2 min readMar 8, 2013 01:15 AM IST
First published on: Mar 8, 2013 at 01:15 AM IST
Sitting in the commentary box,Murali Kartik had words of praise for Northern Stars Jamia Milia University left-arm spinner Deepak Sharma every time he picked up a wicket. And after his spell of 4-0-16-4,a number of people walked up to Deepak,and pointed out that his action looked similar to Kartik’s.
“Even when I was attending the Delhi U-19 trials,many players told me that I have a similar action,” Deepak says. “A few days ago when we were training,Kartik bhai spoke to me and corrected my bowling action. My head was falling over and because of this I was drifting onto the legs. He pointed this out,and you can see the results of the change.”
Handed the ball in the seventh over on Thursday,Deepak wreaked havoc among the Western Wizards Jiwaji University lineup to help dismiss them for 61. Stars chased the target in 8.3 overs without losing a wicket,to reach the final of the Toyota University Cricket Championships.
Deepak used his arm ball cleverly,with the ball getting soaked in dew and skidding off the surface. Having been dispatched by Ashish Savita for a six over long on,Deepak kept faith and dismissed Savita with a flighted ball.
So far Deepak has taken nine wickets in four matches and is the tournament’s highest wicket-taker – not bad for someone who has never played for Delhi at any age-group level. “I’ve attended three U-19 trials,but I’ve never been selected,” he says.
The son of a security guard working in the Apollo hospital,Sharma had to travel from Badarpur to Vijay Yadav’s academy in Faridabad daily to train. “My parents couldn’t afford to support my career,and I’ve even suffered beatings from my father for wanting to play cricket when I was small,but they had to let me play when they realised how passionate I was,” says Deepak.
Brief Scores: Western Wizards: 61 all out in 18.1 overs A Savita 21,D Sharma 4/16; Northern Stars 62/0 in 8.3 overs S Sharma 43 n.o
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