Lankan batsmen chase 388 ! deny Zimbabwe piece of history

After a long tour of India, England landed in Sri Lanka and on a Wednesday, Feb 17, 1982,  when Bob Willis ran his long steps and  bowled to Bandula Warnapura, Sri Lanka became cricket's eighth Test-playing country.  Minutes earlier, Warnapura had become the first Sri Lanka captain to win a toss; minutes later, he was their first batsman to be dismissed when he was taken high in the gully by David Gower off a Willis snorter for 2.  Lot of things happened thereafter too as -  Bandula Warnapura captained  a  rebel Sri Lankan side to South Africa and received a life ban from cricket as a result.  The English Captain  Keith Fletcher never played for England again and was replaced as captain by Bob Willis.

Today,  Rangana Herath was just named Player  of the Series ! -  for a one-match series, and another hero was Player of the match -  Downdegedara Asela Sampath Gunaratne.  History would otherwise have been made ~ Sri Lanka denied Zimbabwe their first Test series away win in 16 years by chasing down a record-breaking 388 to win the one-off Test by four wickets in Colombo.

16 off the last over would be a daunting enough challenge even in a Twenty20 chase. Sixteen an over for the final three overs is something else entirely. And yet in  Feb this year at Simonds Stadium, Geelong, Victoria,  Australia's captain, Aaron Finch, said he felt that while Asela Gunaratne remained at the crease, Sri Lanka still had a chance of achieving their goal, an assessment that turned out to be accurate, to the delight of thousands of Sri Lankan fans at Geelong's Kardinia Oval. Gunaratne took 12 off James Faulkner, then 22 off Moises Henriques, and the 14 that Sri Lanka then needed off the final over from Andrew Tye were completed when Gunaratne crunched the last ball over cover for four. After that innings – it was apparent that he will be featured in IPL and Mumbai Indians picked him for Rs. 30 lakhs !  ~ he is hailed in Lanka today ..

Niroshan Dickwella has played more Tests, but during the 121-run stand that turned the match, it was Asela Gunaratne who found himself constantly pestered for advice. Sri Lanka had been five-down and 185 runs short of their target when the two came together. Dickwella played aggressively through the partnership, and helped ensure some of the pressure Zimbabwe had exerted, was reversed.

Niroshan Dickwella (81) and Asela Gunaratne (80 not out) shared a sixth-wicket century partnership to help Dinesh Chandimal’s side complete the highest fourth-innings chase in Sri Lanka – beating Pakistan’s 382 for three two years ago. It was also the highest successful run chase in Sri Lanka’s Test history, and the fifth highest ever by any nation.

Followers of the game would well remember that great match for India in Apr 1976 at Queens Park Oval,  Port of Spain, Trinidad.  India came to the third Test  after being outplayed in the first match of the four-Test series at Barbados. They had come close to winning the drawn second Test at the Queen's Park Oval, and when the third Test, scheduled to be played in Guyana, was rained off and the venue shifted back to Trinidad, they felt that they were in with a chance. Clive Lloyd believing his pacers set a target of 403, India lost only two wickets - Anshuman Gaekwad and Gavaskar - to the bowlers; the two others, Gundappa Viswanath and Mohinder Amarnath were run-out.  Sunil  Gavaskar and  Mohinder Amarnath put on 108 - patient and studious.  When Gavaskar got out scoring 102,   Viswanath matched his supple grace with the bold outline of Amarnath's strokes in a stand of 159 to carry India to 292 for two by tea. Driven to despair by the failure of his spinners, Lloyd claimed the second new ball. It fared no better than the old, as 37 came from the eight overs shared by Bernard Julien and Michael Holding. Gundappa Viswanath made  his fourth Test century but lost his wicket when there were 70 runs left, Brijesh Patel ahead of Eknath Solkar.  It was a moment to savour as India successfully chased a mammoth score. 

Today there had only been 4 higher targets  successfully chased in Tests. The 388 that Sri Lanka chased down in this match is the highest any team has successfully chased in Asia. The previous highest in Asia was India's chase of 387 against England in Chennai in 2008.  87.3 Overs sent down by Cremer in this match - the most by any Zimbabwe bowler in Tests.

A late bloomer, the Sri Lankan Army man, Asela Gunaratne piled up several impressive seasons for Sri Lanka Army Sports Club before making his international debut at the age of 30 against Zimbabwe in a Test match in 2016. He scored a fifty in the first innings of the first Test and went on to score his maiden Test century in the second match of the same tour.  Earlier this year, Gunaratne scored his maiden ODI century against South Africa at Centurion. His purple patch continued as he hit back-to-back fifties against Australia to ensure the Lankans triumphed in the T20I series against Australia, in Australia.

Today’s match was played at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo  named after Former Sri Lanka president Ranasinghe Premadasa.  The stadium was his idea and when finished it was  named Khettarama Stadium as it was adjacent to the Khettarama Temple. The President gave a swampland to build a stadium and in Feb  1986 a huge 14, 000 seater concrete stadium was built. It was only after the assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa in May 1993, the stadium was renamed after him.

In 1983 WC Group match, England swamped Lanka.  Ashantha de Mel, easily Sri Lanka’s bowler of the tournament, had Chris Tavare caught-behind — though not before he had raced to a 48-ball 19, which was certainly express by his standards. Graeme Fowler (81 not out from 77 balls) and an in-form David Gower (27 not out from 24 balls) went after the bowling, and the target was chased down with more than 35 overs to spare.  But when the awards were presented,  Fowler it was not;  neither did Allott (three for 41), Botham (two for 12), Vic Marks (two for 18), or Cowans (two for 31).  Instead, Willis was called on to receive the award — not for his economic spell of 9-4-9-1   but because of his bowling changes and immaculate field placements.

Years later in June 2001,   the tall West Indian fast bowler Cameron Cuffy, was given the award for a tight spell of bowling in Harare in June 2001. Cuffy delivered his quota unchanged at the start of Zimbabwe's innings, finishing with figures of 10-2-20-0 (and didn't bat or take a catch).

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

18^th July 2017.

Pic credit : EspnCricinfo.

imposing National flag and tall flagmast at Fort St George ~ Sri Bashyam Iyengar @ Arya's bravery

In the Tamil Srivaishnava tradition, Serangolam ( Serankulam) near Mannargudi  is one of five villages collectively known as Panchagramam. The other villages are Karappangadu, Nammankurichi, Peravoorani and Puliyakkudi (Idaikkadu).

In Chennai, as one travels in Beach road aka Rajaji Salai – one of the main attractions is the Tamilnadu Assembly / TN Secretariat and of course the National flag that flutters on a tall flagmast.   This has a long history and dates back to 1644, when the fort was built at a time when it was White town.   The fort is considered to be the first establishment of the British in India. Initially erected as a trading post, it later served as the origin of the modern Indian Army. A live example of the military architecture marvel, the St. George Fort is probably the most noticeable ancient monument in Chennai. The fort holds great historical importance and is looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India.  The Govt Museum here  was organised and opened to the public in Jan  1948. The museum began with a small collection of objects of the British Raj donated by the then Madras Presidency Government, the disbanded army units and others.

The tall and beautiful National flag flutters on an imposing flag mast. It is here that National flag is unfurled on Independence Day and Republic Days.   It was originally made of teak and remained for a considerably long period from 1688 till 1994 when it made way for a steel replica.  By some accounts, the origin is related to  the mast of a ship that sank off Madras in the 1680s which was used  when Elihu Yale took over as Governor.  For long it was the  King’s flag that was  flown from the ramparts. The Fort’s Diary and Consultation Book for 1688 has it that “the Garrison and Train’D Bands are therefore order’d to bee in Arms and the Chief Inhabitants of all Nations invited to the solemnity.”

Here is some history into the flag and more to an unsung freedom fighter ~ Sri Bashyam Iyengar @ Arya, who hailed from Serangulam and the man whose painting of Mahakavi Subramaniya Barathiyar is widely used everywhere.  The details in blue are reproduced from a wonderful article written by Historian V Sriram in The Hindu in 2015.

Today it is a steel replica, but until 1994, what stood here was a teak beam. Rising to a height of 148 feet, it was considered the tallest flag post in the country. Salvaged from a shipwreck in 1687, it was used by Governor Elihu Yale for unfurling the Union Jack the subsequent year. The Indian tricolour was hoisted on it on August 15, 1947.

But that was not the first time the flagstaff had sported the Indian flag. It had done so for a brief while on January 26, 1932, thanks to ‘Arya’ K. Bhashyam, a freedom fighter. This may not be a well-recognised name today, but in his time he was a livewire, organising flash stirs against foreign rule and burning foreign goods in public. In her biography Naan Kanda Bharatham, S. Ambujammal writes that Bhashyam had a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Madras but had become a freedom activist from 1920 or so.

Bhashyam’s activities were not to the liking of his aristocratic family. His uncle was Sir N. Gopalaswami Aiyangar, of the Madras Civil Service, later Dewan of Kashmir, and still later, the Railway Minister of free India. Bhashyam’s brother Sadagopan was a senior officer in the South Indian Railway. Their displeasure, however, had no effect, and on January 26, 1932, he committed an act of unparalleled daring. When it was still dark, Bhashyam climbed the ramparts of Fort St. George, and having shinned his way up the riggings of the flagstaff, managed to reach the top. There, he unfurled the Indian tricolour that he had brought along.

All this activity had not passed unnoticed and a considerable police force had assembled at the base waiting for his descent. Bhashyam made his way down and halfway through, jumped on the policemen thereby injuring a few. In the ensuing scuffle, he also managed to thrash a few of them before being arrested. In court, Bhashyam refused to tender any apology and was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment. It was not the first and it would definitely not be his last tenure as a guest of the State.

Post independence, Bhashyam refused the pension to which he was entitled as a freedom fighter. He eked out a living painting portraits of his idols — Subramania Bharati and Mahatma Gandhi, all of which he signed as Arya. The best-known depiction of the poet, with handlebar moustache and turban, is his. He also sculpted busts and statues of Gandhi and one of these is present at Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya. His statue of S. Satyamurti stands at Ripon Buildings.

Bhashyam passed away in 1999 at the age of 93. If we had any sense of history, we would have a plaque in his honour next to the flagstaff inside the Fort. (

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/the-flagstaff-and-the-freedom-fighter/article7161850.ece )

Wikipedia has an article in Tamil and some extracts from it :  In 1907 Bashyam was born in a middle class family to A Rangasamy Iyengar who was editor of Sudasemithran.  He was furious hearing about Jalianwalabagh massacre and was drawn in to National movement at an early age.

He was attracted by the militant struggle for freedom and was vehement against Simon Commission for which he was fined and chose to leave college education.  He was arrested many times participating in freedom struggle and criminal cases were foisted against him including the attempt to murder of a Governor.  The activity of burning foreign clothes was a grand scene in the film ‘Indian’ perhaps was attracted by his attempts in burning foreign clothes where they were sold those days. 

His bravery of getting atop the most guarded Fort mast staff, taking out Union Jack and unfurling the Indian National flag is recorded – the act is recorded but not the person. He was a great artist – painter and sculptor and sadly such committed freedom fighters have not had their due place in Indian history. Was surprised to learn that today (17^th July 2017) is celebrated in Tamil Nadu as ‘Thiyagigal Thinam’ and Ministers paid homage and floral tributes to 3 great freedom fighters ~    Thiyagi Arya alias Bhashiyam;  Thiyagi Sankaralinganar and Thiyagi Shenbagaraman

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

17^th July 2017.

ICC Women World Cup ~ India to play Aussies in Semis ~the long gap between matches

Spanish ace Garbine Muguruza  denied Venus Williams a fairytale sixth Wimbledon crown to claim a watershed second grand slam title. In a high-quality final, Muguruza defeated 37-year-old Williams 7-5 6-0 to add a Wimbledon trophy to her 2016 French Open title.

When Roger Federer and his growing family embarked on a new tennis season in 2017 after his six-month injury layoff, the big goal was winning Wimbledon. It has been that sort of tour-de-force season for Federer, the 35-year-old Swiss maestro who might not yet have regained the No. 1 ranking but is firmly atop the sport on every surface except clay.  Tonight, he won his eighth Wimbledon singles championship and 19^th  Grand Slam singles title by defeating Marin Cilic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. The victory, his first at Wimbledon since 2012, made Federer the oldest man to win at the All England Club in the Open era, which began in 1968. It also broke Federer’s tie with William Renshaw and Pete Sampras, who each won Wimbledon seven times.

Down under, troubled NRL star Greg Inglis has revealed seeing a therapist up to four times a day as he continues his battle against depression. Speaking on television for the first time since checking into a mental health clinic in May, Inglis admitted he struggled being away from his South Sydney teammates following a season-ending knee injury. He said some of his frustrations spilled into his home life, but only opted to speak up in the week leading into the Anzac Test between Australia and New Zealand.

Despite being injured, Inglis had spent the week in camp.   Wallabies prop Scott Sio is adamant the Brumbies can end Australian rugby's Kiwi nightmare in the Super Rugby finals despite a New Zealand clean sweep of trans-Tasman matches. Australian teams lost all 25 games this year against Kiwi foes, a first since Super Rugby kicked off in 1996. Even the Japanese Sunwolves snared a Kiwi scalp - embarrassing the Blues 48-21 in Tokyo. The Brumbies lost the last game of the regular season against the Chiefs 28-10 in Hamilton on Saturday afternoon, but will get a shot at Kiwi redemption in a quarterfinal at Canberra Stadium next weekend.

~ but all that had to take a back seat as NZ crumbled out of the tournament not making to the Semi final stage in ICC Women WC 2017; yet, the response and the methodical writing in Kiwi press is all to be praised as it reflects a fairer reality and no emotional outbursts when the team is not doing well !! – here is something read in NZ Herald.

Sloppy fielding, wayward bowling and deficient batting - particularly against the spin of Rajeshwari Gayakwad - saw New Zealand outplayed when it mattered most. If ever a match-winner was demanded, this was the fixture. On paper the New Zealand side was full of them; in reality India produced four.

Prolific captain Mithali Raj made her sixth ODI century with 109 off 123 balls. She was backed by Harmanpreet Kaur (60 from 90) and Veda Krishnamurthy (70 from 45). Krishnamurthy's innings was arguably the most instrumental. India were 154 for four when she came to the wicket in the 37th over. The platform set by Raj and Kaur's 132-run third-wicket stand could have been dismantled.  Her innings even included 28 runs from seven balls between Lea Tahuhu's 46th over and captain Suzie Bates' 47th. Gayakwad, a left-arm orthodox spinner, mopped up the puddle of New Zealand resistance. She took five wickets for 15 from 7.3 overs. Amy Satterthwaite top scored with 26.

The White Ferns brimmed with the sort of professional talent which is in demand on the global Twenty20 franchise stage, yet they were beaten by Australia, England and India in the 50-over campaign's key contests. New Zealand's semi-final chances became a mirage as their potential outweighed their application. An abandoned match against South Africa stymied their momentum, but the hammerings of Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Pakistan revealed the batting pedigrees of Bates and Satterthwaite (Sri Lanka), Rachel Priest (West Indies) and Sophie Devine (Pakistan) in comfortable chases. They wavered when knock-out cricket loomed. "We were nowhere near as good as we needed to be," Bates said at the post-match interview on Sky Television.

New Zealand Cricket has offered unprecedented backing to the White Ferns as part of November's mea culpa for a sustained neglect of the women's game. The incumbents failed to repay that faith in England as the sport's global gender equity gap narrows. The White Ferns flew business-class to the event; every match has been broadcast - either on television or live-streamed - for the first time; prize money has risen from US$200,000 to US$2 million with the winner to receive US$660,000. By comparison, the men's Champions Trophy kitty totalled US$4.5 million.  A significant income stream is also taking shape for New Zealand women's cricketers, at least compared to the past.

Last August's three-year memorandum of understanding between NZC and the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association saw 15 women awarded annual contracts ranging from $20,000 to $34,000 with match fees - $400 for ODIs and $300 for T20Is - and an annual $2500 superannuation payment. Top players are contracted to the flourishing Australian and English T20 leagues, and receive endorsement deals.

Statistically   186 Runs  win here is the  biggest win when batting first in the Women's World Cup. Overall, there have been only three other instances when India have won by a bigger margin when batting first in women's ODIs. They had beaten Ireland by a 249-run margin in an ODI in May this year, which is their biggest margin of victory.

Rajeshwari Gayakwad's figures  5/15 in this match is the best in WC for India eclipsing Ekta Bisht’s 5/18  against Pakistan.      Our Captian  Mithali Raj has 7 50+ scores,  the most by any captain in the tournament. She went past Suzie Bates' and Belinda Clark's tally of six with her 109 in this match.  Veda Krishnamurthy played like Virender Sehwag or Kapil dev striking 70 off 45 balls ~ strike rate of 155.55 !  India has been at Semi finals stage thrice earlier.

A tournament as big as this perhaps is controlled by extraneous circumstances – may be media coverage or the magnitude of Wimbledon – nothing explains the schedule.  The 1^st Semi final is to be played  only on 18^th when England meets South Africa, the 2^nd Semis would be played again at Derby on 20^th July with India meeting Australia again ~ and if India can beat Aussies, they would play at Lords in the finals on July 23, 2017.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

16^th July 2017.

ICC Women WC ~ India storms into Semis - Gayakwad's 5 for 15

In 2012  Vadodara got its new Gaekwad as the 45-year-old scion of Gaekwad family, Samarjitsinh, was crowned in a traditional ceremony at Lakshmi Vilas Palace in the Gujarat city.  Samarjit, the only son of Ranjitsinh Gaekwad, the former king of Vadodara, became the natural successor to the throne after his father's death.   

The Gaekwad or Gaikwad are a Hindu Maratha clan.  A dynasty belonging to this clan ruled the princely state of Baroda in western India from the early 18th century until 1947. The ruling prince was known as the Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara), it was one of the largest and wealthiest princely states.  The Gaekwads, together with several Maratha chieftains, fought the British in the First Anglo-Maratha War.  Gaekwad, or Gayakwad, also survives as a fairly common Maratha surname, found mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

By swimming against the tide and overcoming several obstacles, Rajeshwari Gayakawad,  emerged  as the first woman cricket player of Bijapur district to get selected in the national women’s cricket team. The left arm spinner today scaled newer heights in 27^th match of ICC Women's World Cup  at County Ground, Derby.  

Being put into bat by the White Ferns skipper Suzie Bates, India lost its openers cheaply, but Mithali Raj made a fine century supported by H Kaur 60.  Veda Krishnamurthy played a breezy knock making 70 off mere 45 balls.  India set up a formidable 266 as target and then skitted out NZ for 70 winning by mammoth 186 runs ~  Rajeshwari Gayakwad had magical figures of 7.3-1-15-5

Now India is into Semis and two more wins would entitle it to the crown.  All the best Indian Team

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

15^th July 2017.