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England in India 1st
ODI: preview
Challenger final ends in a tie
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Doping: IOA demands action
Chiragh lights up Day One
Saketh, Vishnu in semifinals
IPL Governing Council to meet today
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England in India 1st
ODI: preview
Hyderabad, October 13 The bowling department, in particular, will be in the hands of youngsters - both pace and spin - and it would be up to them to deliver the results and seize the chance, to erase one dubious record India hold at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal, at the outskirts of Hyderabad. Ever since the new stadium came up, India have not won an ODI here, having lost all the three games they played against South Africa and Australia in 2005, 2007 and 2009. But Dhoni is keen to change that record, though he was not willing to forecast the outcome of first of the five ODIs to be played against England. The day-night match tomorrow will be played on a re-laid turf and Dhoni hopes that this time around, the hosts will do the comeuppance act. But the captain refrained from naming the playing XI, which he will do only after looking at the pitch tomorrow morning. In any case, Dhoni’s options are limited as he has to field the XI that can put up a good fight against England. The Indians are nursing a wounded ago, after suffering a whitewash in England, and they want to repay the visitors in their own coin. So the boys are saddled with a heavy-duty condition. But Dhoni saw a lot of positives from this difficult situation. “They will get an opportunity in difficult conditions,” the skipper said. “They have experience in Twenty20, but not in ODI.” He agreed that it was difficult to replace the senior players, “but I don’t think it’s difficult to manage the young team”. In fact, this will be a God-send opportunity for Dhoni to build the bench strength, as many of the senior players are on the last lap of their playing journey, and it’s better to begin the rebuilding process right now. That was the reason Dhoni did not feel that the hosts would start as underdogs. “Not really. Good to be batting in India. This series is an opportunity for the bowlers to settle and for the top order batsmen to setup themselves,” he noted. In any case, he felt that the series would be exciting for many reasons, rule changes included, though he was not bothered about the non-application of the UDRS rule.”Plenty of other things to worry about,” he snapped at a questioner, without losing his smile. The visitors, having come here ten days before the match, have acclimatised themselves to the conditions rather well and their two huge wins in warm-up matches against Hyderabad XI have only bolstered their confidence. England captain Alastair Cook said his dilemma was a problem of plenty and therefore, he could adopt a confident approach to the first ODI. Dhoni said he expected his team to excel in all three departments - batting, bowling and fielding - to put up a fighting display. He was yet to decide the opening combination and Gautam Gambhir, who joined the team today, may bat at No. 3, though the Delhi batsman had been coming up the order when Sachin Tendulkar was his partner. Dhoni said Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane did display fine temperament playing at the top in difficult conditions in England and he was keen to retain that partnership, as Gambhir can come down the order, and still do well. The application of the two white balls rule, according to Dhoni, will aid the top spinners but the reverse-swing purveyors will find the going a bit rough, as the balls will not be battered enough to swing them. The new powerplay rule is another area where Dhoni has some concern as the second power play will be applied rather early. “The new powerplay rule is a bit tricky as after the second powerplay, you have still 10 overs left. Not played so far,” he added. The Indian captain wants to keep it simple, and play as a team. “We are well prepared for the series,” he added. Slow bowlers are expected to dictate the terms, and despite England having a solid batting and bowling line-up, in Indian conditions, it will not be a walk in the park, for sure. |
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Challenger final ends in a tie Nagpur, October 13 India Green were cruising all along after posting 238 for eight as they reduced India Red to 102 for five in the 23rd over of the latters' run chase. Chawla then single-handedly kept India Red in the hunt to chase down the target of 239 with flurry of shots before his side almost lost the plot. India Red kept on losing wickets and asking rate crept up towards the close and India Green bowlers were also have to be blamed for allowing Chawla to take the match to the wire and sensationally tie it. The match seemed to have slipped out of India Red's hands as they needed 46 runs from the last five overs and Chawla struck a flurry of boundaries to take the match to the last over. India Red needed 17 for a win from the last over bowled by Samad Fallah and Chawla took 16 from it with the help of a four and six. India Red could have even won the match as after hitting a six from the penultimate ball, they needed two runs to win. But to cap the thrilling match, Chawla was run out off a wide ball. He ran for a single and India Green wicketkeeper Muralidharen Gautam had all the time in the world to remove the bails for the match to end in a tie. For India Green, Harbhajan, who top-scored with a 54-ball unbeaten 49 when his side were put into bat, Abhimanyu Mithun and Iqbal Abdulla scalped three wickets each. Earlier, India Red came up with a disciplined bowling show to restrict India Green to 238 for eight. Put into bat, India Green kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and thanks to captain Harbhajan Singh's unbeaten knock of 49 off 54 balls with the help of three fours and a six, they could post a respectable total.
— PTI |
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‘Last series a thing of past’
Hyderabad, October 13 "What's gone is gone and we are totally off it. This is a new series and everyone knows how strong India are at home. We have had a good 10 days here so far. We have practised well and played two warm-up matches and are ready to produce a challenge," Cook told reporters at match-eve press conference. England had handed a 3-0 drubbing of India in the five-match ODI series at home last month. Having already risen to number one Test side, Cook and his men are gearing up for another challenge - to become the only second team after Australia to win a bilateral ODI series in India. "Hopefully we can challenge that status. We know that when we play our best cricket, we can beat any side in the world," he quipped. England have got a slight advantage of having played under new ICC rules on Powerplays during their two warm-up games against Hyderabad XI and Cook feels that it can change the "dynamics of the game. My observation after two warm-up matches is that it can change the dynamics of the game. We can see the use of spin a lot earlier in the innings. As early as 10th, 11th or 12th over and more spin towards the end of innings," he explained.
— PTI |
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Doping: IOA demands action
New Delhi, October 13 “We should have a zero tolerance for those who test positive and there is no question of showing leniency to those sportspersons who bring shame to the country," IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra said in a statement here today. “No more excuses from any quarter will be entertained because doping is just not acceptable,” Malhotra said adding that the IOA will not spare any guilty persons involved in doping but only after ascertaining the facts. “We want sports to be drug-free,” he said. “India is a party to the International Charter on this issue.” However, Malhotra admitted that this was not the first instance of sports being disgraced in India but wanted to know what the officials responsible for the training and coaching of the sportspersons were doing. Malhotra said what has shocked him that these sportspersons have failed the dope test barely couple of months after some top sportspersons were caught and were punished. “It seems these players had not learnt any lessons or were led up the garden path by some misguided officials.” Malhotra said it seemed that there was a big scam behind this drug scandal in involved not only athletes but also other officials. He reiterated his demand for a comprehensive inquiry to expose the nexus between the medicine (drug) suppliers, coaches, doctors, other officials along with involved sportspersons. The IOA was not taking the issue lightly, nor would it will sweep the matter under carpet, the IOA chief stressed. “We demand that the Sports Authority of India (SAI) comes out with full facts on this issue and want to know what action it was proposing against its own officials responsible for running the camps,” he added. Malhotra also asked the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) to take action against the guilty quickly. “There is no use of keeping the matters pending for months, which sends wrong signals to guilty sportspersons and officials," he said. |
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Chiragh lights up Day One
None of that really mattered on the first day of the US$ 1.25 million Heron Indian Open at the Delhi Golf Club course today, as Chiragh blazed away to the top of the leaderboard with an eight-under 64, which, given the less-than-perfect condition of the greens, was quite a feat. He was being closely, a stroke astray, by Lin Wen-hong (Chinese Taipei), Ross Bain (Scotland) and Myanmar veteran Zaw Moe, all on seven-under 65, promising a tantalising second day. Chiragh had made a mark when he returned from the Doha Asian Games in 2006. A lot was expected of him since, but apart from an odd showing on the PGTI Tour, he has been pretty much in the background, as peers like Anirban Lahiri, Manav Jaini, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Himmat Rai made a name for them. But all that was incidental at the DGC today. Chiragh played one of the best rounds ever on the opening day of any major event here. A flawless round, with four birdies apiece on the outward and return legs, made it a perfect day for him as the higher-rated players found the going just a little more daunting. Chiragh had birdies on the 1st, 4th, 8th and 9th holes and returned to hammer four more, on the back nine, coming on the 13th and 14th, followed by the 17th and 18th in a finishing flourish. Chiragh’s was a classic approach to the game, as he birdied all the par-5 holes, something which gives a definite advantage in the long run. From here, he will have to do really badly to miss out on the cut. But with three days to go, it’s too early to say if this is his tryst with destiny. Scores (top finishers) 64 - Chiragh Kumar (Ind); 65 - Lin Wen-hong (Tpe), Ross Bain (Sco), Zaw Moe (Myn); 67 - Scott Barr (Aus); 68 - David Gleeson (Aus), Angelo Que (Phi), Adilson da Silva (Bra); 69 - Om Prakash Chouhan (Ind), Tjaart van der Walt (RSA), Himmat Rai (Ind), C Nirath (Tha), R Karlberg (Swe), G Shergill (Ind), SSP Chowrasia (Ind), A Prathummanee (Tha), Y Nam (Kor), J Kruger (RSA), B Seuk-hyun (Kor), S Griffiths (Eng), N Tantipokhakul (Tha). |
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Surjit Hockey
Jalandhar, October 13 Namdhari XI, in what was the last league match of Pool B, displayed amazing control and put on show some spirited hockey. They picked the game right from the word go and eventually their pace meant they dictated the game till the final whistle. Namdhari XI took the lead in the 35th minute when Manjinder Singh, making no mistake, scored off a penalty corner (1-0). The half witnessed some good moves but the scoreline stayed the same as the eventual winners lead 1-0 till the lemon break. In the second half, the Namdharis, inspired by a solid first half performance, came out all guns blazing and started to dominate the proceedings again. They made constant attacking moves, trying to improve their lead, but it wasn’t until the 52nd minute when Sukhchain Singh scored a field goal to give them some breathing space. In the 62nd minute of play, Gurpreet Singh also scored a field goal from a precise pass by Jasjeet Kular to put the Namdharis in complete control with the scoreline reading 3-0. In the 66th minute Lakhwinder Singh scored another goal after dodging the goal keeper to add certainty to his team’s win. In the dying minutes of the game ONGC’s repeated attempts to reduce the lead paid fruit when in the 69th minute Diwakar Ram converted a penalty corner to give his team a consolation goal as the match ended with a resounding 4-1 for Namdhari XI and a place in the semis
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Saketh, Vishnu in semifinals
New Delhi, October 13 Yuki Bhambri did not have to stretch himself as he pummeled Ankit Sachdeva 6-1, 6-3, while Mohit M. Jayaprakash (TN) beat Kaza V Sharma. In the women’s section, Isha Lakhani once again gave a fine display to beat the seasoned Sheetal Goutham, while Chennai’s Rushmi Chakravarthy whipped Shivika Burman 6-0, 6-2. Soujanya Bavishetti entered the semis, beating Rishika Sunkara 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 4-0. Pune’s Rutuja Bhosale had to work hard to overcome Prarthana Thombare 6-2, 6-3. |
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IPL Governing Council to meet today
Hyderabad, October 13 The council, to be chaired by IPL's new boss Rajiv Shukla, has a number of topics in the agenda. Pakistani cricketers have not participated in the IPL since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and the council is expected to take a decision on the issue. "This (participation of Pakistan players) decision has to be taken by the Governing Council. The members will give their views. It is not that Pakistan as a country has been banned in IPL," IPL chairman Shukla said. Another major issue that will come up for discussion is on how to deal with the players of Kochi franchise, which has now been scrapped from the cash-rich league for breach of contractual obligation. A number of top players like Mahela Jayawardene, Muthiah Muralitharan, S Sreesanth, VVS Laxman, Brendon McCullum and RP Singh played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the last edition and now face an uncertain future.
— PTI |
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New Delhi, October 13
