I wanted to take on England's best bowler as others too will feel pressure: Tilak on Archer assault
_vb_49.jpeg)
Chennai (PTI): India's middle-order batter Tilak Varma said his breathtaking assault on pacer Jofra Archer in the second T20I here was pre-planned and was intended to neutralise England's best bowler, which in turn demoralised the rest of the pack.
Tilak, who made an unbeaten 72 off 55 balls, creamed Archer for four sixes, including a scarcely believable pick-up flick over deep fine leg, as the Sussex man leaked 60 runs in his four overs at Chepauk on Saturday.
"I wanted to target their best bowler. If you take on the best bowler, other bowlers will be under pressure. So, when the wickets are falling (at the other end), I want to take on their best bowlers," Tilak said in the post-match press conference.
"If I do that it makes it easier (for other batters). So, I backed myself and took chances against him and also whatever shots that I have played against Archer, I have worked in the nets, mentally I was ready for them. So it has given me a good result," he added.
Tilak said he was mentally prepared to stay till the end and was ready to tweak his game according to the team's needs.
"I said (to myself) that whatever happens, I will be staying till the end, and I wanted to finish the game. I had a chat with Gautam (Gambhir) sir during the last match. I can play with a strike-rate of 6 or 7 or above 10, as per the team's requirement. He also said during the drinks break (here). It is a time that you can show the people that you can play both type of innings. Happy that it paid off," he said.
The 22-year-old showed immense calculation to use the pace of the English pacers and found gap with surgical precision to accumulate runs without taking much risk.
The Hyderabadi then gave an elaborate peek into his game plan at the MAChidambaram Stadium.
"The wicket was double-paced and quite challenging. With the kind of pace (England bowlers were bowling), it will be tough to hit square of the wicket.
"So, I just wanted to use the pace and hit as much as I can behind (in the V behind the wicketkeeper). So, that's what I have done and it has given me success," he said.
India won the match by two wickets to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi court sentences Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia, associate to life imprisonment
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia and his associate to life imprisonment under MCOCA provisions, but refused the death penalty saying the offences did not fall under the category of 'rarest of the rare cases'.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana Jain sentenced Gulia and Dhirpal alias Kana to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
In an order dated December 13, the judge said, "Death sentence can only be awarded in 'rarest of the rare cases' wherein the murder is committed in an extremely inhumane, barbarous, grotesque or dastardly manner as to arouse umbrage of the community at large."
The judge said that on weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, it could be concluded that the present case did not fall under the category, and so, the death penalty could not be imposed upon the convicts.
"Thus, both the convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh each, for committing the offence under Section 3 of MCOCA," she said.
The public prosecutor, seeking the death penalty for both the accused, submitted that they were involved in several unlawful activities while they were on bail in other cases.
He argued that the accused had shown no respect for the law and acted without any fear of legal consequences, and therefore did not deserve any leniency from the court.
The court noted that both convicts were involved in offences of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, house trespass, and criminal intimidation. Besides, they had misused the liberty of interim bail granted to them by absconding.
It said, "The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the mind of the general public, and they lost complete faith in the law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to the illegal demands of convicts. Despite suffering losses, they could not gather the courage to depose against them."
The court noted that Gulia was involved in at least 18 criminal cases, while Dhirpal had links to 10 serious offences.
It underlined that MCOCA had been enacted "keeping in view the fact that organised crime had come up as a serious threat to society, as it knew no territorial boundaries and is fuelled by illegal wealth generated by committing the offence of extortion, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, collection of protection money, murder, etc."
Both accused persons had been convicted on December 10 in a case registered at Najafgarh police station. The police filed a chargesheet under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) and 4 (punishment for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of member of organised crime syndicate) of MCOCA.
