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Sunday,
March 23, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Sachin ‘between’ Aussies & Cup India have resources to upset Aussies Aussies’ opening spell will be crucial
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Indians must have faith in themselves In the biggest match of the World Cup, India will have to play above their potential to beat Australia. This is the final, and players from both teams will be under pressure of expectations. The side which holds its nerve is the most likely to win.
Sehwag should come down the order Dice is rolling in India’s favour: Imran One bad day will mean the end of a dream Saurav’s gesture FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
SAF Games put off again India
retain shooting squad RS Gill heads BFI Punjab eves in title clash Patiala in final
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Sachin ‘between’ Aussies & Cup Johannesburg, March 22 “A Brilliant player can turn the game against you on his day. Seven years ago at Lahore it was Aravinda de Silva who did it for Sri Lanka and this time, I believe there is only one batsman who stands between Australia and back-to-back World Cup triumphs and that is Sachin Tendulkar.’’ “Sachin has been easily the best batsman on the planet during my time in the game, and he will strap on his pads in the form of his life. He loves competing against us and, like all great sportsmen, he thrives on the big occasion,’’ Warne said in his syndicated column for newspapers. About the rest of the batsmen, Warne said, “I am not underestimating the rest of the Indian batsmen, because their records are there for all to see. But the fact is that they prefer the lower, slower pitches found on the sub-continent. There will be a huge amount of pressure on them and I don’t think they will relish it.’’ Warne was frank enough to admit that he is very disappointed not to have played in this (his third) World Cup final, “I was thinking that it will be my farewell one day game.’’ He, however, added, “I expect Australia to win the World Cup for the third time. They have been the best side in the competition, have come through every close call and should not falter now. His advise to his fellow teammates was “to remain calm, to blend in with the atmosphere, go with the flow and try to enjoy the occasion. Do not get psyched out by the gamesmanship early on, when sides try to feel each other out.’’ How serious is Warne about the threat from Sachin, whom he had once described as “my worst nightmare”, can be understood from the fact that he advised the team management to have special plans (strategies) to get rid of him (Sachin). “I am sure we will have a plan A and plan B - probably a plan C as well. The first line of attack is what we call “the upstairs treatment”. We will check him out in the boardroom. To translate, that means he can expect lots of fast, hostile, short-pitched balls aimed at his top half. Brett will be crucial here.’’ Warne says his gut feeling is that Sachin is more likely to duck than take on Brett by hooking. In such an important game he will want to set himself to bat for as long as he can, rather than hammer out a quick 30-odd. In case that does not work out Warne further elaborates, “We can try to pin him down by bowling outside the off stump to a packed field in that area.’’ Glenn McGrath has the accuracy to make this work. Sachin has lovely wrists and is good enough to work the ball through the leg side, but there is a degree of risk if he has to play away from his body. He will not want to feel contained. If all this still hasn’t wrenched the little maestro from the crease, the job will pass to Darren Lehmann and Brad Hogg. India play spin better than any other country, and Tendulkar best of all. The trick is to mix up the pace and not panic if he smashes you for six. At least he is hitting the ball in the air. About the last final Australia played at Lords against Pakistan, Warne said, “I can sense a few similarities this time. Then, as now, we generated a lot of momentum going into the final and were peaking at the right time. The two memorable games against South Africa gave us the tests we needed, just as England and a few others have pushed us this past month.’’ He said though the top-order Australian batsmen have not scored as many runs as they would have liked, but somebody has always come through to make the total competitive and the bowlers, mainly Brett Lee and Andy Bichel, have then put us in the driving seat by demolishing the opposition. In his view, Brett Lee has been sensational. ‘’I think he is bowling as well now as when he first came into the side, bubbly, uninhibited, fresh, fast and direct. To be able to swing the ball at his pace is a heck of an asset. The Wanderers pitch is the quickest and bounciest in South Africa, so this could be his day.’’
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India have resources to upset Aussies
Like voyagers braving the wave and the tempest to set foot on the promised land, India’s cricketers arrive at Johannesburg, a place where in this lifetime, men like them were denied rights. Now they are one step away from glory. It could be a long step. They share their platform with a team that is considered great even beyond this era. They will need to scalp every opportunity and play beyond themselves. If they do, they can bring happiness and joy to a world held captive by modern political warlords. They don’t start favourites and that is appropriate. Australia are the best team on the planet but India will know that while beating them over best of ten matches might be impossible, they could steal the thunder on a given day. And the good news is that they have the resources to do so. This is the most aggressive Indian side I have seen since I started covering cricket. Occasionally they will lapse in self-belief but don’t fear that because they are on a roll. New Zealand is a distant memory and these are good pitches. The bowling is the key and this means India’s game plan is no longer to try and outscore the opposition but try and bowl them out as well. Well as Binny and Madan Lal and Sandhu complemented Kapil Dev in 1983, none of them were as sharp as these three. In this form, this is the best attack India have put out in limited overs cricket. This is also the most passionate Indian captain I have seen and he has played a big role in making men out of a lot of youngsters in the side. They are still impressionable but they are bound by a common thread of enthusiasm and aggression. They will need it because their opponents are masters of these very qualities. Australia will come very hard at India and they will keep attacking. India will need to find flanks of their own to attack. This is as much a battle of skill as it is of fortitude. If India win that battle they will win the World Cup. Two generals will have to lead the way for India to win. Tendulkar at the start and Dravid to prevent the troops from falling back. In modern limited overs cricket there can be no more enticing prospect than McGrath and Lee bowling the new ball to Sachin Tendulkar. I won’t be surprised if they bowl wide of the stumps and invite him to attack, certainly there will be very little on middle and leg. But Tendulkar will know that if the first ten overs are negotiated without loss of wickets, Australia will be a different side. He must be both the dam and the furious river. It is such a long time since India were annihilated by Australia at this World Cup. They are a different side now but remember, they haven’t come across another in this tournament that was as tough and unyielding. Still it is a bit of a worry that Shane Bond was able to trouble them so much. Numbers two and three are susceptible to pace and that could be India’s Achilles Heel. If India can stay tough, and if they can keep their doors closed to the many who have descended to try and share in their glory, they can win. But Australia will start favourites.
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Aussies’ opening spell will be crucial We are witnessing a Gulf war, where one side is being bombarded with missiles. What happens when both sides began firing relentlessly? An India-Australia World Cup final, of course! The heavy blade of Sachin Tendulkar meets the express deliveries of Brett Lee and who even wins the contest could well turn out to be the match-winner. Some players might find it hugely unfair when I make this statement. After all, every member in the team has contributed equally, but Sachin is Sachin. Even though the likes of Ganguly, Sehwag, Dravid and Yuvraj have made their presence felt in international cricket, none of them could inspire that awe among the opposition like Sachin does . Not many like to mess up with him when he is in full flow and his run aggregate in the tournament does not present a rosy picture to the bowlers. Brett Lee, on the other hand, has been Australia’s premier bowler in this tournament. He has not tried to contain himself, bowled as quick as possible and what’s good about him is he always looking to take wickets. The opening spell of Aussie quicks will be very crucial for India. If we can manage to come out unscathed in the first fifteen overs, I can dare say India have as high as 70 per cent chances of winning the game. This is not a debate of sending right or wrong signals to the team but a run-scoring Ganguly is what India need and with all respect to his batting abilities against the
quick bowlers, Ganguly would be contributing more playing military medium bowlers. But knowing Ganguly’s ‘sentimental’ approach to the game, I don’t see any change in batting order or either Kumble coming into the playing eleven. India’s strength has been it’s batting and our batsmen need to give their bowlers a total of around 240-250 to defend. It will be difficult to expect our bowlers to skittle out Australia for 150 or 175 but who knows, cricket is a strange game. Nevertheless, I expect this match to be a close encounter but Australia are clear favourites to defend the title. Australia’s biggest weapon, pace bowling, will be getting a clear advantage from the wicket. Batting wise, with the exception of Sachin, Australia are pretty much even with India. Remember, Hayden, Gilchrist, Ponting, Lehman have had a relatively quiet tournament so far and everyone recognises their big match abilities. Also, the Aussie line-up had withstood immense pressure from good bowling sides and still managed to come clean from tight spots whereas India are a bit patchy in that context. Talking about Harbhajan, I feel he could be the cutting edge to India’s bowling. The ‘Turbanator’ has not set South Africa ablaze with his tweakers and he might just come back to haunt the Aussies. His 10 overs would be crucial, to say the least. Sehwag, Sachin, Yuvraj can put in a few overs together but how effective they will be remains to be seen.
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Indians must have faith in themselves In the biggest match of the World Cup, India will have to play above their potential to beat Australia. This is the final, and players from both teams will be under pressure of expectations. The side which holds its nerve is the most likely to win. The key player in the match — and not just for India — will be Sachin Tendulkar. He has had an outstanding tournament, but even more importantly he is the one player that the Aussies fear. No player in modem cricket commands the respect he does, and especially from the champions. Not without good reason, for he has won more matches single handedly against them than any other rival. In some 30-odd matches, Tendulkar has won the man of the Match award nine times, which is a fabulous record and will keep the Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting worried before the final showdown on Sunday. Having said that, Tendulkar will need support — which he has got right through this tournament — if India are to subdue the Australians. On a big
day like this, some luck also matters, and if the rub of the green goes India’s way, Australia are not unbeatable. A good start by the openers would ease the pressure on the middle-order, and since India bat deep, this could mean a good total to defend. The Australians have relied on early breakthroughs by Lee and McGrath to put the opposition under pressure. They have not been tested in the middle overs, and if India can preserve wickets, this would be a challenge for the Australians. It is important for India to get the Australian openers in the first 15 overs. If either Gilchrist or Hayden stays through that period, there could be a price to pay for both are fantastic strikers of the ball. Hayden especially, will be eager to make amends for the poor run he has had, and what better occasion than the final. The Australians are a hardy bunch, used to winning, but India should fancy their chances because of the batting form of the top order, and the presence of bowlers capable of taking wickets overseas. The fast men Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra have all done a great job as yet, but their big test will be on Sunday. The Australian batsmen are aggressive and unlikely to let any loose delivery go unpunished. India’s fielding will also have to be at least 10 per cent better. Every half chance grabbed could mean a giant step towards winning the World Cup. As always, however, a big match like this demands deep reserves of mental strength. The Indians must believe in themselves, go out and play as they have done so far in the tournament, with flair, heart and opportunism. Win or lose, that’s the best way to play this game.
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Sehwag should come down the order There have been a few complaints about the length of this 2003 World Cup tournament and while it could be said that it has been a fairly long and laborious process to get to the final, no one should complain about the two teams that have finally made that journey. Australia and India have played by far better cricket and hopefully will be at their very best on March 23 to give this tournament a fitting finale. This will be their second meeting as they met earlier on February 15 at Centurion Park, not very far away from the Wanderers cricket ground, the venue for this their most important clash. India will of course be trying to put that encounter behind them, Australia were very convincing victors that day but they have to try and learn from that game and formulate a plan to reverse that result. Throughout this tournament, Australia’s gameplan has been fairly constant in the field, unleash the pace ace Brett Lee with support from the immaculate Glenn McGrath and the previously unheralded Andy Bichel at the top order batsmen and hopefully blow them into oblivion. Once that has been achieved with the new ball, it all becomes a lot easier for the medium pacers and slower bowlers to restrict and eventually strangle the lower order. So far it has worked and they haven’t had too testing a time of it when batting second. When they have batted first and haven’t posted a large score on the board, the same plan has been successful in defending that total, so what can India do differently to their first encounter? India’s bowling has been performing wonderfully so far. Their three medium pacers, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra have done a similar job to Australia on most teams that they have encountered although not with the physical threat that Brett Lee adds to the equation. There should be no need to tinker with that aspect of their game but they would do well to have a look at their batting. There should be no need to change the actual personnel in the team but they could have a look at the order at which they walk to the crease. For one, the top of the order should be changed. Sehwag has not had any success that they were hoping for and expecting. He hasn’t suddenly gone off the boil, but playing against the best opening bowlers in the world with this brand new white ball that, irrespective of what the manufacturers may say, does a bit more than the red ball, on these hard bouncy South African pitches, has not allowed him to be at his best. Everyone knows his technique is not that of an opener and it will not be as successful outside India. It’s time for a change. Sachin Tendulkar is all class and should remain at the top of the order where he is happiest. He can totally demoralize any bowling attack but should be joined by someone able to blunt the opening attack and see off this new ball. That could be Dinesh Mongia, who has opened in the past or Rahul Dravid whose technique cannot be faulted. That would leave Sehwag to come a bit later in the order, probably at number 5, depending on how the team progresses, to run riot when the ball is not as hard and certainly doing less off the seam. India need to post a big total to test Australia as we have seen that their batting has not been performing as well as their bowling and that tactic could be the answer.
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Dice is rolling in India’s favour: Imran
London, March 22 The key for India, he feels, will be to preserve wickets against the fearsome Australian opening bowlers and then go all out for a big total. “My hunch is that India will win because they have peaked at the right time and because all their key players are in prime form. Moreover their morale and confidence are sky high. They have the momentum going for them,” Imran wrote in the ‘Daily Telegraph’. “Those who have lived cricket life at the top know somehow when the dice starts rolling in a team’s favour.” The real combat, he said, would be between Sachin Tendulkar and the Australian pace duo of Glenn McGrath and Lee. In the league phase, India never recovered from McGrath’s killer blow and lost by nine wickets. “This time, too, the match could well be decided on the result of the duel between Tendulkar and Australia’s opening attack. Even if Tendulkar does not dominate McGrath and Lee and just sees them off, India can pile up a big enough total to test Australia’s batting,” he observed. If the Indians can keep wickets in hand, they would have 20 overs of spin to score off. “Bear in mind that, of all the teams in world cricket, (Australian leg-spinner Shane) Warne has his worst record against India, such is their ability to play spin.” “(But) if the Australian pacemen break through early then, apart from Rahul Dravid, I cannot see any other Indian batsmen — in particular, Saurav Ganguly — coping with the pace of Lee, McGrath and Bichel on the bouncy Wanderers pitch,” the cricketer-turned-politician said. He said the discovery of the tournament has been the Indian pace attack — Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, “all in excellent form”. “Nehra and Zaheer have moved the ball both ways at good pace. Yet for me the danger man is the unassuming Srinath, who has probably beaten the bat more than any bowler in the tournament. “Srinath’s danger ball is big leg-cutter to the right hander, a delivery that can deceive the best. This is the best pace attack India have had and thus the team looks the best balanced. The balance could be even better if Ganguly has the guts to play Anil Kumble as well as Harbhajan Singh to exploit Australia’s vulnerability to spin,” Imran said. He also reminded that the record of hosts and favourites was “disastrous” in World Cups. “The hosts are out. Australia, the favourites are left.” he stated. “India are on a high. The team entering the finals are a far cry from the shabby-looking outfit who entered the competition still hungover from their demoralising tour of New Zealand. “Suddenly India look a well-knit, balanced unit whose self-belief is soaring, fed by each victory. They are a team peaking at the right time. Hence they will be playing at their best in the final.”
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One bad day will mean the end of a dream Australia is like the perpetual motion machine, the kind men like to display on their office desks in which one ball lends its momentum to another in a chain and the last ball bounces back to keep the engine of momentum going. India is like a chariot that has picked up momentum in a coruscating run after hitting one rough patch early in its path and is running at peak speed now. It is drawn by men united like never before in a common cause behind their skipper Ganguly and who will be playing the most important cricket match of their lives. What it takes to stop the perpetual motion machine is a spanner in the works. What it takes to stop a chariot is a spoke in the wheel. The teams know each one is capable of stopping the other, that one bad day’s cricket can mean the end of a dream. This contest between the mean machine and the smooth chariot should be a cracker of a match. Meetings between these teams have been known to produce memorable finishes although India have not beaten
Australia for 16 years now in a World Cup. And 16 is a funny number, just ask the Aussies. Their run of 16 consecutive Test wins was halted by the Indians at the Eden Gardens two years ago. The Aussies, the biggest favourites to win a World Cup since the West Indians in their pomp, have now won a record 16 one-day internationals in a row. Who should they be facing but India as victory No 17, probably more important than all the 16 put together, beckons. The Aussies have reason to believe Sachin Tendulkar is the key. No matter how well the Indian batting is functioning, the truth is its batting order is headed by a batsman believed to be as good as Don Bradman. He is the one who smoothed the path for India in matches against England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and even Kenya in the semifinal. The cricketer also often compared to Viv Richards as the preeminent batsman of his era, Sachin will be playing in his maiden World Cup final. Given his scale of achievements in the game, one would have imagined he would have won a couple of World Cups already for India. But that has not been the case. Sachin needed a team to bring him to the summit and this Ganguly-led side has been that united team, willing to lend its collective shoulder to the wheel. It is now up to the master batsman to add one chapter to a remarkable career by taking on the Australian bowlers squarely and expanding on the 669 runs he has made in this World Cup alone. There is a popular belief, somewhat misguided of course, that for all his 65 Test and ODI centuries, Sachin does not always deliver when the chips are down, that his presence rather than his deeds has been a feature of key matches. The record reveals he has played in 28 finals, starting with the Hero Cup in 1993, in which he has scored 12 half centuries and four centuries. That is a great record in itself. The problem is expectations are massive in his case. His record against Australia is also very impressive. Facing the Aussies in 34 of his 304 innings, he has scored six centuries and seven half-centuries at an average of 48.88 which is higher than his career ODI average. The point is he is getting a chance to play in a World Cup final only now and he can hope to emulate Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and Aravinda de Silva as scorers of centuries for victorious sides in a final. On five occasions of his six hundreds against Australia (in Colombo, Kanpur, Sharjah, Dhaka and Indore) India won. The Australians will have a plan worked out against him. While Glenn McGrath will bowl short and wide of off stump to him to deny him the drive, the quicker Brett Lee will fire them in short at his ribs to contain him. If between them, they have not shifted the little master, then they may have lost half the battle to India. Sachin, who stood in line with his stumps and got across many times to play inside the line to force the Australians to bowl more at the wicket, will have a master plan, too. He is in such form as to dictate terms to the bowling even if he strategically switches down to defence in the early overs to deny the big break Lee and McGrath will be looking for. Of course, there is a lot more to the match than the sub-plot of Aussies versus Sachin. India have three men at the top of the batting order who have the capacity to score runs, who are in top form and who have the desire to dominate the big stage. And then there are four other batsmen in the wings. India have three bowlers who have been a complete revelation in the World Cup. As a trio, Srinath, Zaeher Khan and Nehra have been firing in such unison as to have enabled India to beat sides comprehensively on the way to the final. They can expect to put a lot more doubts in the minds of Australian batsmen than when they bowled together last at them on February 15 at Centurion. The Indians even have a huddle to prove how united they stand. That by itself should be the biggest gain from a World Cup in which India rediscovered their cricket potential and their talent to perform on the biggest of world stages. There is no arguing against the fact that the team winning the toss and batting first will have a distinct advantage in a World Cup final because nerves can play such a destructive role in the chase. The first five finals ended in favour of teams batting first and only in the last two did chasing teams win. In the last three years, of 14 defeats, Australia has lost 11 times to teams batting first. The team has never failed to defend a total of 200-plus. That would straightway suggest that India’s best chance to stop the Juggernaut would lie in batting first and putting a total on the board, not any total, not 125 as in Centurion but something more substantial. India last beat Australia in a run chase five years ago in Sharjah. Sachin was in such form then that he could virtually order a sandstorm away so that he could progress to the century that brought India to the final and then make another to win the cup. In 15 meetings since then India have won four times.
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Saurav’s gesture Kolkata, March 22 During his school days in early 80s Saurav, beside playing football himself, was also a regular visitor to the Kolkata maidan to watch Krishanu Dey, his favourite ball player in the mould of famous soccer stars Ahmed Khan and Chuni Goswami, in action.
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FROM THE DRESSING ROOM JOHANNESBURG: Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI chief, was bleary eyed on the morning after India booked a berth in the final of the 2003 World Cup. He was there at the Durban airport early in the morning, with his wife and son, daughter and son-in-law, waiting to board the flight for Johannesburg. Also with him-though not exactly a part of his entourage-were Sir Garfield Sobers and Everton Weekes, two legends of world cricket. At a separate corner, was Dr Ali Bacher, Chief Executive of the organising committee, with his wife. Dalmiya looked stressed and understandably so. It’s been a whirlwind last few days for him after he arrived from India and then went to Robben Island in Cape Town before watching the two semifinals and then heading for the title match. He has known the moment of showdown with the International Cricket Council (ICC) is on hand. The ICC, if reports are to be believed, are to get tough with the Indian cricket board for its’ stance on the contracts issue. It is learnt the guarantee money to the cricket board will not be released by the ICC and the matter will go to arbitration court. Dalmiya will have another trouble coming up when it’s time to announce team for the triangular series in Bangladesh in April. The senior players, it is learnt, are not keen to tour Dhaka and the board will have to go for a makeshift team. The board usually doesn’t take such nonsense and forces players to fall in line but this time it might be different-the players have tasted the power of success and are willing to stick to their point even at the cost of displeasing board. Dr Bacher is pleased with the way the World Cup has gone but he can’t help admitting it’s been a bit tad long. It’s a shock admission coming from the very man at the helm of affairs-no doubt the world will debate at length and the next edition in World Cup in 2007 will have significantly different format. Dr Bacher jokingly remarks this World Cup has been one of Biblical proportions and one can’t help but agree with him. Weekes is visiting South Africa for the first time and finds the country fascinating. “I’ve been absolutely spell bound by the sight of Robben Island. It’s one of the highlights of my visit-the place inspires and moves you and you are just stuck by its magnificence.” Sobers looks regal in his impeccable three piece suit and it’s obvious his troublesome left leg has started to behave lately. He no longer limps and spring is back in his steps. Sobers will present the Player of the Tournament Award at the end of the final on Sunday and his picture with Sachin Tendulkar will adorn the pages and real time of newspapers and television networks. At the other end of spectrum, the Union Law Minister, Dr Arun Jaitley, starts making rounds of shopping mall no sooner he arrives in Johannesburg on Saturday morning. In tow with him is Jyotiraditya Scindia. Dr Jaitley thinks India can pull it across Australia but Brett Lee needs to be stopped. “I just saw him round the corner and looked for ways to fix him completely.” Jaitley is also extremely pleased the tickets which Air-India offered were dirt cheap, coming to South Africa. “I had a first class treatment at an economy class ticket,” says Jaitley till yours’ truly reminds him his stature guarantees him such a treatment. Touche! |
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FINAL-EVE SPECIAL When the world cup kicked off in South Africa on February 9, critics had predicted an easy path for the Australians while India, then fresh from the debacle in New Zealand, seemed to face an uphill task. As both teams prepare to clash in the final on Sunday the fortunes have changed. Keen followers of the game have been pointing out how the fabled Aussies have struggled. Their top order has failed in crunch matches. Australia may have won convincingly but their batting has struggled against England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and even lowly Kenya. It required a late order surge to pull them through and also the fast bowling of
Brett Lee and Glen McGrath. The Aussies top order gave away against England and then against the Kiwis spearheaded by Shane Bond. On the other hand, Indians have made mince meat of all opposition, with the exception of the first two matches when India struggled against Netherlands but won, and then Australia. Since India played Australia in the league phase things have undergone a drastic change. The Indian confidence is at an all-time high. Victories over Pakistan, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Kenya have come without any hiccups with the team playing liked well-oiled machine. Cricketing guru Desh Prem Azad points out “ It is Australia which is struggling. If they lose seven early wickets to India, as they did against England or the kiwis, Australia would stand no chance against the Indian bowlers.” AUSTRALIA: Their campaign in the world cup started off on a sour note with ace leg spinner Shane Warne facing drug abuse charges and pace bowler Jason Gillespie injured ( bowling all-rounder Shane Watson, was injured just before the tournament). The Aussies started off with polished twin victories against Pakistan and India in the league phase. Playing their first game against Pakistan, Australia scored 310 with Andrew Symonds hitting a masterful century. Pakistan fell short by 82 runs. In the next game Australia shot out India for 125 and achieved the target by losing just one wicket. This was followed up with expected wins over Netherlands and Namibia. The last one by a margin of 256 runs. In between the Aussies hopped over to Zimbabwe and were given a target of 246 by the hosts which they scored losing just three wickets in the process. It was one-sided till here with total Aussie domination. In the next game archrivals England fully tested the world champions at Port Elizabeth in the first round with Australia barely scrapping through as they lost eight wickets in getting to 204 scored by the English. In the super sixes Ricky Ponting’s side needed just one second-round game to reach the semi-finals. Ponting’s run-a-ball 114 and Adam Gilchrist’s 99, the first man to be dismissed for that score in a World Cup, set up Australia’s 319 for five and Brett Lee then carved through the top order to kill off the game. Aravinda de Silva’s 92 was a mere footnote. In the next game, the kiwis gave a fright to the Aussies, who won despite being reduced to 84 for seven at one stage by Shane Bond who took six for 23. In reply the kiwis chasing just 208 made a hash of it as Brett Lee took five for 42. His five victims came off 15 balls for three runs as New Zealand were skittled for 112. In their last Super Six game, the Aussies wiped away Kenya. Brett Lee, bowling again with express pace, took only the third hat-trick by an Australia to reduce Kenya to three for three. Ravindu Shah (46) and Steve Tikolo (51) helped the east Africans to 174 for eight, a total put in perspective when Adam Gilchrist launched an assault on the Kenya opening bowlers. The Australia vice-captain struck 67 from 43 balls before 39-year-old left-arm spinner Aasif Karin took three wickets in two overs to reduce the defending champions to 117 for five. Andrew Symonds (33) saw Australia home without further loss. In the semi-final the Australians met with the Sri- Lankans, who did a good job in holding back the Australians for 212 for 7 in 50 overs. It seemed Sri-Lanka would put it across and win, however, the Aussie bowling machines Brett Lee and
McGrath had other ideas. They reduced Sri Lanka to 123 for 7 in 38 overs before the rains came in. INDIA:
India did not begin the campaign well as they were shot out for 204 against lowly placed Netherlands in the first game. And then followed up with a disaster as they were all for 125 against Australia. Losing the Second game and barely winning the first one. Critics wrote off the Indian side. In India effigies of players were burnt, court cases were filed and unfortunately black paint was thrown on the home of a cricketer. A turnaround in Indian fortunes came on February 19 when they crossed over to play Zimbabwe at Harare. Not an easy game. The Indians got to 255 for 7 and then skittled out the Zims for 172. Fans heaved a sigh of relief. Next game against Namibia, India expectedly knocked up a huge score of 311 for 2. The Indian stood up to be counted on February 26 against England at Kingsmead, Durban. Helped by rear guard action by Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj the Indians scored 250. Not a huge target but Ashish Nehra had other ideas. He wanted to re-write cricketing history. As the English began their reply, Nehra, bowling at high speed with unplayable swing claimed a record 6 or 23 to skittle out the English for 168. Next was the match of the tournament. A Saturday on March 1 versus Pakistan. Planeloads of Indians flew into South Africa for big one. Saeed Anwar scored his customary 100 against India as the Pakistanis raced off to 273. In reply Sachin Tendulkar played one of the finest innings. Accompanied by his clone, Virender Sehwag, the two scored 50 in the first five overs, breaking the back of the famed Pakistani fast bowlers. Once again Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh played brilliantly to guide India to victory. The celebrations in India did not end for days. Into the Super Sixes India’s domination continued. They started off by beating Kenya by 6 wickets, who had managed a respectable 225 for six, then reduced India to 23 for three, with Sachin Tendulkar among those wickets. Saurav Ganguly, however, held the innings together with 107 not out, well supported by Yuvraj Singh’s unbeaten 58. In an important game Sri Lanka was beaten by 183 runs. Yet again, India’s effort was built around ‘The Little Master’ before the seamers turned the match into a Sri Lankan duck-shoot. Tendulkar made 97 out of an imposing 292 for six, and then watched Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra, who ended with identical figures of four for 35, destroying Sri Lanka. Four of the top five batsmen made ducks as they slumped to 3-3, 15-4 and 109 all out in 23 overs. In a grudge match versus the kiwis India announced in advance that the Kiwis, were losing. Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra added to their burgeoning reputation as one of the most potent pace attacks as they blew New Zealand out of the game. New Zealand batted horribly. Khan took four for 42 as the Kiwis were dismissed for 146, with Stephen Fleming top-scoring with 30. New Zealand still seemed in the hunt when Sachin Tendulkar went cheaply, leaving India on 21 for three. Seconds later Rahul Dravid, on 1, was dropped off Shane Bond by wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum. New Zealand heads dropped, Dravid breathed again and was still there at the end with 53 not out to Mohammad Kaif’s unbeaten 68. The semi –final versus Kenya was a predictable affair with India scoring 270 aided by a 100 from Saurav Ganguly and masterful 83 from Sachin Tendulkar. The Kenyans were shot out for 179 as India reached the finals. |
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WORLD CUP 2003 Will India be able to break Australia’s quest for the 17th straight win in the one-day game? And the prize for this win: the glittering World Cup and the honour and the money which goes with it. Or will Australia succumb to India’s firepower and, more important, determination and guts and new-found confidence, in their search for a consecutive World Cup to become the only team after the West Indies (1975 and 1979) to record back-to-back wins in the biggest cricket show in the world? Or like the West Indies in 1983 will Australia succumb to India in 2003? All these questions and many more must be rushing through the minds of the Indian cricket fan as the two best cricket teams in the world line up at the Wanderers, Johannesburg, in South Africa today for the final of the 2003 edition of the World Cup. Australia will be figuring in their third straight final (they lost to Sri Lanka in 1996 and won in 1999, after having won the cup for the first time in 1987 at the Eden Garden in Calcutta, now Kolkata) while India will be appearing in their second final after their maiden triumph at Lord’s in 1983. India have appeared in two semi-finals, in 1987 and 1996, but in this year’s tournament they have shown the form, determination and team spirit they have never shown in any world Cup. This will the fifth match of the current tournament at Johannesburg, with both Australia and India having played one match each. While Australia beat Pakistan on February 11 in a Pool ‘‘B’’ league match, India met and beat Sri Lanka in a Super Six match on March 3. Therefore, the conditions will be known to both squads. In fact all matches played at this venue have been high scoring matches and today’s match might be no different with both teams having players with the ability of scoring big runs. In the first match played here between Australia and Pakistan, Australia scored 310 for eight and in reply Pakistan were all out for 228 in 44.3 overs. In the second match at this venue New Zealand got the better of South Africa by the Duckworth-Lewis method after South Africa had scored what seemed to a match-winning 306 for six after batting first. New Zealand were able to muster 229 for one in 36.5 overs, enough to garner four points from the tie. The next match at this venue was between Kenya and Bangladesh where the former won after scoring 217 for seven and then restricting Bangladesh to 185 all out in 47.2 overs. And in the last match played at this venue India scored 292 for six after at stage looking to set a plus 300 run target before bundling out Sri Lanka for 109 all out in just 23 overs. But the final today should be an altogether different ball game. Both the contestants have gone through a lot of fire and brimstone and now must be bubbling with confidence and self-belief. Australia have yet to taste defeat in the tournament and time and again they have crawled out of difficult situations to win a match while India’s only loss in this World Cup so far came at the hands of the defending champions in the initial stages of the tournament. But since then India have picked up their game by more than a couple of notches and the defeat at Super Sports Park, Centurion, on February 15 seems to be something of the past. No team has been able to really stretch the Indians since then and gameplan have worked to perfection. The batsmen have all come good, the bowlers have fired on all cylinders and the Indian fielding is something one will describe like a dream. Although cricket is a team game two players may well hold the key to today’s match. While the title defenders have somebody who answers to the name of Brett Lee the challengers will depend a lot on ‘‘little master’’ Sachin Tendulkar. Many pundits are of the view that Brett Lee holds the key to Australia’s chances of getting past India. He has been bowling
superbly and is improving in every game, maintaining his pace without losing out to accuracy. But then even Lee who has been outstanding in the tournament might find bowling to Tendulkar a daunting task. Their face-off, specially in the first 15 overs of the Indian innings, might well decide which team finally takes the World Cup. Once India are able to see of the first 15 overs from the Australians without much damage to the innings there is very little that the defending champions can do to stop India from laying their claims on the glittering World Cup. And in Rahul Dravid India have a batsman who has the technique, the patience and the raw courage to take on the Australian attack and put it to the sword so that even an initial breakthrough might not be enough for the Australians. One thing working in India’s favour on Sunday is the support the team will receive from the South African cricket fans. After the exit of the home team in the initial stages of the tournament the South African cricket fan would like India to take home the trophy rather than the Australians and would be rooting vociferously for the India team. To a vast majority of South African cricket fans India is one team which can put it across Australia. This was the squad which stopped the ‘‘dream run’’ of the Australians in Test cricket. Now is the time to stop the ‘‘sheep farmers’’ in one-day cricket. The hour of reckoning is on hand. India have already won eight back-to-back matches in a row. What can prevent the squad from registering their ninth, and most important, win in this tournament? But then one must remember that the game of cricket is one of glorious uncertainties! |
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Only Indians can stop the Aussie juggernaut The Indian cricket team of 2003 will go down in history as one of the finest bunch of fighting Indian cricketers since the famous class of 1983 which won the World Cup and then went on to win the World Championship of Cricket in Australia in 1985. This team has some of the most explosive batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, and an extremely reliable one in Rahul Dravid and world class fielders in Yuvraj and Mohd Kaif. And for a change the fast bowling is the strongest point with Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra looking like the most dangerous in the business. Nehra and Khan are touching speeds of 145 kmph in every match. Nehra went on to hit 149 kmph in one game. The team had shed its tag of chokers in crunch situations and is the only team which can stop the Aussie juggernaut. As Saurav and his boys get ready for arealistic run for the cup, profiling them is interesting as they get ready for the big show at Johannesburg, South Africa. Sachin Tendulkar Born: April 24 1973, Bombay. Right-hand bat, right-arm slow bowler. He is the country’s icon, has scored more runs than anybody in one-dayers. This World Cup is already being hailed as “Tendulkar’s World Cup” due his sheer dominance and brilliance through the tournament. No one has dominated a single world cup so much as Tendulkar has done, not even Jayasuriya in 1996, or Sir Vivian Richards in 1979. His knock against Pakistan, or rather the hammering he gave to Shoaib Akhtar, was one of the best innings lovers of the game had seen for long time. It needs just one final brilliant knock from him to bring the Cup home. It could be the innings of his life as you never know that he may not play the next World Cup in 2007 as geniuses have the habit of walking off when at the top. The little master has come a long way since making his debut at Gujranwala, Pakistan in December 1989. Has a world record 34 centuries in one-dayers and has more than 11,000 runs to his credit. Is in amazing form. Saurav Ganguly Born: July 9 1972, Calcutta. Captain. Left-hand bat, right-arm medium. Dominating one-day opener, who, in the past few months, has relinquished his slot for the dashing Virender Sehwag. In this World Cup despite form not going against top teams like Australia, Pakistan or New Zealand, has been hailed as a combative leader who has backed young talent. Had come back into the Indian team with a bang in 1996 when he was dropped from international cricket in 1991-92, accused of arrogance and poor attitude. So will Saurav Ganguly be the man who will do an encore on Kapil feat. Well it seems certain that Ganguly’s pictures will be splashed across the newspapers around the globe holding the Cup. Rahul Dravid Born: January 11 1973, Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Right-hand bat and wicket keeper. Technically accomplished and stylish player rated among the best contemporary test batsmen. Was the highest scorer in the previous World Cup but has recently revived his one-day career by donning the wicket keepers gloves. This has added depth to the Indian batting and has made Dravid the most consistent wicket-keeper batsman in the world cup. In the company of youngsters like Yuvraj and Kaif, he has guided the team out of crunch situations in the past few games, thus lending his wisdom to the youth and showing them how to wriggle out of tight situations. Yuvraj Singh Born: December 12 1981, Chandigarh. Left-hand bat, occasional left-arm spin. Is the only player in contemporary cricket who has been doing well in the one day format yet has not made his debut in Test matches. Has given a new dimension to Indian fielding. One of the best in the world when fielding at point or short cover. As a batsman he has flowered in this world cup by scoring consistently and in tight situations coming to bat under pressure in almost all matches. His knocks against Pakistan and England were talked about as he showed signs of maturity. Mohammad Kaif Born: December 1 1980, Allahabad. Right-hand bat. A stylish middle-order batsman, often at his best in a crisis. Brilliant fielder who was key to India’s good one-day showing in. His best so far has been has been the unbelievable victory over England last year at Lords when he along with Yuvraj masterminded an all-time great win for India. In this world cup, he come good with valuable knocks against New Zealand and also a little cameo against Pakistan. Not to miss the brilliant catches he has taken at cover point. Against England he ran out one of the openers in a manner which would have done even the great Jonty Rhodes proud. Virender Sehwag Born: October 20 1978, New Delhi. Right-hand bat, occasional off-break. Explosive opener with a batting style he has copied from Sachin Tendulkar. In this cup he has got of to amazing starts but has failed to capitalize and his been getting out in the 30’s. Just before the world cup when the Indians toured New Zealand, Sehwag scored two centuries on bowler-friendly pitches while his other illustrious colleagues struggled. Has the potential to explode any moment. Could it be against Australia? Just imagine what would be the outcome if he and Sachin bat like they can in the first 15 overs. The score could be 100 or even more. Dinesh Mongia Born: April 17 1977, Chandigarh. Left-hand bat, part-time left-arm spinner. Chosen for World Cup ahead of VVS Laxman despite recent poor form. Has not lived up to the promise of his lone one day hundred when he scored 159 not out against Zimbabwe, and was rated by Wisden as best one-day innings of 2001-2. Actually, to be fair to Mongia, he has been batting very low down the order has got little batting opportunity other than in the first two matches when he was batting ahead of Dravid. Could it Chandigarh’s day on Sunday with Yuvraj and Mongia both coming good? Anil Kumble Born: October 17 1970, Bangalore. Leg-break bowler. Only one of the two men to take all 10 wickets in a Test innings and the only Indian to cross 300 wickets in both forms of the game. The ageing war horse has just played a couple of games with the team management opting for the younger Harbhajan. Even the latter has had little work to do as the fast bowlers have been moping up the opposition in no time. Kumble, a tall man, relying mainly on top-spinners rather than sideways movement, is a popular player and the key to India’s formidable home record. India’s leading one-day bowler and second behind Kapil Dev’s 434 test wickets. Ashish Nehra Born: April 29 1979, New Delhi. Left-arm fast swing bowler. Has been the find of the tournament. Nehra, has Pakistani ace Wasim Akram as his role model and loves to bowl like the great man: Fast and with appreciable movement. Actually, reports say Nehra went up to Akram and asked for finer points of the trade. Akram, who is on his last legs as cricketer, helped Nehra out and as they say rest is history. In this world cup, Nehra is looking more lethal, if not like Akram. His performance against England when he took 6 for 23 was among the very best by an Indian fast bowler. Has over come fitness problems and will be man to watch against Australia. Javagal Srinath Born: August 31 1969, Mysore. Right-arm fast medium. Mild-mannered man. High-class swing bowler who swapped pace for control after returning from a rotator cuff tear injury in 1997. With more than 300 wickets against his name, Babu, as Srinath is fondly called, has made this world cup his swan song and has bowled with fire. Provides early break through in one-dayers. Against Sri Lanka in the super sixes he shut the islanders with an initial burst. Against, New Zealand he did the same. Well the Aussies know that Srinath can rattle them. Srinath knows that his spell of ten overs at Jo’burg on Sunday will be his final spell in world cup cricket as he, now nearing 34 years of age, is unlikely to play in 2007. This gentle giant abruptly announced his retirement after a test series in West Indies in 2002 but was persuaded by Ganguly to return and lead his young fast bowling partners. Zaheer Khan Born: October 7 1978, Shrirampur, Maharashtra. Left-arm fast medium bowler. Seen as leader of the new generation set take over from Srinath as India’s leading pace bowler. He has bowled with fire in this world cup. Rattling top batsmen, taking wickets and denying runs in the slog overs. Zaheer honed skills under former Australian speedster Dennis Lillee. Made his international debut at 2000 Champions Trophy where India reached the final. Dropped in 2001 due to shin injury and poor over all fitness but bounced back and impressed on tours to West Indies and England in 2002. He along with Nehra know that Sunday can propel them towards greatness and be part of cricketing folklore, if India win the game. Be sure the three fast bowlers will give more than 100 per cent as the game hinges on them. Has just completed 100 wickets in one day internationals and is the fastest to the target. Harbhajan Singh Born: July 3 1980, Jalandhar. Off-break bowler, Nicknamed “ Bhaaji”. The talented off spinner, during his initial years, when he made his test debut as a teenager versus Australia in 1998, came into limelight for all the wrong reasons, receiving a one-match ban for clashing with Australia’s Ricky Ponting in a one-day game in 1998, hauled up for throwing, then expelled from national academy for indiscipline in 2000. Fought back in 2001 with support from new captain Saurav Ganguly and turned his career around with 32 wickets, including India’s only test hat-trick (Ricky Ponting — who Harbhajan dismissed in all five innings in the series for an average of 3.4 — Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne) in a 2-1 up set home win over world champions Australia. Has done his best whenever given a chance in this world cup. Has contained , is a good fielder and handy slogger in the final overs. Parthiv Patel Born: March 9 1985, Ahmedabad. Wicket keeper and left-hand bat. Youngest wicket keeper to play international cricket, picked as back-up for Rahul Dravid. Looks like he should still be in school but does not play like it. Has captained of India’s under-17 and under-19 squads, chosen to under study Ajay Ratra on the 2002 England Test tour but emerged as main stumper by the end of the series. Made debut aged 17 and survived 60 balls and 84 minutes to help save the game against England at Trent Bridge. Ajit Agarkar Born: December 4 1977, Bombay. Right-arm fast medium, right-hand bat. Nicknamed ‘Bombay Duck’ for dubious record of seven consecutive ducks in tests against Australia in 2000-1, Agarkar has long wiped out that memory. In and out of both test and one-day sides since making debut in 1998. Scored maiden test century in a losing cause at Lord’s in 2002. Has a knack of picking wickets despite being unpredictable. Unlikely to play in the Finals. Sanjay Bangar Born: October 11 1972, Bid, Maharashtra. All rounder —Right-hand bat, right-arm medium. Consistent with both bat and ball for many seasons with Ranji Trophy champions Railways, finally earned an India cap in 2001 from selectors seeking durable test openers. Bats patiently in tests — scored a five-hour 68 on a seaming first-day pitch in Headingley in 2002. Is more of test material, however, picked up for his ability to hold together the late order and bowl medium pace with unerring line. Like Patel and Agarkar, will play only if an injury occurs. —
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As India prepares to play the final of the World Cup against Australia at Johannesburg — two continents and the India Ocean away — here in Chandigarh, Yograj Singh, father of ace cricketer Yuvraj Singh, is busy teaching kids at the Cricket stadium in Sector 16 the finer points of the game. Yes, an eye is on the score in South Africa also. A small kids rushes in tell the score, Yograj, just nods his head and continues with his next aim: Another champion for India. At 47 years of age, Yograj Singh, former test player and Kapil’s bowling partner, is aiming to produce more champions like his son who will win matches for India. Pointing to kids in the stadium he says all of them are talented and some of them will make it to the Indian side. Yograj Singh works free for the kids as their anxious parents see from the sidelines as to who will next champion. Yograj Singh says: “I will just repeat what I had said when Yuvi made his debut. He will score more than 15,000 runs in international cricket. He is playing well.” Being a former player he knows the pitfalls of making predictions and adds “no predictions on who will win the final. You know anything can happen”. Well no frills for the family on the special day. Yograj says: “my younger son, Zorawar Singh, has gone to South Africa along with his mother Shabnam.” I will just sit at home watch the game. Just hope India does well. Knowing Yograj’s penchant for celebrations, if India wins, it will be a big party. So what about the younger son, Zorawar Singh, or Zora, as he is fondly called by his father and friends? will be a fast bowler? He is already 5. 7’’ in height and is only 14 years of age. Zora will probably have the height and build of his father and elder brother. With such genetic material in him, could Zora, make it big? ‘‘Yuvi, had to be pushed into cricket in case of Zora. It is the other way around’’, says Yograj Singh, while recollecting the fact Yuvi , now a backbone of the illustrious India batting order, was a roller-skater to begin with.
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Cup enthusiasm beats soap mania Cricket is ubiquitous. Cricket for food, cricket for entertainment, cricket for prayers, cricket for schools, you name it and there is only one talk in the city — “Will India win the world cup?” Going by the euphoria, India has already won the world cup, at least in the minds and hearts of the teeming millions of Indians and Ludhiana being no different. Whether is its cinema halls, hotels, restaurants or clubs, large screen showing the ongoing or recently held cricket matches have become omnipresent, leaving soap operas far behind. In fact people are not even keeping track of what is happening to “Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki” or “Sanjivni”. Sachin Tendulkar has replaced Hrithik Roshan as the latest heartthrob of the city damsels of all ages. For those finding him a little old for their age, Yuvraj Singh has come into direct competition with Vivek Oberoi. Sangeet Cinema in Ludhiana was the first cinema hall that converted its silver screen into a cricket pitch. Soon to follow were the Aarti and Orient cinemas. They promised to take all those unable to spend lakhs on a trip to South Africa there in a just a few rupees. “The experiment has been a thundering success”, Rishi Kant a class X student who has been finding time to watch his favourite teams play on the big screen despite the ongoing board exams. One of the most prestigious clubs in the city, the Satluj Club boasts of showing cricket on the largest screen to its members. The experiment has been so successful that many other clubs and public places were forced to replicate the experiment. Looking at the boost in club’s food and liquor sales during the six weeks of world cup cricket, the club authorities have decided to keep the big screen on as a permanent feature of entertainment. Other clubs in the city too have made similar arrangements to show cricket matches making evenings of club goers full of fours and sixes. Every time the ball crosses the fence for a six, diners at Sagar Ratna are offered a free plate of ‘dahi vada’. “Eating out during the match serves two purposes, one you get to see the match on a large screen and secondly you get complementary dishes”, says Mrs. Radhika Verma, a cricket buff, who makes it’s a point to watch every cricket match with her husband Prashant and six year old son Rahul on a large screen. Majestic Park Plaza, the only five star hotel in the city too has decorated its bar with cricket as its theme. “A large screen and a T.V facing every table, makes an outing here memorable”, says local businessman Rakesh Bhandari. Similarly other hotels and restaurants like Nanda, Teksons, etc have made large screens a regular feature at their premises. Besides large screen, at many restaurants the bar tenders and men wearing the dress of the Indian cricket team have replaced waiters white dress. Some of these hotels and restaurants have even converted their sitting arrangements to resemble a cricket pitch with tables placed on ‘silly point’, ‘cover’, ‘long on’, ‘mid off’, etc. Sitting on one of these tables it is natural for you to expect a ‘googly’, ‘Yorker’ or ‘pace attack’ instead of a ‘bloody mary’ or a ‘screw driver’ on the menu. The cricket fever is also much palpable in neighbouring townships like Khanna, Jagraon, etc where similar arrangements have been made to cater to people’s cricketing tastes. “The continuous winning spree of the Indian cricket teak has further boosted the euphoria and the hopes of the Indian public. Bursting of crackers turning ordinary nights into Divali have become a regular feature”, says city resident Mr. Kamal Aggarwal. Cricket is not contained to specific areas; even family occasions like marriages, mundane ceremonies and birthday parties have seen large televisions and big screens take over the entertainment. What more, cricket has penetrated the cultural scenes with girls making rangoli depicting a cricket pitch at cultural festivals. Fashion too has virtually come around cricket with replica t-shirts of the Indian cricket team hitting record sales. Cricket betting has already turned at least two city residents into crorepatis, one having one Rs 1 crore much before the world cup final and another Rs 1.4 crore. No wonder then that prayers and havens too are being held solely with one objective - “Let the world cup be our”. With so much of “Good Luck India” mantras in the air, the victory shall surely be ours, amen! |
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Mandira... as lethal as our pace attack Everyone is talking about two of India’s latest finds —- the lethal pace bowling attack on the one hand and the svelte Mandira Bedi on the other. The interesting part of the story is that the Mandira game has turned out to be exciting —- as exciting as the world cup proceedings and sometimes more than them. Ever since Mandira outplayed (and later outsmarted!) Ruby Bhatia with her ‘sillypoints’ from one episode of Extraaa Innings to another, she fetched for MAX what she was meant to —- a great deal of exclusive attention. The colour, the tone and the pitch of this attention notwithstanding, the sultry presenter stuck to the basics of her job. The Sardarni from Punjab had stated earlier on in an interview,” My role is going to be that of an entertainment VJ presenting views of several cricket personalities, celebrities and adorable fans.” Give credit to her. She was at work from the very first episode of Extraaa Innings, bowling and stumping the experts with her treasure house of ‘sillypoints’, which she insisted be “noticed.” From her flashy outfits that had little to do with her Indian origin to her “extraaa” benevolent smiles, Mandira kept people hooked to every gesture she made. Even in their act of criticising the presenter as dumb-headed, people have proved that they did not miss out on analysing Mandira’s words and actions, that emerged from her little and thus dangerous knowledge of the game. Not everyone is comfortable with the argument that the Mandira phenomena is all about programme packaging. After all, cricket is a game and cannot be outrightly diluted to business. Even as the corporate world takes delight in declaring that Mandira’s inclusion was targetted at attracting women viewers during the early afternoon slots, let us not discount the serious issue that this non-serious presentation of an Indian woman has raised. The question here is not simply of entertainment. The question is also about the critical balance between business and game that has been abundantly disturbed in the present case. Another point is that of national image. Many people, including housewives in the city feel that Mandira’s portrayal has led to distortion of India’s image. “Every time the world watches Mandira Bedi, it forms an opinion about every single Indian woman she represents. I am sure this opinion has not been a very encouraging one,” said Ms Renuka Tikoo, a teacher at St. John’s High School. Extraaa Innings may get away with anything under the garb of spearheading the entertainment segment of pre-match programming and post-match programming on MAX, but people continue to hold MAX responsible for the debate it has spearheaded almost unconsciously. Most people contacted by The Tribune in Chandigarh said that Mandira Bedi was anything but decent. The irony is that her presence seems to have worked better with male viewers than with female viewers she was actually meant to target. |
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SAF Games put off again Islamabad, March 22 This is the third time that the jinxed games have been been cancelled. The games were scheduled to be held in 2001 but were postponed due to the September 11 terrorist strikes on the USA and again later due to Indo-Pak tensions. India had already pulled out of the regional competition earlier last month citing security reasons.
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retain shooting squad New Delhi, March 22 The Prime Minister also declared closed the World Cup Championship, in which India won two bronze medals through Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore and Manavjit Singh Sandhu in double trap and trap respectively, but failed to gain the three quota places at stake for the 2004 Olympic Games at Athens. National coach Prof Sunny Thomas said India would field the same set of shooters who competed in the World Cup. Manavjit, Mansher Singh and Anwer Sultan will lead the challenge in trap with Birendeep Sodhi and Ankur Singh as the junior entries while Rathore, Moraad Ali Khan and Gaurav Sondhi will vie in the double trap for men with Asab Ali (junior) and Shagun Chowdhary (women) as the other Indian entries. In skeet, Naveen Jindal, Rao Inderjit Singh and Amardeep Singh Rai will lead the challenge, with Alok Singh and Karan Badhwar (juniors) and Arti Singh Rao (women) as the other entries. |
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RS Gill heads BFI Chandigarh, March 22 Mr Gill becomes the first man from Punjab to head the BFI though some Punjab officials, including Mr Ranbir Chopra and Mr Teja Singh Dhaliwal had held the office of the vice-president of the federation earlier. Mr Harish Sharma (Delhi) was also elected honorary secretary of the federation. Dr J.M. Sharma (MP) and Ms Nandini Bassapa (Karnataka) were re-elected senior vice-president and vice-president, respectively. The treasurer post was retained by Mr Prem Pal Singh of Jammu & Kashmir. Two of the important committees — Technical Committee and Selection Committee — will be headed by Mr G.M. Sampath Kumar (AP) and Mr P.J. Sunny (Kerala), respectively. |
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Punjab eves in title clash Patiala, March 22 In the other semi-final Manipur downed Himachal Pradesh 15-5 to set up the title clash with the hosts. In the epee event for
boys, Punjab will cross swords with Manipur. In the semi-finals, the hosts got the better of Jammu and Kashmir 15-12 while Manipur fencers edged past a fighting Haryana 15-14. In the foil individual event for boys, Harkanwaljot Singh of Punjab reached the final by beating Upramit of Manipur 10-9. in the other semi-final, S.Johnkeede of Assam downed Vishal of HP 10-2. In the sabre event for girls, Tarneet of Haryana booked a place in the final by getting past Jasmeet of HP 10-3. |
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Patiala in final Chandigarh, March 22 In the semifinal played today, Patiala edged out Ropar 2-0 while Kapurthala prevailed over Fatehgarh Sahib 3-0 to set up the title clash. In the first semifinal, Patiala took the lead through Harvinder in the 18th minute. Inderjit scored another goal in the 34th minute to seal the fate of Ropar. Later, Kapurthala beat Fatehgarh Sahib 3-0 with Gurpreet scoring a brace while Sarabjit scored once to ensure his teams safe passage into the final. The final will be played tomorrow. |
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Johannesburg, March 22
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