Sports
Srinivasan wanted Murali ‘at any cost’
Indian cricket supremo N. Srinivasan has revealed that he wanted ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in his IPL franchise – Chennai Super Kings – at any cost.
In 2008, when the inaugural IPL auction was held, Murali was in the twilight of his career but still was a match winner. Srinivasan wasn’t part of the auction as he was Treasurer of BCCI then but says he had issued clear instructions on getting the services of Murali.
“The late VB Chandrasekhar was very much part of the team then. In fact he was holding the paddle in the first auction. I had told him, at any cost we have to get M.S. Dhoni and at any cost we’ve to get Muralitharan. Actually, it was my father’s annual death ceremony that day. I had to organize it in Mumbai itself. By the time, I’d finished, he’d got both Dhoni and Muralitharan,” Srinivasan told Cricbuzz.
CSK were runners-up in the inaugural edition of the tournament losing to Shane Warne’s Rajastan Royals in a last ball thriller. They have won the title on three occasions including back to back titles in 2010 and 2011.
Sri Lankans maybe not in high demand at the IPL at the moment but there was a time when the entire Sri Lankan team was picked up by various franchises. As same as Murali, Mumbai Indians bid aggressively to hire Sanath Jayasuriya paying him a sum of US$ 975,000 per season.
Murali is still involved in the IPL although not with CSK. He has joined another close friend of his V.V.S. Laxman, who is the mentor of Hyderabad franchise. Murali is a bowling coach.
Srinivasan went onto become the President of BCCI and then President of the International Cricket Council. He was instrumental in the Big Three concept. Eventually, India, Australia and England took control of the governance of cricket and a large chunk of ICC revenues.
India capped off a dominant tri-series campaign in Colombo with a resounding win over Sri Lanka, posting their highest-ever women’s ODI total on Sri Lankan soil—344 for five —before bowling the hosts out for 245.
Smriti Mandhana led the charge with a superb 11th ODI hundred—her first against Sri Lanka—anchoring partnerships of 70 with Pratika Rawal and 120 with Harleen Deol.
Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Jemimah Rodrigues chipped in with brisk 40s, while India smashed 90 runs in the last 10 overs.
Despite a spirited effort, Sri Lanka’s daunting chase faltered. Chamari Atapattu’s 50 and a few half-century stands weren’t enough to close the gap. Seamer Amanjot Kaur struck early, removing two of the top three, while offspinner Sneh Rana starred with four for 38, finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker.
India’s batting wasn’t without drama—Rawal survived an early chance, and Mandhana was twice let off before unleashing her full range of strokes. She was especially brutal on Atapattu, sweeping her repeatedly through square leg and cover en route to a 92-ball century.
Amanjot’s return in the middle overs derailed the chase further, bowling Gunaratne and setting up Rana’s match-turning spell. Atapattu, despite reaching her 19th ODI fifty, was undone by Rana, who later removed three more to slam the door shut.
Late resistance from Sanjeewani and Kumari delayed the inevitable, but a run-out and two quick Rana strikes wrapped up the win.
India’s comprehensive display sent a strong message ahead of the Women’s World Cup, reaffirming their title credentials.
Brief scores:
India
342 for seven (Mandhana 116, Rodrigues 44, Kumari 2-59) beat Sri Lanka 245 (Atapattu 51, Rana 4-38, Amanjot 3-54) by 97 runs.
Apna Perera and Dinara de Silvaemerged as the men’s and women’s singles champions respectively at the 110th Colombo Championships continued at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts.
In the men’s singles final, Apna beat Ashen Silva 7-6, 6-1. Dinara registered convincing 6-1, 6-2 win over Venuli Jayasinghe in the women’s final.
In the boys’ Under 18 semi-finals, Ashlin de Silva beat Nethmika Wickramasinghe 6-2, 6-1 while Mayooran Kubheran beat Aahil Kaleel 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.
National champion Chamod Yodasinghe secured a creditable second place rank for an impressive performace of 10.27 seconds as he out did a strong field in the 100 metres at the Dubai Grand Prix on Friday.
Yodasinghe who was entered only for the 4x100m relay received a golden opportunity in Dubai when his request to run the 100 metres there was granted by the organisers. The athlete trained by sprint coach Sanjeewa Weerakkody equalled his personal best (10.27 seconds) in winning his race.
Incidentally, his winning time was second only to the winner of the first race where top ranked athletes including Yupun Abeykoon competed.
Oman’s Ali Al Balooshi was the fastest as he clocked 10.19 seconds while Abeykoon finished fifth with a time of 10.39 seconds.
Abeykoon who was making his first 100 metres appearance of the year was ranked sixth overall.
In the 4×100 metres relay Sri Lanka’s quartet finished third in a time of 39.41 seconds.
Yodasinghe will next compete at the Asian Athletics Championships later this month.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s 4×400 metres mixed relay team finished last in their heat at the World Relays in China yesterday.
by Reemus Fernando
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