 |
|
|
IPL-Auction |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
3,000 hits at the nets: Kirsten’s mantra for success in South Africa
Double Impact:
Kevin Pietersen’s double hundred in Adelaide got him the Man of the Match award.
Sreesanth feels maiden series win possible
Copenhagen in knockout stage
Tough times never last, tough people do!
|
|
Kumble, Gambhir not retained
Mumbai, December 8 Kumble, who led Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last two seasons of the T20 League, and Dravid have been set free for the January 8-9 auction by RCB who have kept only Virat Kohli, on the strength of his stupendous form for India in the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand. With the deadline for player retention ending today, former India captain and Bengal icon Ganguly was also not retained by under-performing Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kokata Knight Riders. Only swashbuckling West Indian opener Chris Gayle has found favour with KKR's owners, according to informed sources. The surprise decision is that of Delhi Daredevils not retaining Gambhir, who scored back-to-back ODI hundreds against the Kiwis, and continue his partnership with Virender Sehwag who is the lone player to be retained by the two-time semi-finalists.
MI expectedly did not allow batting maestro and captain Sachin Tendulkar, feisty offie Harbhajan Singh, hard-hitting West Indian batsman Kieron Pollard and Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga to go into the auction pool. According to a spokesperson for Rajasthan Royals, who are fighting a legal battle against the BCCI for its decision to terminate its franchise agreement, leg spin legend Shane Warne and all rounder Shane Watson have been retained. As per the IPL Governing Council decision of September 5 each player retention would reduce the salary cap as follows: Up to 4 players per franchise may be signed for retention of which only up to 3 shall be Indian Players. The Player must have been included in the franchise's registered squad for the 2010 Season. The Franchise and Player must mutually agree to be retained and the Player Fee to be paid by the franchise to the player for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Irrespective of the actual Player Fee to be paid to the Player, the Salary Cap for the Franchise shall be charged USD 1.8 million per annum for retaining the first player, USD 1.3m pa for the second player, USD 0.9m pa for the third player and USD 0.5m pa for the fourth player. Thus if a franchise retains and signs four players, its salary cap will be charged by USD 4.5m in each of 2011 and 2012 seasons and it will have only USD 4.5m remaining to pay as player fees for the remainder of its registered squad. — PTI
|
|
3,000 hits at the nets: Kirsten’s mantra for success in South Africa
"There are two vital aspects to winning in South Africa -- first, the guys have to play with huge amounts of courage and determination. Second, they have to understand how to set up their game as bowlers and batsmen in these conditions. It's as simple as that," Kirsten said. "To achieve that requires a lot of repetition in the nets and to be comfortable. I want each of the batsmen to have hit 2000-3000 balls by the time the first Test starts," said the former South African opening batsman. Kirsten, who has brought the Indian players at his Claremont Cricket Club Academy in Cape Town for pre-series preparations, said the outcome of the high-profile series, touted as the unofficial Test Championships, will finally boil down to which team copes pressure better. "We have the ability in our batting to put bowlers under pressure in any conditions. To win a Test you need to capture 20 wickets and I don't believe the conditions will determine whether we can take 20 wickets or not. Pressure will be the determining factor. We need to execute properly otherwise we'll be the ones under pressure. We'll be up for it from ball one," he was quoted as saying by 'The Times'. Kirsten said the three-match Test series between the world's number one and two Test sides starting at Centurion on December 16 could be decided by a few key moments in one or two sessions. "Test cricket is all about momentum and playing well for periods of time in a match that can turn a whole series around. Both sides have strong batting line-ups. If they both bat well, it will come down to one or two sessions to decide the series. The key for us is to get some players into good form early on in the series," he said. In the four series in South Africa since 1992, India have lost each time and out of 12 previous Tests played here, the Proteas have won six matches and India one -- at in their last tour in 2007 -- with five draws. Kirsten, under whom India had lost only two of their last 25 Tests, said the players are aware of lack of success on South African soil. "This is a country where India haven't had much success, so winning here would be a big deal. The players are fully aware of that stat. But we are not focusing on the final outcome," Kirsten said. "We are working towards making sure we do the right things on a daily basis. If that stacks up all right then come January 6 we'll be in with a shout." Kirsten said it was not ideal for the Indian side to arrive just a week before the first Test: "The full programme of the Indian team nonetheless made this unavoidable and we must make the best of it. "We don't have the time to play a practice match, but I feel that (net) practice will be of greater value. Before the recent series against Australia we also spent five days in the nets and it worked wonders," Kirsten told the Afrikaans daily Beeld. — PTI
|
|
Ashes are lost, wail Australian press
Sydney, December 8 The post-mortems were damning, admitting that Australia was unlikely to win the remaining three Tests in the series given its beaten, broken and injury-hit team. "The Ashes? Forget it -- this side would be lucky to beat Bangladesh," opined a headline in The Sydney Morning Herald, while the Sydney tabloid Daily Telegraph ran with: "Get used to it" above a photo of a joyous England team. "Australian cricket has not been in such a parlous state for two decades," said the Daily Telegraph, which in a column described the Adelaide Test as a "massacre". Four years ago an Australia squad boasting now retired greats Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist beat England 5-0, and commentators said selectors must make changes to the team now ranked fifth in the world -- and dropping -- if is to return to that success. "However, the cupboard appears all but bare, with a constant rotation of fast bowlers and spinners bringing little joy, and promising young batsmen failing to put their hand up consistently at state level," wrote Conn. England's thumping win at Adelaide — in which Australia scored only 245 in their first innings and then looked on as England replied with a huge 620 for five declared — formalised England's custody of the Ashes, Greg Baum said in The Age. Even before Australia's batting order collapsed yesterday in their second innings to be all out for 304, England's superiority was evident in both play and attitude, he said. From mid-way through the first Test in Brisbane -- which ended in a draw -- there was an ascendancy which has so far seen "the mountains of runs made by Alastair Cook and the behemoth Kevin Pietersen, and the wickets taken by James Anderson and Graeme Swann". Strauss's men took chances while Australia squandered theirs, he said, adding that Swann's five-wicket bowling haul in Adelaide "was as sublime as Warne". Australia could have saved itself on Tuesday, had it been able to hang on for three or so hours of determined batting, as by afternoon the Adelaide Oval was hit with thunder, lightning and rain which would have certainly stopped play. — PTI
|
|
Sreesanth feels maiden series win possible
Kolkata, December 8 "People always ask me what is the difference between old and new Sreesanth. It's just the same... But I guess I'm more matured and focussed now, which is obvious. You get matured with age," Sreesanth said. The hard and bouncy pitches of South Africa might have been India's nemesis, but Sreesanth strongly believes that this time there would be a turnaround. "There is nothing difficult there. If it's difficult, it's possible as well (to win a series there). We love challenges and are really looking forward to the series. It's about taking one ball, one day at a time," he said. As a 23-year-old, in his sixth Test appearance four years ago, he had produced his best bowling effort to pack off South Africa for a paltry 84 at the Wanderers, leading India to a famous win. The visitors, hwoever, lost the remaining two Tests and returned home defeated. His Wanderers performance — 5/40 in an innings and 8/99 in the match — till day remains his best-ever bowling effort. Thanks to that spell of fast bowling, India managed their first win in South Africa after 12 attempts. Recalling the team's last tour of South Africa, the Kerala bowler said: "In the last series, I was about 23... I was full of energy as every youngster is." Sreesanth also added that he was lucky to be a part of the No. 1 Test side, which boasts of some of the world's best cricketers. "Every member of the side is a great motivator. I'm really lucky to be part of the side. There is Sachin paaji, Rahul Dravid, VVS (Laxman), Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan... There is something to learn from every one."
— PTI |
|
Copenhagen in knockout stage
London, December 8 "It's fantastic, really fantastic," said Copenhagen winger Jesper Gronkjaer. "We have written history. We fully deserved it." It was a special night too for Tottenham after a 3-3 draw at FC Twente saw the Champions League newcomers beat Inter to first place in Group A, having scored 18 goals in six games. Manchester United conceded its first goal of the group stage in a 1-1 draw with Valencia, but still secured top spot in Group C at the expense of the Spanish side. Schalke won Group B with a 2-1 victory at Benfica as second-place Lyon was held to a 2-2 draw by Hapoel Tel Aviv. Group winners are kept apart in the last-16 draw which will be held on Dec. 17, giving potentially easier draws against the runners-up. Copenhagen will be glad just to be in the draw after advancing for the first time in style by ripping apart Panathinaikos. Martin Vingaard put the Danish side ahead in the 26th minute by curling a low shot into the bottom right of the net. Gronkjaer doubled the advantage five minutes into the second half from the penalty spot after being fouled by defender Nikos Spyropoulos. Panathinaikos striker Djibril Cisse headed the ball into his own net as he defended a corner in the 73rd, but the visitors secured a late consolation goal through Cedric Kante's header. Barcelona was already assured of top spot and coach Pep Guardiola used the match to watch several reserve players in action. Andreu Fontas, who was making his European debut, and Victor Vazquez scored the second-half goals that clinched their team's first win in four attempts against the Russian club. The first of Tottenham's goals came about in freak circumstances. Peter Wisgerhof's 12th-minute backpass was embarrassingly missed by Twente goalkeeper Sander Boschker as he went to clear the ball upfield. But Denny Landzaat converted a penalty in the 22nd to level as Spurs conceded the lead three times. Tottenham reclaimed the lead in the 47th through Defoe, only for Roberto Rosales to head home Theo Janssen's cross to equalize again for Twente in the 56th.
— AP |
|
Tough times never last, tough people do!
Dehradun, December 6 He was selected to represent the Indian team based on his performance in the National Games held at Bangalore earlier this year. The National Games were conducted by the Badminton Sports Association of India for the Challenged, where he won a Gold Medal and was a National Champion in Standing Lower category. At the Israel Open Badminton Championship, players from 9 countries viz. Russia, Germany, England, Switzerland, Nigeria, Egypt, India, Guatemala and Israel took part. In the tournaments of the physically challenged, sports persons are categorized based upon their nature of disability so that the competitions are held amongst equals and all the players get equal opportunity to win. Sangwan participated in the Men's Standing Lower Category in the physically challenged sports persons as he is an amputee below knee and wears a prosthesis specially made in Germany. In singles, he played matches with different players and reached semi- finals after beating the Israelis in straight sets of 21-18 and 23-21. The bronze medal Satendra Sangwan won was for the tough fight he put up in the third set, against his opponent from Guatemala. In doubles, Sangwan paired up with Niraj Thomas from Bangalore and started their winning path by first beating their Indian counterparts and then the Israeli pair.
|
|
Punjab reach 322 for 2
Rohtak, December 8 |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Mumbai, December 8
The two franchises who played in last season's IPL final - champions Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians - have retained their full quota of players. CSK, who also lifted last season's Champions T20 League in South Africa, have kept their faith in India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Proteas' all rounder Albie Morkel. 
Johannesburg, December 8
Mumbai: 
London: