 |
|
|
Savour Sachin’s genius, forget about missed tons
Notice to Sachin in cake case
India to rest key bowlers
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
We are desperate to win: Misbah
Members of the Chandigarh Lions team (from left) Pakistan’s Imran Farhat, New Zealand’s Chris Cairns and India’s Dinesh Mongia clap during an event to promote the Indian Cricket League at Sukhna Lake on Saturday.
— Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan
Kallis scores yet another hundred
Oz batsmen batter Sri Lanka
Punjab concede 23-run lead
Kapur rises to tied third
Karnataka thrash Himachal
IOA criticises Haryana govt
Atapattu to lead Delhi Jets
Federer, Ferrer sail into final
|
|
Savour Sachin’s genius, forget about missed tons
Chandigarh, November 17 What Shoaib Malik said after the Gwalior defeat that Sachin Tendulkar snatched victory from Pakistan, et al could be taken as the usual platitudes uttered by a vanquished rival. When Younis Khan, the mainstay of their batting, also said that he envied the batting of Tendulkar, it showed that the latter was indeed batting really well. But what Sunil Gavaskar observed was perhaps the most telling comment about the form the fellow Mumbaikar was in. The former legendary batsman wrote that when other batsmen worry about how and when their next run is to come from, Tendulkar should now be wondering from where is his next century coming from! This, after standing up to the rigours of international cricket for 18 years, half of them when he was the lone batsman to shoulder the responsibility of the team. Besides, he had to contend with the sky-high expectations of billions of fans of a cricket crazy nation! Probably a string of impressive knocks he notched up in the most emphatic manner is Tendulkar’s way of silencing his critics. A perfect repartee to those writing his premature obituaries as a batsman and advocating the theory that the old guard should make way for the young blood. His imperious batting is virtually a rap on the knuckles of those pleading for the doctrine. The answer perhaps lies in the master batsman, arguably the best in this era, being allowed the freedom the choose the games he wishes to play, of course in consultation with those who matter. The plea that he made that it was becoming difficult for him recover well in time for the back-to-back matches needs to be looked into. After all, this was the plea made by a batsman having scored incredible 78 international centuries (41 in ODIs, 37 in Tests). He is the second batsman after Matthew Hayden to complete 1,000 ODI runs this year, averaging nearly 50 with 10 half-centuries. The blazing form that the maestro’s form has been in in the past couple of months goes on to prove that age may have slowed down his reflexes, the spate of injuries may have hampered him a bit, the emerging competitions from the young legs may have made him a bit more cautious, but he still has enough in the tank. His passion to do well for the country is still like when he probably played his first match for the country. On his day, he can still make the best of bowlers feel jittery. If India registered an ODI series win against arch- rivals Pakistan after 24 years, Tendulkar’s contribution was substantial. In the Mohali one-dayer, Tendulkar took some time to settle down. But once he did, there was no stopping the Mumbai Marauder. Ferocious cuts, pulls, booming drives and fine and delicate nudges were there for cricket buffs to enjoy. When a rollicking century was there for the taking, Gul got him against the run of the play. At Gwalior, the script was the same, perhaps Tendulkar batting with gay abandon and perishing in the same fashion to the same bowler and again when close to century No. 42. How correct Brian Lara was when he remarked that Tendulkar had set such lofty standards for himself that scores of thirties and forties by him were counted as failures. Dismissive of all the fuss around the old guard, great Inzamam-ul-Haq wondered after he quit international cricket if he could play at 38, why not others, much younger and doing well, can’t do it. Sanath Jayasuriya is still the most feared batsman even if he is well past 38. Remember, none other than Gavaskar had said that he believed Tendulkar was good enough to carry on till the 2011 World Cup! Now with Tendulkar back with a vengeance, the Indian team, already doing well, is sure to get a tremendous boost ahead of the gruelling season.
|
|
Notice to Sachin in cake case
Indore: A local court on Saturday issued a notice to Sachin Tendulkar in the “Tiranga cake” case and directed him to present his point of view at the next hearing on December 15, either in person or through a lawyer. Special Judge Mohammad Shamim’s order came on a review petition filed by Rajesh Bidkar against Tendulkar, saying that cutting of a “Tiranga cake” by the latter was an insult to national pride. The star cricketer was caught in a controversy following cutting of the cake during the World Cup in the West Indies. After the incident, Bidkar had filed a case against Tendulkar in the court of first class magistrate Udai Singh Marawi, but it was dismissed on June 26.
— PTI
|
|
|
Jaipur, November 17 The unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series has given the home team the luxury to try out some of their bench players and the team management has opted to give the main bowlers a break. The Indians have chosen to leave out pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and pacer R P Singh from the match which has been reduced to an academic interest following the team's first home series triumph in 24 years. "We have decided to rest Zaheer, Harbhajan and R P Singh for the match. We will decide the playing eleven after having a look at the pitch tomorrow", cricket manager Lalchand Rajput said. Temperamental paceman S Sreesanth, who has not played a single match in the series, and in-form left arm spinner Murali Kartik are almost certain to play the floodlit encounter which promises to be another high-scoring affair. The decision to rest the key bowler means that senior batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who were expected to be rested, may figure in the playing line-up. Among the 12 shortlisted for the match, batsman Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Praveen Kumar have not played a single game so far and it is possible that both young players are drafted in the eleven. A victory in the final day-night encounter will be the perfect boost for the hosts when they go into the three-match Test series beginning in Delhi from November 22. While some insist that the Shoaib Malik-led squad could well be the weakest Pakistani side ever to cross the border, India's performance has proved that Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his teammates have maintained a vice-like grip over the series, with the defeat in Mohali being the lone blemish. Under Malik, Pakistan have looked a disjointed lot, severely plagued by bankruptcy of ideas and slipshod application out in the field. Though Salman Butt got his form back in the series, Pakistan relied just too much on Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf and whenever the Y-Y combo came a cropper, so did the visitors. In absence of Mohammad Asif and a quality spinner, Pakistan attack lacked the firepower and the sting as India merrily feasted on them. So far, Shoaib has been anything but ominous, claiming seven wickets in four matches and he does not have the Indian batsmen exactly shaking in their boots. Apart from the batting and bowling woes, Pakistan's fielding has been poor. Kamran Akmal dropping a catch does not raise eyebrows anymore, it's his grabbing which does and the visitors, as a whole, looked sloth in the outfield. In contrast, India have been, by and large, consistent. Everyone in the batting order has put up their hands to be counted, though Sachin Tendulkar admittedly got into this wrong habit of getting out in the 90s. Even more reassuring has been the chemistry between Dhoni and his deputy Yuvraj Singh, who has clearly emerged as India's middle order mainstay. They have complemented each other, ran hard when boundaries dried up, went ballistic when going got tough and did everything else to see the side through on more than one occasion. In the middle, Dhoni and Yuvraj personified confidence and neither soaring run rate nor tumbling of wickets at the other end could sway their believe in themselves. Zaheer Khan has led the attack with aplomb, while R P Singh did justice to his growing stature. Irfan Pathan has lost an yard or two but his maturity stood him in good stead and castling Shahid Afridi in Kanpur with the new ball would do a world of good to his morale. Though the Pakistani side at their disposal is a depleted and demoralised one, India should not show any semblance of complacence and should go for the kill, just to rock the visitors' confidence, which could pave way for a Test series triumph as well.
— PTI Start of play: 2.30 pm
|
|
|
Pak must play positive cricket
Having lost the five-match series at Gwalior, Pakistan must go into the last game on a positive note. They have a huge Test series coming up immediately after this and Shoaib Malik must motivate his men to try and carry some momentum into the first Test at Delhi. For that, they should ideally look for a face-saving win at Jaipur to exit the series gracefully.
It is not an impossible task. There have been some positives, but the team must now come together and play with some consistency. Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Salman Butt have all got runs, Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul have had some effective spells, but they have been marred by a series of indifferent performances. Against such a motivated and well-balanced Indian side, their efforts have simply not been good enough. Another loss, and I am afraid Pakistan will find it almost impossible to come back even in the Test matches. As I have pointed out earlier in my columns, there has been an absence of planning in their efforts and performances have suffered as a consequence. The loss at Gwalior was particularly painful as it was a defendable score, but there was little or no thought at all into containing the Indians batsmen. Overall, the Indians have come together as a unit very well, and Pakistan simply have not. I am at a loss to understand this, because a series against India consist of such huge matches. One reason, and this is something I have said umpteen times before, is the presence of foreign coaches. It is now close to eight years that the Pakistan team have had an overseas coach, but there has been almost nothing to show for all of that time. In fact, in many areas, I believe, the squad has, in fact, retreated backwards. The batting has suffered, the bowlers are just not delivering while the fielding has become abominable. In such a situation, though I would very much like to see Pakistan start to turn the tide, I feel it is going to be a very hard task indeed. A lot of cricket is played in the mind, and I just have not seen the intensity needed in this team. The morale too has slumped and the players are making all sorts of basic mistakes. No cricket team can hope to depend on two-three players in match after match and hope to survive. Against this well-balanced and motivated Indian side, that is like asking for the impossible to happen. On the few occasions, Pakistan have managed to put India under pressure, they have at least had a fighting chance. The other matches have been one-sided affairs. And to my mind, this is the biggest failing of the coaching staff. They simply have to change their approach, but time too is running out. Jaipur could be a springboard for a comeback in the Test matches, but it will be a long and hard slog. — News Watch Asia
|
|
|
We are desperate to win: Misbah
Jaipur, November 17 "Well, we have lost the series but we want to win the final ODI so that we go into the Test series with a positive attitude," Misbah told reporters here today. Since the defeat against India in the Twenty20 World Cup final, Pakistan have lost the home series against South Africa and the ongoing ODI series against India. Though Misbah admitted that the morale was not exactly high, he said the motivation was to win and go into the Test series in a positive frame of mind. — PTI
|
|
|
Chandigarh, November 17 “Many people thought ICL would never happen. Its detractors thought it would never take off but now they are all set to hold the tournament,” Cairns said. “I do not see ICL as being in conflict with the BCCI. It should not be seen like that. In fact, it’s an opportunity for players to explore their talent,” said Cairns, captain of Chandigarh Lions, one of the six teams playing in ICL’s Twenty20 venture starting in Panchkula on November 30. Another Chandigarh Lions player, Pakistan batsman Imran Farhat, said ICL was doing a great job for cricket as it would provide a platform for budding players to hone their skills. Asked about poor performance of the Pakistan team in the ODI series against India, 25-year-old Farhat said that captain Shoaib Malik should be given time to settle down. Both Cairns and Farhat praised India’s ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and said his mettle would be tested over the next few months. In a lighter vein, the Chandigarh Lions players were asked about their favourite Indian actress. Cairns described Aishwarya Bachchan as a “wonderful actress”.
— PTI
|
|
|
Kallis scores yet another hundred
Centurion, November 17 Kallis made 131 — his 29th Test hundred — as South Africa reached 272 for three in reply to New Zealand’s first innings score of 188. Kallis and Hashim Amla, who had a partnership of 330 during South Africa’s 358-run win in the first Test in Johannesburg, put on 220 for the third wicket. Amla was on 89 not out when bad light ended play seven overs after tea.
— AFP Scoreboard
New Zealand (1st innings) 188 South Africa (1st innings) Smith b Martin 2 Gibbs b Martin 25 Amla not out 89 Kallis lbw Gillespie 131 Prince not out 8 Extras
(b-5, nb-10, w-2) 17 Total (3 wkts, 66 overs) 272 Fall of wickets:
1-2, 2-31, 3-251. Bowling: Martin 18-5-56-2, Gillespie 19-4-84-1, O’Brien 15-3-66-0, Vettori 10-0-44-0, Styris 4-0-17-0.
|
|
|
Oz batsmen batter Sri Lanka
Hobart, November 17 Gilchrist hit three sixes in his swashbuckling unbeaten knock of 67 to reach his century of sixes as the Australians powered to 542 for five declared after last week’s declaration of 551 for four in Brisbane. Skipper Ricky Ponting called a halt and looked to his fast bowlers Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson to ram home the advantage. Openers Marvan Atapattu (18) and Michael Vandort (12) survived 12 overs before bad light ended play for the day with the tourists on 30 without loss. Gilchrist reached an unprecedented 100 Test sixes with panache by hoisting Muttiah Muralitharan for consecutive sixes. The dynamic wicketkeeper, this week voted Australia’s greatest one-day cricketer, twice smacked the 703-Test wicket-taker over mid-wicket, the last one clearing the ground’s perimeter fencing and forcing match officials to find a replacement ball.
— AFP Scoreboard Australia (1st innings) Jaques c Fernando b Jayasuriya 150 Hayden c P Jayawardene b Fernando 17 Ponting c M Jayawardene b Murali 31 Hussey lbw Fernando 132 Clarke c P Jayawardene b Malinga 71 Symonds not out 50 Gilchrist not out 67 Extras (b-5, lb-1, nb-17, w-1) 24 Total (5 wkts dec, 139 overs) 542 FoW: 1-48, 2-133, 3-285, 4-410, 5-447. Bowling: Malinga 35-6-156-1, Maharoof 23-4-82-0, Fernando 26-4-134-2, Muralitharan 46-4-140-1, Jayasuriya 9-1-24-1. Sri Lanka (1st innings) Atapattu not out 18 Vandort not out 12 Total (no loss, 12 overs) 30 Bowling: Lee 6-2-14-0, Johnson 6-2-16-0.
|
|
|
Punjab concede 23-run lead
Mohali, November 17 Yadav halted Punjab’s progress as the hosts, chasing Hyderabad’s score of 379, were bowled out for 356, conceding a 23-run first-innings lead on the penultimate day of the four-day match. First-innings centurion Daniel Manohar was in the thick of action again, sniffing out whatever little hopes the hosts entertained of taking the advantage with his twin strikes. Starting from their overnight score of 216 for three, Punjab were jolted by Yadav, who evicted Punjab’s skipper Pankaj Dharmani right at the start of the third day’s play. Dharmani failed to add to his overnight score. Next batsman Chandan Madan did not last long and was trapped lbw by Yadav when the batsman had yet to reach double figures. Uday Kaul, who was going steady at the other end, was next to be back in the pavilion, castled by left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha when he was inching closer to a half-century. Ankur Kakkar batted well, while Manpreet Gony, who yesterday emerged as the best seamer from Punjab, also batted in a valiant fashion. It was the Kakkar-Gony stand which rekindled Punjab’s hopes again. But once Kakkar was sent back by an agile SM Shoaib, running out the well- set batsman, Punjab lost the rest of the wickets in a jiffy. Kakkar scored 45. Gony continued to wage a lone battle and played some scintillating strokes. He saw wickets falling at the other end. He was the last batsman to be dismissed as the hosts fell short of Hyderabad’s first-innings score by 23 runs. Gony fell short of a well-deserved half-century. Ojha, who bowled a marathon spell of 47 overs, was rewarded with three wickets, the best from his side, while Manohar had highly satisfying figures of two for 15 runs off four overs. Scoreboard Hyderabad (1st innings): 379 Punjab (1st innings): Ricky c&b Ojha 37 Goel c Pai b Khader 75 Ravi Inder c sub b Ojha 20 Dharmani c Ahmed
b Ashwin Yadav 52 Kaul b Ojha 46 Madan lbw Ashwin Yadav 8 Kakkar run out (Shoaib) 45 Gony c sub b Shoaib 48 Birinder Singh c Yadav b Manohar 1 Amanpreet Singh c Pai b Manohar 1 Ladda not out 4 Extras
(b-4, lb-10, nb-5) 19 Total (all out; 124 overs) 356 Fall of wickets:
1-88, 2-142, 3-150, 4-216, 5-236, 6-268, 7-339, 8-340, 9-342. Bowling:
SM Shoaib 19-9-33-1; MA Khader 13-3-40-1; Pragyan Ojha 47-9-127-3; A Shinde 13-4-32-0; Ashwin Yadav 25-7-75-2; Ravi Teja 3-0-20-0; D Manohar 4-0-15-2. Hyderabad (2nd innings): Manohar b Birinder Singh 8 Ravi Teja not out 61 SA Pai b Birinder Singh 2 AS Yadav not out 10 Extras
(lb-1, w-1, nb-2) 4 Total (2 wickets; 31 overs) 85 Fall of wickets:
1-44, 2-50. Bowling: Manpreet Gony 9-1-24-0; Birinder Singh 9-2-28-2; Amanpreet Singh 6-0-19-0; Ankur Kakkar 6-2-12-0; Karan Goel 1-0-1-0.
|
|
|
Kapur rises to tied third
Chandigarh, November 17 Kapur, who was tied 12th overnight, fired four birdies on the first nine to be four-under. He continued his blemish-free performance on the return nine and shot another birdie on the 17th for a five-under par 65 and a three-day aggregate of 11 under par 199. SSP Chowrasia of Kolkata slipped from 33rd to tied 39th spot playing a par-70 card for a three-day aggregate of four-under-par 206. Rahil Gangjee played a one-under-par 69 to improve his position from tied 63rd to tied 51st returning a three-day tally of two-under par 208. Sweden’s Robert Karlsson fired a four-under-par 66 for a four-stroke lead.
|
|
|
Bangalore, November 17 Karnataka gained six points, including one bonus point for the outright victory by an innings and increased their tally to seven from two matches. Captain Anil Kumble (3-41), R Vinay Kumar (3-32) and Sunil B Joshi (2-22) were the bowlers who caused damage to the visitors. Sixteen wickets fell on the penultimate day for 209 runs. Six-time champions Karnataka forced Himachal Pradesh to follow on after bundling them out for 179 in the first innings. Brief scores: Karnataka (1st innings): 452 for 9 dec HP (1st innings): 179 (Manvinder Bisla 43, Vinay Kumar 3-26, Anil Kumble 3-55, Sunil B Joshi 2-18). HP (2nd innings): 143 (Munish Gupta 28, Mukesh 32, Vinay 3-32, Kumble 3-41, Joshi 2-22). Haryana on top Jamshedpur:
Haryana were comfortably placed on 286 for six in the second innings after restricting Jharkhand to 205 on the penultimate day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Plate Group B tie at the Keenan Stadium here on Saturday. At stumps, Haryana, who secured 68-runs first-innings lead, have an overall lead of 354 with skipper Amit Sharma batting on 27. Brief scores: Haryana (1st innings): 273 Jharkhand (1st innings): 205 (Aamir Hashmi 50, Sunny Gupta 51, Shahbaz Nadeem 57, Sachin Rana 3-24, Joginder Sharma 2-36, Sanjay Budhwar 2-57, Gaurav Vashishth 2-24. Haryana (2nd innings): 286 for 6 (Vishal Sahni 54, Mithun Beerala 75, Sumit Sharma 63, Joginder Sharma 48, Nadeem 3-61). — Agencies
|
|
|
IOA criticises Haryana govt
New Delhi, November 17 Former Union Sports Minister and president of the Punjab Olympic Association Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa moved a resolution, condemning the Haryana Government's action of taking over the HOA under the Indian Societies Act, terming it as unprecedented, illegal and unconstitutional. The resolution was "unanimously" adopted by the house, as it feared that the same yardstick will be applied by various other State Governments and the Central Government to throttle the State Olympic Associations and even the IOA, as they were also registered under the Societies's Act. Those who fully backed the resolution included IOA senior vice-president and president of the Archery Association of India Vijay Kumar Malhotra and IOA senior vice-president Tarlochan Singh, who is an MP from Haryana. The IOA has formed a four-member committee to take up the matter with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and persuade him to rescind the government decision to take over the
HOA.
|
|
|
Atapattu to lead Delhi Jets
New Delhi, November 17 ''Atapattu will captain the side and he will join after the Australia tour,'' Jets coah Madan Lal said at a cricket clinic for young boys of the Capital here today. Atapattu has had a love hate relationship with the Sri Lanka Cricket board who has said anybody who joins the 'rebel' league would be banned from playing for the country. Atapattu returned to Test cricket in the first Test against Australia (Nov 8-12) after nearly two years and international cricket after a dramatic six months, in which he spent the entire Caribbean World Cup on the bench and then declined to play in a series against Bangladesh. He landed into trouble again when after the first Test against Australia, he made a scathing attack on the Sri Lankan selectors, calling them ''a set of muppets headed by a joker''. Meanwhile, all the Delhi Jets players who were announced in Mumbai on November 14, including the four overseas players -- Paul Nixon (England), Taufeeq Umar (Pakistan), Niall O'Brien (Ireland) and Dale Benkenstein (South Africa) - turned up for the clinic and gave tips to around 50 boys from the capital.
— UNI
|
|
|
Federer, Ferrer sail into final
Shanghai, November 17 The defending champion took a tight first set and destroyed the fading Spaniard in the second, winning 6-4, 6-1 in just 59 minutes. It was Federer’s biggest margin of victory over Nadal in a rivalry stretching over 14 matches, of which he has won six. The win by the 2003, 2004 and 2006 champion set up a final with another Spaniard, David Ferrer, who routed Andy Roddick 6-1, 6-3 in the earlier match. Earlier, Ferrer out-rallied, out-volleyed and out-ran Roddick, who needed medical treatment to his lower back, winning in one hour and 12 minutes.
— AFP
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Don’t get lost in the maze of statistics. How many times has the Little Master got out in the 90s - nervous or not - is for the statisticians to keep track of. Just be ready to savour the vintage stuff being served by the maestro, who is well and truly into his groove.
Jaipur, November 17
