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Delhi Police intimidated me with death penalty: Gibbs
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UP reach 221/5 against Punjab
Technique, approach caused Hyderabad debacle
Gagan to be flag-bearer at Asian Games
New Zealand in India
Gavaskar, BCCI spar over IPL payment
PSB, RCF in semis
Star-packed field for Hero Honda Indian Open Golf
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Delhi Police intimidated me with death penalty: Gibbs
Johannesburg, November 2 This appears to be a reference to A S Cheema, who headed the anti-extortion cell of Crime Branch during the time Gibbs' interrogation took place in 2006. After initially refusing to be part of South Africa's squad for an India tour for the fear of being arrested, Gibbs, accompanied by his lawyer Peter Whelan, travelled to the country to face grilling by a four-man panel. "Needless to say, Peter jumped right in with both feet and threatened to end the meeting right there if they tried this kind of intimidating tactic," Gibbs wrote. Besides facing a "hostile" grilling, Gibbs also had to apologise to the then Delhi Police Crime Branch Commissioner Ranjit Narayan for publicly calling him 'hard-arsed'. The opener also disclosed that he had indulged in 'tonsil hockey' (deep kissing) with a German girl at the Taj Hotel the night before being questioned by police in the Indian capital. Gibbs wrote about his return to India to face questioning following his role in the 'Hansiegate' saga (telephonic conversations of then South African captain Hansie Cronje with an Indian bookmaker were intercepted by police) in 2000. ‘I’ve been honest’
Unruffled by his teammates' criticism and the threat of disciplinary action from Cricket South Africa, opener Herschelle Gibbs said his controversial autobiography detailing sexual promiscuity, alcohol abuse and divisions in the side is an "open and honest account." "When you're that forthcoming and honest you are bound to face that sort of criticism. I've been that honest. It's not surprising," Gibbs was quoted as saying by 'The Associated Press' at the launch of the book here. The book -- titled 'To the Point' -- has created quite a stir in South African cricket circles after Gibbs accused senior players such as skipper Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis and A B de Villiers of being part of a "clique" which created divisions in the side. Gibbs goes on to say that Smith was "simply too powerful" and even coach Mickey Arthur struggled to assert himself when faced with the skipper. "That particular clique of Graeme and Mark and Jacques, and to a certain extent AB, were very outspoken when Mickey was coach. I've made it clear in the book that I thought that around Graeme, Mickey buckled a little bit. That's how I saw it." Gibbs said he got a message from Smith asking about the claims made in the book. "My answer to him was it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out." Gibbs, who served a six-month ban for involvement in match fixing during his chequered career, also said that he continues to admire late skipper Hansie Cronje despite his fall from grace due to the 2000 match-fixing scandal. In the tell-all book, Gibbs has also given accounts of his sexual escapades, involving other South African players as well, during overseas tours. "...hopefully people can respect the honesty," the 36-year-old said. "I've been very open and honest about the whole thing. I knew from the start that it would get a lot of criticism, so be it. I've enjoyed the experience," he added. The currently out-of-favour opener, who has played 90 Tests and 248 one-dayers, doesn't foresee himself making the cut in the squad for next year's World Cup but not because of his book. "Book or no book, the squad has gelled so nicely over the last couple of months, and the youngsters that have come in have all performed ... I can't see the squad changing at all before the announcement for the World Cup," he said. Gibbs hoped that corruption, which has returned to haunt international cricket due to the spot-fixing allegations against the Pakistani trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir, would be stamped out for good this time. "I'm sure the ICC will try and make some kind of example, if proven guilty and it'll prevent it ever coming out again," he said. Rahul Dravid had clicked the panic button during the final of the IPL season 2 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers, disclosed Herschelle Gibbs in his autobiography, 'To the Point'. "He tried to play a little paddle against Harmeet Singh and got bowled. In a normal game he would never have tried that shot at that time. There was panic written all over it," Gibbs wrote about Dravid in the book that was released yesterday. "I mean, here was a guy who had played in numerous high-pressure games. He was usually as unflappable as one got, but in this final, at a crucial time for the Royal Challengers, he played a ridiculous shot to get out," he added.
— PTI |
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Meerut, November 2 Like Punjab on the first day, Uttar Pradesh too got off to solid start, with the fairly experienced duo of Shukla and Srivastava sharing a 71-run stand for the opening wicket, before Srivastava fell to Rajwinder Singh in the 17th over. Harmeet Singh removed Shukla with the one that had him trapped in front, three overs later. Kaif then joined Digvijay and the two stitched together a valuable 70-run partnership for the third wicket. Brief score: Punjab 1st innings 288 all out in 97.2 overs (karan Goel 58, Yuvraj 56, Sarul Kanwar 42; Praveen Kumar 5/72) vs UP 1st innings 221 for five in 80 overs (Mohammad Kaif 58, Shivakant Shukla 39). Delhi restrict Bengal New Delhi: Delhi bowlers led by seamer Sumit Narwal made a strong comeback with the second new-ball to restrict Bengal to 473 on the second day of a Group A Super League match of the Ranji Trophy at the Feroz Shah Kotla here today.
Delhi bowlers, who put up a listless performance on the first day of the match, bowled in right areas in the opening session as Bengal lost their last eight wickets for only 160 runs.
Delhi, in reply, were 89 for one with India's ODI star Virat Kohli (51 batting, 78 balls, 9x4) looking good for a big score in company of opener Shikhar Dhawan. Jaipur: There was no end to the woes of Hyderabad as they are heading for a massive defeat in the Ranji Trophy Plate division match against Rajasthan after yet another batting collapse. Hyderabad, who yesterday recorded the lowest total in the Ranji history after being bowled out for 21, are trailing by 318 runs with just four wickets in hand after being reduced to 63 for six in their second innings.
— PTI |
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Technique, approach caused Hyderabad debacle
New Delhi, November 2 Suddenly, Chahar is a bowler of the cailbre of Manoj Prabhakar or Praveen Kumar. He, it seems has, according to some fortune-teller’s proclamation, the same stars as the great hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand. He is the next best thing in Indian cricket. For now at least. But the story here isn’t only about how well he bowled. Chahar did a good job, but not good enough to see the opposing team being dismissed for just 21 runs. No one is that good. The story here also of how techniques have changed and how the one-point programme for every batsman seems to be to whack the ball out of the park. The ambition is to score some quick runs and hope that the player is considered for T20 cricket by the next game. One look at the footage makes this evident. While Chahar swung the ball prodigiously both ways, the execution of some of the shots was outlandish, with batsmen not bothering to use their feet, opting to swish at the ball with angular bats, be it moving away outside the off-stump or swinging in. It so happened that they connected, or didn’t connect, with the wrong deliveries. Veteran cricket coach Gurcharan Singh has a quaint way of explaining this. “Look at it this way. When a youngster begins learning to drive, he often hits the accelerator instead of the brake. If this is not corrected immediately, this becomes a part of muscle memory and then creates problems. Same is the case with the batsmen nowadays. Younger batsmen have been nurtured on playing fast and once they get into that mould, it becomes difficult for them to adjust to difficult conditions.” The coach goes on to say. “I think the pitch also had something to do with this, but the fact remains that execution of shots needs to be flexible enough to cater to bad tracks as well.” A lot of players before the beginning of the Ranji season had waxed eloquent on how this tournament was the real place to search for talent. But since T20 and the lure of the Indian Premier League seems to be playing on every batsman’s mind, such instances of collapses, though rare, cannot be ruled out. In the long run, this doesn’t work for five-day cricket. But that doesn’t seem to faze the cricketers, or their mentors.
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Gagan to be flag-bearer at Asian Games
New Delhi, November 2 Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi said here today that 27-year-old Gagan was chosen for the honour "not only because he emerged as India's best athlete in the Commonwealth Games with four gold medals, but also because he has been one of the most consistent performers (in shooting) for India in the past few years". Gagan first hit the spotlight in 2003 when he struck a gold medal in the inaugural Afro-Asian Games in his home town of Hyderabad. Kalmadi added: "Gagan won four gold medals in the Commonwealth Games at Melbourne in 2006. In 2008, he won the 10m air rifle gold in the World Cup finals and earlier this year, claimed the bronze in the World Championship. He is also ranked No 4 in the world in 10m air rifle event". Kalmadi said many names were considered for being the flag-bearer in the Asiad before finally settling for Gagan Narang. "It is a pleasure to have such choice and strengthens our belief that Olympic sport in India is progressing in the right direction", Kalmadi explained.
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New Zealand in India
Ahmedabad, November 2 "Last year was not a great year for me. My goal this year is to make it good and enjoyable and the enjoyment comes by bowling well," said Martin, who will turn 36 on December 10, two days before the second Test in Hyderabad. The seasoned bowler said he won't mind slugging it out in sub-continent conditions, not favourable for fast bowling. "The last international game I played was in April. To come here and have some cricket under your belt is good. (There's) No warm up game here but the way international calendar is these days, it's not a surprise. To have some cricket here under your belt is good," he said. The experienced bowler is rather hoping that he will able to do well on Indian wickets. "I think so. If you look at the stats (figures) of the last three series, I think, spinners and quickies have taken wickets evenly. It gives me a bit of a chance and bit of a hope that the wicket will deteriorate and hopefully I will get into the act," said the bowler who relies more on seam movement than swing in the air. Talking further about the conditions, Martin said the experienced bowlers need to operate with the new ball and the Kiwis need to be wary of the Indian bowlers' ability to gain reverse swing. "It looks the new ball is coming on to the bat as it is hard. Experienced bowlers in the game are going to be involved when the new ball is harder. I think the way the Indians bowl, reversing, which is something we need to be watching out for in different stages of the game," he said. Talking about SG balls to be used in the Test series, Martin said, "It's probably a harder ball than the Kookaboora and it reverses earlier and more," he said. Martin hoped the thrashing his teammates suffered in Bangladesh, where they were whitewashed 4-0 by the hosts, would not affect their performance in India. "As far the Bangladesh tour is concerned, half that lot is not here and those who were there would, I think, have got their own confidence back on track," he said. Asked if the Black Caps would consider the first Test, starting Thursday as the 100th match of skipper Daniel Vettori, who has actually already appeared in 100 Tests after representing World XI against Australia, Martin said they have already celebrated that milestone. "You caught me on the hop there. I think he played for the World XI and we celebrated his 100th Test at Hamilton. We got him 100 bottles of very nice wine. I think that will probably go down as his 100th match," he explained. — PTI
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Gavaskar, BCCI spar over IPL payment
New Delhi, November 2
"I am yet to be paid by the BCCI for my role on the IPL Governing Council. I have not been paid at all by the BCCI, since I took on the offer. All I have been doing is that sending a gentle reminder about the non-payment...I am just reminding them of what was offered to me and what was ommitted to me by the BCCI," Gavaskar said. "I have just been told that Mr Sharad Pawar (ICC President) will organise a meeting between Shashank Manohar (BCCI chief) and me in his presence to sort out the matter and that for me is good enough," he said. The former India captain, however, refused to divulge what the pay packet would be, saying, "Never ask a woman her age and never ask a man what he gets." Srinivasan, however, gave a different version by insisting that the former Indian captain had been paid as per the contract. "There is no dispute in this regard. He has been paid," he said. Asked whether there was a miscommunication between Gavaskar and the Board on the payment issue, Srinivasan said "There is no misunderstanding. I am just stating the fact. You asked me whether Gavaskar has not been paid, I said he has been paid... I have a lot of admiration for him as a cricketer", he pointed out. — PTI
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PSB, RCF in semis
Ludhiana, November 2 In the first match of the day, Army XI, Delhi scored an emphatic 3-0 win over Indian Air Force (IAF), Chandigarh. Rajesh Lakra put his side into the lead in the 17th minute and increased the lead in the 35th minute, E. Lakra strcuk in the 47th minute to complete the rout. The second match was played between PSB, Jalandhar and PNB, Delhi which remained unresolved with score sheet reading 4-4. However, both the teams advanced into the last four stage. In the third match, RCF, Kapurthala, after training by three goals, did a comendable job and bounced back into the game and wrapped up the issue 4-3 against South Central Railway, Secundrabad. The match played in the junior boy's section between Grewal Academy of Kila Raipur and Sudhar Academy turned out to be a mismatch as the former came out winners quite easily 9-1.
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Star-packed field for Hero Honda Indian Open Golf
New Delhi, November 1 The Indian Open will also have top names from the international circuit, including 2008 winner Liang Wen-Chong of China, to give a tough fight to the Indian stars. The richest full-field golfing event on the Asian Tour will have a total prize purse of $1.25 million. The other major Indian players who would be vyeing for the title include SSP Chowrasia, Shiv Kapur, Anirban Lahiri and Rahil Gangjee. Managing Director and CEO of Hero Honda Pawan Munjal, through a statement, said the event will be telecast live on all the four days by ESPN Star Sports. In the previous years, the event used to be telecast live only on the last two days. Munjal said the fact that Hero Honda will be sponsoring the event for the sixth consecutive year showed the growing impact of the Indian Open in the professional golfing circuit. He said Hero Honda would also be sponsoring the Women's Indian Open, to be held next month, to become the first Corporate house to sponsor both the men's and women's Indian Opens.
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Johannesburg, November 2
Meerut, November 2
Ace shooter Gagan Narang, who lifted four gold medals in the 19th Commonwealth Games in Delhi last month, will be India's flag-bearer for the 16th Asian Games to be held at Guangzhou (China) from November 12 to28.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi said here today that 27-year-old Gagan was chosen for the honour "not only because he emerged as India's best athlete in the Commonwealth Games with four gold medals, but also because he has been one of the most consistent performers (in shooting) for India in the past few years". 
New Delhi, November 2
The Cricket Board did not give any reason for Gavaskar's ouster from the IPL Governing Council during its Annual General Meeting in September this year, but there were reports that it could be a result of the payment dispute. The legendary batsman today created a flutter by stating that he had not been paid for the last three years which forced him to sent a "gentle reminder about the non-payment" to BCCI.
Fabregas out of Donetsk trip