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Sehwag, Pathan to bolster India
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Gillespie routs KenyaDurban, September 12 Speedster Mark Gillespie produced a devastating spell of seam bowling to claim four wickets as New Zealand decimated minnows Kenya by nine wickets in a Group C match of Twenty20 World Cup at Kingsmead here today. A disciplined Gillespie provided the early breakthroughs and gave away just seven runs in 2.5 overs as a hapless Kenya were bowled out for 73 in 16.5 overs, the lowest total ever in any Twenty20 international match. Pacer Shane Bond and Chris Martin and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori picked up two wickets each. New Zealand's Mark Gillespie bowls to Kenya's Jimmy Kamande during their ICC World Cup Twenty20 cricket match in Durban on Wednesday. — Reuters
Vettori Test skipper too; Fleming
quits ODIs
BCCI to unveil T20 plans today
No tiff with BCCI: Kapil
Akhtar-Asif brawl
Ludhiana enter final with 10-wkt win
Top seed Anand faces tough task
Mahindra United storm into final
Inter-club golf
Women’s team for inter-dist meet
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Sehwag, Pathan to bolster India
Durban, September 12 The Indians have virtually no experience in this slam-bang version of the game having played just one match before and it remains to be seen how quickly the team adapts to the requirements. With the long tour of Ireland and England ending just a few days back, the Indian team, under a new captain in dashing Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hardly had time to settle down and get to know the nitty-gritty of the game or acclimatise to the conditions. But they will be bolstered by some fresh legs in Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh, who would use this opportunity to prove their worth and make a return to the national side. The first task for the Indians will be to get their playing combination right and get used to the bouncy track and the strong wind. It is important for them to hit form early as they square up against traditional rivals Pakistan the following day at the same venue. Having arrived just 48 hours back from a long tour of Ireland and England, the Indians have had little time to get their strategy in place. And yet, their biggest headache remains in picking their best eleven. For, when you have seniors like Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar and Dinesh Karthik competing for spots in the first eleven against the likes of Piyush Chawla, S. Sreesanth and Yusuf Pathan, respectively, it is not easy to make your pick. However, among the certainties, Sehwag should be opening with Robin Uthappa, with Yuvraj Singh coming in at number three or four-- if the team sticks to Gautam Gambhir at number three. Dhoni himself can be in at number five, or even higher, depending upon the situation. Among others, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan and Joginder Sharma can be useful allrounders. While picking their bowlers, the Indians will do well to make sure they do not have a suspect tail. For flexibility will the buzzword and everyone needs to stand up and be counted. With Irfan and R.P. Singh certain to play, the choice will be between Sreesanth and Agarkar for the third pacer. Similarly, with Sehwag himself being a useful off-spinner, it remains to be seen whether Harbhajan Singh makes it to the playing eleven. "The team looks good on paper. But that hardly matters. What matters is for everyone to contribute in crunch games and crunch situations. We have to play as a unit," Dhoni rightly stressed. Fielding has been a major worry for India but, hopefully, the presence of young, enthusiastic players will help them overcome that grey area. "The younger players will help our team to be more agile.We have some fresh legs and we can expect a good standard of fielding," said
Dhoni.— PTI
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Pathan to rely on yorkers and slower ones
Johannesburg, September 12 With batsmen going after them right from the word go, bowlers are already feeling the heat here. Chris Gayle notched up the first century in Twenty20 internationals only last night but Irfan thinks that he has found a way to escape the blazing blades. "In this game, the key is to try and bowl as many dot balls as possible," he said on the eve of India's first match against Scotland tomorrow. Giving an idea about a bowler's mindset in such a tournament, Irfan said, "Most bowlers will look to restrict rather than pick wickets. The yorker and the slower one would be used more often." The left-arm seamer from Baroda, however, felt the best way to put pressure on the rivals would be to pick wickets at regular intervals. "Taking wickets is important because it brings in a new batter. And it's not easy for a new batsmen to hit, although every batsman will have his task cut out and go after the bowling," he explained. Asked how he felt about the format, Irfan said, "A bit less work but more energy, more thrills. It's little more pressure on the bowlers. Anyway, I have played a few matches in England and it was great fun." Though the format is different, Irfan said his approach to batting would remain the same. "I would like to bat as I always do. I haven't planned any fancy shots because it doesn't happen overnight. But I am confident of getting the runs playing my own game. I will play within my limitations but will look to score quickly." Dwelling on his exclusion from Team India, Irfan said he probably tried to overdo things, which boomeranged. "When I was bowling, I was too focused, too intense. It's fine, trying to get to the next level but that's where I went wrong. "I tried too many things, trying to bowl fast. I was hurrying with my action, which is not a good thing for a side-on bowler. The more you bring in your arm late, the better it is. I was finishing my action a bit quickly. That got worse," he said. "I could feel something was wrong just before I took a hat-trick (against Pakistan in 2006). I was trying too hard. As a bowler you can feel it," he added. Groping for his lost rhythm, Irfan sought tips from Andy Roberts and Jeff Thomson and some suggested him to approach Wasim Akram as well. Asked if too many advises only confused him, Irfan asserted that was not the case. "You can only gain. If you are willing to learn, you will only benefit," he said. But the entire episode is behind him, says the player. "To be honest, the way I feel now, I haven't felt this good in the last 18 months. "It's never nice to be dropped or to be away from the action. But on the positive side, it gave me the chance to know a bit about myself and my game. I got to learn a few things, got to know my friends. I have been through a hell of a lot at such a young age and that, I think, is a big plus. "Not many get to experience that when you are just 23. To come out of it is good for me. Hopefully, I've come back a better person and a better cricketer," he said. On a personal note, Irfan said sharing the Indian dressing room with his brother Yusuf had come as a dream-come-true for him. "More than my comeback, I was more happy to see my brother getting picked. It's a dream to be playing alongside my brother for India," he said.
— PTI
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Durban, September 12 Displaying maturity far more than his international experience, opener Taylor hit a 45-ball 60 not out as Zimbabwe overhauled a 139-run target in the last over being bowled by left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken to register a five-wicket victory and start their campaign on a rousing note. Mazakadza provided able support to the opener and played a 27-run cameo to contribute to the victory. Earlier, Elton Chigumbura picked up three wickets as a disciplined Zimbabwe restricted Australia to 138 for nine in their 20 overs. Electing to bat under overcast conditions, the ODI world champion Australian side kept losing wickets at regular intervals after a top-order collapse. The Zimbabweans, on the other hand, put up an inspired performance to give themselves a chance of an upset win. After brief spell of rain delayed the start of play by a few minutes, Australian openers Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden departed in quick succession on a seaming track. Both the batsmen made just four runs each before leaving the Aussies reeling at 12 for 2. While Hayden edged a Chigumbara delivery to wicketkeeper Brendon Taylor, Gilchrist holed out to Stuart Matsikenyeri while attempting a pull off the same bowler. Skipper Ricky Ponting (8) followed the duo back to the pavilion soon as he gave an easy catch to Chigumbura by trying to swing Gary Brent. Andrew Symonds and Mike Hussey then steadied the innings for a some time but disaster struck soon as the latter was run out at 15. A moment of indecision from Hussey was all that Vusi Sibanda needed as he dived full stretch to hit the stumps directly with the Aussie left-hander fell just short of his crease. Symonds (33) could not stay for long either as Taylor displayed some excellent glovework to stump the right-hander and end his brief partnership with Brad Haddin (6). The Aussie scorecard read 102 for six with just 3.4 overs remaining before Brad Hodge's unbeaten 35, which included two fours and a couple of sixes, and pace spearhead Brett Lee's 12 of seven balls helped the world champions to 138 for nine. — PTI Scoreboard Zimbabwe Result: Zimbabwe win by five wickets
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Durban, September 12 A disciplined Gillespie provided the early breakthroughs and gave away just seven runs in 2.5 overs as a hapless Kenya were bowled out for 73 in 16.5 overs, the lowest total ever in any Twenty20 international match. Pacer Shane Bond and Chris Martin and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori picked up two wickets each. In reply, New Zealand, led by new captain Vettori, achieved the total in just 7.4 overs, losing the wicket of Lou Vincent. Kenya, who lost the first three wickets without a run on the board, were one for four wickets down at one stage before Collins Obuya and Thomas Odoyo added 36 for the fifth wicket. Bond delivered the blow on Kenya with the first delivery of the match, when he castled wicketkeeper-batsman Maurice Ouma and then sent back Tanmay Mishra off his fifth ball.
— PTI Scoreboard New Zealand Result:
New Zealand win by 9 wickets.
— Reuters
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Durban, September 12 Leg-spinner Afridi took four for 19 and fast bowler Gul claimed four for 25 to spur Pakistan to a 51-run win. Younis Khan top-scored with 41 as Pakistan made 171 in 20 overs after being put in to bat. In reply, Scotland were bowled out for 120 in 19.5 overs. Disciplined bowling by Scotland contrasted with Pakistan's reckless batting, which led to several soft dismissals. Scotland's good showing was a team effort in which veteran medium pacer Craig Wright led the attack with his return of three for 29. But they were found wanting at the crease, and opener Fraser Watts' 46 was the best of their batting. Younis top-scored, having arrived at the crease in the fifth over after Pakistan had been reduced to 24 for two. Brief scores: Pakistan: 171 for 9 in 20 overs (Younis Khan 41, Misbah-ul Haq 23, Shahid Afridi 22, C Wright 3/29, J Blain 2/23). Scotland (all out in 19.5 0vers): 120 (D F Watts 46, Mohammad Asif 1-28, Shahid Afridi 4-19, Umar Gul 4-25)
— Agencies
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Vettori Test skipper too; Fleming
quits ODIs
Wellington, September 12 All-rounder Vettori will now captain the New Zealand Test, ODI and Twenty20 teams, ending Fleming’s 10-year captaincy reign. “The selectors are looking to the future and have recommended that Daniel assume captaincy of the Test team as well as the ODI team,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said from South Africa. “Daniel has demonstrated real leadership during his time with the (New Zealand) team, and through his occasional performances as ODI captain, has shown that he is ready to take over as captain in all forms of the game,” Vaughan said. Fleming, who had previously been replaced by Vettori as captain of the New Zealand limited-overs team, immediately announced his intention to retire from one-day play. “I am fully committed towards the team and the New Zealand Cricket, but feel that the time is right for me to retire from the one-day game,” Fleming said from England, where he is playing county cricket. Fleming’s reported links to a breakaway cricket league in India is said to have angered some New Zealand officials.
— AP
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BCCI to unveil T20 plans today New Delhi, September 12 Cricket top brass from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, Australia and India will go into a huddle in a city hotel tomorrow to discuss the finer points before the plans are made public in a press conference in the afternoon. The BCCI Working Committee, which will also meet tomorrow at the same venue, would deliberate on the project and ratify it. Apart from the Twenty20 league, the board’s working committee will also discuss some other important projects, which have been in the pipeline for some time. Though BCCI officials were reluctant to give details on the league, it is widely speculated that the administrators have borrowed the idea from football and this would be cricket’s version of the UEFA Champions League. — PTI
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No tiff with BCCI: Kapil
Chennai, September 12 “We will finalise the dates, venue and announce it soon,” he said. Kapil said after yesterday’s Twenty20 match, it was proved that the format had arrived. “Getting more than 200 runs in 20
overs, that is what the public likes. People want to see sixes and fours. Cricket has always been a batsman’s game,” he added. He said in the near future, more and more cricketers would join the ICL and added, “These are the first batch of professional cricketers. Like the
BCCI, we have not imposed any restrictions on them. They are free to talk to the media and play for the country.” Replying to a question, whether it was more of a contest between him and Sunil Gavaskar than the ICL and the
BCCI, Kapil said, “He is my senior colleague and I love him. There is no fight between us.” Regarding cricket grounds available for the ICL tournaments, Dev said, “That will not be a problem for us at all. If need be, we will play on school grounds. But we will soon have our own grounds.” The ICL has already received the support of West Bengal sports minister Subhash
Chakraborty, who said the Eden Gardens would be available for the tournaments. Kapil said each ICL team would have six foreign players and all teams would be equally balanced. Downplaying the confrontational attitude of the
BCCI, Kapil said he was happy that the board had endorsed the ICL’s format of Twenty20. He said: “We have no quarrel or tiff with them. I hope they will also support us in the endeavour of giving the first set of totally professional cricketers, a good life and a better future.” Reacting to Australian skipper Ricky Ponting’s comments that the ICL was an “old boys’ club,” Kapil quipped, “That is his personal view and he is talking about us from a long distance away, while his deputy Adam Gilchrist thinks otherwise.”
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Akhtar-Asif brawl
Karachi, September 12 PCB chief executive Shafqat Nagmi was scheduled to depart for South Africa to initiate the inquiry into the incident, but move was cancelled as board chairman Naseem Ashraf decided to wait for the team’s return, before any hearing is held by the disciplinary committee. “Don’t be surprised if there is more to this incident, something more intriguing and planned as Shoaib - after the defection of Inzamam and departure of Mohammad Yousuf to the Indian Cricket League (ICL) - was the senior most player in the side at the moment,” a PCB source said. “I would not be surprised if Shoaib returns to action for the home series against South Africa later this month,” he added. Akhtar had accused Afridi of provoking him when he “accidentally” struck Asif with a bat during a practice session ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup in Johannesburg. The mercurial pacer was immediately called back home after the incident. Afridi, who also has a history of disciplinary transgressions, later rubbished the allegations. However, a Pakistani player, who is not in the team, said going by Afridi’s record, Akhtar’s accusation could actually be true. Afridi himself does not have a very clean disciplinary and behaviour record, so one cannot discount Shoaib’s claim that he (Afridi) provoked the brawl with Asif.
— PTI
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Ludhiana enter final with 10-wkt win
Ludhiana, September 12 Resuming at overnight score of 71 for three, Ludhiana in the first innings scored 191 runs. Mohali, in their first essay scored 92 runs, thus conceding a lead of 99 runs. Ludhiana’s innings revolved around Geetansh Khera and Ankur Kakkar, who scored 60 and 31 runs, respectively. Gagandeep Dhand made 21, while Sunny Kumar remained unbeaten on 17 and Rahil Nanda contributed 11 runs. For Mohali, Varun Khanna grabbed five wickets for 76 runs, while Parminder scalped three victims giving away 84 runs. Trailing by 104 runs, including five penalty runs as a result of ball tampering by Mohali skipper Sunny Sohal in the Ludhiana’s first innings, visitors again failed in their second essay as they could muster 121 runs. Mayank was the top scorer with 39 runs, followed by Sumit Ohri (19), Navneet Singh (17) and Ishan Dogra (24). Ludhiana’s Ankur Kakkar and Karan Goel played the pivotal role in restricting Mohali. Ankur claimed four wickets for 47 runs, while Karan took three for 12. Requiring 28 runs for a win, Ludhiana scored 31 runs without losing any wicket to wrap up the match within two days. Bharat Malhotra and Gagandeep Dhand remained unconquered at 22 and 9 runs.
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Top seed Anand faces tough task
Mexico, September 12 After his recent elevation as the top ranked player in the world in ELO ratings, this will be Anand's first major event in Classical chess and the Indian will have to give his best if he has to regain the title he won in 2001. For the chess buffs across the world the extravaganza, arguably the strongest ever tournament in the history of the game, promises exciting chess spread well over a fortnight when the eight top players of the planet will take on each other twice to determine the new world champion. The onus will be on Russian Vladimir Kramnik who was crowned the new world champion in 2006 after his victory over Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the reunification match. Kramnik is the second seed in the event on the ELO scales but is amongst the favourites for the crown here. The players with ratings: Viswanathan Anand (Ind, 2792); Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 2769); Alexander Morozevich (Rus, 2758); Peter Leko (Hun, 2751); Levon Aronian (Arm, 2750); Peter Svidler (Rus, 2735); Boris Gelfand (Isr, 2733); Alexander Grischuk (Rus, 2726).
— PTI
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Mahindra United storm into final
Ludhiana, September 12 The two teams were tied 1-1 after the conclusion of stipulated time, and even extra 30 minutes failed to resolve the issue. Eventually, the fate of match was decided through penalty shootout. For Mahindra United, N P Pradeep, Harpreet Singh, D S Djija Pierre scored goals in the tiebreaker, while Edeh Chidi scored two goals for Dempo. Earlier, Mahindra United scored the first goal of the game through Manjit Singh in the 31st minute. He scored through right footer after collecting a pass from his compatriot from midfield. Two minutes later, Roberto Silva of Dempo wasted a free kick as the ball flew over the rivals net. However, Mahindra United’s joy was short-lived as the equaliser came in the 36th minute. Silva scored the goal of a rebound from Chidi. The second half saw both sides making frequent moves, but failed to convert any of them. It was a game of a lot of missed opportunities. A minus from D S Djiaja Pierre of Mahindra was caught from near the goalmouth by goalkeeper of Dempo, Abhijit Mondol. In another attempt Pieere at left flank fumbled, while collecting a fine pass from Manjit Singh at opposite flank and missed an opportunity to score ahead. In the 85th minute following a keen tussle for controlling the ball, Chidi managed to acquire it. However, the ball went aside of the net.
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Inter-club golf
New Delhi, September 12 The event will tee off on September 22 simultaneously at the Bolaram Golf Club in Hyderabad and the Bangalore Golf Club, said Brandon de Souza of TSM here today. The regional finals will be held in Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Reigning champions for the past two years, Noida Club, are once again fancied to lift the title.
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Women’s team for inter-dist meet
Patiala, September 12 The team will be led by Gurpreet Kaur Attli. The team: Gurpreet Kaur Attli (captain), Misha Ahuja, Arpan Deegia, Gursharan Kaur, Jatinder Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur, Gurbir Kaur, Gagandeep Kaur, Sumeet Singh (wicketkeeper), Moksha, Deepika Sharma, Juhi Jain, Harmanjit Kaur, Jasmine Kaur and Lovedeep Kaur.
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