 20-22, 21-8 in a 66-minute opening round clash for his third win over the Taiwanese shuttler in seven meetings.

In the next round, the 2021 world championships silver medallist Srikanth will fight it out against China's world No 17 Lu Guang Zu, who ended the campaign of India's HS Prannoy with a fine 21-17, 21-17 win at the adjacent court at the Arena Porte de la Chapelle here.

Srikanth was by far the better player as he roared back from 5-7 behind, winning 14 off the next 17 points to earn the bragging rights.

However, Chen produced a rearguard in the second game and managed to keep his nose ahead in time to take the match to the decider after a gruelling battle of nerves.

After the change of sides, Srikanth was back in his element as from 7-5, the Indian pocketed nine straight points to leave Chen far behind. The Taiwanese managed three points before the Indian banged the door on his face with the remaining five points.

In the adjacent court, Prannoy seemed on the road to glory only to to falter in the end as Guang Zu stole the show.

Prannoy moved to a 5-2 lead early in the opening game and though Guang Zu clawed back with three points, the Indian quickly changed gears to reestablish a three-point advantage at the break.

The duo engaged in some fierce rallies and Prannoy kept things tight for most part. The Chinese, however, kept snapping at the Indian's heels keeping himself within two points, waiting for an opportunity.

It eventually arrived when Prannoy's backhand went to net as the Chinese clawed back at 16-16 before moving to a lead with Prannoy erring again.

Guang Zu then pocketed the opening game by unleashing a quick return on his rival's backhand.

Prannoy made an erratic start to the second game, falling 0-3 behind early. It was back to the grind for the Indian as he slowly drew parity at 6-6 with a few winners like the down-the-line smash on Guang Zu's forehand.

But he also missed the lines, going long and wide a few times as the Chinese again capitalised on his errors to grab a 11-7 advantage at interval.

A determined Prannoy once again levelled terms with four straight points, the last being a lethal net kill.

The rallies starting getting fierce as the duo produce some sensational saves displaying great reflexes, but Guang Zu was a tad sharper and alert as he soon lead 19-15 with Prannoy now struggling to get a grip on the fast-paced rallies.

The Indian did win three straight point to keep hopes alive, before the Chinese grabbed three match points with a smash on his forehand and sealed it with another precise return on forecourt.

cricket-icc-test-batting-rankings-yashasvi-jaiswal-breaks-into-the-top-10

Wed Mar 06 19:00:35 IST 2024

Young India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal on Wednesday broke into the top-10 of the ICC rankings for Test batters for the first time in his career on the back of his tremendous form in the ongoing home series against England.

Jaiswal, who made his Test debut in 2023, jumped two places to be at 10th spot with 727 rating points to his kitty.

In red-hot form with the bat against England, Jaiswal has already created history by joining an exclusive club of Indian batters to have scored 600 and more runs in a Test series. He is the lone left-handed batter to have achieved the feat.

The 22-year-old is only the fifth Indian ever to have crossed the 600-run mark in a Test series with others being Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Sardesai, Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli.

With 655 runs in four Tests at 93.57 which includes two fifties and as many centuries -- both converted into double hundreds -- Jaiswal could well be targeting the legendary Sunil Gavaskar's record of most runs (774) for any Indian batter in a Test series.

Meanwhile, a fine knock of 131 in Rajkot in the third Test against England has propelled Rohit Sharma to the 11th spot with the Indian skipper moving up two positions.

Star batter Virat Kohli, who has missed the entire five-Test series against England, also moved up one spot to be at eighth.

Among the top three batters, Joe Root replaced Steve Smith at the second spot after the English batter scored a quality century in the fourth Test in Ranchi but the Australian's struggle persisting for big scores at the opening slot.

A loss in form with the bat for Marnus Labuschagne meant the right-handed Australian batter slipped as many as five positions after twin failures in the Wellington Test against New Zealand.

Among bowlers, India's Ravindra Jadeja slipped one spot to be at seventh but Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon both moved up in the rankings to get to fourth and sixth respectively, following Australia's huge win by 172 runs over New Zealand.

gujarat-police-question-ipl-star-abhishek-sharma-over-model-suicide

Wed Mar 06 18:50:13 IST 2024

Gujarat Police questioned Indian Premier League (IPL) cricketer Abhishek Sharma in Surat city for nearly four hours in connection with the suspected suicide of model Tanya Singh, an official said on Wednesday.

Abhishek Sharma, who the police said was in a relationship with Singh till seven months ago, was quizzed on Tuesday, days after the 28-year-old model was found hanging from the ceiling of her apartment in the city's Vesu area on February 19. No suicide note was found.

Police had asked Sharma, who hails from Punjab, to appear before them for recording statement after a preliminary probe revealed both were in touch with each other in the past and the model had also sent text messages to the cricketer, said the official.

The cricketer was questioned at the Vesu police station for nearly four hours and then allowed to go, he said. "We questioned Sharma about his relationship with Tanya Singh and since when they knew each other. It was revealed that both broke up 6 to 7 months ago. Though she used to send him text messages over the phone, he had stopped replying to them," said the official seeking anonymity.

Abhishek Sharma has so far played in domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and in the cash-rich T20 league IPL for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and Sunrisers Hyderabad teams.

how-zarah-ann-gladys-8-is-taking-the-skateboarding-world-by-storm

Wed Mar 06 18:37:42 IST 2024

Eight-year-old Zarah Ann Gladys made history when she navigated the bowls, curves, and ramps of the hollowed-out park area within the Dubai Harbour—the venue of the World Skateboarding Tour 2024 (WST 2024), situated next to the famous Palm Jumeirah archipelago. As the youngest participant at the WST 2024—a crucial step on the 'Road to Paris' for skateboarders aiming to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games—this Indian child prodigy hailing from Kochi, Kerala, performed stalls and flip tricks to earn a respectable score of 8.50, finishing 61st in the qualifying round on February 29.

Skateboarding competitions can broadly be classified into two categories: park and street skateboarding. Skateboarders are assessed based on the height and speed of their tricks during jumps, as well as their ability to utilise the terrain. The qualifying round in which Gladys participated was topped by Yosozumi Sakura, Japan’s 21-year-old Olympic skateboard champion. During a Zoom interview with THE WEEK, Gladys couldn't contain her excitement about competing alongside Sakura and other prominent figures in the world of skateboarding. "Hasegawa Mizuho, Sakura, Ruby [Lilley]," Gladys listed some of her idols whom she had met during competitions. "My daughter is a big fan of [15-year-old British-Japanese skateboarder] Sky Brown. Unfortunately, Brown wasn't part of this World Tour," said Chintu Davis, Gladys’s father, who operates a water and wastewater systems business in Dubai.

Gladys began skateboarding at the age of four during the Covid-19 pandemic. "She became interested after watching her friends practise," explained Davis. "So, for her fifth birthday, her mother - Annie Gracias - and I gifted her a skateboard." Since then, Gladys has participated in numerous competitions, secured titles, and received support from the Roller Skating Federation of India. In December 2022, she won a silver medal at India’s National Roller-Skating Championships in the under-9 age group. She made her international debut at the Skateboarding Park World Championship 2023 in Rome the previous year. Following in her footsteps, Gladys's sister, Karen Joe, 4, has also taken up skating. Karen began skating at two. When THE WEEK asked Gladys if she had taught her sister how to skate, she said, "I didn't give her any tips; she just observed and learned the tricks on her own."

The Dubai event was a pivotal moment for skateboarders aiming to enhance their Olympic World Skate Ranking for the Paris 2024 Olympics. However, Gladys has her sights set not on Paris but on Los Angeles. Her dream is to represent India in park skateboarding at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Davis explains that it was for this dream that the family of four relocated from Dubai to Sharjah. "The Aljada Skate Park in Sharjah boasts Olympic-level quality facilities. In recent years, World Championships have been held there. To ensure our kids have access to the best facilities, we made the move to Sharjah," he said. The family opted to allow Gladys to participate in international competitions early on to provide her with early exposure to Olympic-level competition. This decision came at a huge price, though - over 15,000 AED (approximately Rs 3.3 lakh) for participation alone.

Gladys is currently under the guidance of Colombian professional coach Sergio. She practises four to five days a week, adjusting her schedule according to the weather. "We typically spend three to four hours at the park during our practice sessions," Davis said. "School is from 7am to 3.30pm. After returning from school, she takes a nap before heading to the park around eight o'clock – it remains open until 1am. Due to the hot climate here, night is the most suitable time for practice."

The grade II student at GEMS Our Own English High School, Sharjah, gets all the support at her alma mater. Davis said that the school accommodates Gladys's competition schedule by allowing breaks for competitions. "She missed three exams when she participated in WST 2024. But, the school is giving her retests."