|
|
|
|
|
‘Watson under pressure for Tests’
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
MAKA Trophy muddle gets murkier
Chennai open
|
|
India’s Tour of Australia
Sydney, January 1 Dravid requested coach Duncan Fletcher to have a close look at him while fielding coach Trevor Penny did the throw-downs from a shorter distance at the nets. Thrice Dravid had his stumps rattled at the MCG which is quite unusual even though one of them turned out to be a no-ball. The issue that Dravid wanted to sort out was why his defensive strokes on the off-side were creating a gap between his bat and pad. From afar, it appeared that Penny was suggesting Dravid wasn't leaning enough on to his drives while Fletcher wanted his body and shoulder alignment to move in one line while pressing forward. The visitors hit the ground by 0900 hrs this morning and went about their business with intensity. Opener Virender Sehwag though is never far from a wisecrack and when Fletcher came by the side of the net to look at his technique, the Delhi-dasher quipped: "What's this, I just can't see the ball." As a worried Fletcher came closer, Sehwag quipped "It's the hangover of last night." Fletcher quietly moved away from his corner. Sachin Tendulkar looked completely at ease and faced usual throwdowns from Raghu. This is the venue which he calls his second home and a fair number were willing to bet on his 100th century at the SCG. Curator promises fair pitch
The curator of the Sydney Cricket Ground's pitch has promised a "fair" track for the second Test between India and Australia, saying that conditions will decide whether the track assists pace or spin. "I just go about preparing a pitch that's fair and just for both sides," Curator Tom Parker was quoted as saying by 'Fox Sports'. "I think it will be somewhat similar to the Ashes pitch we had last season," he added. Spinners captured just three out of 30 wickets that fell during the Ashes Test at the SCG last year. Australia won the first Test of the ongoing series by 122 runs on a Melbourne track that played to the strength of the home team's pace-centric attack. Parker said the SCG strip could also assist pace depending on the conditions. "It depends on the conditions of the day," Parker said. "If you get overcast conditions, the ball does swing around, move around through in the air a bit. But as the game goes on, the pitch here at the SCG, it always turns at some stage. "I think the first couple of days of the Test it's clear and then from day three, there's supposed to be some showers coming, but at this stage we're looking at a nice clear run," he added. Mentally prepared for debut: Rohit
"Of course (I'm ready). I don't want to be unprepared. My preparation has to be 100 per cent. It doesn't matter if I am playing or not," Rohit said. "Preparation has to always be the same. I have to be ready (to play) each and every time. Because you never know, somebody might get injured on the day of the Test. You have to be ready," he added. Kohli had scores of 11 and 0 in the opening Test and critics have questioned his place in the side. "As far as the team combination is concerned, we have not decided anything yet," Rohit said. "Maybe tomorrow we will have a better idea as to what the wicket will be like. Probably by tomorrow I will be told whether I am playing or not," he added. Rohit said the morale in the team is "very good". "We really had a good time off," he said. "We had a team get-together yesterday, which was nice. And we got back again today to see how we are going to take it forward. "We don't want to think about what has happened. We need to focus on what we have to do now. The process is still on. Hopefully, things will turn around for us," he said. "We spoke about what we went wrong and what we need to do, and stuff like that. It always happens, whether you win or lose and it is nothing new for us. As I said, we need to keep doing the right things," he added. Rohit said the Australian bowlers were impressive but denied that the Indian batsmen were "not shaken up". "They really bowled well, we need to accept that. Our batsmen also batted well in the first innings, but somehow we couldn’t manage that in the second. Credit goes to their bowlers."
— PTI |
|
‘Watson under pressure for Tests’
Sydney, January 1 "There's pressure developing in every position in the Australian cricket team and that's a great position to be in. For this Test, we're trying to get 12 into 11 (with the return of Ryan Harris),” Fox Sports quoted Arthur, as saying. "When Shane Watson gets back, we've got to get 13 into 11, and when we get Patrick Cummins is back, hopefully in Perth, we've got to try to get 14 into 11. It's a really good position to be in. I couldn't be happier. There are no guarantees for anybody," he added. Though Watson has claimed 14 wickets, he averaged just 24 with his bat in 2011. His situation has been compounded because he is suffering hamstring and calf injuries, and Arthur has backed the current top six batsman to continue performing against India. Australia's new pace trio - James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, who aided the Melbourne win, might endanger Watson’s chances of inclusion in the squad. "I believe that's the best top six we have in Australian cricket at the moment. Obviously when Shane Watson is fit, he comes back into the equation. But right now, with Shane Watson injured, those are our best six batters and we need to give them every opportunity to come through," Arthur said.
— ANI |
|
Sydney, January 1 Tendulkar averages a staggering 221 at the SCG and he has two centuries and a double century from just four Tests with a highest score of unbeaten 241, and the media here is anticipating for him to complete his 100th international ton at the historic ground. The local media were also enamoured by Tendulkar's 12-year-old son Arjun who spent time at the nets with his father. "Watching Tendulkar in the nets was a study in how hard excellence is earned. How nothing is taken for granted, nothing gained without effort, nothing left to chance. Every action accountable. There is always something to be learned, always an extra effort to be made," a write up in The Australian said. "He was a study in forensic training. A man working fastidiously to attend to something that undid his careful calibrations in the first Test," the newspaper said. In the first Test in Melbourne, which India lost by 122 runs, pacer Peter Siddle had Tendulkar bowled off an inside edge from an innocuous-looking delivery with the Indian stalwart out on a loose shot. "He spent an hour getting his net specialists to work on the problem. He batted for a whole hour, rarely did he take a ball - apart from those bowled by his son - from 22 yards. The two throw-down specialists and a staff bowler hurled balls at him from about 15 metres," the newspaper said. "Tendulkar instructed Raghavendra (throw-down specialist) to deliver the ball from the edge of the practice wicket which is narrower than a Test strip," it said. — PTI
|
|
|
MAKA Trophy muddle gets murkier
The police are now investigating the role of Punjabi university officials who could also connived with the accused and fielded him as university player. Patiala police have registered a case under sections 420 and 120-B, pertaining to cheating and conspiracy against two students who connived together and prepared fake certificates to field an outsider as a student studying in an affiliated college of Punjabi University. Police said accused Sanjay used certificates of co-accused Dinesh to take admission in Modi College, Patiala to get into the Kayaking and Canoeing (Water Sports) team that was set to take part in the Inter University tournament in October 2010 at Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh, hosted by Punjabi University Patiala. Patiala SP (Detective) Pritpal Singh Thind told The Tribune that the FIR was registered and the role of Punjabi University officials was under the scanner. “We are probing the role of Punjabi University officials who helped these accused, but initial investigations point that it was done to bag awards at national level”, he added. The case came to light following a complaint by registrar Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Dr Inderjeet Singh, who took up the matter with the district police that subsequently registered a FIR following a detailed inquiry in this regard. “In his complaint he had alleged that the Punjabi University had fielded players from outside”. The two universities have locked horns numerous times to bag the prestigious Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy, given to the best sports university in the country. In 2010 the sports ministry had the two as joint winners, following which the two had to keep the MAKA trophy for six months each. Following this Punjabi University had challenged the decision of the sports ministry in the court. Refuting the allegations Punjabi University, head of the sports department, Raj Kumar Sharma said the university had nothing to do with the player and it was his own folly. “Whenever a player from an affiliated college comes with his ID Card we select him on basis of his performance. There is nothing we can do if he impersonated someone or prepared fake certificates”, he clarified. |
|
Chennai open
Chennai, January 1 Big serving Bopanna fought hard before losing 6-7(2), 6-7(2) to Japan's Go Soeda while Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash lost his second round clash 3-6, 2-6 to Canadian Vasek Pospisil. Talented left-hander Prajnesh Gunneswaran also fought valiantly before losing to experienced American campaigner Rajeev Ram 6-3, 7-6 (3). In a highly competitive affair, World No 120 Soeda broke Bopanna in the third game of the first set while Bopanna broke Soeda in the sixth game of the same set. The match went into a tie-breaker in both the sets with the players level with six games each. However, Bopanna could not make it count when it mattered and gave away both the tie-breakers tamely. Soeda will now meet Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the final qualifying round after the Frenchman beat Dusan Lajevic today. The next round will also see Yuchi Sugita (Japan) meet Rik De Voest (South Africa), Izak Van Der Merwe (South Africa) meet Dutch star Thiemo De Bakker and Pospisil meet Ram.
— PTI |
|
Basketball: Punjab team champs
Patiala, January 1 The team members included team captain Gurkirpal Singh Dhillon, Jagdeep Singh (present captain of the Indian team), TJ Sai, Amritpal Singh (Junior), Amritpal Singh (Senior), Amjot Singh Gill, Ranbir Singh, Amanjot Singh, Mahesh Mishra, Sunil Bajaj, Guriqbal Singh and Vinod. Expressing delight over team's victory on their return, Gurkirpal Singh Dhillon, who was the sole member of the present Punjab team which was a member of the senior national winning team in 1998, informed that the boys had worked really hard for this cup. "We have been undergoing rigorous training and had promised our coaches that we would not return empty handed this time. I am glad we could live up to their expectations," he added. Team coaches Lakhwinder Singh Bagga and Ashwini Kumar informed that the team had set up various landmarks during this championship. They scored 117 against Haryana's 59 points during their quarterfinal match, which is the highest margin and also the highest score of this tournament. "They defeated their arch rivals Railways with a huge margin of 35 points (95-60) in the semifinal match. This win certainly acted as a catalyst in their final win against Tamil Nadu. Our cagers dominated the match right from the very first quarter," they informed. President of the Indian Basketball Association Retd DGP RS Gill and secretary of the Punjab Basketball Association Teja Singh Dhaliwal congratulated the players on their win. Players thanked the association and Vijay Chopra, who often gives financial assistance to the players, and promised that they would continue their victory march in future tournaments. |
|
150 kids turn up for academy trials
Chandigarh, January 1 Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Ranji player Amit Uniyal conducted the trials. The academy has come with a lot of facilities like a complete cricket ground with 4 practice nets, indoor practice facility, a fully equipped gym and a swimming pool. Amit Uniyal thanked Ashish Sharma, managing director, Ankush Sharma, director and Parwinder Manhera CEO Silver Stone Sports Zone Pvt Ltd for providing the kids with this opportunity to work on attaining their dreams. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
India batsman Rohit Sharma says he is mentally prepared to make his Test debut against Australia here should he be picked to replace an out-of-form Virat Kohli in the second match of the series, starting on Tuesday.
Patiala, January 1