Mohali, OCTOBER 19
If one were to pick his favourite MS Dhoni shot from his astonishing unbeaten hundred on Saturday, though in a losing cause, he had a wide range to choose from – the extremely difficult helicopter shot, the slap stroke, played with the uncoiling of the wrist, that sends the ball scorching across the turf to the cover boundary, and the monster hits right over the head of the bowler into the crowd.

Even as all those strokes highlight his unique ability and the power he packs in those wrists, they aren’t his defining traits, they don’t fully explain his astounding success. Ironically, what perhaps comes close to explaining that is particular shot that earned him just a single!

Here’s what happened on that particular delivery, the first ball off the 38th over bowled by Clint McKay. As the ball was just about to leave the bowler’s hand, Dhoni shaped up for a massive pull over mid-wicket. McKay, however, bowled a slower one, catching Dhoni on a wrong foot. Yet, despite having committed himself to the stroke, the Indian skipper managed to check his stroke at the last minute, jabbing it mid-on for a single.

That mere nudge brings out Dhoni’s best quality as a player, perhaps the key to his stupendous success– his ability to adapt. That’s what makes him so successful despite having a technique that could, at best, be called his own, what with someone like R Ashwin, too, looking more correct and pleasant on the eye than him. But when has the man from Ranchi bothered himself with aesthetics; he’s all about effectiveness, getting results.

The Saturday’s knock yet again demonstrated his ability to adapt and respond to different situations and circumstances, read the game perfectly, and then hit the top gear when he needed to.

It wasn’t a particularly comfortable situation, 76 for 4, when Dhoni came in after India lost Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh on consecutive balls from Mitchell Johnson. That he cramped his leg while going for a possible double made the picture even grimmer for India.

Dhoni, as is his wont, carried on nonetheless, allowing Virat to do the bulk of scoring while biding his time. Even as other top order struggled against the Australian attack, especially against the pace of Mitchell Johnson, Virat was batting like a dream, unleashing his trademark drives with consummate ease.

The Indian innings again veered off the road with quick dismissals of Virat (68) and Ravindra Jadeja (2) falling in quick succession. With just 154 on the board and the top six batsmen back in the hut, it was a panic moment. Not for Dhoni, however. He anchored the innings past 200-run mark by the 40th over, and then, in the last ten overs, he brought out those monsters hits to plunder 101 runs and take the team past 300-run mark.

The bowlers, however, let the skipper down once again. Despite controlling the game for much of the duration, India let the imminent victory slip away from their hands in the 48th over, in which Ishant conceded 30 runs and the match, too. 

Scoreboard

India

Rohit c Finch b Watson 11

Dhawan c Haddin b McKay 8

Kohli c Haddin b Maxwell 68

Raina c Watson b Johnson 17

Yuvraj c Haddin b Johnson 0

Dhoni not out 139

Jadeja c Haddin b Johnson 2

Ashwin c Haddin b Johnson 28

B Kumar c Bailey b Faulkner 10

Vinay run out (Maxwell/Faulkner) 0

Ishant not out 0

Extras (lb 13, w 7) 20

Total (9 wickets; 50 overs) 303

Fall of wickets 1-14, 2-37, 3-76, 4-76, 5-148, 6-154, 7-230, 8-267, 9-299

Bowling

Johnson 10-1-46-4

McKay 10-0-49-1

Watson 8-0-74-1

Faulkner 10-0-65-1

Doherty 10-0-45-0

Voges 1-0-3-0

Maxwell 1-0-8-1

Australia

Hughes c Dhoni b Vinay Kumar 22

Finch lbw b Ishant 38

Watson lbw b Jadeja 11

Bailey lbw b Vinay 43

Voges not out 76

Maxwell run out (Dhawan) 3

Haddin c Jadeja b B Kumar 24

Faulkner not out 64

Extras (lb 14, w 9) 23

Total (6 wickets; 49.3 overs) 304

Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-82, 3-88, 4-171, 5-174, 6-213

Bowling

B Kumar 10-1-50-1

Vinay 8.3-0-50-2

Ishant 8-1-63-1

Jadeja 10-0-31-1

Yuvraj 3-0-20-0

Ashwin 9-0-58-0

Kohli 1-0-18-0

ALMATY, OCTOBER 19
Rising star Shiva Thapa and comeback-man Thokchom Nanao Singh entered the pre-quarters but it was curtains for the experienced Vijender Singh, who bowed out after an intense second-round contest on a day of mixed fortunes for India at the World Boxing Championships here on Saturday.

Vijender (75kg), the first Indian boxer to bag medals at World Championship and the Olympics, went down to reigning European champion and fifth seed Jason Quigley of Ireland.

“It was a very close fight and in my thoughts and mind, I have not lost. I gave my best and I believe that I did not deserve to lose," Vijender, who fought through viral fever in his opening bout, said.

“I have faced this boxer before on international trips and no doubt he is good but I don't think I should have lost today. But it's ok, I will put this behind me and ensure a win the next time I face him,”he said. However, former Asian Championships silver-medallist Nanao (49kg) and reigning Asian champion Shiva (56kg) ensured that India had reason to smile by making the last-16 stage.

Nanao, after getting a first-round bye, gave the perfect start to the day as he defeated Scotland's Aqeel Ahmed 3-0. “All of these boys fought very well, but while Shiva and Nanao won, Vijender ended up on the losing side. Each one of them were excellent and gave it their all. Vijender also fought very well,” national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said.

Nanao, a former cadet world champion whose rise was stalled by a spate of injuries, would be fighting it out against fifth seed Anthony Chacon Rivera of Puerto Rico on Monday.

Shiva, who is seeded fourth, then got the better of Filipino Mario Fernandez. Shiva had also got a bye in the opening round. Shiva will face Argentina's Alberto Melian in his last-16 bout on Monday.

However, Vijender's loss proved to be a dampener. He trailed by a point in each of the first two rounds and ended up getting warned for hitting a low blow in the final three minutes.

“I did not deserve the warning also because if you look at the recoding of the bout in slow motion, you can make out that I did not hit any low blow. But then just one of those days,” said Vijender. Shiva and Nanao, on the other hand, dominated their respective bouts and sailed into the next level. — PTI

Mohali, OCTOBER 19
Three days a slightly quicker and bouncier track was all it took for the chinks to reappear in the Indian batting line-up after the Jaipur run fest. The usual suspects looked vulnerable against pace and short ball, and fell meekly. That it wasn’t an isolated failure but a case of a pattern being followed over the series make it a little more worrisome than it should otherwise be.

Topping the list of the usual suspects was Suresh Raina. The left-hander yet again tied himself into knots facing a short ball and ended up offering a catch in the slips.

Of the three opportunities he got to bat in the series so far, he has fallen twice to the short ball, offering a catch while attempting to pull. While he holed out to mid-wicket at Rajkot, he edged to the slips attempting an awkward pull off a Johnson quick Mitchell Johnson delivery. And this doesn’t augur well for the batsmen being projected as the new No 4, especially with the World Cup in mind. The fact that the next World Cup is scheduled in Australia, where the wickets will be much quicker and bouncier, makes the situation more desperate for the left-hander.

If his problem persists, the Indian captain may need to think about a ceratin Cheteshwar Pujara. Yuvraj Singh, after a fairytale comeback in the T20 game, too has shown slight weakness in handling the short, rising ball outside the off stump. He has already fallen twice in the similar fashion to the same bowler — edging quick and rising Johnson deliveries to wicket keeper and slips.

Shikhar Dhawan’s presence in this list comes as a surprise. The left-hander has been dismissed thrice caught behind so far in the series. In between, though, he has played a blinder in Jaipur which makes his case a little different. 

COLOMBO, OCTOBER 19
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) may end up appointing former Australian captain Greg Chappell as its new chief coach.

The SLC sources said the deadline for the selection had been extended until the end of this month with scales weighing highly in favour of Chappell.

Besides Chappell, two more Australians, Shane Duff and little known Michael O'Sullivan are among the short list of candidates. Three Indians, Venkatesh Prasad, Lalchand Rajput and Mohit Soni are also in the fray. Paul Farbrace, who have had a stint with Sri Lanka as the assistant coach and Ian Pont are the Englishmen. Grant Bradburn, the New Zealand 'A' in charge is the sole Kiwi aspirant for the Lankan coach's job.

New Delhi, OCTOBER 19
Hardeep Singh Sandhu of Punjab lifted the boys under-18 title with a 7-6(3) 6-4 win over Mukund Sasikumar, while C Sai Samhitha beat Simran Sethi of Delhi to bag the girls under-18 crown during the Fenesta Open National championship at the RK Khanna Stadium on Saturday.

Top seed Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash proved lucky the third time against Arjun Khade as he recorded a smooth 6-3 6-1 victory to lift the men’s singles title in Prerna Bhambri capped a brilliant run by retaining the women’s singles title with a 7-5 6-2 over top seed Shweta Rana.

It was sweet revenge for the big-serving, bespectacled Jayaprakash, who had lost to Arjun twice before in the same tournament – men’s quarterfinals last year and boy's under-18 final the year before that.

BRIEFLY

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Ponting slams CA for letting him down

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Duleep: Day 3 washed out

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Dope-tainted Sangwan banned for 18 months
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Delhi pacer Pradeep Sangwan has been banned for 18 months for failing a random dope test during the IPL-VI. Sangwan, who plays for KKR, will not be able to play competitive cricket till November 5, 2014. The ban is effective May 6, 2013. The ban was recommended by the BCCI's Anti-Doping Tribunal which concluded its deliberation on October 1 and a written decision by the tribunal was received on Friday. The tribunal has found that Sangwan committed an anti-doping violation under Article 2.1 of the Code for the presence of the prohibited substance stanozolol, an anabolic steroid. 22-year-old Sangwan is only the second cricketer in the history of IPL after Pakistan’s Mohammad Asif to have been found guilty of consuming banned drugs. Sangwan was part of India's victorious U-19 World Cup team. — PTI