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Young Indian bats face fiery ODI
test
We’re under pressure, not underdogs: AB
Sierra Leone muzzle Scots
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Ashes
Sportspersons pushed off the centrestage by politicians
Taylor’s 217 takes Kiwis past 600
Jeev in high spirits ahead of week in Hong Kong
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Young Indian bats face fiery ODI
test
Johannesburg, December 4
The trioka has scored runs in India, England, West Indies and Zimbabwe and their confidence will be sky-high at the moment. However, Indian batting has looked top-heavy in the recent past, with the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina not being among the runs. In 31 matches this year, Suresh Raina averages only 36. In 21 matches, Yuvraj Singh has scored at only 21.23. In the last nine matches (seven completed innings each) against Australia and West Indies, they have fared worse -- Raina has scored at 22.42 and Yuvraj at 19.66. Along with the in-form top-order, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has also maintained his touch with the bat this year.
The hosts will be keen to exploit the lack of form of the Indian middle-order. Given that the wickets in South Africa will offer more bounce and pace, the Indians will face a test unlike any other in the last 11 months. The hosts will be eager to unleash Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Jacques Kallis on the visitors. Both Steyn and Kallis have been included in the squad for the three-match series, after sitting out the third and final ODI against Pakistan. For the Proteas, going up against the top-ranked ODI side, this is a chance to ascertain their own plans in this format after some patchy display in the past year. If the rain stays away, a closely-contested series opener is on the cards on Thursday. — PTI Zaheer, Pujara leave for South Africa
Mumbai: Zaheer Khan and Cheteshwar Pujara left here by an early morning flight to South Africa along with three other players well ahead of the two-Test series against the hosts. Khan, Pujara, Murali Vijay, Wridhiman Saha and Amit Mishra could not go with the ODI squad as planned due to logistical problems like visa.
— PTI |
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We’re under pressure, not underdogs: AB
Johannesburg, December 4 While admitting that losing the ODI series against Pakistan has dented their confidence, the skipper said that they are certainly not underdogs as being dubbed in some quarters. “We have just lost a series at home, so the confidence is not very high. Some of the knowledgeable people will say that we are underdogs. But there is no way we will stand back and allow that to happen. There is no chance we will accept that. At home we cannot afford to be called the underdogs,” de Villiers tried putting up a brave front. The skipper expects his team to perform to their full potential at home against a team that's not known to do well in these conditions where there is a lot of pace and bounce on offer. “If we play to our full potential, no one can stop us here, especially in South African conditions. That's the kind of mindset I want the guys to go in with for tomorrow's game. We need to show the right attitude, good body language. “Most of all, we need to remember that we are playing against a subcontinent team that has come to South Africa and they have a very bad record against us here. Even though we just lost a series, we have the confidence and belief to beat the world number one side.” It is definitely a sound warning for MS Dhoni and his boys. Given this aggressive tone, the pitch rolled will obviously be of much interest, not just in this match but throughout the tour.
— PTI |
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Sierra Leone muzzle Scots
Gurdaspur, December 4 Nothing is more exciting in the contact sport of kabaddi than the sight of champions meeting in a circular ground. When the bell tolls — or rather when the referee blows the whistle — the struggle begins whereupon the mob hoots and howls, like they did today in the Sierra Leone-Scotland contest and later in the England versus Mexico contest. There were no unexpected twists or turns to the script as the Sierra Leone team went about their task with clinical precision of demolishing their rival's defences. Sierre Leone is a West African country known for producing and exporting bauxite, titanium and diamonds. On the sports front, the country has yet to win its first medal in the Olympics although it has something to speak about its athletes and footballers. Kabaddi was never in the scheme of things till a young Ludhiana-based entrepreneur, Arvinder Singh Jassal, who is spending money from his pocket to give impetus to the sport, started taking care of the game. Kabaddi requires razor-sharp hand-eye coordination, deep reserves of stamina and pure raw strength. Strength of the body and strength of the mind have to go together. Every tackle is a gamble, every voice a roar, every capture is a prize and every escape is a salvation. The West African team had all these qualities in abundance as they trampled upon the fragile defences of their rivals with contemptuous ease eventually beating them 58-25. For the winners, George Daniel played like a champion. Champs like him revel on the big stage on big occasions and that is what he did today as he quickly settled into a groove to give the jitters to the Scotsmen. Had there been a man of the match award it surely would have been bagged by Daniel. He played his heart out in front of a delirious crowd and was the fulcrum around which his team's fortunes revolved. A loud roar went up in the stadium when the eves of England and Mexico stepped on the turf. Eventually, it was on the pyrotechnics of Ashley Harper, a rugby professional, that England chalked out a comprehensive 45-29 victory. Results
Today’s matches
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Good cricket will silence hostile crowds: Cook
Adelaide, December 4 Australia captain Michael Clarke was fined 20 percent of his match fee after he was caught by a stump microphone telling James Anderson to get ready for a "broken" arm when the paceman was batting, one of a number of heated moments during the Test. Australia have pledged to maintain the aggression at Adelaide Oval when the match starts Thursday, but Cook struck a more statesmanlike tone. "I think it's important that both sides recognise that a couple of scenes in that last test weren't great for the game of cricket," he said. "It's important that we play in the right way. I think people what to see real tough cricket, that's what they enjoy, especially between England and Australia, but there's got to be a boundary that we don't cross.
Adelaide Oval is sold out for the opening days and local fans are likely to give England another frosty reception. Cook said it was nothing he had not seen before. "Obviously you let your cricket do the talking. Last time we had the same hostile environment when we got here, but towards the end of the series we played some really good cricket and that hostility changes because everyone was very respectful of the way we played.” — Reuters Clarke fit to play
Skipper Michael Clarke said on Wednesday he is fit to play in the second Ashes Test against England, announcing an unchanged Australian team after the home side's huge win in the series opener. Clarke turned his ankle during training on Monday but said he is feeling no ill-effects and batted in the nets ahead of the match in Adelaide, starting on Thursday. "The ankle feels fine," Clarke said after training. "I think not training yesterday obviously gave me an extra day.... I feel fine". — PTI |
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Sportspersons pushed off the centrestage by politicians
Gurdaspur, December 4 Last year too, sportspersons had been cold shouldered which has the word sport writ large all over it. A prominent international gymnast disclosed that her ilk would not have been irked had the event been a political rally. “However, since it was a sports event, it would have been proper to have invited sportspersons for it," she remarked. Des Raj Dhugga, Parliamentary Secretary and the MLA from Sri Hargobindpur, was to be the guest of honour for the match played between Scotland and Sierra Leone today. Yet another Parliamentary Secretary, Pawan Kumar Tinu, was to be there during the proceedings in the Pakistan-Denmark contest. It is another matter that both played truant, following which the organisers had to call in former Speaker N.S. Kahlon and senior SAD leader and former Cabinet Minister S.S. Langah to fill in the vacancies. The district has produced innumerable international sportspersons, including two-time hockey Olympian Prabhjot Singh and Sarwan Singh, currently part of the national hockey team. Gurdaspur has also gained fame for having produced as many as a dozen international level women gymnasts, including Samita Sharma, who represented India in the 1999 SAARC Gymnastic Championships. Sisters Rohika and Monica, both international gymnasts, have also many feats in international meets. However, all these elite sportspersons found themselves ignored today. Amarjit Singh Sandhu, Secretary, Gurdaspur District Hockey Association (GDHA), said: "Intriguingly, the organisers of the championship have not thought it prudent to adjust even a single sportsperson as a 'guest of honour' for this prestigious sporting event. So much so the organisers failed to even extend invitations to the sportspersons." The Deputy Commissioner, Abhinav Trikha, claimed that 300 invites were sent to sportspersons. However, a cross-section of the players, when contacted, claimed that they had not got the invitation cards. |
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Kunal, Gayatri storm into semifinals
Chandigarh, December 4 Gurinder Singh, the seventh seed, upset fourth seed Brahmjot Singh 6-4, 6-4. Qualifier Ankit Sachdeva, who had earlier stunned third seed Ajay Yadav, defeated fifth seed Arpit Sharma 6-0 6-3 in a one-sided match. Qualifier Jajbir Singh played some attacking ground strokes to dominate in his 6-2, 6-3 victory over second seed Yogesh Phogat. Jajbir was consistent throughout and his shot selection was pretty good. In the women’s section, Gayatri Kumaraiah continued her good run, vanquishing Ankita Ghotar 6-2 6-1 to enter the semis. Gayatri used her ground strokes to good effect to keep her opponent under pressure throughout the match. Fourth seed Renu Sharma beat Anjali Thakur 6-4, 6-3 and will face Gayatri in the semifinals. Third seed Vinita Singh was in dominant position when her opponent, Priyanka Rawat, conceded the match. Qualifier Rimpledeep Kaur upset fifth seed Aashima Garg 6-3 6-3. Results (Round 3) Men’s Singles: Kunal Anand bt. Hardeep Sandhu 6-3 6-2, Gurinder Singh bt. Brahmjot Singh 6-4 6-4, Ankit Sachdeva bt. Arpit Sharma 6-0 6-3, Jajbir Singh bt Yogesh Phogat 6-2 6-3 Women’s Singles: Gayatri Kumaraiah bt Ankita Ghotar 6-2 6-1, Renu Sharma bt. Anjali Thakur 6-4 6-3, Vinita Singh bt. Priyanka Rawat 6-1 4-0 (Concd.)
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Taylor’s 217 takes Kiwis past 600
Dunedin, December 4 Taylor produced a controlled 217 not out and combined in a string of productive partnerships to push New Zealand past 600 for just the fourth time in their Test history. It was their highest score against West Indies, surpassing the 543 for three the 1972 team scored in Guyana, and the highest test score in Dunedin, eclipsing the 586 for seven New Zealand made against Sri Lanka in 1997. "I don't think it's sunk in yet, maybe tonight it will," Taylor, whose previous best score was an unbeaten 154 not out said. "I think my state of mind out there I was just trying to bat the same tempo, be pretty relaxed and play as straight as possible. After the declaration, Trent Boult had Kirk Edwards caught at second slip by Peter Fulton for a duck before Tim Southee dismissed Kieran Powell caught behind for seven to reduce the tourists to 24 for two. Darren Bravo (37 not out) and Marlon Samuels (14 not out) combined to settle the innings and guide their side to the close, albeit 542 runs in arrears. Brief scores: New Zealand 609-9 (Taylor 217*, McCullum 113; Best 3/148) vs West Indies 67-2. — Reuters
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Jeev in high spirits ahead of week in Hong Kong
Chandigarh, December 4 “I feel very confident this week as I currently have full control over my swing.” Defending champion Miguel Angle Jimenez, who created history last year when he became the oldest player to win on the European Tour at 48, will tee it up on Thursday. Amongst the Indians, eight-time Asian Tour winner Jyoti Randhawa is looking for a return to winning form while Gaganjeet Bhullar will hope to bring his winning form from last week into the event. Anirban Lahiri, who has carded one victory and five top-tens this season, comes off a tied sixth place finish last week. "It has been a great year and I can’t ask for more. I would like to win once more and I’m glad I still have that opportunity this week.” |
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India’s young and relatively inexperienced batting line-up will undergo their toughest test yet as they kick-start their three-match One-Day International
series against South Africa in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Sport is all about people and passion. Take out the passion people bring to sporting venues and sport will be rendered as hollow as an empty wine bottle.
This was much in evidence as the primordial sport of an ancient civilisation made a stunning appearance in this border city much to the mirth and merriment of thousands of die hard fans.
The likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have all been tremendous in 2013, scoring over 1,000 runs in the calendar year and averaging over fifty.
In 23 matches, he averages 66.90. He has been unbeaten on eight occasions and his conversion rate after getting a start has been good, with four fifties and a hundred.
"Maybe last week we let emotion get ahead of ourselves a little bit on some occasions and it got a little bit ugly. Obviously
M ichael and I have a responsibility as captains of both sides to make sure that doesn't happen."
