Sports

Horse had bolted by the time we figured Sri Lanka out in 1996 – Azhar

Published

3 years ago

2023/08/6

Thilina Walpola

Former Indian Test captain Mohammad Azharuddin with a young fan in Colombo.

by Rex Clementine

Has there ever been a more memorable debut in cricket than that of Mohammad Azharuddin’s? Debuting against England in 1984 as a 21-year-old youngster Azhar completed three Test hundreds in his first three Test matches. They were not just hundreds but elegance all over. As Matthew Engel, the Editor of Wisden wondered, Azhar is the ‘Michelangelo in the midst of housepainters.’

Three hundreds in the first three Tests has been a feat that has never been matched before or after.

A couple of months after that memorable debut, India toured Sri Lanka. But Azhar failed to convert his early success during his first tour overseas – managing just 109 runs in six innings without a fifty. It was also the series where Sri Lanka recorded their maiden Test win.

“I don’t think we played well in that 1985 Test series. It was my fourth Test match and expectations were high for me, but I failed. It was a good learning experience. The wickets were different at that time. You had some very good fast bowlers – De Mel, Ahangama and the two Ratnayakes. They were very good exponents of swing bowling. For me it was a very new experience as I had not played on that kind of seaming wickets,” remembered Azhar.

Azhar remains immensely popular in Sri Lanka. You can safely say that more than Sachin, Kapil, Gavaskar or Dhoni, Azhar is Sri Lanka’s most loved cricketer. There are reasons for that.

Azhar’s career-best score was 199. He never made a double hundred. That 199 came against us. So how did he miss out on the double hundred? Well, he was given out leg before wicket to Ravi Ratnayake. Incidentally, the umpire was Azhar’s close friend from his hometown of Hyderabad – V.K. Ramaswamy.

There’s another reason to love Azhar. Mere days after the LTTE had bombed the Central Bank in 1996, Sri Lanka’s World Cup games were in jeopardy. Australia and West Indies pulled out. They either wanted the games played in India or points be given to them as Colombo was unsafe to host the matches, so they claimed.

Indian cricket supremo and master tactician Jagmohan Dalmiya was hard at work. He assembled a joint India – Pakistan team to play in Colombo to show their security concerns were a false alarm. Azhar had to lead the team. He did it without any hesitation and the nation of Sri Lanka embraced the Indian captain.

“We wanted to showcase that our Asian solidarity was strong. That sent a strong message across the cricketing world. I guess that made the nation of Sri Lanka to admire me more than my cricket. I had no problem doing it for Sri Lanka had been a place that I loved. The warmth of the people, the hospitality that everyone shows you and I just love being here. I must thank the players, especially the Pakistan captain at that time. Wasim Akram to play under the Indian captain must not have been easy,” Azhar recalled.

“Since that tour, I have realized how popular I am in Sri Lanka. There’s so much love and admiration by the Sri Lankans not only when I come here but when I visit other parts of the world as well.

For some reason, the Indian city of Hyderabad has produced some of that nation’s finest Test captains. There was M.L. Jaisimha in the 1960s followed by Tiger Pataudi in the 1970s. Then came Azhar in the 1990s.

“In Hyderabad what happens is when you are young and when you make an impact even at school level, they give you that responsibility of leading the side early in your career. So, you get opportunities early. Maybe that’s one reason why we have that trait. Personally, I was very shy of leading the side and more than happy to concentrate on my batting. As luck would have it, everything fell in a different way and I guess it was my destiny.”

As captain of India, could he have done things differently when his bowlers got a hiding during the 1996 World Cup. It was rare for Sri Lanka to beat India twice in their own backyard in the space of two weeks.

“They played differently to other teams. New Zealand had something similar in 1992, but they couldn’t go on. What happened in that 1996 World Cup was that by the time we drew up plans to stop Sri Lanka’s attacking style, most teams had been badly exposed,” Azhar explained.

“It was bold of them to adopt such an approach. But I guess when it didn’t work, they had the substance to do damage control and that proved to be the key to their success. Aravinda was unstoppable in that tournament. He put the bowling to the sword no matter how tricky the situation was. Mentally he was very strong and when he fiercely focused on something it was bad news for the opposition. Not to forget Sanath, who did so much damage and Sri Lanka were deserving winners.”

“Of course they were so well lead by Arjuna. It amazes me how even to date Arjuna has the love and affection of all his players. It’s similar to what Clive Lloyd gets from West Indies of the 1980s and what Ian Chappell receives from Australians of 1970s. You can’t be taught to inspire people. You have to be born a leader.’

Azhar was one player who was rarely troubled by Muttiah Muralitharan. His game plan was aggression. Blessed with supple wrists and superb footwork, he always dominated Murali.

“When you are playing bowlers of great repute and so much skill you have to be positive and creative. What Murali has done with 800 Test wickets and 500 ODI wickets is unbelievable. I admire him a lot. I had got out to him too but by and large I tried to attack him all the time. He was an attacking bowler. If you are playing bowlers who are defensive, you have the time at your hand. But against an attacking bowler, if you try to be defensive you are playing into his hands.

These have been troubled times for the national cricket team, but Azhar urges fans to be patient. “It hurts me to see the status of Sri Lankan cricket. But they have a young side. These guys will develop over time. Just be patient and keep backing them. They won the Asia Cup last year and they can only move forward. I hope they become consistent. I have no doubt about the talent in Sri Lanka, it’s the consistency that I would like to see.”

Azhar’s batting was magical, his captaincy was inspirational while he was India’s best fielder by some distance. He was stranded on 99 Test matches, unable to complete the milestone of 100 Tests as the match-fixing controversy broke out in 2000.

However, it didn’t take him much time to find his way back into cricket. He was elected as the President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association and he could go on to lead the powerful BCCI one day. He was also a Member of Parliament. For a man who has a fan base all over India, he didn’t contest from his hometown but went to the far-off Uttar Pradesh. He won the elections hands down from a constituency which the Congress Party hadn’t won in 25 years.

“The cricket elections is coming again on the 15th of this month and I am running. As for politics, I am the working President of Congress in Telangana state. Politics is a field where you have to dedicate a lot of time and I look forward to serving the party and my country again.”

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Draw on the cards, but Mominul and Shanto extend Bangladesh’s lead

Published

3 hours ago

2026/05/12

Priyan

Mominul Haque made 56 before falling close to stumps [Cricinfo]

Bangladesh edged ahead of Pakistan on a day cut in half by rain and bad light, with Monimul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto stretching their lead to 179, with seven wickets still in hand.

With the afternoon session wiped out entirely by torrential rains, Bangladesh were solid either side of it, thanks primarily to 105-run stand between the pair, their century partnership this Test, and just the third time a pair has done so for Bangladesh.

Pakistan’s seam bowlers threatened early after removing the openers cheaply once more, but found themselves held up by the two left-handers, with a late strike from Shaheen Shah Afridi in the final session the only triumph they had to show for the rest of the day.

The lights were on almost from the outset on an overcast morning, and the first dismissal looked like the kind a seam bowler would get on a green top under the clouds.

Abbas got one to nip back in off the surface into Mahmudul Hasan Joy’s pads, right under the knee roll. With Pakistan constricting the run-scoring, they struck again through Hasan Ali, who took advantage of the variable bounce to rear one up that caught the shoulder of Shadman Islam’s bat.

The job of rebuilding fell once more to the pair primarily responsible for putting Bangladesh in this position of relative control. Mominul and Shanto merely picked up where they’d left off, settling in and taking the sting out of Pakistan’s attack. Mominul was the more cautious one while Shanto gradually picked up the scoring rate, every run appearing to tilt the match situation ever so slightly Bangladesh’s way.

In the final half hour of the session, the pair looked positively dominant and, in a repeat of the first innings, the runs in that period flowed easily. Salman Ali Agha’s spin posed a threat early on, with Mohammad Rizwan dropping a sharp chance off an outside edge, but even that threat faded soon after. In his final over before lunch, Mominul leapt down the wicket and whacked him over his head.

That the heavens opened might have been an advantage for Pakistan, in that it broke up the pair’s rhythm and made Bangladesh’s calculations about the pacing of their innings more complicated. However, nearly four hours since then previous ball, the resumption of play saw no semblance of a loss of control from either batter. Both ambled to their half-centuries unencumbered, with only Abbas’s unerring accuracy and incessant ability to squeeze movement from a placid surface occasionally discomforting them.

Shan Masood had held off turning to Noman Ali until 35 overs had gone by, presumably largely because he did not wish to bowl a fingerspinner to two left-armers.

But as soon as he was handed the ball, he demonstrated why that theory did not deserve the weight Pakistan appeared to put in it. In his first over, he got one to rear up to Mominul, who could only splice the ball to short leg, where Abdullah Fazal put down a sharp chance. He was not taken out of the attack for the remainder of the day, often exploiting the rough around the left hander’s off stump, and nearly snaring Mushfiqur Rahim when he mistimed a slog agonisingly over long-on’s head.

Bangladesh’s serene progress was only interrupted when Afridi found seam movement to bring one into Mominul, who could not get his outside edge out of the way. With some time remaining in the final session, Pakistan may have hoped to trigger a collapse, but between then and until bad light forced the end of play, Shanto and Mushfiqur ensured there was no such thing.

Brief scores:
Bangladesh 413 and 152 for 3 in 50.3 overs (Najimul Hossain Shanto 58*, Mominul Haque 56; Hasan Ali 1-23) lead Pakistan 386 in 100.3 overs (Azan Awais 103, Imam-ul-Haq 45, Abdullah Fazal 60, Salman Agha 58, Mohammad Rizwan 59; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 5-102, Taijul Islam 2-46, Taskin Ahmed 2-70) by 179 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Miller, Axar and Ashutosh keep Delhi Capital’s IPL alive

Published

3 hours ago

2026/05/12

Priyan

Shreyas Iyer grimaces after another loss for Punjab Kings [Cricinfo]

In a topsy-turvy contest, Delhi Capitals (DC) pulled off the highest successful T20 chase by any team in Dharmasala to hand Punjab Kings (PBKS) their fourth successive loss. Most importantly, the win kept DC’s slim hopes of making the IPL playoffs alive.

The pitch assisted seamers so much that no over of spin was bowled in the whole game – the only time that happened in an IPL match of considerable length was back in 2008. After being sent in, PBKS rode on Priyansh Arya and Shreyas Iyer’s half-centuries to post 210 for 5. Iyer later said he felt it was 30 more than the par score. It seemed that way when DC lost three wickets in the powerplay but Axar Patel and David Miller kept them going. Both scored fifties and took DC close.

PBKS’ wayward bowling – they conceded 17 wides – didn’t help them either. Miller’s dismissal gave them a chance to come back into the match. But, with 36 needed from three overs, Ashutosh Sharma, Madhav Tiwari and Auqib Nabi wrapped up the game with an over to spare.

In the last few days, all the chatter about Arya had been around his dismissals against the short ball. But Mitchell Starc started with a full delivery outside off stump, perhaps looking for early movement. Arya lofted it over cover-point for a six. In the reverse fixture, too, he had opened his account with a first-ball six, that time off Nabi.

When Starc went short, it was too short and sailed over for five wides. Arya launched another six in the over before Prabhsimran Singh capped it off with a four. Starc went for 22, the most he has conceded in the opening over of a T20. He did not bowl another over until the tenth of the innings.

Arya showed no respect to Lungi Ngidi either, welcoming him into the attack with back-to-back sixes. By the end of three overs, PBKS had raced to 51 for no loss.

The ball was still seaming around, and Nabi and Mukesh Kumar used it to put the brakes on the scoring rate. While Arya brought up his fifty off 24 balls, PBKS managed only 21 in the next three overs, with Nabi finishing the powerplay with a two-run over. Prabhsimran struggled for fluency for most of his innings and eventually fell to Mukesh for 18 off 15. Arya fell soon after, caught at deep cover off Tiwari, leaving PBKS at 97 for 2 after nine.

Iyer, batting at No. 3, started positively but Cooper Connolly was slow to get going. As a result, PBKS scored only 33 runs from overs 11 to 14. Connolly finally got his timing right and hit Starc over long-off for a 96-metre six in the 15th over. In the next, he took Ngidi for a four and a six off successive deliveries.

Iyer, anyway, was picking up regular boundaries. After a six-run 17th over by Mukesh, he hit Tiwari for two sixes, the first one taking him to his fifty off 32 balls. However, Tiwari removed Connolly in that over, and when Starc started the 19th by dismissing Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh off successive balls, it looked like the innings might peter out. But Suryansh Shedge hit the hat-trick ball over the bowler’s head for a six. He smashed another six and a four off Starc’s remaining three balls to take PBKS past 200.

Playing his first game of the season, Yash Thakur didn’t take long to make an impact. Bowling around the wicket in the second over of the innings, he uprooted Abishek Porel’s middle stump. From the other end, Arshdeep Singh dismissed KL Rahul with a short ball, Marco Jansen completing an excellent diving catch after running 28 metres from first slip towards fine leg. Iyer’s decision to give Arshdeep a third over in the powerplay also paid off as he cramped Sahil Parakh, who was charging down the pitch, with a short ball and had him caught at short third.

Axar and Tristan Stubbs stabilised the innings from 33 for 3. Stubbs was given a life on 9 when Arshdeep dropped him at long-on off Ben Dwarshuis. But Stubbs could add only three more to his tally. After a mix-up with Axar, he failed to beat Connolly’s direct hit at the non-striker’s end.

After Stubbs’ run out, DC were 74 for 4 in the ninth over. It could have been 74 for 5 a ball later but Shedge put down Axar at deep square leg. The DC captain, on 25 at that time, added 64 in 34 balls with Miller to revive the chase.

In dewy conditions, PBKS got the ball replaced after the 13th over. It didn’t bring much relief, though, and Axar hit Stoinis for a hat-trick of fours, bringing up his fifty on the way. However, attempting a six off the following ball, he holed out to long-on.

Miller and Ashutosh took 15 off Jansen in the 16th over. Miller then muscled Dwarshuis for two sixes off the first two balls of the 17th to make DC the favourites. He fell off the next ball trying to hit another six but Ashutosh’s use of angles and Tiwari’s clean hitting shut the door on PBKS.

Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals 216 for 7 in 19 overs (Sahil Parakh 13, Tristan Stubbs 12, Axar Patel 56, David Miller 51, Ashutosh Sharma 24, Madhav Tiwari 18*, Auqib Nabi 10*; Arshdeep Singh 2-21, Yash Thakur 2-55, Ben Dwarshuis 1-51, Marcus Stoinis 1-44) beat Punjab Kings 210 for 5 in 20 overs (Priyansh Arya 56, Prabhsimran Singh 18, Shreyas Iyer 59*, Cooper Connolly 38, Suryansh Shedge 21*; Mitchell Starc 2-57, Mukesh Kumar 1-31, Madhav Tiwari 2-40) by three wickets

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Sigera’s 189 powers Mahanama to major honours in drawn Big Match

Published

5 hours ago

2026/05/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

Dulnith Sigera

A monumental innings by Dulnith Sigera who put on a commanding opening stand with Sineth Veerarathne highlighted proceedings as Mahanama College posted 387 for nine declared and secured major honours in their annual Big Match against arch rivals DS Senanayake College at the SSC Ground on Sunday.

‎Resuming after DS Senanayake had posted 344 in their first innings, Mahanama built their reply around a superb 192-run opening partnership between Sigera and Veerarathne, laying a solid foundation for a dominant batting display.

‎Sigera emerged the chief architect of the innings with a magnificent 189, anchoring the batting for more than 70 overs in an innings that combined patience with aggression. Facing 209 deliveries, he struck ten fours and nine sixes in an entertaining knock before being run out, narrowly missing out on a double century.

‎At the other end, Veerarathne provided ideal support with a valuable 91, facing 135 balls and hitting seven boundaries and a six as the pair frustrated the DS bowling attack with the opening stand.

‎Mahanama continued to capitalise on the strong platform even after the opening breakthrough, with useful contributions from Chamika Heenatigala (30) and Sanul Weerarathne (28), enabling them to declare on 387 for nine in 87.4 overs and gain the upper hand in the traditional encounter.

‎For DS Senanayake, Oshadha Perera claimed three wickets for 63 runs, while Randisha Bandaranayake and Haamid Afdhal picked up two wickets apiece.

‎The drawn encounter was notable for three outstanding batting feats and an impressive six-wicket haul by left-arm spinner Chamika Heenatigala.

‎If seasoned campaigner Sigera stole the limelight for Mahanama on the final day, it was 14-year-old Miyuru Bandara who captured attention on day one with a composed century that helped DS Senanayake compile 344 in their first innings.

‎The young opener displayed maturity beyond his years, scoring a patient 100, while Randisha Bandaranayake (48) and Chanul Athale (47) made important contributions lower down the order.

‎Heenatigala was the standout bowler for Mahanama, bowling tirelessly to finish with impressive figures of six wickets for 100 runs in 41 overs.

‎In their second essay DS Senanayake reached 54 for one before the match ended in a draw, with Shevan Welgama unbeaten on 25 and Sithru Gunarathna not out on 14.