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DHONI: We have to BE AT OUR BEST |
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Don’t judge Dhoni by final result: Kapil
31 NSFs agree to Govt guidelines
Lahiri shares lead with Da Silva
Honey hangs on to slender lead
Southee to play for CSK
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DHONI: We have to BE AT OUR BEST
Mohali, March 31 “There’ll be plenty of things happening around us, like in this game, but what's important is not to get distracted. We all know what our jobs are as professional cricketers so we'll stick to that and try to play good cricket,” Dhoni said at the post-match press conference here. “The Sri Lankans have a good side and they have done really well in the tournament. We have to play good cricket to beat them. We have to be at our best”, he said. Dhoni said the format of the tournament had helped his team and the young players were slowly coming into the groove. “The format’s really helped us. We had quite a few close games where the youngsters were really tested at the crease. I think slowly they’re getting into the groove. That will hold the team in good stead,” he said. On how he planned to motivate his team for the summit showdown, Dhoni said, “You do not need to motivate, it is not required when you are representing your country. We are playing the World Cup and we all want to win it.” Dhoni admitted that he had "misread" the pitch and that was one of the reasons why spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was left out. Dhoni said the track was not a typical Mohali wicket which generally assist the quickies and he had opted to include pacer Ashish Nehra to give the team more bowling options. “We misread the wicket. It was not a normal Mohali track. It usually does not help the spinner, but it did today. Our spinners really bowled very well and that really put pressure on them,” he said. “Pakistan players play spin very well, that is why we thought to go with a 3-2 combination. We felt it was a safer option, since we have part-timers such as Sachin (Tendulkar), Virat (Kohli) and Raina.” After a blazing start, India could manage 260 for nine after winning the toss and Dhoni said it was a good score though not a safe one. “I felt after the end of the first innings 260 was a good score, I wouldn’t say it was a safe score because it was important not to give away too many runs with the new ball,” he said. — PTI
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India readies for FINAL push
Mumbai, March 31 Prahlad drives a cab in Mumbai. The drive from the Chhatrapati Shivaji airport to the hotel at Marine Drive takes almost as long as the flight from Chandigarh to Mumbai, so enough time for him also to say his bit. “Yuvraj never succeeds in Mohali and I have yet to see Sachin Tendulkar score a century without giving three-four catches,” Puran says. Not quite so charitable about the man about reach 100 international centuries, but his reference point was Tendulkar’s hesitant 85 in the semi-final. “But Yuvraj can be excused,” the expert adds. “He has done a lot with bat and ball in the World Cup, so he is allowed an off day, though he shouldn’t have played across the line.” Prahlad however isn’t too pleased with the Indian team. “These (expletives) arrived here this morning and the police blocked every road. Now this road will stay jammed till late night.” That in essence reflects the madness, that is cricket, in India. Fans like Puran, who swing wildly with the team and individual performances and other mortals like Prahlad, who more often than not have to bear the brunt of the red carpet laid out for our stars. The focus has shifted to the Wankhede Stadium. The roads around the arena, plumb in the middle of the city, are jammed with policemen of all descriptions as this city now gears up for the final battle of the World Cup. Big match for all concerned, though not as big as beating Pakistan. Now, even a loss to Sri Lanka won’t be such a bitter pill to swallow. But there still would be diehards who will be heartbroken. Big match also for two men — Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan. This will definitely be Murali’s last ODI appearance, while Tendulkar has not quite said so. But if he does get that 100th international century, it could well be his last World Cup, if not his last ODI, since there is also the small matter of a 100 half-centuries to accomplish. But in any case, in terms of World Cup games, this surely will be it. Or at least it should be. People have this perception that the India-Pakistan match was the be all and end all of the tournament. But the World Cup trophy will surely once again draw the faithful to the Wankhede Stadium. But a little bit of caution and credit may please be forwarded to the silent Sri Lankans, who can win as much as India can.
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Mohali, March 31 Afridi said India deserved to win the match as they played very well and no team could think of winning after dropping Sachin Tendulkar four times. “I want to congratulate the Indian team and the whole nation. I think they deserved to win. We made too many fielding mistakes and our shot selection was poor. They also bowled very well and that put a lot of pressure on us. With the run-rate climbing, it got increasingly difficult for us. You just can’t drop Tendulkar so many times and hope to win the match”, he said. Afridi also batted for resuming cricketing ties with India. “We want to play in India, we have shown them our hospitality in the past, I hope they do so too,” he said. Pakistan had a tumultuous build up to the World Cup where they had to battle ‘spot-fixing’ scandals. Afridi said he was happy with his team, which lifted themselves out of the troubled times and reached the semifinals of the World Cup. — PTI
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Don’t judge Dhoni by final result: Kapil
New Delhi, March 31 "I will never doubt Dhoni's credentials as a captain irrespective of the result of World Cup final. Lot of people believe that it's the ultimate result which will count but I believe otherwise," the skipper of India's victorious 1983 team, said at a promotional event today. "Look at Ricky Ponting. He has won two World Cups and after one bad World up he is out. That's not the way to judge a captain. So I would like that Dhoni shouldn't be judged by a win or loss. Instead, let's all wish him the very best for Saturday's final." Match officials announced
Mumbai: The International Cricket Council's World Cup Technical Commitee has announced the officials for Saturday's World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka. Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar will be the onfield umpires for the match that is to take place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Ian Gould and Steve Davis will be the third and fourth umpires respectively. New Zealand's Jeff Crowe will be the match referee. Vaas, Randiv come in as cover
Sri Lanka are flying in veteran left arm swing bowler Chaminda Vaas and young off spinner Suraj Randiv as cover for the injured Angelo Mathews and Muttiah Muralitharan in their squad for the World Cup final against India here on April 2. "They picked up a couple of niggles in the last match (semifinal against New Zealand on March 29 in Colombo). So to be on the safe side a couple of guys are flying in tonight. We will be giving those two guys (Mathews and Muralitharan) as long as possible to prove their fitness," said Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss at a media conference today. Pitch will be slow turner: Curator
The Wankhede Stadium wicket for Saturday's World Cup final will be a slow turner, like most wickets in the subcontinent during this time of the year, says curator Sudhir Naik. Naik, a former India player, however, insists the pitch will still be full of runs and the team batting first should have the advantage. “It will be an ideal one-day wicket,” Naik, who toured England with the India team in 1974, said. Naik feels a score of 270-280 would be very much on the cards in the day-nighter. — Agencies |
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Bayliss: Dilshan is a competitor
"He is one hell of a competitor. He loves the challenge, whatever the situation is. He is a true all-rounder. He has opened the bowling and opened the batting. He has kept wickets in Test matches," the Australian-born coach said about the 34-year-old Lankan. As opener, Dilshan has aggregated over 2,500 runs at an average of 53-plus in 52 ODIs, with nine centuries, including a career best 160. Overall the batsman, who has patented the 'Dilscoop', averages a decent 36-plus in 202 ODIs after having scored over 5,400 runs. "He is a competitor. That's what drives him. I think that's what turns him to perform in front of big crowd, on big occasions. He has certainly done the job for us in this tournament," said Bayliss. The right-handed batsman, who opens with the left-handed Upul Tharanga, is the leading run-getter in the tournament with 467 runs - three ahead of Indian great Sachin Tendulkar. Bayliss also expressed confidence that his team can beat India in the final of the World Cup and lift the coveted trophy if it plays to its full potential. "If we concentrate on what we do the best then we can play some good cricket and if we play good cricket, we are going to be very difficult to beat," said Bayliss ahead of the clash of the Asian Titans for the hallowed crown on Saturday. The Australian-born coach said while his team has come out with flying colours while performing under pressure cooker conditions at home, it was now India's turn to do so. "This match is 50-50 at this stage. Obviously, there will be a lot of pressure on India to perform at home. We have been able to do that in the last couple of games and come out with two good wins.The boys are quite confident about their chances in this World Cup," said Bayliss, who is set to quit after the tournament. "Yes, we have played India on a number of occasions and have beaten them before on a lot of occasions. (But) it (the final) is a difficult assignment. — PTI
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31 NSFs agree to Govt guidelines
New Delhi, March 31 During the tenure of Dr M.S.Gill as the Sports Minister, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had issued the contentious guidelines limiting the tenure of the NSFs office-bearers, as well as putting a cap on the age limit of the office-bearers. The Ministry's arguement was that since the NSFs were receiving public funds, they must be held accountable to the public and function as public authorities. When Ajay Maken was appointed Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (with independent charge) a few months ago, he carried forward the guidelines for implementation though he invited comments from the NSFs, athletes and the general public on the proposed legislations, "which shall be given due consideration before firming up the draft law". According to the Government communication to Miro, the following NSFs have conveyed their intent to incorporate age and tenure limits and other good governance practices prescribed by the Government, which are based on basic universal principles of good governance recommended by the Olympic Congress: Athletics Federation of India, Archery Association of India, Badminton Associaiton of India, Indian Amateur Boxing Federation, Basketball Federation of India, All India Chess Federation, Judo Federation of India, All India Football Federation, National Rifle Association of India, Indian Golf Union, Rowing Federation of India, Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, Wrestling Federation of India, All India Tennis Association, Equestrian Federation of India, Volleyball Federation of India, Yachting Association of India, Indian Weightlifting Federation, Table Tennis Federation of India, Gymnastics Federation of India, All India Carrom Federation, Handball Federation of India, All India Karate-Do Federation, Indian Powerlifting Federation, Mallakhamb Federation of India, Tennikoit Federation of India, Tenpin Bowling Federtion, Tug-of-War Federation of India, School Games Federation of India, Sepak Takraw Federation of India and Attya Patya Federation of India. Some of the prominent federations who have not fallen in line are: Swimming Federation of India, Hockey India, Bowling Federation of India, and the Indian Olympic Association.
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Lahiri shares lead with Da Silva
Panchkula, March 31 It was a display of some good hitting by the Bangalore golfer who kept landing close enough to finish with easy birdie putts. A six-time winner on the Aircel PGTI, Lahiri was in superb form. He would have done even better had he not missed a couple of eagle putts from 8 ft. Overnight teenaged golf sensation from Delhi, Rashid Khan, who fired a seven under 65 yesterday, appeared to have run into a rough patch as he conceded five bogies for a two over par 74 card. His two-day tally of 139 saw him sharing the fourth slot with Chandigarh's Harendra P. Gupta who returned a three under 69 card today. Trailing the leading duo by one stroke is Naman Dawar from Delhi who has a two-day tally of 138. Lahiri made his intentions very clear as he went on a birdie hunt sinking birdies on the first, third, fifth, sixth and eighth to be five under par 31 at the turn. He continued his birdie forays on the 10th, 12th, 14th and 17th, but conceded two bogeys (11th and 13th) to finish with a seven under par 65 card. The Bangalorean chipped in for a birdie on the 17th. Gaurav Ghei, Mukesh Kumar and Raju Ali Mollah occupy tied sixth place at four under 140. The scores (after second round): 137 Anirban Lahiri (72-65) and Wilson Da Silva (66-71); 138 Naman Dawar (67-71); 139 Harendra P. Gupta (70-69) and Rashid Khan (65-74); 140 Raju Ali Mollah (73-67), Gaurav Ghei (66-74) and Mukesh Kumar (69-71);141 Sudhir Sharma (68-73), Shamim Khan (71-70) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (68-73); 142 Shankar Das (69-73) and Anura Rohana (67-75);143 Bennie Guman (73-70) and Ali Sher (68-75).
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Honey hangs on to slender lead
Chandigarh, March 31 Seasoned city golfer and captain of the course H.S. Kang played a two under 70 card. A delighted Baisoya said: “A brilliant birdie on the 15th hole gave me a lot of confidence today and now my aim in the final round will be to keep the ball in play as much as possible.” The final round tomorrow promises to be a nail-biting finish. Scores (after third round): 217 H Baisoya (72-71-74); 218 A Chadha (71-73-74); 221 AS Saini (77-69-75); 222 S Singh (79-74-69) and V Parmar (75-73-74); 223 M Das (77-72-74); 224 H.S. Kang (77-77-70), R Bajaj (77-73-74) and S Sardar (76-73-75); 225 R Sardar, S. Chikkarangappa and S Sharma.
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Auckland, March 31 "It's good to have (Southee) on board, especially coming out of such a great recent tournament at the World Cup. It's an absolute bonus for us at the moment to be able to get our hands on such a quality player," Stuff.co.nz quoted Rixon, as saying. — ANI
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Mohali, March 31
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