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Windies snap India’s chasing streak
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Indian batsmen did not apply themselves
Poor shot selection did us in, says Dravid
Jeev finishes tied 31st
Anand slips to 3rd place
Mohun Bagan beat JCT, finish third in NFL
Talukdar gets Rs 1 lakh prize money
Rathore books Beijing berth
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Windies snap India’s chasing streak
Kingston, May 21 For the record, the home side were boosted by a skillfully crafted, unconquered 98 from Ramnaresh Sarwan, which was embellished with seven fours and a six and came off 138 balls. He could have been run out thrice and stumped once. Instead, he pocketed the man of the match award; while India were bowled out for 197. In a dramatic final over, much to the chagrin of West Indian supporters in the crowd, captain Brian Lara gambled on Dwayne Bravo, instead of opting for Fidel Edwards, who had conceded only 19 runs in his seven overs. Eleven runs were required. Munaf Patel took a single off the first ball. Yuvraj Singh, then, slashed a ball perilously close to the wicket-keeper, which raced away for four to fine thirdman. Next ball, he contrived a cultured inside-out cover drive for another boundary. India, thus, needed two runs off three deliveries. The fourth ball, he played across a slower full toss to be bowled for 93. As the West Indians celebrated, he squatted on the pitch, his eyes transfixed to the ground in a daze. After 17 successful run chases, India had stumbled and fallen on the lush green turf of Sabina Park. Ajit Agarkar was rightly handed the new ball by Rahul Dravid, after he won the toss for the second successive time in the series and inserted the opposition. Swinging the ball both ways, he first removed Chris Gayle and then forced Lara to edge to second slip, where Suresh Raina, unaccustomed to this position, dropped an easy catch. Fortunately for India, this didn’t prove costly, as Irfan Pathan soon foxed the Trinidadian maestro with a well-pitched outswinger. While the Mumbai medium pacer was the pick of the Indian bowlers, the spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Ramesh Powar allowed few liberties. The latter had unexpectedly recovered from a twisted ankle to be included in the XI on what was his 28th birthday. At 105 for six, the West Indians were in utter turmoil. But with support from local heroes Marlon Samuels and wicket-keeper Carlton Baugh, Sarwan, the Guyanese of Rohan Kanhai gharana, contrived a healthier total than earlier envisaged. Thereafter, Ian Bradshaw, left-arm and the best of the West Indian bowlers, rocked the Indians by dismissing Virender Sehwag and Dravid. India never quite recovered from this setback, as wickets fell at regular intervals and even a flowering partnership of 67 between Yuvraj and Raina was also nipped in the bud when the 19-year-old played early to hole out at long-off. With the ball tending to stop, it was harder to put away the slow bowlers than the medium pacers. On a day of uninterrupted sunshine, the music blaring from loudspeakers later transcended to West Indian jubilation as if they had won the World Cup. Lara and his team-mates did a walkabout of the ground to acknowledge the delirious delight in the stands. Steel bands raised their volume to ear-piercing levels. A Saturday night fever was underway even before nightfall. With the score now 1-1 and considering the pulsating proceedings in the two encounters so far, the three remaining matches in the series are patently on a knife-edge. Scoreboard
West Indies Gayle c Dhoni b Agarkar 0 Morton lbw Patan 1 Sarwan not out 98 Lara c Dravid b Pathan 14 Chanderpaul c Kaif b Harbhajan 10 Samuels c Dhoni b Yuvraj 19 Bravo c Raina b Powar 0 Baugh c Pathan b Powar 21 Bradshaw c Harbhajan b Pathan 12 Taylor c Dhoni b Aqarkar 9 Edwards not out 1 Extras
(lb-2, w-8, nb-3) 13 Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 198 Fall of wickets:
1-1, 1-2, 24-3, 43-4, 103-5, 105-6, 143-7, 163-8, 197-9. Bowling:
Pathan 9-2-45-3, Agarkar 10-2-25-2, Harbhajan 10-0-32-1, Patel 7-1-39-0, Powar 10-0-38-2, Yuvraj 4-0-17-1. India Dravid c Baugh b Bradshaw 11 Sehwag c Smith b Bradshaw 12 Pathan c Samuels b Edwards 14 Yuvraj b Bravo 93 Kaif c Smith b Taylor 4 Raina c Chanderpaul b Samuels 27 Dhoni b Taylor 2 Agarkar c and b Bradshaw 2 Powar c Taylor b Samuels 12 Harbhajan c and b Gayle 1 Patel not out 2 Extras (lb-4, w-8, nb-5) 17 Total
(all out, 49.4 overs) 197 Fall of wickets: 25-1, 37-2, 51-3, 60-4, 124-5, 130-6, 134-7, 177-8, 187-9. Bowling:
Edwards 7-2-19-1, Bradshaw 10-0-33-3, Taylor 9-0-49-2, Bravo 3.4-0-29-1, Gayle 10-0-33-1, Samuels 10-0-30-2. |
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Indian batsmen did not apply themselves
I suppose India made a similar mistake to what they did in the first game by taking their foot off the pedal. On Thursday, their bowlers had been caught unawares because they did not believe the match could start on time due to overnight rains. Here the batsmen did not feel the need to apply since the target was so low. They took their eyes off the work ahead and a sequence of wins was interrupted. India were also guilty of playing lofted strokes on a wicket which demanded grafting. Quite a few perished doing so. In smaller targets, it is always an issue with the batting team. Every batsman tends to leave the job to the next because the target is so low. Suddenly, loss of a few wickets and the prospects of an unlikely batting mishap are heightened. That’s what happened on Saturday. Just a run stood between India and yet another win in pursuit. Nobody had foreseen it since the target was so low and opponents were lowly West Indies. Instead of picking on your boys, I guess you need to give credit where it belongs. Brian Lara’s men did a few very smart things in the field on Saturday. Dwayne Bravo’s final delivery encapsulated his team’s verve. He had just been smacked through the covers and another run would have at least preserved India’s lead in the series. He now chose to bowl a slower delivery which appeared a low full toss. Instead, it was turned into a yorker by the batsman. Bravo dared when he had been softened up. That alone seemed to have swayed cricketing gods in his favour. I guess many would wonder if only Yuvraj Singh had pushed the low full toss straight for a single. It would have at least secured a tie. But he did not have faith in his last partner’s ability to make anything out of the final two deliveries. Having come thus far, he was not prepared to be turned away from the gates of victory. His was a logical choice even though it was a high-risk shot. Yuvraj is the last man you should hold up for India's defeat. Nor I guess it would appear alright to pick on the decision to field first. India had won 17 successive run chases and so rests its case. It is also not quite true that this team becomes rudderless if Rahul Dravid leaves the scene early. I mean Yuvraj played a fantastic innings on Saturday. There have been instances in recent months when Dhoni, Yuvraj or Raina have hauled the team past the finish line. This Indian team has many match-winners. Instead, you should admire the way West Indians fielded in the afternoon. Ramnaresh Sarwan’s absence after a long innings was not unexpected. But it afforded substitute Dwayne Smith a chance to showcase his talent. He was terrific in the field as were others. A few of the catches by bowlers in their follow through, like Ian Bradshaw and Chris Gayle doing it to Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh, came at critical juncture. Bradshaw showed his value up front. In the first game he had immediately made an impression after new ball bowlers Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor had sprayed around their thunderbolts. Here the mistake was rectified and he was given the first use of the red cherry. His early strikes created those self doubts in the mind of Indian batsmen. The series has been brought alive by two close games even though I still feel that Indians carry far too many potent guns in their artillery. If the strip at St. Kitts is indeed supportive of quick bowlers, then the one-day series could go down to the wire. Even though fortuitous, this win of Saturday, has been good for the coming weeks.
— PTI
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Poor shot selection did us in, says Dravid
Kingston, May 21 “It is a young team so hopefully this experience would hold them in good stead,” Dravid said after India lost the second ODI by one run chasing a modest total on Saturday. “We lost the match because a few of our batsmen played lofted strokes at wrong time. Still, I would not be too critical of the team,” he said. Dravid singled out Yuvraj Singh for special praise describing the Punjab batsman’s innings as one of the best he had seen in the recent months. “There have been so many similar innings played by him that it’s difficult to term which one is the best. However, this was a special effort,” he said. Dravid denied that he chose to field only because his side had won 17 consecutive wins chasing. “The wicket was doing something in the morning and hence I opted to field. The wicket though got slower in the afternoon,” he said justifying his decision. Dravid said failing to execute the gameplan saw India’s sequence of successful chases come to an end. “Had to end one stage or the other, probably not when chasing a modest target. But we did not go about our plans well,” Dravid said after India’s numbing one-run loss at the Sabina Park on Saturday. Dravid attributed the low scoring game to a combination of bad batting and the slow wicket. He, however, took heart from the fact that picking Ramesh Powar ahead of Rudra Pratap Singh turned out to be right. “We got out selection right. The wicket had slowed down and the spinners proved to be crucial for both the sides. Dravid also praised the West Indies’ fielding and was equally appreciative of his team’s effort in the field. India now leave for St. Kitts on Sunday to play the third one-day international scheduled on Tuesday. Gayle plotted India’s defeat: Lara
After Yuvraj Singh hit Dwayne Bravo for two successive fours in the final over, it was Chris Gayle who suggested that the Trinidad all-rounder try a slower delivery to deceive the left-hander and pull off the narrow West Indian victory. “It was Gayle who suggested Bravo to try a slower one as the batsman wouldn’t be expecting it,” West Indian captain Brian Lara said after the cliffhanger against India on Saturday. But he got his measure back when Yuvraj played all around Bravo’s delivery to have his stumps scattered and the series squared at one-all. Lara said that with only two runs needed from three balls, he had considered bringing his field in to stop a single being taken. “However, I decided against it for a single at that stage would have exposed the last batsman to face the final two deliveries.” He gave full marks to his team for defending the target of 199 in admirable fashion. Winning captain Brian Lara gave credit to his bowlers, particularly part-time spinners Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, for the victory. Lara was happy that things had started turn around for the West Indies but said the players have to quickly put their heads down and focus on the task ahead.
— PTI |
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Jeev finishes tied 31st
Okayama, May 21 After rounds of 71, 70 and 71, Jeev went for his final outing at the Tojigaoka Marine Hills Golf Club hoping for a better show but in the end, he was a dejected man. A poor front nine, which included a lone birdie, couple of bogeys and dropping two shots at the par-four eighth, pulled Jeev back and he was three-under as he took the turn. His back nine, fortunately, was a better show with a birdie quartet besides a bogey. At the top of the table, local Toshinori Muto (274) fired an eight-under final round studded with eight birdies — four on each nine — to win the title. Muto was followed by compatriot Eiji Mizoguchi, who fell short by two shots after a level-par finishing round. Ashok finishes 35th
Macau: India’s best hope Ashok Kumar was hit by the wind as he finished six-over 77 and tumbled to tied 35th at the $ 300,000 Macau Open here today. Other Indians in fray also had a tough time as Amandeep Johl (76) was tied 42nd; S S P Chowrasia, who had a quadruple bogey on par-5 13th, had a round of 76 and was tied 44th; Arjun Singh (81) was tied 56th; Digvijay Singh (78) was tied 63rd. It was one of the worst results for Indians in this year's Asian Tour. Seven of the 12 Indians starters, including Shiv Kapur had missed the cut. Chopra slips to 24th
Fort Worth: Daniel Chopra had a disastrous front nine but recovered somewhat on the back nine to card a two-over 72 that brought him down to tied 24th after three rounds in $ 6 million Bank of America Colonial tournament. Tim Herron had an amazing birdie from the bunker when the ball went into the cup on the fly on the 14th from almost 42 feet. He ended with a two-under 68 that pulled him alongside Rod Pampling (70) into joint lead at 10-under 200. Chopra, who had rounds of 70 and 64 on first two days and was placed tied 13th overnight, opened with a bogey on first and then double bogeyed the fifth and had two more bogeys on eighth and ninth. In between he had a birdie on seventh. On the return stretch he birdied the 11th and 15th to finish at 72.
— UNI, PTI |
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Anand slips to 3rd place
Sofia, May 21 After a great start in the category-20 double round-robin event, Anand was on five points following another peace result while Veselin Topalov crushed Grandmaster Gata Kamsky of United States for the second time in a row to emerge as a joint leader along with the American on 5.5 points with just one round remaining. Svidler remained on the fourth spot on 4.5 points and Frenchmen Etienne Bacrot retained his fifth spot after drawing with now-in-the-cellar former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine. While Bacrot has 3.5 points to back him, Ponomariov is on just three points from the 9 games played so far in the six-player double round robin tournament. Anand has not had a decisive game with Svidler for quite some time now and the penultimate round of the strongest event of the year was no different either. According to the pundits of the game, both players have great mutual respect but the game played yesterday was extremely hard fought. Playing white, Anand yet again preferred to the Ruy Lopez closed which all the players have tested with or against here. Svidler was up against the variation Topalov successfully played against Ponomariov in the previous round and had already had a good look at it and came up with an equalising salvo in the early stages of the middle game itself. The game became double edged after Svidler tried to make a foray on the king side but subsequent deployment of pieces by Anand saw things under control from the Indian ace's perspective. Svidler could not do better than repeat the position and the peace was signed after 40 moves. After the game Anand felt he was worse at some stage and with the clock ticking away he was content with the result.
— PTI |
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Mohun Bagan beat JCT, finish third in NFL
Ludhiana, May 21 Needing only a draw to secure the third position, Mohun Bagan fought a tenacious battle to subdue the mill men who missed chances galore but were lucky to secure the sixth position despite the defeat as Air-India were held to a 1-1 draw by Sporting Clube de Goa at Mumbai. Newly crowned champions Mahindra United were also held to a goal-less draw by Dempo SC at Margao today and the Goan outfit finished fifth with 25 points. Handicapped by the absence of key players like skipper Mehtab Hussain and international Noel Wilson, Mohun Bagan were led by stand-in skipper Eduardo Chacon Coelho Lacerda, the lanky Brazilian defender, who won the man-of-the-match award for his superb performance. He not only scored the match winner with a stunning header but also smothered wave after wave of JCT attacks through gallant rearguard action. JCT did carry out forays repeatedly, but as team manager and former national coach Sukhwinder Singh said, the boys fumbled at crucial moments and paid the price for poor finishing. It was as early as in the 15th minute that JCT made the first serious move when Johnson Banner was brought down outside the box. The resultant free kick taken by Rennedy Singh brought out the best in Mohun Bagan goalie Imran Khan who dived full length to punch the ball out for a corner. Soon after Johnson's cross for Chhetri saw the latter attempting a header which the Bagan custodian collected with ease. A counter-attack by Mohun Bagan's Awudu Ibrahim, formerly of Bangladesh's Abhani KC, saw Jerry Zirsanga taking a snap shot but he was slightly off the mark. The JCT citadel fell in the 31st minute when Mohun Bagan's Awudu Ibrahim cut into the box menacingly but JCT stopper back Julius Akpele managed to send the ball over the goal-line for a flag kick. The corner taken by Dharamjit Singh was followed by Eduardo Coelho's brilliant header who utilised his height to full advantage to send the ball over JCT custodian Kalyan Chaubey (1-0). Stunned by the setback, JCT piled up pressure and an acrobatic volley by Marcos Pereira off a throw-in by skipper Daljit Singh saw Imran making a neat collection. The battle resumed with all seriousness in the second half and a curling right footer by JCT's Marcos Pereira saw Johnson making a bold attempt to connect but in vain. A power-packed shot by striker Sunil Chhetri from top of the box saw the ball going over after skimming the bar. Both the teams effected a couple of substitutions with Jerry Zirsanga of Mohun Bagan making way for Coffi Agbessi and JCT's Johnson being replaced by Shivraj Singh but the complexion of the game remained unchanged. JCT's substitute striker Parveen Kumar missed a sitter when off a rebound, he failed to beat the Mohun Bagan goalkeeper from hand-shaking distance. Towards the end, JCT's Sunil Chhetri limped off the ground after a dangerous tackle by a Bagan defender. By virtue of the third position, Mohun Bagan also bagged a cash prize of Rs 16 lakh while JCT had to be content with a purse of Rs 3 lakh. In other matches played today, national league champions Mahindras United concluded their league engagements with a goalless draw against Dempo at Margao and Sporting Clube De Goa notched a late equaliser to hold Air India 1-1 in Mumbai. The final positions: 1. Mahindra United 2. East Bengal 3. Mohun Bagan 4. Sporting Clube de Goa 5. Dempo SC 6. JCT Mills 7. Air-India 8. Mohammedan Sporting 9. Salgaocar SC 10. Fransa Pax FC.
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Talukdar gets Rs 1 lakh prize money
New Delhi, May 21 During the function, the AAI also announced the Indian teams for the second and third World Cup competitions, to be held at Antalya (Turkey), from June 7 to 11 and at El Salvador, from June 21 to 25, respectively. Teams: Men (recurve): Jayanta Taludkar, Tarundeep Rai, N Ravindhar and Mangal Singh. Women (recurve): Reena Kumari, Dola Banerjee, Laxmi Rani Majhi and Sushma. Compound: Jhanu Handsa, Manjudha Soy, Sakro Besra, Radha Bai. AAI president Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the Government should put thrust in allocating more funds for the purchase of equipment and training of the sportspersons in right earnest for India to do well in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, instead of squandering money in effecting cosmetic touches on roads and parks. He said the Government’s first priority should be to properly look after the training aspects of the sportspersons if they were to do well in the Delhi Games. Prof Malhotra conceded that improving the infrastructure was also necessary but without sacrificing the needs of the sportspersons on whose performance would depend on salvaging the image of the country. He said the Archey Association of India would spend over Rs 1 crore to provide state-of-the-art equipment to the archers, which will be in addition to Rs 70 lakh, including Rs 30 lakh in prize money, already spent by the association in conducting competitions. Jayanta Talukdar, who says he would utilise the Rs 1 lakh cash prize he received from the association for buying the latest equipment, echoed Mr Malhotra’s views that the tax on importing sports equipment should be abolished.
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Rathore books Beijing berth
New Delhi, May 21 The army marksman topped the field with a score of 182 after making it to the finals through sudden death following a tied finish with Qiang Pan of China at the end of qualifying rounds. Rathore shot a score of 137 (47+46+44) in the preliminaries but bounced back with an excellent 45 in the final in which he hit the bird in the last 10 rounds. “I knew that I wanted to do my best. In the extreme weather conditions, I kept my nerves to get the quota,” Rathore told PTI from Cairo. “People are very thrilled here because it is quite unprecedented to jump from sixth place to number one in the finals that too after I was in final after sudden death. “I am very happy but my drill of training and competitions will continue,” he said. Gagan Narang, Anjali Bhagwat and Manavjit Singh Sandhu are the other three Indians to have won a quota place for the Beijing Games in 2008.
— PTI |
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