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Positive Indians hope to keep
trend going, says Dravid
Pakistan short on momentum Shoaib’s ‘illness’ bothering Pak
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Miandad takes fixing whispers
in stride
England win 2nd Test, lead 2-0 lead Prakash Amritraj back in Davis Cup team
PGA Cup golf on April 3 & 4 Faridabad club beat Army XI
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Positive Indians hope to keep trend going, says Dravid
Lahore, March 23 Vice-captain Rahul Dravid said on the eve of the fifth and final one-dayer here the Indian team had worked on the grey areas and would try to play to its full potential in the decider of the five-match series tied 2-2 at the moment. “It is true that we have not done so well in finals, but it is mainly against Australia. We had not played to our full potential in the past and we are aware of it. If we play to our full potential, the result will take care of itself,” Dravid told a pre-match press conference here. But Dravid was quick to point out that the Indians had done very well against Pakistan in crunch matches in the past and would be keen to keep the trend going. “We have not done well against Australia in the finals, but we probably have better results against Pakistan. We have to go into the match with a positive frame of mind,” he said. Dravid said the team had prepared well for the series-decider and had analysed the problem areas. “We have worked on the grey areas like improving the bowling in the middle overs. We bowled well in the first 15 overs in the last match but gave away a lot of runs between the 30 and 45 overs. We have watched the videos and discussed the problems,” he said. “You may plan a lot but ultimately you have to do it in the middle. It is a question of getting your focus right.” Asked whether the team management was contemplating making changes to the team for the last match, he said “we have decided to retain the 12 players who played the last match. The final eleven has not yet been decided”. The Indian vice-captain admitted that the absence of regular bowlers like Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar and Ashish Nehra had made the Indian bowling attack rather inexperienced. “We obviously miss such experienced bowlers. Our bowling lacks experience as we have some young guys. But you can’t use that as an excuse always. Lot of international matches are being played nowadays, and teams have to play even if your main bowlers are injured,” Dravid said. On Pakistan fast bowlers conceding a large number of extras right through the series, he said, “we are happy to receive that kind of help (of conceding runs through extras). Their pace bowlers come hard at us and are aggressive. Sometimes it can go against them”. Dravid also believed that the toss would not play a vital role in the day-and-night match tomorrow. “I don’t think the toss will make much of a difference. It will be a good batting track in the afternoon but the same team could be affected by the dew in the evening. So it neutralises the advantage.” — PTI
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Pakistan short on momentum If India was the team that was up against it on the eve of the fourth one-dayer, it’s Pakistan that is seriously short on momentum on the eve of the series decider. Inzamam will have to decide first on what he wants from his openers — a solid start or an explosive one. Shahid Afridi will provide the latter every now and then, but he also fails pretty regularly. Every time Afridi fails to fire, the Pakistanis find themselves unable to score rapidly in the first 15 overs. The other decision the Pakistan thinktank make immediately, irrespective of which way this series goes, is to appoint a bowling coach. The captain, coach and manager are all batsmen, and the bowlers just don’t have anybody to help them sort out their no-ball and wide problems. This was not the case in the past. I guess former greats like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis had me to help them at the start of their career, when I was captain. Our bowlers are a talented lot, and with a little help they can become a deadly combination. It was really unfortunate to watch three wickets off no-balls as this meant that the bowlers had to dismiss the cream of the Indian batting twice. Shoaib Akhtar bowled a great opening spell, and it is thanks to him that India lost four wickets by the time they reached 100. However, regular wides and no-balls ensured that the visitors always had a run-rate near seven. I also thought Inzamam did not attack enough, letting both Dravid and Yuvraj take easy singles in the middle overs. There was a good enough cushion of runs for him to have attacked, but his fielders were all saving runs. A lot is being said about the dew factor, but a professional team would have checked these conditions out before the game began. Being the hosts, it is shocking that no one in the team knew that bowling will be difficult in the evening. A wet ball does not seam, swing or spin and in such conditions it is a cardinal error to opt to bat first. Even if there is dew only in the last hour of play at night, it can help the batsmen hugely. I met the Pakistan players for a fundraiser at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital last night, but we did not talk cricket then. I might go down to the dressing room tomorrow to have a chat with them, just before the match. I don’t think the Pakistan batsmen scored enough runs at the top of the innings because of the loss of two quick wickets. Yousuf Youhana is also looking a little under the weather, and except for his knock in the Karachi game, does not have much to show for himself in the rest of the series. His dismissal prevented the hosts from capitalizing fully against an attack that, in the absence of four regular bowlers, looks the weakest in world cricket right now. Having said that, the Indians made the most of their limited resources by bowling to a plan. Murali Kartik was effective because he stuck to his plan of bowling over the wicket, while Pathan was really pretty accurate at the start of the match. However, my Man of the Match was Rahul Dravid, who ensured that the runs kept coming even while keeping the impetuosity of Yuvraj and Kaif under control. Pakistan should get Taufeeq Umer into the side for the last game, either for Afridi or even Youhana. Shoaib Malik could also be replaced by Saqlain Mushtaq, but the latter’s fielding is a bit of a liability, so that might be too big a risk for the team management to take before such a big match.
— Gameplan |
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Shoaib’s ‘illness’ bothering Pak
Lahore, March 23 Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and coach Javed Miandad were apparently upset over the latest illness to their strike bowler as they explained his absence from the field in the middle of India’s run chase here on Friday, according to a report in the daily ‘The
News’. Inzamam said Shoaib had a spell of dizziness and had to go off the
ground. Miandad had a similar explanation: “He came off the field and complained of having a blackout and dizziness. He rested for a while and then came back but was not at his best.” Sources within the team were quoted as saying Inzamam and Miandad were not happy over the incident. “It is not the first time this has happened in the middle of a series. What is irritating is that even the team doctor and trainer have no explanation for why he suffers these sudden spell of dizziness or black-out,” sources said. “If there is something wrong with him he should get a permanent and proper treatment instead of it happening in a match which is disturbing for the team,” they said.
— PTI |
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Miandad takes fixing whispers in stride
Lahore, March 23 “I am not surprised that we have some people again questioning the commitment of the players and starting a whispering campaign about the match being ‘fixed’,” Miandad said. “It happens every time we lose. Why don’t people say anything when we are winning matches?” he was quoted as saying in local daily ‘The News’. But despite the strong defence of his players, Miandad was unhappy with the way his team lost the fourth match after taking four early wickets and putting up a healthy total of 293 runs. “The key was the inability of our bowlers to contain their scoring rate which remained between six and half and seven per over even when their wickets were falling. So when Dravid and Kaif were batting together they were not under pressure of meeting a high run-rate and that made all the difference.” Miandad also pin-pointed at “the tendency of our bowlers to concede lot of extras” as one of the reasons for the defeat. “I think it is time they sorted out this problem with their individual hardwork,” Miandad said. “I can only work for hours with them and tell them why they are overstepping or bowling wides. But in the end it is up to them to work hard and sort out this problem. “I have done my best now they have to stand up and take responsibility. These extra runs and overs are costing us heavily,” he said. Pakistani bowlers have conceded a total of 97 runs in wides and no-balls in the first four matches of the series with Shoaib Akhtar sending down 14 wides in the fourth game on Sunday night that India won to square the series 2-2. Miandad conceded that Pakistan now had a big fight at hand to win the deciding match here tomorrow and would be under more pressure. “The situation is the same for both teams. But I think there is more pressure on us as we are playing at home. “But I am confident that if we control this problem of gifting runs through extras we can beat them despite their strong batting line-up,” he added. — PTI
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Silly questions LAHORE: Underscoring the importance attached to India’s cricket tour for a full series after nearly one-and-a-half decades, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday requested journalists not to ask ‘’silly questions’’ about whether the fourth Samsung Cup match was fixed and thus mar the historic occasion. PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan and its Chief Executive, Rameez Raja asked mediamen to shun the topic as it might spoil the show.
— UNI
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Notes from Pakistan Indian captain Saurav Ganguly, who loves good food, and Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had a late dinner together at the famous Food Street here in the early hours of Monday. But their visit was a well-kept secret to avoid the Indian cricket team’s massive fan following in Pakistan. Prasad, who Sunday watched India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the fourth one-day game at Gaddafi Stadium, and Ganguly went to the Food Street well past midnight. “The two, accompanied by a few other people, went there at around 1.30 a.m. to avoid rush and fans,” said a source in the Pakistani information ministry. “Food Street chairman Khwaja Shakeel was with them when they had their meal,” said the source. Food Street, which is located in the Guwal Mandi area, is one of the most famous dining spots in Pakistan and home to about 300 to 400 restaurants. * When they are not piling up runs, Rahul Dravid and
V.V.S. Laxman are browsing the Internet. “Dravid and Laxman are always hooked on to the Internet,” said a little bird close to the Indian team. “They don’t waste their time fooling around. They are either playing or reading books or browsing the Internet.” Players like Mumbai off-spinner Ramesh Powar who do not have access to the Internet in their rooms hit the hotel’s business centres to browse the net, send e-mail and read what the press is writing about them. * Lahore’s Pearl Continental, the five-star hotel where the Indian and Pakistani teams and cricket officials are staying, is buzzing with excitement these days. Lahorites are flocking it much the same way as they hit restaurants on weekends. Youngsters with autograph books, and often cameras, can be seen hunting for cricketers — especially Indians — in the lobby because they cannot go upstairs unless they are accompanying a player. Whenever players come to the foyer or go to the restaurants on the ground floor, youngsters thrust their autograph books in their faces. Like experienced diplomats, cricketers try to oblige everyone — either with a signature or by posing with their fans. * Former Indian cricket board president Raj Singh
Dungarpur, here to watch the last two one-day internationals at Lahore, said the congregation of cricket officials and players at Lahore amazed him no end. “I have never seen such a big congregation of officials and players from Asia in my life, maybe only the Sri Lankans are missing,” Dungarpur said. — IANS |
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Bowling coach LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board is considering hiring a coach for their bowlers whose erratic display threatens to mar the prospects of the hosts in the upcoming three-Test series against India. Shaharyar Khan said besides a bowling coach, a fielding expert and a physical trainer would also be appointed for the team.
— PTI |
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Test matches on DD New Delhi: Doordarshan will telecast live all the three Test matches between India and Pakistan on national channel, DD1. The three Test matches to be played at Multan, Lahore and Rawalpindi, respectively would be telecast live on DD1, a Prasar Bharti press note said here on Tuesday. The first Test begins at Multan on March 28 while the second Test will be played at Lahore from April 5 to 9 and the third and final Test at Rawalpindi from April 13 to 17.
— PTI
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England win 2nd Test, lead 2-0 lead
Port-of-Spain, March 23 However, left-handers Mark Butcher and Graham Thorpe guided the visitors to their target of 99 for England to retain the Wisden Trophy they won at home four years ago. Butcher hit the winning runs to finish on 46 not out while Thorpe, top scorer with 90 in the first innings, struck three boundaries for an unbeaten 13. England need to avoid defeat in either of the final two Tests to seal a first series triumph in the Caribbean since 1968, having won the first Test in Jamaica by 10 wickets.
Scoreboard West Indies (1st Innings): 208 England (1st Innings): 319 West Indies (2nd Innings): Gayle b Jones 16 D S Smith c Hoggard
Sarwan lbw b Jones 13 Jacobs c Flintoff b Jones 70 Chanderpaul c Hussain
Lara lbw b Harmison 8 DR Smith c sub b Flintoff 14 Best lbw b Hoggard 2 Sanford c Trescothick
Collins b Jones 7 Collymore not out 0 Extras:
19 Total (all out, 67 overs) 209 Fall of wickets:
1-34, 2-45, 3-56, 4-158, 5-171, 6-194, 7-195, 8-200, 9-205. Bowling: Hoggard 16-5-48-2, Harmison 16-5-40-1, Jones 15-2-57-5, Flintoff 12-1-27-2, Giles 7-1-29-0, Trescothick 1-0-4-0. England 2nd Innings: Trescothick b Best 4 Vaughan lbw b Sanford 23 Butcher not out 46 Hussain c Jacobs b Sanford 5 Extras: 8 Total:
(3 wkts, 15 overs) 99 FoW: 1-8, 2-59, 3-71. Bowling:
Best 4-0-27-1, Collins 4-0-25-0, Sanford 4-1-32-2, Collymore 3-1-8-0.—
AFP
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Prakash Amritraj back in Davis Cup team New Delhi, March 23 The five-member squad, led by Leander Paes, contain no surprise as the All-India Tennis Association has picked the best available talent. The team: Leander Paes (captain), Mahesh Bhupathi, Prakash Amritraj, Rohan Bopanna and Harsh Mankad. Former Davis Cupper Nandan Bal will be the coach. Dr Vece Paes has been named the doctor and Sanjay Singh the trainer. Leander Paes had played a stunning role to pip New Zealand by winning all his three matches — two singles and one doubles — a couple of months back. That was Leander’s first Davis Cup tie, after recovering from a brain lesion. India are expected to get the better of Japan without much difficulty, as the last time the teams clashed in a Davis Cup tie at Osaka in 2001, India won by 3-2. The last time the two countries met was in New Delhi in 2003 with the hosts recording a facile 4-1 victory. Interestingly, India and Japan met in a Davis Cup encounter for the first time in 1921 at a neutral venue - Chicago, USA — with Japan making a 5-0 sweep in the semi-final. Since then, India and Japan have met several times in the Davis Cup with India invariably emerging winners. And Leander has only fond memories of the tie against Japan in Chandigarh in 1990, when he made his sensational debut. Leander has not looked back since then, guiding India to many a memorable Davis Cup victory.
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PGA Cup golf on April 3 & 4 Chandigarh, March 23 PGA will offer cash incentives to the state champion, the first runner-up and the second runner-up. Col. H.S. Baidwan (retd), Senior Vice-President (Tech.) of the Punjab Golf Association, also announced that Junior and Sub-Junior golf championship for boys & girls will be held in October. In addition the PGA will also hold a 10-day golf coaching camp for boys and girls during their summer and winter holidays at Patiala, Jalandhar and Chandigarh. Entry forms for the 6th PGA Cup will be available at all golf clubs of Punjab and Chandigarh. Entries can be sent to Col. H.S. Baidwan (Retd), SCO 28, (second floor), Sector 33-D, Chandigarh, by March 29.
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Anand back in
top form Monaco, March 23
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Faridabad club beat Army XI Yamunanagar, March 23 In the first match the Faridabad team started on a fast note. Vikram of the Faridabad team missed an easy chance in the 39th minute when an Army defender could not clear the ball but Vikram missed the chance in front of the Army goal. The match ended goal-less. In the tie-breaker, the Faridabad team won 3-1. In another match B.E.G. Roorkee’s S. Malik scored a goal in the 37th
minute. At half time B.E.G. Roorkee were leading 1-0.
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Trials tomorrow Ludhiana, March 23 |
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