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A legend hangs up his boots
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Sehwag not for ‘catches pact’ with Aussies
Verdict on Shoaib Akhtar today
Force India has done country proud: Mallya
Padam bags mountain biking trophy
Safa pip Dempo in AFC Cup semifinal
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A legend hangs up his boots
Bangalore, October 7 Talking to newsmen here, he said ''we had been performing ever since we had been in the field. We don’t look at current form.Whenever time comes, we (the seniors) go all out and put our the best in the field.'' When asked whether the seniors had received any warning from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) emphasising the need for for consistency in performing among seniors for them to be in the team, he said ''we have not got anything from the Board and it may be only rumours.'' Stating it was performance which counted, he said "during transition period, there will always be pressure. Every test is crucial. There will be pressure in all series. We had greats like Azhar and Vengsarkar." About his form, he said he might not have performed well in the recently concluded Rest of India v/s New Zealand match but ''once I start, I will go all out to give my best. I have been practicing in Kolkata and I am in good form.'' To a question about poor performance of the touring Australian team against Board XI at Hyderabad in the practice match, Saurav said ''we should never judge a touring team on practice matches. ''They lack quality spinners, but you cannot take Australian team lightly. ''Of course, we have good spinners including Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and V V S Lakshman and Sachin have played well. But Australian Skipper Ricky (Ponting) is a great player and his team has good players who deliver and compensate to overcome the shortcomings in the team.'' To another question, he said ''nobody can start as favourties, they are hard to beat. There will be pressure on both the sides when you start playing. Both the team have plans. It is execution that counts now,'' he said.
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UNI Chairman of selectors Krisnamachari Srikkanth said Sourav Ganguly's decision to retire from international cricket is a right move. Srikkanth said it will allow the former India captain to play with free mind against Australia in the Test series. "I had a chat with the other four selectors and we feel that it's a right move. He wants to end his career on a high note and win the series against Australia. He wanted to play with a free mind against Australia and now he can do that," Srikkanth told reporters after Ganguly announced his retirement here Tuesday. Srikkanth hailed Ganguly as an extraordinary cricketer. "He has done so much for Indian cricket. He has brought laurels to us, both as a captain and a cricketer.” “Let us not forget that he is the best captain India has produced." The new selection committee picked Ganguly for the first two Tests against Australia after he was left out of the Irani Trophy squad, triggering speculation of his retirement. — IANS
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Sehwag not for ‘catches pact’ with Aussies
New Delhi, October 7 During India’s tour of Down Under earlier this year, a similar pact was finalised between Ponting and Kumble but at the end India felt aggrieved as the Aussies claimed catches taken off half volleys. However, Ponting again proposed for a similar “catches pact” this time too between the two teams in the series beginning this Thursday. “We suffered the most in the catches pact during the last series. There is no point in having such an arrangement when the Australians are claiming one-bounce catches!” Sehwag said. “We’d have won the Sydney Test match if they hadn’t claimed catches taken off half volleys in that game,” he added. The right-handed batsman reckons that India would be in an advantageous position in the Test series as it has quality fast bowlers and spinners in their ranks and they don’t need to worry about the nature of the pitch. “Bangalore, Mohali and Nagpur have offered good bounces in the past and with decent tall fast bowlers we can take advantage of these conditions. The flip side, if we have spinning tracks for the series, we have the spinners to extract advantage,” Sehwag told ESPN-STAR SPORTS. While Ponting is losing his sleep over the lack of experienced spinners, Sehwag could not have been happier and says it would only pave the way for India to win the series more convincingly. “Moreover, their spin department is weak and there is a wide possibility that we can win the series either 3-0 or 3-1,” he said. With the spin lacking the sting, all eyes would be on the Australian pace attack led by Brett Lee but Sehwag cautions that more than Lee it would be Stuart Clarke who could prove to be the biggest threat. — PTI
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We’ll target 20 wickets: Clark
Bangalore, October 7 ''If you set a target you may have to concentrate only on that. We want to take it match by match and our only target is to pick up 20 wickets'', Clark told newsmen after net practice at M Chinnaswamy Stadium where the first Test would be played from October 9 to 13. He said ''we have really come here with a group mentality and target all the batsmen. We have to take 20 wickets and try and win the Test match.'' Clark said to be successful in Indian conditions bowlers would have to be patient since the wickets may not suit fast bowlers. Clark picked up two second innings wickets in the warm-up game against Board President's XI in Hyderabad. That match was dominated by the President's XI batsmen with three of them hitting centuries. ''You don't get a lot of love back from the wicket. You just have to be patient and bang it in there all day. It can be hard work, but you got to put all that aside. I think Michael Kasprowicz did it well. He got in there and bowled all day and we all know stories about how he lost eight kgs. ''But, I think that's the secret to it. You just got to do it all day. And guys who have been successful here have done that. You cannot shirk the responsibility'', he said. About the pitch for the first Test, Clark said that it appears to be competitive. ''The wicket looks like its going to be a very good cricket wicket. There's a little more grass than I thought there would be on it. All in all, I think its going to make for a good Test match.'' On the composition of the team, he said ''I think we would probably go in with a normal attack, one spinner and a couple of guys who are part time spinners. I'm not sure which ones those would be at the moment.'' The 33-year-old Australian bowler said his team had prepared well in the lead-up to the first Test. ''Jaipur was good because we got acclimatised to the conditions. Hyderabad was also good because of the fact that we got to play a competitive game on a wicket that didn't really suit the quicker bowlers. It's something we really needed to do, to get here and get used to the conditions.'' Clark, normally a first-change bowler but who opened the bowling with Brett Lee in the warm-up match, said he hoped to handle the new ball again and assist Lee with the breakthroughs. ''Lee (Brett) has that shock value because he really does bowl fast. I will probably do the other sort of stuff where from one end I would try and build it up and get some wickets,'' he said. — UNI
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Verdict on Shoaib Akhtar today
Karachi, October 7 Though Akhtar has been picked in the side, his participation in the quadrangular will depend on the outcome of a Lahore High Court (LHC) hearing on Wednesday. The PCB has filed a writ in the LHC against Akhtar over his failure to pay up the fine. Akhtar, 32, was named in a 15-man squad for the Toronto quadrangular to be played from Oct 10-13 after national selectors became convinced that the pacer is fully fit and in form following his satisfactory showing in the ongoing National Twenty20 Cup in Lahore. He last played for Pakistan in the Bangalore Test against India last December. But there was no such luck for Mohammad Yousuf, who was not considered for national duty after Canadian authorities didn't issue him a visa. Yousuf was desperate to join Pakistan's Twenty20 squad after being overlooked for last September's inaugural World Twenty20 Championship in South Africa. Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed told IANS that a 'best possible combination' has been announced for the Toronto quadrangular that will also feature Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and hosts Canada. "We have picked the best available players for Toronto," said the former Test cricketer. "It's not a major event but since we have not played much cricket in recent times, our task would be to win the title in Toronto," he said. Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Salman Butt, Younis Khan, Khalid Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), Sohail Tanvir, Shoaib Akhtar, Anwar Ali, Sohail Khan, Shoaib Khan, Umar Gul, Abdul
Rauf. —
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Force India has done country proud: Mallya
Fuji Speedway (Japan), October 7 Reflecting on the first anniversary of his buying over of the Spyker team which he later rechristened Force India, Mallya said he did not expect miracles from the outfit in the first season but that the team has to grow further. "We have strong foundations, but we need to build on them now. We always said this would be a tough year, but we've got to deliver now," Mallya said on the eve of the Japanese Grand Prix here. Mallya was particularly upbeat with the way Force India has endeared people back home and said the outfit has done the country proud. "When I announced our intention to buy the team, the TV audience figures exploded and print media went wild...I'm pleased to say that the interest has been sustained," Mallya gushed. "The general public too has embraced Force India. We're here, we're competing on a world class stage and we are holding our own —every Indian can be proud that we've done that," he said. On Sunday's race, Mallya said he preferred to be modest with his expectations. "The same I expect every time we go racing -- reliability, dedication, enthusiasm and passion. I understand it's difficult, but Formula 1 is so competitive now that you can't let your game slip for one second. Of course I'd like to see points and Q2, but let's be realistic," he said.
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PTI |
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Padam bags mountain biking trophy
Manali, October 7 Padam received a memento and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh from Govind Thakur, local MLA, who was the chief guest of the concluding function. The ten-day championship, which stated from Shimla and covered 750 kms through the picturesque villages in the interior regions of Shimla, Mandi and Kullu, concluded here last evening. Conceptualised by the Himalayan Adventure Sports and Tourism Promotion Association (HASTPA) and Hercules part of TI cycles, this adventure sport has proved to be a sustainable tourism development initiative for Himachal Pradesh. HASTPA had organised the race under the aegis of the International Mountain Bicycling Association and the event was supported by the state’s tourism The participants included riders from all over the world and the event has managed to attract more and more participants every passing year. |
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Safa pip Dempo in AFC Cup semifinal
New Delhi, October 7 Hamze Aboud gave the Lebanese side a 1-0 win after Dempo did well to keep the hosts quite for most part of the match. Dempo, attempting to become the first club side from India to reach the final of the AFC Cup, conceded a corner in the dying moments of the match. The ball was cleared by the Dempo defence but it fell to an unmarked Aboud, who chested the ball before firing a powerful shot that took a deflection off the woodwork and went into the net. Though Safa have a slender advantage, Dempo have the chance to overturn the deficit and press for a win in their home tie on October 21. —
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