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Day 1: hosts take control
We will look for early wickets: Kirsten
Afridi chose the worst way: Ramiz
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Boys and their toys
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Bring players, not officials: Gill to Fennell
‘Murali quit Tests to play WC 2011’
‘I am still the captain’
Santosh Trophy
Jeev slips to tied 42nd
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Day 1: hosts take control
Electing to bat, the Sri Lankan batsmen capitalised on easy batting conditions at the Galle International Stadium to take control of the match which is star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan's swansong Test. Paranavitana and Mahela Jayawardene (8) were at the crease when play was called off shortly after the tea break because of rain. It turned out to be a miserable day for the Indians with a depleted bowling attack struggling to make any impact on the Sri Lankan batsmen who scored at a brisk pace. The hosts could have been in a far more comfortable position had bad light and rain not deprived them off 21 overs during the day. Sangakkara and Paranavitana captalised on a solid start of 91 for one at lunch and the duo treated the hapless Indian bowling attack with disdain by sharing 181 runs for the second wicket in exactly 51 overs to take the game away from the visitors. India removed Sangakkara early in the final session, holing out to Sachin Tendulkar off part-timer Virender Sehwag at Sri Lankan score of 236 for two but Jayawardene and Paranavitana ensured that they did not lose any more wickets. Tillakaratne Dilshan (25) was the only Sri Lankan batsman who fell in the morning session to Abhimanyu Mithun, his first Test scalp. Sangaakkara’s 103 came from 145 balls with the help of 12 fours and it was his fourth century against India. He also went past West Indian Gordon Gneenidge and Englishman Colin Cowdrey to become the 23rd most prolific batsman. The Indian attack without strike bowler Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth due to injuries, were at the receiving end of a solid Sri Lankan batting display and went wicketless in the whole of the extended second session. They conceded 137 runs in 38 overs bowled in the session. To compound the matters for India, their most experienced bowler Harbhajan Singh suffered from after effects of a bout of flu and apparently a hamstring problem. He went off the field mid-way into the post-lunch session but returned after about 20 minutes. — PTI
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We will look for early wickets: Kirsten Sri Lanka may have reached a strong position in the first Test after a good show by their batsmen on the opening day but India coach Gary Kirsten is hopeful of bouncing back. The hosts reached an impressive 256 for two before rain and bad light combined to force early stumps. However, Kirtsen said it was not all over for India and that weather will play an important role in the match. “Sri Lanka have not taken a stranglehold on the match. We will be looking to get a couple of early wickets tomorrow. And this match could be affected by rains,” Kirsten told reporters at a press conference. He also backed Ishant Sharma despite an ordinary show by the gangly paceman. The South African also revealed that spinner Harbhajan Singh played despite not being fully fit. “We had to play Harbhajan today though he is still recovering from flu. He is not in full fitness yet but you know we need him in the team. If he had not played we would have been really inexperienced. He is a gutsy cricketer. He said he wanted to play,” he said. The seasoned spinner had also missed the only warm up game before the Test match. Indian attack not weak, says Paranavitana India cut a sorry figure on the opening day of first Test but Sri Lanka opener Tharanga Paranavitana refused to label their bowling as weak, saying the conditions were favourable for batting today. “Indian bowling was not weak but the wicket was good to bat on. Only the odd ball turned. Otherwise there is no problem playing (in the pitch). If bowlers can bowl in the right areas they can get something from the wicket,” Paranavitana said. “I am happy to get a century as I have got some 50s in Test matches. I am happy to get a hundred in the home soil against India,” he said. “From experience in domestic cricket I know I had to concentrate more to get a hundred. I wanted to have the correct mindset to get a hundred today. My plan was to get the fifty first and then maintain my focus to get a hundred. I am happy I did that,” he added.
— PTI |
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Afridi chose the worst way: Ramiz
Pakistan’s former Test captains and players, Javed Miandad, Ramiz Raja, Asif Iqbal, Aamir Sohail, Moin Khan and Iqbal Qasim - all feel Afridi let the team down with his sudden decision. “I think his act is unpardonable. Afridi has harmed Pakistan cricket and he should be penalised for that. There are several better ways if you want to announce your retirement from Tests. Afridi chose the worst way. It will leave bad effect on Pakistani youngsters,” Ramiz told ‘The News’ daily newspaper in London. Miandad, who is also the director-general in the Pakistan Cricket Board, said he was surprised by the decision.
Asif Iqbal, who is also based in London told the “Ary” news channel that after the developments of the Lord’s Test, the Pakistan Cricket Board should be renamed as the “Pakistan Confused Board”. He said Afridi had a right to decide whether he wanted to play Tests or not but he chose the wrong time and way to announce his decision. “I don’t think there was ever any place in the Test squad for Afridi and in the first place he should not have been considered for the Tests. His decision at this time is not good for Pakistan cricket in the middle of a major tour at all,” Iqbal said. Aamir Sohail also criticised Afridi for his decision insisting that he should have been clear in his mind before hand what he wanted to do. — PTI
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Bring players, not officials: Gill to Fennell
New Delhi, July 18 Sports Minister M S Gill feels the Games would lose sheen if star players like Bolt would not compete but OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi says it makes no difference if one or two players decide to miss it. "We have read in paper this one is not coming, that one is not coming. Let me tell you that the biggest squad ever is coming from every country. Australia has confirmed 700 entries and England 500 which is highest ever. “If one or two do not come, it does not matter. The Games will go on, the best of the world are coming and new champions will be created,” Kalmadi said at the inauguration of the Swimming Complex. However, Gill was very disappointed with the decision of the athletes and said he would ask CWG President Mike Fennell to bring those players to Games and would also raise the matter at the meeting of the Sports Ministers of the Commonwealth nations on October 4. “Star athletes have slowly drifted away from the Games. It's not at all good. I want to tell Mr Fennell that don't bring your officials here but bring stars like Bolt, Fraser, Hoy and others with you. I’ll raise this issue before them definitely. If these stars failed to turn up, then all our efforts stand waste. People would say that if only you and Suresh (Kalmadi) were to run then why you spent so much,” Gill said. Swimming Complex inaugurated
The renovated Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool Complex, venue for this year’s Commonwealth Games, was inaugurated by Sports Minister MS Gill and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit here today. Upgraded at a cost of Rs 377 crores, the 5,000-seater state-of-the-art venue has elliptical-shaped aluminium roof. Also present on the occasion were CWG Organising Committee (OC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi, State Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare Pratik P Patil, and Director-General of Sports Authority of IndiaSayan Chatterjee.
— PTI |
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‘Murali quit Tests to play WC 2011’
Chandigarh, July 18 “Due to his nagging shoulder injury, it was not possible for Murali to carry on Test cricket comfortably till forthcoming World Cup 2011, and Murali was keen to be a part of it,” said Mandeep Singh Dhillon, head, Department of Orthopaedics and Physiotherapy, PGI, here, and former medical consultant to Sri Lankan team. Dhillon, a very close friend of Murali, is reportedly the only Indian and one of the two doctors being invited by the off-spinner for the special ceremony to mark the end of his Test career at Galle, Sri Lanka, on the culmination day of the ongoing Test match against India. “During my recent talk with Murali over the phone, he (Murali) told me that he wanted to play the World Cup. But he was also of the view that if he continued with his Test cricket, he might not be able to do so because of his ailment. This is the main reason behind his decision to retire from Test cricket,” said Dhillon. Dhillon, who was instrumental in the treatment of Murali’s shoulder problem and had designed a special brace for him when his case was presented to the ICC in 2003-04 after ‘chucking’ allegations, is hopeful that Murali would cross the 800-mark in wicket taking. Murali is just eight wickets away from the feat.
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“I am still captain of the national team,” Ballack was quoted by German newspapers as saying at a news conference on Wednesday following his return to Bayer Leverkusen. “I have absolute trust in the German coach (Joachim Loew).” He was also critical of Lahm's timing. “These comments irritated me. It is unlucky when you are injured and you are spoken about. You cannot go on the pitch and show the critics what you can do. You are powerless,” he said. — Reuters
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Santosh Trophy
Kolkata, July 18 In a cluster III match at Khardah Stadium, Punjab scored the only goal through Balwant Singh in the 9th minute and thwarted Nagaland’s challenge for the remainder of the match to record their second consecutive win. Having received a 0-7 humiliation against Punjab in their opening encounter, Puducherry dished out a better performance to beat Gujarat 2-1 at Barasat Stadium. Vinod Kumar gave Puducherry a 18th minute lead, but Gujarat equalised through Dipesh Pun in the 40th minute. It was Manikandon who struck in the 73rd minute to help Puducherry earn full points. But the win is not enough for Puducherry with Punjab almost making the last 16 stage. In a cluster IV match, Rahul Gurjar scored a late goal in the 83rd minute to help Rajasthan come back from their opening match humiliation and beat Jammu and Kashmir at
Howrah Stadium. Rajasthan were trounced 13-0 by Manipur in their previous match. — PTI
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Jeev slips to tied 42nd
Reno (USA), July 18 Jeev was off to a steady start but soon went one-over after dropping a stroke on the third hole. He quickly made amends with his only birdie of the day on the fourth hole but let it slip with a double bogey on the seventh and a bogey on the ninth. The back-nine was a subdued affair as Jeev made pars on all the nine holes. — PTI
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Captain Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga Paranavitana struck centuries as Sri Lanka laid the foundation for a mammoth first innings total in the first cricket Test.
Sri Lanka may have reached a strong position in the first Test after a good show by their batsmen on the opening day but India coach Gary Kirsten is hopeful of bouncing back. The hosts reached an impressive 256 for two before rain and bad light combined to force early stumps. However, Kirtsen said it was not all over for India and that weather will play an important role in the match.
New Delhi, July 18
Galle, July 18
Karachi, July 18
“I don’t know what is happening, players pick and chose what they want to play. It is not acceptable. I ask the board is this not a violation of the code of conduct to announce such a big decision without taking team management into confidence?” Miandad said.
Frankfurt, July 18
Serena needs foot surgery
London:
Lee ‘happy’ with Test retirement