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After Rayudu’s ton, it’s just a matter of time
Rest of India batsman Ambati Rayudu plays a shot during the Irani trophy match against Mumbai on Saturday. —
PTI |
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Always nice to get match practice before big series: Sachin
Harbhajan, Sreesanth might get Test recall for Oz series
Harbhajan, stuck on 99 Tests, is likely to become the 12th Indian to play 100 Test matches in the upcoming series. — FILE PHOTO
We’ll have to adapt to conditions quickly: Steve Rixon
Wright, Broad lead England to T20 win
Luke Wright appeals during their first Twenty20 match against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland. — Reuters
Oz should replicate England’s ‘India Theory’: Dean Jones
As IOA officials fight, athletes face international bans
Delhi, Ranchi in HIL summit clash
Rebels relent, to play Indonesia tie
Bhullar’s 8-under card takes Punjab Lancers to top in GPL
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After Rayudu’s ton, it’s just a matter of time
With fate of the match virtually sealed, first innings centurion Suresh Raina is looking good for a second ton in the match and is batting on 40. The only interest on fifth and final day will be whether national selectors recall Raina in the Test squad or try something out of the box by selecting Rayudu who has also scored a half century in the match. Apart from that, Rayudu has had a good Ranji season for Baroda and also scored a century for India A against New Zealand. The 27-year-old batsman also resurrected the Rest second innings as they were tottering at 69 for three at one stage. Rayudu added 140 runs for the fourth wicket with Manoj Tiwary, who hit a dogged 69. During his 217 ball unbeaten knock, Rayudu has hit nine fours and four sixes — all of them being straight lofts. This was his 14th century in first-class cricket. Rest, began the day at 27 for 1, struggled for runs in the morning session with the Mumbai pace bowlers extracting a lot of movement. Nightwatchman S Sreesanth (18) was run-out by a direct hit from cover point fielder Rohit Sharma. He responded to a call for a sharp single from partner M Vijay but was beaten by an agile throw from Rohit. Vijay, scorer of a fluent century in the first innings, struggled against Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur, edged the former once to Kaustubh Pawar, substituting for Sachin Tendulkar who was off the field for the entire day, at gully and survived. But Thakur bowled an outswinger and Vijay tried to drive on the up only to offer a simple catch to Rohit as Rest were reduced to 67 for three. The Tamil Nadu batsman's dismissal brought in Rayudu together with Tiwary, who looked scratchy in the initial stages of his innings and was also dropped by wicketkeeper Aditya Tare when he inside-edged Kulkarni early on. Tiwary was also lucky not to be given out when on 4 when he was rapped in front by an in-dipper from Abhishek Nayar, who replaced Kulkarni after the latter's impressive but unlucky 8-over spell for 21 runs Surviving this difficult phase, the Bengal batsman grew in confidence as the pitch eased out and with ball getting older, the bowlers lost sting. Rayudu was the more aggressive player in the fifth wicket century partnership that steadied the rocking boat. Both played freely against the spinners, when they were brought into the attack, and struck them for boundaries and sixes to up the scoring rate. The Guntur-born Rayudu used his feet very well to negotiate the spinners after playing cautiously against the new ball bowlers in the morning when conditions were in favour of the fielding team. — PTI
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Always nice to get match practice before big series: Sachin
“It’s a big series against Australia. I am sure everyone is looking forward to it. Always nice to get some match practice before a big series,” Tendulkar, who scored an unbeaten 140 for Ranji champions Mumbai against Rest of India, said before the start of fourth day’s play here. India will take on the Australians in a four-Test series starting February 22 in Chennai. It is a crucial assignment for the hosts, who lost 1-2 to England in their previous home series last year. Talking about his knock on Friday, which helped him equal Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 81 first-class hundreds, Tendulkar said it took him some time to adjust to the pitch. “It was the kind of surface where you needed to spend a little time to understand the bounce and the pace and the movement off the pitch,” Tendulkar said. “I had to take a little bit of time. Although I got a boundary off the second ball, I didn’t get deliveries in my hitting zone early on, so I had to wait for my time,” he explained. The 39-year-old revealed that he has adjusted his guard slightly. “I keep changing consistently as per the demands. I keep making small changes...I just trusted my instinct. I went how I felt how I needed to go according to the situation. You can’t plan a whole innings at same pace,” he elaborated. Need to convert fifties into hundreds: Rayudu
Rest of India batsman Ambati Rayudu is happy with the way his batting is shaping up but said he needs to convert the fifties into hundreds. “Rest of my career I need to convert those fifties I think. I have lot more fifties than hundreds. It is 27. The ratio should go up. Hopefully it will go up in the next half of my career," he said. Rayudu notched up his 14th first-class century said, “I threw it away in the first innings, so I was just thinking to make sure to keep batting no matter how many runs I get.” “To be honest I have had a very quality season. It is not that I am disappointed. I am obviously disappointed that I haven't got big hundreds as such but the crucial innings I have played in difficult conditions, I am happy with the way I am shaping up and my batting. Hopefully now the innings will come," he added. On his move from Hyderabad to Baroda, Rayudu said, “It is not about the move from Hyderabad to Bardoda as such, being with Robin Singh and our coach Sanath Kumar, that really helped me.”
— PTI |
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Harbhajan, Sreesanth might get Test recall for Oz series
Mumbai, February 9 The challenge before the committee is to put together a winning team combination after three comprehensive series defeats against top opponents and players like Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina and S Sreesanth are among those hoping to earn a Test recall. The successive whitewashes against England and Australia in away tours were somewhat offset by series wins at home over a lower-ranked West Indies and New Zealand. However, the 1-2 reversal against England in their last rubber at home has caused concern about some senior players. The biggest among them is the opening combination of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir both of whom flopped in these rubbers. But lack of an effective alternative could force the selectors into retaining the duo, at least for the beginning of the series against Australia commencing on February 22 at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. While Sehwag, who has a phenomenal Test record, scored a century in the opening Test against England, Gambhir's highest score in the last 16 Tests he has figured in is a 93 at Cape Town against South Africa 25 months ago. The left-handed Delhi batsman's ninth and last Test century came against Bangladesh in Chittagong one year further back, and the worrying fact for the selectors is his steep decline in the limited overs formats of the game too. Even more importantly is their inability to fire in unison and lay the platform for a shaky middle order to build on. Murali Vijay was the reserve opener in the series against England without playing a game and should retain his place after the fine century he scored against Mumbai in the Irani Cup tie against Rest of India at the Wankhede Stadium here.
— PTI |
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We’ll have to adapt to conditions quickly: Steve Rixon
Chennai, February 9 “Teams are going to play a lot of competitive cricket. This wicket is something that the Indian boys play very well on. We will have to learn to adapt to these very quickly. The purpose of our coming early is to get acclimatised as quickly as possible," said Rixon. Eight members of the Australian squad reached India on Thursday to get acclimatised to the playing conditions before the four-Test series starts on Feb 22. Rixon said the visitors are prepared for the famous spinning wickets but hoped that the pitches would not be “anywhere near what they faced in Lanka" last month. “I certainly don't see green surface appearing. The reality is, it will be a good wicket. To start with it will have a little bit of pace but as the game goes on, it will definitely be advantage to the spinners," he said. “But I'm sure it will not be anywhere near as bad as some of the wickets we had seen in Sri Lanka. You have to get the feel of the climate, there are facilities you have to deal with. Last things is, you have to get the feel of the wickets we would be playing on...thats the biggest thing. “It is a little bit different in India and different in Pakistan and few of the other Asian countries. So we will have to learn to how to deal with that. Coming out of South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka tour, it is just about how we deal with the Indian conditions...it's going to be tough but we will give ourselves a chance as we had a good preparation," the coach added. Asked whether Australia would look to field a three-pace and two-spinner attack in the opening Test in Chennai, Rixon said, “We got to use our strength, which has to be the fast bowling department. “I always suggest that while you have got five very good bowlers who bowls at 140 to 145 an hour and on occasions 150, on variable bouncing wickets, they can just stand as spinners. This is probably our strength. We will probably stay with our strength and I think those guys would be our frontline." He is confident that the players' experience of competing in the Indian Premier League would help them. “Indian conditions are quite different. Fortunately, a lot of our guys have been playing in the IPL and the knowledge they have about the wickets and conditions here this time of the year, which is absolutely beautiful. On the outside, it is a little bit warm and we are looking forward to getting used to the conditions." Talking about the importance of spinners in the sub-continent, Rixon said that would involve a lot of discussion and planning. “I will have to talk with the spin guys. I have to talk out on setting different field for different pitches. I have to discuss the line that they have to bowl and the use of crease by them. These are the little things that we need to focus on.
“Nathan is taking about three and a half wickets per match. He is doing very well and has a chance to utilise the wickets where probably the wickets will be benefiting him.”
— PTI Warner ruled out of first warm-up match
Australian opener David Warner has been ruled out of Australia's first warm-up match against Board President's XI. The two-day practice game, which begins on February 11, comes too soon for Warner who is recuperating from a fractured left thumb. The left-handed batsman missed missed the first 4 ODIs of the on-ging series against West Indies with the injury. "As of now he is definitely ruled out of the first warm-up
game", Cricket Australia media manager Matt Cenin said. With the first Test against India starting on February 22, Australian team management are monitoring his injury closely. It is yet unclear whether Warner will play any part in the second practice match against India A from February 16-18. |
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Wright, Broad lead England to T20 win
Wellington, February 9 "The freedom the guys played with the bat today set us up brilliantly," Broad said in a televised interview. "To go and set our record as an England batting line-up was fantastic. "It was exciting to see the cleanness with which the guys were hitting it." The 27-year-old Wright then put immense pressure on New Zealand's batsmen as he bowled several dot balls that forced the hosts to take risks, one of which resulted in Martin Guptill blasting a full delivery straight to Broad at mid-off for 44. Guptill's wicket in the 13th over was a body blow for New Zealand as the right-hander had looked well set to be the batsmen the hosts could build their late-innings assault around. Broad then chipped in with two wickets in the 15th over, removing James Franklin (eight) and Colin Munro (28) to ensure England's total was well out of reach. The England skipper finished with 4-24, his best T20 international figures, while Wright took 2-29 and added a catch as New Zealand made 174-9 off their 20 overs. “I think we learned a lot from batting on it first actually," Broad added of being asked to bat by New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum. "We learned that we could bang it back of a length, take the pace off and get the guys hitting to the bigger boundaries. The short boundaries straight down the ground were peppered with a total of 23 sixes dispatched into the stands. Brief Scores: (England) 214/7 in 20 overs (E Morgan 46, L Wright 42, Boult 40/2, Hira 42/2); (N Zealand): 174/9 in 20 overs ( M Guptill 44, C Munro 28, Broad 4/24).
— PTI |
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Oz should replicate England’s ‘India Theory’: Dean Jones
Melbourne, February 9 “Australia would do well to replicate England's recent bowling attack in India: two quicks, two specialist spinners and a part-timer,” Jones wrote in 'The Sydney Morning Herald'. “The Australian tour to India this month will be a great examination of where this team is, mentally and physically. It is going to be tough. The triumph in 2004 was Australia's only series win in India since 1969,” he wrote. Jones also elaborated on the tactics that the Australians will have to follow in the gruelling series. “India's formula has been to have an opening bowling pair, then two specialist spinners and a part-timer to do some work when required. “Last year, England replicated the 'Indian theory', and was rewarded with a 2-1 series win. I feel Australia should do the same,” he said. “For the first Test at Chennai, I would have a batting line-up of David Warner, Shane Watson, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes, Michael Clarke, with Matthew Wade at No.6,” he added. Not injured: Ishant
Ishant Sharma is headed Down Under, reportedly to consult a Melbourne specialist after experiencing pain in his
ankle. The Delhi pacer, however, tweeted he was there to get the insole fixed in his shoes.
— PTI |
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As IOA officials fight, athletes face international bans
Patiala, February 9 The IOC communicated to the the Tribune that it has instructed international sports federations to act tough against anyone violating their charter. The direct consequences of this dictat are going to be borne by Indian sportspersons who are likely to be disallowed to participate in various events across the world. Various world sports bodies affiliated to the IOC will ban Indian sportspersons if “illegitimate individuals in the presently suspended IOA continue to hold posts in other sports federations in the country”. Thirty-eight members of the suspended IOA continue to hold posts in other sports federations, putting to risk the sportspersons of their associations. “We play for pride and train hard for many years to live our dream of representing the the country under the national flag,” discus thrower Krishna
Poonia, a medallist at the Commonwealth Games, said. “If we are not able to play for the country in international events, it will be a loss to the players. Therefore all differences should be solved immediately as much damage has been done to Indian sport.” Till date the entire focus of the events was on the officials from various sports bodies, but in recent developments the IOC has made it clear that it might rope in international federations of sports to look into violations of the Olympic charter. This means that sportspersons face possible suspension from participating in international events on the pattern of the Indian boxers, who cannot participate in internationally recognised competitions because of the ban on the Indian Boxing Federation. “The IOC’s direct stakeholders are the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations. A number of International Federations relayed to their respective National Federations, instructing them not to associate with the illegitimate people
(Abhay Chautala, Lalit Bhanot and Co.) claiming to represent the suspended
IOA,” IOC spokesperson Andrew Mitchell said. Indian sportspersons believe that it is important to respect the international bodies or athletes could face a ban. “The Sports Ministry should tighten the noose around these suspended IOA functionaries or irreparable damage would be done to the players in particular,” said an Indian athlete who has won many medals for the country. Reacting to the developments, the first Indian woman weightlifter to win an Olympic medal, in the 2000 Sydney Games, Karnam
Malleswari, told The Tribune that the Indian players work hard for the entire year and it needs lot of dedication. “Now if the international body bans or suspends any player of the country from international participation, it will surely hurt sports and its development in the country,” she cautioned. “It hurts not being able to play for the country for any reason. Sports and sportspersons should not suffer for any political gain of anyone,” said 2005 Arjuna award-winner boxer Akhil Kumar. Sources say that the IOC is perturbed with the current developments and the last resort left for them is to ban all sportspersons from India whose parent sports body has a functionary associated with the suspended
IOA. Meanwhile suspended IOA’s joint secretary, Rakesh Gupta and secretary general of the suspended
IOA, Lalit Bhanot said that the matter would be resolved and “no player would be made to suffer”. |
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Delhi, Ranchi in HIL summit clash
Ranchi, February 9 The Warriors will now face Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the third-fourth place play-off match tomorrow. Earlier in the first semifinal, Mandeep Singh and Nick Wilson scored a brace each to help the Rhinos beat Wizards 4-2. The Rhinos scored through field goals from Mandeep (5th minute, 66th) and Wilson (32nd, 64th), while Nithin Thimmaiah (16th, 54th) was the scorer for the Wizards. The second semifinal between the Waveriders and the Warriors witnessed a slow start as both the teams took time to get off their blocks. The Delhi outfit was the aggressive between the two sides in the initial stages but with time the Warriors started to catch their rivals. The Warriors, on the other hand, looked unimaginative upfront as Delhi was structured and solid in defence. It was the Warriors who got the first penalty corner of the match 12th minute but it was turned down after Delhi made successful referral appeal. The Warriors, however, conceded a penalty corner in the subsequent counter-attack and the Waveriders took full advantage of it to go 1-0 up. Andres scored an improvised goal from the set piece after he was beautifully set up by Rupinder U-turn. Had it not been for an alert Jacob Stockmann under the Warriors goal, the Waveriders could have scored two more goals in the first quarter. The Punjab side came out with more purpose in the second quarter and made a few inroads into the Delhi citadel but their forwards lacked in finishing. But it was the Waveriders who doubled their lead in the 32nd minute when Rupinder scored from their third penalty corner with a fierce flick that crashed into top of the Warriors goal after getting a deflection. The Warriors responded in the very next minute when Dwyer scored with a fierce shot from close range after getting a rebound to trail 1-2 at the halfway stage. Even though both the teams displayed free-flowing, fast hockey in the third quarter, what eluded them was goals. It was again the Waveriders who came close to scoring in the 52nd minute, but Punjab’s reserve goalkeeper Bharat Chetri made an acrobatic save to deny Danish Mujataba. Punjab cannot afford to give any excuses for the loss as they wasted three penalty corners in succession in the fourth quarter to make life difficult for themselves. Down 1-2, Punjab went all out attacking and in the process left huge gaps in theirbackline. Delhi were quick to cash in on the lapse as an unmarked Norris Jones took the game beyond the Warriors grasp with a fine goal just three minutes from the hooter. Punjab earned another short corner in the last minute of the game but misfired once again to sum up their sorry day. — PTI
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Rebels relent, to play Indonesia tie
New Delhi, February 9 “Given that a number of the concerns that we have raised remain unresolved, our confirmation of availability is limited only to the tie against Indonesia,” the players said in a statement. The players’s attitude has changed after the AITA agreed to meet their demands in writing, which include upgraded air travel (business class) for the four key players for the Davis Cup tie against Indonesia, enhanced payment (Rs 3.5 lakh per player), a say in the choice of venue as well as the non-playing captain, physiotherapist and the team doctor. The AITA has agreed to make the two reserve players as part of the Davis Cup team, and has also left it to the players’ discretion to suggest the division of the prize money among thm. The players who joined issue with the AITA, projecting Devvarman as their leader, were Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, Jeevan Nedunchezhian, Sanam Singh, N Sriram Balaji, Diviji Sharan, Saketh Myneni, Vishnu Vardhan and Yuki Bhambri. They said that the three-member committee formed by the AITA — including former Supreme Court Chief Justice Deepak Verma, former Haryana chief secretary M.C. Gupta and former Indian Davis Cup captain Naresh Kumar — to go into the players’ demands may not live up to their expectations. “We would also like to mention that we are not available to talk with the new committee the AITA has formed as we feel like they comprise of people who are biased towards the AITA. However, we encourage the AITA to constantly communicate directly with the players before and during the tie, to sort out issues both the parties have,” the players said in a letter to the AITA. “How would the AITA feel if the players formed a similar committee, comprising of people who openly support the players, give you the option to negotiate terms and conditions, but at the end, the power to take any decision will lie in our hands, regardless of the discussions,” the players argued. The players said they would like to deal with the AITA directly. The players have also requested the AITA to keep them “in the loop and take our inputs as to where and what surface we should prefer to play the tie on” regarding the tie against Indonesia, likely to be held in Bangalore on April 5-7. “As you have mentioned that the last tie against Korea was the farewell tie for (non-playing) captain SP Misra, we would like to be kept informed about who the next candidate for the job is,” the players said. “We do not expect to have a final say on the matter but hope to have our inputs seriously taken as it is the players ultimately who end up sitting next to the captain in the high pressure match situations.”
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Bhullar’s 8-under card takes Punjab Lancers to top in GPL
Aamby valley, February 9 Punjab made a strong comeback after a modest first round at the picturesque Aamby Valley Golf Course. With Rashid Khan coming in with a bogey-free six, Punjab Lancers had a scoring day as Thaworn Wiratchant and David Howell, the other two players in the side, also carded four-under each. That gave Punjab a score of 18-under for the day and carried them to 24-under for two days. First round leaders, Delhi Darts' three scoring players were Rahil Gangjee 51 (-4), Johan Edfors 52 (-3) and Scott Bar 52 (-3). With today's 10-under, they were at 22-under in second place. Two teams, Uttarakhand Lions and UP Eagles, shared the third place at 17-under. The final round will be played tomorrow as better-ball stroke and there will be two scores from each team. In each pairing decided by the various teams, the better score in each duo will count on each hole. The top two individual scorers for the second day were Thailand's Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Kensville Gujarat Underdawgs and Bhullar, who shot eight-under each. Anirban Lahiri of UP Eagles cracked a seven-under, despite feeling that he had left a few putts out there and Rashid carded six-under on a day when the scores were not exactly high.
— PTI |
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A resolute unbeaten century by Ambati Rayudu helped Rest of India enjoy complete command over Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai at stumps on the fourth day of the Irani Cup match.
Riding on Rayudu's undefeated knock of 118, Rest of India finished the fourth day's play at 296/4 taking their overall lead to a whopping 413 runs and have virtually put their hands on the trophy which they would be winning for 25th time.
With fate of the match virtually sealed, first innings centurion Suresh
Raina is looking good for a second ton in the match and is batting on
40.
Mumbai, February 9
Adamant on sticking to pace despite the dustbowls that await them, Australia's acting head coach Steve Rixon on Saturday said his team's success in the upcoming Test series against India would depend a lot on how quickly it adapts to local conditions.
“Teams are going to play a lot of competitive cricket. This wicket is something that the Indian boys play very well on. We will have to learn to adapt to these very quickly.
Luke Wright shone with bat and ball while captain Stuart Broad took four wickets as England eased to a 40-run victory over New Zealand in their first Twenty20 international in Auckland on Saturday. All-rounder Wright's 20-ball innings of 42 included three fours and four sixes as England's power-packed batting line-up scored 214 for seven, their highest total in a T20 international.
Mumbai, February 9
Mumbai, February 9
