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Dutch squeeze past India for title
Kiwis pip Germany for third spot
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Dhoni, Harbhajan to get BCCI awards
Sehwag to receive Indian Player of the Year award
ODI selection for NZ tour on Feb 13
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Dutch squeeze past India for title
Surprisingly, the sight of Holland, the best team in the competition, seemed to enthuse Indians. In the previous two successive games in the second leg against Germany and New Zealand, the Indians looked like going through motions, at times, they looked disjointed, even jaded. In sharp contrast, the previous two games against Holland (in the first leg and in the second) saw the Indians dish out impressive fare. Same was the case today as the hosts again raised their game by a couple of notches, though this time they finished on the losing side. Sandeep Singh (44th minute, penalty stroke), Robbert Kemperman (46th) and Jeroen Hertzberger (68th minute) were scorers as the European powerhouse proved that they were the superior side. It were the hosts who first raided the rival citadel, forcing their first penalty corner in the 6th minute. Jaap Stockmann, Holland custodian, rose to the occasion, clearing the ball twice - first off Sandeep’s stick and then off Rajpal who tried to shoot home off a rebound. The hosts were all over again as Tushar Khandekar made a foray and gave a pass to Shivender inside the danger area, who was unlucky not to connect. Holland forced their first penalty corner in the 21st minute, which was foiled when a full-blooded stroke was blocked first by Vikram Pillay, then by the Indian custodian Baljit Singh off the second attempt, while the rival forward shot wide in the third attempt. The visitors then threatened the Indians when Robbert Kemperman made a solo run and gave a crisp pass, which an on-rushing Hertzberger missed. At the half time the score was 0-0. Nine minutes into the second half, India got a penalty stroke when Shivender, right in front of the rival goalpost and set to launch into a shot, was pushed. He fumbled and fell to the ground. Skipper Sandeep did not make any mistake in converting the penalty stroke as India gained 1-0 lead. Not to be left behind, Kemperman sounded the board immeditely after two minutes to restore parity (1-1). Desperate to snatch the lead again, India forced successive penalty corners in 53rd and 55th minutes but failed to convert. Holland wove a dangerous move, but timely clearence by Prabodh Tirkey averted the danger. Tushar was in the thick of action this time, but due to lack of proper finish, the move was wasted. Hertzberger proved why he was so dangerous when he struck home off a penalty corner just two minutes before time as the visitors emerged the deserving winners. He was adjudged Man of
the Tournament for his tally of six goals. |
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Kiwis pip Germany for third spot
Germany took the lead in the 17th minute after winning a penalty corner. Moritz Furste struck a low booming shot to beat a diving Pontifex. But the Kiwis were playing with not too much at stake, not the weight of an Olympic gold atleast, and struck back in the 26th minute. Andren Hayward’s clinical finish off a penalty corner brought the Kiwis level. A cagey first half saw the two teams slugging out for domination in the mid field and neither could alter the scoreline till the breather. The second half started with Germany laying siege around the Kiwi striking circle. Pontifex and his defence faced a torrid 10 minutes, but playing so high up the field backfired and the Kiwis won a penalty stroke on the counter. Lloyd Stephenson slotted the ball under a diving Weinhold to put the Kiwis in the lead. Germany struck back within a minute as they won a penalty stroke and this time Oskar Deecke beat Pontifex with a low shot in the right hand corner. The match looked like ending in a stalemate during normal time, but Joel Baker scored after sharing some fluent passes with Phillip Burrows. It ended 3-2 to New Zealand and the Germans ended a dismal tournament with a last place finish, and rightly so. |
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India have edge on depleted Lanka
Sri Lanka will hope to carry forward some of the confidence regained after winning the fifth and final match but yesterday's defeat was just a blip on the Indian team's radar after Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men dictated terms for the most part of the series. With Sri Lanka deciding to rest key players, including regular captain Mahela Jayawardene, deputy Kumar Sangakkara and the spin twins of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, Tillakaratne Dilshan will have an unenviable task at hand when he walks out for the toss tomorrow. Having achieved the primary target of clinching the ODI series, the Indian team would be in a relaxed state of mind and tomorrow's match would be an ideal opportunity for the stroke players to light up the stadium with batting pyrotechnics. A victim of serial umpiring blunders, Sachin Tendulkar has already returned home but going by the kind of form Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are in, the Lankans bowlers will have tough time taming the Delhi duo. Containing someone like Yuvraj Singh is no mean task either, as the Lankan bowlers realised yesterday. Arguably the cleanest striker of the ball, Yuvraj simply relishes this format and once he keeps going, he can win the match on his own. Not that Dhoni himself is a dud with the bat. Even though the Indian captain has evolved his batting and moulded himself as a finisher, he remains essentially a swashbuckler who prefers to deal in fours and sixes. The likes of Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma can improvise at will, while Yusuf Pathan's six-hitting ability is beyond any doubt. Even though the Indian team does not have Harbhajan Singh in its ranks and Zaheer Khan is likely to be rested, the bowling unit is quite effective. Ishant Sharma has proved time and again that his mastery of the craft is enough to trouble the best of the batsmen, while Praveen Kumar too is eager to prove his worth. No more an automatic choice in the ODI squad, Irfan Pathan too would not be low on motivation, while comeback man L Balaji, if given a chance, would be eager to prove that he can more than make up for his lack of pace with guile and variation. In contrast, the new look Sri Lankan squad under Dilshan would have their task cut out against India. The absence of Jayawardene, Sangakkara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muralitharan and Mendis does provide the fringe players an opportunity to impress the selectors but at the same time, it also renders the side low on experience. Lasith Malinga returns to the Twenty20 side after a knee injury kept him out of action for nearly a year and the maverick pacer would have to prove that he has not gathered rust all these months. The side also includes 35-year-old Indika de Saram, who would be standing behind the stumps. — PTI
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Dhoni, Harbhajan to get BCCI awards
New Delhi, February 9 BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement that Dhoni, who received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and Padma Shri this year, will get a "special award", while Harbhajan will be felicitated for winning the Padma Shri Award and logging 300 wickets in Test cricket. The BCCI had earlier announced that former Indian star batsman G R Viswanath would be given the the CK Nayudu award while opener Virender Sehwag would be bestowed the Polly Umrigar award. The Madhavrao Scindia award will go Saurashtra’s Cheteshwar Pujara, who had been scoring consistently in domestic cricket, and Uttar Pradesh medium-pacer Sudeep Tyagi. Both will receive cash award of Rs 1 lakh each. List of the awardees: C K Nayudu award: G R Viswanath (Rs. 15 lakh); Polly Umrigar award: Virender Sehwag (Rs 5 lakh); Madhavrao Scindia award (batsman): Cheteshwar Pujara; bowler: Sudeep Tyagi; M A Chidambaram Trophy (under-15): Ankit Bawane (Maharashtra); under-17: Mandeep Singh (Punjab); under-19: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (UP); under-22: Rahul Dewan (Delhi); best woman cricketer: Mithali Raj; best junior woman cricketer: M D Thirushkamini. Special awards: Maharashtra: best overall performance in the 2007-08 season. |
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Sehwag to receive Indian Player of the Year award
New Delhi, February 9 BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement that Dhoni, who received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and Padma Shri this year, will get a "special award", while Harbhajan will be felicitated for winning the Padma Shri Award and logging 300 wickets in Test cricket. The BCCI had earlier announced that former Indian star batsman G R Viswanath would be given the the CK Nayudu award while opener Virender Sehwag would be bestowed with the ‘Indian Player of the Year’ award, named after former India captain Polly Umrigar. The Madhavrao Scindia award will go Saurashtra’s Cheteshwar Pujara, who had been scoring consistently in domestic cricket, and Uttar Pradesh medium-pacer Sudeep Tyagi. Both will receive cash award of Rs 1 lakh each. List of the awardees: C K Nayudu award: G R Viswanath (Rs. 15 lakh); Polly Umrigar award: Virender Sehwag (Rs 5 lakh); Madhavrao Scindia award (batsman): Cheteshwar Pujara; bowler: Sudeep Tyagi; M A Chidambaram Trophy (under-15): Ankit Bawane (Maharashtra); under-17: Mandeep Singh (Punjab); under-19: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (UP); under-22: Rahul Dewan (Delhi); best woman cricketer: Mithali Raj; best junior woman cricketer: M D Thirushkamini. Special awards: Maharashtra: best overall performance in the 2007-08 season.
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ODI selection for NZ tour on Feb 13
Mumbai, February 9 The squad for the following three-Test series, scheduled from March 18 to April 7, would be chosen later. The itinerary: Feb 20: India arrive in New Zealand Feb 25: Twenty20 International, Christchurch Feb 27: Twenty20 International, Wellington Mar 3: Ist ODI, Napier Mar 6: 2nd ODI, Wellington Mar 8: 3rd ODI, Christchurch Mar 11: 4th ODI, Hamilton Mar 14: 5th ODI, Auckland Mar 18-22: 1st Test, Hamilton Mar 26-30: 2nd Test, Napier April 37: 3rd Test, Wellington.
— PTI |
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Powar bowls West Zone to title win
Chennai, February 9 Chasing an improbable 678 for victory, South Zone ended at 403 for nine after injured tail-ender Vinay Kumar did not come out to bat. Off-spinner Powar starred with the ball for West Zone and ended with a match haul of 10 for 187, seven of which came in the second innings. Powar finished the second innings with figures of 7/140. Resuming at overnight 232 for three, skipper S Badrinath and wicketkeeper Dinesh Kaarthick toiled hard before their dismissal triggered a collapse. — PTI West (1st Innings): 459 South (1st innings): 199 West (IInd Innings): dec for 8: 417 South (IInd innings): 403 Vijay c Parthiv b Powar 63 Uthappa c Tridevi b Pawar 94 Badrinath c Powar b Pawar 59 Dravid b Powar 0 Karthik hit wicket b Powar 75 Yadav c Pawar b Powar 14 Ashwin not out 46 Suresh b Powar 28 Jakati lbw b Powar 4 Sreesanth c Pawar b Powar 4 Vinay (did not bat) absent hurt 0 Extras: (b-12, lb-1, nb-1, w-2): 16 Total (all out in 100 overs): 403 Fall of wickets: 1-165, 2-167, 3-167, 4-288, 5-312, 6-319, 7-377, 8-399, 9-403 Bowling: D Kulkarni 17-3-75-0, S Trivedi 16-3-51-0, R Pawar 26-1-112-2, R Powar 38-9-140-7, Nayar 3-0-12-0.
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Chandigarh, February 9
Just when everyone thought things could not get any worse for Olympic champions Germany, they went out on the field, and as has been their trademark through the Punjab Gold Cup, proved all pundits wrong. A rickety show saw them losing the match for the third place to New Zealand 3-2.
Colombo, February 9
