Sports
The Emperor at 60!
by Rex Clementine
Arjuna Ranatunga hasn’t spared any sacred cow. All those years ago, he targeted Shane Warne calling him an ordinary cricketer and there was no love lost between the two of them. Yet, when there was a ceremony remembering Warne in Galle last year ahead of the Australia – Sri Lanka Test match, he not only showed up but urged a few of his team mates to come along. Exterior is rough and tough but interior is soft and kind.
Sportsmen rewrite record books. But Arjuna more often rewrote the rule books. He also upset the apple cart, told the Board Chairman once to get out of the Sri Lankan dressing room, broke a few glass ceilings and was a pain for successive administrations of the sport both here and overseas. He turns 60 today.
As India cements owner N. Srinivasan made a regal entry into cricket governance, everyone was careful not even to talk anything out of turn. The business tycoon was known for his ruthlessness. Influential figures in cricket who knew inside out of the devout Brahmin warned that never to cross Srinivasan’s path. But Arjuna took on Srinivasan.
He was the only one. The rest of them, including the founding members of the ICC – England and Australia fell in line with him and agreed for the Big Three takeover of the ICC and a larger portion of ICC revenue to India. Only Arjuna spoke out. This is an unfair world and cricket is an unfair sport. It’s not supposed to be that way. Forget the world. At least cricket is supposed to be a fair playing field.
Srinivasan taught Arjuna a bitter lesson. He contacted Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge and promised a tour of India that would bring US$ 10 million to SLC. But only on one condition. The government had to get rid of Arjuna as the Board Chairman.
Lokuge said deal. Arjuna was out. That Lokuge went and signed a television deal with a backlisted company and plundered millions of dollars is a different story.
The rule of the day seems that in cricket everyone should make money. Ministers, Presidential Advisors, Lawyers, Law Enforcement Officers and even us reporters. To hell with cricket. Even if the national cricket team’s performance has hit an all time low it doesn’t matter as long as the board is making profits. It is fine if we don’t play international cricket for nearly three months when the IPL is on. The important thing is not to antagonize India.
You thought the Srinivasan episode would have taught Arjuna a few lessons. No. He has not learned a single thing.
Srinivasan though only had clout being the big boss of BCCI. His successor Jay Shah not only has clout, but he has even political power being the son of India’s Interior Minister and number two of the ruling BJP after the Prime Minister.
You knew what was in store for Arjuna when he ridiculed Shah. It was stupid. It was politically incorrect. The most sensible thing to do these days is to go with the flow. That is what Australian boss Mike Barid is doing. That is what Richard Thomson, the Chairman of England and Wales Cricket Board is doing, That is what right right is doing.
Why go and take on of all people Jay Shah? But that is Arjuna for you. He calls a spade a spade. Diplomacy is not his best trait. We all agreed that during the Asia Cup having a reserve day for just the India – Pakistan game was insane. But no body said a word. No one wants to antagonize the BCCI. Arjuna did. He called it ridiculous.
An Indian reporter asked him what he would have done if he were Sri Lanka’s captain. “I would have walked out with my team without playing the tournament. It’s not fair. Let them play an India – Pakistan final. This is not how I play cricket,” he said. How we long for those days. It would have been a nightmare for the ICC to deal with this guy.
At a time when our captains are happy to stand and take selfies with Virat Kohli, here’s one man who could have given Kohli as much as the Indian captain dishes out to others. At the age of 60 and being the grandfather of two, at least now you hope that Arjuna plays it safe. But that is not what he is. He has been always that combative kind of guy.
Playing his first game against his idol Sunil Gavaskar, Arjuna had goosebumps. It was a surreal moment. But the competitive nature in him compelled him to take on the Indian captain and get under his skin.
Gavaskar wasn’t upset but was impressed by what he saw in the teenager. He quietly went up to Board Charmian Gamini Dissanayake and told him, ‘Look after that boy. He will change Sri Lankan cricket one day.’
At times you tend to think that Arjuna is old school, but his observations on the game are quite sharp. India had come to Colombo for the Under-19 World Cup in 2006. One Rohit Sharma impressed him.
In subsequent years when the Indian senior team visited Sri Lanka and reporters interviewed him he kept on asking why Rohit Sharma is not part of the senior side. The Indians wondered why he is so obsessed with Rohit Sharma. The proof was there soon in what Rohit has gone onto achieve in the game.
Arjuna’s humour is quite unique too. For all these guys who have gone onto play the game at the highest level they have their humorous side.
Once he was captaining a World XI team against an Australian XI in Adelaide in an exhibition game. Ashwin Ferro, a reporter from Mid-Day newspaper from Bombay had gone to Adelaide for reporting.
A few World XI players were having niggles and the reporter had to play the game. Arjuna looked at him and said, ‘Hey you. You are bowling the first over.’ The poor reporter asked, ‘Why me.’ Arjuna replied. ‘You are from Bombay right. Most Ranji Trophy wins and all. Yes, you are bowling the first over.’
It’s been a glorious 60 for the captain cool. There are many wishes on his birthday and one of them is that he doesn’t change. You need that one voice to tell the powers that be to where to get lost.
Georgia Voll smashed a maiden century to continue her stunning rise in the international arena, while Ellyse Perry produced a vintage knock, as Australia clinched the ODI series after a crushing 122-run victory over India at the Allan Border Field.
Australia posted 371 for 8, their third highest total in ODI’s and it proved more than enough despite some belated fight from India on a benign surface in searing heat.
India’s batting order equipped themselves much better than in game one when they were rolled for 100 with Richa Ghosh’s move to the top of the order paying off with an attractive half-century.
But India never came close to pulling off a monumental chase and lost wickets regularly to be dismissed for 249 in the 45th over with opener Priya Punia unable to bat after suffering a niggle in the field. Their slim hopes effectively ended when captain Harmanpreet Kaur fell to quick Megan Schutt for 38 off 42 balls in the 28th over.
India will rue a ragged performance with the ball and in the field as their dreams of a first series victory over Australia in Australia in ODIs ended in familiar disappointment.
With the home team having comfortably won the series opener by five wickets at the same venue, Australia’s top order decimated India’s flagging attack after electing to bat. Voll, who has replaced injured captain Alyssa Healy for the series, ignited Australia and backed up her unbeaten 46 on debut by blasting 101 off 87 balls to underline her rich form after an eye-catching WBBL.
Her belligerent hitting was on full display, clubbing 12 fours in total, and she combined in a 130-run opening partnership with fellow 21-year-old Phoebe Litchfield, who scored 60 off 63 balls. While Australia’s young stars provided another glimpse of the future, Perry wound back the clock with stunning power-hitting as she became the fourth women’s player from her country to pass 4000 ODI runs.
Perry put the finishing touches with 105 off 75 balls, marked by an Australian record of six sixes, while Beth Mooney scored 56 of 44.
In oppressive Brisbane heat reaching 35 degrees celsius, India were helpless although debutant offspinner Minnu Mani had an encouraging all-round performance with two wickets and an unbeaten 46 from 45 balls.
Australia captain Tahlia McGrath resisted the temptation to bowl first and their batters had to front up in potentially tricky early conditions with the match starting at 9.45am local time.
India’s new-ball bowlers Renuka Singh, who hustled Australia in game one with three wickets, and Saima Thakor hoped to conjure swing and make early breakthroughs before the peak heat of the day. But they bowled too full and runs flowed when Litchfield smashed a four on the second delivery before Voll took over with four fours in six balls to get Australia off to a flier.
Litchfield did have a slice of luck on 5 after mis-hitting Thakor to mid-on only for Punia to spill a chance diving forward. It proved costly as Harmanpreet turned to the spin of Deepti Sharma and Priya Mishra within the powerplay but to no avail.
Voll’s maturity continued to impress as she used her feet superbly against the spinners but made sure she didn’t overhit. Her driving was also a feature as she reached her half-century in 43 balls.
Litchfield had been largely overshadowed before igniting her innings with well-executed reverse sweeps to roll to a 58-ball 50. They were totally untroubled until Voll was deceived on 64 by a superb googly from Mishra, who impressed late in game one, and given out lbw before successfully reviewing with ball-tracking suggesting it would miss leg stump.
India were finally rewarded in the next over when Litchfield hit Thakor straight to cover, but the respite was fleeting with Perry in an aggressive mood as she unfurled her trademark lofted drive to devastating effect. Voll cruised towards a century with her only scare being on 86 when she was almost run out by a direct hit from Mani after attempting a quick single, but grounded her bat in the nick of time.
It wasn’t long before Voll flicked Mani to the leg side to bring up her century as she calmly raised her bat and helmet with her proud mother beaming amid the applause in the terraces. Voll could not power on after she edged behind a wide delivery from Thakur, but Perry took over with a flawless century off 72 balls having earlier notched 7000 runs across formats in international cricket.
Perry was eventually bowled by Deepti and her wicket triggered a late collapse, but Australia still easily surpassed the previous ground record of 325 for a women’s ODI.
With Punia unable to bat, India rejigged their batting order and Ghosh, who batted at No. 6 in the first ODI, made a bright start by whacking Schutt to the boundary on the third delivery. But India’s hopes quickly crashed when opener Smriti Mandhana was bowled off the inside edge from quick Kim Garth and Australia’s disciplined attack kept the run rate under control despite the efforts of Ghosh.
Legspinner Alana King ended Ghosh’s 72-ball 54 by bowling her around the legs as the pressure fell on Harmanpreet, who had started with a first ball boundary and she also clubbed a short ball from McGrath over the ropes. But Harmanpreet fell in the 28th over and the result was a formality despite late fight from Jemimah Rodrigues, who smacked 43 off 39 balls, and Mani.
Annabel Sutherland claimed the spoils with 4 for 38 as Australia continued a satisfying return to the field following their T20 World Cup disappointment.
Brief scores:
Australia Women 371 for 8 in 50 overs (Ellyse Perry 105, Georgia Voll 101, Phoebe Litchfield 60, Beth Mooney 56; Saima Thakor 3-62) beat India Women 249 in 44.5 overs (Richa Ghosh 54, Minnu Mani 46*, Jemmimah Rodrigues 43; Annabel Sutherland 4-39) by 122 runs
[Cricinfo]
Iqbal Hossain Emon and Azizul Hakim bagged three wickets apiece as Bangladesh defended their Under-19 Asia Cup title with a comfortable 59-run win against India in Dubai.
Chasing 199, India were bowled out for 139 in 35.2 overs, completing a horror Sunday that also saw the men’s Test and women’s ODI sides suffer big defeats.
Electing to field, fast bowler Yudhajit Guha cleaned up Bangladesh opener Kalam Siddiki relatively early for 1. Zawad Abrar struck two fours and a six in his 20 but fell to Chetan Sharma caught behind. Guha then struck again getting rid of captain Azizul Hakim with Bangladesh slipping to 66 for 3 in the 19th over.
Mohammad Shihab James and Rizan Hossan then stitched a 62-run stand for the fourth wicket to resurrect the Bangladesh innings, but wickets in quick succession wrested any momentum they had built.
James departed first on 40 dismissed by Ayush Mhatre in the 32nd over before Debasish Deba fell eight balls later to KP Karthikeya. Raj then bowled Hossan for 47 while Samiun Basir and Al Fahad fell in the space of an over as Bangladesh slipped from 128 for 3 in the 32nd over to 167 for 8 in the 42nd.
Wicketkeeper-batter Farid Hasan and Maruf Mridha added a crucial 30-run stand for the ninth wicket before Bangladesh were all out for 198 in the last over.
India, however, failed to get going in their chase from the outset. Mhatre departed in the second over bowled by Fahad while 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi fell in the fifth after hitting two fours. When C Andre Siddharth became Hossan’s first victim, India found themselves struggling at 44 for 3 in the 12th over.
Captain Mohamed Amaan and Karthikeya added a brief 29-run stand for the fourth wicket, but soon Emon ushered a collapse and there was no way back for India. The medium pacer first had Karthikeya caught behind for 21 before striking two balls later to send back Nikhil Kumar for a duck. In his next over, he removed Harvansh Pangalia as India were reduced to 81 for 6 in the 23rd over.
That became 92 for 7 when Fahad removed Kiran Chormale giving ‘keeper Farid his fourth catch of the innings. Amaan and Raj tried to delay the inevitable but once Hakim removed his opposite number in the 32nd over, the game was as good as done.
Hakim picked the last three wickets to spark jubilant scenes in the Bangladesh camp.
Brief score:
Bangladesh U-19 198 in 49.1 overs (Rizan Hossan 47, Mohamed Shihab James 40, Farid Hasan 39; Yudhajit Guha 2-29, Hardik Raj 2-41, Chetan Sharmq 2-48, ) beatIndia U-19 139 in 35.2 overs (Mohamed Amaan 26, Hardik Raj 24; Al Fahad 2-24, Azizul Hakim 3-8, Iqbal Hossain Emon 3-24) by 59 runs
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka took seven wickets for 126 on day three, but are now faced with making 348 for victory. This would not only be a ground record, but a record in South Africa, beating the 340 the hosts made against Australia in Durban, in 2002.
Prabath Jayasuriya was Sri Lanka’s primary weapon, completing a 10th career five-wicket haul, and his first overseas, before lunch. He bowled yet another long spell into the rough that has developed outside the right-hander’s leg stump. Through the course of his 14 overs on day four, he dismissed Temba Bavuma, David Bedingham, and Marco Jansen, and finished with figures of 5 for 129.
Though Sri Lanka made serious strides in the first session, taking five wickets to work their way back into a Test that had been at risk of slipping away, they lost some momentum against the tail. Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, and Dane Paterson collectively crashed two sixes and five fours after lunch. The four overs they faced after lunch brought South Africa 35 runs in all.
The seamers toiled on a slowing surface for large parts of the morning, while Jayasuriya struck, but each of them picked up a wicket during the day. Vishwa, who had also had Aiden Markram nicking behind on the third evening, finished with the best figures among them, taking 2 for 47 from his 19 overs.
Of all the dismissals South Africa will rue Tristan Stubbs’ run out the most. He and overnight partner Bavuma had begun the day brightly, and had extended their fourth-wicket stand to 103, when Bavuma clubbed a Lahiru Kumara ball to deep midwicket, and took off for a tight two. Stubbs hesitated upon turning for the second, however, and attempted to turn Bavuma back, but the ball-watching earlier meant it was too late. The pair were caught mid-pitch for long enough that Kumara could get back to the non-striker’s stumps and run Stubbs out with ease. He was out for 47.
Bavuma, who early in the day completed his fourth half-century of the series (one of these is a hundred), then put on a 41-run stand with Bedingham, whom Sri Lanka tested with the short ball with a stacked leg-side field (he had been dropped twice trying to pull in the first innings). They got through that period, but Bavuma could not defy Jayasuriya forever. He was bowled trying to sweep the spinner, the ball leaping out of the rough. With this 66, Bavuma has 327 runs for the series.
Bedingham batted with much more caution than he had displayed in the first innings for his 35, but edged Jayasuriya to slip, the ball once again kicking off the surface to take the outside edge. Vishwa Fernando then zipped one off the surface in the channel to have Kyle Verreynne caught behind for nine. Jansen had attempted to hit out against Jayasuriya, and was caught on the deep-midwicket boundary.
The tail came out of the lunch break swinging. Rabada clobbered two fours in the first over of the session, and was also struck in the helmet by a Kumara short ball. Paterson too, wore a Kumara bouncer on the helmet. But Paterson and Maharaj smashed sixes off Jayasuriya, and more boundaries came off the seamers before an Asitha yorker to Paterson finally ended the innings.
Brief scores:
South Africa 358 and 318 (Temba 66, Markram 55; Prabath Jayasuriya 5-129) lead Sri Lanka 328 by 347 runs
(Cricinfo)
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