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ICL World Series from today |
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Sachin Tendulkar looks on as he exits the ground as it rains during a practice session on Saturday. — AFP
Dhoni threatened to quit over RP’s exclusion
JCT’s Edu vies for the ball with Kingfisher East Bengal’s Mehrajuddin in Ludhiana on Saturday. Tribune photo: Rajesh Bhambi
Every match like a final now: Moores
Jimmy Connors arrested
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ICL World Series from today
Chandigarh, November 22
It is the presence of such performers, comparable with the best in the business, that is sure enliven the proceedings as the ICL 20s World Series gets under way with the inaugural match between ICL World and ICL Bangladesh at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad tomorrow. The week-long tournament features some of the brightest stars the game has seen. The tournament features four teams take on each other, once in a round robin format, followed by a final between the two top standing teams. The tournament features the top performers from a talent pool of over 150 domestic and international players in the recently-concluded ICL 20s Indian Championship. The young Indian side will open their campaign against ICL Pakistan to be led by former skipper Inzamam-ul Haq on November 24. The Inzamam-led Pakistan team is a good mix of attractive batsmen like skipper Inzamam himself, openers Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat and the latest entrant Mohammad Yousuf, dependable wicketkeeper (Humayu Farhat) and an impressive bowling attack comprising Mohammad Sami, Abdul Razzak, Rana Naved-ul Hasan and Arshad Khan. It is the presence of a host of all rounders like skipper Chris Harris himself , Justin Kemp, Lance Klusener, Ian Harvey and Nicky Boje that makes ICL World XI such a formidable outfit. Though considered a notch below the regular international sides in the world, ICL Bangladesh XI has the wherewhithal to give any team in the fray a run for its money. The 13 Bangladesh players who signed up for the ICL, will be led by Habibul Bashar, the former national captain. The squad includes as many as six internationals - Aftab Ahmed, Alok Kapali, Shahriar Nafees, Farhad Reza, Dhiman Ghosh and Mosharraf Hossain. In the T20 domestic tournament, Kapali proved how destructive he could be when he notched up as whirlwind century against Hyderabad Heroes, the first in the competition. It was a 59-ball effort, though in a losing cause. The ICL India is perhaps the only side bereft of any big names. But as they have proved in the recent domestic championship and the tournaments last seasaon, they are a highly talented bunch of cricketers capable of putting it across any team in the competition. In skipper R Satish, G Vignesh, Hemang Badani, Rohan Gavaskar, they have the batsmen who could chase big totals with finesse. Both the wicketkeepers in the 15-member squad former international Deep Dasgupta and Ibrahim Khaleel are no mug with the bat, while in Reetindr Sodhi, the have a hard-hitting batsman in form, who can chip in as a useful bowler. Left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza has impressed one and all with his guile and control. ICL executive board member, Kiran More said, "The ICL 20s World Series was conceptualized in ICL season-1, with the primary objective of giving exposure to our domestic talent to the next level of international competition. The last ICL 20s World Series was a fairytale story and extremely gratifying on a personal level with the ICL-India team taking top honors. This time around, with the additional team from Bangladesh, a resurgent and determined ICL Pakistan and much stronger ICL World; offers the stiffest challenge ever faced by the young ICL-India team". Fixtures 23.11.08 ICL World v/s ICL Bangladesh 24.11.08 ICL India v/s ICL Pakistan 25.11.08 ICL India v/s ICL Bangladesh 26.11.08 ICL Pakistan v/s ICL World 27.11.08 ICL Pakistan v/s ICL Bangladesh 28.11.08 ICL India v/s ICL World 29.11.08 Finals
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India keen to wrap up series
Bangalore, November 22 India need to win just one more match to wrap up the seven-match series and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his bravehearts will be eager to maintain their winning sequence in the floodlit encounter at the Chinaswamy stadium. The visitors, on the other hand, have been left with the daunting task of winning four matches in a row to clinch the series and it appears extremely unlkely that they would be able to stop the Indian juggernaut. The return of Tendulkar has no doubt made the Indian batting line-up more formidable but it would also force the hosts to tinker with the batting order. Tendulkar had been rested for the first three matches of the series after playing in all the four Tests against Australia and it remains to be seen whether he will open the innings with Virender Sehwag. It will be a tough decision for the Indian team management as making Tendulkar open the innings would mean tinkering with the highly successful opening pair of Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. In case Tendulkar opens, the left-handed Gambhir, who is in very good form, may come in to bat at the number three slot. For Tendulkar, it will be his first one-dayer in eight months having played his last match against Australia in Brisbane in March this year. The champion batsman gave glimpses of his vintage form in the recent Tests series against Australia and will be keen to make his presence felt after the short break. The Indian selectors have also brought back paceman Irfan Pathan into the ODI squad but it appears unlikely that he would get a chance to play tomorrow with Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel having bowled well. The form of Yuvraj Singh, who has cracked two centuries already, has been the heartening feature of the Indian batting line-up and the hard-hitting middle order batsman will have to fire again if the hosts want to clinch the series tomorrow itself. It has been smooth sailing for the Men in Blue so far in the series but India can't afford to relax and must guard against complacency. On other hand, there is a lot at stake for the visitors, who need more than an inspirational performance to turn things around in the series. England have a predominatly pace-oriented attack which has not made much of an impact on the slow tracks. They have now realised that an all-pace attack cannot do the trick and will have to include at least one specialist spinner in their playing eleven. Captain Kevin Pietersen is likely to turn to off-spinner Graeme Swann to not only stem the run flow but also get the wickets of the Indian batsmen who are known to be good players of spin, particularly at home. England's batting has also been quite disappointing with none of the top order batsmen being able to get the big knocks. It's a crunch time and there is no denying that it's a make-or-break situation for the visitors. — PTI
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Dhoni threatened to quit over RP’s exclusion
On the eve of the fourth one-dayer against England, a livid Dhoni did little to dampen the speculation about resignation threat when he told reporters here that "something or the other leaks out" but stopped short of denying the reports. Dhoni apparently wanted R P Singh, who gave away 49 runs without taking a wicket in the second one-dayer after which he was dropped and the selectors replaced him with Irfan Pathan. "I don't know from where the reports came from. It cannot be a report. What happens inside while the selectors and the captains are there, if it comes comes out, it is disgusting, it's disrespecting. Things like these should not happen," Dhoni said. "I am not talking about whether something or not happened in the selection meeting. Over the years, we have found out something or other goes out. We go to see....we are at the highest stature because we are selecting 16 guys for the Indian team. "We will have debate inside and things like this should not come out. I think if they are suppose to come out, it's better we have a live television out there because what comes out ...nobody should know apart from the eight guys who are sitting down," Dhoni said. Asked whether the controversy would affect the players ahead of the match, Dhoni said, "Not really. I don't think it was as important. Plenty of things are out there. "We have an important match coming up. We are all focused on that. It's raining since morning so we are a bit worried about the practice session," he said. Dhoni was angry with the with way media blew up the issue and said selection matters should not come out in the open. "It's a selection thing. Personally, I don't discuss anything outside. Whatever happens stays in the meeting, stays inside. Whatever comes out of the meeting I would prefer it to come out from either BCCI or the chief selector or the group of selectors," the India captain said. According to media reports, Dhoni had a disagreement with the selectors during the meeting in Kanpur on Thursday to pick the team for the fourth and fifth matches of the ongoing series. Dhoni was unhappy that the selectors decided to drop R P Singh and include Irfan Pathan in his place and offered to resign, the reports claimed. The BCCI, however, came out with a vague response which neither confirmed nor denied the development. "I can't respond to something that is being floated around by somebody," BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said. The reports said BCCI President Shashank Manohar was forced to interfere and sort out the issue. Dhoni said such leaks were detrimental for the game in the country and told the media that it would be better if the identity of the person who leaked the report could be known. "It would be good for the Indian cricket if you quote that person," he said. Dhoni said he shared a good relation with his teammates and hoped that such reports would not create a rift in the team. Asked specifically if it would affect his relation with the two players Dhoni said, “To some extent it does. The good thing is that we trust each other because in a scenario like this all of a sudden you have to get in touch with R P Singh and Irfan Pathan”. — PTI
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JCT sink East Bengal
Ludhiana, November 22 It was attacking football at it’s very best and it was the home team, JCT, who were creating all the spaces in the opening 10 minutes. Once again showing their prowess and exceptional quality to press forward on a counter with wing-switches and overlapping runs, JCT came hard at the Kolkata-based visitors. There were many heart-stopping moments for the KEB defence in the first half, albeit it ended with neither defence breached. The second half started at an equally frantic pace. In the 60th minute, the crowd erupted a little prematurely as Edu found the ball within 10-yards of the goal, after some unbelievable ball control by Balwant, but the Brazilian shot over the bar. But the pressure on KEB was beginning to tell and in the 68th minute, Edu made a mesmerizing run into the penalty box, switching the ball between his feet. As he feigned a shot to push the ball forward, Nirmal Chetri, in what looked like an extremely immature challenge, lunged onto the JCT forward, and as the two players tumbled, the referee obligingly pointed to the spot. Edu stepped up and slotted the ball home to put his side in the lead. But it clearly was not to be KEB’s day as Mehtab, probably trying to be the good samaritan for his team, dived in the JCT penalty box, and was booked for it. JCT’s coach Sukhwinder Singh while talking to The Tribune said, “We deserved the three points. We outplayed them in all areas. I am really proud the way we have fought back, specially after the somewhat poor run of form that we have had. It is a big win and one that should make us realize that on our day, we are as good as any other side in the league.” |
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Every match like a final now: Moores
Bangalore, November 22 Speaking to mediapersons on the eve of the day-night match, he said his team will have to offer its best as a loss tomorrow would mean that England lose the series. ''We desperately need a win tomorrow to get the belief and confidence back. It's a big game. We got to do it here in Bangalore. From now on, every game will be a final from tomorrow,'' he said. Moores further informed that left-arm speedster Ryan Sidebottom has been ruled out of the tomorrow's match with a back injury. The English coach said the left-arm swing bowler underwent a scan on his lower back to determine the extent of his injury and the reports have been sent to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). ''He is definitely not playing tomorrow's game. We are hoping he will somehow get fit for the later part of the (one-day) series or for the test series,'' he said. Sidebottom missed the first two matches due to an Achilles injury which he picked up at the start of the Stanford Twenty20 last month and underwent a scan for a back problem before the third match at Kanpur. He said his team was getting closer to the Indians and believed it could have won the Kanpur ODI but for bad light stopping the play. ''Of course, India deserves the credit for playing very well. Their top-order built strong partnerships, while bowlers, especially the spinners did a good job,'' he said. Moores said the team was 'frustrated' and 'dissapointed' over the loss in the third game at Kanpur under Duckworth/Lewis method. ''This system is here to stay. But we were let down in that match as we thought the match would restart,'' he stated. On the possibility of bad light affecting play in Guwahati as well, he said the team management had spoken to the match refree Roshan Mahanama who assured of taking necessary measures. ''They may cut short the lunch time to ensure that Kanpur situation does not repeat,'' he said. The English coach said all-rounder Paul Collingwood, who is yet get anything substantial in the series, will come good in the tomorrow's match. ''He is not in a bad form though he has not scored well. He was one among the three best ODI players during 2007 and a good finisher. He has a chance to score a century tomorrow,'' he said. He said Ryan Sidebottom's absence was disappointing and the left arm speedster, suffering from a back ailment, had returned to england. The team management was yet to think of the replacement. — UNI
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Jimmy Connors arrested
Santa Barbara (Calif), November 22 Campus police say in a statement the eight-time Grand Slam champion was taken into custody last night after refusing to comply with an order to leave an area near the entrance of the Thunderdome following a confrontation. A police dispatcher says Connors was arrested at the beginning of the game. No other details of the arrest were made available. Connors was ranked No 1 for five consecutive years in the 1970s, and had a fiery temperament on the court. Earlier this year, he resigned as Roddick's
coach. — AP |
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His age notwithstanding, Inzamam-ul Haq is still as destructive with the bat as any other batsman. Imran Nazir, the Pakistan opener, proved the other day that the spectacular assault he unleashed on hapless Hyderabad Heroes bowlers in the last of the best-of-three finals possibly was as best as one could imagine.
His 44-ball 111 (11 sixes, 6 fours) was an innings of rare brilliance.
Bangalore, November 22