Never thought of getting past great Kapil Dev's tally of wickets: R Ashwin
Mohali, Mar 6: Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday said he had never thought of overtaking legendary Kapil Dev's Test wicket haul when he began his career and he is grateful of what the game has given him so far.
Playing in his 85th match, the 35-year-old Ashwin went past the legendary Kapil's 434 Test scalps to become India's second most successful bowler in the longest format.
He achieved the feat when he dismissed Charith Asalanka during Sri Lanka's second innings in the first Test. India won the Test by an innings and 222 runs.
Kapil's 434 wickets had come from 131 matches. The legendary Anil Kumble tops the chart with 619 scalps which he claimed in 132 matches.
"28 years ago, I was cheering the great @therealkapildev on to get his world record tally of wickets. I never had the slightest of ideas that I would become an off spinner, play for my country and even manage to go past the great mans tally of wickets. I am delighted and very grateful to what this game has given me so far," Ashwin wrote on his Instagram page after India's win over Sri Lanka.
He said it was not easy to get wickets in the first match against Sri Lanka and he had to bowl tight for sustained periods.
"The surface was a really good one, it was not easy to get batters out when they were defending. You had to bowl tight for sustained periods," Ashiwn said after the match which ended inside three days.
"I think Shami and Jasprit created pressure from the end where it wasn't turning much."
Ashwin lauded Ravindra Jadeja's match-winning effort, saying the spin all-rounder, who made 175 not out in India's lone innings and took nine wickets in the match, has come a long way in his batting.
"I think he has really come a long way in the last four-five years. The number he is batting is a bit low in my opinion. His batting has gone one notch higher. He knows what he is doing and it reflects in the way he is batting," Ashwin said.
"In between, we both realised that Jayant hasn't bowled a lot and someone who is going to be the third spinner, Rohit also gave him a few overs. Sometimes it's not that easy being the third spinner in the side and it's important to look after.
"Jaddu was magnanimous in giving the ball away. Sometimes I get ahead of myself with the bat but I have worked on things was looking to take one ball at a time."
Ashwin took six wickets in the match, giving away 96 runs.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
