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Champions
Trophy
Rahul, Chappell carry out pitch inspection
Depleted England did a fine job
England’s spin play has improved
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Sehwag slips in Test
rankings
Manhas, Sodhi guide North to victory
East lose as Ganguly concedes last-ball six
Indian eves lose to Kiwis
Venue-specific weather forecast for 2010 games
India beat Lanka in carrom
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Champions
Trophy Akash Ghai Tribune News Service
Mohali, March 6 “The board has finalised the stadium as one of the venues for the tournament and sent its recommendation to the International Cricket Council (ICC)”, said Mr I.S. Bindra, President, PCA. “The BCCI has informed us through the letter regarding its recommendation. We are waiting for the ICC’s approval”, said Mr Bindra. Regarding the preparations for the Test between India and England, starting on March 9, Mr Bindra said, “Two meetings have been held so far under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Secretary K.R. Lakhanpal to form committees as well as for reviewing the overall arrangements”. In response to the invitations sent by the PCA to former Indian captains to be guests of the association during the match, Sourav Ganguly, Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Kapil Dev have given a positive response. Union Agriculture Minister and BCCI supremo Sharad Pawar will inaugurate the indoor nets on the eve of the Test and will watch the match on the first day on March 9. Mr Bindra also stated that plans were afoot to install punching machines at all entry gates of the stadium to prevent entry of unscrupulous elements. He stated that the extension work of the north pavilion would be started soon after the conclusion of the Test.
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Rahul, Chappell carry out pitch inspection
Mohali, March 6 Mr I.S. Bindra, President, Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), Mr M.P. Pandove, Honorary Secretary, and the curator, Mr Daljit Singh, accompanied the duo to the 22-yard track. Sources said both the skipper and the coach were satisfied with the three pitches offered by the PCA for the match. They also tentatively selected one of them for the Test. However, the final decision on the selection of the pitch will be taken tomorrow by the team management. |
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Captaincy not a burden: Flintoff
London, March 6 “I am just keeping Michael’s job warm until he comes back. I have enjoyed captaining the side but Michael is our captain and I am looking forward to him captaining again,” Flintoff was quoted as saying in ‘The Guardian’ today. Vaughan, back in Sheffield where medical staff are mulling over the best way to treat a knee complaint that puts at risk his long-term future, kept in touch with Flintoff by text message, congratulating him for drawing such a committed performance in adversity from one of the youngest sides England have fielded in 40 years. Flintoff, on his part, said he was proud of the way his players responded to the challenge. “I’m proud of the lads. Coming into this Test match there were a few things that went against us. People said that we had no chance but the lads fought and they scrapped.” He made light of fears the captaincy might prove too burdensome, as it did for another great England all-rounder, Ian Botham, a generation ago. “When I’ve not been captain I’m always involved in the game and thinking about the game. I never switch off. I wasn’t going into it worrying about how much it was going to take out of me. I have enjoyed doing it. At no point did I feel that it was too much,” he said. According to the newspaper, Flintoff hoped his captaincy inexperience would persuade the match referee Ranjan Madugalle to ignore England’s slow over-rate, which fell during India’s late flurry to 11 an hour, and his pointing of Irfan Pathan to the pavilion. “I was just telling him how well he played,” Flintoff said. “He played some great shots.” Writing in the ‘Daily Telegraph’ under his byline, Alastair Cook, who scored a century on his debut, said, the mood in the camp was very upbeat yesterday and that had it been “a boxing match, we would have won on points.” “I’ll never forget that moment on Saturday when the ball crossed the boundary rope to bring up my century,” he wrote. “That hundred was the realisation of all those dreams you have as a young lad making your first strides in the game. And there were several fairytale moments in this match: both Paul Collingwood’s hundred and Monty Panesar’s dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar had that same quality of a dream come true. “We had a tough last hour in the field yesterday, but after the game the mood in the camp was extremely positive. As Freddie Flintoff said, this is a very young England side. “Even apart from the three debutants, people such as Pietersen and Ian Bell haven’t played that much Test cricket. No one had given us much chance against India on their home pitch, but if this was a boxing match, we would have won on points,” he added.
— PTI Jones ruled out
London: The England cricket team received another jolt with Simon Jones ruled out for the entire Test series against India, according to the England cricket board (ECB). His chances of joining the squad in the In a press statement issued here on Monday, the ECB said Jones underwent an arthroscopy on Friday after sustaining an injury to his left knee before the first Test against India in Nagpur. “He will begin his rehabilitation program under the supervision of the England one-day international physiotherapist Dean Conway this week.” Earlier, England lost their regular captain Michael Vaughan, who is recuperating from a knee injury and has been ruled out of the entire series against India.
— UNI
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Depleted England did a fine job
A depleted England team is torn with injuries, having both the captain and vice-captain flying back home much before a ball could be bowled in the first Test at Nagpur. Nothing seemed right for the visitors who had more problems off the field than they could envisage on the dusty track in equatorial conditions in central India. Most inappropriate push if ever there was, to promote Test cricket.
Add to the English miseries a bland wicket with low, slow bounce, all attributes helping the home team in a big way. But, did the Indians capitalise on the providential assistance? Hardly, one can say. After the hectic Pakistan sojourn, the Indians were looking for fresh impetus not easily available in the modern context, no matter how superior you look on paper. The zeal and enthusiasm or all advantages cannot be taken for granted for the performance on the field is the only proper yardstick to gauge the respective strategies and weakness. India failed to go one ahead in the series primarily because their gameplan was not well rehearsed. All the dependables did not quite deliver for a winning cause. Home players were seen to be keener on cementing their positions, which meant a lot of the team interests had to take the back seat. In effect, all the good work in Pakistan appears to have vanished most inexplicably. The biggest culprit in the entire fiasco was the 22-yards playing surface, which gave all the false signals to all famous experts of cricket clay. It is a great pity that when the BCCI’s sole objective is to increase its funds come what may, what good are these hefty bank accounts if a simple strategy to prepare a sporting wicket is a collective failure of all the bigwigs of the BCCI. I have often said that a good cricket administrator is one who is a good servant of the game. We do have some excellent students of the game from amongst the players. The clash, however, between the students and the big BCCI bosses stares one in the eye. The ghost of Ganguly just refuses to die down. The latest between the coach and the Bengal stalwart will have done little to hold calm in the dressing room atmosphere. The Chairman of National Selectors is lending fuel to the fire. There is not a soul to check him. I feel sad for Dravid whose handling of his meager dry gunpowder leaves a lot to be desired. Towards the end, some artificial gas was introduced to improve an equally artificial result. But that was not to be which was just as well. England did not deserve to win because they were not prepared mentally or physically. India too did not deserve to win because they failed to latch on to simple chances. Also, the Indian spin attack looked jaded. They could have extracted more from the dull strip, but the will to go for it was palpably missing. —
UNI |
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England’s spin play has improved
India wants to know why its spinners failed in Nagpur. It would nag them that Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, good as they are, still need a pitch to their liking.
It would not help that a kid like Monty Panesar, just out of his cricketing nappies, was such an influence on the same surface. Imagine the contrast, Indian spinners with 700-odd wickets between them and two England spinners making their debuts! It is apparent England’s spin play has come up by leaps and bounds. They are making an initial forward movement; the defence has improved greatly and sweep is being employed judiciously. I have been a great advocate of sweep for it makes a spinners alter his length and sows doubt in his mind. Defence also is of utmost importance as it could allow you to be on the backfoot and be unnerved even when a clutch of fielders is around the bat. It did not help India that they did not have a dossier on Panesar or Alistair Cook for that matter. The left-arm spinner from Luton has a tidy style and bowls at a good pace, pushing the ball through, which was a help on that sort of pitch. There is not too much of evidence India had on either of them. It would be fun to see if they are any wiser in Mohali. I was in Antigua on a holiday when Cook, touring with England A, scored a hundred against an Antigua eleven. A few days later he had flown some 10,000-mile and made a fairytale debut in a Test in India. His virtues do not need a repeat here but I do feel it helps as a batsman if you are an opener. The number one position is the best place to bat, more so in the sub-continent. It allows you to dictate the innings, the whole game is in front of you. It is not the same when you are at number five, six or seven when the game is set for you. Once you go through the opening bowlers, you are in better frame of mind against the slow bowlers. England would also look at the success of Paul Collingwood and Kevin Peterson with relish and there is reason to look forward to Andrew Flintoff’s brand of captaincy. Matthew Hoggard was such a massive influence and really, for a team missing four of its Ashes’ heroes, England’s ascendancy was nothing less than astonishing. The next generation of cricketers are coming through all the time. It also has not escaped notice that England have begun to field younger players which was not the case in not-too-distant past. For long, England’s cricketers did not mature till they were in their mid-20s. Notable names that come to mind are that of Flintoff and Mark Ramprakash. Now England’s county structure is stronger than three or four years ago. Talents are easier to identify because of regular screening at the A level. The average age of an England player has surely crept forward by a few years. India, on the other hand, would be wondering if they need to fix their wobbly middle order or if this is the bowling attack which would win them matches. I do not think it would come to stage where they would field five bowlers and shorten the batting, knowing the damage the likes of Hoggard can do. The team that went into the Test with such great hope cannot turn so bad in the matter of four days. India can look at the positives of Wasim Jaffer’s emergence or the spunk young kid S. Sreesanth showed at the starting block. Mohammad Kaif’s 91 will ensure that he would not have to wait till eternity for yet another chance. The likes of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman have the kind of reputation which cannot be washed away in the matter of a match. After all, it is not as if India lost the game. They still caused England a few flutters in the closing minutes. It is not bad though to keep an eye on the young fast bowlers coming through the system like the one who took 10 wickets in Baroda and spelt England’s doom in the practice game. When the pitch is of no use and spinners are struggling, fast bowlers are the answer for wickets. Still, it would be a bold India if it rings in the change at the cost of a batsman or, horror of horrors, bench a spinner. That would be one hell of a tribute to the way England played in Nagpur!
— PTI |
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Sehwag slips in Test
rankings
Dubai, March 6 Sehwag was pushed down a place to be 10th in the table after he made two and zero in the two innings of the match that ended in a draw yesterday. Skipper Rahul Dravid is the highest ranked Indian at sixth place. Meanwhile,
New Zealand’s comprehensive series win over West Indies has helped it
displace India from third position in the latest ICC one-day cricket
ratings. India, who have reverted to fourth position, had moved to third
place after the 4-1 win in Pakistan. — PTI |
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Manhas, Sodhi guide North to victory
Udaipur, March 6 Opting to bat first, North batsmen toyed with the South attack. Opener Shikhar Dhawan (44 off 40 balls) and Sumit Sharma (80 off 94 balls) put on 75 runs in 12.3 overs when the former was run out. That brought in Manhas and he, along with Sumit, forged a 91-run partnership for the second wicket when the opener fell to Venugopal Rao. Manhas and Reetinder Singh Sodhi, who played a run-a-ball knock of 57 — flayed the South Zone bowlers to all parts of the ground to reach 310 in 50 overs, losing just two wickets. For South Zone, S Badrinath (48), C Raghu (37), B Akhil (40) and D Kalyankrishna (53) tried their best but it proved too little, too late as the South Zone innings ended at 236 in 48.2 overs. North Zone pacers Gagandeep Singh and Joginder Sharma scalped two wickets each. — UNI
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East lose as Ganguly concedes last-ball six
Jaipur, March 6 It was an
all-round show by wicketkeeper-batsman Yagnik who made an unbeaten 20 off 10 balls and also took four catches behind the stumps. Chasing a target of 227, Central were left to make 13 off the last over and then five off the last ball. Yagnik produced the winning hit, a six over the extra-cover boundary to carve out a thrilling victory for Central Zone at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. It was a bad day for Ganguly. The former India captain could score only 17 with the bat and gave away 28 runs in his three overs. Put into bat in damp conditions, East rode on the back of Abhishek Jhunjhunwala’s 66 to make 226 for six in 45 overs. Ganguly tried to break the shackles — his 17 came off 43 balls — by stepping out to J P Yadav but ended up with an edge to Yagnik. Tejinder Pal Singh led Central’s reply with a fine 56 but the visitors lost wickets at regular interval. Ganguly was hit for three consecutive boundaries in an over and finished with none for 28. Central ended their campaign with four points in their last match, while East remained empty handed.
— PTI |
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Indian eves lose to Kiwis
New Delhi, March 6 Put in to bat, India were restricted to a paltry 157 for seven which New Zealand chased down comfortably in 28.2 overs to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Openers Karu Jain and Jaya Sharma put on 57 runs to give a steady start to the visitors. But after Sharma was dismissed for 30, India lost wickets at regular intervals and were unable to put up a challenging score. In reply, Haidee Tiffen helped New Zealand with her knock of 66 to quickly wrap up the innings. Indian eves had lost the first match by seven
wickets. — PTI |
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Venue-specific weather forecast for 2010 games
New Delhi, March 6 The multi-crore project will ensure real-time display of current weather observations and a five-day forecast for each sporting venue during the games on various weather aspects like rain, clouds, temperature, wind (speed and direction), visibility, humidity, comfort indices, wind gusts etc. The project, pioneered with the concept of providing precision forecasts, will also include setting up exclusive weather information booths where athletes, authorities and spectators can get weather forecast as per their requirements. The idea of providing precision forecast will also be extended to other sectors like agriculture, tourism, power, adventure, transport etc. Announcing the setting up of the ambitious project at a press meet here today, Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said the objective was to provide modern weather information and had been conceptualised to safeguard high-impact weather events like archery, marathon shooting, sailing etc. India is hosting the 19th Commonwealth Games from October 3-14, 2010, and is the biggest international sporting event of its kind to be held in Delhi in the recent past. As many as 71 countries will participate and the opening and closing ceremonies are slated to be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 3 and 14, respectively. Besides this, there will be many venues for various sports events, spread within and outside the NCR region. Some of the important highlights of the proposed project include real-time implementation of a set of highly localised high-resolution models supported by advanced software for visualisation and product display. There will also be an hourly update and display of weather information on official TV channel of the games. An exclusive website will also provide weather forecast and information. Though weather conditions are known to have significant potential to influence sports activities, it is only since Atlanta Olympics in 1996 that specific weather forecast systems were developed and pressed into service to provide customised products covering all aspects and catering to all major requirements of sporting events. The Indian effort in providing this system will be by the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting along with the India Meteorological Department and several other government operational and research agencies. The basic infrastructure would be in place within the next couple of years after which testing and implementation of the real-time forecast would begin, said the minister. |
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Chopra falters in last round
Miami, March 6 Playing in the lead pair with Tiger Woods, Chopra registered his only over-par nine of the tournament, a poor six-over 42, and finished at 10-under 278. While Chopra struggle, Woods kept his head and despite a bogey-bogey finish, won the title by a shot over David Toms and young Camilo Villegas. Woods (69) won at 20-under 268, while Toms and Villegas were second at 19-under. Arjun Atwal played his best for the week with a three-under 69 that saw him rise from tied 54th to 35th at eight-under 280. Chopra was going fine in the front nine which he shot in one-under, but on the back he had a bogey on tenth, and a triple on 13th followed by two more bogeys on 16th and 18th for a disastrous finish. Woods closed with a 3-under 69 for his second PGA Tour victory of the year. He has also won the World Matchplay and Dubai Classic this year.
— PTI |
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India beat Lanka in carrom
New Delhi, March 6 In men’s singles, P Shasidharan was humbled by Chamil Curray but reigning national champion Ravinder Gaud drew parity for the hosts, beating D Fernando. Yogesh Pardeshi won the third singles, outplaying Viraj Fernandi, to make it 2-1. In women’s singles, six-time national champion P Nirmala did not lose a single board as she trounced Amitha Wickramasinghe, a 20-time national champion in Sri Lanka, 25-0, 25-10. I Illavazhaki routed her Lankan opponent 25-0, 25-0. Former world champion Rashmi Kumari, too, blanked Leela D’Silva by the same margin.
— UNI |
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Indo Global holds sports day Ropar, March 6 The results: 1500 mts (Engg & Arch): Sikander Gilhotra (Engineering) Shot Put (Engg & Arch): Rajani (Engineering) High Jump (Engg & Arch): Aditi (Architecture) High Jump (MBA & B.Ed): Pooja (MBA) Long Jump (MBA & B.Ed): Anil Pathania (MBA) 100 M (MBA & B.Ed): Rajani Bhalla (MBA) 200 M (MBA & B.Ed): Vikas (MBA) 400 M (MBA & B.Ed): Amanpreet (MBA). |
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