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Asela Gunaratne on top of the world

kit-sports editor — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 03:07:28 +0000

The Man of the Moment Asela Gunaratne making heads turn at 31.

It required just two good knocks – both of them top drawer stuff against the Aussies to catch the attention of the cricket world… and unknown Asela Gunaratne is suddenly the most sought after cricketer today.

The good news is that Gunaratne had become a hot “buy” at the IPL auction held yesterday and was quickly snapped up by Mumbai Indians for Indian Rupees 30 lakhs. Gunaratne will be in the company of Sri Lanka’s top one-day fast bowler Lasith Malinga who also represents the same franchise. The only other Sri Lanka cricketer who was successful at yesterday’s auction was national captain Angelo Mathews who was purchased by Delhi Daredevils for Indian Rupees 2 crore. The tenth edition of IPL is slated to commence on April 5 with eight franchises in the running for the title.

Gunaratne is not a name that comes to mind when someone talks about potential big signings the IPL is renowned for but he beat some of his celebrated colleagues like Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella and Thisara Perera who all went unsold at the auction. At 31 years of age and just 17 international games under his belt, Gunaratne is a cricketer who has been pretty late for the party but nevertheless as the saying goes “it’s never too late”.

The right-hander had scored two consecutive match-winning fifties in the two T20Is against Australia. While his 37-ball 52 paved the way for a thrilling five-wicket victory in the first T20I at Melbourne, Gunaratne’s unbeaten 46-ball 84 in the second T20I at Geelong helped Sri Lanka to seal the three-match series 2-0. It was his exploits in the second T20I that arguably made him a prized-possession for any IPL franchise.

Coming to the crease at 37-3, Gunaratne looked to attack from the outset, taking a particular liking to the bowling of debutant Jhye Richardson as he kept the tourists in the run-chase despite a regular fall of wickets at the other end.

It was starting to look like mission impossible for Sri Lanka when the equation was 48 runs needed off 18 balls, but Gunaratne launched at exactly the right moment, striking two boundaries off the 18th over before launching at Moises Henriques with the next, blasting 22 runs in the form of three sixes and a four. Suddenly, Sri Lanka needed just 14 off 6, and boy, did the soldier from the Sri Lanka Army polish it off in style, finishing the match with a cracking four off the last delivery.

Gunaratne smashed five sixes and six fours in his breath-taking innings. Thanks to his blitz, Sri Lanka secured their third successive T20 series win in Australia.

Gets picked by Mumbai Indians for his maiden IPL

THE POWER OF GUNARATNE

Gunaratne’s amazing scoring rate for his unbeaten 84 not out was as follows:

•24•11•211•11114212•16412•1•11••2111•666•446144.

He scored 47 off his first 37 balls and 37 off his last 11.

Praise From The Greats

Amongst the top cricketers showering praise on Gunaratne’s fairytale knock were former Sri Lanka skippers Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya and Michael Vaughan of England.

Here are their comments and of others that appeared on Twitter:

Mahela Jayawardene:

Wow… Asela Gunaratne. Take a bow! Amazing finish. Well done boys.

Kumar Sangakkara:

The best t20 ever played by Sri Lanka. What a win. Take a bow Asela. Probably the best knock under pressure. So proud.

Sanath Jayasuriya:

Congrats Upul & boys on a stunning victory & series win. what an absolute beauty of an inns from Asela. You boys made me so happy

Michael Vaughan:

That was a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning ….. The Aussies being Walloped …. #AusvSL #Gunaratne is my new hero….

Dinesh Chandimal:

Very weldone team srilanka what a victory. Asela you beauty what an inning it was top class buddy

Thilan Samaraweera:

What a phenomenal innings!! Great knock Asela Gunarathna

Angelo Mathews:

What a knock !!absolute genius. One of the best knocks in t20. Asela u beauty. kapu played a good hand too. congratulations boys

Rangana Herath:

Very well played Asela, one of the great T20 innings, congratulations to the boys for winning the tournament

Farveez Maharoof:

What a win special mention to asela for the unbelievable knock.. congratulations all involved! Another series win in Australia

Dhammika Prasad:

Unbelievable knock from asela. Wat a game boys. Congrats. Wel done.

Warner’s wizardry again lights up IPL

kit-sports editor — Sun, 01 May 2016 01:43:16 +0000

The match in a tweet: Warner the Wizard pummels Bangalore, as the Sunrisers continue their march to the top with a 15-run victory.

The hero: David Warner continues to mesmerise the viewers with his scintillating stroke play. The Sunrisers skipper’s innings of 92 from 50 balls was a combination of brute strength as well as some deft touches. Warner was particularly ruthless on anything pitched up in his half, sending it down to the rope or over it on 14 occasions. His compatriot Kane Richardson came in for some special treatment, the South Australian paceman going for 29 runs from the nine balls he bowled to Australia’s vice-captain. Warner’s 92 also earned him the Orange Cap as the tournament’s leading run-scorer to date.

The support cast: Playing his first game of the season, Kane Williamson was an ideal partner for the rampaging Warner. The Kiwi ace rotated the strike beautifully to progress to a run-a-ball 22 before freeing his arms. Williamson’s ability to continuously pierce the field through the leg-side was a delight to watch as he reached his half-century from 37 balls. Moises Henriques’ cameo also deserves a mention, with the allrounder blasting 31 from 14 to propel the Sunrisers to mammoth total of 194. Henriques also returned figures of 1-40 which included the wicket of the well-set KL Rahul.

The shot: Yesterday it was the ‘dog shot’, today it’s the ‘Whip Shot’ – a ball from Richardson was angled across Warner on a fuller length, and the left-hander, batting on leg-stump, reached out and used his bottom hand to flick the ball over midwicket for six. Even Virat Kohli, the opposition skipper, managed to curl his lip in appreciation.

The consolation efforts: KL Rahul sparkled as an opener, posting a half-century in just 28 balls to get the Royal Challengers a flying start. Rahul was complemented by AB de Villiers’ 47 from 32 but in pursuit of 195, the Royal Challengers needed one of the two to go on to make a Warner-like contribution.

Third-time lucky: Barinder Sran must have felt as if he’d he woken up on the wrong side of the bed after having de Villiers dropped twice, on three and 17. Sran turned his own luck around, first by running out Shane Watson with a direct hit from the boundary and then finally having de Villiers caught at long-on with a cleverly disguised slower ball.

The stat: David Warner has now scored 386 out of the 1200 runs his team has scored this season. That is an incredible 32 per cent of Hyderabad’s runs.

The wash-up: After getting steamrolled in their last match, the Sunrisers are back with a bang. Not that anyone doubted their credentials but with Williamson back at the top with Warner and with Yuvraj Singh set to return in the next match, they are suddenly looking like the team to beat. For the RCB, it’s officially panic stations in the bowling departments having conceded almost 400 runs in their last two matches.

The next stop: The Sunrisers stay at home to take on Gujarat Lions in a mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash while Royal Challengers face the Knight Riders in Bangalore.

Dhoni, McCullum fetch million dollar deals in IPL draft..

kit-sports editor — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 05:49:56 +0000

Indian and New Zealand skippers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Brendon McCullum were drafted for more than one million dollars into new cricket teams on Tuesday for the Indian Premier League following a graft scandal.

A new team from the western city of Pune paid 125 million rupees (US $ 1.8 million) for limited overs captain Dhoni for the next edition of the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.

Dhoni joins Australian captain Steven Smith who was sold for 55 million rupees ($820,000) and South African Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis who went for 40 million rupees ($597,000) on the same team.

The other franchise from the western city of Rajkot chose McCullum for 75 million rupees ($1.1 million), James Faulkner for 55 million rupees ($820,000) and West Indian Dwayne Bravo for 40 million rupees ($597,000).

The franchises have replaced Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals — teams banned from the glitzy tournament for two years on the recommendation of a Supreme Court-appointed panel, after a corruption scandal.

Brendon McCullum

They were allowed to choose five stars from each of the banned teams, while the rest were released into a pool for auction.

Australia’s Shane Watson and Mike Hussey, South Africa’s Chris Morris and the West Indies’ Dwayne Smith remain unsold and will now be auctioned in Bangalore in February.

The 2013 IPL season was mired in controversy after police launched legal proceedings against several officials from the teams and three Rajasthan Royals’ players for illegal betting and spot-fixing.

Suresh Raina, who played for the Chennai Super Kings alongside Dhoni, fetched 125 million rupees from Rajkot which also chose all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

“Excited to play for the beautiful vibrant city- Rajkot in @IPL. Looking forward to have new teammates and support from the people of Gujarat,” Raina tweeted.

Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane and spinner R Ashwin were picked by Pune for 95 million and 75 million rupees.

Both Chennai and Rajasthan are expected to return to the IPL after their bans end following the 2017 edition.

Tendulkar heaps praise on Malinga…

kit-sports editor — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 01:10:46 +0000

Hyderabad: Appreciating speedster Lasith Malinga, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday said the Sri Lankan is a world-class bowler and that it was a fantastic experience to play with him in the Indian Premier League.
“It’s a difficult answer. Malinga, it’s totally a different type of action. I don’t think any other bowler in the world, I have seen at the international level, who comes even 50 per cent close to that. A truly world-class bowler and a true champion: “Having played with him for Mumbai Indians was a fantastic experience. Thorough gentleman: On a lighter note, when many people ask me how to play him, I say ‘bal ko nahin, bowl ko dekho’ (don’t look at the hair, look at the ball),” said Tendulkar.
Tendulkar’s comments came in response to a question posed by the moderator on how to play Malinga.
Replying to a query on his likeness for Hyderabad, Tendulkar said he and the whole team looked forward to playing in Hyderabad and the ‘biryani’ the city is famous for. He said he quietly stayed at the famous Falaknuma Palace in the city for two days along with his family.
“I kept hearing a lot, lots of things about Falaknuma from my friends. I wanted to have that royal experience. So, with my family, I had come there quietly for a couple of days. I spent two days at Falaknuma Palace. It was an enriching experience. To build a palace like that, it must have taken so much time. That imagination, that vision to have something as spectacular as that. It is something that stays with you forever. That experience has been special,” Tendulkar said.
Asked about his recent social media post that he missed a bus in UK, he said it was only a joke. “I had to re-post that I didn’t miss the bus, but you guys definitely missed the joke.”

Mumbai saunters to title – IPL finals….

kit-sports editor — Mon, 25 May 2015 00:40:52 +0000

Lendl Simmons and Rohit Sharma plundered a 119-run partnership as the Mumbai Indians claimed the Indian Premier League title as they beat the Chennai Super Kings by 41-runs in the final at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

Opening batsman Simmons scored 68 off 45 balls with eight fours and three sixes while Rohit smashed his way to 50 off 26 deliveries with six fours and two sixes as Mumbai posted 202-5 after being asked to bat.
Chennai could only manage 161-8 in reply despite opening bat Dwayne Smith scoring 57 off 48 balls while left-arm quick Mitchell McClenaghan claimed 3-25.
The win secured Mumbai’s second IPL title.
Mumbai were reduced to 1-1 in the first over after a wonderful piece of fielding from a diving Faf du Plessis at mid-on after he flicked a throw out of the back of his hand that ran Parthiv Patel (0) out at the non-striker’s end.
But Simmons and Rohit, Mumbai’s top-two leading runs-scorers this season, then took over as their second-wicket stand came up off 11.1 overs.
Rohit’s first scoring shot was an uppercut for six over third man off the bowling of seamer Mohit Sharma with the right-handed batsman clearly intent on taking the attack to the bowlers.
Simmons was initially becalmed with 19 off 20 balls, but he cut loose in the sixth over when he struck a six and a four off the bowling of left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
The powerful Simmons brought up his fifty off 35 balls with five fours and three sixes while he and Rohit completed their 100-run stand off a mere 57 deliveries.
Rohit raced to his half-century, off just 25 deliveries, with the sixth four of his scintillating knock, to go with two sixes.
But Rohit departed off the next ball when he dragged a delivery from seamer Dwayne Bravo to Jadeja at long-on.
Medium-pacer Smith bowled Simmons in the next over as Mumbai slipped to 120-3 in the 13th over.
Kieron Pollard then went on the change and he smashed three sixes and a four off the 17th over, bowled by left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra.
Chennai made a sluggish start to their run chase after the early loss of Mike Hussey (4).

Smith seemed content to play the anchor role and he reached his half-century off 45 balls with eight fours and a six but just as he was looking to accelerate he was trapped leg-before by Harbhajan.
Suresh Raina (28) and Smith had added 66 runs for the second wicket but Smith’s dismissal left Chennai on 88-2, still needing 115 runs to win off just 49 balls.
But their task became that much harder when Raina was stumped off the bowling of Harbhajan as Chennai slipped to 99-3.
Bravo (9) failed to make much on an impression with the bat before paceman Lasith Malinga extinguished Chennai’s last hope when he bowled Mahendra Singh Dhoni (18).

Scores
Mumbai Indians 202/5 wkts in 20 overs
(L Simmons 68, R Sharma 50)
CSK 161/8 wkts in 20 overs
(D Smith 57, M McClenaghan 3/25

We need to keep the momentum – Muttiah Muralitharan….

kit-sports editor — Wed, 13 May 2015 00:02:05 +0000

Hyderabad: Having improved its play-off chances following three consecutive wins, Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan said the team needs to keep up the momentum to ensure its place in the last four stage of the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Sunrisers pulled off a close five-run win over Kings XI Punjab last night to jump to the third position in the points table with 14 points from 12 games.
And with just two more games to go against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, Muralitharan feels Sunrisers are just one win away from sealing its place in the play-offs.
“We have been winning in the last 3-4 matches. We have the momentum with us. It’s all about momentum and we need to keep this going,” Muralitharan told reporters after the win over Kings XI last night.
“I think it’s very good at the moment because we have two more matches. If we can win one, we can be through to the play-offs,” he said. Sunrisers’ remaining two matches are at home and Muralitharan said it augurs well for the team.
“It’s an advantage for us. We know the wicket so we can field the team as per combination,” he said. Sunrisers scored a close win over Kings XI last night with David Miller going berserk with a blistering 89 runs off 44 balls. But the South African’s knock failed to take his side home.
“IPL is all about close wins because every team has got very good players. What matters is results it doesn’t matter whether you win by one run or two runs. At the end of the day, you need points to qualify,” Muralitharan said.
(PTI)

Asked to compare the knocks by Sunrisers skipper David Warner (81 off 51 balls) and Miller, Muralitharan said: “I think they were great knocks from Warner and Miller. Everyone knows that Miller is dangerous. Warner’s knock helped us put up a big total.”
Meanwhile, a disappointed Miller said Kings XI lacked consistency in this year’s IPL.
“I think Twenty20 can witness up and downs. We were very consistent last year. A couple of guys did very well last year. But this year, I think it’s not really clicking. We are trying hard. It’s disappointing to have won just two matches,” he said.

Cross demolishes