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India come a cropper in Auckland
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India-New Zealand series
Bangalore declines security till poll
U-21 hockey final against Pak
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India come a cropper in Auckland
Auckland, March 14 India's awe-inspiring batting order witnessed a rare collapse today and the visitors were skittled out for a paltry 149 runs in 36.3 overs and the score could have been embarrassing but for Virender Sehwag (40) and Rohit Sharma (43 not out). New Zealand chased down the meagre target in just 23.2 overs after Jesse Ryder (63) gave them a flying start and Martin Guptill (57 not out) stayed till the end to see the side through in what turned out to be a one-sided contest at the Eden Park. It turned out to be a memorable outing for Jesse Ryder who also scalped three wickets for 29 runs in his nine overs. The Indians, who had already clinched the series, had to be content with a 3-1 scoreline with the Kiwis restoring some pride by convincingly winning the last game. Both the teams would renew their rivalry in a three-match Test series starting March 18. New Zealand's victory, however, was marred by an ugly spat between Ryder and Ishant Sharma, the Delhi paceman triggering it off when the robust Kiwi smashed the ball with all his might into the stands. His pride hurt, Ishant walked down the aisle and muttered and gestured angrily at Ryder. The left-hander responded with another six over mid-wicket, which incensed the sinewy fast bowler further. There was exchange at words at the square and umpire Rudi Koertzen warned Ishant for his on-field misconduct. Ryder was to rub it in when he hoisted the speedster deep into the stands at long-leg, bringing up his fifty. However, Ishant, who conceded 63 runs in 7.2 overs, was to have the last laugh, castling the Kiwi opener off an inside edge. Martin Guptill celebrated his call to the Test squad with an electrifying 50-ball 57 not out, taking New Zealand home in the company of Ross Taylor (28 not out).
Scoreboard New Zealand Innings:
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India-New Zealand series
On a day down under when India’s women’s cricket team were on top in the Women’s World Cup, the men bottomed out to Australia’s little brother, New Zealand in the final one-dayer. It was once again a case of the dead rubber syndrome where with the series already wrapped up the intensity went for a toss and casualness, rather than commitment, was the order of the day.
The facile win in the fourth one-dayer when Virender Sehwag rewrote the record book seems to have made others in the team believe that they too could bat like him. The disappointing part was that India did not bat out its full complement of overs and wasted the opportunity to add valuable runs which could have made New Zealand’s task that much harder. How often have we seen that when the tail wags, the team then comes out to field with renewed vigour after the amusement factor of the non-recognised batsmen hanging in, in their inimitable way. Here despite Rohit Sharma being there at the other end and batting well, the tail just came and threw its bat when all that was needed at that stage was to stay with him till the quota of overs was used up. Of course they would not have had to come to that if the top order had done its job, but once again the moment there was something in the pitch, the batting seemed bereft of ideas and decided that attack was the only way out. Then Ishant Sharma lost it by getting abusive when he was being carted all over the ground. Yes these are small grounds and so a bowler is better off pitching it fuller than short of a length and the more he was pulled into the stands the more he gave vent to his ire. He has shown a chink in his armour which the Kiwis will try and exploit in the Test matches. The young man is an impressive learner and when he sits down and analyses his effort he will no doubt realise that it would have been better off for him to have tried to settle down after coming back from an injury than trying to bowl quick and short and have the batsman use his pace to hit him. New Zealand will take heart from this performance as it comes before the Test series begins and India could well be in for a few more pitches like this than the ones earlier in the series. That should make the Tests a more balanced affair than the batsman dominated one-day series.
— PMG |
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Bangalore declines security till poll
Bangalore, March 14 In a letter to the team, Royal Challengers, Bangalore, copy of which was released to the press here, Mr Bidari said ''I reiterate that the Commissionerate of Police will not be in a position to provide security for any IPL matches until May 3, in view of our commitments regarding general elections being held in Karnataka on April 23 and 30." ''We are also not in a position to provide security for IPL matches from May 15 to 18 in view of the fact that counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections will held on May 16'', he added. Bidari, however, said adequate security can be provided for IPL matches which you propose to hold on May 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 19 and 20. The security will be provided subject to payment of charges prescribed for One Day Matches by the Government of Karnataka. New Delhi: With the Indian Premier League being thrown into jeopardy, the organisers have started the cumbersome process of re-working the dates in a bid to salvage the high profile Twenty20 cricket event starting next month. The tournament, coinciding with the general elections, has run into rough weather after the Home Ministry asked the organisers to redraw the schedule as it was not feasible to hold the matches under the existing fixture because of security reasons. IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi and CEO Sundar Raman, who air-dashed to the capital from Mumbai last night, spent the entire day here having meetings to find a way out of the imbroglio. "We are working on a new schedule. Hopefully, everything will be sorted out", IPL Tournament Director Dhiraj Malhotra said. But even as frantic discussions were going on, the IPL received another jolt with Bangalore Police declining to provide security cover for the tournament till May 3 and advised the organisers to hold all matches after May 4. "We are constantly fine-tuning the schedule to address the concerns of all the states hosting the matches. It is a tight situation and if need be, we may have to have three matches on a number of days or add some new venues to complete the event within the specific dates", an IPL source said. The IPL source said that they would get back to the Home Ministry after finalising the schedule. The Home Ministry's directive to re-work the dates had come yesterday after eight states, where matches in the second edition of the highly successful tournament were to be held, said that they may not be able to provide security in view of the general elections beginning April 16. — UNI/ PTI
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U-21 hockey final against Pak
Johor Bahru (Malaysia), March 14 The Indians have maintained an all-win record in the tournament so far and their 3-1 victory in the last match against Pakistan should put them in good stead for the summit showdown at the Taman Daya stadium. Coach A K Bansal is confident of his wards putting up a good show in the final which will witness a classic battle of nerve and skill between the two bitter rivals. The Indians will heavily rely on captain and star drag flicker Diwakar Ram to score the goals while Mandip Antil has also been in good touch and could be a big threat for the Pakistanis. The Indians started their campaign with a convincing 3-1 victory against the hosts Malaysia and then spanked Singapore 12-0 in the next game. They defeated Pakistan 3-1 in the last league match to set up a title clash against their traditional rivals. Innocent Kullu and Sunil Yadav a big role to play in the defence as the Pakistanis have a few forwards who are quite capable of piercing through the defence. Birendra Lakra, Vikas Sharma, Belsajar Horo, Amardeep Ekka and Manjeet Kullu are the midfielders while the attackline is spearheaded by Pramod Kumar, Jay Karan, Danish Mujtaba and Mandip Antil. — PTI
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WC: Indian eves shock Aussies
Sydney, March 14 Australian skipper Karen Rolton's decision to field first backfired as Indian openers Anagha Despandhe (45) and Anjum Chopra (76) gave a steady start to the visitors' innings. A late onslaught by Amita Sharma (31) and Harmanpreet Kaur helped the Indians accumulate 73 runs in the last seven overs and take the total to a respectable 234 for five in the alloted 50 overs. Although Australia started their run chase on a confident note, the Jhulan Goswami-led Indian attack restricted the hosts to 219 for seven in their 50 overs.
— PTI |
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