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CWG 2010 |
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Punjab Police reach quarters
EPL
‘Kotla pitch was unplayable’
Punjab, Delhi win
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TRIED AND TESTED
The 2007 World Twenty20 champions could not defend their title in England, came a cropper in the Champions Trophy - second most elite one-day tournament after World Cup - and also allowed the opportunity to become the number one ODI team slip through their fingers with the home series defeat against an under-strength Australia. It was rather an irony that Test cricket provided them their finest moments despite the cricket board’s criminal negligence of the format which is on its last leg. So engrossed in IPL proliferation, BCCI has scheduled just two Tests in the next 11 months for the team, which is just not enough to protect the number one Test team’s status. Subsequently some sanity prevailed and BCCI apparently has convinced South Africa to play two unscheduled Test matches when the Proteas visit the country in February-March. If the 2-0 win against Sri Lanka put them on top of the world, Dhoni and his teammates can look back on the 1-0 away series win over New Zealand in April with considerable pride since it was India’s first series win there in more than four decades. India’s rise as the number one Test team was not particularly well-received in certain quarters with the British press trying to find fault with the ICC ranking system but the common fan on the street was euphoric as Dhoni, inheritor of the proud legacy of his predecessors Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, shepherded the team to an unprecedented high. In one dayers, the team under Dhoni bearded the Lanka lion in its den, thumped the Kiwis in New Zealand and upended West Indies in the Caribbeans for their fifth series win on the trot. They won the blinked-and-you-miss Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka as well but cut a sorry figure in the Champions Trophy in South Africa, managing just one win in the tournament. The home series against a second-string Australian side presented with the gilt-edged opportunity to become the number one ODI team but the Men In Blue tamely surrendered to allow Ricky Ponting return with the bragging right. Even more frustrating was their tame title defence in the World Twenty20 Championship in England where they beat minnows Bangladesh and Ireland before crashing out with three defeats on the trot. The IPL allure, however, showed no signs of waning. The second edition of the cash-awash league seemed doomed after it coincided with general election and the government expressed its inability to provide adequate security. Few believed Lalit Modi when he talked about shifting the show to South Africa and to his credit, IPL-II turned out to be massive success even in its adopted home. To go with it, last edition laggards Deccan Chargers, under Adam Gilchrist’s inspiring leadership, provided the rags-to-riches story and lifted the crown after a fairytale campaign. The far-reaching impact of IPL was more than evident when England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff rejected a national contract to turn freelancer and troubled Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds soon followed in his footsteps. Personally, IPL chief Modi had a roller-coaster year. If IPL’s success in South Africa was a feather in his cap, twice losing the battle for power in the Rajasthan Cricket Association was a bitter pill to swallow. The media was also agog with reports that BCCI secretary N Srinivasan was plotting to oust him from IPL but Modi eventually had board president Shashank Manohar saying that his job is safe till 2012. Individually, the year 2009 also marked the 20th year of Sachin Tendulkar’s international career that was celebrated across the country with no little fervour. In an era of injury-breakdowns and players’ burnout, the batting great completed his 20 years in international cricket which is an achievement in itself and tributes poured in from players - both current and former - as they hailed Tendulkar’s talent and longevity and his ability to sustain the hunger for success. Among others, Gautam Gambhir had a particularly successful batsman and the left-hander evolved from an attacking opener to an all-season batsman. Gambhir proved that he was not merely a mindless slogger and proved that he can graft too, prompting mentor Virender Sehwag to call him the “Second Wall” of Indian cricket, Rahul Dravid being the first. It hardly raised an eyebrow that Gambhir was named ICC Test Player of the Year for 2009, and is ranked the number one Test batsman in the ICC rankings. Apart from his charismatic captaincy, Dhoni too had his moments of glory with the bat, being the number one ODI batsman in ICC rankings and winning the ICC ODI Player of the Year. He was named captain of both the ICC Test and ODI Team of the Year. —
PTI |
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England not pulling out: Kalmadi
M.S.Unnikrishnan Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 30 Randhir said the Government was ensuring fool-proof arrangements, with multi-layer security setup to prevent any untoward incidents. Kalmadi too said the Organising Committee had not received any official intimation to this effect. “In fact, the British Foreign Office, as also the statement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), has emphasised that it has not advised any of its teams not to compete in next year’s Commonwealth Games on security grounds.” The scare of an England pull out was created when a story in the Daily Telegraph today suggested that England were ready to “pull out over security risks”. “That is definitely not the case. Our current and strong intention is to field a team for the Games in Delhi next year”, said Ann Hogbin, Chief Executive, Commonwealth Games England, in a statement released here today. “Of course, we have a duty of care to the athletes and other team members which we take very seriously. Despite having been given extensive briefings from relevant authorities, we have not received any indication that we should not participate and we will continue to work hard to put in place the best possible arrangements for our team”, she added. Kalmadi said a meeting of the Security Commanders was held at the Home Ministry recently and all Commonwealth Games Associations were satisfied with the security arrangements. He said Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Mike Fennell and the Coordination Committee of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CoCom), who visited Delhi recently, had lauded the preparation of the Delhi Police in ensuring a secure conduct of Games. Kalmadi quoted Perry Crosswhite, chief executive, Commonwealth Games Australia, to testify that the security arrangements for the Games were much in order. “I was in Delhi two weeks ago and the security arrangements were well organised”, Crosswhite remarked on return home from Delhi. Kalmadi said former Olympic medallist and chairman of the 2012 London Olympics Lord Sebastian Coe, during his recent visit to Delhi, had also thrown “his weight behind the security arrangements”. “The people of England had given an enthusiastic response to the Queen’s Baton Relay in October and a similar response is now being witnessed in the African nations. We are confident of seeing the best of the sportsmen and a large number of foreign tourists,” Kalmadi added.
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Punjab Police reach quarters
Nabha (Patiala), December 30 His motivational lecture paid off as Punjab Police ambushed the Patiala powermen 4-2 in a high voltage encounter of the 34th All India Liberals hockey tournament played today. More than the pyrotechnics of the players of either side, the high point of the day was the loud roar that went up each time a goal was scored against the cops or when their players were deprived of the ball by the powermen. And when PSEB sounded the board to signal the first goal the roar was really deafening. Punjab Police may have good players in their ranks, including International Jugraj Singh, but they remain a highly unpopular outfit in this part of the country. Throughout the proceedings, yet another match was being played within the real one. It was a contest of hurling the choicest of Punjabi expletives at rival players by either of the team and the cops won this competition too. After a goalless first half, Punjab Police started using wings to their advantage and some good wing play by Satvinder and Kamaldeep Singh saw enough space being created upfront. However, a lackadaisical display by the cops’ strikers did not do the team much good. Finally, as things turned out, particularly in the second half, Punjab Police had to ride on a combination of luck and pluck to beat the powermen 4-2. It was a high quality contest and what did PSEB in was the experience and expertise of their opponents. In other matches of the day, Corps of Signals grounded Indian Air Force, Delhi 3-2; BSF, Jalandhar never had to strain a sinew against AOC, Secunderabad whom they beat with embarrassing ease 4-0 and EME beat RCF, Kaputhala 5-2. |
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Liverpool beat Villa
London, December 30 Defeat, Villa’s second in as many games after their 3-0 loss away to third-placed Arsenal, left them in sixth place and revived doubts about their ability to sustain a bid to break into the leading quartet after they faltered at a similar stage last season. Torres’s strike saw him become the quickest Liverpool player to 50 league goals, needing only 72 appearances to reach the landmark. At the other end of the table, Stephen Hunt was Hull City’s hero with two goals as they came from 2-0 down to share the points in a 2-2 draw away to relegation rivals Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. — AFP
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‘Kotla pitch was unplayable’
Jalandhar, December 30
Bhajji was here at the local Burlton Park during the concluding day of the Sardev Singh Memorial U-14 Cricket tournament, which is held in the memory of his father Sardev Singh. He said that it is a common practice to check the pitch before playing and it is sad that the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) failed to check the pitch prior to the match which in turn lead to this fiasco. Answering a query pertaining to the preparations of team India for the World Cup, the off spinner said, “Team India is in good form and we have enough time to work upon our flaws and positive points”. Bhajji also lauded captain Mahender Singh Dhoni under whose performance team India has been putting up a spectacular show. |
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Punjab, Delhi win
Ludhiana, December 30 Cheered up by the vociferous home crowd, Punjab men enjoyed 34-21 lead at the break, though, Delhi made its presence felt in the last quarter, making the home side fight for each point. For Punjab, their skipper, international, Talwinder Singh again rose to the occasion to basket as many as 24 points. He was ably assisted by Harminder Singh (15) and Mod Singh (8). For Delhi, Sunil and Ravinder fought vailiantly with 21 and 9 points, respectively. The match began on a brisk pace with the Delhi eves gaining an unassailable lead of 44 points at the end of the second quarter (56-12). They gave no chance to their opponents to settle down and went on to score a thumping victory. In the match played in the women’s Group A, Chhattisgarh beat Karnataka 74-67. The winners were leading 38-21 at the end of the second quarter. |
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The IPL gold-rush drew players in droves and the cult of Sachin Tendulkar completed two illustrious decades but 2009 will be fondly recalled as the year of India’s ascent to the pinnacle of Test
cricket.
Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmdi today denied reports that England had threatened to pull out of the Games due to security concerns. “Security for the Commonwealth Games will be our biggest priority. There will be no compromise in ensuring the safe and secure conduct of the Games”, Kalmadi emphasised.
Vice-chairman of the Organising Committee Randhir Singh said: “We don’t have anything officially about England’s decision to pull out of the Games. It’s a wrong story. No such thing will happen.”
London, December 30
Ludhiana, December 30
New Delhi, December 30
