The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Mascarenhas makes case for T20 inclusion

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Friday, Sep 07, 2007
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Mascarenhas makes case for T20 inclusion

LONDON: Dimitri Mascarenhas hopes hitting five sixes in an over in the sixth one-day international against India will secure him a place in England’s squad for the Twenty20 World Championship.

Mascarenhas had made six from nine balls when he took strike against Yuvraj Singh in the final over at the Oval on Wednesday. He miscued the first ball, and was almost out from the second as Piyush Chawla took a running catch at deep midwicket only to sprawl back against the boundary rope.

“I saw him catch it and I just thought touch the rope, touch the rope, and he did,” Mascarenhas said. “That’s what you need sometimes, a bit of luck.”

There was no luck about the next four deliveries, though, as the Hampshire all-rounder thrashed Yuvraj for further sixes in that same arc between the sightscreen and midwicket.

“It wasn’t a plan — but with slower bowling you’re conscious of getting as many runs as you can,” Mascarenhas went on. “It wasn’t a surprise to see him bowl it because he’d bowled the 48th well. After the second one I knew I was seeing it pretty good, so I just kept swinging hard and it kept hitting the middle of the bat.”

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