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Two former Dakar Rally champions exit race
Buenos Aires: Two former champions of the Dakar Rally bowed out of this year’s race following 10th stage, organisers announced.
Spanish auto racer Joan Nani Roma (Mini), winner of the 2004 and 2014 rallies, in the motorbike and car divisions respectively, and Chile’s Ignacio Casale (Yamaha), the reigning champion in quads, abandoned this year’s rally, each for a different reason, as per reports.
Nani’s Mini Wednesday suffered a road accident on the tract between the cities of Calama (Chile) and Salta (Argentina), flipping over three times before coming to a rest. The driver and his copilot, France’s Michel Perin, were stunned but unharmed.
After the crash, Nani still hoped to get back in the race, but the Mini was out of commission.
Casale, meanwhile, was holding in second place, four minutes behind the leader, Poland’s Rafal Sonik (Yamaha), but was forced out by a mechanical problem with his quad.
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.