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
nr/hs
Dusseldorf, July 2 (IANS) An unfortunate late own goal by Jan Vertonghen proved decisive as France edged past neighbours Belgium and into the quarterfinals of UEFA Euro 2024. Playing at the Dusseldorf Arena, France faced a tough fight from Belgium, but they rode their luck to seal a place in the last-eight stage.
France started the match as the favourite but the first real frisson came at the other end. Belgium had fallen into a pattern of waiting for counters, but it was from a dead ball that they nearly took the lead. Kevin De Bruyne arced a free-kick into the France box that evaded everyone and forced Mike Maignan – seeing the ball late – to scramble a save with his feet.
That presaged a positive spell from the Red Devils, who were nonetheless fortunate to end the first half level, Marcus Thuram heading narrowly wide from a Jules Kounde cross before Aurélien Tchouameni blazed over. Tchouameni had the first bite after the interval too, his shot from the edge of the area deflected by Wout Faes and batted away by Koen Casteels.
France were building pressure, but their attempts were mostly wayward and off-target. Thuram, Tchouameni, and Kylian Mbappe all sent efforts over and William Saliba screwed a shot wide after Romelu Lukaku had at least found the target for Belgium. The Roma forward tested Maignan with a fierce strike, and the France keeper was likewise equal to a De Bruyne drive.
The Red Devils looked like they might make France pay for their spurned chances – until the breakthrough finally came. Substitute Randal Kolo Muani was the instigator, turning in the area and beating Casteels with a shot that took a crucial deflection off Jan Vertonghen. Tough on Belgium, perhaps, but France had long threatened to strike and they can now look forward to the quarterfinals.
–IANS
bsk/
Sports
Cycling: Biniam Girmay makes history, becomes first black African to win Tour de France stage
Turin, July 2 (IANS) Richard Carapaz grabbed the first yellow jersey of his career on Stage 3 at the Tour de France, but Monday’s finale in Turin was all about Biniam Girmay as the Eritrean created history in the sport’s biggest race. Girmay saw off a reduced bunch of sprinters in a messy finale to become the first Black African to win at the Tour, following up from his victory at the Giro d’Italia in 2022.
Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty) became the first Black African to win a stage at the Tour de France as he edged a chaotic sprint on Stage 3.
The road opened up gloriously for the Eritrean cyclist in the closing stages as he took victory ahead of Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny). Girmay, who also won a stage at the Giro d’Italia in 2022, was overcome with emotion in his post-race interview.
A messy finale saw Alpecin-Deceuninck’s hopes to disintegrate when Mathieu van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen’s chief lead-out rider, suffered a mechanical, while a late crash split up a host of sprint trains — including Mark Cavendish’s Astana Qazaqstan ensemble.
A philosophical Cavendish confirmed he and his teammates were uninjured, but the crash split the peloton and a lead group of around 20 riders went clear to contest the sprint — including Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) who started the stage tied on time with overall leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
After starting with two hilly stages, this was the first chance for the sprinters to shine and even the intermediate sprint with well over 100km to go was hotly contested, hinting at the chaos that would ensue. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) was first over the line there and was the first contender to open his sprint in the finale in the middle of the road with Gaviria and De Lie in tow, but Girmay stole up the right-hand side on the barriers and timed his kick perfectly as Pedersen tired.
Newly crowned Dutch national champion Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) followed in his wake but couldn’t find a gap to launch and the Eritrean began his celebration before he crossed the line, hailing his victory as one for “all of Africa”.
Carapaz crossed the line 14 places behind and celebrated his own piece of history, becoming the first Ecuardian to don the yellow jersey thanks to a better aggregate stage finish position, though Pogacar didn’t seem too disappointed to lose the responsibility of leading the race. He remains on the same time as Carapaz, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) and most importantly his Visma-Lease a Bike rival Jonas Vingegaard as their GC battle will recommence on the Col du Galibier tomorrow.
The frantic finish was a stark contrast to the rest of a sleepy Stage 3, the longest of the Tour de France that gave riders the chance to recover after an energy-sapping opening weekend.
–IANS
bsk/
Detroit (USA), July 1 (IANS) Akshay Bhatia three-putted on the 72nd hole and lost by one shot at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Cam Davis, starting the day one behind overnight leaders Bhatia and Aaron Rai, carded 2-under 70 with a birdie on the 17th and a par on the 18th to set a clubhouse target of 18-under.
At the 18th tee, Bhatia, in the final group with Aaron Rai, was one-under for the day and had a total of 18-under. He needed a birdie to win and a par to get into the play-off. But he three-putted from 32 feet and his par putt failed to drop from six feet for a bogey and he fell to second with 72 in the final round and a total of 17-under.
Rai had four pars in his last four holes for a 72 and at 17-under he was also in a tie for second with the other two behind Davis Thompson (68) and Min Woo Lee (69).
Bhatia said, “It sucks. No other way to put it. I mean, just sucks.”
Bhatia hadn’t made a bogey through 54 holes but broke that run on the par-4 third earlier Sunday in Motown. He got that one back immediately, draining a 32-foot birdie on the very next hole. Bhatia added a birdie on the seventh to move to 18-under and was steady enough for the next 10 holes until the par-4 finishing hole. It was his first three-putt of the week and his first miss inside 6 feet.
Bhatia was looking for his second win of the season after capturing the Valero Texas Open in April. He also won last year’s Barracuda Championship while competing on Special Temporary Membership.
This was Bhatia’s third top-10 finish of the season and second in a row after finishing T5 at the Travelers Championship. He moves from No. 15 to No. 11 on the season-long FedExCup standings.
Bhatia entered the final round as the only player in the field without a bogey through 54 holes and made two bogeys in the final round.
–IANS
bsk/
Sports
Wimbledon 2024: Osaka battles past Parry; top 10 seeds Sakkari, Paolini advance, Sun upsets Zheng
London, July 1 (IANS) Returning to Wimbledon after a gap of five years, former World No.1 Naomi Osaka came through a difficult battle before reclaiming her winning ways on the lawns of London as she got the better of the 53rd-ranked Diane Parry of France in the first round of women’s singles here on Monday.
Top 10 players Maria Sakkari and Jasmine Paolini also kicked off their campaigns with first-round straight-sets wins on Monday. But Zheng Qinwen was the first Top 10 player to suffer a defeat this fortnight, losing to qualifier Lulu Sun of New Zealand.
Playing the grass-court major for the first time since 2019, Osaka posted a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Parry. Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka of Japan needed 1 hour and 32 minutes to hold off Parry and book her spot in the second round.
Osaka was down a break on two separate occasions in the third set before squeaking out the victory in her first career meeting with former top-ranked junior Parry. Osaka made her winning return one day before her daughter’s first birthday.
Osaka will have to wait until the end of the day to find out who her second-round opponent will be. She will meet the winner of the clash between No.19 seed Emma Navarro of the United States and former Top 15 player Wang Qiang of China.
Coming into this year, Osaka had only collected four main-draw wins at Wimbledon, her lowest total at any of the four majors. Osaka reached the third round in 2017 and 2018 but lost to Yulia Putintseva in the 2019 first round.
But Osaka, who returned to tour in January after being on maternity leave in 2023, had a solid grass-court showing ahead of this year’s Wimbledon. Osaka made the ‘s-Hertogenbosch quarterfinals three weeks ago before narrowly losing to fellow US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in a third-set tiebreak.
World No.123 Sun collected a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over No.8 seed Zheng, this year’s Australian Open runner-up. Sun took 1 hour and 57 minutes to fight back from the loss of the first set and clinch a spot in the second round.
It was a breakthrough victory for Sun in many ways. Not only was it the first Top 10 win of her career, it was her first win over a player ranked inside the Top 50. This was also her first Grand Slam main-draw victory, in just her second major main-draw appearance.
Additionally, Sun was nearly eliminated in qualifying last week. She had to save a match point in the second round of qualies before defeating Gabriela Knutson in a final-set 10-point tiebreak. The 23-year-old Sun is the first woman representing New Zealand to reach the second round of a Grand Slam since Marina Erakovic’s run to the Wimbledon third round in 2016.
Earlier, No.9 seed Sakkari of Greece clinched her spot in the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over American qualifier McCartney Kessler. Sakkari needed 1 hour and 11 minutes to oust World No.119 Kessler.
It was an important Grand Slam victory for Sakkari. The Greek has already won 20 matches at the tour level this year, but she had lost in the first round at four of the last five Grand Slam events.
Sakkari is now a win away from making the third round of a Slam for the first time since the 2023 Australian Open. Her next opponent is Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, who reached the second round of Wimbledon for the first time since 2012 by beating Yuan Yue 6-2, 6-3.
In another match, No.7 seed Paolini of Italy posted her first-ever main-draw victory at Wimbledon by defeating Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-5, 6-3.
Roland Garros runner-up Paolini had lost in the first round of Wimbledon the last three years running, but she broke that duck by toppling 55th-ranked Sorribes Tormo in 1 hour and 37 minutes.
Coming into this year, Paolini had never won a main-draw match at any grass-court event on the Hologic WTA Tour. But the Italian carried her Roland Garros momentum into Eastbourne last week, where she won two matches on grass before falling to eventual champion Daria Kasatkina.
In Monday’s match, Paolini ground out a nearly hour-long first set, then built a 4-0 lead in the second set. Sorribes Tormo battled back on serve at 4-3, aiming to deny Paolini a maiden victory in London, but Paolini regrouped to win the next two games and advance.
Paolini’s next grass-court challenger will be Greet Minnen of Belgium after World No.80 Minnen ousted British hope Heather Watson 7-5, 6-4 on Monday. It will be the first meeting between Paolini and Minnen.
–IANS
bsk/
Rotkreuz (Switzerland), July 1 (IANS) Tvesa Malik’s stunning finish of 5-under in the last four holes and runner-up finish after losing a play-off at the Swiss Ladies Open, has still raised her confidence, as also her ranking on the Ladies European Tour. She had rounds of 68-68-66 and lost on the first play-off holes to England’s Alice Hewson. Tvesa is now 31st after being way behind earlier and a similar run should see her earn her card back for 2025.
The career-best runner-up finish also earned her a spot on the elite Aramco Series, which she last played in November 2022. Tvesa joins Diksha Dagar and Pranavi Urs, who took a week off. The Indian trio will be in action at the Aramco Series London, where Diksha was part of the winning team a couple of years ago.
This has been a season of resurrection for Tvesa, who at the start of 2024 won an event in South Africa on the Sunshine Tour. On the LET, this was her second Top-10 of the season after T-10 at Dormy Open in Helsingborg.
There are still more than 10 events on the LET and the trio, Tvesa, Diksha, and Pranavi, who share the same sponsor in Hero MotoCorp, are looking at picking some titles.
Tvesa, who got married to pro golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu before the start of the 2024 golfing season, is the third-placed Indian on LET this season after Diksha, who is 14th, and rookie Pranavi, who is 16th.
“I am playing well again, and this was so close to getting my first LET win, but I will take it as a positive that I fought so well at the finish in the final round with three birdies and an eagle in the last four holes. The play-off didn’t go my way, but the win is closer than ever before,” said Tvesa.
–IANS
bsk/
Hungary takes over EU presidency after creation of new far-right alliance- Torrential rains cause massive damages in Italy
- Euro 2024: Vertonghen's late own goal sends France into quarterfinals
- MP CM to thank Centre for three new criminal laws in Assembly on Tuesday
- Drugs, contraband valued at Rs 6cr seized in Tripura, Mizoram
- 11 Bangladeshi nationals held in Tripura for illegal entry into India
- Cycling: Biniam Girmay makes history, becomes first black African to win Tour de France stage
- Odisha CM Mohan Majhi says govt's main priority is to listen to people's grievances
- India, B'desh plan coordinated ops to bolster interoperability in maritime domain
- JD(U) MLA hospitalised after fainting at disaster committee meeting in Nalanda
-
Video1 year agoPM Modi Attacks Congress in Karnataka with “Kerala Story”
-
Cricket1 year ago
CSK players rejoice 5th IPL title with their families (Pics)
-
Politics1 year ago
Siddaramaiah & DK Shivakumar sworn in as Chief Minister & Deputy CM respectively
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Karan Deol weds his longtime Girlfriend Drisha Acharya (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Urvashi Rautela dazzles on Cannes 2023 red carpet (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Sunny Leone gets ready for Kennedy premiere in Cannes (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Alia Bhatt looks crazy beautiful in Prabal Gurung creation at MET GALA 2023 (Pics)
-
Cricket1 year ago
Sakshi & Ziva Dhoni enjoy their time during CSK VS MI match
