Gatorade Pacers hits Bangalore

	Karnataka's NC Aiyappa was one of the judges along with team-mate R Vinay Kumar © Cricinfo Ltd

Gatorade Pacers' Bangalore edition was successfully held at the National Cricket Academy ground, with two people chosen each in the Under-15 and Under-19 categories. The winners, who were among a field of more than 1300, will participate in the all-India final to be held in Delhi from January 21.

The 2008 contest is the second edition of the talent hunt held in partnership with MRF Pace Academy and Cricinfo. The winners will join a training schedule at the prestigious MRF Pace Academy under Dennis Lillee and T A Sekhar, the Academy's head coach.

Unlike other similar hunts for fast bowlers, Gatorade Pacers is not purely based on speed alone but also the overall bowling prowess. R Vinay Kumar and NC Aiyappa - the new-ball bowlers for Karnataka - were the judges and they evaluated the boys over two days.

In the final round, the bowlers were made to bowl at specific target areas. There were two boxes that were chalk-marked to indicate good length and short of a length. Additionally, the bowlers were also asked to bowl a yorker.

In the U-22 category, David Mathias, who clocked a high speed of 118 kph, and Magiyhendan, who had clocked 122 kph on the first day, were chosen; R Prabhakar, with a highest speed of 108 kph, and Rehan Ali, with a high of 107 kph, were selected in the U-15 category. However, the criterion was not pure pace as the judges looked to select the most complete bowlers.

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