Sports
WPL 2024: Grace Harris was going to smash me, but knew I would take her wicket, says Asha Sobhana
Bengaluru, Feb 25 (IANS) In game two of the 2024 Women’s Premier League (WPL), UP Warriorz’ Grace Harris was threatening to take the game away from Royal Challengers Bangalore, via the 77-run stand with Shweta Sehrawat to make a chase of 158 look like a cakewalk.
But Warriorz’s intention to chase 158 was spoiled by seasoned leg-spinner Asha Sobhana, who previously took out Vrinda Dinesh and Tahlia McGrath. In the 17th over, Asha had Shweta caught at cover and three balls later, castled Grace with a slower leg-break while trying to sweep.
Bowling from the pavilion end of a sold-out M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Asha signed off by having Kiran Navgire stumped to finish with 5-22, the first five-wicket haul by an Indian bowler in the WPL. It was Grace’s scalp which RCB craved the most and Asha did the job in a game-changing spell to ensure the side won at home.
“My strength is turning the ball and I tried to stick to it. We had specifically planned for Grace Harris and tried not to go different from what was planned with the bowling coach, who gave me the freedom to plan.”
“The way she bats, she can go behind any bowler. But I was sure that she was going to hit and smash me. I knew as well that I would be taking her wicket via bowled or top edge. Luckily, by the grace of God, it worked,” said Asha in a virtual media interaction.
Before the game-changing over, there was a timeout, where Asha and support staff were in discussion. “The homework was done already. We knew how the batters were, the preparation was too good. I knew what I had to deliver in the 17th over, which meant there wasn’t much to talk about in the time-out. The support staff just came out to encourage me and to tell me to bowl the way I was doing, as the homework was done way before,” she revealed.
When Asha was given the Player of the Match award, she was emotional and had tears in her eyes. “All I wanted to do was to win the match and in that target, how I could contribute was going on in my mind. I never thought about the five-wicket haul and when I got the Player of the Match award, I was really emotional.”
“I mean, a lot of hard work was done in the past one year – travelling to places, working on my fitness, bowling and fielding. Finally, the result is coming in my favour and I was pretty happy, so became emotional,” she said on her emotions in the presentation ceremony.
Back home in Kerala, what was the reaction of her parents? “They are just happy; they don’t know much about cricket. So, they are just happy that I am happy. They just asked if you played well, ate well, and did you sleep well. They aren’t much into cricket and just recharged the cable connection just to watch me play,” said Asha.
In WPL 2023, where RCB finished fourth, Asha picked five wickets in as many games. In the first game of WPL 2024, she took five wickets in her first game. But the faith and backing from the RCB management, as well as them running multiple fitness camps in the off-season as well as a pre-tournament camp, worked wonders for Asha.
“Right from the start, RCB management had faith in me. Picking a domestic player and playing on a big stage, it takes a lot of courage, and they had faith in me. I knew that situations like the one in the match would come and we were prepared for it.”
“Like, we had a good 10-day camp, where we had lots of conversations with Luke (Williams, head coach) sir, Smriti (Mandhana), Malo (Malolan Rangarajan) and Corka (Courtney-Winfield Hill). The five-wicket haul is the result of a lot of discussion and practice over ten days, and I think that really reflected in the match and I am really happy about it.”
By her own admission, Asha was mad about cricket in her growing-up years and wasn’t aware of the existence of women’s cricket. Growing up in Kerala, Asha and her friends would take up newspapers, roll them into a ball, and put a rubber band on it. At times, a milk packet was taken, and the paper ball was put in it and covered with some rubberband.
There was encouragement from her father, an auto-rickshaw driver and a homemaker mother, as well as from her brother Anoop. “All thanks to neighbours and friends around my house for playing together and having a beautiful childhood. My brother Anoop was a crazy cricket fan and he wanted to be a cricketer, but he couldn’t become. He always encouraged me to become a cricketer.”
When Asha was in seventh grade, she heard an announcement from her PT teacher about a women’s cricket selection camp and if anybody was interested, they could attend. An eager Asha didn’t wait, went to meet her PT teacher and went to the selection camp without informing anyone at home.
“After school, I directly went for the selection in a white shirt and green skirt, there I met Srikumar sir and late Shabeena mam. They liked my play and selected me in the district team.”
“I went back home smiling at 7:30 pm and screaming ‘I got selected’, where my parents were searching for me and were almost going to the police station to file a missing case. From there, my parents really supported me,” she recalled with a laugh.
The struggle was huge for Asha, who had to change two buses to reach the practice venue and would even fall short of bus fare at times, despite her father stepping in for the same. “I practised in the central stadium, but the biggest support was late Shabeena Jacob mam, who used to give me one week of bus fare when I didn’t have it. Sometimes Aaron sir gave me one week’s bus fare and would take me for orange juice after practice. I know the value of everything.”
Asha’s cricketing journey took her to join South Central Railways in 2011, where she played for its women’s team for a decade, playing alongside Nooshin Al Khadeer and Mithali Raj, a phase which she calls a ‘turning point’ in her life.
“That really helped me to become a stronger version of myself. It wasn’t like a normal team, like there would be currently 14 Indian players and then there was you competing with them. Competing there in the Railways team was very tough for me.”
“But every time I was there in Indian Railways, I hardly sat outside and competed with everybody to get into playing eleven of all the matches. I was really happy about that, and it made me very tougher in decision-making by playing amongst the greatest players, which gave me really huge experiences.”
After leaving Railways, Asha had a stint in Kerala and is currently with Pondicherry in domestic cricket. She was at a crossroads in her career before WPL happened.
“I was in dilemma as to whether keep playing or quit, when the WPL happened. Kudos to the scouts, as they had faith in me. The day I came to RCB, Malolan sir said, “Your bowling is of a different level.” That really inspired me as when you come from the domestic level, getting such words at a big stage got me to contribute to RCB.”
Inspired by Anil Kumble, whom she met before WPL 2024, and Shane Warne, while being a huge fan of Stuart MacGill, Asha’s tale of grit, determination and toiling in the domestic circuit got its due recognition on the night of February 24, 2024, at WPL. In front of a packed crowd, she was the source of both hope and joy for RCB, two words seen on her Instagram handle.
“WPL has changed not just my life, but it has changed so many lives of domestic players. It is going to change many more lives and it puts a thought in everybody’s head that you can also dream and play alongside some like Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine or Smriti Mandhana. A year ago, I never thought that I could share a dressing room with those three. Everybody can dream now and can achieve their dreams,” she signed off.
–IANS
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Sports
1st Test: Atkinson’s record haul; Crawley, Pope fifties put England on top against West Indies at Lord’s (Ld)
London, July 11 (IANS) Gus Atkinson had a near-perfect maiden Test outing, claiming 7-45 to record the second-best bowling figures in an innings by an England debutant in Test history, on the opening day of the first Test against the West Indies on Wednesday. By stumps on the first day, England rode on half-centuries by opener Zak Crawley (76) and Ollie Pope (57) to reach 189/3 in 40 overs to take a 68-run lead, putting them on course for taking a stranglehold on the match.
On Wednesday, when all eyes were on James Anderson in his farewell match, it was Atkinson who claimed wickets in a flurry – his 7-45 was second only to Dominic Cork’s 7-43 against West Indies at Lord’s in 1995 and better than John Lever’s 7-46 against India in 1976. Atkinson’s superb bowling helped England bundle out West Indies for 121 in the first innings.
Anderson, whose daughter rang the traditional bell to signal the start of a Test match at Lord’s, claimed one wicket for 26 runs in 10.4 overs. Anderson, who will be retiring after the ongoing Test against the West Indies after playing 188 games, was honoured by the England team and was asked to lead the side out on the field following the national anthems after skipper Ben Stokes elected to bowl first.
Atkinson began in style, snaring the West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite off just his second ball in Test cricket, getting the batter to play onto his stumps. Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva, Alzarri Joseph, and Shamar Joseph all subsequently fell victim to the 26-year-old right-handed fast bowler Atkinson, who had a day to remember.
With Atkinson getting into the act, West Indies slumped from 88/3 to 121 all out in just about seven overs.
While Cork’s debut had helped England to a 72-run win in 1995, against the same opposition at the same venue, Atkinson’s figures have given Ben Stokes’ side a huge advantage going into the second innings – West Indies were bowled out for 121 in the first innings, with England responding strongly later on day one, with Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope hitting fifties.
In their first innings, hosts England lost an early wicket, losing opener Ben Duckett for three at a score of 29 runs. Jayden Seales got the early breakthrough when he pitched one full and wide and Duckett went for a drive but only edged it behind to keeper Joshua Da Silva.
But Crawley and Pope rescued England with a 94-run partnership that took them past West Indies’s first-inning score. They took England past fifty runs in 11.2 overs and then across 100 in the 24th over of the innings, going at a fair clip despite their progress being halted by bad light which stopped play with England 88/1.
Pope was the first to reach his fifty off 70 balls, hitting 10 boundaries. Crawley too completed his half-century, reaching the milestone off 74 balls, studded with nine fours. Jason Holder brought West Indies back into the game when he trapped Pope in front of the wicket, with the ball hitting the backfoot with a fine yorker.
Crawley was out soon after as England fell to 153/3 as a superb yorker by Seales sent the stumps cartwheeling as the ball, speared at leg stump, snuck under the bat.
Joe Root (15 not out) and Harry Brook (25 not out) were batting at the crease, having added 36 runs for the fourth wicket partnership.
Brief scores:
West Indies 121 all out in 41.4 overs (Mikyle Louis 27; Gus Atkinson 7-45) v England 189/3 in 40 overs (Zak Crawley 76, Ollie Pope 57, Harry Brook 25 not out; Jayden Seales 2-31). England lead by 68 runs.
–IANS
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London, July 10 (IANS) All eyes in Italy were on Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon but it is Lorenzo Musetti who has kept the country’s hopes alive by reaching the semifinals and setting up a clash with 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, who progressed to the semifinal after Australian Alex de Minaur withdrew due to an injury.
Musetti delivered arguably the Grand Slam performance of his career so far on Wednesday to outlast Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6. 6-1 in a quarterfinal clash at the grass-court major. In doing so, the 22-year-old became just the fourth Italian men’s singles semifinalist in event history.
Even after World No.1 Sinner fell to Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday, Musetti gave an immediate reminder of the strength-in-depth of Italian tennis with a classy and composed display in his maiden major quarterfinal. The 25th seed deployed his slice backhand to great effect to outfox an elite grass-court opponent and set a last-four meeting with Djokovic.
The two-time ATP Tour titlist Musetti composed himself superbly in the deciding set after Fritz had snatched the fourth via a break in the eighth game. The Italian raced to a double-break lead with some of his best tennis of the match before sealing a three-hour, 27-minute quarter-final triumph.
The foundation of Musetti’s triumph in his debut appearance on the All-England Club’s No. 1 Court was his serve. The No. 25 in the ATP Rankings won 76 per cent (63/83) of points behind his first delivery, and that stability allowed him to express himself freely in return games. Musetti converted six of the 13 break points he earned against one of the biggest servers on the ATP Tour.
The penultimate point of the match was a good example of the way Musetti found his magic touch in the final set. He produced a well-disguised drop shot which Fritz chased courageously. The American caught his leg in the court as he tried to slide and the crowd held its breath, but fortunately, he was soon up to face match point.
There was nothing the three-time Eastbourne champion Fritz could do to rescue the match situation, however. Musetti served out for a famous victory to join his countrymen Nicola Pietrangeli (1960), Matteo Berrettini (2021), and Sinner (2023) as a Wimbledon semifinalist.
Alex de Minaur pulled out from Wimbledon before his quarterfinal clash against Djokovic due to an injury.
The ninth-seeded Australian announced he was unable to compete against the seven-time champion Djokovic. At a press conference, De Minaur had spoken of jarring his hip in the closing stages of his fourth-round victory against Arthur Fils, and he was unable to recover in time to take on the second-seeded Djokovic on Centre Court on Wednesday.
“I’m devastated, but I had to pull out due to a hip injury, a little tear of the fiber cartilage that is at the end to the adductor,” De Minaur said. “I felt a loud crack during the last three points of my match against Fils and got a scan yesterday and it confirms that this was the injury. [There is] a high risk of making it worse if I was to step on court.”
–IANS
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London, July 10 (IANS) Pacer Gus Atkinson had a near-perfect maiden Test outing here on Wednesday when he claimed 7-45 to record the second-best bowling figures in an innings by an England debutant in Test history, giving the hosts the upper hand against the West Indies.
On the opening day of the first Test, when all eyes were on James Anderson in his farewell match, it was Atkinson who claimed wickets in a flurry – his 7/45 was second only to Dominic Cork’s 7/43 against West Indies at Lord’s in 1995 and better than John Lever’s 7-46 against India in 1976.
Atkinson’s superb bowling helped England bundle out West Indies for 121 in the first innings.
Anderson, whose daughter rang the traditional bell to signal the start of a Test match at Lord’s, claimed one wicket for 26 runs in 10.4 overs.
Anderson, who will be retiring after the ongoing Test against the West Indies after playing 188 games, was honoured by the England team and was asked to lead the side out on the field following the national anthems after skipper Ben Stokes elected to bowl first.
Atkinson began in style, snaring the West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite off just his second ball in Test cricket, getting the batter to play onto his stumps. Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva, Alzarri Joseph, and Shamar Joseph all subsequently fell victim to the 26-year-old right-handed fast bowler Atkinson, who had a day to remember.
While Cork’s debut had helped England to a 72-run win in 1995, against the same opposition at the same venue, Atkinson’s figures have given Ben Stokes’ side a huge advantage going into the second innings – West Indies were bowled out for 121 in the first innings, with England responding strongly later on day one, with Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope hitting fifties.
Brief scores:
West Indies 121 all out in 41.4 overs (Mikyle Louis 27; Gus Atkinson 7-45) against England.
–IANS
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New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) President Droupadi Murmu’s natural love for sports and games was seen when she played badminton with Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal at the Badminton Court in Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Wednesday.
“The President’s inspiring step is in keeping with India’s emergence as a badminton-power house, with women players making a great impact on the world stage,” said a post on the official account of the President of India on X, formerly Twitter.
As part of the ‘Her Story – My Story’ lecture series featuring women Padma Awardees, Saina Nehwal, the first Indian woman player to reach the World No.1 ranking in Badminton World Federation (BWF) Rankings and honoured with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, will deliver a talk and interact with the audience at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre on Thursday.
The official handle on X also released a video of President Murmu playing badminton in a court at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The ‘Her Story – My Story’ lecture series has been initiated by President Droupadi Murmu’s office that delves into the stories of women Padma awardees wherein they talk about their struggles and successes. The series aims to develop informal interactions at Rashtrapati Bhavan, and form bonds with trailblazing women achievers.
–IANS
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Kadapa (A.P.), July 10 (IANS) Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and Hockey Andhra Pradesh won their respective matches in the women’s matches, while Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and Hockey Karnataka were the victors in the men’s section on Day 1 of the 2nd Hockey India Junior Women and Men South Zone Championship 2024, that started here on Wednesday.
In the opening match of the tournament, Hockey Karnataka defeated Telangana Hockey 6-0 in a women’s fixture. Disha M. (8’, 36’) and Rakshita J. (11’, 55’) scored a double each while Thanisha R. (27’) and Meher Kaur Mehta (58’) also scored to complete the first victory of the competition for Karnataka.
In another women’s fixture, the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu defeated Kerala Hockey 11-0. Anusuya (10’, 20’, 21’) and Roobini M. (38’, 42’, 50’) were the top scorers with hat-tricks. Nithya Rubini (15’), captain, Mumanja R. (19’), Kaviya V. (37’), Jayashalini (43’), and Dharshini P. (56’) also scored a goal each.
In the final women’s matchup of the day, Hockey Andhra Pradesh secured victory over Le Puducherry Hockey 23-0. Lalita Kothari (25’, 29’, 32’, 35’, 38’, 45’, 60’) was prolific in front of the goal, accumulating seven goals while Jhansi Bobbili (7’, 16’, 49’, 56’, 58’) was also in fine form with five goals to her name.
Yuvarani Thokala (13’, 15’, 58’), Kuppa Thulasi (27’, 27’), Ankitha Bommu (1’, 41’), Captain Harathi Lomada (20’, 34’) Sreevidya Thirumalasetty (18’, 51’) also scored for Andhra Pradesh.
Tamil Nadu overcome Telangana in men’s section
In an afternoon encounter that marked the beginning of the men’s competition, the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu beat Telangana Hockey 5-2. Telangana Hockey took the lead Sujeet Rajbhar (15’) struck at the end of the first quarter. Nandha Kumar (31’) scored the equaliser for Tamil Nadu followed by goals from Gowtham K (37’), Sundarajith M. (41’), P. Kuberan (51’) and Vishal S. (52’).
Telangana Hockey scored a consolatory goal through Megavath Bhaskar (58) minutes before full-time.
In the second men’s fixture of the day, Hockey Karnataka defeated Le Puducherry Hockey 10-0. Pilla Akash Nageshwara Rao (15’, 44’), Prem Kumar (18’, 33’) and Dhruva B.S. (35’, 37’) scored braces while Hrithik Aiyappa (7’), Annam Shanmukha (8’), Akhil Aiyappa (29’), Raju Manoj Gayakwad (30’) scored a goal each for Karnataka.
The final men’s match of the day unfolded into a hard-fought encounter as Hockey Kerala drew Hockey Andhra Pradesh 4-4. Anish Minz (17’), Kolnati Sai Ram (29’), T. Yadav Ram (47’) and Akshay B.S. (51’) were the scorers for Kerala Hockey while Nadiminti Akhil Venkat (14’, 23’), Charan Kumar Kotte (24’), and Devatha Yaswant (32’) scored for Hockey Andhra Pradesh.
–IANS
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