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India let Kiwis off the hook
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Sunil Gavaskar writes
Momentum with India: Vettori
MHA awaits states’ feedback
Deodhar Trophy
WC: Victory not enough for eves
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Reduced to 60 for 6 at one stage, visitors allow hosts to stage smart recovery through Vettori and Ryder, who both slam centuries, before Kiwis are bowled out for 279 on Day 1
Hamilton, March 18 Put into bat, the Kiwis suffered a dramatic top-order collapse in the first session before Vettori (118) and Ryder (102) steadied the ship with a defiant 186-run stand to take the Kiwis to a healthy 279 all out on the opening day. Kiwi skipper Vettori led from front, notching up his third Test century, while Ryder curbed his natural stroke-play to struck his maiden Test hundred on an eventful day the Seddon Park stadium. Their seventh-wicket innings-rejuvenating partnership bettered the 163 that Bert Sutcliffe and Bruce Taylor had knit together against India at Calcutta in 1964-65. The Indians would be a trifle disappointed to have allowed the Kiwis to wriggle out of a tight situation after the Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma had caused the early damage. In reply, India were 29 for no loss at stumps with Virender Sehwag (22) and Gautam Gambhir (6) at the crease, promising to continue their run-scoring spree. The chips were woefully down for the Kiwis, with Indians threatening to clean up the bottom half of their batting but the gallant left-hander threw caution to the winds and counter-attacked with some blazing strokes. With Ryder, who prudently played second fiddle while his ebullient captain donned the role of an aggressor, also determined to take the fight into the enemy citadel. There was precious little that Mahendra Singh Dhoni could do as the Kiwis flourished in the second session, while the fizzy Indian bowling went flat. — PTI Scoreboard
New Zealand (Ist innings): McIntosh c Sehwag b Ishant
12 Guptill c Dravid b Zaheer 14 Flynn c Dhoni b Zaheer 0 Taylor b Ishant 18 Ryder c Laxman b Ishant
102 Fraklin c Dhoni b Ishant 0 B McCullum c Laxman b Munaf 3 Vettori c Dhoni b Munaf 118 Mills b Munaf 0 O'Brien st Dhoni b Harbhajan 8 Martin not out 0 Extras
(lb-1, nb-3) 4 Total (all out, 78.2 overs) 279 Fall of wickets:
1-17, 2-17, 3-40, 4-51, 5-51, 6-60, 7-246, 8-246, 9-275. Bowling:
Zaheer 16-3-70-2, Ishant 19.2-4-73-4, Munaf 18-4-60-3, Harbhajan 22-7-57-1, Sehwag 3-0-18-0. India (1st innings):
Gambhir batting 6 Sehwag batting 22 Extras: (b-1) 1 Total:
(no loss, 7 overs) 29 Bowling: Martin 4-1-9-0, Mills 2-0-18-0, O'Brien 1-0-1-0. |
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Sunil Gavaskar writes The age-old weakness of Indian bowling surfaced again as India having had New Zealand on its knees allowed it to get up and put up a fighting total. With such a nicely balanced attack and one where the pitch and the conditions suited it perfectly, it was disappointing to see the score that New Zealand were allowed to eventually get to. Controlling emotions is the key to winning the mental battle but once again the Indian bowlers let their emotions about the ability of Jesse Ryder come in the way of good thinking. Sure Ryder does not look like a cricketer with his bulk and his so-called off-field activities, but the only way to show that he is nothing is to get him out for nothing. Trying to bounce him out when the hook is his strongest shot is foolhardy especially when the ball was seaming around nicely and making the batsmen search for it. Yes, sometimes the movement was too much and that’s the difference between the red ball and the white one which barely moves after a few overs. Batting is infinitely easier in limited overs where the white ball is used. The prodigious movement that all the bowlers were getting meant that the better chance was to let the ball do the talking and it talks a language the batsmen don’t understand when its pitched up to him. Banging it in short increases the distance for the batsman to see the ball and its late movement. It also makes him less committed to the shot. Having said that, it was an eye-opener to see the batting of skipper Daniel Vettori. Over the years he has practised assiduously at his batting and has now become a truly formidable number seven. He is an all-rounder now and it was his calm unruffled presence that helped Ryder to settle down too. The noticeable aspect of his batting was how close to his body he played the ball. This way he could make any late adjustment if the ball did something more than he anticipated. His partnership with Ryder changed the complexion of the game and has given his team a fighting chance. Zaheer Khan was the pick of the Indian bowlers and he was well supported by Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel. This is an attack to rank with the best because there is pace swing and a lot of cunning too but they would be disappointed that they were unable to send the hosts packing before 200. India have begun their reply strongly with Sehwag continuing his great touch, so let’s hope that the sun will continue to be out and negate any movement in the air to add to that off the pitch. — PMG
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Momentum with India: Vettori
Hamilton, March 18 Both scored centuries that helped New Zealand post 279 after they were reeling at 60 for six at one stage. "We gained momentum through our partnership, but if you just look at the scores you would say India's on top," said Vettori, who made a fighting 118, his third Test century in 90 Tests. The skipper was naturally disappointed with his batsmen who failed to come to terms with the pace attack of Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan in the opening session. "We are obviously disappointed with the situation we put ourselves in. India made the most of the conditions. There was just enough in the wicket to suggest it was difficult. They swung the ball to make batting difficult," said Vettori about the Indian fast bowlers, who vindicated captain Mahendra singh Dhoni's decision to field first after winning the toss. The bespectacled 30-year-old captain admitted that it was a bit difficult to bat early on. "There were a couple of things that didn't quite go our way - Flynny's (Daniel Flynn) tough way of getting out and Frankie (James Franklin) as well. It was a tough morning session. Once that settled down and once the ball got a little bit older, it was easier to bat on," said Vettori. The spinner also disclosed their first thoughts were to cross the 150-run mark. "Our first thoughts were to get through to 150. Fortunately, Jesse and I batted for a long time and put a competitive score on the Board. A below par, but certainly a competitive score," said Vettori, who was dropped on 77 by Rahul Dravid at slip off Harbhajan Singh. The skipper was full of praise for Ryder, who scored 102 and was the last man to depart. "He started his Test career at three. But since the time he has slipped down to five, his form has been outstanding. Jesse has batted pretty well in Test cricket so far. "He has found himself in a number of situations and scored runs. I suppose people look at him as a one-day opener and someone who whacks the ball. But they haven't quite seen the subtleties of his game. "Today he had the ability to leave good balls and put away bad balls. That's what the great batsmen do. I can't think of a chance that went down and I can't think of too many that went past bat. It was just good batting in a difficult situation," he said.
— PTI |
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MHA awaits states’ feedback
New Delhi, March 18 As the race to finalise the schedule continued, Home Minster P Chidambaram said a decision on the fate of the IPL second edition will be taken soon after the Ministry received feedback from the concerned state governments on the revised schedule. Desperate to get the cash-rich league on track, the IPL's top brass has held a series of meetings since Monday and submitted a reworked schedule to the Home Ministry yesterday. The new schedule has now taken into account the reservations and security constraints of the states hosting the matches. "The last I heard was yesterday morning they submitted a revised schedule. The revised schedule has been sent to all the state governments concerned. We've asked them to give their comments and views as early as possible," Chidambaram told reporters here. "Once all the state governments concern give their comments and views, especially with regard to security then we will take a view," Chidambaram added. The schedule was revised for the third time after the Home Ministry had told the organisers that cosmetic changes in the fixture was not acceptable and they would have to finalise the dates in consultation with the state governments. IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi said in Mumbai that the league was working hard to work out an acceptable schedule. "We are working very hard with all the states and the Home Ministry. As and when it (the schedule) is ready, it will be out," he said. Delhi and Jaipur have been taken off the IPL's revamped schedule given to the Home Ministry because of security concerns in these two centres, Modi said. "There are security issues in these two states and that's the reason Delhi and Jaipur have been taken out of the IPL schedule." Modi explained that if these states desire to conduct IPL matches, they need to talk directly to the MHA and get the clearance. IPL team inspects
Raipur stadium
Raipur: A three-member Indian Premier League (IPL) team led by its Tournament Committee Chairman Dhiraj Malhotra on Wednesday inspected the newly-built state-of-the-art Rs 100-crore International Cricket Stadium to explore the possibility of shifting a couple of IPL matches here. Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) president Baldev Singh Bhatia, who apprised the IPL team of the stadium, said the team dubbed the stadium as ''one of the best in the country.'' Dropped Delhi may host matches: Jaitley
New Delhi: Contrary to reports, Delhi has not been entirely dropped as a venue for the Indian Premier League and the city might host a few games of the Twenty20 event's second edition, DDCA president Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday. "Some matches could still be worked out as per the new schedule sent to the Home Ministry. We are in constant touch with Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and Police authorities," Jaitley told reporters here. Sources said while Dikshit has given her nod to the hosting of the matches, the police have apparently declined to give the green signal citing lack of security forces due to the upcoming general elections.
— Agencies |
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Comfortable title win for West Zone
Cuttack, March 18 Electing to bat, Jaffer's 108-ball 116 and Cheteshwar Pujara's 86-ball 94 to set the foundation for West Zone's record 362 total. In reply, East Zone crumbled to 144 in 39.4 overs. Ravindra Jadeja (61 not out) and Abhishek Nayar (54 not out) blew away the struggling East attack, hitting 99 runs in the last seven overs. The East Zone, who made a surprise move this morning opting to play with an extra batsman (Haladhar Das), clearly missed a fifth back-up bowler. Made to bowl six overs, skipper Manoj Tiwary conceded 68 runs at a rate of 11.33, while Deepak Sharma gave away 37 runs from his five overs. Having led the side in Mumbai's 38th Ranji Trophy triumph this season, Jaffer anchored the West innings to perfection especially after their top order failed to give them a decent start. Openers Parthiv Patel (12) and Ajinkya Rahane (2) departed quickly with the team's score at 40 for two in 8.1 overs. — PTI Scoreboard West Zone: Rahane b Dinda 2 P Patel c Saha b Bose 12 Jaffer c Goswami b Bose 116 Solanki run out 17 Pujara c Tiwary b Sharma 94 R Jadeja not out 61 Nayar not out 50 Extras: (nb-1, w-5) 6 Total: (five wickets, 50 overs) 362 Fall of Wickets: 1-5, 2-40, 3-85, 4-243, 5-263. Bowling: Bose 10-0-54-2, Dinda 10-0-81-1, Goswami 9-0-68-0, Mohanty 10-0-54-0, Tiwary 6-0-68-0, Sharma 5-0-37-1. East Zone: Saha b Odedara 2 Behera lbw b Odedara 12 H Das b Trivedi 0 Jaggi b Trivedi 8 M Tiwary run out 24 S Tiwary run out 2 D Sharma lbw b Nayar 7 R Mohanty lbw b Nayar 26 D Goswami not out 40 A Dinda b Jadeja 16 R Bose c Patel b Jadeja 0 Extras (b-4, lb-1, w-2) 7 Total: (all out in 39.4 overs) 144 FoW: 1-3, 2-11, 3-15, 4-47, 5-47, 6-49, 7-78, 8-106, 9-144. Bowling: Trivedi 8-2-27-2, Odedara 10-0-32-2, Abdulla 10-1-29-0, Nayar 6-0-32-2, Jadeja 3.4-0-16-2, Makwana 2-0-5-0.
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WC: Victory not enough for eves
Sydney, March 18 Thanks to their five-wicket loss against the Kiwis yesterday, Jhulan Goswami and her teammates are standing on the threshold of exiting from the event and their chances of progressing to the March 22 final hinges not just on their performance, but also on their fortune.
— PTI |
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New Delhi, March 18
