Superbike racer Sandesh determined to do well on international circuit
New Delhi, May 5: Having returned to the track after recovering from injuries, superbike racer Sandesh Prasannakumar is determined to do well on the international circuit this year.
The Chennai lad had broken his collarbone in an accident on the track last year and another one just a week before the race. But despite the injuries the biker is confident of achieving success this year.
"I had a couple of crashes last year on the bike which resulted in a broken collarbone -- which didn't take much time to recover. I recovered fast, but I was low on confidence,"said Sandesh..
"Just when I got my confidence back and built the bike after the crash, I had another small crash a week before the race which disturbed the geometry of the bike and from then we are just unable to set the bike to my riding style and ride to the limit. But step by step we are getting there and I'm sure I'll be riding on the limit in no time," he added.
Winner of the JK Tyre Superbike Cup race (2016), Sandesh also spoke about the racing scenario in the country and said that the Indian racers are still 5-10 years behind their counterparts in other Asian countries and 15 years behind the European riders.
"Racing in India, we are 5-10 years behind the Asia championship guys and 15 years behind the European riders. We aren't sponsored by any companies as they show a lot of interest only in cricket which gives them more branding than what our sport does," he said.
"The resources here are very limited, we need to book a track and pay them for our training as well in advance," the racer added.
When quizzed about the scope of the game in the country, Sandesh said: "Racing has a huge scope for everyone if treated and nurtured well. I'm sure if the media, government and corporates start funding the sport it will be huge for India. We have all the capability to go for gold on the world stage."
Sandesh also shared his upcoming plans to participate in the Thailand Championship and some Asia Supermoto meet.
"The main aim is to get faster, learn a lot more and be the best I can be in India. I am planning to ride in Thailand superbike championship and do a couple of wild card races in Asia supermoto championship. And also get back this year the JK Tyre Superbike championship which I had won in 2016.”
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Siraj shines as Gujarat Titans limit Livingstone-led RCB to 169/8
Bengaluru (PTI): An impeccable Mohammed Siraj led a group of fired-up Gujarat Titans bowlers as they limited the vaunted batting unit of Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 169 for eight despite a providential 54 by Liam Livingstone in the IPL match here on Wednesday.
Once the Titans decided to bowl first, they would not have envisioned such a domination over a potent batting line-up even considering the rather unexpected slow and grippy pitch.
The slip-down started with the wicket of Virat Kohli (7), who began with a lovely cover driven four off Siraj (4-0-19-3).
But the ace batter fell to left-arm seamer Arshad Khan, who came in for Kagiso Rabada, attempting a pull that ended in the hands of Prasidh Krishna at fine leg.
Thereafter the RCB top-order was poleaxed by GT bowlers led by Siraj, who joined the side after a seven-season stint in the red and gold jersey.
Phil Salt, who was dropped on zero by Jos Buttler off Siraj, skipper Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal paraded back to the hut as RCB slumped to 42 for four in 6.2 overs.
However, Salt and Devdutt might feel a tinge of regret because both of them tried to give space to themselves for big shots to get castled by Siraj.
Perhaps, a bit of restraint could have earned them a longer life-span in the middle.
However, the Royal Challengers found some stability through Jitesh Sharma (33, 21b) and Livingstone (54, 40b, 1x4, 5x6) as they added 52 runs off 38 balls for the fifth wicket.
The impressive left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore (2/22), who varied his line and pace exemplarily, broke the alliance, dismissing Jitesh, who skied him to Rahul Tewatia.
It was a redemption point for Tewatia as well because he had earlier dropped Livingstone on 9 off Sai Kishore.
It proved costly for GT as the English batter hammered Rashid Khan for three sixes in an over, two in a row, to reach his fifty in 39 balls.
Livingstone milked 46 precious runs for the seventh wicket with Tim David to take RCB past the 150-run mark.
David's 18-ball 32 (3x4, 2x6) gave the home side some fuel in the death overs.
