The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Walk in the park for Sri Lanka
Islanders overhauled a revised target of 154 in 21 overs losing just two wickets and 12 balls to spare
Ashis Ray

Canberra, February 12
Not quite gaining from the rub of the green, India slumped to an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka here at this Australian capital’s Manuka Oval - their first reverse in the current Commonwealth Bank Series - albeit a little artificially under the Duckworth/Lewis system.

The Indians have, in fact, been tragically unfortunate in that three of their four fixtures in the tournament have been rain affected, with two of these transpiring to be no results.

This time, a 13-ball blitz from Sanath Jayasuriya, which exploded in 27 runs paved the way for Tilakaratne Dilshan to deliver the coup de grace with an unbeaten 62 off 59 deliveries.

It’s a far cry from the first triangular one-day competition a rather inexperienced India under Sunil Gavaskar partook in Down Under in 1980-81 - with New Zealand as the third participant. Even a comparatively young Indian side today are more equipped in the skills of limited overs cricket; and they still head the league table with eight points to Australia’s seven and Sri Lanka’s six. The last two, though, have a game in hand, which they will engage in at Perth on Friday.

After a heavy downpour, it was only the assiduous efforts of the ground staff that salvaged entertainment for the 6,000-odd spectators, evenly divided between Indian and Sri Lankan supporters.

But when proceedings did get underway, the umpires prescribed a 29-overs-a-side clash. This was uncharted terrain for the side batting first, though India acquitted themselves adequately by posting a score of 195 for five.

The blossoming maturity of 20-year-old Rohit Sharma was on display, as he excelled with a 64-ball unbeaten 70. Improvised square cuts and cover drives and cheeky tuckaways over his shoulder to fine leg were among his six boundaries, while a massive slog-sweep to midwicket off Muttiah Muralitharan constituted a six.

Sachin Tendulkar initiated the innovation, collecting 14 runs off the 6th over, before he outside edged an attempted on-drive to thirdman. Gautam Gambhir followed with an array of inside-out cover drives, clearing the in-field - realising 64 runs for the 3rd wicket with Rohit until he was run out.

Mahendra Dhoni, too, failed to beat a throw after driving and pulling with awesome power to lend the Mumbai prodigy a helping hand.

It was, of course, an advantage to chase, given the shortened situation, persisting uncertainty about the weather and the slightly damp pitch at the start of India’s innings. Consequently, Mahela Jayawardene invited India to bat.

More showers after the Indian venture further truncated the tie, setting Sri Lanka 154 runs to secure in 21 overs - a task they could tackle without fear of losing wickets, as opposed to the indecision they might have faced had the demand been 196 runs off 29 overs.

In the event, it transpired to be a walk in the park, as they accomplished their assignment with two overs to spare.

India had to bowl with exceptional economy, which they failed to demonstrate. Sreesanth haemmoerraghed 48 runs in three overs - 23 of them in his second, which included a flick to square leg and a cut to thirdman by Jayasuriya for sixes - which virtually settled the issue. Sri Lanka fully cashed in on eight overs of power-play by posting a handsome 72 runs.

Dilshan, promoted to open with Jayasuriya, off-drove and cover drove Irfan Pathan for fours in one over, before flicking Sreesanth for six to square leg, where Ishant Sharma misjudged the flight of the ball.

But Ishant, sharing the new ball with Sreesanth, clocked speeds in excess of 148 kph; in course of which he cut short Jayasuriya’s cameo with a rising ball the left-hander gloved to the wicket-keeper.

But he, too, erred with no-balls - these days doubly penalised with free-hits. India also sprayed as many as 10 wides, which was grossly expensive when defending only 154 runs on a wicket that had eased out immeasurably.

Harbhajan Singh, who was tidiest with figures of one for 15 in four overs, had the classy Kumar Sangakkara caught at mid-on with his very first ball. But it was generally smooth sailing for the Sri Lankans, with Jayawardene, too, contributing a quick-fire 36 off 35 balls.

Scoreboard

India:

Sehwag c Muralitharan

b Kulasekara 14

Tendulkar c Kulasekara

b Maharoof 32

Gambhir run out 35

Rohit not out 70

Dhoni run out 31

Yuvraj c Muralitharan b Malinga 6

Uthappa not out 0

Extras (lb-1 w-6): 7

Total (five wickets, 29 overs): 195

Fall of wickets: 1-45 2-49 3-113 4-181 5-192

Bowling: Vaas 6-1-39-0, Malinga 6-0-45-1, Maharoof 6-0-33-1, Kulasekara 6-0-41-1, Muralitharan 5-0-36-0 (w-6).

Sri Lanka:

Dilshan not out 62

Jayasuriya c Dhoni b Ishant 27

Sangakkara c Ishant

b Harbhajan 10

Jayawardene not out 36

Extras (lb-6 w-10 nb-3): 19

Total (two wickets, 19 overs): 154

Fall of wickets: 1-45 2-69

Bowling: Sreesanth 3-0-48-0 (nb-1 w-3), Ishant Sharma 4-0-26-1 (nb-2), Pathan 4-0-30-0 (w-1), Harbhajan Singh 4-0-15-1, Tendulkar 2-0-15-0 (w-6), Sehwag 2-0-14-0.

	Dhoni blames defeat on rain Canberra, February 12 Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni squarely blamed elements for the side's eight-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in the rain-affected tri-series match here today. Sri Lanka chased a revised target of 154 runs in 21 overs after India had scored 195 for five wickets in their allotted 29 overs at the Manuka Ground. "If you are chasing 154 (instead of 196) your approach changes a lot. A team can keep only two fielders in catching position and you can't save the boundaries," Dhoni said after the match. Dhoni said it was not that Indian bowling was below-par but the Sri Lankans took risks and were successful. "Most of the time their openers were clearing the field. Tillakratne Dilshan, the way he carried on, was the key performer. They got a very good start and cleared everything. It wasn't as if our bowlers were bowling badly. But they took the risk and were successful," he said. "By the time I realised it, they were 50 on the Board and the game was over," he rued. India's fielding also became a little ragged when the chase was on but Dhoni put it down to wet conditions in the outfield. "It wasn't an easy ground to field to. The field was wet and it was difficult to move on. Having said so, I think we still need to put up a better show in the field," Dhoni said. Dhoni also spoke for Yuvraj Singh, who failed again, and the youngsters in the team. "You can't score a century off one ball. Yuvraj has suffered failures in this tournament but today it was different. There were not many balls left. "I am also happy that youngsters are scoring and availing their opportunities. In India, when youngsters fail, the pressure mounts on them. They start taking it in a negative way," he said. "In India, it's always the case that a youngster has to earn a few matches for themselves. They should be getting ample chances whether they succeed or not," Dhoni added. The Indian captain defended his bowlers who went for runs and also bowled a fair number of wides and no-balls. "I don't think Sreesanth bowled badly. He was bowling in right areas but the openers were clearing the field most of the times. "But every extra run hurts and if we can cut down on wides, it would help." Dhoni praised the format of the tournament and said any team can make a comeback in it. "The amount of matches a side can play allows any team to come back and perform well." — PTI
	Players proved their mettle: Jayawardene Canberra, February 12 Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said it was a planned approach that was well executed by his side that led to a moral boosting eight-wicket win against India at the Manuka Oval here today. He said his side showed character and mettle which led to their victory in this all-important tie. The win was Sri Lanka's first in the series and gives them a total of six points from three matches, just behind Australia (7 points from 3 games) with India leading the chart (8 points from 4 games). ''I told you before the game that it was a crucial game for us,'' Jayawardene told mediapersons after the match. ''We needed to show character. I thought the guys did show character and fought really well. Winning the toss was a bit of an advantage on that wicket earlier on. ''We managed to keep them to a decent score and the chase was well-calculated so credit to the guys for the way they handled themselves,'' he said. The 30-year-old skipper added that the series is now wide open and has reached an interesting phase with not much to choose between the three sides at the moment. ''All three teams have been very consistent in the last 12 months in one-day cricket and it's a great place to be, in Australia for the triangular series. ''Brilliant crowd, brilliant atmosphere, all to play for. It's going to be an exciting thing.'' However, the Indian camp did not lose heart with their first loss in the series with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni saying his side has the character to overcome this defeat. — UNI
	‘Sachin is playing, while rest of us are not’ New Delhi, February 12 In a potentially explosive statement, former Team India skipper Sourav Ganguly today said he was dropped from the one-day team for reasons other than cricket. ''I am disappointed at not being a part of the one-day team because of my performance last year and my over-all record as a one-day player,'' Ganguly told CNN-IBN. ''I know I have not been dropped because of my performance. ''It is disappointing because I have been in great form last year,'' he added. ''Probably the most runs in the world last year, if you take both forms of the game. But that is the way it is. ''Sachin is playing one-day cricket while the rest of us are not.'' Ganguly was speaking for the first time after being dropped from the Indian team for the Commonwealth Bank tri-series currently underway in Australia. When asked about his chances of making a comeback to the one-day side he said, ''We will have to wait and see what the selectors think of the future. There are a lot of Test cricket ahead this year. Probably there are more Tests than one-day cricket.'' Expressing his faith and respect for chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, the 35-year-old southpaw said, ''He got me back into the team. And also Zaheer Khan back into the team. And the performances we have shown, I am sure with him around things will happen.'' When quizzed on the inconsistent form of Yuvraj Singh, Sourav said he was sure of Yuvi's return to form and wished him well. —UNI
	MSD completes rare double Canberra, February 12 India's one-day team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni played his 100th match Tuesday and celebrated the occasion by becoming the first Indian wicketkeeper to complete 3,000 runs. Dhoni, 26, has already effected 100 dismissals, which makes him the first Indian wicketkeeper to accomplish a double of 3,000 runs and 100 dismissals. However, Dhoni ended up on the losing side as Sri Lanka defeated India by eight wickets in the Commonwealth Bank Triangular Series. After 90 innings, Dhoni's aggregate is 3,011 runs at an average of 44.94. Only three Indian batsmen have made more runs than Dhoni after 90 innings - Navjot Singh Sidhu (3,469 runs, average 42.30), Sourav Ganguly (3,424, average 41.76) and Rahul Dravid (3,056, average 36.82). Dhoni is averaging 86.50 in the competition after scoring 173 in four innings at a strike rate of 73.30. But in-form Gautam Gambhir is the current leading run-getter in the series with 197 in four innings at 65.66 with a strike rate of 86.40. Rohit Sharma posted his career-best score, a superb 70 not out off 64 balls which was his second half-century. He obliterated his previous highest of 52 against Pakistan in Jaipur November 18 last year. With this innings, Sharma equalled the highest individual score recorded at this venue. South Africa's Kepler Wessels had made 70 off 137 balls against Zimbabwe in 1992. Sachin Tendulkar, during the course of his 32-run knock, became the first batsman to amass 2,500 runs against Sri Lanka. He now has 2,503 at 45.50 in 67 games. Having already aggregated 2,500 runs against Australia, Tendulkar is now the only batsman to accomplish the feat of completing 2,500 runs against two opponents. Pacer Sreesanth bowled at an economy rate of 16.00 - the worst ever performance by any bowler in a three-over spell in ODIs. His own previous worst economy rate in an innings was 9.30 when he conceded 3.2-0-31-0 against South Africa at Centurion Park in 2006. — IANS
	Technology adding to pressure: Taufel Melbourne, February 12 Technology has made umpiring a thankless job, says world's number one umpire Simon Taufel, who feels on-field officials rarely get credit for getting things right but are chastised for every minor error replayed endlessly on television. "Although it's okay for players to appeal, when the umpire gets it right he gets no credit whatsoever," Taufel told the 'Australian Associated Press', a news agency here. Taufel said during close caught behind appeals, the umpire has to make a split-second decision without getting any assistance from technologies like the snickometer. The Aussie felt loud crowds add to the pressure and until umpires get a device to hear faint nicks, it is impossible to get the decisions right all the time. "... if he (the umpire) makes an error in judgement in those sorts of areas, we're using television and stump audio to prove him wrong," he added. "You've got to appreciate that when you're in a stadium like that of 50,000 people you can't actually hear things. "Until we get better technology to be able to put that audio back into our ear, those things (wrong decisions) are likely to happen and it could happen to any one of us," he added. — PTI
	McCullum, Ryder hand Kiwis 10-wicket win Wellington, February 12 Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder led New Zealand to a crushing 10-wicket win over England in a rain-interrupted limited-overs international at Hamilton today. New Zealand, set a target of 165 from 36 overs to win, cruised to victory at the start of the 19th over, opening up a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. McCullum finished unbeaten on 80 from 47 balls while Ryder made 79 not out in his second one-day international after the pair shared a record New Zealand partnership against England. ''We've been under pressure in the last couple of weeks and to come out and play like we did in the first game and tonight was something pretty special,'' McCullum told reporters. ''I'm pretty sure now we hold all the cards so England are going to have to do something pretty special to steal back the momentum that we've created.'' England, who lost Saturday's series opener in Wellington by six wickets after winning both Twenty20 internationals, squandered a promising start and were bowled out for 158. The tourists had been cruising at 85 for 2 after 15 overs when heavy showers forced play to be stopped for more than two hours. Umpires reduced the match to 36 overs for each side when play resumed but England failed to bat out their full compliment, losing their last wicket with five balls remaining. ''With two defeats like that, your confidence is going to get dented a little,'' England captain Paul Collingwood said. ''What we have to do in that dressing room over the next few days is regroup and be honest with ourselves. There's a lot of people very, very hurt by that performance. ''The good thing is we've got three games left and this team has shown we can regroup.'' Opener Alastair Cook top-scored for England with 53 off 69 balls while Kevin Pietersen (29), Ravi Bopara (23) and Stuart Broad (23) all made starts but failed to go on as the wickets fell at regular intervals. Chris Martin, Michael Mason and Daniel Vettori captured two wickets each for New Zealand. The Kiwis were untroubled in their run-chase, although they were helped by some sloppy English fielding with McCullum dropped before he was off the mark and Ryder given two extra lives. McCullum made the most of his let off and showed why he is one of the most dangerous strikers in world cricket, belting eight fours and five sixes in an explosive power hitting display. Ryder, who was named man of the match, was also in an aggressive mood and thumped 11 boundaries and two sixes in a 62-ball knock. The third match of the series takes place in Auckland on Friday with the final two games in Napier and Christchurch. — Reuters
	VRV puts North Zone on top Rajkot, February 12 North Zone scored 109 for two in their second innings after skittling East Zone for a paltry 143 in first innings on the second day of the four-day Duleep Trophy match, being played at the Madhav Rao Scindia Ground here today. North Zone skipper Mithun Manhas did not enforce the follow-on on East Zone as he wanted to give more chance to his batsmen for practice. North Zone gained a vital lead of 217 runs with an overall lead of 326 at the end of the day. At stumps, opener Akash Chopra and Manhas were batting on individual scores of 56 and 12, respectively. Earlier, North Zone resuming at their first innings score of 260 for seven, were all out after adding another 100 runs to their score. Tailender C Nanda's 58 in 59 balls, studded with nine fours, helped North Zone to reach a respectable score of 360. East Zone players helped the North Zone batsmen to build their scores as the fielders dropped at least four catches. Medium pacer S S Paul was the most successful bowler from East Zone taking five wickets for 106 runs while medium pacer D Mohanty and left-arm spinner T Saha shared two wickets each conceding 39 and 102 runs respectively. Spinner N Behera took one wicket giving 38 runs. East Zone's 143 runs included Wriddhiman Saha's well compiled 56 not out, smashing nine boundaries in 91 balls. V R V Singh did the damage for North Zone by grabbing five wickets for 59 runs while spinners Amit Mishra and C Nanda took two wickets each giving away 26 and zero run respectively. Chetanya Nanda removed Randeb Bose and S S Paul in the successive second and third deliveries of his first over. Randeb Bose was lbw and S S Paul was caught by Shikhar Dhawan. Meanwhile, North Zone have ensured their berth in the final as they have already five points in their kitty. In this match, if there is no result, then North Zone will get three points and in case they win, they earn five more points. East Zone have five points and if they can bring the match to a draw, they will get one point. — UNI
	New SAI guidelines hit shooters hard Jaipur, February 12 Shooters' preparation the Beijing Olympics has been hit hard with the delay in commencement of national camp for second time in a fortnight due to unavailability of ammunition following Sports Authority of India's new guideline directing state associations to provide equipment to the participants. Rajasthan Rifle Shooting Association President Sushil Chowdhary told PTI that the camp was slated to begin here yesterday but none of the 33 shooters turned up. "We were waiting for the shooters but none turned up. There is problem of the availability of ammunition. We were in touch with the National Rifle Shooting Association (NRAI) but they were too worried by the new SAI guidelines," he said. As per the recent SAI guidelines, the onus is on Sports Federations to arrange for equipments required during national camps and the incurred expenditure will be reimbursed later. "It is difficult for the associations to import the required equipment because of various hassles in the long process and moreover the heavy cost involved too is a deterrent despite promised reimbursement," Chowdhary said. The Asian Clay Shooting commences on February 21 and Olympics too are not far away. "The shooters, including those who have qualified for the Olympic Games, are worse hit lot," he added. Earlier, the camp in Delhi from February one could not be start in time because of shortage of ammunition but some of the shooters bailed out the situation by providing their own pellets and it started on February five. "We too are trying the same way out but most of the shooters like Shagun Chowdhary have already exhausted their stocks. We will try others and see if the camp can arranged later," said Chowdhary. — PTI
	‘Phelps can bag 8 Olympic gold’ Sydney, February 12 Australia’s long distance swimming champion Grant Hackett believes Michael Phelps’ competitive streak could drive him to win a record eight gold medals at this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing. Phelps is aiming to challenge the record seven gold medals American swimmer Mark Spitz won at a single Olympics-in Munich in 1972. It is a feat that has proven beyond every Olympic swimmer for the past 36 years but Hackett thinks Phelps may be the one to finally break it. “I think anything is possible with Michael,” Hackett told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday. “He’s a phenomenal competitor and I have absolute respect for him as a person and an athlete. He always seems to punch above in every event that he goes in, he’s just an animal when it comes to competing.” Hackett has his own date with destiny in Beijing, where he will attempt to become the first male swimmer to win the same individual event at three Olympics. Hackett won the 1,500 metres freestyle, the longest event in the pool, at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Games and holds the world record for the event. He suffered his first defeat in over a decade at last year’s world championships in Melbourne when he went into the meet not fully fit but said the loss had inspired him to make amends in China. — Reuters
	Power cuts trip national table tennis camp Patiala, February 12 Incessant and unprecedented diurnal power cut is sorely hurting the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NIS) here where the national coaching camp for men and women table tennis players is in full swing in preparation for the forthcoming World Table Tennis Championship slated for February 24 to March 2 in Guangzhou, China. With the Beijing Olympics not far away and many Olympic qualifying competitions in various sports disciplines, including the Olympic qualifying central zone competition in table tennis in Hong Kong from March 6 to 11, in the offing, the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) must step in to provide electricity to the NIS without any power cut at least till the Beijing Games kick off. In a similar situation during the 1982 Asiad in New Delhi, the PSEB earned kudos for providing uninterrupted power supply to the NIS. It should now keep up with its track record and show the same gesture without delay. Ten men and an equal number of women table tennis players are undergoing intensive training at the NIS which started on February 5 under the supervision of foreign expert from Belarus, Alexey Afermav and national coaches, A Srinivasan Rao, Tapan Chandra, Montu Ghosh and SAI coach Bhawani Mukerji. National TT champion A Sharath Kamal of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board, who is currently playing for a club in Spain, will join the camp here on February 16, according to a communiqué received here from the Table Tennis Federation of India. He is likely to lead the 5-member men's team which is yet to be officially announced by the Table Tennis Federation. The 5-member women's squad is likely to be lead by Poulomi Ghatak, the indefatigable national champion for the last five years. Ghatak told UNI that “We hope to win the gold medal in China to ensure upgradation from Division 2 to Division 1 in World Team championship.” — UNI
	5 JCT players for national camp Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 12 Goalkeeper Karanjit Singh and defender Baldip Singh of JCT are among the 21 players called for the pre-national football camp, in preparation for the SAFF Cup and the AFC Challenge Cup, to be held in Goa from March 26. However, in the list of 24 players called for the national camp starting in Goa on April 5, for the two above-mentioned tournaments, defender Anwar, medio Renedy Singh and striker Sunil Chetri figure. The probables for the camps are: Pre-National Camp: Goalkeepers: Arindam Bhattacharya (Churchill Bros), Subhashish Roy Choudhary (Mahindra United) and Karanjit Singh (JCT). Defenders: Robert Lalthlamyana, Govin Mojranginem, Noaba Singh, Vashum Reisungmi and Chandan Chitrasen (Churchill Brothers), Nirmal Chetri (Air India), Rakesh Masih (Tata Football Academy), Denzil Franco (Sporting Clube), Valeraino Rebello (Dempo), Mohun Raj (Mohun Bagan), Kattimani (Mumbai Club), Rocus Lamare (Salgaocar), Baldip Singh (JCT) and S. James Singh (Viva Kerala). Forwards: Khangebam Thoi Singh, Sushil Singh and Tariff Ahmed (Mahindra) and C. S. Sabeet (Karnataka). National Camp: Goalkeepers: K Subrata Paul (East Bengal) and Sandip Nandi (Mahindra). Defenders: I. Surkumar Singh, Sandeep Nandi, Deepak Mondal and N. S. Manju (Mohun Bagan), Mahesh Gawli (Dempo), Gouramangi Singh (Churchill), Anwar (JCT), Syed Rahim Nabi and Debabrata Roy (East Bengal) and Sameer Naik (Dempo). Mid-fielders: Steven Dias, N. P. Pradeep and Ajayan (Mahindra), Climax Lawrence, Clifford Miranda, Anthony Pereira (Dempo), Bungo Singh (Pune Club), Mehrajuddin Waddo (East Bengal) and Renedy Singh (JCT). Forwards: Baichung Bhutia (Mohun Bagan), Sunil Chetri (JCT) and Manjit Singh (Mahindra).
	I-League title: Dempo have edge Kozhikode, February 12 With just two rounds to go in the maiden ONGC I-League Championship, which has come to replace the National Football League, two Goan teams - Dempo Sports Club and Churchill Brothers - promise an interesting finish though the former hold the edge to lift the title. Tied with Churchill at 32 points but leading the table by a better goal difference, Dempo have a good chance to emerge champions considering the fact that they take on bottom-placed Salgaocar Sports Club, Goa (10) at Margao on Sunday before arriving here on February 23 for the final engagement in the 18-round 10-team League to play ninth-placed Viva Kerala (12). Dempo have thrashed Salgaocar (3-0) and Viva Kerala (4-0) in their earlier meetings. For Churchill, who have to play Sporting Club de Goa and Air India, Mumbai - the latter had held them to a goalless draw in the ninth round - besides wining both the matches with wide margins they may still have to pray for a Dempo defeat in one of their last two rounds, which looks highly unlikely. JCT, who are third with 29 points, will find relatively tough opponents in fourth-placed Mohun Bagan, Kolkata (28) in their next round and also cannot look for an easy prey in Salgaocar in the last tie with whom they could only settle for a 3-all draw in the ninth round. The team can only hope for a miracle to clinch the title where both Dempo and Churchill should end up losers in their final two rounds. — PTI
	Heroes upset Punjab Police Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 12 Delhi Senior Division League champions New Delhi Heroes stunned Punjab Police, Jalandhar, 2-0 in the opening match of the prize money All-India Lt. Governor's Cup DDA Football Tournament at the Ambedkar Stadium here today. In an evenly matched encounter, Heroes struck twice thanks to the efforts of Shriyat Raza, who was adjudged the man of the match. In the second encounter, Border Security Force, Jalandhar, edged past Indian National, Delhi, with a lone-goal win.