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Singh sings, india swings
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Sunil Gavaskar
Writes...
Stokes too gets taste of team security
Jaipur on terror alert ahead of India-SA ODI
Kila Raipur sports festival begins
Vijay Hazare Trophy
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Singh sings, india swings
Kolkata, February 18 The hosts, who needed to pick up the remaining seven wickets to draw the series 1-1, were made to wait till the very fag end of a dramatic fifth day's play for their moment of glory with Hashim Amla nearly carrying the proteas to safety with a defiant unbeaten 127. Resuming at 115 for three after conceding a mammoth 347-run first innings lead, the South Africans were all out for 289 with just 15 minutes remaining on a nail-biting last day. Spinners Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra were the wreckers-in-chief. It was a remarkable effort by Amla who not only notched up his 10th Test ton but showed amazing temparament and skill to negotiate the Indian bowlers on a fifth day Eden Gardens track and very nearly saved the game for his team. After the tea break, the Indians were literally racing against time to dismiss the last three wickets in the tense post-tea session and the injury-induced absence of Zaheer Khan did have a bearing. It was my series: Amla
South African run-machine Hashim Amla today said every batsman hits a purple patch at some point in his career and the just-concluded series against India was his opportunity to make a mark. "Every professional cricketer goes through certain tours and series where they excel. I have just been fortunate this tour has been my opportunity," said Amla who was adjudged both Man of the Match and Man of the Series for his staggering 490 runs in the series, including two centuries in the second match that ended today. The South African said circumstances, and the butterfinger Indian fielders, helped his cause as well. "Things have worked for me on the field. I give credit to the fortune. Dropped catches really helped the cause," he said.
— PTI Scoreboard South Africa (1st Innings): 296 Amla not out 127 Bhajji’s Five
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Sunil Gavaskar
Writes...
Other teams know better than to even interfere with the curator though of course there is no doubt that hints and quiet instructions may be sent to the authorities there by the team management as to the kind of pitch which may not be good for the tourists but since there are more important issues to talk and write about than the 22 yards of cricket it does not get the mileage that it gets in India. Having said that we in our own complex way often play into the hands of the opposition, be it to settle personal scores when it comes to administrators or to show that the current lot of players is not as good on hard bouncy pitches when it comes to former international players preparing the pitches. We have also had occasions especially against Pakistan in India where the curators have gone out of their way to provide a pitch that suited their pace battery and no prizes for guessing who they were. Be that as it may it was good that the Eden Gardens pitch played in the manner that it did. The pitch saw 7 hundreds scored and yet a result was obtained which would not be the case on too many grounds where so many hundreds would ensure a draw. The pitch was true throughout the five days and even on the final afternoon when young Ishant Sharma bent his back he was able to get the ball to bounce quite awkwardly for the batsmen. There was spin, not too much mind you and bounce too which meant that the bowlers had to flight the ball to get it to grip and bounce. Harbhajan, who had been harshly criticised for his bowling, gave a fitting reply by bowling splendidly and picking up a five wicket haul to win the Test and thus help level the series. He had great support from Mishra and Sharma and so despite the absence of Zaheer on the final day India were able to bowl South Africa out. No praise can be too high for Hashim Amla for he showed plenty of character as he played a lone hand to try and stave off a defeat. He was correct in defence and whenever the chance came to score he didn't miss it. What was hard to understand though was why late in the evening he refused some runs when it was evident that if South Africa could make India bat again then they could have taken valuable time and even saved the game. He had very little support except from the tail and if only the top order had applied themselves it could have been a different story altogether. It was a real team effort by India and the win was one of its better ones in Test cricket and has helped it to remain number one in the Test rankings. Well done India.
— PMG |
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Stokes too gets taste of team security
New Delhi, February 18 "It's only due to security reasons", reasoned Stokes. So far, taking the security plea, the media had been kept out of the practice sessions of the team, and Vidya Stokes defended the decision: "We have to follow the guidelines as the presence of the media will disturb the players and may even demoralize them". She had to face the ire of the media for barring them from covering the Indian team's practice sessions. "Even I am not allowed to go there often. Why should the media be there always", she asked, though she did not clarify who issued the guidelines to keep the media out--the Union Home Ministry or the Union Sports Ministry. The Hockey India acting president was cornered during the launch of ING Life's "Pass the Josh" campaign as a major partner to the Hero Honda FIH World Cup, to be held at the National Stadium from February 28 to March 13, but she stood her ground, saying that the media had been barred from the National Stadium only due to security reasons. Stokes also defended Hockey India's move to bring in gradation for players though the present body was not an elected one. "Grading is a necessity for the men and women players. We have to develop a system so long as we are there. It does'nt matter whether Hockey India is an elected body or not", she explained. (Gradation will enable the players to get remuneration on the basis of their experience and standing). Meanwhile, Tushar Khandekar, who was present as the representative of the Indian team, said the preparation for the World Cup was well on track. "We will try to do well in the World Cup," he said. Tushar said not playing any competitive match for the past few weeks was not an handicap in the preparation of the team. "We played lots of matches during the past one year--in Europe, Canada, Spain , Argentina, etc. If we have not played matches for ten days, that does not mean that we are not prepared," he elaborated. Tushar said India would certainly enjoy home advantage, and he did not attach much importance to the hosts' opening match against Pakistan on February 28. "Every match is special. There is no pressure. This is our home ground, and there will be home advantage", he added. Former Indian captains Ajitpal Singh, Zafar Iqbal, Olympians Munir Sait, Jagbir Singh and Hockey India adviser Anupam Gulati were also present at the "Pass the Josh" launch. They also indulged in some shooting practice, with Vidya Stoke's strike being deftly parried by Olympian custodian Munir Sait. "The Pass the Josh campaign, in which people will sign on a giant board wishing India success in the World Cup, will be taken to different parts of the country to generate national fervour for the World Cup", said ING Life's Rahul Agarwal. This was the first official function to generate interest for the World Cup since the Indian team started practising in Delhi. "Hockey India is looking forward to the kick off of the World Cup", noted Vidya Stokes.
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Jaipur on terror alert ahead of India-SA ODI
Jaipur, February 18 The originating point of the call is not yet confirmed, but sources have not ruled out that it might be from across the border. The security agencies are questioning a resident of Gharsana town in Ganganagar district who claimed to have overheard the conversation between two suspected militants who were reportedly conversing in Hindi and Punjabi. Confirming the news, IG Police, Jaipur, BL Soni said, “We do have intelligence inputs, though a bit vague, of a terror threat to the first ODI. We don’t want to take any chances, especially after the Pune blast. Security is being beefed up around the stadium and other parts of the city. We are on full alert.” He said Rajasthan would welcome the players and cricket lovers, and there was no reason to panic. Jaipur’s borders with the neighbouring districts have been sealed and the police force put on high alert. |
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Kila Raipur sports festival begins
Kila Raipur (Ludhiana), February 18 As many as one hundred participants battled it out in this event and Bela Singh of Langrah outpaced his immediate opponents to emerge victorious. Besides, veterans proved that they not only had the grit and determination of the youth, but physical strength as well which the latter would envy as a large number of veterans shrugged their shoulders to vie for honours in the 5km walk. In the above 70 years group, Nachhattar Singh of Khanna and in the above 80 years category, Teja Singh of Phallewal proved their mettle to romp home victors. Today's results: 5km walk for veterans (above 70 years)- Nachhattar Singh of Khanna 1, Mangroo Foreman of Khanna 2 and Gurnam Singh of Ludhiana 3; (above 80 years)- Teja Singh of Phallewal 1, Amar Singh of Leelan 2 and Harjinder Singh of Kila Raipur 3. Bullock-cart time trial: Bela Singh of Langrah (20:08 sec) 1, Sukhvinder Singh of Dittupur (20:74 sec) 2; Armanjot Singh of Phallewal (20:84 sec) 3; Bachan Singh of Dhandra (20:94 sec) 4; Pawandeep Singh of Bharhi (21:02 sec) 5; Harinder Singh of Kalajharh (21:09 sec) 6; Dilbagh Singh of Jand (21:31 sec) 7 and Kala Singh of Dhoorkot (21:34 sec) 8.
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Vijay Hazare Trophy
Sirsa, February 18 With both teams in with a chance to qualify for the next stage, Punjab made a rousing start by piling up 344 for 8 in this high scoring thriller. The opening partnership between captain Karan Goel (72) and Ravi Inder Singh (92) set the tone and MS Gony's late cameo (42 off 23 balls studded with two fours and three sixes) added to the run-feast. Himachal’s Kuldeep Diwan conceded 88 runs in his 10 over, though he scalped three Punjab batsman. Hemant Dogra's 50 meant Himachal Pradesh made a bright start to the reply, and skipper Paras Dogra took up the reins with a breezy 109, including three fours and eight sixes. One of Paras’s shot saw the ball going out of the ground after landing in the concrete stands. No. 8 Rishi Dhawan's contribution of 31 came off 18 balls, but with his departure, HP needed 11 off seven balls. However, the task proved too tough for the last-wicket pair Sarandeep Singh and Jitender Mehta, with the former being run out off the last ball. Meanwhile, a report from Rohtak said that the Haryana stormed to the top of the points table in the North Zone with a 208-run demolition of Jammu & Kashmir at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium.
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1) Petersen c Badrinath 21
A few days before this Test match began there was plenty of speculation about the kind of pitch that would be rolled out at the Eden Gardens. Nowhere in the world is there so much waffle about pitches than in India. No other country's people are as interested in the kind of surface their team will be playing on than in India.
