s lbw to a fast, straight ball from Mitchell Starc that was no | Forum

                                      When youre a young cricketer of very limited ability but unlimited passion, finding role models can be difficult. Adidas Ultra Boost 19 Rebajas . It seemed a bit ludicrous to pretend I was channelling Sunny Gavaskar or Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi in my batting when I could barely get bat on ball let alone send it scudding to the fence with a flick of my wrists. Rather befittingly then, I developed an attachment to a couple of batsmen who seemed to epitomise the triumph of determination over talent, or of grit and gumption over grace, if you will: Chetan Chauhan and Yashpal Sharma.These were guys who never gave their wicket away with a fancy hook or an airy waft. Each run was eked out in painstaking fashion, and regrettably, even at the end of a sizeable knock from them, you would be hard put to remember a single stroke. They were the precise opposite of blithe spirits like David Gower or VVS Laxman, the guys who made it all look so easy and effortless. And yet, as I will soon show, this initial impression of mine that Chauhan and Yashpal were only capable of playing stodgy cricket was just plain wrong.When Chauhan began his Test career, he was soon described as a strokeless wonder. On debut against New Zealand in 1969, despite rather startlingly hitting a six in his brief first innings, in the second innings Chauhan pottered for 34 runs in 200 minutes with no boundaries. He was similarly glacial in the next couple of Tests he played that season and was duly dropped.When I watched Chauhan against Tony Lewis MCC at Chepauk on his comeback to the Test team in 1973, after getting out for a duck in the first innings, he crawled to 11 runs off 52 balls in the second. A painful 22 (in almost three hours with one boundary) in the first innings and one run off 24 balls in the second innings on a Kanpur feather bed in the next Test meant Chauhan was dropped for good - or so it seemed.Unlike Indias selectors (and the vast majority of fans), I had developed a soft corner for Chauhans struggles out in the middle. There was something noble about his refusal to throw his wicket away despite his inability to get the ball off the square. He seemed in a world of his own and his agonies seemed similar to mine - only on a larger, much larger, scale.Of course Chauhan made yet another comeback, when he was selected to tour Australia in 1977-78, and this time around things clicked for him. He went on to establish himself as a successful Test opener in partnership with Gavaskar.I was eyewitness to a different Chauhan altogether when I next saw him at Chepauk, this time against Asif Iqbals Pakistan, in the Pongal Test of 1980, when India were set 76 to win on the final day. They not only got there at a rollicking rate of 4.33 runs per over, Chauhan blazed his way to an unbeaten 46 with eight boundaries - most of them rasping square cuts and flashing back-foot cover drives off Imran Khan and Sikandar Bakht.It was never the case that Chauhan couldnt play attacking cricket. It was just that he kept the big shots away in the interest of minimising risk and for the sake of the team. That six he hit in his very first Test innings would also be the last one he hit despite playing another 39 Tests. Yashpal played 37 Test matches in Indias middle order over the late-1970s and early-1980s, and ended with a respectable career average of 33.45. With a stocky physique that seemed hewn out of solid wood, and a very limited range of shots, Yashpal would wait patienly for a rank bad ball to dispatch to the fence. Otherwise his main scoring shots seemed to be the nudge, nurdle, edge, bunt, and the push. Fortunate to have played a good chunk of his Tests at home (only two of his 11 scores higher than 50 were outside the subcontinent), Yashpal clearly lacked the ability to collar good bowling or master unfamiliar conditions.Yet, for Indians of my generation, he would come to be epitomised by a single shot of breath-taking beauty. It was not in a Test match but in the semi-final against England in the historic 1983 World Cup, which India ended up winning.Todays fans might find it hard to believe that the target of 214 that England set for India in 60 overs was not seen as a cakewalk at the time. As Mohinder Amarnath and Yashpal ground their way slowly towards it (and an undreamt of place in the finals), the tension was palpable.Every now and then a boundary would relieve the pressure, but well into the middle overs, as an India fan, you were still wondering if the batsmen would hold their nerve, and were bracing yourself for the inevitable collapse.It was around then that Bob Willis bowled what seemed to be a very fast yorker headed straight for Yashpals leg stump. Yashpal swivelled gracefully and deposited the ball high over square leg for a six with nothing more than a waft of his bat. It was pure timing and all he had done was use Willis pace against him. In my mind, with that one stroke Yashpal erased all those painful hours of dour accumulation and unmemorable strokes that had characterised much of his career.Chauhan and Yashpal were clearly playing within their limitations for much of their careers. Yet these vignettes showed what they were capable of doing when the conditions were right, and gave us a glimpse of the talent that lay within their otherwise stolid personas. Adidas NMD R1 Hombre Baratas . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Adidas Ultra Boost Rebajas . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. http://www.baratasnmd.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Sri Lanka 355 and 312 for 8 (Silva 115, Lyon 4-123) lead Australia 379 by 288 runs Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFor the past three weeks, Kaushal Silva has been stuck in an unhappy singles party that threatened never to end. Four, 7, 5, 2 and 0 - those were his scores for this series. Remember that Silva is an opening batsman. For an opening batsman, such numbers are not good. They are not even good enough to be called not bad. In his final innings of the series, Silva again did not make a double-figure score. And Sri Lanka were thrilled.The 115 that Silva compiled on the penultimate day of this campaign was as valuable as it was unexpected. Sri Lanka began the day one wicket down, still trailing by two runs. The morning session would be critical. Within ten overs, another wicket had fallen, the sharp-eyed Peter Nevill pouncing on Dimuth Karunaratnes lifted foot like an Olympic walking judge. Nevills stumping was legal, if a little provocative, and Sri Lanka still had much work to do.The trophy is theirs, but to complete a historic whitewash Sri Lanka had to set Australia a target that gave their bowlers a chance. When two more wickets fell before lunch, Australia were dreaming of a quick demolition of the lower order and a face-saving chase. And yet by stumps they had still not dismissed Sri Lanka, who were 312 for 8 - Dhananjaya de Silva was on 44 and Suranga Lakmal yet to score - and leading by 288.Once upon a time, Australia scored more than that in the fourth innings of a Test in Asia. Emphasis on the once. The only time that has happened - win, lose or draw - was in 2006 in Fatullah, when they made 307 in a successful chase. But that was against Bangladesh, with an Australia team full of champions, and even then they made hard work of it, losing seven wickets along the way.A more relevant comparison, perhaps, concerns their chances of batting out a draw. In the first Test of this series, Australia survived 88 overs in the fourth innings, failing to avoid defeat but at least proving that crease occupation can be achieved. If victory is out of reach on day five in Colombo, maybe Australia should all imagine themselves hamstrung, like Steve OKeefe in that game. Forget running, just block it out.Whatever the case, their victory chances were harmed mostly by Silva. Short in stature, little Silva produced an innings of platinum value to Sri Lanka. His defence was sound early, and he gradually became more expansive with his strokeplay. He was strong square of the wicket, punishing Australias spinners if they dropped short or gave him width. His work was all the more impressive given he had stitches in his hand after being injured while fielding earlier in the game.Silvas century came from his 251st delivery with a cover drive for four off the spin of Adam Voges, and the emotion was evident from the way Silva ripped off his helmet and roared in celebration. Another failure in this innings and his place in the side might have been in jeopardy. Instead, he registered the third hundred of his Test career, and his first for more than a year.Eventually, just like in the womens quadruple sculls last week, Jon Holland claimed Silva. On 115, Silva was lured forward by Hollands flight, beaten by the dip and his edge was snapped up by Steveen Smith at slip. Adidas NMD CS2 Baratas. His innings was over, but he had done enough. In any case, wickets had to fall or a declaration arrive from Angelo Mathews in order to make the final day interesting. After Silva fell, Rangana Herath was taken at slip off Lyon, leaving two wickets in hand.Silva had received assistance throughout the innings from a series of team-mates who did what he has not all series - got out in double figures. Dinesh Chandimal reached 43 before he was lbw to Lyon from around the wicket, everyone on field seemingly surprised that Australias review was upheld, that Lyons delivery had pitched in line and straightened the required amount.Lyon finished the day with four wickets. He made the only breakthrough of the middle session when Mathews, on 26, tried to sweep but succeeded only in top-edging a catch that lobbed up to Smith at slip. But the middle session was quiet by comparison with the first.The most fascinating moment was Nevills stumping of Karunaratne. Lyons delivery turned past the edge and rested in the gloves of Nevill. That, you might expect, would be that. But Nevill was alert to Karunaratnes tendency to lift his foot. He didnt take his eyes off the batsmans leg, and whipped the bails off at just the right time when Karunaratne momentarily lifted his foot off the ground.The Laws of Cricket state that the ball is dead when it is finally settled in the hands of the wicketkeeper or of the bowler, but whether the ball is finally settled or not is a matter for the umpire alone to decide. Law 23 also states that the ball shall be considered to be dead when it is clear to the bowlers end umpire that the fielding side and both batsmen at the wicket have ceased to regard it as in play.If the batsman had regarded the ball as no longer in play, Nevill clearly had not, for he watched assiduously for Karunaratnes movement. Like a motorist given a parking fine for staying one minute too long, Karunaratne was entitled to feel frustrated that a tiny lapse had cost him. But the lapse was his own, and if an eagle-eyed inspector had caught him out, Karunaratne had nobody to blame but himself.Nevill even tried the ploy again in Lyons next over, but on this occasion Silvas foot stayed grounded. It was a busy morning for the third umpire: Silva survived an Australian lbw review, and again on his own review when given out lbw, but there was no such positive outcome for Sri Lanka when Kusal Perera was given not out to an appeal for caught behind off Holland.Perera was attempting a reverse sweep and the ball clearly sailed close to his top edge before bouncing off his body and lobbing up for Nevill to run forward and take. But with no Hot Spot or Snicko available to the TV umpire, Richard Kettleborough, could he overturn the decision? Kettleborough decided that a combination of audio and raw vision was enough - he felt the ball had hit the bat, and Perera was out.The session ended with a more conventional dismissal, Kusal Mendis lbw to a fast, straight ball from Mitchell Starc that was not reviewed. At 98 for 4, Sri Lanka still had plenty to do. Fortunately for them, Silva was starting to look polished. ' ' '