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Unimpressive India down Holland
Sachin completes 2000 runs in World Cup
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Lankans aiming big against Zimbabwe
‘Fireland’ burning bright
Watson avoids over training to stay fit!
Short
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PNB win 3-2
OLYMPIC
qualifiers
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Unimpressive India down Holland
New Delhi, March 9 Chasing Holland's total of 189, India cruised to 191 for 5 in 36.3 overs, thanks to unbeaten knocks by Yuvraj Singh and captain Mahender Singh Dhoni (19 not out, 40b,2x4). This was India's third victory in the Group, and they have now seven points from four matches to ensure a berth in the quarter-final. Holland suffered their fourth successive defeat, and second at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground — they lost to West Indies here — though they managed to hoist their second-highest total in this World Cup. India achieved many milestone in this match, as Yuvraj not only cracked his third successive half century, but also played an all-round role to take his second man of the match award. He also completed 100 ODI wickets while Sachin Tendulkar became the first cricketer to complete 2000 runs in the World Cup. He needed 18 runs to reach the target, and he got them in majestic fashion. India could have wrapped up the match much earlier, but in the later stages of the game, Yuvraj and Dhoni allowed many dot balls in a bid to help Yuvraj get to the half century. Holland, opting to bat, did not cave in as expected as their openers put on an unbeaten 56 runs but the script got altered once Dhoni brought in leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, whom he persisted with in this match too. Once Chawal broke the ice, Yuvraj pitched in with two vital wickets to hasten the collapse of the Dutch, and Zaheer Khan, whose opening spell w ent wicketless, polished off the tail to have a decent 3 for 20 haul, from 6.4 overs. When Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar got into an aggressive mode to give an electrifying start to the Indian chase, things looked folding up pretty early, but Sehwag left after hoisting a 69-run opening wicket stand with Sachin. Then Sachin and Yusuf Pathan also left in the space of 13 runs as India slumped to 82 for 3. But Sehwag and Sachin had provided enought thrill for the capacity crowd to revel at, Sehwag struck Mudassar Bhukhari to three successive boundaries off the last three balls of the fourth over. He had earlier hoisted Bukhari over the mid-wicket ropes for the first six, and then punished Seelar for a six and four. But Seelar eventually proved to be the nemesis of India as he claimed the top three wickets of Sehwag, Sachin and Yusuf for figures of 4-1-22-3. But Sachin hit ten Doeschate for three consecutive fours to complete 2000 runs. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kholi tried to take the fight into the enemy camp, but before they could finish off the job, both were out, leaving Yuvraj and Dhoni to give the knockout punch. Scoreboard
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Sachin completes 2000 runs in World Cup
New Delhi, March 9 Playing in his 40th World Cup match, the champion batsman reached the milestone in style, smashing Ryan ten Doeschate for three consecutive boundaries. Tendulkar, who has equalled Javed Miandad's record of six World Cup appearances, has five centuries and 13 half centuries in the mega-event. Having hit maximum number of tons in Tests (51) and One-day Internationals (47), the 37-year-old is the highest run-scorer in both forms of the game. Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is placed next in the list of highest run-scorers in the World Cup with 1,577 runs from 42 matches. — PTI
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Spinning a cussed yarn
This is getting really interesting, ladies and gentlemen, and I’m loving it! My regard for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s cussedness is increasing with every playing XI - the more people say, “Ashwin! Ashwin!” the more he responds “Not in! Not in!” Surely there is some gold at the end of the looping rainbows that Piyush Chawla bowls. Maybe one of these days he will bring his economy rate to less than six runs per over (we have seen Gambhir bowl better stuff). But the fun part is not how badly he is faring. The entertainment is when Chairman of Selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Captain of India M.S. Dhoni get together. Not so long ago, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the Chairman spent quite a few minutes with Captain Dhoni. While we weren’t privy to the monologue (as is the case when Chikka speaks), would have been something like: “Kya re! Is ko khila re!” Now that cannot be translated, but to sum it up, Srikkanth made an impassioned appeal to play R. Ashwin. Dhoni listened, smiled and nodded - then picked Piyush Chawla. But the good skippers seem to agree. Sourav Ganguly said on air that it was good that Chawla had the captain’s confidence, and when Dada speaks of captaincy, we listen (he had predicted a close game against England in Bangalore, when the tourists were 280 for two). So maybe there is something in Dhoni’s cussedness which we are too mortal to detect. Possibly he wants one off-spinner, one left-arm spinner, one leg-spinner, and then the sundry bowlers in his side. Yuvraj Singh isn’t doing badly, neither is Yusuf Pathan, all we need is to see Chawla pitch a few in the right place. Oh yes, we also have Harbhajan Singh. Then, we have Ashish Nehra back in action. Instead of Munaf Patel. Many thought it was Zaheer Khan who would need to be treated with cotton wool. But then, if you removed Zaheer from the attack, who’d take the wickets? Harbhajan? Maybe Chawla will be a great success somewhere down the line. Or maybe he will twist his ankle somewhere and Amit Mishra will be called up. Mishra is free now, North Zone having won the Deodhar Trophy. Now, that would be a real improvement.
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Lankans aiming big against Zimbabwe
Pallekele, March 9 The Kumar Sangakkara-led side are currently placed third in the group with five points. Defending champions Australia also have five points in their kitty but they are fourth in the standings as Lankans enjoy a better run-rate. But Australia have played one game less than them and have two games left against minnows Canada and Kenya providing them a chance to boost that net run-rate. "We've been consistent but still there is room for improvement," Lankan vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene said ahead of the game against Zimbabwe. "Overall we can be happy. It's such a big and long tournament. It's important that we be consistent and try and get better and better going forward because you get big games and tough games coming in a few weeks. I am quite happy with the way we started the tournament and where we are right now, but there are areas in which we can improve," he added. Although Sri Lanka will be playing at home, they wouldn't be too familiar with conditions here as they haven't played even a domestic game on this ground under lights. They employed three spinners in their washed-off game against Australia in Colombo and are likely to change that combination here where the pitch expected to suit the fast bowlers a lot more. Paceman Dilhara Fernando is expected to play in the game in place of either Rangana Herath or Ajantha Mendis. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, are fifth in Group 'A' with two points. Their only win came against Canada whom they beat by 175 runs. They lost to Australia by 91 runs and New Zealand by 10 wickets. There have been four World Cup encounters between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and all four have been won by the Sri Lankans. It will be a tough ask for the Zimbabwean batsmen to counter the furious pace of Lasith Malinga and the guile of Muttiah Muralitharan. One would be interested to find out how the Zimbabwe batsmen deal with the challenge of digging out the yorkers that Malinga dishes out. Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura would expect that some of his frontline batsmen like the skipper himself, opener Charles Coventry start contributing with the bat. — PTI
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‘Fireland’ burning bright
Mohali, March 9 But the moment the Irish team steps onto the field that view undergoes a dramatic change. The same purists have applauded the grit and guts of the Irish and have felt in unison that here is an associate team that truly deserves to be at this big stage. The win against England was really awesome, the gutsy performance against India surely phenomenal. In both these matches, the Irish unit displayed a never-say-die attitude and a belief in their abilities. And they have earned the respect of their opponents with their diehard performances. “We do not fear them. But we are not taking them lightly. Chasing more than 300 to win against England was really special. In the next game they made India toil for the runs. So we know what to expect from them. They have good depth and great attitude in their side,” said seasoned West Indian player Ramnaresh Sarwan at the PCA Stadium here where both teams had a net session ahead of their important clash on Friday. The Ireland coach is another former West Indian player. Phil Simmons backs his players and is expecting them to spring a few more surprises in this tournament. “Not only against the West Indies on Friday, I feel my team has a chance against any team at this competition. Till now only certain facets of our game have come through. All aspects of our game have not clicked together all at once and I’m waiting for that to happen. It’s going to happen soon enough and when that happens we are as good as anyone here,” says Simmons. Ireland had beaten Pakistan at Kingston at the last World Cup in 2007 and had qualified for the ‘Super Eights’. This time they have shocked the English and have made the Indians fight for every run. They have kept the flag of the associate nations flying at this World Cup. Simmons is confident they can qualify for the quarterfinals this time as they need to win two of their next three matches. Ireland (some call them Fireland) is surely a team on the rise. Their star batsman Kevin O’Brien now holds the record for the fastest hundred in World Cups. Some more players are waiting to make their mark. This team is here to stay.
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Watson avoids over training to stay fit!
Bangalore, March 9 The injury-prone all-rounder is well aware of just how much is too much for his body. "I am very conscious about the amounts I have to train because of my previous issues. I just do enough to make sure I'm in a decent place going into the game, but in the end making sure I'm fresh going into the game rather than over training," said Watson. The Australian has endured injuries such as back stress fractures, hamstring strains, calf injuries and a dislocated shoulder at various points during his nine-year-old international career. Watson is enjoying the challenge of opening the innings for Australia, the position left vacant after the retirement of fellow Queenslander Matthew Hayden. "I love opening the batting. It does suit me and my personality now," said Watson, who scored 79 and 62 in their wins over Zimbabwe and New Zealand respectively. — PTI
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PNB win 3-2
Ludhiana, March 9 The bankmen drew first blood in the seventh minute through a field goal scored by Navdeep Singh while Chandigarh XI restored parity in the 25th minute through Gurjant Singh (1-1). In the 31st minute, Chandigarh XI gained the lead when Gagandeep Singh converted a penalty-corner. After changing ends, the PNB players pressed hard and raided the rivals' territory time and again. These tactics paid off with Damandeep finding the target to level the score 2-2. He then pumped in another goal to help his team to wrap up the issue. In the second match, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Delhi, faced a little resistance from Delhi XI, whom they outplayed 4-1 to advance into the second round. For ONGC, Vikas Topno (18th minute), Diwakar Rana (23rd and 64th) and Pramod Kumar (52nd) were the contributors while the lone goal for the losers came off Rajinder's stick. In the other matches, Namdhari XI (Bhaini Sahib) outgunned Indian Air Force (Delhi) 5-2 while Punjab and Sind Bank (Jalandhar) proved too good for Corps of Signal XI (Jalandhar) whom they drubbed 5-1.
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OLYMPIC
qualifiers
New Delhi, March 9 Striker C S Sabeeth, who came in place of Inderpreet Singh in the 83rd minute, got the equaliser for India in the 90th minute after Kyaw Koko had given Myanmar the lead in the 64th minute at Youth Training Centre ground in Yangon. A 0-1 defeat would have sent India out of the competition on away goal rule. India had got the better of Myanmar in the first round of 2008 Olympic qualifiers before finishing last in a four-team group in the second round. Coach Desmond Bulpin had to bring in Sabeeth as the third striker in place of defender Inderpreet in a desperate bid to get the equaliser and his ploy worked. After collecting a long ball from the middle of the park, Sabeeth cut in from the right side of Myanmar half to beat the home side goalkeeper with a fierce shot seconds before the end of normal time. India and 10 other countries, who won their first round ties, now join the 13 highest ranked teams of Asia in the second round, where they will again play in a home-and-away format on June 19 and June 23. After a barren first half, Myanmar, egged on by nearly 20,000 crowd at the stands, took the lead with Koko beating Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu with a free kick. But two minutes later, Koko was red carded after his second booking of the match, and India had the one-man advantage in the last 25 minutes of the match. — PTI
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Barca and Shakhtar progress as opponents see red
Paris, March 9 Barcelona dominated Arsenal to win 3-1 last night - 4-3 on aggregate - though the losers were left seething at the second-half dismissal of Dutch star Robin van Persie for a second bookable offence when he shot at goal after the referee had already blown his whistle. Barca's goals came from a double by Lionel Messi and one from Xavi while the Gunners sole reply was a Sergi Busquets own goal in a match where the losers might feel aggrieved but the statistic of 19 shots by the hosts, with 10 on target, to Arsenal's zero tells its own story. Shakhtar eased through 3-0 at home to Roma for a 6-2 aggregate victory - the Italians played for 50 minutes with 10 players after French central defender Philippe Mexes was also dismissed for a second bookable offence. Roma were fortunate not to also see Daniele De Rossi get a straight red card for a vicious elbow on Shakhtar captain Dario Srna on the stroke of half-time - England's World Cup final referee Howard Webb ended up booking a bemused Srna instead. Shakhtar's victory - which confirmed they are a force to be reckoned with by most teams left in the competition - will be keenly felt by Arsenal as well. Not only did former Gunners striker Eduardo get among the goals for the Ukrainian side in Tuesday's win but Arsenal demolished them 5-1 in the group stage at the Emirates only to end up second to the 2009 UEFA Cup winners in the final standings. Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admitted it had been a tough decision by Swiss referee Massimo Busacca to book Van Persie for the second offence but he had no truc with Arsenal's unlucky losers claim. "We didn't allow them to make three or four successive passes this evening," he said. "We played a perfect game. I am so happy, indeed we all are at our performance. Over the two legs we were better than them." — AFP
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New Delhi, March 9
Pallekele, March 9
Pallekele:
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