EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE DELHI THE HINDU 18 SPORT THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Bumrah and Shami need to fire Tennis ­ I’m saying goodbye Sharapova announced her decision in an article for Vogue and Vanity Fair Both got their lengths wrong at Basin Reserve and let the Kiwi tail wag Agence France-Presse INDIA IN NZ Paris Five­time Grand Slam win­ S. Dinakar ner Maria Sharapova, one of Wellington the world's most recognisa­ India has a bunch of world­ ble sportswomen, on Wed­ class pacemen who have nesday announced her re­ been slicing through lines­up tirement at the age of 32. both away and home in the “Tennis ­ I'm saying good­ last two years. bye,” Sharapova said in an And there is intense com­ article for Vogue and Vanity petition for places. Not many Fair magazines. teams would have someone “After 28 years and five of the quality of Umesh Ya­ Grand Slam titles, though, dav cooling the bench. I'm ready to scale another But the pace attack on mountain ­ to compete on a view at the Basin Reserve, different type of terrain.” with the exception of Ishant Sharapova burst onto the Sharma, largely scene as a supremely gifted disappointed. teenager and won her Grand Let’s take the case of Jas­ Slams before serving a 15­ prit Bumrah. He was among month ban for failing a drugs the key factors in India’s mai­ test at the 2016 Australian den Test series triumph in Open. The Russian’s ranking Australia last season. With is currently 373. his whippy and deceptive ac­ Sharapova has hardly tion, he was quick off the played in the past year be­ pitch, had a nasty short ball cause of long­standing shoul­ and a telling yorker. der problems. Bumrah moved the new Sharapova shot to fame as ball just enough to find the a giggly 17­year­old Wimble­ edge and, when the sphere don winner in 2004, the became older, struck with re­ third­youngest player to con­ verse swing. His pace seldom Job on hand: Bowling coach B. Arun has to find a quick fix to the chinks in the armour of quer the All England Club's dropped below 140 kmph Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. * AP hallowed grass courts. even at the fag end of the DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD day, something that im­ pression that Bumrah was wicket of the Test when he DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Gave me life pressed pace legend Glenn not letting it rip; perhaps the had B­J. Watling caught She became World No. 1 in B Except for the game at McGrath. back injury was playing on behind. Mount Maunganui, where 2005 and won the US Open his mind. This was a Test where he scalped three, Bumrah the next year. “One of the Just a shadow There were times when even the Kiwi lower order had a lacklustre T20I series keys to my success was that I Yet, the Bumrah seemed a Bumrah appeared pedes­ batsmen were able to pick in New Zealand never looked back and I nev­ shadow of his former self at trian. The explosive release his yorker — a major delivery er looked forward,” Sharapo­ B In the first Test, the last the Basin Reserve. The nip with the arm­speed was ab­ in Bumrah’s arsenal — and three New Zealand wickets va said on Wednesday. off the track was missing. sent and the Kiwis were able dig it out. Bumrah was mis­ added 123 precious runs “I'll miss it everyday. I'll Bumrah had spent a long to play him comfortably. sing the extra speed that DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD miss the training and my dai­ period in the sidelines tend­ gave his bowling the cutting ly routine: Waking up at ing to a rather serious injury, Down on speed edge. speed. Then he uses his dawn, lacing my left shoe be­ stress fracture of the lower Bumrah appeared down on wrists and seam position for fore my right, and closing back. speed and was not bowling No reverse swing movement. the court's gate before I hit He did not undergo sur­ the right length for the Basin And there was no reverse However, the stiff breeze my first ball of the day. gery and when he came Reserve surface. The seamer swing for him either. If some­ at the Basin Reserve ap­ “I'll miss my team, my back, he was drafted into the pitched short of a good one such as Bumrah finishes peared to have adversely im­ coaches. I'll miss the mo­ shorter formats. Except for length when he should have, with 1/88, the Indian bowling pacted the rhythm in Sha­ ments sitting with my father the game at Mount Maunga­ ideally, pitched the ball up. has a problem. mi’s run­up and the rest of on the practice court bench. nui, where he scalped three, By not pitching up and Mohammed Shami too his bowling suffered. The handshakes ­ win or lose Bumrah had a lacklustre drawing the batsman into a had an ordinary Test, given India normally blows ­ and the athletes, whether T20I series in New Zealand. drive, Bumrah was not giving the high benchmark he has away the tail. In the first Test, they knew it or not, who And in the ODI series, he the ball a chance to swing. set for himself. Like Bumrah, the last three New Zealand pushed me to be my best. conceded 50 or more runs in And he was bowling on mid­ he, carried away by the wickets added 123 precious “Looking back now, I real­ each of the three games dle and off­stump when his grass, bowled the wrong runs. ise that tennis has been my without picking a wicket. line should have been off­ length, only rarely pitching It was a massive phase of mountain. My path has been The alarm bells were ringing. stump or just outside it. the ball up. Shami is a pace­ the match. The pacemen filled with valleys and de­ In the first Test at the Ba­ In fact, it was this line that man who relies on the fluen­ have to get their act together tours, but the views from its sin Reserve, one got the im­ fetched Bumrah his only cy of his run­up to generate at Christchurch. peak were incredible.” Australia too Edgar goes down India eyes third victory Pakistan stuns West Indies hot for SA Knight stars for England It has been impressive in batting and bowling, takes on NZ Agence France-Presse memory lane Cape town No. 3 Jemmiah Rodrigues match T20I series at home. Australia trounced South T20 WORLD CUP EXCLUSIVE has also been among the Africa by 97 runs in the Press Trust of India runs with knocks of 26 and Top-class players third and final T20I at New­ S. Dinakar MELBOURNE 34. New Zealand has some top­ lands here on Wednesday Wellington On a high after two victories Among the top order, on­ class players in its ranks in to win the series 2­1. Bruce Edgar was a tenacious on the trot, including one ly captain Harmanpreet has the form of captain and all­ Sent in to bat, Australia left­handed opener who against defending champion not scored many runs and is rounder Sophie Devine and made an imposing 193 for took on the fastest of bow­ Australia, the Indian wo­ due for a big innings. top­order batswoman Suzie five in its 20 overs. David lers in the golden era for pa­ men’s cricket will aim to Bates. Pacer Lea Tahuhu and Warner (57, 37b, 5x4, 2x6) cemen — the 70s and the 80s inch closer to a semifinal Smriti set to return leg­spinner Amelia Kerr will and Aaron Finch (55, 37b, — without flinching. berth when it takes on New India is also likely to be bol­ lead the bowling. 6x4, 1x6) added 120 for the People who saw him bat Zealand in the ICC Women’s stered by the return of star opening wicket in just 11.3 The team will go into this talk about his courage and T20 World Cup here on opener Smriti Mandhana, match on a high after an ea­ overs before the former de­ heart. And Edgar, the New Thursday. who missed the match parted. sy seven­wicket win over Sri Zealand chief selector not India hardly broke a against Bangladesh due to Lanka on Saturday. Devine A late flourish by Steve too long ago, has interesting sweat during its 17­run and fever. Smith (30 not out, 15b, 2x6) had led from the front with tales to tell. Bruce Edgar. * S. DINAKAR 18­run wins over host Aus­ The middle order has also an unbeaten 75 off 55 balls at took the visitors close to The southpaw was part of tralia and Bangladesh in its done its bit with Deepti Shar­ 200. the top of the order. a competitive New Zealand [the umpire] your father?’” previous two matches and is ma playing a major role The teams (from): South Africa simply col­ side, making 1958 Test runs perched atop the five­team against Australia with an un­ lapsed in the face of a India: Harmanpreet Kaur and 1814 ODI runs at 30.59 Blood and guts Group A standings with four beaten 49 while Veda Krish­ On the go: Heather Knight smashed the first century of the daunting chase and was (Capt.), Smriti Mandhana, Je­ and 30.74 respectively. New Zealand won the series points from two matches. namurthy hit a match­defin­ tournament against a hapless Thailand attack.