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Dravid makes ODI return
On expected lines
Lin pulls off a hat-trick
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Jeev falters, Tiger in lead
Arsenal hit Everton for six
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Dravid makes ODI return
Chennai, August 16
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra was included in place of left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha in the squad, announced by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan. There was no major surprises in the team which features eight batsmen, four pacers, two spinners and an all-rounder in Yusuf Pathan. Mumbai left-hander Abhishek Nayar was retained in the side but his Ranji teammate Rohit Sharma was axed to accommodate Suresh Raina, who had skipped the West Indies tour because of a thumb injury. The selection committee, headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth met at the Chidambaram Stadium today to pick the squad for the September 8-14 tri-series in Sri Lanka and the September 22-October 5 Champions Trophy and they went by the fitness level of the players and their performance in recent past. Dravid's return was more or less certain after the Indian top and middle order's poor display against short-pitch deliveries in both the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa and during the West Indies tour. Besides, Sehwag's shoulder injury which necessitated a surgery, weakened the Indian top order and the selectors felt Dravid's vast experience would strengthen the line-up. In Sehwag's absence, Tendulkar is set to open with Gautam Gambhir, while Dravid and Raina will add beef to the top and middle order, which also include vice captain Yuvraj Singh and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Sehwag's absence allowed Dinesh Karthick to hung on to his place as a reserve opener. In the bowling department, Mishra staged a comeback to the ODI format after six long years to join Harbhajan Singh in the spin unit. A regular in the Test squad now, Mishra played the last of his three ODIs back in April 2003 against South Africa and was frustrated at being branded a Test specialist. In the pace bowling department, India would sorely miss spearhead Zaheer Khan who is out of both the tournaments following a shoulder surgery. In his absence, the onus would be on Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar and RP Singh to step up to the plate and perform. Ravindra Jadeja, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wriddhiman Saha and Pankaj Singh are the 11 cricketers who were named in the list of 30-member probables for the Champions Trophy but could not survive the pruning. The Indian players will have a four-day training camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore from August 27. The camp is expected to focus on both physical conditioning and skills before the players disperse on August 30 to participate in the BCCI Corporate Cup. — PTI
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On expected lines
Chandigarh, August 16 If there is one surprise in the squad it is the re-induction of leg-spinner Amit Mishra who comes into the squad in place of Pragyan Ojha. Ojha obviously had to be shown the door after a string of poor performances. But Mishra has not played in the ODI format for nearly six years, his last ODIs dating back to April 2003 against South Africa. But his record in the IPL has been exemplary and then again, bowling in tandem with Harbhajan Singh might be a worthwhile experience. There was, however, no surprise in the inclusion of the 36-year-old Rahul Dravid, who last played an ODI back in October 2007. In fact, it was predicted, ever since the 30 members of the team were shortlisted for the camp, that the former Indian captain was destined to play in the shorter version again. Dravid’s return was more or less certain after the Indian top and middle order’s poor display against short-pitch bowling in both the Twenty20 World Cup in England (where India failed to progress) and during the West Indies tour where the home team bowlers made merry, fully exploiting the weakness of the Indian batsmen. The other major change in the team from the one which toured the West Indies is the dropping of Mumbai’s Rohit Sharma who has been replaced by another Mumbai batsman, left-hander Abhishek Nayar. Rohit, who came into the squad with a lot of promise, simply failed to deliver, managing 15 runs in three ODI innings during the tour of the West Indies and 43 runs in three innings against major teams in the World Twenty20. Sachin Tendulkar, who had opted out of the West Indies ODIs, returns to the squad and should open with Gautam Gambhir with Gautam’s Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag not included in the squad since he has to recover fully from the shoulder injury sustained during the IPL in South Africa.
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Hyderabad, August 16
Lin had won the earlier World Championship in 2006 and 2007, apart from winning four All-England title in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009. In an all-Chinese clash, fifth seed Lin rode on his lightening smashes and long aggressive rallies to beat his higher-ranked opponent. He also outsmarted Chen on the nets, leaving his compatriot to rue a series of unforced errors in the match. Lin stamped his authority right from the start as he pushed Chen on the back-foot after an initial neck-and-neck competition at 6-6. The left handed maestro opened up a five-point lead, leaving Chen to do the catch up job. The second game was no different as Lin surged into lead immediately. Although Chen bounced back, a flurry of unforced errors cooked his goose.
"This is the first time, I am here in India and it has been a great experience. I am happy to win the title," Lin said. "I am no genius, I just worked hard like my other teammates and I believe all my teammates can win the title as they work hard too," he added. Asked if he is aiming for the London Olympics, Lin said, "That is too far. For the moment, I just want to play better in all the tournaments of this year." Lin has previously helped China win three consecutive Thomas Cup championships in 2004, 2006, and 2008 and has also been a major contributor to Chinese teams which won the Sudirman Cup in 2005, 2007 and 2009. Meanwhile, Chen, who was playing his first World Championship final, said, "There is no point in getting disappointed as the title will go to China's pocket," he said. Asked about the match, Chen said," Before the match, I felt I had a chance but he is much more experienced than me. He has played in three world championships now. For me, it is my first and I know with time I will play better in future." "I was nervous before the match and Lin seized more opportunities in crucial moments, which I couldn't," he added. — PTI
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Jeev falters, Tiger in lead
Jeev Milkha Singh again faltered at the fag-end of the third round conceding a brace of bogies on the 17th and 18th to card a two over par 74 card slipping to tied 49th slot at five over 221 as Korea's Yang Yong-eun fired a five under par 67 to be tied second with defending champion Padraig Harrington (210), just two strokes behind the leader, Tiger Woods, who was eight under 208 on the penultimate day of the US PGA Championship on the Hazeltine National greens at Chaska in Minnesota (USA) yesterday. Yang's quest to deliver Asia's first Major title will be a challenging one as Woods, who has won his last two tournaments, has never been beaten in the Majors when he is lading after 54 holes. Overnight second-placed Fijian of Indian origin Vijay Singh played a bad three over par 75 to virtually slip out of contention sharing the 18th slot. Jeev who must have a good showing in this tournament for a berth in the Captain's Cup team has one more day to show his class.The Chandigarh golf icon is currently 11th on the team rankings, with the top-10 after this week earning automatic places in Greg Norman's team. Jeev appeared off colour as he bogeyed the par-3 fourth and eighth holes to be two over par 38 at the turn. Jeev birdied the 11th, and lost a stroke on the 12th. He came back with birdies on the 14 and 16th to be back with an even par score for the day. But then a brace of bogeys on the 17th and 18th and he was two over for the day and a tally of five over after three rounds. Padraig Harrington turned the US PGA Championship into a contest again but a bogey at the last left Tiger Woods with a two shot lead heading into the final round as he parred the last hole for a one under 71 Henrik Stenson of Sweden and US Open Championship winner Lucas Glover will start the final round at four under after rounds of 68 and 71 respectively with Denmark's Søren Kjeldsen and Ernie Els of South Africa at three under, both having shot 70s.
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London, August 16 Arsenal midfielder Denilson began the football lesson and defenders Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas were also on target before the break. Captain Cesc Fabregas bagged two in the second half and Eduardo chipped in with a sixth before Louis Saha earned Everton a crumb of consolation. "You have to accept that one game is only one game, what is important is that we have the desire and believe in our qualities," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told the BBC. "Everybody in our team can score goals and everybody likes to go forward so when things go for us like today, anyone can score." Manchester City, tipped to challenge Arsenal for a top-four place, paraded their expensive signings at Blackburn and striker Emmanuel Adebayor capped his debut with a goal after just three minutes. Stephen Ireland grabbed a late second. Burnley's top-flight return went flat as they slumped 2-0 at Stoke City, fellow new boys Wolverhampton Wanderers lost 2-0 at home to West Ham United and Darren Bent scored on his debut to give Sunderland a 1-0 win at Bolton Wanderers. Roberto Martinez, making his debut as a Premier League manager, watched his Wigan Athletic side win 2-0 at Aston Villa and Fulham triumphed 1-0 at Portsmouth. — Reuters
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Sehwag still injured, Rohit out
London, August 16
The 36-year-old Dravid, who last played an ODI back in October 2007, was included in the squad to bolster the batting line-up for the two tournaments, which will also see the return of Sachin Tendulkar.
The selectors went by form and fitness while selecting the Indian team for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the subsequent Champions Trophy to be played in South Africa. Selecting the same squad for the tour of Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy makes good cricketing sense since the Indian players are a little rusty, being out of competitive cricket for nearly two months.
