Kohli hits 50th century, Bhuvneshwar rocks with the ball as SL cling on for draw
LONDON: Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna was a true winner but it was the misfortune of the brilliant Czech, who died on Monday aged 49, to always be recalled for one of sport’s most famous and heart-rending meltdowns despite her collection of 100 tennis titles.
After Novotna’s death following a long fight with cancer, Wimbledon, the tournament where she really made her name in both defeat and victory, paid tribute to her as “a true champion in all senses of the word”.
For even though she was victorious as singles champion there in 1998, it was five years earlier on the same Centre Court that she really captured the imagination — and sympathy — of the sports world when losing the final to German Steffi Graf.
Her defeat, conjured from the jaws of victory when she lost her nerve and confidence, is still considered one of sport’s great meltdowns as Novotna was a point away from taking a 5-1 lead in the third set only to serve a double fault.
It led to a capitulation that was painful to behold as Graf, who was to go on to become one of the all-time greats, took five games on the trot and won the final set 6-4.
The failure was all too much for the then 24-year-old Novotna to take.
At the presentation ceremony afterwards, she broke down and, in one of the iconic images in Wimbledon annals, burst into tears while being comforted by the Duchess of Kent, the British royal who gave her a shoulder to cry on — literally.
“I know you will win it one day, don’t worry,” the Duchess told her at that moment. They proved to be prophetic words.
Four years later, Novotna, whose background as a talented child gymnast helped her to hone a dynamically athletic serve-and-volley game perfect for Wimbledon, reached the final again.
Again, she lost, this time to the teenage tyro Martina Hingis, after being a point away from a 3-0 lead in the final set but this time she was scuppered not so much by a lack of nerve as by an abdominal injury as the Swiss swept the last set.
Yet, once again, it heightened the idea that Novotna was one of sport’s great “chokers” — one reporter once described her cruelly as “NoNo Novotna, the lady from ChokeOslovakia” — but it was a tag that she always challenged feistily.
“I wanted to win myself, instead of waiting for Steffi to lose,” she once said of the Graf loss. “Unfortunately, she started playing better and I did not. Does that make me a choker? How many chokers get to the Wimbledon final?”
She had a very good point. Winning 100 tournaments — 24 WTA singles and 76 doubles, including one grand slam singles and 16 doubles titles — plus three Olympic medals and the Fed Cup with Czechoslovakia, made her an outstanding champion. KOLKATA: Skipper Virat Kohli scored his 50th international century on Monday as India gave Sri Lanka a major scare before the first Test ended in a nerve-racking draw.
Sri Lanka were reduced to 75-7 — with paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar taking four wickets — as they chased 231 for victory.
Under intense pressure, Dasun Shanaka (six not out) and Rangana Herath (0) nervously played out the final few deliveries before bad light at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens came to the rescue.
Kohli’s 119-ball 104 not out had put India on top and allowed them to declare their second innings on 3528. The captain hit 12 fours and two sixes as he flayed the bowling.
“Feels good,” Kohli said of his 18th Test century, to add to his 32 one-day centuries for India.
“My journey hasn’t been long but I want to continue contributing, especially in situations like these,” the 29-year-old captain said.
Kumar struck in the very first over when Sadeera Samarawickrama chopped a delivery onto his stumps and was out for 0.
Mohammed Shami then had lefthander Lahiru Thirimanne bowled for one as the visitors slipped to 2-2 in 3.3 overs.
Umesh Yadav, India’s third seamer, joined in by trapping former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews lbw for 12. The match became even more tense when Shami bowled current skipper Dinesh Chandimal for 20 and Kumar, who returned impressive match figures of 8-96, trapped Niroshan Dickwella lbw for 27.
Praise for Kumar - “He’s grabbing his chances and is a massive contender to start every Test match for India. He’ll do us good in overseas conditions and not just in home conditions,” Kohli said of India’s man of the match.
The second of the three Tests start in Nagpur on Friday. SCOREBOARD India first innings: 172 Sri Lanka first innings: 294 India second innings (O/n: 171/1): L Rahul b Lakmal79 S Dhawan c Dickwella b Shanaka94 C Pujara c Perera b Lakmal22 V Kohli (not out)104 A Rahane lbw Lakmal0 R Jadeja c Thirimanne b Perera9 R Ashwin b Shanaka7 W Sahac Samarawickrama b Shanaka5 B Kumar c Perera b Gamage8 M Shami (not out)12 Extras (B-7, LB-1, NB-1, W-3)12 Total (For 8 wkts dec, 88.4 overs)352 Fall of wickets: 1-166, 2-192, 3-213, 4-213, 5-249, 6-269, 7-281, 8-321. Bowling: Lakmal 24.4-4-93-3, Gamage 23-2-971, Shanaka 22-1-76-3, Perera 13-2-49-1, Herath 6-1-29-0 Sri Lanka second innings S Samarawickrama b Kumar0 D Karunaratne b Shami1 L Thirimanne c Rahane b Kumar7 A Mathews lbw Yadav12 D Chandimal b Shami20 N Dickwella lbw Kumar27 D Shanaka (not out)6 D Perera b Kumar0 R Herath (not out)0 Extras (LB-1, NB-1)2 Total (for 7 wkts, 26.3 overs)75 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-2, 3-14, 4-22, 5-69, 6-69, 7-75. Bowling: Kumar 11-8-8-4, Shami Yadav 5-0-25-1, Jadeja 1-0-7-0. 9.3-4-34-2,