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yuvi rays blind australia
‘Team gave more than 100 per cent’
Kiwis face South African might
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Kiwis unlikely to challenge SA
Lanka revel in heat
Smooth sailing for ranked players
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yuvi rays blind australia
Chasing Australia's total of 260, India raced to 261 for 5 in 47.4 overs, thanks to the 74-run stand, off 61 balls for the sixth wicket, between Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina. Yuvraj remained not out on 57 (65b, 8x4) to hoist his fourth half-century and earn the fourth man of the match award. Suresh Raina remained unbeaten on 34 (28b, 2x4, 1x6).
When the batting Powerplay was taken in the 45th over, India needed 22 runs from 30 balls for victory with Yuvraj Singh on 52 and Raina on 19. Raina hoisted the first ball off Brett Lee over the long-on fence for a huge six to ease the pressure somewhat. And in the next over, when left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson bounced one at Raina, he carted it to the ropes and thereafter, it was a steady ride to the target with Yuvraj applying the knockout punch with a searing boundary. An Indian victory looked imminent when 14 runs were scored off Lee in the 40th over though what mattered most was the steely nerves displayed by Yuvraj and Raina, who found the gaps to score runs, in the crunch. They drove the Aussies to desperation, which led to many goof ups in the field and comic gaffes. But at one stage, India looked like succumbing to self-inflicted wounds when Gautam Gambhir committed virtual harakiri to be run out. Yuvraj too was lucky to escape a run out though captain Mahender Singh Dhoni could not last long. When Dhoni departed, India's victory chances looked bleak, but Yuvraj and Raina showed that cricket was a game of grit by stealing cheeky singles and twos, and smashing boundaries to blunt the four-pronged pace attack of the Aussies. While India relied on spin to restrict Australia to 260, despite captain Ricky Ponting's century, Australia's pace battery could not achieve the desired result in the face of concerted assaults, first by Sachin Tendulkar, and then by Yuvraj and Raina. Yuvraj also completed 8,000 runs in ODIs while Sachin surpassed the 18000-run land mark. It was Yuvraj's 29th half century in ODIs, seventh of the World Cup, fourth against Australia and fourth in this edition of the World Cup. India thus avenged their defeat at the hands of Australia in the final of the 2003 World Cup and now take on Pakistan in the semifinal at Mohali. Though "God of Cricket" Sachin Tendulkar's date with 100 international centuries got postponed for another day, he did cross a couple of milestones before being out for 53, caught behind by wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, off Shaun Tait. His knock was embellished with seven boundaries. Normally Sehwag starts the day with a four, but this time Sehwag missed that honour, but Sachin did it, with two fours off Shaun Tait. India started the chase on a shaky note as Virender Sehwag was lucky to survive a caught behind appeal in the very first over off Brett Lee, though as is his wont, he finally exited after cracking two pleasing boundaries.
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‘Team gave more than 100 per cent’
Ahmedabad, March 24 "I'd have been satisfied keeping Australia to 250. But we had our best fielding unit today. We are not a good fielding side we did very well on the field. I think we saved around 15 runs that we did not need to chase," Dhoni said. "All the players gave more than 100 per cent in the match. We needed 70-odd runs with the last batting pair. But we knew if Yuvraj and Raina played out the 50 overs we would make it. It was about handling the pressure," said Dhoni. He said Suresh Raina was included in place of Yusuf Pathan as the team wanted to bat out the full 50 overs. Asked about the semifinal against Pakistan in Mohali on Wednesday, Dhoni said, "The World Cup is being held in the sub-continent and India and Pakistan are playing in the semifinals. It does not get better. The pressure will be big, but in reality it makes no difference to us. It will be just a game. Indian cricket team has always been under pressure and we have handled it well." — PTI
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Kiwis face South African might
Dhaka, March 24 South Africa have been going like an express train. Barring a hiccup against England, they have really put it across their opponents, including Bangladesh here in the league stage. New Zealand, on the other hand, have been a little bit of an enigma, going through highs and lows which makes it difficult putting a tag on them. For all neutral observers, South Africa are runaway favourites. They have played a complete game in the World Cup so far, and all the players have chipped in. Batsmen like Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers firming up the top, and everyone down the order, right down till Robin Peterson, coming good when needed. The fast bowling with Dale Steyn leading from the front has been formidable, while the spin combination of Johan Botha, Imran Tahir and Peterson has surpassed even the Proteas’ expectations. “The sub-continent is a place where spinners have always done well,” skipper Graeme Smith said. “For the South African spinners, it is very exciting to come and perform well here. “Our combination has been good. Earlier, we had a situation of 40 overs being bowled by the fast bowlers but now we have the flexibility of using spin. Earlier, we tried to get wickets early on in the innings but now we can expect wickets even in the middle overs. We don’t need the spinners to do anything spectacular tomorrow and just stick to what they have done well.” South Africa is looking all set to field their top side. De Villiers is looking like returning to the XI, which makes the batting even more formidable. New Zealand, on the other hand, seem to have only one name when it comes to getting runs with any conviction. Ross Taylor has been the lynchpin for them, but skipper Daniel Vettori would like more from the others. But that hasn’t always worked and New Zealand invariably have ended up with one or two players coming good at a time. “South Africa are a huge challenge,” Vettori conceded. “They have been in great form for quite a while now and have been formidable here too. It will be an extremely tough game.” Vettori thinks that the game with Pakistan, one of the Kiwis’ better performances in this tournament, should be the module to follow. “We need to bring the Pakistan game to the table, building partnerships, finishing well and then bowling well. Our bowling is solid and fielding has always been good. What we need is for the top four or five batsmen to come good.” Whatever be Vettori’s gameplan, it will take a super-human effort for New Zealand to progress beyond this round. While it would be presumptuous to suggest that this could well be a repeat of the Pakistan-West Indies mismatch, but unless the South Africans go and beat themselves, they should be able to snare a semi-final slot.
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Kiwis unlikely to challenge SA
South Africa are definite favourites. I can’t see New Zealand beating them. South Africa are the best all-round team in the competition. Whether batting or bowling first they are very strong and I don’t think they need to do too much. Their basics are in place and they have plenty of depth. I don’t think it will make much difference whether South Africa play three spinners or two. They certainly don’t need three, even though it gives them more options. With fast bowlers in Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, a solid medium-pacer in Jacques Kallis and two frontline spinners, they are set. For back-up they have JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis. Playing three spinners means dropping Du Plessis and I don’t think South Africa want to do that. Their batting needs to be strong and so letting go of a batsman to accommodate a third front-line spinner makes no sense. Imran Tahir has been impressive. He brings control to the bowling and doesn’t bowl a lot of bad deliveries. He spins the ball and is an attacking leg-spinner. He’s not in the side to restrict runs, he’s there to take wickets and he has done so consistently. Robin Peterson has also turned out to be a very important figure, both with ball and bat. Whether he or Johan Botha plays is a moot point because South Africa will either way have four frontline bowlers. They don’t need five. New Zealand will be glad to have Daniel Vettori back. They need their captain to deliver, as well as Nathan McCullum. New Zealand haven’t opened the attack with spin to often and I don’t think they should try to in a knock-out situation. We all know how Graeme Smith has been struggling and there’s no need to allow him to get back into form by playing spin. Stick to what other teams have been doing to keep Smith quiet - bowl straight, don’t give him room outside off and don’t stray onto his pads. Smith has had enough troubles with straight-up seam, so New Zealand should stick to that. Smith’s form has put pressure on Hashim Amla to score faster. He’s been forced to try and increase the scoring rate and that has often led to his downfall. In that regard, South Africa need a lot more from Kallis. While this South African side hasn’t been dependent on two or three players, they will really hope Kallis turns up for the big occasion. Earlier, South Africa had the likes of Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald along with Kallis, who were key players. Then, the attack was pretty one-dimensional but now South Africa have depth. Their spinners are effective. The fact that these spinners can bat is a big bonus. This is the most balanced and dynamic South African attack we’ve seen in years. New Zealand’s top order looks settled but it’s in the middle-order that they lack punch, similar to South Africa. Compared to South Africa’s middle-order, New Zealand have much more experience with the likes of Scott Styris and Jacob Oram. But the problem is that neither all-rounder has done much in the World Cup. Once a side gets past the top four they fancy their chances of getting through the middle order pretty easily. New Zealand have to get more out of Styris, Oram and James Franklin. — PMG
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It would be a battle of nerves, says Donald
Mirpur, March 24 South Africa topped Group B with five wins in six matches, while New Zealand finished fourth in Group A with four wins, losing matches to England and Sri Lanka. "The thought that your World Cup will be over if you slip up just once is enough to make everybody nervous and the team that wins will be the one that handles pressure the best," said Donald. The former South African pacer said New Zealand have better record in the World Cup against the Proteas and exuded confidence that his team will be able to defeat Graeme Smith's men tomorrow. "We are confident we can beat South Africa and I know most of our players are delighted that we are playing against them in the quarter-final," Donald, who took 330 Test and 272 ODI wickets for South Africa, said. "On paper, they may be the favourites, but we have a superior record in major tournaments," he added. — PTI
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More than Motera can handle!
Ahmedabad, March 24 The approaches to the Motera stadium - a virtual dust bowl - was chock-a-block with people and vehicles from 10 a.m and many media people and spectators had to walk long distances in searing heat to reach the stadium gate. Many people wanting to buy tickets for the past few days had to go disappointed as there were simply very few tickets on offer. A cricket fan, who was among the many who shouted slogans against the Gujarat Cricket Association officials for the alleged black-marketing of the tickets, said twice he stood in the queue from 3 a.m but the counters were shut after selling barely 100-odd tickets. Baton-wielding cops scared away those who were not lucky enough to secure a prized ticket, and shouting slogans against the officials. An official of the GCA is reported to have said very few tickets could be put on sale as the International Cricket Council had to be given 16,000 tickets, which left very few for the hosts to be distributed among their members and all other pass-seeking VIPs and VVIPS. In the end, the public was shortchanged and thousands of people were stranded outside the stadium, due to their inability to secure tickets, even for love or money!
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Lanka revel in heat
Colombo, March 24 All these facets taken together make the Lankans a formidable ODI team. Now if we add home advantage to these qualities as well, then this team from the Emerald Isles becomes even more dangerous. With nearly 35,000 fervent home supporters rooting for them, Sri Lankan players get further galvanised and almost unstoppable. As you watch the Sri Lankan players train at the Premadasa Stadium here, it becomes quite clear that this team has great camaraderie. With the sun beating down ceaselessly, the conditions at the ground appear to be quite hot and draining but these players look like loving it out there. They seem to be revelling in these humid conditions. Their main bowler Muthiah Muralitharan is still recovering from a hamstring strain but the Lankan camp is not fretting over that injury. Coach Trevor Bayliss is optimistic that Murali will recover in time for the quarterfinal game against England to be played here on Saturday. “Of course Murali is a very important part of our team. But our bowling is not only about him. We have others like Mendis, Mathews and Malinga as well. And I know Murali. Even if he is not hundred per cent fit, he will still play. He has played through niggles before and he will do it again,’ says Bayliss about his champion 38-year-old spin bowler. Sri Lanka’s ODI record against England at home is pretty impressive as well. Out of the last nine matches played between these two sides here, the home team has won six. The quarterfinal match will be played at the Premadasa Ground here that has a history of assisting the slower bowlers. The pitch has been relaid for the World Cup but the basic nature of the venue remains intact. And Lanka’s top batsman Mahela Jayawardene seems to agree with that assessment. “Yes, historically this ground has helped the spinners. But this time there is a difference. This playing square was dug up and the level of the pitch has been raised considerably and now we don’t have moisture coming up. Earlier, chasing under lights here was very tough. But now things are almost even. So the toss will not be such a big factor. Most scores can be chased down here now,” says Jayawardene. The humid conditions here suit them, the slow nature of the wickets appeal to their style, the raucous home crowd backs them to the hilt, their stats here are pretty impressive - no wonder the Sri Lankans are a daunting team at home.
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Somdev, Sania make winning start
Miami Miami, March 24 Ranked 73 in ATP charts, Somdev downed world number 47 Potito Starace of Italy 6-2 6-4 in his opening round of the ATP Masters event. Qualifier Sania, ranked 99, defeated Spanish world number 62 Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2 6-4 in WTA premier event. Sania has a tough second round ahead as she is up against 24th seed Russian Maria Kirilenko. Somdev will clash with Canadian world number 34 Milos Raonic, seeded 31, in his second round and if he manages to get past him, he could have a match against world number six David Ferrer in the third round.
— PTI |
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Smooth sailing for ranked players
Ludhiana, March 24 In the first stage matches of 8-Ball Pool, Alok Kumar of Punjab along with Kamal Chawla from Railways and Sandeep Gulati of Delhi began their campaign in style. Alok Kumar, bronze medallist at the Asian Games in China faced no challenge from his rival Ashok Singh from Delhi, whom he outperformed in straight sets (5-0). Similarly, Kamal Chawla too got the better of Chandan Gupta of Punjab 5-1, while Sandeep Gulati scripted a win over Sajan Goyal, also from Punjab in identical fashion (5-1). First day's results: Joy Mehra (PB) bt Periyar Selvam (TN) 5-0; Hitesh Soni (PB) bt Rahul Berlia (WB) 5-3; Prince Goyal (Har) bt Aman Sood (PB) 5-4; Dhruv Verma (PB) bt Sashi Kumar (TN) 5-0; Sandeep Gulati (DEL) bt Sajan Goyal (PB) 5-1; Lalit Dahiya (DEL) bt Goldy Kashyap (PB) 5-0; Aneesh Saini (HAR) bt Sachin Vohra (CHD) 5-0; Sanjeev Bhalla (PB) bt Yash Mehan (PB) 5-2; Balaji Reddy (KTK) bt Rajiv Bhalla (PB) 5-0; Ajay Singhla (Har) bt Nayan Narsinh (GJ) 5-3; Sourav Mittal (PB) bt Sahil (Har) 5-2; Navneet Malhotra (PB) bt Hansit Singh Kohli (DEL) 5-3; Vipin Sethi (DEL) bt Romi Mallick (PB) 5-1.
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Ahmedabad, March 24
Ahmedabad,
March 24
Dhaka, March 24
South Africa are definite favourites. I can’t see New Zealand beating them. South Africa are the best all-round team in the competition. Whether batting or bowling first they are very strong and I don’t think they need to do too much. Their basics are in place and they have plenty of depth.
Ahmedabad, March 24
Rashid for Yardy