Superb Spell

Sahil Kothari's 5-20 was the first five-wicket haul of the tournament, as it enabled Katariya wallop NMV by 91 runs to win the Rotary Midtown Inter-School Invitation Cricket Tournament
Suhrid Barua, Pune Mirror, February 1, 2009
One is not sure what Sahil Kothari had for breakfast on Sunday. Surely, he must have had something 'special' if his magnificent match-winning spell of 5 for 20 for Katariya High School against NMV High School is anything to go by.The 13-year-old left-arm spinner spun a web around the uptight NMV batsmen, which enabled Kataria High School pulverise NMV High School by 91 runs to win the Rotary Midtown Inter-School Invitation Cricket Tournament.What makes his Sahil's effort even more bodacious is the fact that his dream spell was the first five-wicket haul of the tournament, which also ensured that the tweaker also emerged the highest wicket-taker of the tourney. "No one had got a fiver till the final match in the tournament, which makes me happy. What's more, the five-wicket haul has also helped me to become the highest wicket-taker of the tourney, though I'm not finicky about records," said the suave, soft-spoken young turk, who owes his success to NMV High School coach Shakil Sheikh. "I owe this performance to Shakil sir. He was the one who taught me left-arm spin bowling and I'm grateful to him for that," gushes Sahil, who also trains at the Cadence Cricket Academy under coaches Surendra Bhave and Harshal Pathak.Actually, left-arm spin bowling didn't came naturally to Sahil. He was a left-arm medium-pacer, who switched to left-arm spin on a few months back. "I was primarily a left-arm medium-pacer for almost two years. It was during the LIC trophy in Mumbai that I fractured my left hand which prompted my NMV school coach Shakil sir to shun medium-pace bowling and turn to left-arm spin bowling only five months back. Since then, things have taken an upward turn for me," quipped Sahil. So what are the things he did right on Sunday to nullify the plans of the oppositon? "The wicket had some purchase. The ball was skidding onto the batsman. The NMV batsmen were grossly guilty of playing me from the backfoot when they should have played from the frontfoot," said Sahil, who idolises New Zealander left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori. "What I like about Daniel Vettori is that he is always at the batsman. He always looks to stifle the batsmen. I want to imbibe some of his qualities in my bowling," remarked the youngster, giving the impression of knowing what's the right path to chart.Brief Scores:Katariya High School 154 for 8 in 40 overs (Yash Nahar 33); NMV High School 63 all out in 22.1 overs (Sahil Kothari 5-20, Yash Nahar 3-7).