Sports
From Delhi’s Sonnet Club to bowling fastest ball of IPL 2024: The story of a rapid Mayank Yadav
New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) The cricketing world has been buzzing since March 30, all thanks to Mayank Yadav’s outstanding display of raw speed and bounce, leaving everyone in awe during Lucknow Super Giants’ home match against Punjab Kings.
At the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium on Saturday evening, Mayank breached the 150kmph mark nine times. The speed gun captured one of his deliveries at 155.8 kmph, making Mayank the holder of the fastest delivery in the ongoing season. It is also the tournament’s sixth fastest ball, & second only to SRH’s Umran Malik in terms of Indian bowlers.
Yadav’s match-winning spell of 3-27 in four overs, where he used short balls to perfection for dismissing Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma – helped LSG beat Punjab Kings by 21 runs to seal its first win of the competition.
Krunal Pandya mentioned Mayank’s name as a player to watch out for in a video on the franchise’s social media accounts. In a virtual interaction, head coach Justin Langer said Mayank caught his eye by bowling at a good pace.
His IPL franchise website labels him as ‘medium-fast’, but that will probably change after outclassing PBKS batters with pure pace. Mayank’s speed and thrilling performance have generated buzz among cricket fans, leading to suggestions of fast-tracking him into the Indian team.
Mayank, who took the Player of the Match award on his IPL debut, expressed later how speed has captivated him throughout his life, citing rockets, superbikes, and supersonic jet planes as particular sources of fascination.
Back home in Punjabi Bagh, a bustling neighborhood in West Delhi, his father Prabhu Yadav beamed with pride as Mayank claimed Bairstow as his inaugural IPL wicket. Prabhu recalled how his love for fast-bowling inspired Mayank to become one too.
“I was a fan of fast-bowlers, particularly Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, as well as of Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock, and Jacques Kallis. Mayank knew I enjoyed watching fast-bowlers bowl. So he got the idea of becoming a fast-bowler on seeing my interest towards them,” said Prabhu to IANS.
Mayank’s journey in fast-bowling began at eight, but it was a trial at the prominent Sonnet Club in 2017, founded by late Tarak Sinha, that changed everything. Coach Devendra Sharma, who now runs Sonnet Club, which has produced over a dozen players for India, including Rishabh Pant, praised Mayank’s quick pace despite his frail look.
“I took his trial as Tarak sir was out of station that time. Seeing his really quick bowling, I was left in awe and wondered, ‘Fitness wise, his built is very weak, yet bowls very fast’. I realised quickly that he’s got God-gifted talent. His deliveries go very quick off the wicket and his action is very easy and smooth.”
“I informed Tarak sir about him and when he arrived next week, we slowly got him into playing various tournaments. We also worked on his fitness and by giving him consistent game time, he slowly became ready to play for the main Delhi side.”
“We have students at the club who bowl at a very fast pace, but Mayank is very quick off the wicket naturally. Tarak sir was always in praise of him. Sir ki nazrein aisi thi ki ekdum pehchaan jaate hai (Tarak sir had this knack of spotting talented players immediately). When he first came to me, he didn’t even have shoes to bowl fast. Now, he’s bowled the fastest ball in IPL 2024, and it is a very proud moment for the club,” said Devendra to IANS.
Mayank gained a reputation in Delhi cricket circuit for taking multiple wicket hauls and hitting batters’ helmets. Despite his style of bowling reminding one of West Indies’ fiery bowlers, Mayank idolizes South African pace-bowling legend Dale Steyn.
“Even Tarak sir asked him once that who do you like the most in cricket and Mayank replied, ‘Dale Steyn’. He further prodded him if he liked anyone else in cricket as Steyn is an out-swing bowler. But Mayank said, ‘No sir, I only like him in cricket’.”
“Tarak sir and Devendra sir have played a very huge hand in Mayank’s development. They are the ones who have made him the fast-bowler he is right now. If Tarak sir was alive today, he would have been very delighted on seeing his great performance. Whatever he and Devendra sir have done in nurturing Mayank, I will be forever indebted to them,” adds Prabhu.
Krishan Kumar Bharadwaj, the fielding coach & side-arm specialist at Sonnet Club, recalled that Mayank had the opportunity to join the Services side but chose not to. “He passed the Services trials, but refused to join them as one gets very less chance to play IPL or for the country from being in that team. Moreover, he always had the wish to play domestic cricket for Delhi as he’s been born and brought up here.”
His Delhi debut came in December 2021 during the Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Haryana at the Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh. Things went down the wire with Haryana needing 12 runs off the last two overs. Mayank bowled a maiden in the 49th over to seal the game in Delhi’s favour.
In the practice session ahead of the Delhi-Haryana match, something intriguing unfolded. Vijay Dahiya, the former India wicketkeeper-batter and then-head coach of Uttar Pradesh, positioned himself between the nets sessions of both teams to see Mayank’s bowling practice.
Dahiya recognized Mayank’s talent after watching him bowl with impressive speed. He shared this with important individuals in the LSG franchise, including then-mentor Gautam Gambhir. “I told Gautam about Mayank and said, ‘We should keep an eye on him’. When we sat at the auction table after finalising the strategy for the 2022 mega auction, we were convinced to keep him in our scheme of things and that’s how he got picked for LSG.”
“The pace stands out for him and what happens at times is, when you want to get convinced, couple of balls or shots are good enough. That was the case with somebody like him, and there is no substitute as far as raw pace in concerned, although he was not bowling at this pace, but he was looking completely different than anyone else from there,” said Dahiya to IANS.
Dahiya, LSG’s assistant coach for its first two IPL seasons, viewed Mayank as a long-term investment. “I told people who mattered after the auction that, ‘We are not buying him thinking that he will play this year for us, but he will be ready by next year onwards’.”
“He was all set to play last year, but in a practice scenario, he unfortunately got injured (tore his hamstring) and couldn’t play in the season. If not for the injury, he would have made his IPL debut last year.”
Once fit, Mayank played for the North Zone side in the 2023 50-over Deodhar Trophy, picking 12 scalps in five games at an average of 17.58. He particularly made heads turn by picking out Rahul Tripathi’s middle stump with a rapid ball.
In the start of the domestic season, Mayank shined by taking five wickets in four games in Delhi’s march to semi-finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he picked six wickets in five games, before an injury ruled him out of Ranji Trophy.
Mayank’s injuries worried him, but Devendra ensured he remained motivated. “Two years ago, he told me about making his IPL debut, but injuries came in the way. I used to tell him, ‘Beta, keep yourself motivated, continue doing the hard work so that whenever you get a chance to play, do well in it’.”
Earlier this year, as India’s five-match Test series against England drew near, chief selector Ajit Agarkar eagerly wanted to assess Mayank, who was in Mumbai undergoing rehab for a hamstring injury.
“I told him to have a word with Agarkar and he said to Mayank, ‘I want to have a look at you’. But Mayank said, ‘I am injured right now.’ Saturday’s IPL game was his first competitive game after the injury, where he became Player of the Match.”
Bharadwaj recalls Mayank’s journey of becoming mentally stronger during rehab, which propelled him to focus more on his fitness. “Whenever he got injured in between, he always had that positivity in himself to comeback and get his body back to being used to the rigours of the game. He would keep working on his mental toughness during the recovery days and was steadfast over not letting negativity creep in his mind.”
Mayank, despite his injuries, attracted the interest of Gujarat Titans, a team with Sonnet Club alumnus Ashish Nehra as their head coach. Pant, who met Mayank on March 11 at the club, also wished for him to be in the Delhi Capitals’ set-up. But neither side could gain his services because of LSG not releasing him.
Dahiya credited LSG for their absolute belief in him despite being ruled out of IPL 2023. “They looked after him because we said that if he was to be sent home right now, then his confidence will be shaken. Association won’t look after him, so we need to look after him. When we showed interest in him and thought that he’s somebody who can be useful for us, so we need to look after him.”
“LSG looked after him really well and results are there. But I will not be carried away by the results to be very honest. Right now, we are talking about a potential and he’s somebody who needs to be absolutely looked after really well because of his pace and history of his body, as he’s somebody who’s got so much to offer.”
Dahiya added that captain KL Rahul also needs to be credited for giving Mayank his IPL debut. “Identifying somebody is one part, but looking after him and giving a platform is the most important part. Credit needs to be given to KL as well, where he believed and gave him the opportunity, although toss was done by Nicholas Pooran.”
“But I still believe it’s KL’s input because JL (head coach Justin Langer) has joined in this year and the people who were in the set-up from day one are not there. It’s about the belief KL had in him of starting the first home game with the youngster.”
Devendra thought Punjab would win by eight wickets when they were at 98/0. But Lucknow emerged victorious thanks to Mayank’s outstanding performance. “He bowled wicket to wicket and gave no room to the batters. Barring the ball which we bowled down leg to Shikhar Dhawan, rest of the deliveries were excellent.”
“Before this game, I told him to bowl as per your strengths, then all will be well. He called me up after the match ended and sounded very excited by saying, ‘Sir, I bowled my deliveries very well’. We discussed a lot about how he fared in the game and the things he got it spot-on, like bowling sharply.”
“I feel whatever God did, it was for the good. He waited for two years to make his IPL debut. I used to tell everyone for the last five years that he can bowl at 155kmph and now he’s proved it to everyone.”
Mayank’s confidence and composure in the match left a good impression on Dahiya. “Sometimes when you have the pace, you see bouncers being bowled regularly. But he used his bouncer very smartly, as seen from all his victims claimed on short-pitched deliveries and at the right area. He will get a lot of confidence from Saturday’s performance, as you need that one showing to get the self-belief that I belong here.”
Bharadwaj remembered how Mayank achieved the accuracy of his deliveries, especially of the bouncer, at Sonnet Club. “Our nets would begin between 10 to 10:30am. On a single wicket, we would place cones and he would be ask to hit them. From there, he built the accuracy of his bouncers and of more deliveries in his arsenal.”
As LSG prepares for their upcoming matches in IPL 2024, Mayank will face mounting pressure to reach high speeds consistently, and Dahiya believes this will be his true test. “The only thing is, if his speed goes down at some point, people might start wondering if he’s injured.”
“It doesn’t matter how many people tell you that you are good enough to belong. But once when you look into the mirror and say, ‘I belong here’, things will start to happen for you. When he will be in his hotel room, he will see that performance and say while looking at the mirror ‘I belong here’. But the test will start now.”
Prabhu, who has enjoyed watching his son bowl since he was eight, expects continued exceptional performances from Mayank, as does the entire cricketing community. “I just expect him to play later for the country and let’s see what God does. All we can do is to put in efforts and leave the rest to God’s grace.”
–IANS
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Sports
Wimbledon 2024: Raducanu drops three games to storm into third round; Navarro sweeps past Osaka
London, July 3 (IANS) Emma Raducanu reached the third round of women’s singles at the home Grand Slam with an emphatic 6-1, 6-2 victory over Elise Mertens while her namesake Emma Navarro eased past former World No.1 Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Wednesday. The day belonged to the two of them as they made the most of their chances and romped past their opponents, with Raducanu dropping only three games in the process.
The match between Raducanu and Mertens was on No.1 Court, Wimbledon’s second-largest venue, played under a closed roof. Born 21 years ago in Toronto, Canada, Raducanu moved with her family to England when she was two years old. Having come through the ranks of British tennis, she shot into the limelight by winning the US Open as a teenager.
On Wednesday, she was in her element against Mertens.
The first set was over in a flash. Raducanu saved both break-point opportunities by Mertens, the No.33-ranked player among Hologic WTA Tour players. At the same time, she broke Mertens’ serve twice, taking advantage of 12 unforced errors by the 28-year-old Belgian.
Raducanu crafted another break in the third game of the second set and repeated the feat in the fifth.
Next up for her is the winner of the later match between No.9 Maria Sakkari and unseeded Arantxa Rus. Raducanu has never played Rus but it’s worth noting that she won her only previous match against Sakkari — in the semifinals on the way to the 2021 title in New York.
Navarro, the 23-year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, needed only 59 minutes to topple four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka of Japan. In her first career appearance on Centre Court, Navarro never faced a break point in the showdown.
Navarro, the 2021 NCAA champion from the University of Virginia, was outside the Top 50 a year ago but is currently ranked a career-high No.17. She has now made the third round or better at all three Slams this year, so far peaking with a Round of 16 showing at Roland Garros.
If Navarro wants to make another Grand Slam Round of 16, she will have to beat red-hot Diana Shnaider in the third round. The 20-year-old Shnaider stormed past 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-1 in just 49 minutes on Wednesday.
Shnaider has beaten Navarro twice this year, most recently just last week in the Bad Homburg semifinals. Shnaider went on to win that grass-court event for her second title of the year, and she is currently ranked a career-high No.30.
Navarro and Osaka had no trouble on serve in the first six games of Wednesday’s match, but at 3-3, Osaka fired four straight unforced errors to hand Navarro a love break. At one juncture, Navarro reeled off 10 points in a row, although she had to tough out a deuce game to consolidate for the 5-3 lead.
Osaka quickly regrouped on serve, powering through a love hold to force Navarro to serve for the set. The American was up to the task, garnering set point with a strong overhead, then converting that chance with a fiery forehand, her ninth winner of the set.
A drop volley misfire by Osaka gave Navarro a quick break point in the opening game of the second set, and Navarro took her chance, carving a groundstroke to force an Osaka error and take the early lead.
Navarro cruised home from there, halting new mom Osaka’s return to Wimbledon after a five-year absence. Navarro finished the match with a clean 16 winners to just five unforced errors.
–IANS
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Sports
Wimbledon 2024: Carlos Alcaraz races into Round 3; Medvedev, Tiafoe, Casper Ruud also reach third round
London, July 3 (IANS) French Open winner Carlos Alcaraz extended his winning streak at Wimbledon to nine matches on Wednesday when he recovered from an early dip to record a straight-sets victory against Australian Aleksandar Vukic. Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev defeated Alexandre Muller in four sets; eighth seed Casper Ruud overcame Fabio Fognini of Italy in four sets while 16th seed Ugo Humbert of France defeated Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in straight sets.
Leading 5-2 in the first set, Alcaraz briefly lost his way to trail 5-6. However, with the pressure on, the third seed quickly broke back to force a tie-break and from there it was one-way traffic, with the Spaniard advancing 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2.
In 2020, World No. 69 Vukic defeated a then-17-year-old Alcaraz in qualifying at Roland Garros. Nearly four years on, the task at hand was much harder for the Australian on the lawns of Wimbledon, where Alcaraz is the defending champion. The 21-year-old is now a three-time major titlist and played like one for large periods of his one-hour, 48-minute, second-round win against Vukic. Alcaraz used his feathered drop shot to great effect to cause the Australian to scramble around the court, while he struck his forehand fiercely to overpower Vukic in the baseline exchanges under the roof on No. 1 Court.
Alcaraz, who scored 40 winners in his victory, is in the third round at Wimbledon for the third consecutive year. The former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion will continue the quest for his third trophy of the season when he meets Frances Tiafoe in the third round.
The American, who lost to Alcaraz in five sets in the US Open semi-finals in 2022, downed Croatian Borna Coric 7-6(5), 6-1, 6-3 to earn consecutive wins at a tour-level event for just the third time this season.
In another second-round clash, Medvedev rallied from a set and a breakdown against Alexandre Muller on Wednesday inside the All England Club’s main arena. After saving two set points to avoid falling to a two-set deficit, the fifth seed dug deep for a 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-4, 7-5 second-round triumph.
Muller had seriously threatened to serve up a disappointing experience for Medvedev on the Centre Court grass. The No.102 in the ATP Rankings clinched the opening set in a tie-break before racing to a 3-0 lead in the second. Even after Medvedev reclaimed the Frenchman’s early break, Muller had set points at both 5-4 and 6-5.
Ultimately, however, Medvedev’s consistency from the baseline and booming serve proved crucial for his three-hour, 28-minute win in his maiden ATP head-to-head clash with Muller. He sent down 14 aces and converted four of 12 break points he earned en route to his 30th tour-level win of the year.
In other results, Ruud defeated Italian veteran Fognini in four sets, getting past his opponent 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(1), 6-4 in a Round of 64 clash on Court 2. Humbert defeated Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets, 7-6(9), 6-1, 6-3, getting into dominant mode after surviving a tough fight in the opening set. American Tiafoe was also taken to the tiebreak in the first set before overcoming Borna Coric of Croatia 7-6(5), 6-1. 6-3.
–IANS
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Berlin (Germany), July 3 (IANS) Self-confidence has grown to new heights for Germany before they face Spain in the UEFA Euro 2024 quarterfinal, former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos said at a press conference at the team’s base camp in Herzogenaurach.
“Faith has grown extremely within this team. We have learned we can survive tight situations; we believe in our quality much more than we did in recent months,” the 34-year-old said ahead of the match this Friday evening in Stuttgart.
After 10 years in the shirt of Real Madrid, he said that winning Euro 2024 on home soil was the driving force behind his return to the German team, after his initial retirement from international football in 2021. “I wouldn’t have returned if this idea hadn’t been in my head and was part of the talks I had with [head coach] Julian Nagelsmann,” the 113-cap midfielder said.
A European Championship title is still missing in his career record, despite having won 34 trophies for club and country since he started his career in 2007, reports Xinhua. “You are telling me that (Spain winger) Lamine Yamal was born that year makes me feel older right now. He is a great, great player and was assumedly the best performer for Barcelona last season,” the midfielder added.
Having announced his retirement from football after the tournament, Kroos said he is sure that crossing swords with Spain will not be his last game, despite Spain striker Joselu having announced to “hopes to retire him” by beating the tournament hosts. “That’s nice of him to have that idea, but mine is different,” Kroos answered.
The Germany midfielder said he is aware “I will stop playing football in some weeks, but I am not nostalgic about it. This day comes for everyone, and I am happy to have decided on my own.”
There will be days “I will miss football in the future,” he said. “There won’t be anything I can do as good as football. But I am looking forward to a new chapter in my life.”
The duel against Spain is decided by the team that dominates midfield. “The one taking the lead in the center is likely to win the game. We are aware of that, and we have set up solutions for all possible situations,” the 2014 World Cup winner said.
–IANS
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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved tennis ace Rohan Bopanna’s request for assistance for him and his men’s doubles partner Sriram Balaji to compete in two ATP Tour events ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji will head to Hamburg and Umaag, along with their coach and physiotherapist, to compete in the ATP 500 events before they head to Paris, the Ministry informed in a release on Wednesday. The 44-year-old Bopanna, ranked fourth in the World in men’s doubles rankings, has got a direct entry into the Paris Olympics and has chosen to partner the 34-year-old Balaji in the Paris Olympics.
The MOC also approved requests of shooters Rhythm Sangwan, Sarabjot Singh, Vijayveer, and Anish Bhanwala for assistance towards expenses of personal coaches or trainers during the Olympic Training Camp in Volmerange and the Paris Olympic Games 2024 at Chateauroux.
The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) will cover the cost of their flight, board and lodging, visa, and local transport.
Skeet shooters Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka’s requests for assistance to train with personal coaches Riccardo Fillipelli in Arrezo, Italy, and Ennio Falco at the Tiro A Volo Falco range in Capua, Italy respectively were also approved by MOC.
During the meeting, the MOC also decided to extend assistance to Steeplechasers Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary as well as their coach Scott Simmons for training in St. Moritz, Switzerland, for 24 days before the Olympic Games.
The Women’s Relay 4x400m team’s request for assistance to procure equipment and table tennis player Harmeet Desai’s request to support training in Biberach, Germany, and the purchase of various consumables as well fee for support staff were also approved by the MOC.
The MOC inducted 400m Sprinter Kiran Pahal, High Jumper Sarvesh Anil Kushare, and Shot Putter Abha Khatua in the TOPS Core group for the Paris Olympics Cycle.
–IANS
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Monaco, July 3 (IANS) Just three weeks ahead of the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, World Athletics has ratified the women’s marathon world record set by Peres Jepchirchir earlier this year. Kenya’s Jepchirchir rewrote the record book as she ran 2:16:16 to improve the women-only world marathon record by 45 seconds at the TCS London Marathon.
The field for the World Athletics Platinum Label race on April 21 was widely regarded as one of the deepest and highest-quality women’s fields ever assembled and no secret had been made of the fact that breaking Mary Keitany’s women-only world record of 2:17:01 was the big target.
Ultimately, Jepchirchir was the one to achieve it. Seven women had remained in the pack as they reached the halfway point in 1:07:04 – the second-fastest half-way split ever recorded in London and a mark that put them on schedule to smash the record by almost three minutes.
Jepchirchir went on to win in 2:16:16, finishing seven seconds ahead of Tigist Assefa. Joyciline Jepkosgei was third (2:16:24) and Megertu Alemu fourth (2:16:34), making it the first marathon in which four women finished inside 2:17.
On Wednesday, the new World Record in Women’s world indoor 60m hurdles by Devynne Charlton.
In Glasgow on March 3, Bahamian hurdler Charlton lowered the 60m hurdles world record to 7.65 as she secured her first global title at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.
Charlton had previously shared the world record of 7.67 with Tia Jones of the United States. Charlton achieved that mark in New York on 11 February before Jones matched it in Albuquerque just five days later.
–IANS
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