|
|
|
|
|
home truths |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Captain Afridi shines as Pakistan win against Sri Lanka
fast track
Few tickets, fewer answers
Dutch hungry for ‘Nano byte’
|
|
home truths
Bangalore, February 26 At the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here, England skipper Andre Strauss is out to ruin India’s party, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys aren’t celebrating yet. This is, for them, one more game to get out of the way before they look further. “We are preparing for this game like we do for all matches,” says Dhoni when asked if this was one of the more important games. “Yes, this is an important game but every game is a fresh start and one needs to implement the gains from past matches. “We had a good outing in the first game when the batting came good and the spinners delivered. We need to go further and take the plusses ahead.” There are temptations galore too, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The overcast conditions and the rain that came down yesterday afternoon has but a bit of moisture in the square so the teaser is evident - should one use the conditions and play more seamers, or should one opt for one more spinner. “It is tempting to play two spinners,” says Dhoni. “But that would make the bowling pretty similar so one also has to think about going in with three seamers and one spinner, and then utilize the part-timers.” But then, who would these bowlers be? “Ashish Nehra bowled at 80 per cent at the nets yesterday, otherwise we have no fitness problems,” said the skipper. Nehra was at the nets this evening, with the captain taking it upon himself to see how the Delhi left-armer was doing. As it turned out, Nehra didn’t look too convincing. But then, he never does. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, on the other hand, had an extended bowl, mostly to Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. So did Harbhajan Singh, so as things stand, the combination would be decided by the weather and pitch, on match day. But there is no denying that the bowling was tested, especially the medium-pacers, against Bangladesh. It isn’t a good sign to see a team score a huge total but still give the rivals, especially not too rated rivals, get to almost 300 unnder lights. One of the characters in that drama, S. Sreesanth, wasn’t to be seen around at the nets, so one wonders if he is going to be given a little nudge out, and Nehra makes his way in. One is tempted to predict that Dhoni would probably go in with Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Nehra, leaving Harbhajan to do the rest of the business, along with Yuvraj Singh (who incidentally, got the skipper’s vote ahead of Suresh Raina here too) and Yusuf Pathan doing the rest of the bowling. In any case Bangalore historically doesn’t turn square. If the weather persists, not likely that a wrist spinner would be deployed. Strauss would also be depending on Graeme Swann, though one isn’t sure if left-arm spinner Michael Yardy will be such a good idea, not with the kind of batting India boasts. “Two spinners is an option,” Strauss says, though he too would wait till tomorrow. “It will be a huge occasion playing India in India and there is high anticipation within the team. The pressure will be on India and we hope it comes to the fore sometime during the match. We are planning to spoil India’s party.” How they fare, the morrow will tell.
|
|
A dash of Sherry
Listless and insipid. These are perhaps the best words to describe the matches that have taken place so far in this World Cup. Most matches have been played in front of empty stands and vociferous crowds that are an integral part of cricket in the sub-continent have been conspicuous by their absence.
A drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of vinegar. The ICC should concentrate more on quality and less on quantity. In a bid to extract more marketing mileage out of this mega-event, the ICC has made it a long-drawn out affair. Quality has been compromised. New Zealand thrashed a hapless Kenyan side, Canada have looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights, Ireland are not going to stretch India and Zimbabwe are not going to set the World Cup on fire. So what are these teams actually doing? They are making up the numbers and improving the stats of some bigger teams. I’m not against associate teams. By all means cricket should be expanded globally. But the World Cup is not the place to do it. Kindness is a language that the dumb speak and the deaf hear. It might be a good idea for the ICC to have a separate World Cup for these associate countries, and have only one top associate team compete in the main World Cup. The problem in life is not to make life easy but to make men stronger. You have to be a believer first to actually become an achiever. These associate teams have not shown the mental aptitude which ignites the thought process that they belong to this arena. I remember the last World Cup where Herschelle Gibbs slammed six sixers in an over in a match against the Dutch played at St Kitts. It’s not the fault of these associate nations that they have looked out of sorts here. This is a hard game played with a hard ball. The World Cup cannot be a learning or a grooming ground. It has to be a place for the battle-hardened who can handle the heat generated in this cauldron. Just have a look at the FIFA World Cup. It takes almost three years for the football teams just to qualify for this event and there are no easy matches or gifts on offer once the big event starts. Marketing alone cannot be the paramount thing for the ICC. This World Cup is played once every four years and should be a real contest from ball one. And this has not been the case. The tournament will kick-off only now with matches between teams like Sri Lanka and Pakistan, India and England. This is how it has got to be from the very outset. Instead we have had some very lacklustre, one-sided matches and this not what the World Cup should be all about. ICC has to wake up from its slumber and make this event more meaningful. If we have only the top eight teams here the duration of the tournament will be reduced but the quality of the contests will be of a very high degree. The associate nations can be included in the T20 World Cup by all means. There the duration of the matches is short and you don’t run the risk of getting exposed. But in a 50-overs-a-side contest, associate nations like Kenya and Canada are getting exposed and are making a mockery of the World Cup. To know what is right and then not to do it is the worst cowardice. The right thing to do for the ICC will be to reduce the teams for the World Cup and give the associate nations a chance in the T20 World Cup. Coming now to the crucial match between India and England slated for Sunday…. The home team needs to get its balance right. India are the clear favourites here because of the strength of their batting and the shoddy show by England in their opening match. But they need to drop Sreesanth and include R Ashwin in the Playing XI. I feel this will give the Indian team the right balance. This also makes sense because England batsmen are not the greatest players of spin bowling and the pitches here have a tendency to favour the tweakers. Fear clogs, faith liberates. India should show faith in their strength which is spin bowling. Playing three seamers in the sub-continent — like India did against Bangladesh — defies all logic. I feel India have the edge and they should win this one against England. |
|
Captain Afridi shines as Pakistan win against Sri Lanka
Colombo, February 26 The Pakistan captain followed his five wickets against Kenya in the previous game with a four-wicket haul (4-34) as Sri Lanka, chasing Pakistan's 277-7, replied with 266 for nine wickets. Pakistan stalwarts Younus Khan (72) and Misbah-ul-Haq (83 not out) shared a century partnership to set co-hosts Sri Lanka a challenging target to chase under lights. But Pakistan spinners strangled the Sri Lankan batsmen, capturing six of the nine wickets to fall. Top scorer for Sri Lanka was Chamara Silva with 57 off 78 balls. "It was really important for us as Sri Lanka are a good side, especially since they were playing at home. It was important to win this World Cup match to go forward," said Misbah. "Especially here, (winning the) toss was very, very important because it comes nicely to the bat in the first innings and second innings it's difficult to bat." Earlier, Misbah-ul-Haq (unbeaten 83) and Younis Khan (72) hit half-centuries to guide Pakistan to a competitive 277 for seven. Younis and Misbah did the bulk of scoring by sharing 108 runs for the fourth wicket after Pakistan elected to bat in their Group A match at the Premadasa Stadium. Opener Mohammed Hafeez and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal contributed 32 and 39 respectively. Pakistan's total, however, could not touch the 300-run mark as managed just 68 runs in the last 10 overs despite having seven wickets in hand after the 40th over. Captain Shahid Afridi contributed 16 from 12 balls and was out in the penultimate over. Pakistan were off to a good start, scoring 65 in the first 10 overs though they lost the wicket of inexperienced opener Ahmed Shehzad during that time. Sri Lankan pacemen Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera were expensive in their first spells of five overs each though the latter removed Shehzad (13) in the sixth over with a delivery that moved away slightly after pitching outside off stump for Kumar Sangakkara to take the edge. The other opener Mohammad Hafeez then creamed Kulasekara for a six and a four in the next over before one-down Kamran Akmal hit the same bowler for two fours in the same over. Just as Pakistan were looking to take control of their innings, they lost their second wicket with Hafeez being run out following a horrible mix-up in the 14th over. — Agencies Scoreboard Sri Lanka:
266/9 (50 ovrs)
|
|
fast track
So far, batsmen have had the upper hand in the World Cup. That’s what you expect from the subcontinent but in my opinion that is what should happen in all world cups and one-day games. There’s been some success for bowlers but largely that’s been the Test playing nations against the Associate teams. One-day cricket needs to be about good contests between bat and ball. It shouldn’t encourage mediocrity. When you are playing in world cup games, the conditions should be such that will reward excellence whether you are a batsman or a bowler.
I have said it earlier and will reiterate - teams with good fast bowlers will do well in the subcontinent. Australia’s match against New Zealand is a prime example of that. I won’t say New Zealand’s batting order is weak, but they were just blown away by pace. Tait just blew away New Zealand. He was intimidating. New Zealand’s batsmen appeared keen to hang around on the back foot and flash the bat. Real pace will do that, and win you matches. That’s where Australia are outstanding. Australia have lost Doug Bollinger, but that won’t have much effect on the team’s fortunes. Bollinger was something of a “spare part” in the squad and was unlikely to get much playing time. Australia have a red-hot pace attack in Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson and that will keep them going strong in the tournament. One big loss is Dwayne Bravo. West Indies are really going to miss him. Their bowling attack is now severely depleted without Bravo, because they now only have two strike bowlers in Kemar Roach and Suleiman Benn. Not just his bowling, but Bravo will be missed for his fielding, batting and also his enthusiasm. That’s a massive blow. Tactically, I think most teams have used the batting Powerplay well, though there has been a pattern to it. It seems as if most teams are trying to take their batting powerplay just after the ball is changed after the 34th over. This seems because the ball being harder after the change is easier to hit away. What I would suggest though is that teams should not always waits for 34 overs to be bowled and if they are losing wickets they may have to take their batting powerplay a bit earlier because this is no point in waiting to take your batting powerplay later when you have lost too many wickets and the batsmen at the crease are incapable of taking advantage of the powerplay. — PMG |
|
Few tickets, fewer answers
Bangalore, February 26 The sale of tickets to the general public has been an issue all over India and here too it is no different. The British media is having a field day with how the police treated the people who had queued up for tickets at the gate sales counter here. There were just way too few tickets available to someone who doesn’t have access to Internet. But the problem at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) here has another side to it. This match having shifted from Eden Gardens in Kolkata basically has shifted the spectators from a 66,000 capacity stadium to one that holds 38,000. Then, there is the situation of having to fulfill sponsors’ commitments, both for the ICC and KSCA, plus the tickets that have to be allocated to the BCCI affiliate associations (25 to each). Then there would be an expected 4000 English supporters who are supposed to be here already. So essentially, 7000 was the number that could be sold over the counter, which wasn’t enough. KSCA’s new secretary, former fast bowler Javagal Srinath, apologised to the ticket-seekers with folded hands, and asked for suggestions about how to address the situation. He said some tickets would be available by this evening, though how many, or when, is still not known. ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat on the other hand was a paragon of perceived confidence. “This (the demand for tickets) just reflects how the popularity of the game has increased,” he replied, pretty much said to all questions. Quite an irony, considering that most of the stands at all venues have been largely empty. With sponsors etc. grabbing on to a bulk of tickets, and then not using them, this has become a bit of a sham. While neither ICC nor KSCA seems to have any clues, surely the corporates need to be given some sort of a commitment to follow in terms of releasing the tickets they aren’t using, and in good time. Not likely to happen, since a cricket ticket is a bribe worth much in the sub-continent. No real solution to this vexed problem seems to be in sight.
|
|
Dutch hungry for ‘Nano byte’
New Delhi, February 26 The ambassador proudly showed the interior of the cute car to the cricketers, which he drives around in Delhi with the national flag of red, white and blue fluttering on its bonnet, as 25 per cent of the components in the car is manufactured by Dutch companies at Pune. The cricket team, nattly dressed in striped black suits and white and blue striped tie, seemed to take an instant liking to the little beauty, which was a welcome distraction from their intently focussed preparation to take on West Indies in their second ICC World Cup tie at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on February 28, after giving the England team a close call in their opener at Nagpur. "The match between The Netherlands and England was hugely exciting. Even though we weren't the winners, but it's a great feeling to see the Dutch compete against the best and keep up the level of the game", ambassador Hiensch aptly summed up the display of the Dutch in their opening gambit. The baby-faced Ryan ten Doeschate, who cracked a century against England, and also scalped two wickets, was indeed the cynosure of all eyes. The 30-year-old South African-born top order bat, who has been snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders Rs for 67.7 lakh for IPL season IV, had no illusion of getting a place in the first XI of the Twenty/20 team, as KKR was packed with high-profile other foreign recruits. "I think it is going to be very difficult to get games. Obviously Brett Lee, Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan, Brad Haddin...they have got four serious international players, not to mention Shakib Al Hasan and the young guy from Australia. So I am pretty aware of the fact I am going to carry drinks. I will be fighting for a place. But I am sure there will be opportunities. And I will try to do well when I get a chance" he said modestly. Whether Holland exit from the World Cup early or not, ten Doeschate has carved a name for himself in the hall of fame. "I really enjoyed the game against England. It was nice to do well at the start of the World Cup", explained ten Doeschate, who hones his cricket skills for Essex county.
|
| 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 | |
Bangalore, February 26
A dash of Sherry
New Delhi, February 26
New Delhi: