Auto driver’s son strikes it rich for State

November 18, 2012
Hosagavi_Sivalingaiah_Sharath


Meerut, November 18: Just over three years ago, a sturdy six-footer from Bangalore fired the imagination of the country with a sensational Ranji Trophy debut here against Uttar Pradesh. Abhimanyu Mithun scalped 11 wickets then, including a hat-trick, to script Karnataka’s crushing win over the hosts.

In a happy coincidence, Hosagavi Sivalingaiah Sharath made a memorable Ranji debut on Saturday at the same Victoria Park ground against the same opponents, bagging a five-wicket haul (5/60) that left Karnataka with a slight edge on the opening day. Incidentally, Sharath is playing this match only because Mithun is indisposed due to a back strain. Talk of grabbing the opportunity.

Sharath’s rise to prominence from a humble background is a poignant story. An average village kid growing up at Dodda Hosagavi in Mandya district and with a fascination for kabaddi, he caught the attention of cricket coach Mahadeva in Mandya while bowling with a tennis ball. This was to change his destiny. While his single-minded dedication towards the game is certainly paying off, the sacrifices of his father who dabbles between agriculture in his native place and driving an auto-rickshaw in Bangalore to meet the increasing expenses of his two sons who are still students—Sharath and his older brother Sagar—have played a key role in shaping the cricketer’s promising career.

“I couldn’t have taken care of my family with the limited income I was earning from agriculture,” Sivalingaiah told Deccan Herald. “After both my sons moved to Bangalore, one to study and the other to pursue cricket, I was forced to drive auto to earn more money. I spend 15 days a month in Bangalore driving my auto and another 15 taking care of my land,” said Sivalingaiah.

Despite his financial hardships, never did Sivalingaiah discourage his son from indulging in his passion. “Why should I? He (Sharath) had promised me that he would not sacrifice his studies and I trusted him. Both Sharath and I had thought he would play for the State in a couple of years but I?never knew the opportunity would come so soon. And to do so well in his first match. I am just happy that the struggles we have gone through aren’t going waste.”

Sharath, a well-built lad standing over six feet, himself had gone through many a struggle to reach this level. While training in Mandya with the Vidyaranya Cricket Club, he would invariably miss the 6:45 pm bus, the last one to his village, and would walk the 5 km distance in near darkness.

He followed this routine for nearly two years before shifting his base to Bangalore. In the lilting Mandya Kannada accent, the right-arm quick reels out all this information with an innocent smile and without a trace of pain.

“I couldn’t have hoped for a better start to my career,” he noted. Hopefully it’s just the beginning of bigger things to come.



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Agencies
February 7,2020

New Delhi, Feb 7: It was on February 7, 1999, that Anil Kumble became just the second bowler in the history of cricket to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.

He achieved the feat against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, now known as Arun Jaitley cricket stadium in Delhi during the second Test of the two-match series.

India had set Pakistan a target of 420 runs in the match and the visitors got off to a steady start as openers Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar put on 101 runs for the first wicket.

It was then Kumble who came into the attack and wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batting line-up.

The spinner, also known as 'Jumbo' first dismissed Afridi (41) in the 25th over. After the right-handed batter's dismissal, India kept on taking wickets through Kumble and Pakistan was reduced to 128/6 in no time.

Kumble then kept on taking wickets at regular intervals and he got his tenth scalp in the 61st over after dismissing Wasim Akram.

This effort enabled India to register a win by 212 runs, and Kumble became the second bowler after England's Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in a single Test inning.

Kumble finished with the bowling figures of 10-74 from 26.3 overs.

Kumble announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 and finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.

He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Bollywood celebrities have taken it to their social media platforms to express their excitement and shared their thoughts.

Taking to Twitter handle, senior Bollywood actor Anupam Kher extended his best wishes to his legion of followers for the Ram Janmabhoomi Pujan.

While 'Masti' actor Riteish Deshmukh, on the micro-blogging site tweeted multiple hashtag 'Jai Shree Ram' to mark the historic day.

'Queen' actor, Kangana Ranaut's official Twitter handle team wrote: "What could not happen in 500 years happened this year.... this is not picture of the day but the moment of many centuries #JaiShreeRam #RamMandirAyodhya"

Actor Kirron Kher, legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, filmmaker Ashok Pandit and others also marked the day and expressed their excitement.

Earlier, evergreen star Hema Malini, through an audio recording congratulated the devotees of Lord Ram on the occasion.

The Mathura MP expressed her excitement on the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the much-awaited Ram Temple.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the special Bhoomi Poojan at Ayodhya ahead of the foundation stone laying ceremony.

He also released a commemorative postage stamp on 'Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir'. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had offered prayers at the Hanuman Garhi Temple in Ayodhya.

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News Network
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 12: Virat Kohli's natural talent makes him a cricketing equivalent of Roger Federer while Steve Smith's mental fortitude matches that of Rafael Nadal, said South African swashbuckler AB de Villiers comparing the two contemporary greats.

In an instagram chat with former Zimbabwe seamer Pommie Mbangwa, de Villiers spoke about the two batsmen, who are easily the game's biggest crowd-pullers right now.

"It's a difficult one, but Virat is definitely the more natural ball-striker, there's no doubt about that," de Villiers said during his interaction on 'Sports Hurricane'.

"In tennis terms, I'd say he's more like a (Roger) Federer whereas Smith is like a (Rafael) Nadal. Smith is mentally very strong and figures out a way of scoring runs - he doesn't look natural, but he ends up writing records and doing amazing things at the crease.

"I think mentally, Smith is one of the best I have ever seen. Virat has also scored runs all over the world and won games under pressure," de Villiers,himself a modern day great, said.

De Villiers also felt that when it comes to chasing, Kohli is a shade ahead of Tendulkar.

"Sachin is a role model for both of us (him and Kohli). The way he stood out in his era, the things he achieved and with the grace he did all that is a great example for everyone," de Villiers said.

"And I think Virat will also say that he set the standards for us to follow.

"But personally, in a chase, I'd say Virat is the best I've seen in my life. Sachin was amazing in all formats and all situations, but Virat comes out on top while chasing."

The world knows Kohli as a prolific cricketer but for de Villiers, he is a friend, who has interests beyond cricket and is spiritual at one level.

"He's much deeper than just a cricket player...I think most people realise after a while that there's more to life than just cricket," de Villiers said.

"...Virat's always been a thinker, he experiments (with) a lot of things, he loves trying new things out - gym wise, what he puts in his mouth. He thinks a lot about life after life - what's to come, the different religions, we talk about everything."

De Villiers said that he also shares a great bond with Indian captain's actor wife Anushka Sharma, conversing on a lot of issues including family life.

"We go pretty deep and his missus as well, Anushka, we have very deep conversations, which is fantastic. We talk about children and family. We're waiting for that first little Kohli to come.

"It's a good friendship and we always find a way to talk about cricket as well, but 90 per cent of the time we talk about other stuff. It's refreshing and in the middle of a very intense IPL tournament," he shared.

IPL, for de Villiers, is not just a tournament but also about friendships that he cherishes.

"Obviously, when it comes to the IPL in India, it's been more than friendship," De Villiers said, when asked who his best friends in cricket are.

"Virat obviously - not only during the IPL, we chat throughout the year, which means it's different than just the IPL or cricketing friendship.

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