Rahul Dravid gives Rs 35000 to groundsmen for preparing sporting pitch
Kanpur, Nov 29: He has always been different from the rest and India's new head coach Rahul Dravid proved it once again by giving Green Park's groundstaff, led by Shiv Kumar, Rs 35,000 for preparing a sporting pitch for the first Test against New Zealand.
The Indian-born Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra showed remarkable resilience under fading light and on a deteriorating track to defy India's famous spinners and eke out a thrilling draw for New Zealand after an engrossing fifth and final day of the opening Test here on Monday.
"We would like to make an official announcement. Mr Rahul Dravid has paid Rs 35,000 personally to our groundsmen," the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) announced in the press box after the game.
During his time, Dravid was known to play the game fair and square and things haven't changed one bit even after so many years. The tip was a token of appreciation for not dishing out an under-prepared track where the divot would explode and the match would end inside three days.
It was a proper pitch where batters who have applied themselves got runs, such as Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Tom Latham and Will Young, while pacers Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson tormented India's top-order and the home team tweakers got 17 wickets.
Dravid's appreciation means that the template going forward would be sporting wickets with a bit of everything rather than something diabolical.
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.
Swamiji fires gun into the air in Kalaburagi village, video goes viral
Kalaburagi: An incident involving a swamiji firing a gun into the air has been reported from Udachan village in Afzalpur taluk of Kalaburagi district. The act, captured on video, has since gone viral on social media.
The swamiji has been identified as Sri Shantalinga Shivacharya, pontiff of the Hiremath of Sri Shankaralingeshwara Samsthana. According to reports, the incident took place on Sunday evening within the premises of the math, where the swamiji allegedly fired a single-barrel gun into the air.
This is not the first time the swami has courted controversy. Last year, he was reportedly found driving erratically under the influence of alcohol in Salotagi village of neighbouring Indi taluk, following which members of the public confronted him. He later fled from the math, sources said.
ALSO READ: 'Trump travelled on at least eight Epstein flights’: New Epstein files released by US Justice Dept
More recently, during the annual fair of the Sri Shankaralingeshwara Math in Udachan village, the swami had arrived at the village with police protection, claiming to be the rightful pontiff of the math. Despite opposition from villagers, he reportedly went ahead and conducted rituals related to the fair.
The latest incident of firing the gun into the air has triggered criticism, especially after the video surfaced online. Further action, if any, is awaited from the authorities.
