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I feel we can win this time: Sangakkara
Media bemoans NZ exit, but praises team
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Clarke named Aussie captain Michael Clarke
India to play UAE in WC qualifiers
7 teams vie in I-League 2 qualifiers
Arvind eyes New Zealand Open
Daniel Vettori
Nadal, Djokovic, Federer race to Miami wins
Wonderful
to play final in Mumbai: Sachin
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Pakistan were never in the chase of the target of 261 despite a rollicking start, finally ending at 231 off 49.5 overs as India won by 29 runs advanced to the final, to be played with Sri Lanka at Mumbai on April 2. Misbah-ul Haq kept the crowd on edge with some tail-end hitting but he was left with an impossible job. Earlier, India had finished at 260 for nine in 50 overs, thanks to the scratchiest 85 ever scored by Sachin Tendulkar and an efficient 36 not out by Suresh Raina lower down the order. Left-arm medium-pacer Wahab Riaz returned figures of 5-46 to lead the Pakistan attack. The Indian bowling did not have to really get too adventurous. All they needed was to keep their line and length and most importantly, their wits about them. That they did with great success and added to the fielding, it was a perfect recipe for a win. There was a fair amount of dismay in the morning when Mahendra Singh Dhoni opted to go in with three seamers and only Harbhajan Singh as a specialist spinner. But all the bowlers came good for the hosts, with Munaf Patel bowling a miserly line and Ashish Nehra angled it away with consistency. The spinners and Zaheer also did enough to keep Pakistan out of the hunt. The battle was always on, since with the ball holding on the wearing pitch, which has been through a lot over the season. Playing through the line of the ball was practically impossible unless the ball was hit on the rise. But as the bounce progressively got lower, hitting on the rise was something that began going out of the window. The batsmen were left to try and nudge and prod, which cost Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq their wickets. Umar Akmal was looking like untying the knots that the Indian bowlers had managed to tighten around the batting. He took full toll of some short stuff from Yuvraj to get a boundary and a six and then a while later hoisted one practically one-handed straight to the sightscreen. The Pakistan innings, which wasn’t exactly sliding at that stage, then began to go really awry as the run-rate kept climbing with every over. They were caught in a cleft stick and as they were left with trying to accelerate on a pitch that wouldn’t help, and also not lose wickets. Afridi is a batsman who can put en end to any team’s aspirations in a span of 4-5 overs. Till the time he and Misbah-ul Haq were around, the Indian fans were torn between cheering and praying. But Afridi’s highest total in the World Cup has been 20, that too against Canada, so in reality, he wasn’t the threat he used to be. So when he hammered a full toss from Harbhajan Singh into the hands of Virender Sehwag, the match was over. Earlier, it was one of the strangest innings ever played by Tendulkar. He was doing fine till two close calls when on 23, surviving an lbw appeal off Saeed Ajmal by the skin of his teeth and then a stumping appeal, off the very next ball. He seemed to lose his way after that and many of his attacking shots didn’t get through the close-in cordon. With the ball not always coming on to the bat, he had a testing time against Shahid Afridi, who watched in amazement as Misbah-ul Haq, Younis Khan, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and brother Umar dropped him, the first two and the last coming off Afridi himself. Tendulkar graduated from one chance to the other, which came with his score at 27, 45, 70 and 81. India at one stage looked like going down in a heap, especially when Tendulkar and the unconvincing MS Dhoni left. But Raina kept his head down and tried to stitch some partnerships with the bowlers, which enabled India get some crucial runs towards the end of the innings. 5.5 to Sehwag, 141.5 kph Ball pitched just in line with leg stump, short of a length, and skidded on to Sehwag 48/1 25.2 to Kohli, 139.4 kph Lands on a length around off and angles away, Virat plays a strange shot. Just stabbed at it. 141/3 25.3 to Yuvraj Singh, 146.2 kph Full and pacy and it swung in beautifully past the hurried stab and crashed in the stumps 141/4 41.4 to Dhoni, 143.7 kph Rapped on the pad as Dhoni shuffles to off 205/6 49.2 to Zaheer, 137.9 kph Caught behind. Enormous heave, a thin edge and safely pouched by
Kamran. 256/8 Star of the show Wahab Riaz's left-arm fast medium has benefited from Pakistan's chronic poor luck with fast bowlers. With Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif missing more than they play and Umar Gul injury-prone, Riaz came into national reckoning earlier than he might have reasonably expected. His early start was promising though it came in ODIs against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh early in 2008. His first real test came against India in Bangladesh, where after 9.2 expensive overs, he was taken out of the attack for bowling two beamers. But as Pakistan misses its leading bowlers Riaz's brisk pace remains in national contention. Born June 28, 1985, Lahore. Current age 25 years 275 days Major teams Pakistan, Hyderabad (Pak), Hyderabad Hawks, Lahore, Lahore Lions, Lahore Ravi, National Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan A, Punjab (Pak) Also known as Vicky Playing role Bowler Batting style Right-hand
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I feel we can win this time: Sangakkara
Colombo, March 30 Back then Gilchrist had been inspired by some new wave of thinking which led him to use a half-cut squash ball in his batting glove and its effect was magical. Gilchrist played a blinder and Sri Lanka were demolished in that final four years ago in Barbados. But are the Sri Lankans better prepared this time around? “A lot of hard work has gone into building this team and I feel we can win it this time,” says Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara. No doubt Sanga’s players will like to cross the final hurdle now and put the agony of that defeat in Barbados behind them but they also have another reason to achieve the title pretty badly this time. The final in Mumbai on Saturday will be Muthiah Muralitharan’s last international match and the Lankan players have promised to win it for him. “Yes, that will be the perfect gift for Murali. But we are committed to doing this as a team. We can think about the celebrations later. We have just won the semifinal and not the final. All this talk can wait. First we have to win that match on Saturday. All our focus is on that match right now. Everything else is secondary,” says Sangakarra. Sri Lanka were not tested severely in either the quarters or the semifinals but Sangakkara believes his team has done most things right so far in the tournament. “Dilshan and I should have finished it off against New Zealand. But, in hindsight, I think it was good that our middle-order got a chance to do it under pressure. Mathews and Samaraweera did just what was expected of them,” says Sangakkara. The Sri Lankans played a league match in Mumbai on March 18, where again they had defeated the Kiwis by 112 runs and Sangakkara feels it was nice for his team to get a feel of the conditions at the Wankhede before the final. “I really don’t know what kind of wicket we will get there for the final. But in the league match against New Zealand the wicket we got there was hard and had bounce. There was hardly any turn. We have a strong bowling line-up and are ready for any kind of surface. It was also good that we lost the toss both in the quarters and the semis because that way we got to chase and we won both games chasing. We are very confident of defending a target with our bowling. So, I think we have played in all kind of different scenarios before the final and are quite well-prepared,” says Sangakkara. All three teams left in the fray now have won the World Cup once - India in 1983, Pakistan in 1992 and Sri Lanka in 1996. And, it will be the second title-triumph for whichever team that goes on to win the crown on Saturday.
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Media bemoans NZ exit, but praises team
Wellington, March 30 The New Zealand Herald said the Black Caps, "almost broke the jinx". "They deserve suitable plaudits for a gallant effort," it said. The New Zealand's national news agency, NZPA, was however, critical as it said, "It was deja vu all over again." New Zealand, yesterday put up a brave show against the favourites Sri Lanka making them earn their ticket to the World Cup final, after they were bundled out within their alloted quota of overs for a small total of 217. Chasing a modest target of 218, the Sri Lankan's were going smooth at 160 for one before Kiwis struck back dismissing four of their batsman for an addition of just 25 runs to the total. But that did not prove enough as the hosts ran home with the victory in 47.5 overs with five wickets to spare. Meanwhile, the former New Zealand cricketer Nathan Astle raised doubts about the inability of Kiwis to come out with something innovative rather than sticking to the same game plan that worked for them against South Africa. "The Black Caps' inability to adapt their game plan is what cost them a place in the World Cup final," the cricketer told New Zealand Herald. Astle, though, admired the team's much enhanced performance at the big stage saying, "It's just a shame we couldn't get across the line for the final but I think they've proven a few people wrong, myself included.” — PTI
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Clarke named Aussie captain
Sydney, March 30 All-rounder Shane Watson is the new Test and ODI vice-captain. Cameron White will continue as national Twenty20 captain, with Watson again as his deputy. Clarke, who turns 30 Saturday, will have a task immediately at hand as Australia leave this week on a tour of Bangladesh to play three one-dayers. He later will lead the side in the Tests during the tour of Sri Lanka in August. Ponting, who led Australia in more than 300 Test and ODI matches, is also a part of the squad. But Clarke insisted that Ponting's presence won't affect or make him feel awkward. "First of all, can I say what an honour it is to be named captain and also a huge surprise to see Ricky stand down. I know Ricky will allow me to do my job to the best of my ability. Bangladesh will be a great test for that to see how it all unfolds," Clarke said. Although a heir apparent for the job, Clarke is the least preferred captain by the fans as per the polls. Only 26 percent of 21,000 respondents in an online poll by Sydney Morning Herald, backed him as the new captain. He figured a distant third as preferred skipper in a Sydney Daily Telegraph survey of more than 8,500 readers. It was Watson who was polled the most popular captain with more than 2,000 votes followed by Michael Hussey. For the moment, Clarke is left with the regeneration of a team which has seen quite a few lows off late. Clarke said he wants to see his side taking the top place in all forms of the game. "I think the guys in the team generally know the way I go about my work and what I expect out of all of us as the Australian cricket team," Clarke said, having previously led the side in one Test and a handful of ODI matches. "Our goals are all exactly the same, we want to become the best team we can be, we want to become the No.1 ranked team in all forms, and that's going to take a long time." "The key for me is that we go back to basics, old fashioned basics and make sure we're getting out of bed every day and trying to get better at the three major basics in cricket - batting, bowling fielding," he said. — IANS |
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India to play UAE in WC qualifiers
Kuala Lumpur, March 30 India will travel to UAE for an away game on July 23 while the home tie will be played on July 28. India had recently lost to UAE 0-5 in an international friendly, in the run-up to the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. The 16 lowest ranked teams — based on their record at the qualification campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup — out of 43 Asian countries taking part in the qualifying round were paired off to play home and away matches in the first round. The eight winners from the first round will join 22 higher ranked teams. India are not playing in the first round as they have been seeded 27th. The 15 winners from the second round will join the top five direct entrants (Japan, Korea Republic, DPR Korea, Australia and Bahrain) in the third round to be played from September 2, 2011 to February 29, 2012. The 20 teams in the third round will be divided into five groups of four each with the top two from each group making it to fourth round. The 10 qualified teams in the fourth round — to be played from June 3, 2012 to June 18, 2013 — will be divided into two groups of five each and the top two teams from each group will gain automatic berths in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Two third-placed teams will play in round five — to be played on September 6 and 10, 2013 to determine Asia's representative in the inter-continental playoff. The inter-continental playoff will be played on October 15 and November 19, 2013. Meanwhile, India will take on Qatar in the second round of 2012 Olympics Asian Qualifiers. India will travel to Qatar on June 19 while the home match will be held on June 23. India had beaten Myanmar in the first round on 3-2 aggregate. In the 2012 AFC under-16 Championship qualifiers, India have been placed in the Group C of West Zone along with Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Bahrain and Kyrgyzstan. — PTI
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7 teams vie in I-League 2 qualifiers
Jamshedpur, March 30 In the opener, Mohammedan Sporting Club will lock horns with Goa’s Sesa Football Academy. Organising committee Chairman Sanjiv Paul said the other teams participating at Jamshedpur venue are Denzong Boys Football Club (Sikkim), Josco Football Club (Kerala), Ar-Hima Football Club (Meghalaya), Malabar United (Kerala) and Kenkre Football Club (Maharashtra). Besides Jamshedpur, there would be two other venues - Guwahati and Madurai, he said adding the 21 teams have been divided into three groups, each comprising seven during the over two-week long competition. The eight qualifying teams from the qualifying round, will be vying for promotion — PTI
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New Delhi, March 30 The 31-year-old shuttler from Karnataka, who defeated Commonwealth Games bronze medallist P kashyap in the finals of the National Championship in Rohtak early this year, hurt his shoulder during a practice session and was sidelined for a month. However, the strapping senior shuttler is now set to return to international badminton with a clash against Daniel Gouw of America tomorrow. "My shoulder is perfectly alright now. I have worked very hard with the physio in Bangalore and I am doing great now. Last six weeks I have been training well," Arvind told PTI. "I have taken a new trainer, his name is Shama Rao. I have been doing some great training off court, and also concentrating quite well on my diet and mental fitness. Hopefully results will be good," he added. Asked if playing in the New Zealand Open was a move to get back on court confidence, Arvind said, "Ya you can say that. But the field here is very strong... unusual for a International Challenger event. Nonetheless, it should be good." "I am looking at playing my best and continue the same form like in the Nationals. I know that it will be difficult but will give my best. My first round opponent is an American, so should be ok. My pre-quarter will be against a Chinese Taipei guy, should be a good one," he added. Promising shuttler RMV Gurusaidatt, who had reached the semifinals of the Indian Open last year, will be up against Nathan David of Australia in the men's singles. Among other Indians in the men's singles, Aditya Elango will be up against Andrew Paulet of Australia, while Eshan Naqvi will take on Andre Kurniawan Tedjono of Indonesia tomorrow. India's Ajit Wjjetilekk will meet Matthieu Lo Ying Ping of France. — PTI
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Vettori retires from Twenty20 cricket
Colombo, March 30 Speaking after his side's five-wicket World Cup semi-final loss to Sri Lanka in Colombo on Tuesday, Vettori confirmed he would retire from T20 internationals, but said he hadn't made a decision on his one-day future. "It's about six months to the next one-dayer so I have a lot of time to sit down and think about it and talk to my family. I may take a break but this mightn't be my last one-dayer for New Zealand. I've played my last Twenty20 match though," stuff.co.nz quoted Vettori, as saying. "Tests are a big part of why I play the game, for team and myself, because there is no better feeling than winning a test," he added. Disappointed that New Zealand had failed to progress to the World Cup final, Vettori said he had seen enough from his players to give him confidence about future.— ANI
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Nadal, Djokovic, Federer race to Miami wins
Miami, March 30 Number one Nadal was untroubled as he beat Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes Tuesday with the challenger playing his second match of the day after earlier defeating French 15th seed Jo- Wilfried Tsonga 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 7-5. The on-fire Djokovic easily swept to his 21st consecutive match win of a runaway season, crushing friend and Davis Cup teammate Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-2 in a match played in humidity. The world number two, winner of this month's Indian Wells event, is the only man in the ATP top 125 not to have lost a match this season. Federer didn't win his first point until a personal career record of 12:37 a.m. but the Swiss third seed was off court in 51 minutes after crushing good friend Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-1 early Wednesday to finally end the marathon day. Spanish sixth seed David Ferrer defeated compatriot Marcel Granollers 6-1, 6-2. — DPA
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Wonderful to play final in Mumbai: Sachin Mohali, March 30 "It will be a wonderful occasion to play the final in Mumbai. All we would like is to remain calm and focussed and get the job done," the man-of-the-match against Pakistan said at the post-match presentation ceremony. For someone who has been a member of the side that has won all its five World Cup matches against Pakistan, the legendary batsman was quick to admit that it would be a "memory that he would always cherish." Someone who has always put the team before individual performance, Tendulkar lavished praise on young Suresh Raina whose unbeaten 36 provided necessary impetus during the death overs. "Raina played a special knock. When we started batting, I felt that 310-315 was par-score. But as the spinners came on the ball was stopping and coming. Then I thought that 265-270 will be a good score to defend," Tendulkar stated. For him Virender Sehwag's blitzkrieg at the onset gave him and others that extra bit of time to check out on how to proceed with the innings. "Viru got us off to a flier but then we needed to assess the situation. It was a difficult wicket to bat on and we needed to put up a good score. Full credit to our bowlers as they put up a fabulous show." Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni also spoke in the same vein about how the wicket slowly became difficult to bat on as the match progressed. "If you take the opening partnership out, you would find that 260 was a good score to defend. May be we could have got another 20-30 runs," was what the skipper assessed. The skipper admitted that his reading of the pitch was wrong but his seamers did a good job. "We read the pitch wrong but then our seamers bowled exceptionally well. That is why I didn't need to use a sixth bowler. We don't have any bowler who regularly hits 140 plus. "We have bowlers who have variations and can change plan accordingly. Ashish is a rhythm bowler and Zak (Zaheer) is really goood with his variation. Even Munaf's strength is bowling wicket to wicket as he has become really smart after playing in IPL." — PTI
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Bowlers come good as India win by 29 runs *
Will face lanka in the final on april 2 *
Nehra leads the pack, all bowlers pick wickets *
Sachin misses 100th ton, scores scratchy 85 *
Wahab Riaz returns figures of 5 for 46 
The darkening sky over the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here captured all eyes once again, as a hurtling white orb went high, and then came down safely into the waiting hands. The anticipatory groans turned to cheers - Shahid Afridi had gone, and with him, Pakistan’s hopes of making the finalof the World Cup were consigned to posterity.
When Sri Lanka played in the final of the last World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007, they had no idea then that they were about to run into a hurricane named ‘Adam Gilchrist’ who would just blow them away.
Back then Gilchrist had been inspired by some new wave of thinking which led him to use a half-cut squash ball in his batting glove and its effect was magical.
New Zealand media today lamented their team's exit from the World Cup after it failed to break the semi-final 'jinx' for the sixth time as they were sent packing by Sri Lanka.
down,
Vows to fight back for Number 1 ranking,
Shane Watson named vice-captain
After
guiding India to the World Cup final with an useful knock of 85,
Sachin Tendulkar simply can't wait to play one of the biggest matches
of his illustrious career at his home ground in Mumbai.
Wahab Riaz 10-0-46-5