Sports
Almost indispensable KJP
by Rex Clementine
No one is indispensable, it is said. Even Moses after guiding the Israelites for 40 years through the desert couldn’t enter the Promised Land. Justin Langer had won Australia’s first-ever ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup and more importantly the Ashes, but even he could not overstay his welcome. Phil Jackson had won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls but wouldn’t get an extension beyond a certain point. So, no one is indispensable.
However, there comes a time when you are faced with life’s toughest challenges, you have got to fall back on your tried and tested men. The guys who will bail you out invariably. That is exactly what happened at Eden Park on Sunday as we were treated to a thrilling contest in Auckland as Sri Lanka won their first contest on tour.
Sri Lanka had been hopeless in New Zealand. Bowled out for 76 runs to blow away their only hopes of automatic qualification for this year’s showpiece cricketing event in India – the World Cup – it looked as if the team will come back home struggling to beat the Kiwis even once. Kusal Janith Perera returns to the side after shoulder surgery and proves what the team had been lacking.
One of Sri Lanka’s most successful openers in shorter formats of the game, KJP is pushed to number three as Sri Lanka refuse a left-hand – right-hand combination. He walks in to face the second ball of the innings after Pathum Nissanka falls for a first-ball duck and bats so well to give the team a target which the bowlers can defend.
Known as someone who puts bowling to the sword from ball one, KJP was well aware that his team had been facing issues of not batting out the full quote of overs in the 50-over format. So, he didn’t want similar things happening in the T-20 format and changed his style batting through the innings.
KJP’s strike rate of 117 was quite slow by his standards especially when Dhananjaya de Silva maintains a strike rate of 150. But it did the trick for the team as he batted around others rotating the strike well. This is what the ODI team has been lacking and KJP’s return augurs well for the qualifiers.
KJP is a largely misunderstood man. He was in the midst of a crisis after being handed the opening batsman’s role for Sri Lanka’s successful campaign in the ICC World T-20 in 2014. It shouldn’t have been an issue, but a senior had been demoted and had a bone to pick. This was very early in his career, and he began to be a bit of an introvert from there on playing his cards close to his chest, not the ideal thing in a team game.
In and out of the Test side, KJP’s greatest knock came in Durban in 2019 when he starred in the nation’s greatest Test win in history and that set up a historic series win in South Africa. Soon, he was out of the Test side too.
Two years later, he was appointed captain, by default. A host of seniors had been axed and the selectors launched their ill-advised youth policy. KJP was the senior most and ended up doing a job that he never wanted. A contract dispute saw him being in the center of controversy again. Some of his bosses proved to be unforgiving.
KJP had developed a shoulder injury but played through pain during the T-20 World Cup of 2021 in UAE. He was also keeping wickets. You always wonder how costly was that David Warner drop. Would Australia gone onto win the trophy is a question that we can discus until the cows come home. But the fact of the matter is that KJP is better off playing as a specialist batter. How come guys who have years of experience in international cricket fail to understand this is a question that you keep asking constantly.
By end of 2021, his shoulder injury had gone from bad to worse. Eventually, he had to undergo surgery in the UK and was out of action for 18 months. At one point he was in doubt about whether to undergo surgery or not but some sound advice from his childhood hero Sanath Jayasuriya, whom he met accidentally during the funeral of former Board Chairman Vijaya Malalasekara made him rethink. Malalasekara incidentally was instrumental in spotting KJP’s talent and giving him a full scholarship to Royal.
There’s perhaps not much cricket left in KJP, maybe less than five years. But Sri Lankan fans will be hoping that he will be doing more feats like Durban for the team is in desperate need of them.
North Korea has held the Pyongyang International Marathon for the first time in six years, welcoming some 200 foreign runners to the streets of the reclusive country’s capital.
The marathon, which was launched in 1981, took place annually in April to celebrate the birth of its founding leader Kim Il Sung.
Before Sunday’s marathon, the race was last held in 2019, wherein 950 foreigners participated. North Korea sealed itself off the following year, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
North Korea has been slow to reopen since, allowing only Russian tourists into its capital since last year.
Runners have had to enter the country as part of an organised tour group, as was the case before the pandemic.
Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based travel agency listed as an “exclusive partner” on the event website, offers six-day marathon tours at 2,195 euros ($2,406) including flights to and from Beijing.
“The Pyongyang Marathon is an extremely unique experience as it provides an opportunity to interact with locals,” the agency wrote on its website.
Sunday’s marathon route took participants past landmarks across the city, including the Kim Il Sung stadium, the Arch of Triumph built to commemorate Kim Il Sung’s role in resisting Japanese rule, and the Mirae Future Scientists’ Street said to be a residential district for scientists and engineers.
Pictures online show the stadium – where runners start and finish their race – filled with spectators, many of them cheering and waving gold-coloured paper flags.
Pak Kum Dong, a North Korean runner, told Reuters news agency: “The eyes of our people on me helped me to bear the difficulties whenever I feel tired.”
There is no publicly available information on race results.
North Korea had only statred to scale back Covid-19 restrictions in the middle of 2023.
In Feburary, it allowed some Western tourists into the remote, eastern city Rason, but suspended those tours just weeks after.
[BBC]
Noor Ahmad, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left-arm wristspinner, continues to head the Purple Cap table with ten wickets from four games. His spell of 4 for 18 in CSK’s first game against MI, remains his best so far.
DC’s Mitchell Starc who picked up his maiden five-for in T20s, against SRH remains second on the list with nine wickets in three games.
GT’s Mohammed Siraj equalled Starc’s tally on Sunday night with his own IPL best, albeit he has played four games to Starc’s three. Siraj picked up 4 for 17 against SRH to hand them their four successive loss, and was named the Player of the Match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) suffered another batting malfunction, this time on a slow, black-soil surface at home, crashing to their fourth successive defeat in IPL 2025. Having lost Travishek in the powerplay, SRH waited until the 13th over to see the first six of the innings, and managed only one more after that Mohammad Siraj caused irreparable damage right from the start, ending with his career-best IPL figures of 4 for 17.
Pat Cummins’ cameo (22* off nine balls) and then his dismissal of Jos Buttler for a duck in Gujarat Titans’ (GT) chase of 153 gave SRH some hope, but that faded away once Washington Sundar clattered 23 off nine balls in the powerplay. Earlier in the day, GT didn’t need Washington with the ball, but his attacking enterprise at No. 4 settled their chase on a slow pitch. Washington fell agonisingly short of a maiden IPL half-century, but his captain Shubman Gill ushered GT home, with an unbeaten 61 off 43 balls, along with Sherfane Rutherford.
Siraj had sparked the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to life when he gave Travis Head a send-off in Adelaide last December. Four months on, Siraj was bowling to Head for the first time in T20s, and the battle lasted just five balls. After Head scored two fours off Siraj, the fast bowler struck with his trademark wobble-seam delivery, having him chip a catch to midwicket for 8.
Abhishek Sharma hit four fours before Siraj had him miscuing a catch to mid-on in his third over of the powerplay. It was Siraj’s 100th wicket in the IPL and sixth in the powerplay, the most by a bowler in that phase so far this season, with an economy rate of 6.27.
Siraj then returned in the death to york both Aniket Verma, the last recognised batter for SRH, and Simarjeet Singh, their Impact Player.
With both Head and Abhishek gone early,Rashid Khan, who was coming into this game on the back of figures of 4-0-54-0, could afford to ease himself in. He started fairly well by giving away just 10 runs in his first two overs, but when he erred in length, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klassen dispatched him to the fence. Rashid finished with 4-0-31-0, going wicketless for a third successive game, and with tournament figures of 1 for 143 in 14 overs at an economy rate of 10.21
Left-arm fingerspinner Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, on the other hand, showed remarkable control over his length and variations. He claimed the big wicket of Klaasen by knocking him over with a quick dart, which skidded off the pitch, for 27 off 19 balls. Sai Kishore also had Reddy holing out for 31 off 34 balls and finished with 4-0-24-2.
That SRH passed 150 was down to Cummins’ late blows. He was the only SRH batter in the top eight to have a strike rate of over 160.
It appeared like GT had handed a franchise debut to Washington to primarily match his offspin up with SRH’s left-hander heavy top order. But with Siraj dominating the powerplay and Sai Kishore taking care of the middle overs, GT ended up not using his offspin.
Washington then walked out to bat at No. 4 after his childhood friend B Sai Sudarshan and Buttler fell cheaply in successive overs. Washington took advantage of the last over of the powerplay, smoking Simarjeet for two sixes and two fours. It provided a throwback to Washington of 2016, when he opened the batting, alongside Abhinav Mukund, in the TNPL and showed the intent to hit over the top. Just like that, Washington dumped SRH’s Impact Player out of the attack.
Washington continued to attack even after that. When the ambidextrous Kamindu Mendis darted one on the stumps with his right hand, Washington manufactured swinging room and laced him over extra-cover for four. Washington seemed set for a fifty until he holed out one shy of the landmark in the 14th over.
Gill, who had already crossed 50 by that point, finished the job along with Rutherford, who hit an unbeaten 35 off 16 balls.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 153 for 3 in 16.4 overs (Shubman Gill 61*, Washington Sundar 49, Sherfaine Rutherford 35*; Mohammed Shami 2-28, Pat Cumminss 1-26) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 152 for 8 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 18, Ishan Krishan 17, Nitish Kumar Reddy 31, Heinrich Klassen 27, Aniket Verma 18,Pat Cummins 22*; Mohammed Siraj 4-17, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore 2-24, Prasidh Krishna 2-25)by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
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