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Ponting launches a war of words
We’ll fight fire with fire: Uthappa
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Chandra unfazed
BCCI hikes retainership
for top players
Shashank is BCCI president-elect
Rajput retained as cricket manager
Kaif to lead
Now,
Pankaj Advani cries foul
Anand on course for title
Weightlifters draw a blank
Jeev all set for Indian Open
IOA backs disgruntled hockey players
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Ponting launches a war of words
Bangalore, September 27 Ponting also said his side was better prepared to tackle the Indian team, including big guns like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, as they had studied their "strengths and weaknesses". "We will come out as aggressively as we possibly can in this series and impose ourselves on the Indians. If we do that, I am sure we will go a long way in winning the series," Ponting told reporters. Ponting also sought to put the home team on the back foot by suggesting that it would be under tremendous pressure after their remarkable Twenty20 World Cup triumph. "...if there is anything, pressure will probably come back on India," he said, adding, there would be lot of expectations from the Indian team after the Twenty20 triumph. "There is no doubt that some of the players will be under pressure," he said. The Australian captain said it was unfortunate that some of the younger players, who were in the Twenty20 team, would be making way for the Seniors for the one-day series beginning here on Saturday. "It's unfortunate that some of the younger guys who were in this team will be making way for senior guys to come back. "I guess the thing for us is that we played against these guys a lot. Dravid, Ganguly and Tendulkar -- we should know their strengths and weaknesses very, very well." "So, if anything, probably it will make it easier for us to prepare to play and with these guys in the team," Ponting said. Ponting said Australia was going into Saturday's game with a positive mindset and they have "lots of plans for individual (Indian) players". "Cricket is generally all about putting pressure on the opposition. That's what we try to do all the time." He said India's win in the Twenty20 World Cup was "past" and both teams were now looking forward for the one-day series. Momentum that India currently has can be a difficult thing to stop in the game of cricket but the coming series would start in an even-fight, he said. Ponting said India deserved to win the Twenty20 World Cup since it had beaten strong teams like South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. "They (India) played great cricket. They deserved to come back as champions. But that's finished now. We got to look forward to the series". Ponting, who suffered hamstring injury in South Africa and was not expected to play the opening games in India, said he had not ruled himself out for the first game on Saturday. The Australian captain singled out Sreesanth for special praise for his aggression. "We expected it from him (Sreesanth). I know it (Sreesanth's aggression) is going to be there. That's what fast bowling is all about. I expect all the guys in our side to play with lot of aggression and (be) very positive with the way they go about things," Ponting said.
— PTI
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We’ll fight fire with fire: Uthappa
Bangalore, September 27 "The pressure is not on us. We have done exceedingly well," he told the media during the launch of Neo Sports Video on Demand and Live Streaming Service. He said the team was "raring to go" against the Aussies in the one-day series commencing from September 29. "We have worked out a strategy to take on the Aussies. We will fight fire with fire," he said. To a question that he appeared to struggle towards the latter half of the 20-20 tournament, Uthappa said: "No, I don't think I was struggling. I was trying my best to contribute to the game in any possible way I could."
— PTI
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Karachi, September 27 Yousuf and Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told a joint press conference that the senior batsman had agreed to play in the Test series against South Africa. "There was a misunderstanding and nothing else. I had a positive discussion with Yousuf and he is keen to play for his country. He will now not be playing for the ICL and is available for Pakistan," Ashraf said. Asked about possible repercussions emanating from his decision after signing the ICL contract, Yousuf said he was not aware of any clause that said he had to give top priority to the ICL even if Pakistan was playing international cricket. "I don't know about this clause nor of any possible penalties," he said. Ashraf said the board would now handle the issue and Yousuf was free to concentrate on his Pakistan duties. "He is the backbone of our batting and he will be joining the Pakistan team on Saturday and will play in the first Test from Monday,' Ashraf added. Yousuf, a veteran of 75 Tests and 242 one-dayers, made a record breaking 1,788 runs in 11 Tests with nine hundreds in 2006. But he was dropped by the selectors for the Twenty20 World Cup last month a decision that led to his signing with the ICL. Former captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Imran Farhat and Abdul Razzaq were the other players who joined the ICL with Yousuf. Yousuf said it had always been an honour for him to play for country and he was relieved to be back for Pakistan. Ashraf, however, said the board had not thought about talking to other three players as yet on cancelling their contracts. Yousuf, by signing the PCB contract in category A, will immediately get a bonus amount of $ 100,000 and sources said the board has also agreed to pay him another bonus sum and also take care of any penalties he might have to pay if the ICL decides to make an issue of his cancelling their contract. Yousuf had said earlier this week he would reveal details of why he joined the ICL after meeting with the PCB Chief but at the news conference he insisted it was all a misunderstanding. However, sources said Yousuf had complained to the chairman about not being treated properly by the selectors and some players and also over the fact that he was even ignored for the vice-captaincy despite his spotless record in the team.
— PTI
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Chandra unfazed
New Delhi, September 27 The ICL created a flutter by roping in 50 domestic players, apart from some big names like Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq, but the BCCI retaliated by announcing the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Champions League, which would feature stalwarts like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Stephen Fleming. Chandra, however, is unfazed by the development and insists he is not cowered. “We are not intimidated by the BCCI, don’t worry. We are not even worried,” he told CNN-IBN. Chandra confirmed that the ICL had been pushed to November but insisted that it was well on course. “A lot of progress has been made over the past four months. We were surprised by the public reaction and the media support. It was a tremendous response which we really did not expect.” He also claimed that the cricket-loving public had spurned the BCCI’s theory that the ICL was just a commercial venture. “Ours is a $5 million tournament and I don’t think we need to raise the stakes. We have recruited 80 young cricketers and 25 foreign players and they are known names,” he added. He also dismissed the notion that the ICL was low on star presence. “I think it’s the people who make stars, it’s not me or you. If they play well, they would emerge as stars.”
— PTI
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BCCI hikes retainership
for top players
New Delhi, September 27 Having already showered the Twenty20 World Cup winning team with hefty cash incentives, the board carried its magnanimity to the central contracts as well by increasing the retainership amount in existing three categories, even as it introduced a fourth grade. Paceman Zaheer Khan was the lone new name in the elite Grade A with Rs 60 lakh as retainership, an increase of Rs 10 lakh from the earlier contract. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj Singh and current ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni were the others in Grade A, while there were eight players in Grade B with a retainership of Rs 40 lakh. VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Wasim Jaffer, S Sreesanth, Dinesh Karthik, RP Singh and Virender Sehwag have been clubbed in Grade B, which has also seen a hike of Rs 5 lakh. Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Munaf Patel, Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla and Suresh Raina are the players who find a place in Grade C, which has a retainership of Rs 25 lakh.
— PTI
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Shashank is BCCI president-elect
Mumbai, September 27 According to reports, board vice-president Manohar, a leading lawyer from Nagpur who represents the Vidarbha Cricket Association, was elected unopposed as the president-elect after the deadline for filing nominations ended today. Pawar will quit the post prior to the BCCI AGM in September next year because of his nomination as the vice-president-elect of the International Cricket Council. The term of the 29th BCCI president would be for two years followed by another one-year term if he’s elected again at the the end of the fixed term. The BCCI had introduced the new concept of president-elect through a special annual general meeting earlier this year and the proposal was passed unanimously. Meanwhile, the 79th annual general meeting of the BCCI will be held here tomorrow. A major item on the agenda is the nomination of a new chairman for the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy in place of Ajay Shirke, who was appointed as the interim head when the board sacked Kapil Dev after the latter joined the ICL.
— Agencies
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Rajput retained as cricket manager
New Delhi, September 27 The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to continue with Rajput as an interim arrangement for the seven-match series, said a press note issued by BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah. The Indian team has had interim cricket managers for all international series since coach Greg Chappell opted not to extend his contract with the board after the World Cup debacle. Ravi Shastri and Chandu Borde were the cricket managers on the tours of Bangladesh and UK, respectively. The BCCI, which has formally invited applications, is expected to name a full-time coach before the series against Pakistan in November-December. It has formed a three-member committee comprising Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S. Venkataraghavan to decide on the matter.
— PTI
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Kaif to lead
New Delhi, September 27 Teams: Rest of India: Mohammad Kaif (C), Ishant Sharma, Parthiv Patel (vice-captain), Munaf Patel, Akash Chopra, Pragyan Ojha, Cheteshwar Pujara, Amit Mishra, Manoj Tiwari, Yo Mahesh, S Badrinath, Ranadeb Bose, Suresh Raina, Arjun Yadav. Mumbai: Amol Muzumdar (C), Vikrant Yellgatti, Wasim Jaffar, Iqbal Abdulla, Sahil Kukreja, Rajesh Verma, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhaval Kulkarni, Rohit Sharma, Avishkar Salvi, Prashant Naik, Omkar Gurav, Hiken Shah, Abhishek Nair, Ajit Agarkar.
— PTI
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Bangalore, September 27 “My question to the state government is: what does a sportsperson need to achieve in order to be recognised,” he told PTI after being felicitated by the Karnataka State Billiards Association for winning the world billiards title in Singapore recently. “If their answer is a world title, I have it; if it means winning an Asiad gold medal, I have it; if it means winning the highest sports award, I have that also,” said Advani, winner of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award last year. Indicating that he had kept mum for too long, Advani said he wanted an answer from the government soon. “It has been on my mind for the past four years since I started winning world titles. I have a right to know as a citizen of the state, when I will get my due,” he said. Earlier, taking a dig at the accolades and facilities extended only to cricket players, Advani said, “In billiards and snooker, we have bagged 24 world titles so far, while in cricket, only two World Cups have been won.”
— PTI
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Mexico City, September 27 Anand is just three draws away from winning the title as nearest contender Boris Gelfand of Israel will find it nearly impossible to win all the remaining games. As things stand, Gelfand is 1.5 points behind Anand while Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, Levon Aronian of Armenia and Peter Leko of Hungary share a distant third spot on 5.5 points each. Another half a point adrift is Alexander Grischuk of Russia while other Russians Alexander Morozevich and Peter Leko are sharing the last two spots on 4.5 points each. It is likely to be a safe game for Anand in the next round when he meets Svidler, whom he has beaten earlier with white. Anand will have the black pieces and according to experts, the game is likely to end in a draw. Theoretically, it may still be possible for someone to catch Anand, but practically it looks impossible unless disaster strikes the Indian. A just indication that Kramnik had little interest in the title now came to fore in the previous round when the Russian took a quick draw with Grischuk. According to pundits of the game, Anand deserves full credit for his current position. He has never been in any serious troubles in any of his games and has taken chances, converting wild positions to his advantage in a few games.
— PTI
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League Cup
London, September 27 Sir Alex Ferguson rested all 11 of the players who started against Chelsea on Sunday and his lack of interest in the third-round tie was reflected in a sloppy display. It was the Premier League champions’ first defeat in six matches, but a team including big-money signings Nani and Anderson deserved little better after being stung by Mifsud. The 26-year-old is nicknamed the “Mosquito” and he was a pest for United all night as Ferguson’s side lost to lower league opposition at home for the first time in 12 years. Memories of that defeat against York came flooding back as Coventry, who arrived at Old Trafford without a win in three games and sitting eighth in the Championship, took the game to United. Roared on by over 11,000 fans, Iain Dowie’s side took the lead in the 27th minute when Sky Blues skipper Michael Doyle stole in at the far post and delivered a low cross back across goal for Mifsud to finish from close range. It was the first goal United had conceded in six matches and they never recovered. Mifsud grabbed a second in the 70th minute with a fierce finish from Jay Tabb’s flick to send Coventry into dreamland. Avram Grant got his first win as Chelsea manager as the League Cup holders started their defence of the trophy with a 4-0 victory against Hull. Grant’s debut after replacing Jose Mourinho ended in defeat at Manchester United at the weekend, but he avoided a third-round embarrassment at the KC Stadium thanks to goals from Scott Sinclair, Salomon Kalou and Steve Sidwell. Teenage winger Sinclair broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when he met Shaun Wright-Phillips’s cross with a first-time finish. Kalou added the second with 47th minute. Then Sidwell blasted in his first goal for the club from the edge of the penalty area five minutes later before Kalou notched a fourth in the 81st minute. Leicester’s Matty Fryatt stunned Aston Villa as his late strike gave the Championship team a 1-0 win.
— AFP
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Mumbai, September 27 The 21-year-old Raja was beaten 6-4, 6-1 in less than an hour and a half by Navarro, who is ranked 104th on the ATP list. In other first-round matches, two-time Grand Slam singles winner and former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, the second seed, started his delayed campaign with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over unseeded rival Ti Chen of Taipei, while Serb Boris Pashanki ousted Argentine Sergio Roitman 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Raja, ranked above 800 in the world, had no answer to his opponent’s superior all-court play and succumbed easily in a match that was put off from last evening because of rain when the Indian was already a set down. The 26-year-old Spaniard, with a 7-10 win-loss record in singles played this year prior to the match, had six aces to show as against Raja’s lone unreachable delivery in the first set. The Indian also committed several unforced errors, both in ground strokes and in serves. He dished out a total of nine double faults. In contrast, his opponent’s tally was only one. Indian wild-cards Rohan Bopanna, the national No. 1, and Somdev Dev Varman had made their exits in the first round earlier in the week after letting go of some gilt-edged chances while qualifier Navdeep Singh, too, failed to cross the first hurdle. Navarro advanced to a second round match-up with eighth seeded Belgian Olivier Rochus, who had packed off Robin Hasse of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round. Hewitt, about whose arrival there was some doubt after his pullout from the reverse singles in Australia’s Davis Cup tie against Serbia at Belgrade last Sunday, was finally able to step on court in the rain-marred ATP event today.
— PTI
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Weightlifters draw a blank
New Delhi, September 27 In the 48kg, Sonia Chanu finished 14th with a total lift of 168kg while Chaya Devi got only the 25th position in the 52kg, with a total haul of 170kg. In the 75kg event, Sumati Devi got only the 17th position with a total of 212kg while Monika Devi finished 11th with a total of 219kg in the 63kg event. In the 58kg, Renu Bala, who was considered a sure shot for a medal, ended up 19th with a total lift of 191kg while in the plus 75kg category, Geeta Rani had to contend with the 20th place (total 232kg). The men fared equally poor as in the 69kg, Govijindand lifted a total of 285kg to finish 39th while the winner of the title had totalled 347kg. In the plus 105kg, Sarabjeet Singh slumped to the 18th slot with a total of 371 kg while the winner of the gold heaved a total weight of 442kg.
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Jeev all set for Indian Open
Chandigarh, September 27 Chiranjeev was a picture of confidence as he shared his experiences with a select band of newspersons at the Chandigarh Golf Range. Recipient of the Padma Shree award and the Arjuna award, Chiranjeev will be honoured by the Chandigarh Golf Range on Saturday. The Hero Honda Indian Open will be one of the few Asian Tour events he will be partitipating in. Otherwise, he is concentrating more on the European Tour and the US PGA Tour. The Delhi tournament will pit Jeev against the defending champion and other Indian golf icon Jyoti Randhawa, who has been doing well on the European circuit. Thaworn Wiratchand of Thailand, who last week won the Midea China Classic Asian Tour event, and Asian Tour UBS Order of Merit leader Liang Wen-chong will put up a tough challenge on the Delhi greens. On Sunday Chandigarh's golf nomad will take off for Scotland where he will be playing in freezing conditions in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingbarns courses in Scotland.
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IOA backs disgruntled hockey players
New Delhi, September 27 “We fully support the statements made by prominent hockey players regarding the lack of support and step-motherly treatment accorded to them,” said a press note jointly issued by IOA president Suresh Kalmadi and general secretary Randhir Singh. “At present, while the entire country celebrates the achievements of the Indian team that won the Twenty20 World Cup, there is a strong feeling that the splendid achievements of Olympic sportspersons who bring glory to nation are not given due recognition,” they said. Four hockey players and the national coach from Karnataka, in an unprecedented move after the Twenty20 world champions were showered with bonanzas by the state government yesterday, threatened to go on hunger strike, alleging that their Asia Cup achievement was overlooked. “The success of all sportspersons who excel at the international level should be adequately appreciated and all sportspersons who toil for the prestige of the country should be equally recognised and rewarded,” the note added.
— PTI
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