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Jadeja has the last laugh
Wild Warner packs a punch, gets the boot for assault on Root
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champions Trophy
Bolt laughs off idea he’s ‘past it’ after loss
India to meet Hong Kong in pre-quarters
Messi and father accused of tax fraud
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Jadeja has the last laugh
They think that his bowling, especially, is not worthy of their attention and their analyses. They think that his batting is good enough for only the flat tracks of Saurashtra. They ridicule him for being a multiple triple-centurion in first-class cricket who must be shielded by MS Dhoni in Test cricket. The millions he's made from the IPL, the name Rockstar bestowed on him by Shane Warne, make people suspicious of him and the IPL. Money is alleged to have played tricks with his mind. When his investments — he owns luxury cars and bikes, a restaurant and race horses — are written about, the tone is often derisory. As if these acquisitions are undeserved, as if the money he's made is undeserved, that his place in the Indian team is undeserved. Yet, Jadeja continues to prove people wrong. He's quite a likeable guy, actually — he's polite, comfortable in his own skin and doesn't take on airs or accents. He's adjusted enough to answer questions in Hindi, and actually tells press to ask questions in Hindi. Ridiculed
It's his batting that has earned him the ridicule; to be fair, that ridicule actually should be directed at the pitches he's batted on in first class cricket. He's made more triple-centuries than anyone else in Indian domestic cricket. But he's seen as a man with a rather limited batting ability — it's supposed that those dead pitches made it easy for him, rather than him making the runs due to a phenomenal batting talent. Then, the man he's trying to replace in the Indian team, VVS Laxman, was his polar opposite in temperament and ability. Laxman was a genius, a cultured and dignified man who abhorred flashiness of any sort. That Jadeja was trying to fill the shoes of Laxman seemed ridiculous; that Mahendra Singh Dhoni was describing him as a very special talent seemed suspicious and dubious. But now it must be said that Jadeja has done enough to make people reconsider their opinions. He's made big impact in several matches for India over the last six months. First came his success as a bowler in the series against Australia. He picked up 24 wickets at 17.45 in four Test matches; he got Australian captain Michael Clarke, probably the best batsman against spin bowling in cricket at present, five times in six innings. Then, against South Africa in the first match of the tournament, he knocked up 47 off 29 balls; he then bowled nine overs 31 runs and two wickets. Yesterday, he picked up five West Indian wickets after being introduced into the attack with the opposition in control at 92/1 in 17 overs. Jadeja began with a maiden, bowling straight at the wicket, varying his pace, keeping the batsmen guessing. The pitch was on the slower side, and he made it tougher for the batsmen by reducing his pace. On a roll
He bowled five overs on the trot and picked up three wickets for 10 runs; West Indies were now 118/4 in 26 overs, and India now controlled the game. He bowled another five overs, gave away 26 runs in them and picked up two more wickets. India won comfortably with the other cool mustache-twirler, Shikhar Dhawan, scoring his second century in two matches. Keeping it simple
Later, Jadeja gave the media the spiel about bowling in the "right areas". "I was just bowling wicket-to-wicket and letting the pitch do the rest," Jadeja added. “I never used to make my game plans in the past," he went on. "Whatever I used to think I could not translate my plans into the match. I used to think I would do this against this batsman or play in a particular fashion against this bowler. I used to make those strategies. But now I have stopped doing that. Now I do not think too much, what will happen and what will not. I just try and focus on the kind of pitch, the conditions and the match situation." The ridicule Jadeja attracted early on was not undeserved. After all, didn't he come to the Indian team on the basis of his batting and yet had to be shielded by Dhoni? And is he a bowling allrounder or a batting allrounder? Now, there's danger in lionizing him too much —Australia batted like novices in India, and West Indies continue to be brittle and brilliant, mostly brittle. But Jadeja must get his due. He's shown himself to be a capable, accurate bowler, an exceptional fielder. His métier was batting — maybe Dhoni is right to trust him, nurture him and let him bide his time to emerge as a batsman. Today |
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Wild Warner packs a punch, gets the boot for assault on Root
London, June 12 Warner punched England’s 22-year-old Joe Root in a Birmingham bar on Saturday night. This happened in the Walkabout Bar in Birmingham, after Australia were beaten by England in their Champions Trophy match. Cricket Australia is investigating the incident and dropped Warner, 26, from the team for today’s match against New Zealand. The details of the incident are emerging only now, and Cricket Australia confirmed that there had been a “physical altercation with an England player in the early hours of Sunday”. Some of the details that have come from Birmingham are weird — it seems that Root was wearing a green and gold coloured wig on his head. The bar is Australia-themed, and the term Walkabout refers to a rite of passage for Australian Aborigines males -- the term was made more widely known by the 1971 movie of this name. Green and gold, it should be noted, are Australia’s team colours. It seems that Root turned around this wig to his chin to make it look like a beard. A news report here said Warner thought Root was imitating Hashim Amla's beard, thus making fun of both Amla and Australia’s colours. It was then that Warner pulled off Root’s wig/beard and punched the England batsman on his chin when he asked Warner to return it. A report said that three England players — Root, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes — were fooling around in the bar, wearing silly wigs. Warner went over to Root, pulled off his wig and punched him. Broad then put his arm around Root and they left for their hotel. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) absolved Root of any blame and Warner had apologised for his "unprovoked physical attack". "Following a full investigation, the England team management has concluded that the England player was in no way responsible for, nor retaliated to the attack,” an ECB statement said. "Warner has admitted behaving inappropriately and has since apologised to the player involved who has accepted the apology.” Warner is trouble for the second time in three weeks; last month he had been fined £3,700 for an extraordinary abuse-laden and attack on two journalists on his twitter.com. Warner had been upset by the use of his photograph with an article criticising the Indian Premier League (IPL). trouble maker
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london eye
London, June 12 The children of the family aped the glee of the elders. “I just want Misbah’s wicket to fall now,” said 10-year-old Vimal in his clipped local accent, and his kid sister, four years old, shrieked her approval. This ill-will is reciprocated by the Pakistani expatriates. When Pakistan won the Twenty20 World Cup here in 2009, their supporters choked the streets around Lord’s; many flew banners taunting the Indian team and fans. “Where are you now, India?”, “The Joy of Seeing India out — Priceless!” read some of the banners. Now, in east London, at the Pakistani-dominated Green Street, the mood is sombre when talk turns to cricket. The sorrow at Pakistan’s exit from this tournament is compounded by India’s success. When the two teams play in Birmingham on Saturday, the edge would be taken off the contest due to the fact that the match is inconsequential. Pakistan have been knocked out of the tournament, India are through to the semifinals. “I wish they had qualified too, so that the joy of beating them in the final would have been just wonderful,” he adds. Man of the moment
One man who’s having a really wonderful time here is Shikhar Dhawan, the careless marauder made famous by his strokes and his moustache. Dhawan reminds people of Virender Sehwag — the same insouciance with the bat; the same economy with words; the same wit, often unintended, the result of his plainspeak. He’s hit two centuries in the two matches he’s played in the tournament; Sehwag-like, he reached his two centuries with a four and a six. He’s similarly unafraid, similarly not awed by records or approaching milestones. But Dhawan is his own man, a strong-headed individual. He was the player of the tournament after scoring 505 runs with three centuries in the 2004 under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. But there were so many permanent fixtures in the Indian team, he got his first opportunity for India only in 2010, when he failed to score on debut. He got to play four ODIs in 2011, but his aggregate after five matches was a discouraging 69 runs. The failures of Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir landed him another opportunity. He’s grabbed it this time, with three centuries in three innings for India — 187 on Test debut in Mohali in March, followed by 114 and 102* here. His celebration after reaching landmarks is quite refreshing. He raises his arms and strikes a pose and looks just delighted; he’s not angry or abusive like many other modern batsmen. Yesterday, after reaching his century off the first ball of the 39th over, he didn’t attempt to score off the rest of the over. Only two runs were required then and his partner, Dinesh Karthik, was batting on 47. Dhawan wanted Karthik to complete his half-century — which he duly did off the first ball of the next over. No wonder he’s the most talked-about Indian cricketer here. Fletcher bereaved
There was some bad news for the Indian camp yesterday. Coach Duncan Fletcher's mother has passed away, and was scheduled to home to South Africa today. Fletcher was at the ground on Tuesday as India beat the West Indies. Fletcher would be back for India's final group game against Pakistan on Saturday. The Indian team travelled to Birminngham today and was not scheduled to practise. |
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‘I hope to play for India again’
Kochi, June 12 "My dream obviously is to play cricket. All I want to do is to play cricket and get back into the team... It is a dream to play in the South African tour series. But I am not sure about it now," he told reporters soon after meeting his parents and relatives at nearby Tripunithura. Despite being weary after his arrival here from Delhi Sreesanth said he was very happy to be back with his parents and said he would soon start training. Asked if he had been 'trapped' in the case, Sreesanth said, "I have done no wrong. The arrest could be part of a conspiracy. It will soon come out. I am confident good will happen." On his experience in Tihar Jail, the pacer said he does not wish to explain anything. "All I can say is that I love this game. I have given the very best from the day one I played this game. You must trust me. I totally believe in judiciary. I am waiting for everything to be sorted out. I will surely like to explain everything," he said.
— PTI |
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champions Trophy Birmingham, June 12 New Zealand needed to bat for at least 20 overs for a result to be determined by the Duckworth/Lewis scoring method so both teams were awarded one point each. New Zealand top the group standings with three points from two matches and Australia, who lost to England in their opener, have one. England will qualify for the semi-finals if they beat Sri Lanka on Thursday. The Australians, missing injured captain Michael Clarke and suspended opener David Warner, struggled on a slow wicket after winning the toss.Shane Watson was caught by wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi off fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan for five and Phil Hughes was run out for nought after sharp work by Martin Guptill to leave Australia reeling on 10 for two. Captain George Bailey and Matthew Wade steadied the innings with a third-wicket partnership of 64 and Bailey scored 55 off 91 balls before he was bowled by spinner Nathan McCullum. Adam Voges made a breezy 71 off 76 balls, including seven fours, but he became McClenaghan's third victim when he mistimed a full toss straight to Brendon McCullum at short extra cover. Brief Scores: Australia: 243/8 (Bailey 55, Voges 71, Mitchell McClenaghan 4/65); New Zealand: 51/2 in 15 overs (Kane Williamson 18*, L Taylor 9*, Clint McKay 2/10) — PTI
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Kashyap loses, Guru reaches pre-quarters in Indonesia
Jakarta, June 12 The 26-year-old Kashyap was not in his elements and was completely outclassed by former world number six Sho Sasaki of Japan 7-21 8-21 in his campaign opener, which lasted just over half an hour. However, World number 28 Jayaram and Gurusaidutt notched up contrasting victories later in the day to keep India afloat in the men's singles event. While Jayaram struggled past world number 71 Riyanto Subagja of Indonesia 22-20 8-21 21-12 in a 49-minute hard-fought battle, Gurusaidutt, ranked 25th, got the better off another local player Andre Kurniawan Tedjono 22-20 21-16. Jayaram will take on fourth seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro, who had won the silver medal at the 2007 World Championship in Kuala Lumpur. Gurusaidutt will meet the winner of the match between seventh seed Dane Jan O Jorgensen and Japan's Kazumasa Sakai. In the women's doubles, Indian pair of Aparna Balan and Siki Reddy N suffered a 12-21 17-21 defeat to local combo of Gebby Ristiyani Imawan and Tiara Rosalia Nuraidah to end their campaign. Jayaram found the going tough against Riyanto right from the start and was lagging 9-14 but the Indian slowly clawed back with five straight points and then reeled off four points on the trot to move to 19-15. Riyanto caught up at 20-20 but the Indian managed to pocket the first game by capturing the next two points. In the second game, Riyanto showed his mettle and opened up a 5-1 lead and then held his fort to bounce back into the game rather comfortably. However, in the decider, Jayaram got his act together and distanced himself from 4-4. The Indian started dominating the proceedings and knocked off six points on the trot to further consolidate his position and eventually seal the issue. In the other men's singles match, Gurusaidutt rode on his powerful smashes to tame Andre. After a tough first game Gurusaidutt was more in control in the second and he managed to create a gulf and hanged on to the lead to emerge victories in the end.
— PTI |
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McIlroy fancies his chance of 2nd US Open title at rain-hit Merion
Ardmore, USA, June 12 Rather, the Northern Irishman thinks the conditions in Philadelphia could help his chances of winning, just as he did two years ago at a soaked Congressional. "There might be a few similarities to the way Congressional played to the way this week's going to play," said McIlroy. "It was soft then and it's obviously going to be soft again this week." McIlroy won the 2011 U.S. Open by eight strokes with a record total of 16-under-par but failed to make the cut when he defended his title last year at the harder and faster Olympic Club, outside of San Francisco. "I didn't really enjoy the Olympic Club last year," he said. "I much prefer this sort of golf. When you hit a shot and it doesn't bounce one way or the other. When you hit it and it stays where you think it's going to stay." Despite his preference for softer ground, McIlroy said the Merion course, with its narrow, tiled fairways, would still present a tough challenge to everyone. "You've still got to hit it on the fairway, it's still a pretty tight golf course," he said. "When you do get it in the rough, you're not going to make birdies out of there. So you're going to have chances, but you're going to have some holes where it's going to be very difficult." McIlroy won a second major last year with another eight-shot romp at the PGA Championships but has struggled this season, failing to win any tournaments. The 24-year-old has felt the weight of expectation and had trouble adjusting to new clubs but said he was starting to make some improvements. "Coming off the back of a great year last year, and guess expecting myself to emulate that or even try and do better, and it hasn't really happened so far," said McIlroy, the leading money winner on both the U.S. and European tours.
— Reuters Contingency plans made for stormy start US Open organisers were preparing for severe thunderstorms and high winds for Thursday’s opening round at Merion, which has already been saturated by more than six inches of rain since Friday. Though the iconic par-70 East Course drains very well, extra care has been taken over the location of pin positions on greens more susceptible to puddling while the safety of players and spectators has been paramount in contingency plans. USGA executive director Mike Davis said, “It really depends on what hits us or how lucky or unlucky we are.” — Reuters
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Spurs stun Heat, take 2-1 lead
San Antonio, June 12 Parker will have a scan on Wednesday after tweaking his right hamstring during the victory that gave San Antonio a 2-1 lead over the NBA champion Miami Heat in the best-of-seven finals series. "I don't know, I have no idea. We'll do an MRI tomorrow and hopefully it's nothing big and it's just a little cramping or it got tight on me," Parker, who contributed just six points in the win, told reporters. The 31-year-old guard went to the San Antonio locker room in the third quarter and re-entered the game briefly in the fourth quarter before returning to the bench with the game's outcome all but decided. The uncertainty about Parker's status for Thursday's Game Four in San Antonio dampened the mood on what was an otherwise raucous night inside the AT&T Center. Danny Green and Gary Neal delivered career-best performances as the Spurs responded nicely from Sunday's 19-point Game Two loss in Miami. The pair, each playing in their first NBA Finals, combined for 51 points for the Spurs, who are in the Finals for the first time since winning their fourth title in 2007. Green had a game-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including seven three pointers, while Neal came off the bench to score 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including six from beyond the arc. The Spurs defense limited four-time league most valuable player LeBron James to 15 points on 7-of-21 shooting while his team mates were also unable to find their rhythm. The Spurs pulled away in the final two quarters with an array of shots that Miami were unable to answer as Green, Neal and Kawhi Leonard led San Antonio on a 13-0 run to open the fourth quarter. "We got what we deserved," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters.
— Reuters |
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Bolt laughs off idea he’s ‘past it’ after loss
Bolt lost by one-hundredth of a second to American sprinter Justin Gatlin in Rome, the Jamaican's first significant international loss since the false-start disqualification at the worlds in South Korea in 2011. "I'll just point something out. In '08, I lost one race and I won the Olympics that year," Bolt told a news conference yesterday. "(The loss to Gatlin) doesn't say much. All I'm concerned about really, is the championship. Running the runs, getting into shape, figuring out what I need to do to get to the championship." Bolt is the world record holder over 100 and 200 and any slight dip in form from the athlete widely considered to be the fastest ever is going to attract attention. His dominance is also being questioned as rivals Gatlin, Tyson Gay of the U.S. and Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake begin to look like they could threaten him this season. Bolt respects them all. "Never try and single out one person to see who's the strongest, because in track and field people get injured all the time," Bolt said. "If I focus on one person and they get injured, then what? Then you have to change your focus and you may not be ready for that other person. So for me, I just work hard and try to be at my best when those seven persons are lined up against me." Bolt will face local favorite Jaysuma Saidy Ndure on Thursday.
— Agencies |
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India to meet Hong Kong in pre-quarters
New Delhi, June 12 After upsetting strong contenders Argentina and Finland on consecutive days, India clinched pole position in Pool 'H' after despatching 25/28th seed Venezuela 3-0 in the final qualifying round of the biennial World Squash Federation event taking place in France for the first time. Eighth seed India had come into the contest as overwhelming favourites and they lived up to their billing, virtually toying with the inexperienced Venezuelan attack. Mahesh Mangaonkar was first up on all-glass court against Miguel Vellennilla and raced away to a 2-0 lead, dropping just three points on his way. Mahesh, who has impressed all and sundry with convincing wins in the ties against Finland and Argentina, eased off in the third game but still had too much saved in his reserve to brush aside the challenge of his lesser-known opponent. Harinder Pal Sandhu was brought back into the squad as Saurav Ghosal was given a day off with an eye on tough battles ahead.
— PTI |
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Messi and father accused of tax fraud Madrid, June 12 The World Player of the Year and his father Jorge allegedly filed fraudulent tax returns for the years 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, according to a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office for tax crimes in Catalonia. “We learned about the action begun by the Spanish prosecutor through the media,” Messi wrote in a statement on his official Facebook page. “It is something that surprises us because we have never committed any offence,” the statement added. “We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations following the advice of our tax consultants, who will take care of clarifying this situation.” Messi, who will be 26 this month, is one of the world’s highest-paid athletes with a salary of just over $20 million a season, according to Forbes magazine. According to the charges, Messi and his father created a network of shell companies in tax havens that allowed them to reduce the tax bill on the player’s earnings from selling his image rights, the prosecutor’s office spokesman said. — Reuters
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Punjab to take on Odisha in the final of Junior Hockey Asif loses appeal against
spot-fixing sentence India in quarterfinals of World Team Squash
Somdev, Divij-Raja advance in Nottingham Challenger Gauri wins Usha Southern India golf
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