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Yuvraj, Kumble recalled
Go fast on fast pitches
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Sachin in ‘duck’ race
Ranji Trophy
Dalmiya challenges expulsion from BCCI
Paes-Stosur bow out
Kapur off to a terrific start
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Yuvraj, Kumble recalled
Bhubaneswar, January 25 The national selectors dropped all-rounder Joginder Sharma and paceman Rudra Pratap Singh to make way for Yuvraj, who was recuperating from a knee injury suffered during the Champions Trophy, and Kumble. Baroda seamer Irfan Pathan, who was recalled from the middle of the South Africa series owing to his lack of form, will join the team as the 16th member for the fourth ODI in Vadodara after his good show in the domestic cricket. The third ODI will be played in Chennai on Saturday and the fourth and last match will be hosted by Vadodara on January 31. With India already leading the four-match series 2-0, Chief Selector Dilip Vengsarkar said Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina would be given chance in the next match. “Gambhir, Uthappa and Raina are likely to play in Chennai. Gambhir and Uthappa may open the innings,” he said. Asked who would be rested, Vengsarkar said “I can’t say who will be rested”. When categorically asked if Sourav Ganguly could be rested in that case, he said “maybe”. Vengsarkar also said “only two of the three spinners will play” in the next match. Vengsarkar said Pathan was doing a good job for Baroda in their Ranji Trophy semifinal against Mumbai. “It was tough to drop Joginder and RP Singh but we don’t have much time. Irfan is playing for Baroda and he played extremely well. He has got his rhythm back,” he said. Asked if Baroda reaches Ranji final, Vengsarkar said “he (Pathan) will miss that match”. Virender Sehwag, however, once again missed out on a berth in the Indian team. “Virender will have to wait for a while. We are having a look at all players,” Vengsarkar said. Another Baroda seamer Munaf Patel will also report at the nets in Baroda to check his fitness. “He will be asked to report at the nets at Baroda. We will see his fitness if he is fit, he may be in option,” Vengsarkar said. He, however, parried questions on Sachin Tendulkar’s recent performance. “He is one of the best in the world and has been scoring runs. Let’s not discuss it anymore,” he said. Vengsarkar praised Dinesh Karthik, saying “he is a good batsman, he is a good fielder as well”. Squad: Rahul Dravid (capt), Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Mahndra Singh Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Harbhajan Singh, S. Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh and Anil Kumble.
— PTI
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Go fast on fast pitches
India took an unbeatable lead in the four-match one-day series by defending a smallish total at Cuttack on a pitch that didn’t do justice to anybody. In the second over bowled by Jerome Taylor, who is the new breed of fast bowlers from the Caribbean, he bowled two slower deliveries and that showed not only his grasp of how the pitch was going to play but also how he has developed as a thinking bowler.
India keeps talking about preparing fast pitches and while that should be the norm for domestic cricket, the least that the crowd expects is good pitch where their favourite batsmen can hit the ball and entertain them. That was never going to be possible on this pitch and all the batsmen, barring Karthik and Chanderpaul struggled to get the ball away. Having won the first game India did the right thing by looking to have a more balanced side and included Powar and Joginder Sharma in the eleven. They thus added variety to the bowling and also a bit more to the batting. Though Sharma wasn’t able to grab the chance, Powar did so with some useful batting and a good spell of bowling. Sharma though needs to be encouraged, as he looks the kind of player that will give India just the impetus it needs in the final overs. India owe a big ‘thank you’ to the duo of Dinesh Karthik and Ajit Agarkar, who with their sensible batting got them out of trouble. Karthik’s knock was a cheeky one and he showed how much confidence he had gained from the good opening that he did in the last Test in South Africa. It was also good to see Agarkar bat in the manner in which he began his career at schools when he was more a batsman than a bowler. If he continues to bat in this manner then India can hope for a bit more of its tail wagging and adding invaluable runs. That partnership took India to a total that the West Indians were always going to struggle to get considering the pitch was getting worse by the minute. Tendulkar may have failed and disappointed the huge crowd but he bowled superbly to play his part and make a contribution to the game. Powar was the pick of the bowlers and the variety that he brought to the bowling is good indicator of how a balanced attack can defend a small total. The West Indians missed their captain Lara, especially after acting skipper Gayle got out cheaply, and they too would be hoping that he gets fit for the last two games. Shiv Chanderpaul once again was magnificent but had nobody to stay with him as in the first game and unless the West Indians have two or three good partnerships in the game, India will be able to avenge their loss in the West Indies quite easily.
— PMG
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Sachin in ‘duck’ race
Cuttack, January 25 The Mumbai batsman is fast catching up on this count with Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble, who however are not known for their batting prowess. Srinath leads the Indian list with 19 ducks, just ahead of Kumble on 18. The dubious world record for the highest number of ducks in one-dayers is surprisingly held by Sri Lankan marauder Sanath Jayasuriya (29). Wasim Akram (28) and Romesh Kaluwitharana (24) come next.
— PTI
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Ranji
Trophy
Vadodara, January 25 Chasing a victory target of 237, the hosts folded up for 173 runs in the face of effective medium pace bowling from Abhishek Nair (3-38), Wilkin Mota (3-36), Rajesh Verma (2-40) and Swapnil Hazare (2-41). Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 109 for seven, Mumbai’s second innings finished at 145. The remaining three wickets fell quickly with Vinayak Samant contributing a resilient 66 in 136 balls, which included eight boundaries. Irfan Pathan and Rakesh Patel finished with match figures of 7-123 and 7-87 respectively. Baroda had only themselves to blame as they let the 36-time Ranji winners off the hook from a catastrophic 0 for five and then 17 for six in the second innings yesterday. Baroda openers Satyajit Parab and Connor Williams failed to give a solid foundation and were back in the pavilion with only 30 runs on the board. Rakesh Solanki (22) and skipper Jacob Martin teamed up to raise hopes but their stand was broken with the scoreboard reading 63. Mota bowled Rakesh, who hit five fours. Baroda wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals and there was no significant partnership to stem the rot. Irfan Pathan (27) and Pinal Shah gave some stability with a 30-run stand for the fifth wicket but hopes vanished when the latter was caught behind by Samant off Mota. Karnataka
bounce back
Kolkata: Karnataka bounced back and placed themselves in the driver's seat with a 168-run lead after the third day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group semifinal match against Bengal here today. Overcoming their first innings blues in which they scored just 89 runs, Karnataka batted confidently to score 317 for 5 after their bowlers restricted Bengal to 238 runs in their first innings. Building on a solid foundation given by openers Bharat Chipli (95) and R Barrington (52), who were unbeaten at 64 and 26 respectively yesterday, the Karnataka batsmen batted patiently to gain control of the proceedings. Bengal's first innings bowling heroes Ranadeb and Sourav Sarkar picked two wickets each. Ranadeb has eight wickets and Sourav six wickets in their kitty so far. With two days left to be played, Karnataka have got an edge and it would be an uphill task for both Bengal batsmen and bowlers to turn the tide back in their favour.
— PTI
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ICC dismisses Gibbs’ appeal
London, January 25 Gibbs will miss the third Test against Pakistan, starting in Cape Town on Friday, a Twenty20 international and the first game in the five-match one-day series. An earlier ICC statement said Gibbs would miss the first two one-dayers. ICC code of conduct commissioner Richie Benaud said in a statement the fact that the remarks had been picked up by a stump microphone did not invalidate the decision made by match referee Chris Broad to ban Gibbs. “With the benefit of some experience, I am able to add that players, no matter where they may be, should always bear in mind that a microphone could be live,” the former Australia captain said. The 32-year-old Gibbs was banned for two Tests after being found guilty of breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct at a disciplinary hearing conducted by Broad after the first Test. Gibbs lodged an appeal and played in the second test at Port Elizabeth, which Pakistan won by five wickets to level the series. Gibbs had been due to face a Cricket South Africa disciplinary hearing chaired by Judge Mervyn King, but that was postponed to allow the appeal to be heard. Benaud said rejecting the appeal did not mean Gibbs was a racist. The issue marred South Africa’s victory in Centurion although captain Graeme Smith said the home players themselves had been subjected to abusive comments from Pakistan fans.
— Reuters
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Dalmiya challenges expulsion from BCCI
Kolkata, January 25 Dalmiya, who had to resign from the president’s post of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) as a result, filed the suit against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), its President Sharad Pawar, Secretary Niranjan Shah, Shashank Manohar, Chirayu Amin and N.
Srinivasan. Dalmiya claimed in his petition that the reasons given for his expulsion, on charges of misappropriation of funds related to the 1996 World Cup, were totally false, fabricated and made with a pre-determined biased motive. Dalmiya also claimed that the rule (Rule 38) itself, under which the disciplinary proceeding was initiated, was non-existent in the eye of law.
— PTI
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Andy Roddick FedEx-ed
Melbourne, January 25 The world number one put a shell-shocked Roddick firmly in his place with a clinical 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 execution to storm into the Australian Open final today.
Maria Sharapova gatecrashed Kim Clijsters’s farewell party to set up a historic final showdown with Serena Williams. But the day belonged to the Swiss master. Federer protected his aura of invincibility in devastating style to march into his seventh successive grand slam final, equalling the record of Australian Jack Crawford set in 1934. “It’s just unreal. I’m shocked myself, I don’t know what to say,” said Federer, who is in hot pursuit of a 10th Grand Slam crown. “I played incredibly well but the tournament isn’t over yet so let’s not get carried away.” Roddick had swaggered on to court with great expectations of narrowing his lopsided 1-12 career record against Federer as he beat the Swiss in an exhibition tournament just 12 days ago. That dream was crushed in 83 brutal minutes. Fans were left gasping as it seemed whenever Federer touched the ball, it turned into an outrageous winner, shots that most of his rivals can only dream about. Roddick was left reeling when he lost 11 games in a row and no matter how hard he tried, it appeared as if he was facing an opponent from a different planet. With almost nothing going his way, a frustrated Roddick sent his racket flying as he slammed a ball into the stands. As Federer ended Roddick’s public humiliation with a forehand crosscourt winner, he dragged the cheering crowd to their feet. The display will no doubt leave the Swiss’s potential final opponent, Fernando Gonzalez or Tommy Haas, to endure a couple of sleepless nights before Sunday’s showpiece match. Comeback queen Williams proved that she still belonged among the elite, dousing the youthful exuberance of Czech 10th seed Nicole Vaidisova 7-6, 6-4 with a ruthless exhibition of power hitting. Sharapova become the first Russian woman to reach the Australian Open final with a 6-4, 6-2 victory, denying Belgian Clijsters a fairytale run in her last appearance at Melbourne Park. While Sharapova will be the bookmakers’ favourite for the title, seven-times Grand Slam champion Williams should have the crowd on her side after her stunning passage to Saturday’s showpiece match. — Reuters
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Paes-Stosur bow out
Melbourne, January 25 The third seed Indo-Australian pair were outclassed 6-7, 1-6 in an hour and 20 minutes. Paes and Stosur paid the price for squandering seven of their nine break points, while their opponents enjoyed more success, capitalising on five of their eight opportunities. Meanwhile, Rupesh Roy continued his dream run by storming into the finals of the boys’ doubles event at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis. Roy, who is partnering local boy Stephen Donald, moved into the title round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Korean team of
Soong-Jae Cho and Yong-Kyo Lim in the semifinal which lasted an hour and five minutes. In the final, Roy and Donald will face Britain’s Graeme Dyce and Harri Heliovaara of Finland.
— PTI
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Kapur off to a terrific start
Doha, January 25 Of the three other Indians, who finished their rounds in the morning, Rahil Gangjee and SSP Chowrasia shot even par 72 each, while Gaurav Ghei had a disappointing five-over 77. Kapur, the Asian Tour rookie of the year in 2005, showed no signs of the sluggishness of the final round disaster at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, when he had no birdies and three bogeys in his 75.
— PTI
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India took an unbeatable lead in the four-match one-day series by defending a smallish total at Cuttack on a pitch that didn’t do justice to anybody. In the second over bowled by Jerome Taylor, who is the new breed of fast bowlers from the Caribbean, he bowled two slower deliveries and that showed not only his grasp of how the pitch was going to play but also how he has developed as a thinking bowler.
