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National Stadium far from ready
‘Tendulkar better than even Bradman’
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T20 WC probables
Inter edge Chelsea 2-1
C’wealth C’ship
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National Stadium far from ready
The media cards were distributed outside Gate No 2 of the National Stadium, in front of the Delhi High Court, which was bristling with construction activity. A huge crain, fetching heavy concrete slabs, moved back and forth as agents of the FIH sat distributing the media cards in dusty and chocking conditions. But Hockey India top officials Dr Lalit Bhanot, Harish Sharma and Narinder Batra came calling at the card distribution point to sort out the many grouses of the scribes, as accreditation applications of some of them were yet to be processed. All around the National Stadium, construction work was going on at a feverish pitch, though the opening match of the World Cup was just two and a half days away. Even practice turfs were being laid near the main gate today, and all around lay concrete slabs and construction material in mounts. Though the periphery presented a chaotic sight, the inside of the National Stadium, the actual competition venue, was fully ready to receive the visitors. But journalists were yet to get the nod to enter the stadium, though FIH officials promised that the scribes may be allowed in at a practice match late tonight, or the training sessions of the teams tomorrow. Meanwhile, the teams were settling down to their training rhythm without the intrusion of the media, but things were set to change, and get hectic over the next two days. FIH chief gives thumbs-up to security
PTI ADDS: International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre today gave a thumbs-up to the security arrangements made for the World Cup, calling it “of the highest level”. “I am very happy with the security arrangements. It is of the highest level,” Negre said. The FIH chief, who arrived here last night for the World Cup starting Sunday, said the organisers have done their best and everyone should leave it to the security experts. “With all the international players around, you cannot afford to take chances. Players’ safety is very importance for us. You have to go by the police because they are in the best position to advise you on security,” he said. India beat Netherlands in 2nd practice match
Host India defeated Netherlands 2-1 in their second practice match ahead of the forthcoming hockey World Cup at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here today. Star striker Prabhjot Singh put India ahead in the third minute through a field goal, while Deepak Thakur came up with another field goal in the 26th minute to seal the match in home team’s favour. For Netherlands, Taeke Taekena (15th) coverted a penalty corner to score the lone goal. In a fast paced encounter, India dominated the first half with continuous raids at the rivals citadel. The Indians made short passes and used the left and right flanks well. However, the hosts failed to convert the three penalty corners that came their way, while the Dutch converted one of the two chances that they got. |
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‘Tendulkar better than even Bradman’
London, February 25 Tendulkar became the first batsman to crack a double century in the four-decade-long history of one day cricket against South Africa yesterday and Hussain felt that should settle the debate on who is the greatest batsman ever. “Better than Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, the other two great players of my era. Better than Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. And I would even say better than Sir Don Bradman himself,” wrote the Chennai-born English cricketer of Indian origin. Hussain said Tendulkar has somehow managed to retain his early enthusiasm even after two decades of international cricket which he found incredible. “I played against Tendulkar on my first England tour, the Nehru Cup in India in 1989, and I could still see that excited boy in big pads in Gwalior,” said Hussain, who once resorted to negative tactics and asked spinner Ashley Giles to bowl way outside off-stumps to curb the Indian. “That extraordinary drive and enthusiasm are what make Tendulkar so special. He has been playing international cricket for 20 years under the intense scrutiny being an Indian superstar brings, so it is remarkable he still loves holding a bat as much as ever,” Hussain said. Looking at Tendulkar’s illustrious career, Hussain said guiding the Indian team to 2011 World Cup victory with his broad bat would perhaps give a sense of fulfilment. “What else is left for Tendulkar now? Well, it is sometimes said that he has not played enough match-winning innings on the really big occasion for India. What better, then, than to score a hundred in the World Cup final against Australia - or maybe even England - on home soil this time next year,” he said. “That would be the full stop that would enable Tendulkar to ride off into the sunset with everything achieved in his career,” said the Englishman. Doffing his hat to Tendulkar and referring to maverick soccer coach Jose Maurinho’s famous moniker, Hussain said, “My admiration for him is total. To steal the nickname of a certain football coach who led Inter Milan against Chelsea on Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar truly is The Special One.” — PTI
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T20 WC probables
Chennai, February 25 Barring these three players who have never featured in Indian squad, there was no other surprise in the list which has a host of young players like Abhimanyu Mithun, Wriddhiman Saha, Sudeep Tyagi and Abhishek Nayar. The squad will be pruned further before the ICC stipulated deadline for announcing the final squads for the April 30-May 16 event to be held at three venues - Guyana, Barbados and St Lucia. Uttar Pradesh duo Rudra Pratap Singh and Piyush Chawla and paceman Munaf Patel, who have been off the selection radar in recent times, are back in the reckoning. Twenty-year-old Pandey, who had a prolific domestic season with the bat, has been rewarded for his consistent performance. Pandey has the distinction of being the first Indian to score a century in the Indian Premier League, where he represents Royal Challengers Bangalore. Although Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir are recuperating from injury, the selectors have named them in the squad. Ishant Sharma, who has not been a regular in the shorter formats of the game in recent times, has been included in the list. Squad: MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, S Sreesanth, Sudeep Tyagi, Rohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Piyush Chawla, Abhimanyu Mithun, Manish Pandey, R P Singh, Munaf Patel, Murali Vijay, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin. Tendulkar, Sehwag rested for 3rd ODI
Milestone man Sachin Tendulkar and explosive opener Virender Sehwag were rested while Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay and Karnataka speedster Abhimanyu Mithun were today included in the Indian squad for Saturday’s third and final one dayer against South Africa in Ahmedabad. The selectors left out Uttar Pradesh pacer Praveen Kumar and Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar from the 14-member squad, with Mithun and Rohit Sharma replacing them. Harbhajan, who had opted out of the first two matches has also been rested, meaning that leg-spinner Amit Mishra is the only specialist spinner in the squad announced after a selection committee meeting here. Mithun, who was named in the squad for the first Test against South Africa in Nagpur, was left out from the second match in Kolkata without having played the match. But the selectors opted to give him another chance at the expense of Praveen Kumar. Squad: M S Dhoni (C), M Vijay, D Karthik, V Kohli, S Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf, R Jadeja, S Tyagi, S Sreesanth, R Ashwin, A Mishra, Abhimanyu Mithun and A Nehra.
— PTI |
Milan, February 25 The Londoners dominated a thrilling game for long spells and Salomon Kalou deservedly equalised on 51 minutes with a 20-metre shot before Esteban Cambiasso soon put the hosts back ahead after his first shot was blocked. Visiting keeper Petr Cech was carried off on a stretcher in the second half with a suspected knee injury but Carlo Ancelotti, who spent eight years at the San Siro as AC Milan coach, will be confident of turning the tie around in the second leg on March 16. “I think on the balance of play, possession, the shots we had, we were the stronger team,” Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard said. “We knew they like to soak up pressure and they got the early goal which made it easier for them but we’ve got an away goal and with a performance like that in London we’ve got a great chance.” Just like rivals AC Milan in their defeat by Manchester United on the same pitch last week, Serie A champions Inter got off to a good start. Thiago Motta threaded the ball forward and Samuel Eto’o miscontrolled it before strike partner Milito confirmed his excellent form this season by cutting in from the left and beating Cech at the near post. Chelsea’s heads failed to drop despite the vast roar from the Inter crowd and they were soon troubling keeper Julio Cesar, playing despite being shaken in a car crash early this week. — Reuters
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C’wealth C’ship
New Delhi, February 25 The bronze medal in this event went to Bangladesh's Iqbal Islam and Nooruddin Salin, who totalled 175 in the shotgun event. In the women’s competition, Arti Rao and Rashmee Rathore missed the gold by just a point and settled for the silver with a combined score of 83. The gold was clinched by England's Nicki Brocklesby and Pinky Le Grelle. Welshwomen Allen and Evan had to be content with the bronze after shooting a score of 79. However, there was disappointment for India in the 50m Rifle Prone Team event for women as Tejaswini Sawant and Lajja Gauswami finished fifth despite equalling the previous meet record of 1171. Scotland’s Jennifer McIntosh and Sheena Sharp shattered the five-year-old meet record to grab the gold medal in this event by scoring 1178. The silver in this event went to England's Michele Smith and Sharon Lee, who finished a point behind the gold medallists. Wales’ Johanne Brekke, who was part of the team that set the previous meet record in 2005, and Helen Warnes settled for silver after shooting 1174. India continues to lead the medal tally and besides the 18 gold medals, the home shooters have also clinched 13 silver and six bronze medals. After adding the consolation badges given to the third member of a team, the hosts' tally swells to 57. England is a distant second on the list with 27 medals and badges, while Scotland is third on the list with eight medals and badges.
— PTI |
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Chennai, February 25
New Delhi, February 25
