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Swing & seam to rein in Indians
Consult states: Home Ministry |
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South Africa to stage Champions Trophy
Jeev signs off 4th for best Major finish
Deodhar
Trophy
Postpone IPL, demands Kalmadi
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Swing & seam to rein in Indians
Hamilton, March 16 One look at the wicket would convince anyone that the Kiwis, who had the Indians in a spot of bother on a lively Eden Park deck in the last ODI at Auckland, would use swing and seam to arrest the Indian batsmen who have been on a rampage on this
tour. Though curator Karl Jackson said he would eventually shear the pitch of its "excess" grass, there should be appreciable assistance for seamers, who could be lethal if the conditions are overcast. The conditions would demand great discipline from the Indian batsmen to collar a seam attack, spearheaded by James Franklin , an ace at swinging the ball. Kyle Mills, who on his day can trouble established batsmen, Iain O'Brien and either Chris Martin or new-find Brent Arnel could form the seam quartet. The wily Daniel Vettori (286 wickets in 89 Tests) could provide fizz and turn in case the quicks fail. However, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag have the skill and experience to quell the Kiwi attack, though they had had a deplorable tour in 2002-03, when India had mustered a series-high score of 219. Any extravagance could hurt the Kiwis as well, as they have an inexperienced batting line-up, which has yet-to-be-christened Martin Guptill. Interestingly, Ross Taylor (14), Jesse Ryder (6), Daniel Flynn (9), Tim McIntosh (2) and Brendon McCullum (41) have played barely 72 Tests between them, half the number of matches that Tendulkar (156) has played in. The young Kiwis would have to contend with the likes of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, who had rocked Australia and England even on docile wickets back home. If the duo, assisted by Lakshmipathy Balaji, could seam and cut the Kookaburra ball, the hosts could be vulnerable under pressure, as they were in the ODIs. Keeping this in mind, Kiwi coach Andy Moles said, "We don't want to play on a green seamer. We want to have a good game of cricket and I am sure that is what we will get." If the Blackcaps had complained about being tormented by Sehwag, they will now have to deal with the batting might of Sachin Tendulkar (12,429 runs), Rahul Dravid (10509) and VVS Laxman (6446), who have a staggering gross aggregate of 29,384 Test runs among them. The celebrated trio apart, India could also bank on Gautam Gambhir, who has arguably been India's best batting find in recent times, Yuvraj Singh and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to put the runs on the board. Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Balaji too can be handy with the willow. Given the wealth of experience and talent, self-belief and an enviable track record over the last 18 months, India begin the three-Test rubber as the favorites. Nevertheless, they would have to perform at their best to score a Test series victory in the antipodes, their first since the Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi-inspired 3-1 triumph in 1967-68.
— PTI Franklin raring to go
The Kiwis believe his enterprising batting and ability to swing the ball would be handy against the tourists in the Test series, starting March 18. "My international career has been going for eight years now, but I am still to come up against the Indian batting line-up, which I am looking forward to," said the 28-year-old. "I bring a little bit of variation as a left-arm bowler. I can swing the ball, so it will be a different angle of attack for the batsmen to come up against." The sprightly all-rounder, who has been in good nick this season, running up scores of 92 (against England A) and 156 not out (vs Central Stags), said he would try to deliver whatever his captain asks of him. "I just do whatever job is asked of me by the captain and the team. If I do bat at 6 or 7, it will be great. I know there is responsibility there to score runs in that position." Does he see himself as a batsman who bowls or a bowler who bats? "I would like to think I can do the job both with the ball and the bat. I have had a good hit over the last three days at Wellington and Napier. It is nice to get a few runs and wickets under my belt. "I am in a position where if I miss out on one, I have got a chance to make up with the other. I will be trying very hard to show that I can perform with both the bat and the ball," Franklin said. He also held the Indian team in high esteem for their brilliant batting and bowling line-ups. "They played really well in the last couple of weeks in the one-dayers and have shown that they are a powerful batting line-up. We have got to be at the top of our game in the Test series. Guptill looking forward to challenge
Guptill's unbeaten 57 and Jesse Ryder's 63 fashioned New Zealand's win in Auckland and the former is looking to carry on that momentum in the Test series when he makes his debut for the Black Caps. "I'm feeling pretty confident, I'm looking forward to the challenge," said Guptill, who seems to have got a measure of the visitors' attack by now. "I've faced all the bowlers, I know what they can do and how they do their thing," he was quoted as saying by the 'New Zealand Press Association'. Guptill had good form in ODIs but his performance in the longer version has been far from satisfactory. "I don't think my four-day record's much to go by," the 22-year-old admitted.
— PTI |
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Consult states: Home Ministry
New Delhi, March 16 The Ministry was not satisfied with the IPL management’s proposal to juggle with the match dates, including the inclusion of additional venues, so as to keep the IPL show going as scheduled, but without clashing with the poll dates. The IPL is slated to start on April 10, and will last till May 24. Some of the matches are expected to overlap the Parliamentary polls, which the Ministry found unacceptable due to security reasons. The para-military, State police and other security forces were not willing to stretch their personnel thin, by deploying them both for poll duty and the IPL security, as fatigue factor would also come into play. That was the reason the Ministry asked the IPL management to go back to the drawing board, and rework the schedule, after having thorough consultations with State Governments where both polls and IPL matches would be held, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials met the Home Ministry mandarins here today. A three-member BCCI team, led by secretary N Srinivasan, had a 90-minute meeting today with special secretary (internal security) Raman Srivastava where the cricket officials were told very firmly that just cosmetic changes would not work, but only fool-proof measures would do, taking into consideration the security aspect. Srinivasan said the Home Ministry had expressed its “concerns” as it explained the difficulty in detailing paramilitary and other forces during election time. “And we have also explained our difficulties and concerns, and the importance of all the stake-holders,” added Srinivasan. The Ministry was not satisfied with the IPL’s suggestion that the matches proposed at Visakhapatnam could be held at Dharamshala after the Andhra Pradesh Government had refused to provide security there for four matches between April 19 to 29. If the IPL submits fresh dates, then the Ministry will consult with the State Governments before giving its go-ahead. IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi had announced a couple of days back that the IPL was capable of managing the security aspect on its own and it had engaged a South African security agency for the purpose. But the Ministry was not satisfied with this line of argument by the IPL, and wanted solid assurance from the concerned State Governments on security for the IPL matches, before the Ministry could give permission to hold the second edition of the T20 event as per schedule.
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South Africa to stage Champions Trophy
New Delhi, March 16 The eight-team event was originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan but was postponed last year and then switched due to security concerns. The Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg and Centurion in Pretoria were identified as preferred venues subject to conclusion of satisfactory commercial terms, an ICC release said. South Africa was shortlisted as the host country for the premier one-day tournament, second only in importance to the World Cup, after fears of poor weather ruled out Sri Lankan capital Colombo for the Sept. 24-Oct. 5 event. The trimmed event this time will be played over 12 days. “I think the board has made a sensible decision that will give the event every chance of success,” ICC president David Morgan said. “We now have clarity on the subject and we can make firm plans for what is going to be a great spectacle of ODI cricket. “I would like to thank Sri Lanka Cricket for its commitment to offer an alternative to Pakistan. And also, I want to acknowledge its willingness to step aside in this matter. I’d also like to thank CSA (Cricket South Africa) for putting its hand up and offering to host this event.” South Africa jointly hosted the 2003 one-day World Cup with Zimbabwe and Kenya and then the World Twenty20 in 2007. — Reuters
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Jeev signs off 4th for best Major finish
Doral, March 16 Jeev, whose previous best performance in a major was the tied ninth place finish in last year's PGA Championship, signed off with an aggregate of four-under 274, five shots behind Phil Mickelson who shrugged off a bout of exhaustion and dehydration and crawled out of the bed to lift the title. Jeev, the reigning Asia number one, pocketed a cool $360,000 cheque for his exploits at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa. Jeev went into the final round at third place and the opening hole birdie promised a spirited challenge by the Indian. Birdies came on the fifth and seventh as well but were summarily cancelled out by the bogeys on the fourth and eighth and the Indian made turn at one under. On his way back, Jeev birdied the 12th and 16th holes but the 13th proved unlucky for him and dropping a stroke there left him at two-under. Jeev parred the last five holes to finish three shots ahead of the iconic Tiger Woods. “I could have done better but I’m happy with my performance,” said Jeev, who is in pursuit of his first triumph on US PGA Tour. “Those boys up front were superb and were way past us after nine holes,” he said, admitting his prospects of winning the title was over by the time he was through his front
nine. — PTI |
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East set up title clash with West
Cuttack, March 16 Put in to bat, East set target of 258 for Mohammad Kaif-led side but even a 96-ball 93 from Piyush Chawla's blade proved to be futile and Central folded up for 239 in 47.4 overs. Wrecker-in-chief Randeb Bose (3-46) denied Chawla, batting at number 8, a century after already denting their hopes by rattling the top-order along with Ashok Dinda (2-46). Central were at one stage reduced to 69 for six in 15.5 overs. Four-time title winners East will cross swords with eight times champions West to decide the winners of 36th Prof DB Deodhar Trophy at Barabati Stadium on Wednesday. The match was reduced to 48-over-a-side because of 30-minute delayed start owing to bad light in the morning. Earlier, Wriddhiman Saha and Natraj Behera gave the East Zone a rolicking start with an opening stand of 99 runs. Pujara excels as West sail into final
Cheteshwar Pujara starred with an unbeaten 53 as eight-time champions West Zone thrashed minnows Zimbabwe President's XI by six wickets to comfortably sail into the final of the Zonal One-Dayers for Deodhar Trophy here on Monday. Electing to bat, the touring Zimbabwe side never had it easy against the heavyweights West who came up with a tidy bowling performance to restrict the visitors to 176 for nine in their stipulated 50 overs at Barabati Stadium here.
— PTI |
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Postpone IPL, demands Kalmadi
New Delhi, March 16 The second edition of the IPL, starting April 10, has come under a cloud of uncertainty in the aftermath of last year's Mumbai terror strikes and the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore on March 3. To compound problems, the IPL coincides with the general elections and the Home Ministry has already made it clear that it cannot provide paramilitary forces for the event during the elections. "IPL should be postponed till after the elections are over because a lot of state governments have also said it is not the right time and they need paramilitary forces which I think the government can't give," IOA President Suresh Kalmadi said today. "So, if there is a severe incident during the IPL matches, I think it will have repercussions on the Commonwealth Games itself," he added. The IOA chief also ruled out the introduction of cricket in the Commonwealth Games.
— PTI |
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Uncertainty clouded the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 Championship as the Home Ministry asked the IPL management not to just play around with the dates, but come out with concrete proposals after holding talks with the concerned State Governments where IPL matches would be held, as security measures had to be water-tight in view of the Lok Sabha polls.
Kiwi all-rounder James Franklin, whose return to the team has bolstered the New Zealand pace attack, is excited at the prospect of his maiden encounter with the Indian batsmen and hopes to make life tough for them with his ability to swing the ball.
After guiding New Zealand to a consolation win in the last one-dayer against India, Kiwi opening batsman Martin Guptill is raring to go at Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men when they square off in the first of three-match Test series starting here from Wednesday.
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