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Aussies show signs of Delhi belly
Ashwin strikes a sore note after fine spell
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Australia unable to walk the talkRohit Mahajan
Kumble looking forward to clean sweep
King Kimi reigns in Malaysian rain
Davis Cup: India-Indonesia tie to be played under lights
Weightlifter suspended for eve teasing at national camp
CRPF beat Punjab Police
Serena eases through opener in Miami WTA
Jadeja develops ‘liking’ for Oz skippers Gilchrist to play in Caribbean T20 post IPL
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Aussies show signs of Delhi belly
New Delhi, March 22 The Ferozeshah Kotla wicket seemed like a used track before a single ball was bowled, possibly a three-day-old track. It had cracks all over its surface. The ball pitched on a crack and raised a puff of dust as early as the second over the match. The Australians were unsure about what to do. They decided to fight it out. But they didn’t know how to fight. With shot selection not worthy of a top Test team, they hurtled towards calamity. There was one good partnership at the top, when the Indian bowlers were kept at bay for over 18 overs. But then India cut the heart out of the Australian middle order, reducing them from 106 for two to 136 for seven in 21 overs. Thirty six runs in 21 overs for five wickets. The Australians were strangulated. Some of them perished in attack, some of them perished in defence. One of them was consumed by what seemed an umpiring error. But then Steven Smith and Peter Siddle orchestrated a fightback; the last two wickets have added 95 runs in 44 overs. Smith and Siddle and James Pattinson played a total of 327 balls among themselves. That’s nearly 55 overs played by these three batsmen. Siddle has played 125 balls in nearly three hours at the wicket. Pattinson has played 57 deliveries, stone-walling most of them. Clearly, if you want to, it’s possible to find a way to hang in there. Australia’s batsmen No. 10 and 11 have done it successfully for a considerable period of time. Smith (46), Ed Cowan (38), Phil Hughes (45) and Siddle (47) were the only four batsmen to take their score past 20 today. Smith later said that Australia didn’t think of it as a dead rubber, that they always play to win. But perhaps, they should have played for safety first, following the hammering in the first three Test matches. A 0-4 scoreline wouldn’t be pretty. Opener David Warnder had decided early attack was the best move, rather than waiting for a shooter that could pin him at the crease. Warner flashed his bat at Ishant Sharma without moving his feet, was caught by Virat Kohli at second slip. Australia four for one in 1.4 overs. A tiresome position for everyone, including the 9,000-plus crowd that exulted at India’s success but would have wanted to see something competitive. Hughes did hit back, attacking especially on the off side, where he hit eight of his 10 fours, and obtained 37 off his 45 runs. Cowan was keener on just hanging in there. The two complemented each other well — 67 runs came in their partnership in just under 20 overs. Then Ishant Sharma hit, actually hit, Hughes. Four balls after being struck on his helmet, Hughes was bowled off an inside edge. Watson and Cowan took Australia to 94 for two at lunch. The lunch probably didn’t agree too well with them — 15 minutes after restarting, they began to dabble with disaster. Cowan was bowled around his legs as he tried to sweep Ashwin; Ravindra Jadeja beat an advancing Watson to get him stumped; Glenn Maxwell played a shot he should be ashamed of, lofting Jadeja to mid-on. Mitchell Johnson, understandably, failed to read an Ashwin carrom ball. Scoreboard Australia 1st innings Cowan b Ashwin 38 Warner c Kohli b Sharma 0 Hughes b Sharma 45 Watson st Dhoni b Jadeja 17 Smith c Rahane b Ashwin 46 Wade c Vijay b Ashwin 2 Maxwell c Sharma b Jadeja 10 Johnson b Ashwin 3 Siddle batting 47 Pattinson batting 11 Extras: 12 Total: (8 wkts in 98 overs) 231 Fall of wickets: 1/4 2/71 3/106 4/115 5/117 6/129 7/136 8/189 Bowling Bhuvneshwar 9-1-43-0 Ishant 14-3-35-2 Ashwin 30-17-40-4 Ojha 23-6-67-0 Jadeja 22-6-34-2
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Ashwin strikes a sore note after fine spell
New Delhi, March 22
Then, as an afterthought, he said, ”On black soil, the ball doesn’t bounce as much as on the red soil”. Of the wicket, or the assistance he got from it, Ashwin said with a dead pan expression: “If there are spots on the wicket, then one shouldn’t get carried away as the margin of error is very less. One shouldn’t try too many things from the back of the hand”. The stage thus set, the interaction quickly ended after he answered two or three brief questions, as no one seemed interested in asking questions. The contrast in the behavior of Steve Smith, the Australian all-rounder, who rushed to the media room within minutes of close of play to answer questions with a smiling face, and Ashwin was glaring. Ashwin took his own time to come, after Smith left, and immediately took a defiant posture, for no particular reason. He said it was not that India’s bowling was not very effective at the closing stages, but the Australian lower order batted very well. “They batted pretty well. That era is over when tail-enders would come, slog and get out. Pattison has an average of 30”, he said. The off-spinner, who set off the middle order slump of the Aussies, said his most satisfying delivery of the day was the one that got the wicket of Steven Smith, compared to the one that got rid of Mitchell Johnson, playing his first Test of the tour. “Getting Smith out was more satisfying. In the case of Johnson, it was an error of judgment on his part”. Smith said the Kotla wicket was “not a day one wicket”, referring to the middle order slump the visitors suffered. “It’s not the day one wicket I am used to playing on. It has broken up pretty early. It will get tougher and tougher to bat throughout this match”, he observed. Citing the example of Philip Hughes, who was hit on the grill by an Ishant Sharma delivery before he got out, Smith said the delivery had shaken up the batsman leading to his exit. “It’s not too often we see on the first day of a Test match the ball going like that and hitting a player in his grill. That’s probably shaken him up, it has also shaken me up”, Smith said, smiling. Smith, who made 46 off 145 balls, said Australia would look to add another 50 runs tomorrow morning, to make the match very competitive. He termed the Kotla wicket as “worn out” on the first day itself, and no wonder, Ashwin and Jadeja reveled in bowling on it. Smith also praised the field setting for the spinners, which constricted the batting of the visitors, with runs coming only in fits and starts.
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Australia unable to walk the talkRohit Mahajan
New Delhi, March 22 Words have been the extent of the Australians’ hostilities. On the field they’ve been nothing more than desperados flailing ineffectually as they’re put on the elevator to the gallows. The moment of destruction of the Indians has failed to arrive. The self-awareness of the Australians is impressive; their scrutiny of their games and minds suggests they’re thinking cricketers. They have the ability, too, to express those thoughts in words. Deeds, though, have been a bridge too far. The Australians haven’t been able to convert words into deeds. Without deeds, words become hollow, a mere sign of bravado. Possibly the Australians believe there’s substance in their words — if they won’t, who would? But they’ve not shown signs of reaching the state of discipline they must to win in India. In fits and starts, as they hurtled towards another disaster today, the dismissals of many of their batsmen struck a jarring tone. They didn’t seem to be a team attempting to shut out India after winning the toss for the fourth time in a row and taking guard first in the best conditions for batting. The Australians haven’t issued injunctions upon their batsmen — they are free to play as they please, except trying cross-batted shots or hitting against the spin too early. But Michael Clarke, the Australian captain, says that he doesn’t want the batsmen to curb their natural instinct. Their natural instinct of the Australian top-order today, yet again, impelled their top-order towards destruction. It is indisputable that success in India would be had by at least one batsman wreaking violence on their bowling. The self-awareness of the Australians, though, doesn’t extend to recognising that they are not the batsmen who can successfully attack the Indian spin attack. David Warner was the first to immolate himself, flashing at a ball distant outside offstump, feet rooted to the ground. Ed Cowan was bowled around his legs by Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin was bowling over the stumps; he’s an off-spinner; Cowan is a left-hander. The sum total of these facts adds up to: Do not sweep. Cowan wasn’t wary, and he became the third Australian to be dismissed by Ashwin in this manner in the series. Shane Watson, humiliated by a Cricket Australia official — who questioned whether he’s a team man — last week and made captain this week, didn’t play the shot of a leader. Danced out to Ravindra Jadeja, the ball turned past the outside edge of his bat. Stranded outside the crease, stumped. Glenn Maxwell —the can’t bat, can’t bowl Glenn Maxwell — skied the ball in premeditated fashion. Caught out. These were cringe-worthy instances of the failure of attacking batsmanship. They were interspersed by instances in which the cracking pitch or an exceptional ball played a part. Phil Hughes was given the scare of his life when a ball from Ishant Sharma, pitching just short of a length, reared up to his eyes. It had probably hit a crack in the pitch; it spectacularly spread-eagled Hughes mid-air, hit his helmet, rattled him. It locked his feet, too. Four balls later, Hughes didn’t move at all when a ball was pitched up by Ishant. It was sharp thinking by the tall quick. Edged into the stumps. Matthew Wade was perhaps unlucky to be given out after, it seemed, that the ball had hit only his pad before being caught by Murali Vijay at silly point. Mitchell Johnson got a ball that was too good from him — an Ashwin carrom ball from around the stumps that Johnson believed was spinning out. He didn’t offer a shot; he didn’t know what hit him or his wickets when the offstump fell down and the Indians began to celebrate. Steven Smith, the top-scorer, was beaten in defence, caught at short leg. Smith was the most impressive of the Australian batsmen on show. He also talked well after the day’s end. His words had belief and conviction. They also were fairly realistic — about learning lessons for the future. “It was about another chance to play in Indian conditions and try and improve and get better and develop plans and strategies to be successful and hopefully this is another chance for us to keep doing that, so that when we come back here again, we’ll be able to play with a bit more freedom and have a plan in place,” he said. Allrounder Shane Watson, who has been named Australia's stand-in skipper, admitted he was mentally preparing for the job as soon as he landed here for the
what they say South Africa will be a challenge: Dravid Dubai: Rahul Dravid has said that India’s tour to South Africa will be a real challenge for the side. South Africa will host India in November this year. Dravid said that India would need a good bowling line-up of at least three good fast bowlers and a wrist spinner to succeed in those conditions. He said that the Proteas boast of a really good pace attack and it will be a challenge for India to counter them in their own backyard. Ganguly wants India to do well overseas Hyderabad: Sourav Ganguly said teams like England and South Africa perform well both at home and abroad, I hope India would also become strong enough in all conditions. "England does well home and away. England won here when they came to India. South Africa does well. Sri Lanka does well. So, we will have to wait and see. It is too early to say. We want India to do well (at) home and away. That's very important for us."That's what we have done in the last 10 and 11 years. — PTI
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Kumble looking forward to clean sweep
Mumbai, March 22 "It will be a great thing. To beat Australia, forget Australia, let alone any Test series to win 4-0 is something very special. So India has an opportunity to achieve that. And it is great to see everyone doing really well at the moment. I am looking forward to a 4-0 victory," Kumble said. The former leg-spinner lavished praise on Shikhar Dhawan. “He played brilliantly. It is unfortunate that he is not playing in this game, (in his) hometown (because of injury). I really watched that (Mohali innings).... Fantastic batting." "There are some tough tours coming up, so this confidence will certainly help the youngsters," he said. Asked to compare the current tourists with the Australian teams he had played against, Kumble said the earlier squads were highly competitive ones. "You can't really compare but 2004, 2008, 1996, 1998... I think those teams that I played against were extremely competitive. (They) Probably (were the) number one team for a long time. I think that says a lot." South Africa will be a challenge: Dravid Dubai: Rahul Dravid has said that India’s tour to South Africa will be a real challenge for the side. South Africa will host India in November this year. Dravid said that India would need a good bowling line-up of at least three good fast bowlers and a wrist spinner to succeed in those conditions. He said that the Proteas boast of a really good pace attack and it will be a challenge for India to counter them in their own backyard. Ganguly wants India to do well overseas
Hyderabad: Sourav Ganguly said teams like England and South Africa perform well both at home and abroad, I hope India would also become strong enough in all conditions. "England does well home and away. England won here when they came to India. South Africa does well. Sri Lanka does well. So, we will have to wait and see. It is too early to say. We want India to do well (at) home and away. That's very important for us."That's what we have done in the last 10 and 11 years. — PTI |
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King Kimi reigns in Malaysian rain
Sepang, March 22 The Lotus driver, world champion in 2007 and a surprise but emphatic winner at last week's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, dodged a heavy shower to clock the day's fastest time of 1min 36.569sec in the second session. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, on the hunt for his fourth straight world title, was just two-hundredths of a second slower at the tropical Sepang circuit while Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were third and fourth for Ferrari. Red Bull pilot Mark Webber, who led the opening 90-minute session, timed fifth in the second stanza while Lotus's Romain Grosjean was sixth, despite a bumpy excursion across the trackside grass. Nico Rosberg, Paul di Resta, Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Sutil were the remaining top 10 drivers after a difficult session which was punctuated by a track-clearing deluge midway through. Tropical heat and sudden downpours make the Malaysian Grand Prix one of the most demanding of the season, with an extra challenge this year in preserving Formula One supplier Pirelli's new, faster-degrading tyres. Raikkonen is a two-time winner at Sepang, including his first ever Formula One victory in 2003. But the Finn said Friday's performance would matter little when it comes to qualifying on Saturday. "It seemed to be OK today... it was a good day but it doesn't help us tomorrow so we have to do tomorrow and hope it goes well," he said, dismissing the challenging conditions as "the same like other years". Lotus technical chief James Allison said the 33-year-old Raikkonen, embarking on his second season in Formula One after his return from a two-year stint in rallying, seemed in a good frame of mind and had shown it with the win in Australia. "He's certainly very, very relaxed and confident this year and he drove the race incredibly patiently," Allison said. "I think he knew he had a good car under him, he knew he didn't have to scamper up behind the group in front and he looked after the tyres, only going quickly when he needed to. It was just a very mature, and smooth and fast race." Vettel said Friday's stop-start afternoon session had yielded few results but the earlier run-out had shown the tyres will not last long on the hot, abrasive circuit. "This afternoon we couldn't do so much due to the weather, but this morning it looked okay, although the tyres don't last very long," Vettel said. "We need to try a couple of things now overnight to improve and take a steps forward." After a disappointing outing at the Australian Grand Prix, there will be further concern in the McLaren camp with newcomer Sergio Perez and 2009 world champion Jenson Button finishing the day in 11th and 12th respectively. The drivers will reconvene at 1:00 pm (0500 GMT) on Saturday for the third and final free practice followed by qualifying at 4:00 pm. — Reuters
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Davis Cup: India-Indonesia tie to be played under lights
Bangalore, March 22 The decision to hold the matches in the afternoon was to ensure larger participation of public in the event, All India Tennis Association (AITA) joint secretary and Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) secretary C S Sunder Raju said. "We have taken a special permission from the International Tennis Federation to stage the matches late in the day, so as to provide fans a chance to come and watch all the ties leisurely," Raju said. On April 5, the first tie would start at 3 pm followed by the second singles and the doubles match on April 6 will begin at 5 pm, he said. The reverse singles on the third and final day, will be played from 3 pm, Raju said. "We expect the ties on all three days stretch beyond dusk and we have adequate lighting system, as per ITF specification, in place at the stadium," he added. Fans in Bangalore would have an opportunity to watch a full strength Indian team spearheaded by Somdev Devvarman and Leander Paes in action. "I am sure, some good matches are in store for us, though the Indonesians are the underdogs," Raju said. KSLTA joint secretary Ramaswamy said the centre court and practice court have been relaid at the request of AITA. "They wanted a slower surface and we had specialists from Delhi to redo the surface and it is ready now, Ramaswamy said. "The tickets will be moderately priced and will go on sale from early next week." KSLTA had last hosted a Davis Cup tie in August 1985 when India played Sweden in the quarterfinals. The formidable Swedish team, which boasted of Mats Wilander, Andres Jayrrd, Stefan Edgberg and Joakim Nystrom defeated a vintage Indian team comprising Vijay Amritaj, Anand Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan and Sashi Menon 4-1. — PTI
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Weightlifter suspended for eve teasing at national camp
Patiala, March 22 Notably, three women weightlifters had filed a written complaint to their coaches against Shubham that he repeatedly made phone calls and sent them messages despite the fact that they didn't respond to his advances. Taking immediate action on their complaint, the coaches recommended strict disciplinary action against Shubham. Speaking to The Tribune, IWF secretary Sahdev Yadav confirmed that Shubham had been removed from the camp and the Federation has sought a written explanation from him as in this regard. "Shubham has admitted that he made repeated calls to the girls and accepted his mistake in front of his coaches. Therefore, we have put him under suspension and will decide on future course of action after he submits his written reply with us as the allegations are very serious. We have also sought an explanation from Haryana Weightlifting Association convenor Satpal Singh within 15 days of his receiving the letter in this matter," he informed. Coaches at NIS refused to comment on the issue saying that they have already submitted their report with the Federation. Shubham was unavailable for comments.
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Italian team’s plane hit by lightning
Rome, March 22 Drogba dropped from Ivory Coast squad
Abidjan, Ivory Coast: Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was left out of Cote d'Ivoire's squad for football World Cup qualifier against Gambia on Saturday. Drogba disappointed coach Sabri Lamouchi after the quarterfinal exit at the African Cup of Nations earlier in the year and it is said that the Galatasaray striker's career at the national team may come to an end, reports Xinhua. Balotelli
levels as Italy draw 2-2 against Brazil
Geneva: Daniele De Rossi sparked Italy's fightback and Mario Balotelli scored a superb second-half equaliser as the Azzurri battled to a 2-2 draw against Brazil in a friendly on Thursday. Luiz Felipe Scolari's side, hosts of the 2014 World Cup, came into match looking for a win following a 2-1 loss to England. — Agencies |
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CRPF beat Punjab Police
Dharamshala, March 22 In the finals, the CRPF won the first set from the Punjab Police 32-30. The Punjab Police team bounced back winning the second set by 27-25. However, the CRPF team took the next two matches by 25-23, 27-25 and emerged as champions. The weak defence of the Punjab Police team during the initial part of the game gave CRPF team an edge. In basketball, the Punjab Police team dominated and defeated the Haryana Police by 95-54. For the third position, the BSF defeated the CRPF 82-60.
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Serena eases through opener in Miami WTA
Miami, March 22 The world No. 1 and top seed, playing her first tournament since falling to Victoria Azarenka in the final at Doha in February, said she didn't feel too rusty, although her footwork could improve. "I think I missed a few shots, but only because I think I was off footwork-wise," she said. "But it's always just good just to win a match and stay in the tournament.” — Agencies
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Jadeja develops ‘liking’ for Oz skippers New Delhi: After making Michael Clarke his 'bunny', left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja on Friday accounted for stand-in captain Shane Watson in the fourth Test, showing his special liking for Australian skippers. Jadeja got Clarke out in five out of the six innings so far and with Watson's scalp in his kitty, he now has an Australian skipper out six times in seven innings in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Watson was stumped by Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Jadeja in the post-lunch session. Jadeja had made Clarke dance to his tunes in the first three Tests where the Australian skipper was bowled twice, stumped twice and caught once off his bowling. Clarke has missed out on the fourth and final Test which commenced in New Delhi on Friday due to a back injury. Jadeja has so far taken 17 wickets in the series with best bowling figures in an innings of 3 for 33. — PTI
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Gilchrist to play in Caribbean T20 post IPL Bridgetown, March 22 Gilchrist , who has toured the Caribbean three times as a player, joins his former Australia team-mate and captain Ricky Ponting as the latest international high-profile star to link up with the CPL. For the Australian legend, the Caribbean is the scene of one of his greatest cricketing triumphs where he smashed 149 from only 104 balls in the final of the 2007 World Cup in Barbados. Zimbabwe reeling against WI Zimbabwe (96/6) were trailing West Indies by 110 runs with 5 wickets remaining after 31.2 overs on Day 3 of the second Test at Roseau on Friday. Malcolm Waller (12) and Graeme Cremer (0) were at the crease. West Indies declared their innings at 381/8 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul making 108 runs. Chris Gayle made 101 runs. For Zimbabwe, P Utseya bagged three wickets (3/60) while K Jarvis and G Cremer bagged two each. Kiwis begin steady Peter Fulton (124) and Kane Williamson (83) put up a strong partnership (171) to lead New Zealand to 250/1 against England on Day 1 of the third Test at Auckland on Friday. H Rutherford (37) was caught by Alastair Cook ofF Steve Finn in the 26.4 overs. — Agencies
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Michael Clarke, bothered by back trouble, didn’t play in the fourth Test match, after all. Shane Watson became captain. These were the only changes today in the script the Australians have followed in this Test series. The rest was the same. The Australians won the toss. They batted first. The pitch took turn, the Australians twisted and turned. The tail wagged.
The Australians can talk the talk. Each of them has the ability to dissect with utter ruthlessness his own faults. Each of them has, over the past one month, spoken words that indicate that lessons have been learnt, course-correction been effected. Each of them has suggested that a turnaround in the team’s fortunes has been conceived, that it would be sprung upon the unsuspecting Indians any moment.
Words have been the extent of the Australians’ hostilities. On the field they’ve been nothing more than desperados flailing ineffectually as they’re put on the elevator to the gallows. The moment of destruction of the Indians has failed to arrive.
In fact, his very entry into the media room was on a wrong foot, literally, when he almost tripped and fell. He kept a serious countenance, and to the first question “how would he compare the wickets of Chennai and Delhi”, his curt reply was: “Why should I compare? One was red and one was black soil!”.
final Test. “It's really a dream come true to be asked to captain your country," Watson said. “It's obviously very disappointing that Michael hasn't come up, his batting and leadership will certainly be sorely missed, but I'm looking forward to the challenge and responsibility over the next five days," Watson said. “Michael and Mickey talked to me about it when I first arrived back in India (from Sydney) so I knew it was always going to be touch and go with Michael to be at good fitness and able to play,”" the Queenslander said. "I mentally started preparing from there knowing I could have the opportunity,” the 32-year-old added. — PTI