Kolkata, April 15: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on Sunday said he idolised batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar as a youngster.
"Some of my favourite cricketers have been Indians. Indian player Sachin Tendulkar, I met him during my debut for New Zealand. We were playing against each other, and I was looking at what he was doing. That was a bit of distraction," Williamson told reporters during a promotional event of Rupa, one of the largest manufacturer of hosiery products celebrating its 50 years with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Williamson is also the captain of table-toppers Hyderabad who have won three successive games to start their campaign on a high.
"The first time I met him was in my debut game for New Zealand. I was watching him on the field, wondering what he was doing. It was a really nice experience. He is a legend of the game," said Williamson who is rated as one of the best batsmen of his times along with Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Steve Smith.
In his debut Test in Ahmedabad eight years back, Williamson scored 131 in the first innings and did not get a chance to bat in the second as the match ended in a draw.
Besides Tendulkar, the MS-Dhoni led Indian team had the likes of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman in their ranks.
"There were so many great players in the team. Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman...they are such fantastic people...open to talk to about the game of cricket.
"I was 19-20 and it was great opportunity to get alongside the legends of the game and pick their brains," Williamson, 27, added.
Williamson, who scored 50 to help SRH fashion their third straight win against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, was flanked by India opener Shikhar Dhawan, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan and bowling coach and former Sri Lankan spin great Muttiah Muralitharan.
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Kottayam(Kerala) (PTI): A 33-year-old man climbed onto a parked truck carrying cooking gas cylinders and set fire to one of them near Thalayolaparambu in the small hours of Saturday, police said.
The incident occurred around 12.30 am, they said.
The fire and rescue personnel soon arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire, averting a major disaster.
According to police, the man is suspected to be under mental distress as he claimed that he was walking from Ernakulam to his home in Marangattupilly here when he saw the truck on the roadside.
An FIR under sections 329(3)(criminal trespass),324(2)(mischief),326(f)(mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was lodged against him.
Police said that the man was formally arrested, but will be released on station bail as the offences he is accused of are bailable.
"His family is here at the station and he will be released to them," the officer said.
In the FIR, police have said that the man opened the seal of one of the gas cylinders and set fire to it with the knowledge that his act was dangerous to those living in the area.
According to the company transporting the cooking gas cylinders, it suffered a loss of Rs 2,300 in the incident.
