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Gambhir leads India’s fightback
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Button leads Brawn to dream one-two debut Melbourne, March 29 
Jenson Button led Brawn GP to astonishingone-two at season-opening Australian Grand Prix today in Formula One's most successful team debut for 55 years. Brawn GP driver Rubens Barichello (L) and Jenson Button celebrate on the podium at the Australian GP on Sunday. — AFP photo
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Gambhir leads India’s fightback
Napier, March 29 After conceding a huge 314-run lead, the Indians raised their game when it mattered most to reach 252 for two at close on the penultimate day, still trailing the hosts by 62 runs. The left-handed Gambhir notched up his fifth Test ton and was batting on 102 while Sachin Tendulkar (58 not out) and Rahul Dravid (62) were the other notable contributors as the Indians batted valiantly to save the Test. With one day left, the Indians have to keep the good work going and prevent New Zealand from levelling the three-match series 1-1. Resuming on 47 for one, Gambhir first added 133 runs with Dravid before putting on 89 runs for the unseparated third wicket with Tendulkar. Dravid and Gambhir displayed remarkable application in steering India out of woods with a steadfast partnership that kept the Kiwis at bay for four long hours. In fact, the awesome threesome of Indian cricket manifested why VVS Laxman They scarcely gave the Kiwis a chance to reassert themselves in the game, Dravid's impregnable defence and Tendulkar's dominance are folklore in Indian cricket but today Gambhir showed why he is regarded highly by his illustrious seniors. He batted on and on, wearing the Kiwi nerves thin and running them ragged. There was a period when he was stuck on 83 for 32 balls in 57 minutes but he hung on patiently to bring up his fifth century, getting a congratulatory hug from Tendulkar, who seemed more delighted than Gambhir himself. Gambhir also reached a personal land mark in reaching 2000 runs in his 24th Test. Tendulkar was his imperious self, driving with elan on the up and off the back foot through covers and clipping off his legs with precision, once even hooking Iain O'Brien over the pickets over fine-leg. Earlier, a dubious bat-pad decision by umpire Ian Gould set India back. Dravid had leaned forward to defend Vettori. Though the ball had eluded his bat and glove, Gould declared him caught off bat-pad at forward short leg giving the Kiwis the breakthrough they had been searching for. Scoreboard New Zealand (1st innings): 619 for 9 decl. India (1st innings): 305 India (2nd innings): (overnight 47 for 1) Gambhir batting 102 Sehwag lbw b Patel 22 Dravid c How b Vettori 62 Tendulkar batting 58 Extras (b-5, lb-1, nb-2) 8 Total (For 2 wickets, 107 overs) 252 Fall of wickets: 1-30 2-163. Bowling: Martin 18-5-47-0; O'Brien 21-6-50-0; Franklin 11-3-23-0; Patel 28-6-73-1; Ryder 4-3-5-0; Vettori 24-7-48-1; Taylor 1-1-0-0. — PTI
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Need to keep up the good work: Dravid
Dravid's (62) 133-run partnership with Gautam Gambhir (102 not out) bailed India out before Gambhir added another 89 runs with Sachin Tendulkar (58 not out) to raise India's hopes of forcing a draw. Dravid said though India had done well today, only half the job has been done. “We needed a big performance today and tomorrow. Now we have got half the job done and we hope we have a good session tomorrow first up,” he explained. “Hopefully, if we can bat well in the first session (tomorrow) it will be an ideal scenario to make them bowl for 270 overs going into Wellington. Being back on field after three days will not be easy on them,” he said. Dravid also warned his teammates that the Kiwis would strive for a victory in the “We know that New Zealand will come hard at us in the first two hours as that is |
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One good spell will win the match: Moles
The Kiwis will need only a couple of good catches and a special spell by any of the bowlers tomorrow to clinch the second Test against India, New Zealand coach Andy Moles said here today.
Moles conceded India have batted themselves back into the match by losing just one wicket in 90 overs today but felt New Zealand can still win the match. “There is only team that can win this game and that is New Zealand. It is not “Obviously, a draw would be the favourite. But it only takes a couple of good catches and a special spell by somebody,” he added. Moles reckoned the task would not be easy but felt getting a few quick wickets was all his wards needed. “This is an exceptionally good batting wicket and they have got some great players who played well on it. If we can get our intensity right and hit the right areas we could turn it our way. All we are looking for is two or three mistakes and we will be into the Indian tail. As we saw in the first innings, they have got a magnificent 5-6 at the front. If we bowl well and things go our way we can get quick wickets,” he said.
— PTI |
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Intense Crisis League?
Wellington, March 29 According to a report in 'The Sunday News' here, the likes of Bond and Tuffey “Rebel cricketers including Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey have been told they will be released from their ICL contracts if they request a release next week a move which will allow them to play for the Black Caps,” the report stated. “Players contracted to the financially-strapped, unsanctioned Indian Cricket New Zealand Cricket boss Justin Vaughan said NZC would be happy to welcome back the cricketers into the national side if they decide to end ties with ICL. “We wouldn’t stand in the way of any players returning to the Black Caps if they aren’t tied to the ICL,” Vaughan said. “We’ve made it pretty clear from the start that while we can't select players for New Zealand who are contracted to the ICL, if they end their ties with the league they would be immediately reconsidered for the national side,” Vaughan added. The newspaper said ICL Business Head Himanshu Mody will be in Australia in the Apart from Bond and Tuffey, the other Black Caps in the ICL list are Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Chris Harris, Andre Adams and Lou Vincent. Razzak, Rana Naved to quit
Karachi: With uncertainty looming large over the fate of cash-strap Indian Cricket League (ICL), banned Pakistan all-rounders Abdul Razzak and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan have now expressed their desire to play for the national team once again. The duo want to follow in the footsteps of senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf, who yesterday submitted a written document before the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirming that he would end his contract with the rebel league if considered for the national team again. “Razzak and Rana would also be meeting the PCB officials soon to confirm they |
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Button leads Brawn to dream one-two debut
Melbourne, March 29 The 29-year-old Briton, written off by some as overpaid and overrated after two dismal seasons with Honda, cemented a fairy-tale comeback that left team owner Ross Brawn lost for words. Brazilian team mate Rubens Barrichello started and finished second, but only after Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica drove each other off the track while fighting for the runner-up position with three laps to go. The safety car came out and led the field until the final corner of the race. McLaren’s world champion Lewis Hamilton, starting last on the grid after a No Formula One team had won on their debut since Wolf in 1977 while the last to secure the top two places first time out was Mercedes, Brawn's current engine suppliers, in 1954. Fifty five years on, Button and Barrichello followed in the footsteps of the great Argentine champion Juan Manuel Fangio and Germany's Karl Kling. Sutil 9th, Fisi 11th after Trulli penalty
Force India came tantalizingly close to scoring its maiden point with Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella benefiting a rung each from Jarno Trulli's safety car infringement to finish ninth and 11th respectively in the Australian Grand Prix here today. Sutil initially finished 10th and Fisichella 12th in the roller-coaster season opener but Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who had finished third, subsequently lost his podium place after the stewards slapped a 25-second penalty on him for passing under the safety car in the closing laps. It turned out to be Force India's best result since its 2008 debut and things in fact could have been even better for the
Silverstone-based outfit. Running fourth when the first safety car was deployed, Fisichella looked set to The Italian missed the stop mark and Force India crew had to manually push Final Grid
1. Jenson Button Brawn (1:34:15.784) 2. Barrichello Brawn (+00:00.807) 3. Hamilton McLaren (00:02.914) 4. Timo Glock Toyota (00:04.435) 5. Alonso Renault (00:04.879) 6. N Rosberg Williams (00:05.722) 7. Buemi Toro Rosso (00:06.004) 8. Bourdais Toro Rosso (00:06.298) 9. Sutil Force India (00:06.335) 10.Heidfeld BMW Sauber (00:07.085) 11. FisichellaForce India (00:07.374) 12. Trulli Toyota (*00:26.604 ) 13. Webber Red Bull (1 lap) 14. Vettel Red Bull (2 laps) 15. Kubica BMW Sauber (3 laps) 16. Raikkonen Ferrari (3 laps) r. Massa Ferrari r. Piquet Renault r. Nakajima Williams r. Kovalainen McLaren (r = retired, nc = not classified) * (includes 25s time penalty) — Reuters, PTI
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Jwala-Diju fail at final hurdle
Hyderabad, March 29 The error-prone second seeded Indian pair lost 14-21 17-21 to the third seeded Indonesian pair. In the men's singles, second seeded Indonesian Taufik Hidayat thumped Malaysia's Muhammad Hafiz Hashim 21-18 21-19 to clinch his first title of the year. Women's singles top seed Hongyan Pi ended her three year title drought after piping Julia Pei Xian Wong 17-21 21-15 21-14 in a 54-minute battle. Top seeded Tan Fook Choong and Wan Wah Lee of Malaysia took the men's doubles title after crushing Singaporean pair of Hendri Kurniawan Saputra and Hendra Wijaya 21-9 21-11 while in women's doubles final Jin Ma and Xiaoli Wang of China outplayed Vita Marissa and Nadya Melati 21-14 21-13. Playing in front of a boisterous home crowd, Jwala and Diju committed too many unforced errors and committed judgmental mistakes and had their backs to the wall right from the start. — PTI
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Napier, March 29
India may have crawled their way back into the second Test against New Zealand but the job is only half done and they would have to keep up the good work tomorrow to ensure a draw, senior batsman Rahul Dravid said here today.
