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Rain washes out second ODI
Davis Cup tie vs Chinese Taipei
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Sunil Gavaskar write
Rejig schedule, security will be provided: PC
Maharashtra seeks 5 battalions
Crucial tie for JCT today
Dravid begins NZ tour with century
Hazare Trophy: Bengal, TN in final
D Viju, Jwala Gutta crash out
Hughes, Katich hit centuries
Anand held by Ivanchuk, drops to joint fourth
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Wellington, March 6 India were rocking at 130 for one in 19 overs when rain disrupted the proceedings. After two restarts, the tourists had surged to 188 for four from 28.4 overs when the skies opened yet again. Umpires - Rudi Koertzen and Ewan Watkin, abandoned play at 8.15 pm (local time). Three interruptions had reduced the 50-over game to a 34-over affair, frustrating the motley crowd which hung on patiently for almost four hours before the umpires put them out of their anxiety. The teams move to Christchurch for the third ODI with India leading the five-match series 1-0. Virender Sehwag (54) and Sachin Tendulkar (61), prudently playing second fiddle to his adventurous partner, put India in the driver's seat with a quick-fire 76 run partnership for the first wicket. The hapless Kiwis were smacked all over in the first 12 overs as Sehwag, despite being hampered by a cramped leg muscle, spanked their attack with gay abandon. Sehwag's 31st half-century came off just 36 balls and was studded with nine fours and one shot over the fence. Sehwag's fall, albeit to a seemingly dubious caught behind decision by umpire Watkin, did not stutter India's run-rate, as Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir (30) kept the scoreboard ticking rapidly, before another spell of light rain returned the players to the pavilion. The numbing 65-minute break seemed had its effect on the Indian camp as they lost Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh in six balls. Tendulkar, who produced his 91st half century in 424 matches, was dismissed by Daniel Vettori as he ventured to sweep the canny Kiwi captain. Tendulkar's innings was adorned with seven fours and a six. Yuvraj, seeking to step up the asking rate, lasted all but four deliveries, tickling Kyle Mills to Ross Taylor at slip. Even as Gambhir and Dhoni set about repairing the damage, another spell of rain stalled play, reducing an already reduced number of overs from 44 (after the first break) to 34. Dhoni remained unbeaten with 23 (19 balls) while Raina, who despite his built, hits the ball as powerfully as a Yuvraj and Sehwag, made 13 not out. The players of both teams, match officials and spectators observed a minute's silence before the start of play, in recognition of the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Pakistan this week. — PTI Scoreboard India: Sehwag c McGlashan b Butler 54 Tendulkar lbw b Vettori 61 Gambhir c Elliot b O'Brien 30 Yuvraj c Taylor b Mills 0 Dhoni not out 23 Raina not out 13 Extras: (lb-4, w-4): 7 Total: (for 4 wkts in 28.4 overs): 188 Fall of wickets: 1-76, 2-139, 3-142, 4-166. Bowling: Kyle Mills 7-0-46-1, Iain O'Brien 6-0-44-1 Ian Butler 7-0-38-1, Jacob Oram 4-0-29-0, Daniel Vettori 3-0-14-1, Jesse Ryder 1.4-0-14-0.
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Davis Cup tie vs Chinese Taipei
Kaohsiung (Chinese Taipei), March 6 Somdev overcame a fighting but erratic Ti Chen in the first singles 7-5 6-4 6-4 to put India ahead but Yen-Hsun Lu brought the hosts back into the tie after defeating Rohan Bopanna 7-6 (2) 6-2 6-2 in the second singles. Now tomorrow's doubles rubber could prove decisive as whoever wins would have an advantage on Sunday when players will take the court for reverse singles. India can count on its seasoned doubles pair — Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi — for a favourable result as they will take on the home combo of Tsung-Hua Yang and Chu-Huan Yi at Yang Ming tennis centre. Somdev gave India a good start by winning the opening singles but it was not a convincing victory. Bopanna, on the other hand, fought valiantly initially against world number 59 Lu but ran out of steam once he lost the opening set in the tie-breaker. Somdev's victory gave India a 1-0 lead and the Indian camp was looking at Bopanna to make it 2-0 but Lu lived up to his reputation and poured cold water on Indian hopes in a rain-disrupted match. The first set turned out to be an intense one between the two players, who had come into the tie with some good results in the current season. Both the players relied on their strong serve, forcing the first set into a tie breaker after it went with serve till the 12th game. Lu then took control of the proceedings and outplayed the Indian in the tie-breaker. Bopanna never recovered from the first set debacle and struggled to hold serve. Lu broke the Indian twice each in the second and third sets to draw level for the hosts. Earlier, Somdev, ranked 150, had to dig deep to defeat world number 356 Chen in the first singles. He came nowhere near showing the brilliance that he displayed at the Chennai Open in the beginning of the season, but managed to pull it off somehow. An erratic Chen helped the cause of the Indian. Chen lost the first set despite dominating the most part of it as he let himself down with a series of unforced errors. Somdev looked a lot better in the second set as he grew in confidence. After the first two games of the opening set went with serve, Somdev broke Chen in the third to go up by converting the second breakpoint. The first breakpoint came India's way following a long rally but Somdev could not cash in on it as Chen served well to save it. Somdev got another breakpoint when Chen made a forehand error and then converted it when the Chinese Taipei lad made a volley error. However, Somdev could not build on the advantage and dropped his serve in the next to make it 2-2. The games thereafter went on serve before a pitched battle in the ninth game. After playing five deuces, and saving many a breakpoints, Chen eventually held the serve. Somdev then saved a set point in the next, went on to break Chen in the 11th game and served out the set in the 12th game to go one set up. In the second set, Somdev played much better, and continuously attacked the weak backhand of Chen. — PTI
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Sunil Gavaskar write The weather in New Zealand lived up to its name and spelt finish to the second One-day International, even as Dhoni and Raina were warming to the task of getting India to a 200 plus score. Cricket is a game that is essentially played with the sun on the player’s backs and not when they are under layers and layers of clothing to ward off the cold and the chill winds. Having said that international crickets’ test, is in overcoming conditions foreign to the one a player is brought up in. The Indians won’t complain, they rarely do and they are prepared to make the adjustments not just on the field but off it too. They looked real dashing in their suits when they went to meet the New Zealand Prime-Minister. That was a far cry from the T-shirts they wore to the reception by the Sri Lankan President in Colombo and it was probably only because of the difference in weather that there was the formal attire and casual attire on the field at Wellington they had to contend with the wind factor. Luckily the game was abandoned before they came on to bowl where the wind factor and a fairly open ground would have made a difference especially in the thin night air. While batting the gloves make for adequate warmth and when Sehwag and Tendulkar decided that they were not interested in keeping warm by taking quick singles the Kiwi bowlers were on a hiding to nothing. The Kiwi bowlers look better at blogging than bowling despite having the advantage of the weather and pitch conditions. Like all bowlers in the world they too were hampered by the lack of swing with the white ball and that did not make their task easy. Viru had left any defensive shots and thoughts in the dressing room and the little champion having not troubled the scorers much in the first game was not going to be immobile as his likely likeness in the wax museum. It made for some great viewing. The skipper Dhoni is beginning a new school of thought; earlier skippers would keep changing the bowling numbers so as not to give the batsmen a long look at them. So they would have one bowl an over or two and bring on another bowler so as to not allow the batsmen to settle down. The Indian skipper is doing that with his batting order so we saw Gambhir who did not get to bat in the first game bat at number three where the skip himself had got a brilliant 80 a couple of days back. Suresh Raina who blasted the Kiwi attack that day was held back, so clearly the Indian skipper is rewriting cricketing strategy. The rains did not let us see if it worked favourably for his team or not but expect more of the same in the next games too. — PMG
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Rejig schedule, security will be provided: PC
Hyderabad, March 6 Chidambaram, who had earlier spoken about difficulties in providing para-military forces for the matches during polling days, said, "Nobody need worry about playing cricket in India or safety of anyone". Some re-scheduling of IPL matches "seems unavoidable", the Home Minister told reporters here, adding he was trying his best to ensure that the second edition of the event is held smoothly. "The IPL schedule and election schedule are exactly the same. It virtually overlaps with each other. I do not blame IPL. When the IPL had announced its schedule, they did not know the election schedule. When the EC announced its schedule, it did not, naturally, take note of IPL schedule", he said. Chidambaram's assurance comes after intense speculation on the holding of the matches this year. IPL Commissioner and Chairman, Lalit Modi had said that postponement of the matches was as good as calling it off though he expressed his readiness to make minor adjustments and ensure that matches were not played on polling days. "I want cricket to be played in India and let me say, what I said a couple of years ago, cricket when played in India is completely safe. Nobody need worry about playing cricket in India or safety of anyone," he said. The Home Minister said he just wanted a change of the IPL schedule so that the matches could be held with full security and smoothly. "But I have to take note of the fact that the two schedule are completely overlapping. Therefore, I suggested that the IPL should take a second look at the schedule. So they now have come up with a new schedule," Chidambaram said. A decision on whether the IPL can go ahead with a revised schedule would be taken after the central government discusses the matter with the host states and the Election Commission. "I did not say that IPL should be postponed. My only concern is if I have to provide Central Paramilitary Forces, I must know whether I have those Central force to provide security of the IPL. I am trying to help and I will help the IPL hold matches. But some rescheduling seems unavoidable," he said. The Home Ministry has passed on the new schedule to the states. "We have got inputs from DGPs, Commissioners of nine cities. They are in fact discussing it in Delhi now so let them discuss and come back", Chidambaram said. — PTI
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Maharashtra seeks 5 battalions
Mumbai: The IPL matches coinciding with the Lok Sabha elections is proving to be a major headache for the Maharashtra government in the wake of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore earlier this week. The Home Department in Maharashtra has expressed reservations about the security forces being over extended as adequate protection would have to be provided at election rallies and during the election process till the counting of votes in mid-May. "Since Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai, has been a target of the terrorist we don't want to take any chances," a senior bureaucrat said. Officials from the home department, police and senior bureaucrats met with Home Minister P Chidambaram today and expressed their views on the security situation. Among those who met the Home Minister included Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and the Secretary for Home Chitkala Zutshi. At the meeting Maharashtra's Home Minister Jayant Patil asked Chidambaram to provide five battalions of security forces during the IPL matches. "We have demanded five battalions so as to provide security of the cricketers during the IPL matches," Patil told reporters today. Apart from sanitizing the route from their hotels to the playing venues, security would be provided to the players while they attend social functions, Patil said. Adding to the problem is the change of venues for the IPL. The famed Wankhede Stadium won't be available for IPL matches as renovation work is in progress. Instead, the smaller Brabourne Stadium owned by the Cricket Club of India would be made available.
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Crucial tie for JCT today
Chandigarh, March 6 It has been an extraordinarily poor season for the millmen and this might be the last thread of redemption. Not only have the Phagwara outfit failed to find the back of the net consistently, they have also not been able to keep clean sheets. There are too many worrying factors for coach Sukhwinder Singh to look into, but he seems quietly assured his team can rise up to the challenge. “We have seen enough highs and lows and we know that now it’s all about going out there and playing to the best of our ability. I am convinced that this team has it in them to get the three points,” a confident sounding Sukhwinder said. The match begins at 3.30 pm local time. |
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Dravid begins NZ tour with century
Wellington, March 6 The former Indian captain struck 13 boundaries in his 226-minute stay at the wicket and was instrumental to propel Canterbury to 388 for five at close on the first day. Meanwhile, VVS Laxman, playing for Otago Colts, failed to make use of the opportunity and could fetch just 20 runs from his 69-minute stay at the University of Oval pitch in Denedin as his team was bundled out for 174 in the first innings. Brief Scores: Canterbury Wizzards (1st innings): 388 for 5 (R Dravid 102, M Papps 127, J Myburgh 104, Amit Mishra 28-1-101-0) Otago Colts (1st innings): 174 all out |
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Hazare Trophy: Bengal, TN in final
Agartala, March 6 The final will be played on March 9. In the first semifinals, Bengal beat Baroda by 81 runs while Tamil Nadu defeated Uttar Pradesh by 35 runs. Electing to bat first at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Stadium, Bengal scored 227 in 49.5 overs, riding on the good batting display of Manoj Tiwari and skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla. They both well deserved half centuries by just one run. While Tiwari's 52-ball innings was studded with six fours, Shukla took 78 deliveries and four boundaries to reach 49. Opener Srivats Goswami also scored 41 (65 balls, 4X5). Spinner Rajesh Pawar took three Bengal wickets for 59. Set a victory target of 228 runs, Baroda was bundled out with 146 runs in 40.2 overs, owing to poor batting. Only Rajesh Pawar's 43 (46 balls, 4x4, 6x1), S R Solanki's 25 (48 balls, 4X4) and 13 by P R Shah, none of the Baroda batsmen could reach double figure.
— PTI |
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D Viju, Jwala Gutta crash out
New Delhi, March 6 The Indian team squandered a first game lead to go down 23-21 20-22 14-21 against second seeded Korean pair of Yong Dae Lee and Hyo Jung Lee in London, yesterday. The Indian pair, world number 14, rode on their smashes but were outdone by the Koreans in the net play after a 48-minute gruelling battle. The Indian duo earned 32 smash points against 31 of the Koreans. But they could manage just eight net winners against 10 of their world number three rivals.
— PTI |
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Hughes, Katich hit centuries
Durban (South Africa), March 6 Australia were in a strong position at 303 for four at the close. Hughes (115) and Katich (108) put on 184 for the first wicket, scoring at better than four runs an over, in a partnership dominated by Hughes, who thrashed 19 fours and two sixes in a 151-ball innings. Australia (1st innings): Hughes c McKenzie b Kallis 115 Katich c Smith b Steyn 108 Ponting c McKenzie b Harris 9 M. Hussey batting 37 M. Clarke b Harris 3 M. North batting 17 Extras (b-4, lb-1, nb-8, w-1): 14 Total (4 wkts, 89 overs): 303 Fall of wickets: 1-184, 2-208, 3-269, 4-266. Bowling: Steyn 18-1-63-1; Ntini 17-3-55-0; Morkel 17-2-68-0; Kallis 13-4-41-1; Harris 21-5-66-2; Duminy 3-1-5-0. |
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Anand held by Ivanchuk, drops to joint fourth
Linares, Spain, March 6 While the hopes for Anand are virtually over with just two rounds remaining, Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen stunned leader Alexander Grischuk of Russia to open the tournament. However, Grischuk remained in sole lead with seven points, half a point ahead of Carlsen and Ivanchuk, while Anand, on six points, shares the fourth spot along with Levon Aronian of Armenia, who also had to settle for a draw with Chinese Wang Yue (5.5 points) today. In another game of the day, Azerbaijani Teimour Radjabov (5.5 points) also played out a draw with Cuban Lenier Dominguez (5 points). For Anand it was another hard day as he tried a lot and even came back to the king pawn opening which surprisingly he employed for the first time in tournament. Ivanchuk, who went in for Berlin defense very early in the game, kept surprising his Indian rival as he later employed a theoretical battle to force Anand to settle for his sixth successive draw in the tournament. — UNI
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The weather in New Zealand lived up to its name and spelt finish to the second One-day International, even as Dhoni and Raina were warming to the task of getting India to a 200 plus score. Cricket is a game that is essentially played with the sun on the player’s backs and not when they are under layers and layers of clothing to ward off the cold and the chill winds. Having said that international crickets’ test, is in overcoming conditions foreign to the one a player is brought up in.
Durban (South Africa), March 6
