Sportstar VOL.36 :: NO.16 :: Apr. 20, 2013

Cover Story

What to do when the 20th is upon you
Bowling in the ‘clutch’ boils down to knowing what ball to bowl — and being able to bowl it at will, writes Shreedutta Chidananda. 

Cricket

PROFILE
Really difficult to fathom
Mystery spinner Sunil Narine, after a lean spell, was back at his best for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL opener against Delhi Daredevils. An analysis by Amitabha Das Sharma.

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INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE
Bowling the last over thrice in two matches!
One of the key purposes of the tournament — to promote young Indian talent — was realised very early on.

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INTERVIEW
Evolution of Ishant
“I love to be aggressive on the field,” says India’s fast bowler Ishant Sharma who, along with South African Dale Steyn, is spearheading Hyderabad Sunrisers’ attack in the current IPL. By V. V. Subrahmanyam.

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FOCUS
The game is really looking up in Kerala
Kerala’s performance in the recent Ranji season was laudable. The team also did well in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali tournaments. By P.K. Ajith Kumar.

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FOCUS
A step forward for a backward State
Gujarat, not among the major forces in domestic cricket, won its first National championship, the inter-State Twenty20 event for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, recently. This triumph could well spark an upsurge of cricket fortunes for the State. Priyansh takes stock. 

Motor Sport

INTERVIEW/KENAN SOFUOGLU
‘I am a born sportsman’
Personal tragedies have not broken Kenan Sofuoglu’s resolve. “I still love my job. I cannot do without racing,” says the champion rider, who is racing for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Mahi Racing Team India this season. By Y.B. Sarangi. 

Chess

FEATURE
Carlsen is the Candidate
The tie-break rule favoured Magnus Carlsen: he had won five games, against Vladimir Kramnik’s four, after the completion of the gruelling 14-round affair in the Candidates tournament, in London. P.K. Ajith Kumar takes stock. 

Bridge

Bridge column

Football

STARWATCH
On a goal-scoring spree
Kone is vastly experienced, having started his career in his homeland, Ivory Coast, before moving to Lierse in Belgium when he was only 18 and then to Holland for spells at Roda and PSV Eindhoven.

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LET’S BE FRANK
Can Paolo Di Canio, reverse Sunderland’s fortunes?
Few football men possess more charisma than Paolo Di Canio. Few are so obsessed with leading through personality. It worked at Swindon where Di Canio guided the club to promotion to League One, writes Frank Malley.

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FEATURE
A bleak future
England has a hard task in hand to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil. Manager Roy Hodgson’s team selection has been baffling at times and it has definitely not helped the national team’s cause. By Brian Glanville.

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KICKING AROUND
The erratic English manager
Stanley Rous, the progressive secretary, meaning chief executive of the Football Association, wanted his protege Walter Winterbottom and when he got him he would astonishingly manage to keep him in office for 16 years, writes Brian Glanville. 

Tennis

DAVIS CUP
United they stand
After the 5-0 whipping of Indonesia, India now needs three more victories to enter the World Group and a lot depends on Somdev Devvarman’s presence in the team. By Ashwin Achal.