Off-Topic » ABLEThe Gamecocks have now won four of its last six matche

In October 2008, Karnataka offspinner K Gowtham received an invitation to bowl at the touring Australian team. Those were the days when his action had a striking resemblance to that of his idol Harbhajan Singh, who was still in his prime and bowling alongside Anil Kumble in Indias Test side. A lot has changed since, both in Indian cricket and in Gowthams life.Before the start of this Ranji Trophy season, it had been three years since Gowtham last played a first-class match. And in the second innings of that match he conceded 206 out of the 718 runs Saurashtra racked up. Cheteshwar Pujara made 352 and knocked Karnataka out in the quarter-finals.Now, in 2016-17, Gowtham is Karnatakas most successful bowler with 18 wickets in three matches.I was inspired by Harbhajans action and thats how I started it, Gowtham tells ESPNcricinfo. The moment he saw me with the action, he was pretty surprised. But he told me I wasnt getting side-on completely. I had a semi side-on kind of action, so he told me to rectify that and work a little more on my bowling.Now Gowtham runs up to the crease slower than before and the Harbhajan imitations have given way to the desire to be his own man.I have changed my action completely now, Gowtham says. Every bowler is unique, and I didnt want to be known as the guy who bowls like Harbhajan. I wanted to be on my own, so I tried out a few actions in the nets and I could bowl even better than previously.It wasnt like Gowtham blindly followed the man he looked up to, and then woke up one morning and decided not to.The way Harbhajan was bowling was completely different from the way I wanted to do things. He could bowl the doosra, but I couldnt. While youre imitating someone, you still have to keep learning new things. Changing the action has helped me, but I have not changed the way I bowl.Gowtham had the good fortune of running into one of Indias best offspinners, Erapalli Prasanna, after he was picked for a camp conducted by the Karnataka State Cricket Association.It was a 15-20 day camp and I worked with him, Gowtham says. And whatever he taught me during that period, I keenly observed, wrote it down, and kept it in the papers in my diary. He told me to work on my run-up and be more consistent. It was more like a friend whos giving you his thoughts on bowling.Hes a legend by himself and I was a little reluctant to go and ask him, but the moment he saw I was doing something and not getting it right, he came up to me and showed me how its done. In fact, he demonstrated to me by bowling himself. He asked me, how do you plan to get a batsman out? So I told him, either bowled or lbw. He said I must have more options of getting him at slip, and my main aim should be to get him bowled, because the moment I focus on trying to do that, I have all the options of getting him out, like the lbw, get a caught behind, or get him caught at short leg. Hes helped me quite a bit. Whatever the changes you see, they have come through him.Gowthams serious career began when he was picked for an Under-15 zonal tournament in Bangalore. He finished as the tournaments second-highest wicket-taker. It wasnt until he progressed to the Under-22 level that he first represented Karnataka. He played against Bengal, picking up four wickets in the match and scoring a half-century to help his side win.But, again, there was a period of six-seven years gap. But I never gave up, he says. It made me stronger and more mature as a cricketer. Its the same with this period. My fitness, training and routine never changed. Im regular to practice. If I dont practice, its like Im missing something on that day.A regular fixture in the local leagues, Gowtham worked on being more patient and consistently hitting tight lines. He had a productive 2016-17 Karnataka Premier League, where eight matches yielded 11 wickets and an economy rate of 5.58, just before the start of the Ranji season.Gowtham bagged 3 for 97 on his return, against Jharkhand in Noida, and recounts a valuable tip he received from Mansur Ali Khan, Karnatakas bowling coach.There was one small change that he asked me to make in between the first game [and second], Gowtham says. I was running slightly diagonally towards the wicket, but he told me to run in a little straighter and see the difference. Its helping me in a big way. My deliveries were slightly drifting down leg, but now, I have more control over the ball. [Mansur] works very silently and has a very low profile. But hes the one who actually holds the team together; when he says something, it holds a lot of weightage.Gowtham followed it up with eight wickets - including a maiden five-for - against Delhi, and a career-best 7 for 108 in the second innings against Assam to deliver Karnataka a bonus-point win.Returning to the team after a lengthy spell in the sidelines, Gowtham feels he was welcomed back warmly. Almost everyone has played for India or India A, so being a part of it and playing in the XI is an achievement in itself. It really holds a special place and helps me stay motivated. Everyone makes fun of me and I make fun of everyone as well; its like a barter system. Everyone was happy I was doing well and getting into the team. Roger Maris Cardinals Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. 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COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Junior forward Savannah McCaskill tallied a pair of goals and the Gamecock defense allowed just three shots on frame to lead South Carolina womens soccer to a 2-1 win over No. 6 Clemson Saturday night at Stone Stadium. The victory marked the fourth straight for the Gamecocks, who moved to 4-0-1 on the season and notched their third win over a top-10 foe since 2015. Clemson fell to 3-2-0 on the season following the loss.After generating the majority of the matchs scoring opportunities in the early going, South Carolina broke through just before the half. Junior left back Anna Conklin set up the goal in the 37th minute, sending a cross from the left side that found McCaskill in front of net. The junior used her head to float the ball into the top right corner of net over the outstretched arms of Clemson goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.South Carolina doubled its advantage in the 49th minute, as McCaskill again found herself on the end of a scoring play. Senior center back Kaleigh Kurtz delivered a pass to forward Sophie Groff, who one-timed the ball to a streaking McCaskill in the box. McCaskill found herself one-on-one with the keeper and calmly flicked a shot into the left side of net to make it 2-0. The score gave the Chapin, S.C., native her second multi-goal game of the season.Clemson cut it to 2-1 in the 79th minute after scoring from well outside the box. Defender Sam Staab collected a pass from Mac Smith and fired an arching shot that sent the ball into the top left corner of net. The result marked the first goal given up by the Gamecocks at Stone Stadium this season.South Carolina freshman goalkeeper Mikayla Krzeczowski registered two saves on the night, none bigger than in the 85th minute when the Tigers again tried to score from distance.dddddddddddd Smiths attempt from outside the box curled near the top left corner of the box and into the hands of a leaping Krzeczowski, who knocked the ball away before gathering it.The Gamecocks outshot the Tigers 15-7 for the night, and Clemson registered just one shot in the opening 45 minutes. Krzeczowski earned her third victory of the season, moving to 3-0-1 on the year. Sheridan ended the match with four saves for the Tigers, while South Carolina attempted five corner kicks compared to just three for Clemson.NOTABLEThe Gamecocks have now won four of its last six matches against top-10 opponents dating back to the 2014 season. Three of those victories came at Stone Stadium.Three of South Carolinas 12 all-time wins over top-10 foes have come against Clemson. The Gamecocks knocked off the ninth-ranked Tigers in 1996 before topping No. 7 Clemson in 2004.Junior forward Savannah McCaskill registered her fifth career multi-goal game in the win on Saturday. Her two goals moved her into fifth on South Carolinas all-time scoring list with 56 points.Left back Anna Conklin leads the Gamecocks with three assists this season. She entered her junior campaign this fall with zero career assists.The Gamecocks are now 6-5-1 all-time at home against Clemson. Saturdays win improved South Carolinas overall record against the Tigers to 9-13-1.UP NEXTSouth Carolina resumes non-conference action on Monday at home against Charlotte. Kickoff at Stone Stadium between the Gamecocks and 49ers is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. ' ' '