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India eye improved show
Top sportspersons plead for Manipur
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Senior players may leave for Australia early
Six more pull out of WSH
Advani enters pre-quarters
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India eye improved show
Visakhapatnam, December 1 The opening match of the five-match series in Cuttack two days ago saw an inexperienced Indian bowling restrict the Caribbean side for a paltry 211 for nine. But chasing the modest total, India's much-fancied batting line-up faltered and if not for comeback man Rohit Sharma's 99-ball 72, the home team could have been down 0-1 in the series. India's inexperienced pace trio of R Vinay Kumar (1/27), Varun Aaron (2/47) and Umesh Yadav (2/33) not only excelled with the ball in Cuttack but also showed amazing calmness while batting to set up the thrilling one-wicket victory for the hosts. Needing 11 runs off 23 balls under tense situation, the last wicket pair of Aaron and Yadav kept their calm and saw India home with seven balls to spare. And the Indian thinktank obviously will not want a repeat of the Cuttack episode, especially on a run-belter at the Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, where the hosts have an all-win record in the three matches they played here. India's stand-in captain Virender Sehwag, who is leading the side in place of regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has already cautioned the batsmen after the Cuttack match, saying there should not be any excuse for poor show. "There is no excuse for anybody not scoring runs," he said about India's batting collapse in the first ODI. We have to back our batting. We have some exciting youngsters playing for last three four years," Sehwag said. Rohit vows not to repeat mistake
Comeback man Rohit Sharma, who was the architect of India's nail-biting one-wicket win in the first ODI in Cuttack, today said leaving the task unfinished for the tailenders was a mistake he would never repeat again. Sharma saved the day for India in the first ODI with a match-winning 99-ball 72 after the home team witnessed a dramatic batting collapse while chasing a modest 212 for victory. But the right-hander from Mumbai was disappointed to have failed to finish off the match as he departed with India precariously-placed at 201 for nine, leaving the task to the last-wicket pair of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron. "I was little disappointed for not finishing the game. Winning the game is more important than scoring in a losing cause. I never want to do stuff like this again," Sharma said on the eve of the second ODI against the West Indies here tomorrow. "Leaving 10 runs for the bowlers to finish the game is always difficult. I will make sure it does not happen again," he insisted. Sharma, however, was satisfied that his half-century came in a winning cause for India. "It was a close game no doubt. But it does not matter as we have won the game that is more important," he said. He said his gameplan in the last match was to build partnerships after India were reduced to 59 for five at one stage. "It was not an easy situation to be in. They (West Indies) were bowling well. We wanted a partnership and when (Ravindra) Jadeja came in we just spoke about building small partnerships", he said. Difficult to stop India: Sammy
With India on a 10-match winning streak at home, it is difficult to stop their juggernaut, said West Indies captain Darren Sammy ahead of their second one-dayer here tomorrow. West Indies are yet to win a match against India despite coming agonisingly close on a few occasions during this tour so far. "India so far have won the last 10 games at home. When you have a winning run, you always tend to get a way to go over the line," said Sammy.
— PTI |
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Top sportspersons plead for Manipur
New Delhi, December 1 The issue was highlighted in the mainstream media only when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Manipur on December 3 was announced.
Disappointed with the disdain to their plight, ten top sportspersons from North-East, including two Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award winners, in an open letter to “Dear Fellow Indians”, have pleaded with them to intervene and find a lasting and satisfactory solution to bring life back to normalcy in the State. The signatories to the letter are Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardees Kunjarani Devi (wrestling) and M.C. Mary Kom (boxing), former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia and fellow-player Gourmangi Singh, Monica Devi (weightlifting), Govind Singh (football), Sandhya Rani (wushu), Sushil Singh, Lalrindika Ralte and Rocus Lamare (all football). “We are sportspersons who love to play our sport and bring smiles to our people. We play as ‘India’ and we play for the pride of our countrymen,” the letter’s introduction says. “There can be nothing bigger an award for us than people cheering at our every move and pray for a win every time we play. “The common people have been struggling every day for basic amenities of life. The four-month long economic blockade and resultant deadlock have affected the normal life of every common man of this part of the country. It’s sad to see this great nation giving a deaf ear while lakhs of its citizens in one of the most vibrant States - Manipur - have been suffering under the dark shadow of the economic blockade for more than 120 days. It’s painful to see no conclusive action from any of the responsible quarters for over four months when the people of Manipur were made to struggle for basic essential items, life-saving drugs and many more.” Manipur has produced some outstanding sportspersons, but in their hour of crisis, even the sporting fraternity has not taken cognisance of their plight. Kunjarani Devi and the others are particularly pained at this neglect. “It’s the same State which has produced some of the best sportspersons for this country who have brought laurels to the nation at international platforms; it’s the same State which has given some of the best performing art forms and artistes to the nation. Today, they need your support. They need support from everyone to put an end to the suffering and help them live a normal life,” the letter pleads. The letter has appealed to “everyone to restrain from using economic blockade or other such extreme modes of protest on humanitarian grounds and find a solution through democratic way. At the same time, we appeal to our fellow countrymen and the people’s representatives to join hands and help bring back Manipur on the growth path and make it an integral part of the development of our nation. “We hope that our Prime Minister will sow the seeds of peace and lay the foundation of a prosperous Manipur when he visits the State on December 3, 2011,” the letter signs off. |
SAFF FOOTBALL
New Delhi, December 1 India play their first match against Afghanistan on Saturday, as their star strikers, Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekula, will join the team only on Thursday night. The duo had gone to take part in trials at Scottish giants Rangers and the hosts pin a lot of hope on them to deliver in the SAFF Championship. Eight teams have been divided into two groups of four teams each and Group A features India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutia. Group B consists of Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. Maldives, who had finished runners-up to India in the last edition, are hopeful of putting up a better show, while Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan are also determined to give their best. Though India did not get much time to practice together as the players were busy with their clubs in the I-League, they had got some useful exposure in friendly internationals against Malaysia and Zambia. India drew 1-1 and won 3-2 against Malaysia in their two-match engagement, while the hosts were walloped by Zambia in a merciless demolition at the Nehru Stadium in Margao (Goa). Despite the one-sided score line, coach Savio Medeira said the outing against the African team was a great experience, as the visitors were superior in every department of the game, including physical features and game strategy. “I need to laud the boys for the manner they rose to the occasion in the international friendly matches,” remarked Medeira in a media interaction, on the eve of the competition, today. Captain Climax Lawrence too expressed optimism that home conditions and support will help the hosts to hold on to the trophy, as the Nehru Stadium will be thrown open to a sporting event for the first time after the Commonwealth Games last year. Four of the eight teams have foreign coaches and they all were confident that their teams would give out their best display. The only dissenting note was struck by Pakistan coach Zavisa Milosavljevic, who conceded that his boys were the underdogs. But his statement was quickly countered by captain Jaffen Khan, who felt that the coach, only a few weeks old with the team, was unaware of the ground realities, as his team were very much in contention for the title. Jaffen Khan said the Pakistan football federation was giving a lot of thrust in developing the game at the grass-root level, particularly in the soccer borough of the frontier provinces like Baluchistan, Punjab etc. The four foreign coaches include the Maldives’ Hungarian coach Istvan
Bela, Nepal’s British coach Graham Roberts, Bangladesh’s Macedonian coach Nikola Ilevski and
Milosavljevic. India’s fear in defending the title comes from the fact that Bangladesh and Nepal are ranked above them on the FIFA roster at 128th and 135th. India have slipped to the 163rd slot but they hope that home support and the cold weather prevalent in the Capital would favour them. The Maldives, who share the top seeding with India, are slotted at the 166th place. |
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Railways fight back with quick wickets
Mohali, December 1 Resuming at their overnite score of 81 for 5, Railways fought back through their captain Sanjay Bangar and number nine batsman Ashish Yadav. While Bangar scored 82, Yadav went on to top score with a fine knock of 86. Railways posted a score of 273 in their first innings and conceded a lead of 93 to Punjab who had scored 366 in their first innings. But when Punjab began their second innings they were rocked by the Railways bowlers who sent back their top four batsmen with only 51 runs on the board. Punjab skipper Uday Kaul, who had scored a brilliant 131 in the first innings, was unbeaten with 21 at close and Punjab will be looking to him to play another big knock if they are to put pressure on Railways on the final day on Friday. Brief Scores: Punjab -- 366 and 51 for 4 (Uday Kaul batting 21, Anureet Singh 2 for 20). Railways 273. |
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Senior players may leave for Australia early
Mumbai, December 1 "Nothing has been decided as yet and we would inform the media once it happens, but yes the possibility of some players leaving early for Australia exists," a Cricket Board source said on Thursday. India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni told reporters in Mumbai after the conclusion of the three-Test series against the West Indies that such a move, if it happens, would benefit the players to get used to the conditions in Australia ahead of what is touted as a battle royale against the hosts. "As of now, nothing is concrete and if it is not concrete I can't say anything about it. Such a decision will help the players in acclimatising to the conditions as was the case when we went to South Africa (before the World Cup)," Dhoni had said. On that occasion India lost the opening Test at Centurion Park, defeated the Proteas in the second match of the three-match rubber at Kingsmead in Durban before the two teams drew the third and final Test at Sahara Park Newlands in Cape Town.
— PTI |
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Nadal inspired by happy memories
Seville, December 1 Nadal was an inexperienced 18-year-old yet to win any of his 10 grand slam titles when he defeated American number one Andy Roddick on an indoor clay court at Seville's Olympic Stadium to help the Spanish claim the Cup in 2004. Thursday's draw for the final of the 99th edition of the competition, being held at the same arena in the Andalusian capital, pitted Nadal, now 25, against world number 26 Monaco. Spanish number two David Ferrer will take on 11th-ranked Juan Martin Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, in Friday's second singles in the best-of-five tie. "I have some very good memories of the 2004 final," Nadal told a news conference at Seville's Lope de Vega theatre. "It was my first great triumph and it's really nice to be back here seven years on," the Mallorcan added. Neither Nadal or Ferrer have lost a Davis Cup singles rubber on clay, Nadal boasting a 14-0 record on the red dust and 18-1 overall, while Ferrer is 11-0.
— Reuters |
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Six more pull out of WSH
New Delhi, December 1 The players informed Hockey India secretary-general Narinder Batra that they will not play in the WSH and made themselves available for selection to the Indian team for the Olympic qualifiers. Rupinder Pal Singh, Danish Mujtaba, K. Chinglensana Singh, Manjeet Kullu, Birendra Lakra and Manpreet Singha were the latest to give a pass to the ambitious WSH. Yesterday, six players had written to Batra that they were backing out of the WSH commitment if it clashes with the Olympic qualifiers, to be held in Delhi, in February. The wording of today’s letter was same as the earlier one, which said they signed the WSH contract under the impression that “WSH will not force us to only play in the WSH and ask us to leave the National camp. We will play for our country and it is a matter of honour and pride for us,” the letter concluded. |
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Advani enters pre-quarters
Bangalore, December 1 The seven-time world champion's 5-0 demolition of Ireland's Mark Tuite would give a much-needed boost to his self-belief, which is a bit low in the event of not being able to win a single international title this year. Even before the Indian fans could settle down in their seats, Advani powered in a classy 73-24 to win the initial frame 1-0 in the best-of-nine frame encounter against Tuite. He continued dominating his rival by almost putting him out of race with runs of 77-36 and 61-23 in the second and third frames, respectively. A break of 61 points in the fourth frame ensured there were no qualms for the former champion.
— PTI |
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