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I have always been a team man: Yuvraj
Worse is to follow, warns Lee
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Sydney pitch may be ‘bouncy’
Kiwis sweep series
Ranatunga to head Lanka Cricket
Dynamos down fighting Veerans
Chennai Open
Scottish Open
Upset win for Ahbab Club
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I have always been a team man: Yuvraj
Sydney, December 31 “I have always played for the team’s cause whether it is my junior teams, Punjab, North Zone, India or whatever team I have picked up my bat for. And till the last day of my cricketing life, I will continue to serve the needs of the team management. I have always done whatever the team management has asked me to do and will continue to do so,” Yuvraj told PTI. A section of the Australian media reported yesterday that assistant coach Lalchand Rajput has questioned Yuvraj’s attitude claiming the “team management will speak to him one-on-one” on the matter in Sydney where the team play the second Test on Wednesday. These reports were vehemently denied by Rajput and team’s administrative assistant manager MV Sridhar today, saying that the Australian media were playing “mind games”. A couple of senior colleagues of Yuvraj, too, said there were no problems whatsoever with his attitude. “I have known Yuvraj for over 10 years now and he has never been this focused as he is now. He really wants to do well in the Tests and that too against Australia in Australia,” said one of players on the condition of anonymity. “I saw him during the Twenty 20 World Cup as well,” said another senior colleague. “On the day of the semifinal against Australia in Durban, we were having breakfast together and Yuvraj could barely lift a spoon but he wanted to play that match. It was only after a pain-killer injection was administered that he batted in that game. It is really disappointing if the attitude of such a committed player is questioned.” Yuvraj, who could be accommodated in the playing XI in Melbourne only after a change in the batting line-up, failed with the bat in both innings. The Indian ranks are believed to have really closed in and captain Anil Kumble has called for a complete rest. “We are going on cruise today to relax and stay away from the game. Controversies like these are being created to further demoralise us but hopefully they will not have their desired effect. We will give a better fight in the next Test in Sydney,” said a member of the Indian team.
— PTI
I was misquoted, claims Rajput
Melbourne: Indian team’s assistant coach Lalchand Rajput has denied saying that Yuvraj Singh has an attitude problem and accused the Australian media of playing mind games.
“I was totally misquoted, because the media manager was with me when we gave a presser and this topic was never discussed at all,” Rajput told Times Now channel. “Yuvraj has been doing very well and I think he is our best fielder. So I don’t think anybody doubts his capabilities on the field,” he said. “To me, it is just playing mind games. The Australian media had started it before the tour as well — they always keep on doing something or the other,” Rajput added.
— PTI
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India plan session with shrink
Melbourne: Convinced that the problem lies in the cricketers’ minds and not their skills, the Indian think tank is planning to rope in a sports psychologist to boost the team’s sagging morale.
Both captain Anil Kumble and assistant coach Lalchand Rajput felt India lost the mind game to Australia in the Boxing Day Test but both vowed to make a strong comeback in the series. Rajput told The Daily Telegraph that the batsmen, who cut a sorry figure in the first Test, might consult a shrink at some stage of the tour because there was hardly any time for such a session before the second Test that gets under way at Sydney from Wednesday. Rajput had described the Melbourne defeat as an outcome of India’s defensive mindset, rather than any technical flaw on the players’ part. India’s new coach Gary Kirsten is expected to join the team for the third Test in Perth and incidentally, he, too, have stressed on having a sports psychologist. During the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, India had roped in Australian sports psychologist Sandy, while Rudy Webster also worked with the bunch in the West Indies.
— PTI
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Diet Regime
Sydney, December 31 According to a two-page diet chart titled “Daily Eating Guidelines for Players”, the squad has also been asked to avoid tea and coffee and cut back on sugar consumption. The advisory states: “On match days, be careful of over-consumption as snacks can be larger when you have been active and smaller when just watching the game.” The chart wants players to avoid biryani, red meat, Indian sweets, butter mayonnaise on sandwiches, anything deep fried, dishes with visible fat/oil, creamy sauces and sodas, unless diet, but “water is still better.” However, Gloster and King have offered players the liberty to have “one free day per week where you can eat whatever you want.”
— PTI
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Ganguly down with fever
Sydney, December 31 “He should be fit in time for the second Test. His condition has improved,” M V Sridhar, the assistant manager of the touring party, said. Ganguly was one of the few batsmen to make decent contributions in both innings of the first Test, which the Aussies won by 337 runs.
— PTI
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Sydney, December 31 After struggling on a subcontinental-type slow and low wicket in Melbourne, the visitors might find the Sydney track more difficult to bat on, Lee said. “Sydney is going to have a bit more (life) in it, especially for the quicks,” Lee told Herald Sun. “And then we have got Perth...who knows what might happen over there. “We were bowling on a pretty benign wicket in Melbourne, very low and slow and that doesn’t really suit the quicks. But I thought we did a great job on that wicket. The ball ended up looking like a dog had a good go at it. Up here (in Sydney) should suit fast bowling a lot more.” Lee said after the disciplined performance in the first Test, the hosts needed to stick to their plans to maintain their stranglehold in the second match. “We have to stay really focused and keep going through and executing the plans we have been focusing on,” he said. The trend set during the 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka had continued in the Melbourne Test. “The way we applied ourselves, the way we bowled in partnerships, changing the tempo but concentrating on being patient, it worked well. “So after that series, we looked how we could apply it to the Indian batsmen. We had thorough plans, and we executed those plans as a bowling unit very, very well.” The tearaway bowler drew huge satisfaction from the way he scalped Sachin Tendulkar in the second innings of the Melbourne Test. “You work on a plan. Try to get in some short stuff and then throw one out wide, and he bit at it. Yeah, that was very pleasing. “I am hard on myself and don’t like to talk myself up, but I think over the past couple of months collectively is the best I’ve bowled for my country. It’s the result of hard work and a little bit of heartache.”
— PTI
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Sydney pitch may be ‘bouncy’
Sydney, December 31 “I think we will see a lot of bounce and good carry in it,” said curator Tom Parker ahead of the second Test. Parker believed that warm weather had helped his team prepare a wicket containing plenty of life. That’s bad news for the tourists who are looking for its batsmen to fire at Sydney after a disastrous outing in the first Test at the MCG last week.
— PTI
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Queenstown, December 31 Bangladesh were all out for 93 in the 38th over, with Vettori returning a magnificent five for seven, and then McCullum blasting the Bangladesh bowlers out of the park as New Zealand reached their target in just six overs. The astounding performance, where the match was over before the scheduled first innings break, sealed a 3-0 series clean sweep for New Zealand. McCullum’s unbeaten 80 came off 28 balls and included a contemptuous nine fours and six sixes. Along the way he posted the fastest ODI half century by a New Zealander, from 19 balls, and he missed equalling the world record by three deliveries. At the other end, Jamie How was a virtual spectator, contributing only seven of the 95 runs scored. Vettori had earlier been the chief architect of Bangladesh’s dismissal. Bangladesh’s stated aim before the match was to restore some pride by producing a competitive total after being comprehensively beaten in the first two matches. Instead, nothing went right for them from the time Vettori won the toss and chose to bowl.
— AFP Scoreboard New Zealand
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Ranatunga to head Lanka Cricket
Colombo, December 31 “Incumbent Dharmadasa has resigned and Ranatunga will take over as the chairman from tomorrow,” SLC spokesman Samantha Algama told PTI. The former captain, now a Member of Parliament representing the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party, will head the cricket body at a time when it is faced with retirement of top players and the need to find able replacements. Commenting on the present state of the game in Sri Lanka, Ranatunga said several slots were ensured for school cricketers in the national pool in the past, but the scenario had changed now. Ranatunga, one of the most reliable middle-order batsmen Sri Lanka has ever produced, played in the country’s inaugural Test as an 18-year-old in 1982 and went on to lead the Lankan team till 1999. He captained Sri Lanka in 38 Tests between 1988 and 1999. In 93 Tests, Ranatunga scored 5,105 runs at an average of 35.69. He also took 16 wickets.
— PTI
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Dynamos down fighting Veerans
Sandeep converted three penalty corners, while Ravi Pal sealed the victory for the team through his silver goal in the 76th minute. The Dynamos finished their league campaign with 14 points. The Veerans, who are already out of the fray, put up a spirited show today, extending the match to silver time to earn their first point in the tourney. At the end of the stipulated time, both teams were level at 3-3. The Dynamos started the match in an attacking mode. Their forwards Prabhjot Singh, Deepak Thakur and Inderjit Chadha forayed into the ‘D’ area of the Veerans several times. However, it was the Veerans who drew first blood in the 15th minute through skipper Adam Sinclair. Senthil Kumar dodged defender Sandeep Singh to give a pass to Mahendra Singh in the striking circle. The latter’s pass was tapped nicely into the goal by Sinclair to put his team 1-0 up. The lead did not deter the Dynamos, who already had booked their semifinal berth. They equalised through Sandeep, who converted the team’s first penalty corner in the 24th minute. In the 34th minute, Sinclair again struck to make it 2-1. Suresh’s hit was intercepted by custodian Baljit Singh but the ball rolled to Sinclair, who successfully send it into the goalpost. The second penalty corner was earned by the Dynamos in the 44th minute and Sandeep delighted the home crowd with an on-target drag-flick. The Veerans got a 3-2 lead in the 51st minute through drag-flicker Raghunath, who converting their third penalty corner. Sandeep did it again when his team forced their fourth penalty corner in the 60th minute. After the first period of five minutes went goal-less, the first minute of the second period saw Ravi Pal score the match-winner for the Dynamos off a reverse hit. Sandeep was named the Man of the Match.
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Chennai Open
Chennai, December 31 The French Open champion dropped serve once in each set as the 2007 finalists went down 4-6, 4-6 against the first-time pairing of Cypriot Marcus Baghdatis, the singles second seed, and Marc Gicquel of France. Defending champion Belgian Xavier Malisse returned after an injury-marred 2007 to ease to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Malisse upset top seed Nadal in the singles semifinals last year. Sixth seed Jurgen Melzer of Austria defeated Paul Capdeville of Chile 6-2, 6-4, while Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin thrashed Indian national grasscourt champion Vishnu Vardan 6-1, 6-2.
— Reuters
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Scottish
Open
Edinburgh, December 31 Ramchandran defeated Ryan Murray of the USA 9-0, 9-0, 9-2; Mangaonkar beat American Dylan Murray 9-7, 9-6, 9-7; Unseeded Malik toppled Canadian Andrew Schnell 9-1, 9-1, 9-4; Harinderpal defeated Kelly Shannon of Canada 9-4, 4-9, 9-1, 10-8; Anwesha beat Kimberley Hay of England 9-3, 9-5, 10-8. Aparajita Balamurukan lost 5-9, 1-9, 2-9 to Australian Tamika Saxby in the girls’ U-15.
— IANS
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Upset win for Ahbab Club
New Delhi, December 31 Ahbab took the lead against the run of play when they were awarded a free kick from 25 yards, which was lobbed over by Subhash Negi before Hitender Rawat slotted home. In the second half, the Heroes fought well to force a couple of nice scoring opportunities, but first Abhishek and then Gangamlung Kamei muffed the chances.
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Sydney, December 31
Sydney, December 31
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Chandigarh, December 31