P17 3 Layout 1

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017 SPORTS 39 sixes as Indian batsman hits T20 triple ton NEW DELHI: A little-known batsman farmers, hammered the hapless bowlers for the taking. So I told my partner at long but also has a clear sense of the It is the first time that anyone is made headlines across India yesterday from a team called Friends XI to all cor- the other end that I was going to take game,” Bhardwaj told AFP. believed to have hit a triple century in a after scoring an unbeaten triple century ners of the ground in east Delhi on most of the strike.” Bhardwaj, who has coached several T20 game, although it was not classified in a Twenty20 match, a knock which Tuesday. The 21-year-old was playing His last 50 runs came off the final two Indian players including the opener as a first class match. included a staggering 39 sixes. for the Maavi XI, a semi-professional overs, leaving him unbeaten on exactly Gautam Gambhir, said news of The highest score recorded in a first- Mohit Ahlawat also smashed 14 fours team which had invited him to join 300 as his team finished on 416 for two. Ahlawat’s barnstorming knock had class T20 was the West Indian batsman in his 72-ball 300 — thought to be the them for a league match at the last Friends XI only managed 200 in reply. spread so quickly that he had already Chris Gayle’s 175 while playing for the first T20 triple century-which has earned moment. “They invited me to play and I Sanjay Bhardwaj, Ahlawat’s coach at been tapped up by the Delhi Daredevils. Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2013 him a trial with the Delhi Daredevils for simply went. It’s good that something the LB Shastri Cricket Academy in Delhi, “You won’t be able to reach him on IPL. Australia’s Aaron Finch holds the next month’s glitzy Indian Premier like that has happened,” Ahlawat told said he was not surprised by his pro- the phone today as the Daredevils record for the highest score in a T20 League (IPL). The Times of India newspaper. “When I tege’s heroics. “This doesn’t surprise me. called him for a trial after they heard of international after hitting 156 against Ahlawat, who hails from a family of reached 150, I told myself 250 was there He is an aggressive batsman who hits it his knock,” Bhardwaj said. England in 2013. — AFP Improved Bangladesh seek more ‘acid tests’ HYDERABAD: After finally winning respect have markedly improved since then, espe- of the game’s big boys on home turf, cially in the one-day format where they Bangladesh now face the challenge of have won home series against India, South competing with the best away from home Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand and the West when their debut Test in India begins Indies in the last five years. today. “What they’ve got to do is to start There have also been encouraging signs winning outside of their own country,” leg- in Tests with last year’s 1-1 result against endary allrounder Ian Botham told AFP England following draws in rain-affected after Bangladesh’s first Test win over home series against India and South Africa England in Dhaka in October. “That’s the in 2015. The lack of opportunity to play acid test.” away from home is beginning to rankle. Since gaining full status in 2000, Bangladesh have won just three out of 44 ‘GIVE US MORE’ Tests on foreign soil, two of them in 2009 “Every other country has given us two against a West Indies team depleted by a Tests but they are just giving us one and players’ strike. Their only other win was that’s only because they couldn’t give us over Zimbabwe. Even after the morale any less,” former skipper Mohammed boost of their breakthrough victory against Ashraful said of India’s one-off invitation. England, they lost both Tests on January’s “Let’s hope our boys play well and then tour of New Zealand. they’ll have to give us more next time,” They declared at 595 for eight in the first Ashraful, who is on the comeback trail after Test in Wellington and still contrived to lose a match-fixing ban, told AFP. by seven wickets after being dismissed for With Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes at the 160 second time round. top of the order, Bangladesh have quality That collapse pointed to both a mental batsmen while Shakib Al Hasan is a classy fragility and an inability among batsmen allrounder. more used to playing spin to adapt to But their big failure has been to develop seaming pitches. Former Bangladesh cap- fast bowlers who can thrive overseas, and tain Habibul Bashar, who is now a selector, none of their pacemen have taken 100 Test told AFP that the biggest problem was a wickets. Their most successful fast bowler, lack of matches. “Away Tests are difficult for Mashrafe Mortaza, has not played a Test RAJKOT: In this Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016 file photo, England’s cricket captain Alastair Cook gestures after scoring century on thefifth day of the every team, not just for us,” said Bashar, a since 2009 due to a long-running knee first cricket test match between India and England in Rajkot, India. Alastair Cook has resigned as England’s Test captain aftera disappointing veteran of Bangladesh’s inaugural Test problem and their latest pace starlet, 2016. — AP against India in Dhaka. Mustafizur Rahman, has also been plagued by injury. “To win a Test match you need to ENCOURAGING SIGNS have a quality bowling attack, which we CRICKET “Recently we’ve started playing well... don’t have at the moment,” said Bashar. but we don’t play many away matches. If But former India wicketkeeper Saba that were to change then the scenario Karim, who played in the inaugural Test in could be different.” While India’s long-await- 2000, said the team still ranked ninth out of Cook to bat on despite ed decision to host Bangladesh represents 10 in the Test rankings does not lack talent. something of a breakthrough, it is still only “They actually surprised us with their a one-off match and illustrates the reluc- performance in Dhaka by putting up 400 in tance of teams to find space in their sched- the first innings,” Karim recalled of the 2000 quitting captaincy ules. Besides bottom-ranked Zimbabwe, Test. “Having said that I expected more rap- the last team to play a three-match series id progress in terms of their consistency against Bangladesh was Sri Lanka in 2007 and performance in Test matches and that LONDON: “It’s not an obituary, I still will be more time to dedicate to it (batting),” said Cook, skipper, the Yorkshire batsman remains the over- while their one and only tour of Australia has not come about,” he said. “They have around,” Alastair Cook said on Tuesday as he who made a hundred on his Test debut against whelming favourite for the role. was in 2003. not done justice to the kind of talent they vowed to continue his Test career despite resign- India in Nagpur in 2006. Former England spinner Graeme Swann There is little doubt that Bangladesh have in their country.” — AFP ing as England captain. believes the 26-year-old Root should continue to Opening batsman Cook stood down as skip- ‘I was done’ be “the best batsman this country has ever pro- per after an England record 59 matches in For all that Cook oversaw series wins in India duced” without “the burden” of being captain. charge. But the 32-year-old Essex left-hander, (2012) and South Africa (2016) as well as the But Cook countered those concerns by point- already England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer 2013 and 2015 home Ashes triumphs, England ing to the example set by several of Root’s with 11,057 runs from 140 matches at an aver- stuttered last year. world-class contemporaries, whose batting had age of 46.45, including 30 hundreds, insisted he In 2016, England lost eight of their 17 Tests- been “driven to another level” since becoming a was far from spent as a player. “I really hope I am including a maiden defeat by Bangladesh. Test captain. “Virat Kohli (India) for example has here in four or five years’ time because it means The year ended in a 4-0 series loss in India flourished, Steve Smith (Australia) has flourished, I’ve scored some runs and England are doing that marked the end for Cook, obdurate and Kane Williamson (New Zealand) as well,” said well,” Cook told reporters at Lord’s as he gave his generally well-liked by his team-mates if not Cook. “The fact he (Root) has been vice-captain first detailed explanation for resigning the cap- always tactically innovative, as England captain. for the last two years makes him the most likely taincy. “I genuinely love playing cricket,” he said. “It was easy (resigning) because I felt, unfor- candidate.” After the South Africa series, this year “I really enjoyed the challenge of captaincy... I tunately, that I was done,” said Cook. “I think get- England also face the West Indies at home couldn’t give the required level anymore but I ting on that plane, leaving India, if I was brutally before travelling to Australia in defence of the can certainly do that to my batting.

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