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India hope top order will click
Learn dealing with fans, Dravid tells young players
Flintoff to ‘score’ century today
No ‘sweeping’ reforms for England: Fletcher
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Coverage policy unchanged: BCCI
Anand holds Topalov
Chetan bows out, Trupti advances
Shooting stars fail to sparkle
Dope scandal: IWF forms committee
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India hope top order will click
Faridabad, March 30 The Indians did well to snatch victory from jaws of defeat in the first match in New Delhi on Tuesday after England crumbled while chasing a modest target. But Rahul Dravid’s men would be aware that the Ashes conquering rivals were unlikely to oblige them with a repeat batting collapse and that their own top order needs to fire on all cylinders for a more convincing win. That the hosts had to rely on tailender Harbhajan Singh, who top scored with 37 at the Ferozeshah Kotla, to take India to the 200 mark speaks volumes about the form of the top order batsmen. Despite the woeful form of opener Virender Sehwag, the Indian team management may still persist with him as the Delhi batsman could really be destructive if he gets going. The other opener Gautam Gambhir has also not done anything noteworthy of late and it remains to be seen whether he is given another chance to prove his worth. The hosts are likely to go in with three specialist pacemen and a spinner in Harbhajan for the match at the Nahar Singh Stadium which was expected to help the quickies in the morning session. “We did not play well, we definitely need to get better,” Indian skipper Rahul Dravid said after the Kotla win. India’s major concern would be the form, or the lack of it, of Sehwag. The Delhi swashbuckler had not scored a century in the last 25 innings in which he has made 757 runs at 31.54 but Dravid said the team had full faith in the opening batsman’s capabilities. “Sehwag would like to score more runs and we would like him to score more runs. We believe in Sehwag. He is the kind of player that the opposition fears and as the tournament goes on I am sure he will score,” Dravid said. One big positive the Indians would take from that match would be the return to form of Harbhajan Singh. The Punjab off-spinner claimed a career-best 5-31 to break a lean spell and his efforts will certainly give him a lot of confidence for the remaining matches. England on the other hand would be keen to reverse the trend of poor one-day performances overseas. Much has been discussed in the media back home about their batsmen’s obsession with the sweep and slog sweep and the way their batsmen had paid the price for premeditated use of it. Their impact players Kevin Pietersen and captain Andrew Flintoff in particular would be licking their wounds since England, cruising at 117/3, lost the plot after their dismissal in Delhi. “It is not nice to know that I started the collapse, particularly after being caught in deep boundary,” Pietersen said. “I was disappointed. I should have been there to finish off the game, probably both of us (him and Andrew Flintoff).” One can expect the South Africa-born hard hitting batsman, who was at his intimidating best during his knock of 46, to come out firing tomorrow. The venue will evoke some bitter memories for the Indians. The last time they played here, they failed to deliver the killer punch after reducing Zimbabwe to 210/8 while defending a challenging total of 274 four years ago. Douglas Marilier cracked a 24-ball 56 with 10 fours and a six as the minnows scored at a rate of 10 an over off the last six to romp home. The Indian bowling looks more formidable now than what it was in early 2002, but whether it will be able to keep Pietersen and Flintoff on a leash in the small ground remains to be seen. Pathan doubtful
Paceman Irfan Pathan was a doubtful starter for the second one-dayer against England after he was laid low by a bout of flu today. The Baroda player missed the practice session today and captain Rahul Dravid hoped he would be fit for tomorrow’s match. “Irfan had a bit of flu after the last game. He had fever and sore throat. We have only rested him as a precaution. Hopefully he should be fit,” Dravid said. Meanwhile, Munaf Patel might have to wait a few more matches before he gets his first ODI cap. The right arm pacer bruised his left heel during practice before the first one-dayer in Delhi. Dravid had said recently that the young crop of fast bowlers have to be preserved and protected from injuries that had seen many talents fade away in the past. “Munaf went through the nets well. We are happy with the way he bowled. We will decide on him (playing the match) tomorrow. In the next matches, he should definitely be 100 per cent fit,” the skipper said. Teams: India:
Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Venugopala Rao, Ramesh Powar, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, S Sreesanth and Munaf Patel. England: Andrew Flintoff (captain), Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Ian Bell, Ian Blackwell, Paul Collingwood, Matthew Hoggard, Geraint Jones, Sajid Mahmood, Kevin Pietersen, Liam Plunkett, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Vikram Solanki and Andrew Strauss.
— PTI |
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Learn dealing with fans, Dravid tells young players
Faridabad, March 30 Dravid, who has been at the receiving end of irate fans in the past, said such response was only typical of Indian public. “Of course we would like to be supported in difficult times, but this is the way Indian fans are,” the captain said on the eve of the second ODI. The Karnataka batsman should know a thing or two about the extent to which the fans would go to vent their anger when the team fails miserably. India, after being bundled out for 125, lost to Australia in their first match of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. Fans back home stoned Dravid’s house in Bangalore and attacked Mohammad Kaif’s residence in Allahabad as well. “We receive praise when we do well and get criticised when we don’t do well. A little bit of perspective of the situation would be nice,” Dravid said. “But that is the way it is in India in all walks of life. I am sure the youngsters will learn to deal with it. They have to keep their focus and not get too excited, nor disappointed with the fans.” Mahendra Singh Dhoni had said yesterday that the team was not getting the kind of support it should get from the public, citing the boorish crowd behaviour in the Mumbai Test against England. —
PTI |
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Flintoff to ‘score’ century today England captain Andrew Flintoff (right) and team-mate Kevin Pietersen during a practice session at the Ferozeshah Kotla Ground in New Delhi on Thursday. — AFP
photo
New Delhi, March 30 This would be the 100th ODI outing for the celebrated England all-rounder, a significant milestone considering the relative inexperience of the rest of the squad. Coach Duncan Fletcher was quick to heap praise on the match-winning 28-year-old, leading the side in absence of regular Michael Vaughan. “It (the feat) is special, especially for an all-rounder,” Fletcher said. “It’s nice to see he has got to 100 and is going pretty strong. Hopefully, with all that pressure he will continue to enjoy it. We just hope it won’t get too much for him to excel in all the three departments of the game.” But Fletcher also had a word of advice for Freddie who makes a lethal combination with another big hitter Kevin Pietersen. “The duo must learn how to bat together,” he said.
— PTI |
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No ‘sweeping’ reforms for England: Fletcher
New Delhi, March 30 A consistent advocate of playing the sweep, Fletcher said his confidence in the shot had not been shaken by the reversal in the series-opener but his advice to the players was to use it selectively. “In the sub-continent, sweep is a very effective shot against spinners. It is just that at the end of the day they have got to be more selective in using the shot,” he said after a three-hour workout in the nets by the England team ahead of the match at Faridabad. England lost Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones, Matt Prior and Ian Blackwell to the sweep shot to be bundled out for 164 while chasing India’s 204 in the first match at Ferozeshah Kotla, leading to widespread criticism of their batting strategy. But rather than the shot, the Zimbabwe-born coach blamed inexperience of his squad for the defeat while promising to pull up their socks in Faridabad. “We have a young side. There are five new players and there are some who are relatively experienced at the county level. Some of these players need to know how to adjust to certain conditions, the thing is what happened in Kotla could have happened in a final,” Fletcher said. “We were vulnerable in one match, there are still six matches to go,” he added. Asked about the pitch at the Nahar Singh Stadium, he said, “I have had a look at it. It looks to be a pretty slow wicket. It has a bit of grass but you never know how it will behave exactly. We will have another look at it tomorrow morning.” Fletcher also sought to defend the decision to practice at the Kotla instead of Faridabad, saying they would have lost close to three hours in
travelling. “We planned to have it here as we would have lost three hours in
travelling. Travelling in a bus for three hours for a two-hour practice did not make sense. We thought it is better to practice here and get ready for the game.” Asked whether the team would open again with Matt Prior, he said, “We will decide on it tonight as we have been doing throughout the tour.”
— PTI |
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Coverage policy unchanged: BCCI
New Delhi, March 30 This follows claims by production house Nimbus that the BCCI has, in principle, agreed to their proposal of starting the coverage two hours before a match instead of 10 minutes before the game coverage ending with the presentation ceremony. Board Secretary Niranjan Shah, however, ruled out any such prospect of showing on television what the players did right after they boarded the team bus and said in a statement that there had been no change in the policy. “The BCCI has no plan to allow TV coverage from the point when the players get into the bus nor inside the dressing room area which is under total control of the ICC,” Shah said. “It is emphasised by the BCCI that such coverage could
only distract the players,” he added. — UNI |
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Malik’s ton helps Pak salvage draw
Colombo, March 30 Malik frustrated Sri Lankan bowlers throughout the final day and Pakistan, set an improbable 458-run victory target, were 337 for four when the captains agreed to call off the game seven overs before the close. The 24-year-old all-rounder’s eight-hour innings, an exhibition of patience, self-control and concentration, spanned 369 balls and included 21 fours and two sixes. For the majority of the day, he stuck rigidly to a defensive plan, relaxing only in the final half hour when he celebrated Pakistan’s escape with a flurry of boundaries, including two straight sixes off Muttiah Muralitharan. Middle-order batsman Faisal Iqbal (60) gave solid support during a 115-run third-wicket partnership spanning 193 minutes. Skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq also provided stout resistance with 48, adding 81 for the fourth wicket. The second and final Test starts in Kandy on Monday. Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st innings) 185 Pakistan
(1st innings ) 176 Sri Lanka (2nd innings) 448 Pakistan
(2nd innings) Malik not out 148 Farhat c Jayawardene
b Muralitharan 34 Younis b Muralitharan 8 Iqbal lbw Maharoof 60 Haq c Dilshan b Muralitharan 48 Razzaq not out 20 Extras
(b-6, lb-7, nb-5, w-1) 19 Total (4 wickets, 121 overs) 337 Fall of wickets:
1-59, 2-71, 3-186, 4-267. Bowling: Malinga 13-3-44-0, Maharoof 23-8-70-1, Muralitharan 42-13-94-3, Fernando 15-3-40-0, Bandara 14-4-35-0, Jayasuriya 13-3-37-0, Dilshan 1-0-4-0.
— Reuters |
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Anand holds Topalov
Monaco, March 30 Russian Alexander Morozevich’s demolishing run in the blindfold continued in the final round, too, as he outwitted Loek Van Wely of Holland to finish with a very impressive 9.5 points out of a possible 11 in this section. With his fine victory, Morozevich also caught Anand in the lead position of the combined standings and now both stand at 14 points with just one rapid game remaining in the 216000 euros tournament. Having already won the rapid section with one round to spare, Anand played for a victory against Topalov and it turned out to be an excellent contest between the two best players of the world. Topalov employed the Ruy Lopez as white and the heat was on early in the middle game when Anand went for complexities. While Topalov tried to make a foray on the king side, Anand was active enough on the other flank to do the damage.
— PTI |
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Chetan bows out, Trupti advances
New Delhi, March 30 Anand, bronze medallist at the Commonwealth Games, went down 14-21, 14-21 to the Malaysian in the third round to end India’s challenge in men’s singles. In women’s singles, Trupti Murgunde upset Kanako Yonekura of Japan to storm into the quarterfinals. Murgunde won the keen tussle 21-17, 21-19 and kept Indian hopes alive. Promising starlet Saina Nehwal put up another sparkling performance but failed to cross the third-round hurdle and surrendered 21-16, 10-21, 19-21 to Hirose Eriko of Japan. Indian shuttlers were also out of the men's doubles race. Thomas Kurian and V. Diju lost to second seed Sigit Budiarto and Chandra Wijaya of Indonesia 10-21, 16-21, while Thomas Sanave and Rupesh Kumar went down 16-21, 18-21 to Luluk Hadiyanto and Alven Yulianto in the second round. Earlier, Chetan defeated Marcus Wijana of Indonesia to enter the third round. On a mixed day for Indians at the Bandaraya Indoor Stadium, Anand clinched a 21-15, 27-25 victory.
— PTI |
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Shooting stars fail to sparkle
New Delhi, March 30 The winner of seven medals, including five gold at the just concluded Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Samresh shot a score of 580 with a series of 96,98,97,97,98,94. Vivek Singh fared no better and finished 34th with a score of 575 (93,97,96,96,98,95) while Jaspal Rana finished 58th with a score of 564 (97,93,97,92,93,92). The gold in this event was won by Oh Jong Jin of Korea with a score of 685.8 (587+98.8), the silver went Su Jong Kim of North Korea with a score of 684.5 (585+99.5), while Russian Leonid Ekimov grabbed the bronze with 683.4 (587+96.4). Meanwhile, Kuheli Gangulee finished rather commendable eighth in the 50m 3 position women’s event. She shot a score of 676 (579+97.0) with series of prone 197 (98,99) standing 190 (94,96) kneeling 192 (97,95). Anjali Bhagwat finished 21st with a score of 575 (prone 194, standing 191 and kneeling 190), while Samresh’s wife Anuja Jung finished 28th with a score of 572 (prone 197, standing 187 and kneeling 188).
— UNI |
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Dope scandal: IWF forms committee
New Delhi, March 30 Former Indian Amateur Boxing Federation President A. K. Mattoo will head the committee, while senior sports journalist Ramu Sharma will be the other member, IWF President H.J. Dora said. The committee will look into the measures taken by the IWF to curb the dope menace in the country, the adequacy of such measures on the weightlifters and coaches, ascertain the reasons for recurrence of the doping incidents and recommend suitable measures to end this malady. The committee can co-opt any other member from medical or legal profession or from any other sports field to assist them in the inquiry which should be completed in four to six weeks. Meanwhile, the national body had still not received any formal communication from the International Weightlifting Federation regarding the provisional suspension slapped on it. Dora said the Federation had no clue as to how long it would be banned and it was only mere speculation that the duration would be longer this time around. “I do not know how long will be the ban duration. Since the time period is not declared by the international body so far, we, being a responsible member, cannot take up the issue with any of their authorities,” he said. Dora also said serious steps had been taken to avert any untoward incidents at the Melbourne Games. “The Indian Weightlifting Federation had subjected all the lifters to dope tests — WADA teams took samples on February 4 and March 1 before the lifters who were cleared to leave for Melbourne,” he said.
— PTI |
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