Yashansh revels in Patriots' pink jersey
In the Ultimate Table Tennis season-opener between Dabang Delhi TTC and Jaipur Patriots – on the last day of May – the Delhi outfit had emerged victorious with an overwhelming margin of 11-4. Cut to Friday night and the Patriots not only settled the scores with the last year's finalist – and the only team to make it to the knockouts in each of UTT's six seasons – but also turned around its own fortunes after a disastrous debut season in 2024.
No doubt Sreeja Akula will be credited for edging past Diya Chitale in an edge-of-the seat deciding match between the top two Indian paddlers, but it was Yashansh Malik – the lanky paddler from Delhi – who ensured the tie remained alive and Sreeja could afford to lose a game against Diya.
Had it not been for Yashansh continuing his winning streak against seasoned G. Sathiyan, the decider may not have been enforced. When Yashansh – who had to warm the bench in the season-opener, took to the table, Dabang Delhi was leading 5-4. Captain Sathiyan – despite having lost the two last face-offs against Yashansh – was expected to take Delhi to safety.
'I watched the last match and decided to try out something different this time around. Today's was a crazy match, I am glad it went our way,' Yashansh said after the match.
In the team championship battle between the duo at the National Championship in Surat in January, Yashansh had proven to be too quick for Sathiyan, getting past his rival's defence at will. On Friday, while the defensive wall of Sathiyan was at its best, Yashansh, the youngster, changed his strategy midway through the match.
Instead of trying to take chances with powerful winners, Yashansh slowed the game down in the second game and surprised Sathiyan. The fact that Yashansh wiped out a 10-7 deficit in the first and 7-4 in the second to win both the games underlines that he was the more consistent of the two on the day.
It will be interesting to see if the Patriots' stick with Yashansh as the Indian men's singles player over the bespectacled Jeet Chandra.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
26 minutes ago
- India.com
Top 10 Indian Batters With Most Test Runs In England: Sachin Tendulkar At Top, Rahul Dravid Follows, Virat Kohli At...
photoDetails english The Shubman Gill-led Indian cricket team will start a new era in Tests with a five-match series in England, starting June 20, 2025 in Headingley, Leeds. All eyes will be on batters, who have big shoes to fill after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. In the challenging conditions of England, the performance of batters can dictate the success of the Indian team on the tour. Ahead of the much-anticipated tour, let's take a look at top 10 batters, who have scored most Test runs for India in England. Updated:Jun 15, 2025, 08:40 PM IST 1. Sachin Tendulkar 1 / 10 Sachin Tendulkar has scored the most runs for India in England in Test cricket. Tendulkar scored 1,575 runs in 17 Tests at an average of 54.31 with the help of 4 centuries and 8 half-centuries. 2. Rahul Dravid 2 / 10 Rahul Dravid has scored the second most runs for India in England in Test cricket. Dravid scored 1,376 runs in 13 Tests at an impressive average of 68.80 with the help of 6 centuries and 4 half-centuries. 3. Sunil Gavaskar 3 / 10 Sunil Gavaskar has scored the third most runs for India in England in Test cricket. Gavaskar scored 1152 runs in 16 Tests at an average of 41.14 with the help of 2 centuries and 8 half-centuries. 4. Virat Kohli 4 / 10 Virat Kohli has scored the fourth most runs for India in England in Test cricket. Kohli scored 1096 runs in 17 Tests at an average of 33.21 with the help of 2 centuries and 5 half-centuries. 5. Dilip Vengsarkar 5 / 10 Dilip Vengsarkar has scored the fifth most runs for India in England in Test cricket. Vengsarkar scored 960 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 48.00 with the help of 4 centuries and 4 half-centuries. 6. Sourav Ganguly 6 / 10 Sourav Ganguly has scored the sixth most runs for India in England in Test cricket. Ganguly scored 915 runs in 9 Tests at an impressive average of 65.35 with the help of 3 centuries and 5 half-centuries. 7. Cheteshwar Pujara 7 / 10 Cheteshwar Pujara has scored the seventh most runs for India in England in Test cricket. Pujara scored 870 runs in 16 Tests at an average of 29.00 with the help of 1 century and 5 half-centuries. 8. Ajinkya Rahane 8 / 10 Ajinkya Rahane has scored the eighth most runs for India in England in Test cricket. Rahane scored 864 runs in 16 Tests at an average of 28.80 with the help of 1 century and 6 half-centuries. 9. Gundappa Viswanath 9 / 10 Gundappa Viswanath has scored the ninth most runs for India in England in Test cricket. Viswanath scored 858 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 39.00 with the help of 1 century and 9 half-centuries. 10. MS Dhoni 10 / 10 MS Dhoni has scored the tenth most runs for India in England in Test cricket. Dhoni scored 778 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 37.04 with the help of 8 half-centuries.
India.com
27 minutes ago
- India.com
Shubman Gill reveals Jasprit Bumrah's Test plans for England Tour, Indian Test captain says...
Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah. (PIC - X) New Delhi: The five-match Test series between India and England is going to start from June 20. Young batsman Shubman Gill will lead Team India in this tour. However, this series is not considered easy for the Indian team, as experienced players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin will not be part of the team this time. At the same time, the fitness of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah also remains a matter of concern for the team management. Bumrah was recently ruled out due to a back injury during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and remained away from the field for about four months. Since then, caution is being taken in his Test workload. Former Indian batsman Dinesh Karthik, while talking to Shubman Gill, asked a question about Bumrah's availability, to which Gill replied in a light-hearted manner that it will depend on how many matches are affected by rain. Jasprit Bumrah's fitness is not only affecting his bowling, but this is also the reason why he is out of the race for captaincy for this tour. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar had said that one of the reasons for Gill getting the captaincy is that Bumrah will not be seen playing all five matches on the England tour due to fitness. After this, everyone wants to know which Tests Bumrah will be seen playing on the England tour. Former wicketkeeper batsman Karthik also asked Gill the same question about Bumrah. Responding to this question, Shubman Gill said, 'It will largely depend on how we progress during the series. It is possible that it may rain in a match, so this decision will be taken match by match. We have to see what Bumrah's workload is and what his condition says.' He further said- 'We do not want to decide in advance which matches he will play, because sometimes the circumstances are in your favor and sometimes not. These things will decide whether he will be able to play in the next match or not.' If Shubman Gill's statement is seen directly, then it is clear that Bumrah will get a chance only when the circumstances are favorable to him. In case of more workload, it is possible that he may not be given a chance in some matches.
India Today
31 minutes ago
- India Today
VVS Laxman to lead India's preparations for 1st Test in Gambhir's absence: Report
VVS Laxman is reportedly set to oversee India's preparations ahead of the first Test against England after head coach, Gautam Gambhir had to fly back home due to a family to a report from Revsportz, the former Indian cricketer, who is now the head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (COE), is already in London as part of the India Under-19's tour of the United Kingdom. His junior team will be taking part in five List A games which are set to begin on June 27, followed by two first class as well, set to be played in Beckenham and Chelmsford, later next had been involved with the first-team previously when a second-string side was sent to South Africa to take part in a T20I series. Gautam Gambhir had to travel back after his mother reportedly suffered a heart attack on June 11. Earlier Gambhir had to return back from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year as well due to a family were asked about his ability to coach the Test side following defeats to New Zealand at home and Australia away, which resulted in the side missing out on the spot in the World Test Championship final as well. However, the former cricketer has proven his credentials in the white-ball format, having led India to the Champions Trophy title in 2025 alongside creating a refreshed T20I side under the captaincy of Suryakumar team began their final leg of preparations with an intra-squad game where the likes of KL Rahul and Shubman Gill scored fifties on the opening day, followed by Sarfaraz Khan's quickfire century to keep himself in the running for a spot in the tour will be the start of a new era where Shubman Gill will begin his journey as Test captain, and he will need all the support he can get as they face a tough task of facing England on their home side will hope that Gambhir can rejoin the squad as soon as possible. India Today had previously learnt that the head coach is set to return on June 17, three days before the first Test in Watch
