Sports
Rohit wanted to win 2024 T20 World Cup very badly, and he finally got his reward: Lalchand Rajput
New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) June 29, 2024 will be forever remembered as the day India ended its 13-year drought of a World Cup win when the Rohit Sharma-led side beat South Africa by seven runs to lift the Men’s T20 World Cup at the Kensington Oval.
A young Rohit was a member of the 2007 T20 World Cup winning side in South Africa and Saturday’s triumph at Barbados saw him lift the trophy and sign off from the format as the leader of the pack.
Through its attacking batting template and bowlers clicking in unison coupled with sufficient depth, India now holds the distinction of being the first team to win the T20 World Cup without losing a single match through the competition.
Lalchand Rajput, the manager of the Indian team winning 2007 T20 World Cup, speaks exclusively to IANS on the 2024 triumphant campaign, the legacy which Rohit and Virat Kohli leave behind, as well as Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya playing major roles in the victorious run, and more.
Excerpts:
Q. What are your immediate thoughts around this T20 World Cup triumph & what does this mean for Indian cricket?
A. Everybody is very excited and we have got the cup again after a long time, so it’s very exciting. The first time we won in 2007, it meant a lot. The IPL started after that, and we can see that through the IPL, a lot of players are playing T20s. We are getting a very good bench strength. If you look at our team, we can have two or three teams together because the talent is so much. So, this World Cup win definitely inspires young players to take up this game more.
Q. Rohit Sharma was a member of the team which won the 2007 edition and now he’s the winning captain in 2024. How do you see this legacy of him ending the trophy drought for India and now calling it quits from the format?
A. It’s been a long journey for Rohit. To be very honest, he was talented and that’s why we picked him in 2007. He played a good inning in the final as well, where he got upto 30 and got to taste the win of a World Cup. So, this time, he wanted to win very badly as a captain and for which he got his reward. The brand of cricket he played, that was very important.
He made the team to believe in themselves, and to play in a template where they can express themselves. It was phenomenal to see that the hunger to win was there, not only in one or two guys, but it was present in the whole team. He has left a very big legacy in T20Is, and to be very honest, it will be defined by the brand of cricket he played.
Even in last year’s ODI World Cup, the way he used to give start to the team all the time and take on the best bowlers, that legacy of him will always be there. It will be difficult for someone to fill in the shoes of someone as huge as him in the near future. But definitely, over a period of time, there might be a new person to fill in for Rohit.
Q. Virat Kohli has also played his last T20I for India, which he ends as a player of the match in the final. A word on him and his impact in the shortest format for India.
A. He never had a good tournament, to be very honest, except the final. And people started talking about his strike rate, whether he should be there in the team and everything. But he’s one of the best players we ever had. He is a great cricketer, and if you look at the Indian team, the resurgence of it was done by him when he was the captain.
He always likes to win, and is a big occasion player. When there is a big platform, he performs. Rightly on the final day when India needed the most, after we lost two-three wickets, he stood like a solid rock, and made sure that the team reached a decent score. The par score was 160, but we had just 10-15 runs more than it and that made the difference of winning the championship.
Q. Jasprit Bumrah has had a dream time in this competition to be Player of the Tournament. How do you assess his wonderful campaign?
A. He is a world-class bowler and whenever Bumrah is in the team, the captain is relaxed because he can use him anytime – in the first power play, middle overs, and the death overs. When you need a wicket, the captain can call him and he obliges by taking the wicket. In the final, the equation read as 30 runs off 30 balls.
When he came back in the final, he got a wicket in his final over and that put the pressure on the other batters. He makes such a difference in the game, which is why he became the player of the tournament. Bumrah is a lethal weapon for any captain who gets a player like him in his team.
If he had played in the 2022 Adelaide semi-final, it would not have been the same story. We missed him very badly last time in the World Cup due to injury. But this time Bumrah made a huge difference. I know everybody has contributed to the team’s cause. But Bumrah is a special person in the team who delivers impactful performances on special occasions.
When you need a wicket very badly, he will come and give you that breakthrough. If there’s a partnership to break, call Bumrah and he will get it. If they need 10 runs, call Bumrah and he will give 6 runs. He can bowl good yorkers, short balls and mixes up his bowling to be a lethal wicket-taker.
You can also see that when Bumrah was playing alongside Arshdeep Singh, the youngster became a very changed bowler. So, he really motivates the other bowlers, as he and Arshdeep hunted in pairs as a bowling partnership.
When Bumrah bowls well, he makes sure that the other bowler also bowls well. He talks to them, gives them his ideas on what to bowl, what the batter is doing, and what you should bowl on this type of wicket, and he’s simply the icon of bowling.
Q. Another interesting narrative has been Hardik Pandya performing his all-rounder roles with aplomb after a lacklustre IPL. What does this tell about his mindset of coming good at a big event?
A. Pandya’s performance shows the character of him as a player because he was going through a lot of problems during the IPL and in his personal life as well. He never had a good tournament. But to step up in a World Cup, especially in the final, and to take that responsibility or onus to bowl the last over and make India win because it could have been anybody’s game, that speaks for itself.
See, nowadays, making 15-16 in the last over is not that difficult. But he bowled really well and that shows the character of that person. It also means that Hardik is a very, very strong-headed person.
Q. Axar Patel and Shivam Dube also played vital roles with the bat in the final. A word on their quick contributions in the title clash.
A. Axar was sent up to take on the left-arm spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj. His 47 runs were very, very crucial because at that time, the spinners were bowling and then we had lost two wickets, but Virat was at the other end. He had to take that initiative and a match-up against a left-arm spinner made a big difference in the team’s total as well.
Shivam Dube has always been a very good striker of the ball, and we have seen him in the IPL, against spinners, he murders them with his big-hitting and then against fast bowlers, he takes them on. His quick-fire 27 was the difference in India getting 150-160 and making 177.
Q. How heartwarming was it to see Rahul Dravid sign off from his coaching stint on a high?
A. Every coach would like to go out on a high and we all know Rahul Dravid, how he’s very dedicated as a player and person. When he played, he was the wall of Indian cricket. Now as a coach, he has been around for so many years and narrowly missed the 50-over World Cup.
So, this triumph was a big thing that he achieved in his last game as a coach. I think God has been very, very kind to him that the players gave him a very good gift, and it could not be much better than winning the World Cup.
Q. When the equation came down to 30 runs off 30 balls to decide the winner, what was going through your mind?
A. With South Africa having that tag of chokers around, I felt if big wickets fall in the last five overs, it will be over for them, and that’s what happened. India had been in that place for a number of years, but for South Africa, it was the first time they were in the finals, and had that tag of faltering at a crucial time.
In cricket, getting 30 runs in 30 balls with five or six wickets in hand is easy. After Klaassen and Jansen wickets, it felt over for South Africa. After Bumrah took out Jansen in that excellent over, Arshdeep’s 19th over was really crucial and people forget about that. If he had given 15-20 runs, then the match would have gone.
Also, in the last over, David Miller was one who could get 20 runs in one over. But catches win you big games in the World Cup, and Suryakumar showed a very good presence of mind running in because he was getting his balance outside the boundary line. But he had the presence of mind to make sure that he threw the ball up, came back in and caught it, which further became the difference in winning and losing.
Q. Seeing the jubilant scenes in Barbados must have reminded you of similar scenes at Johannesburg in 2007. Can you talk about experiencing that winning feeling in 2007?
A. I think you cannot describe that feeling to be very honest, because when you think of it, you get goosebumps. It was a very special feeling. First time we were playing the T20s. No one had much experience of playing T20. Now, every team has been playing for the last 17 years – T20s and IPL.
So they all have got the experience, but at that time, getting into a tournament for the first time, never had any match before and just one game before that World Cup. To then be winning the tournament was a dream come true for all of us. Again, it was a close game, and here also, it was a close game because in T20s, either you win very convincingly or otherwise it will be a close game. So, it really tests your nerves as well.
That time you feel that we have conquered the world. There is no one there now and we are on top of the world. That feeling of winning the World Cup, cannot be described in any way and its’ something different. When you win that, you do something which you have not seen before as you are over the moon at that time.
Like after winning the World Cup, you would never have seen Rahul Dravid being so animated. That celebration in Mumbai is still very much etched in our memory. We never expected that Mumbai would be at a standstill. I hope they get the same ovation here now. I don’t know how they are going to do it, but that celebration was something special when we won for the first time. Now, this one is also very special.
–IANS
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Bengaluru, Aug 22 (IANS) Shivamogga Lions’ woes continued as they suffered a 28-run defeat to the Mysore Warriors in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
Mysore Warriors delivered a well-rounded performance, anchored by Karun Nair’s (45) swift knock, supported by a few other good contributions in the middle order, and highlighted by late-innings fireworks from J Suchith (22*) and Manoj Bhandage (23).
On the bowling front, Vidyadhar Patil (3/29) and Karthik CA (3/31) played crucial roles in restricting the Shivamogga Lions. Sharath HS’ (4/29) lethal spell with the ball and valiant efforts from Abhinav Manohar (46) and Nihal Ullal (46) with the bat couldn’t turn the tide in Shivamogga’s favour.
Chasing 180, Shivamogga Lions got off to a disastrous start, with Vidyadhar Patil’s lethal first over leading to the dismissals of Mohith Bangalore (2) and Dheeraj Mohan (0) in consecutive deliveries. Skipper Nihal Ullal (46) managed to crack a few early boundaries, but Hardik Raj (17) was also removed by Krishnappa Gowtham, leaving the Lions reeling at 41/3 by the end of the powerplay.
K Gowtham then engineered the run out of Rohan Naveen (11), further denting the chase. The in-form Abhinav Manohar (Impact Player) joined Ullal, and the duo breathed life into the innings, putting together a 70-run partnership in just 43 balls.
However, Ullal fell short of his first half-century of the season, leaving the Shivamogga Lions at 123/5 in 15.1 overs. Manohar also narrowly missed his milestone, holing out to K Gowtham off Karthik CA. Manohar’s 26-ball knock included four sixes and three fours, adding valuable runs to the total.
Karthik CA struck again two deliveries later, dismissing Shivraj S and leaving the Lions in deep trouble. With 47 runs needed from the final 18 balls, Ashok D tried to keep the chase alive by smashing a six and a four off Vidyadhar Patil, but perished in the same over, effectively ending Shivamogga’s prospects. Shivamogga Lions finished at 151/9 in 20 overs, enduring their sixth consecutive loss.
Batting first, Mysore Warriors faced an early challenge as Sharath HS unleashed a menacing spell. He struck in the powerplay, dismissing Karthik SU (8), and then returned in the seventh over to remove CA Karthik (30), who smashed three sixes in a 34-run stand with Karun Nair (45) and Harshil Dharmani (0).
Nair continued in fine touch and peppered the boundary with six fours and two sixes during his 23-ball stay before falling to Ashok D in the 11th over.
Kishan Bedare (17) steered the innings, forming a 28-run partnership with Nair and adding another 29 runs with Sumit Kumar (28) before being caught and bowled by Bharath Dhuri, leaving the Warriors at 116/5 in 16.1 overs. The depth of Mysore’s batting lineup came to the fore as Manoj Bhandage and J Suchith launched a late assault.
Vasuki Koushik, tasked with the 18th over, began with a six and a four from Sumit Kumar. Bhandage then took charge, hammering three consecutive sixes off Koushik in the same over before falling as Sharath’s fourth wicket in the 19th ending a blistering 23-run cameo off just seven balls. J Suchith, carried on the momentum, smashing two sixes and a four in an 8-ball flurry, pushing the Mysore Warriors to a competitive 179/7 in their 20 overs.
Brief scores: Mysore Warriors 179 for 7 in 20 overs (Karthik CA 30, Karun Nair 45, Sumit Kumar 28; Sharath HS 4-29) beat Shivamogga Lions 151/9 in 20 overs (Nihal Ullal 46, Abhinav Manohar 46 runs; Vidyadhar Patil 3-29, Karthik CA 3-31) by 28 runs.
–IANS
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Castle Rock (Colorado), Aug 22 (IANS) Indian Americans Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia who failed to make it to the Top-10 last week at the St Jude Championships, the first of the three Play-offs events, will be looking for a better showing as they move towards the finale at the Tour Championships after that.
Last week Hideki Matsuyama, after leading by five at one time, had to birdie the last two holes to win the St Jude Championships. He became the first Asian to win a Play-off event and it was his 10th PGA Tour win, the highest from the continent.
Last week Bhatia was T-12, Rai was T-16 and Theegala was way behind in T-46, but all three have entered the second of the three Play-offs events.
World No, 2 Xander Schauffele, a two-time Major winner in 2024, was tied second last week with Viktor Hovland, while World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was fourth last week, though World No. 3 Rory McIlroy had a poor week in T-68 place.
Among Asians Korea’s Si Woo Kim has all to play for at the BMW Championship, the second of three FedExCup Playoffs events, in Colorado this week, with two big goals providing the drive for him to step up his game.
The four-time PGA TOUR winner tees up at Castle Pines Golf Club with the intention of breaking into the top-30 of the FedExCup points list and qualify for the Playoffs Finale, the TOUR Championship next week. Kim is presently ranked 44th after last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.
A strong week is also required for Kim to keep alive his hopes of earning a spot in the International Team to face the U.S. Team in the Presidents Cup in Royal Montreal next month. Currently 14th on the team roster, the top-6 after this week’s BMW Championship will secure automatic spots, with captain Mike Weir naming six more picks after the TOUR Championship.
Compatriots Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun An, who are 10th and 15th respectively on the FedExCup rankings, are virtually assured of teeing up at the TOUR Championship, which will use a staggered-scoring format based on positions after this week.
Irrespective of how his week plays out, Kim is pleased to secure his top-50 status, which guarantees starts in all eight Signature tournaments next season.
–IANS
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New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) The packed schedule of men’s county cricket in 2025 will remain largely unchanged, despite concerns raised by the majority of players over the impact on their physical well-being.
According to a survey conducted by the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) earlier this season, more than 80 per cent of players expressed fears that the current schedule is too demanding and poses risks to their health.
However, despite these concerns, the 2025 schedule is set to continue as usual. Each county will still compete in a minimum of 14 County Championship matches, eight Metro Bank Cup fixtures, and 14 Vitality T20 Blast games. The changes for next season will be largely cosmetic, offering little relief for players concerned about the gruelling calendar.
The PCA has been advocating for adjustments that would spread out the T20 fixtures across the week, aiming to reduce tight turnarounds and introduce more consistent three-day breaks between Championship games.
“There’s definitely room for improvement in 2025 compared to 2024,” said Daryl Mitchell, the PCA’s interim chief executive, in an interview with ESPNcricinfo. “The schedule can definitely be managed better. Certainly, the Blast was very much looked at through a commercial lens, trying to squeeze as many games as possible into Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Utilizing the majority of the week is probably the way forward, trying to spread them out to give that time for recovery, travel, and preparation.”
The T20 Blast, in particular, has been the main point of debate when it comes to scheduling. The timing of the knockout stages has been a significant concern. In 2023, these stages were held immediately after the group matches in July, allowing counties to retain their overseas players. This year, however, the knockout stages will be pushed to September, giving clubs an extended six-week window to market and sell tickets for home quarter-finals.
While these adjustments offer slight improvements, the overall schedule remains packed, leaving many players apprehensive about how much more they can push themselves physically in the long term. Despite the calls for change, it appears that any significant reduction in the number of fixtures is unlikely in the future, with commercial considerations still driving much of the decision-making process around county cricket.
–IANS
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New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) After ending his T20I career with an elusive T20 World Cup title in Barbados, captain Rohit Sharma revealed that it was his dream to transform the team without thinking too much about the results.
Rohit-led Indian team ended the decade-long ICC title drought after beating South Africa in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 to lift their second title in the format. In 2023, the Men in Blue failed to win the World Test Championship and 2023 ODI World Cup under Rohit’s leadership after losing to Australia in the finals.
The swashbuckling opening batter also credited the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, former head coach Rahul Dravid and chief selector Ajit Agarkar for their support in transforming the team and creating a fearless culture in the squad.
“It was my dream to transform this team and not worry too much about stats and results and also to make sure that we create an environment where people can go out and play freely, without thinking too much. I got a lot of help from my three pillars Jay Shah, Rahul Dravid and chairman of selector Ajit Agarkar. That was critical for me to do what I did. Obviously, not to forget players who came in at different points in time and helped the team to achieve what we have achieved today,” Rohit said in a video posted by BCCI on X.
On Wednesday, Rohit was awarded ‘Men’s International Cricketer of the Year’ while Dravid was accorded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at Ceat Cricket Rating Awards 2023-24 in Mumbai. India’s batting stalwart Virat Kohli was named the ‘Men’s ODI Batter of the Year’ while on the bowling front, Mohammed Shami was awarded the ‘ODI Bowler of the Year’.
The 37-year-old batter finished as the second-highest run-getter in the T20 World Cup with 257 runs including three half-centuries and at a strike rate of 156.70. He played a major role in providing solid starts for the team on the slow pitches of the USA and the West Indies.
After lifting the title, Rohit joined Kohli to announce his retirement from the T20I. With 4,231 runs, Rohit is the leading run-getter in the format behind his teammate Kohli (4188 runs). Both batters will continue to play the other formats of the game. The duo last featured for India in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka earlier this month.
–IANS
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Gotemba (Japan), Aug 22 (IANS) A year after being the youngest ever to make the cut at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Kartik Singh, now 14 years of age, is the highest ranked among the four Indians set to take part in the 15th AAC to be held in Japan.
As of date Kartik is the highest ranked Indian at 199 while the other three players to have received the invitation for this prestigious event are Krishnav Nikhil Chopra and Vedant Sirohi, both past participants in the event and Rakshit Dahiya will be in the four-player team.
Kartik Singh has also been named to the 2024 Junior Presidents Cup team. A regular winner in junior and amateur events, Kartik will spearhead the Indian challenge.
Apart from India’s Kartik Singh, there are seven others named to the 2024 Junior Presidents Cup International Team. They are Joshua Bai, Warut Boonrod, Xihuan Chang, Rayhan Latief, Khanh Hung Le, Thangwin Lee, Anh Minh Ngyuyen,
As many as 113 players have been confirmed for the Championship, which will be held October 3-6, 2024, at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba in Gotemba, Japan. A full list of confirmed players can be found. The field will be 120 with a few more names to be added by the Organisers.
India’s best ever placing has been second place by Rayhan Thomas, who was runner-up in Sentosa, Singapore in 2018. The Dubai-based Indian Rayhan has since turned professional, and last week won his first pro title on India’s Professional Tour of India Tour.
Krishnav, who plays college golf in the US, is the son of former India cricketer turned commentator, Nikhil Chopraa, who often takes the role of a caddie for his son.
Created in 2009, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship was established by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), The R&A and the Masters Tournament to further develop amateur golf in the Asia-Pacific region.
The champion will receive an invitation to compete in the 2025 Masters Tournament and The 153rd Open, while the runner(s)-up will gain a place in Final Qualifying for The Open.
The confirmed list which has players from 38 APGC member organizations is highlighted by defending champion Jasper Stubbs of Australia and four players representing China inside the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking: Wenyi Ding (No. 4), Xihuan Chang (No. 36), Xiangyun Bai (No. 61) and Paul Chang (No. 97).
Ding finished runner-up to Stubbs in the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur while Xihuan Chang reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Junior Amateur in July.
Other top-100 participants include Vietnam’s Anh Minh Nguyen (No. 68) and Japan’s Rintaro Nakano (No. 78).
Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith. Over the Championship’s 14-year history, the Championship has served as a springboard to some of the world’s top players, including Matsuyama, Smith, Cameron Davis, Ryan Fox, Si Woo Kim, Satoshi Kodaira, Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Min Woo Lee, Keita Nakajima and C.T. Pan. Collectively, alumni of the Asia-Pacific Amateur have gone on to win 27 tournaments on the PGA Tour to date and more than 130 across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
As the host nation, Japan will lead the list of up to 43 APGC member nations represented with 10 players in this year’s field. A player from Japan has won four of the 14 editions of the Championship (Matsuyama/2010, 2011; Takumi Kanaya/2018; Nakajima/2021).
–IANS
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