Perth, January 16
If Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men continue their losing streak in the fourth Test against Australia at Adelaide, it would prove to be the worst phase in the annals of Indian cricket. Since Dhoni led his team to England last summer, India have lost seven out of seven Tests in two series abroad.

It’s already the second worst phase in the history of Indian cricket. And it would prove to be the worst if they lose in the fourth and final Test against Australia, beginning January 24.

Twice in their history of 79 years and 461 Tests, India have lost seven Tests in succession in two series - once in 1967 when Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s men lost in England and Australia by 3-0 and 4-0 margins. Only eight years before, India had lost eight Tests in two series of five matches each against the West Indies and Australia in 1958-59.

Tiger Pataudi’s men in 1967 would though claim to have done better than then the modern-day Indian team. Even though they drew blank in both England and Australia, they lost only two matches by an innings margin.

Dhoni’s men have already suffered four innings defeat in the last five Tests. Trailing by 386 runs in the Headingley Test, India replied with 510 in the second innings. Unlike Dhoni, Pataudi responded to the occasion with a sterling knock of 148.

There is another reason why the men of ’67 could look down on Dhoni’s team. While only Rahul Dravid has been a centurion in the past two series abroad, Pataudi and M L Jaisimha (101 at Brisbane) ensured they had more than one century-maker in their ranks.

Presently, Dhoni’s men are a shade better than the team of ’59, but only by a wafer-thin margin.

It could all change in Adelaide. During the season of 1958-59, India lost 3-0 to West Indies at home and 5-0 away to England. It would make it eight losses out of 10 Tests in that dreadful spell of nine months. But those men in whites could still salvage two draws.

Dhoni and his team have drawn blank in England and Australia so far. Another perspective could truly reflect how dismal Dhoni’s men have been. When India lost eight Tests from two series in 1958-59, it had no less than four captains in the space of four Tests.

When West Indies arrived in the winter of 1958, India began with Polly Umrigar and then handed over the leadership to Ghulam Ahmed for two Tests. For the final two Tests, Vinoo Mankad and Hemu Adhikari led the team into the middle.

Dhoni, on the contrary, is at the helm presently and completely secure as leader. In those two wretched series of 50s and 60s, the teams were a cut above what England and Australia have been able to throw at the Indians in the last seven months.

The likes of Wes Hall, Fred Trueman and Brian Statham in 1958-59 and John Snow and Graham McKenzie in 1967-68 were the legends of the game. James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan for England and James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus for Australia, with all due respects, still have some way to go.

Perth, January 16
The Australian media today described the star-studded Indian batting line-up as “useless rubble” and skipper MS Dhoni as a “passive captain” as it taunts the visiting team for its abject surrender in the ongoing Test series. India meekly surrendered the four-match series after being humiliated by Australia by an innings and 37 runs in the third Test here and the local media targetted the visiting side’s highly-rated captain Dhoni for the spineless show.

Under the headline ‘India’s pillars of strength reduced to useless rubble’, ‘The Australian’ wrote, “Dhoni is not the only shaky pillar of what only eight months ago was the number one cricket nation in the world. VVS Laxman, once the scourge of Australian bowlers, is being flayed himself at home after scores of 2,1, 2, 66, 31 and 0.

“Virender Sehwag, who warmed up for this series by scoring the fastest double century in one-day international history, also is trending south faster than Scott and Amundsen, having followed up his whirlwind 67 in Melbourne with innings of 7, 30, 4, 0 and 10. Worst of all, Dhoni has failed with the bat. The Indian captain is no thunderer at the best of times - neither is coach Duncan Fletcher, which may be part of the problem - but how can he demand more of his batsmen when he has nowhere to hide behind scores of 6, 23, 57no, 2, 12 and 2? India has not had a single century-maker in the past three Tests,” it said. — PTI

Perth, January 16
With India losing three Tests against Australia in less than 10 days, Cricket Australia is set to become broke as it has been left with a small fortune in terms of revenue generation from gate ticket sales. After yesterday’s innings and 37-run defeat of India in Perth inside three days, Australia took just nine-and-a-half days to wrap up three Tests of the four-match Border-Gavaskar trophy.

None of the three matches had gone to the fifth day, with the first two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney ending inside four days while the third in the bouncy WACA here ended in less than two and half days.

Good crowds have turned out for the first two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney and again at the WACA here, 14,352 people paid to watch third day’s play in the third Test despite the very good chance that the Australians would roll up the remaining six Indian batsmen before afternoon drinks. — PTI 

New Delhi, January 16
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s one-match ban means the India captain will have time for an introspective look as to where and when his Midas touch deserted him as his team mates battle to avoid a series whitewash against Australia in Adelaide. Dhoni, who will miss next week's fourth Test after the ICC banned him because of India’s slow over rate in the third Test defeat in Perth on Sunday, has enjoyed a fairytale rise from the cricketing backwaters of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

In what seemed like a storyline straight out of a Bollywood script, he led teams to Twenty20 (2007) and 50-over (2011) World Cup victories and oversaw their rise as the number one Test team in the world, thus convincing many he was India’s best captain ever.

It was a fairytale too good to last long and Dhoni met his Waterloo in England last year, a nightmare that returned to haunt him in Australia. Dhoni’s brand of leadership, which earned him the nickname of ‘Captain Cool’, was ridiculed by a cricket expert who likened him to a clerk in an Indian bank - with no real passion or anger.

In England, where a 4-0 whitewash completed in August robbed the team of the top Test status last year, Dhoni could at least blame it on injuries to key players. In Australia, following two innings defeats that have left them trailing 3-0, he has no such luxury.

For quite a while, Dhoni has not looked quite in command and the Perth Test was a good case in study. The sheer rarity of the move to field an all-pace attack, axing off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to accommodate debutant pace bowler Vinay Kumar, baffled most.

“I’m surprised, a spinner could have exercised some control here,” former captain Ravi Shastri rued on air as the Indian pacers strayed their line and got hammered by Australian opener David Warner on the first day.

In a way, Dhoni met his comeuppance and incurred a one-match ban after India were found two overs short of target. It may not have been the case had one of his frontline bowlers been a spinner. He could not get the best out of his pacers either. Much of Ishant Sharma's reputation is built around his excellent spell against former Australia captain Ricky Ponting in the 2008 Perth Test but this time around Dhoni held him back, preferring Vinay Kumar’s military medium pace instead.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was disappointed by Dhoni’s announcement on the eve of the Perth Test that he was focussing on 2015 World Cup and might quit Test cricket next year. “I wish he’s joking,” Ganguly told a television channel. “And if he is really serious, then it is not sensible of him at all to make such a comment 24 hours before the start of an important Test match,” he added.

While Sehwag takes over the captaincy temporarily for the Adelaide Test, a lack of suitable alternatives mean India need Dhoni to come back firing for the three-Test series in Sri Lanka in six months time. — Reuters 

Rohtak, January 16
The feet tapping in rhythmic fashion, heads swaying left to right, clenched fists, shoulders flexed and eyes narrowed on to the imaginary figure of an opponent. Welcome to the mindspace of a boxer.

For a man who has done this all through his life and still is one of India’s finest boxers, Olympian Akhil Kumar is now out to ensure that the legacy carries on, and on. With the opening of the Akhil Kumar Boxing Club and Fitness Society in Rohtak, his hometown, Akhil has decided it’s time to repay the city and the State that gave him a foundation to build his career on.

He is helped by many from his fraternity like Jitender Kumar, Subodh Kumar, Parmender Singh, Jasveer Singh, Diwakar Prasad, Dilbag Singh and Sanjay Singh. All of them have been integral part of the Indian boxing team at one point or the other, and now, bringing about the next generation of champion boxers is what they are teaming up for.

Subodh Kumar, who is the chief trainer at the Club, is a man who is familiar with the rigours of a boxer’s life. He is currently working with a group of 40 boxers and is confident that this number will increase exponentially in the near future. The Club will also open its gates for girls who are interested in the sport and that would help widen its reach in the society.

“There is so much potential in our State. The kids want to work hard and they love boxing. The ingredients are all there but they always needed the right guidance. We hope to provide just that. It is, in a way, our humble effort of repaying the society that contributes immensely to the development of a sportsperson.”

Akhil himself believes that youth needs outlets like these to ensure that they are not mislead. “I think the main reason behind the Club is really straightforward. The time a young kid would spend roaming around aimlessly in the streets, can be spent in a productive fashion. We can ensure that he channelises his energy for his own growth. That, if you look at collectively, will give society strong and disciplined individuals.”

Another Olympian Jitender Kumar cannot agree more with Akhil, and says, “We practice in evenings and that is the time when, as a youngster, you find it hard to kill time and end up indulging in mischief. A sport as grueling as boxing demands focus and complete dedication and these bring about a sense of responsibility in an individual.”

The teething issues aside, everyone involved with the project is confident it will get the required support from locals and government alike. Olympian Diwakar Prasad, who is from Jharkhand, sums it up just right. “I have always noticed how people and the State government always support sports here. It is amazing and that has really helped in the development of all disciplines. Akhil being a local boy means we are bound to be blessed with wishes. I also am confident that the State government will come all out to support such a sincere effort by one of its finest.” 

New Delhi, January 16
Callaway Golf India today launched launched their products in association with Nokia Lumia and Panasonic at the Classic Golf Resort with Jeev Milkha Singh, who has played with Callaway Golf equipment for years and is also the Callaway Golf brand ambassador.

The participating golfers got an opportunity to enhance golfing skills from the golfing master himself. An active participation and interest was observed amongst these participants in the golf clinic that was conducted exclusively for the invitees by Jeev Milkha Singh. Further to this Jeev Milkha Singh was stationed at the 14thhole and every participant got a chance to play with the eminent personality.

Results of the Callaway RAZR Challenge:

Overall Gross Winner: Amit Luthra, Overall Gross Runner Up: Aman Sawhney, Category Winner: Manav Sardana, 13-18 Category Winner: Dr. Lanka Mahesh, 19-24 Category Winner: Arjun Puri. 

Melbourne, January 16
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer eased into the Australian Open's second round Monday as local teenager Bernard Tomic stole the show with an epic five-set upset of Fernando Verdasco. Tomic, his country's top-ranked men's player at 38, dug deep as he came from two sets down to oust the experienced Spanish 22nd seed in a four hours-plus thriller on a sweltering Rod Laver Arena.

The 19-year-old produced the finest performance of his fledgling professional career to reel in Verdasco in only his third five-setter. While Tomic was showcasing the future, the game's giants Nadal and Federer, with 26 grand slams between them, cruised through in straight-sets victories.

Nadal brushed aside America's Alex Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-1, 6-1, despite revealing later that he feared his bid for another Australian title was over before it started after suffering searing knee pain ahead of his first match.

The Spanish world number two was only able to take to the court for his early evening match after intensive treatment including physiotherapy and anti-inflammatory drugs.

London, January 16
Swansea City beat Arsenal 3-2 to deny super-sub Thierry Henry a magical return to the Premier League and Mark Hughes made a losing start as manager of struggling Queens Park Rangers on Sunday. Arsenal stayed fifth in the table, four points behind Chelsea and 12 adrift of leaders Manchester City who have a game in hand and play at Wigan Athletic on Monday. Swansea moved up to 10th.

The league's top scorer Robin van Persie put the Gunners ahead in the fifth minute but the Londoners' hopes of closing the gap at the top suffered a setback when Scott Sinclair equalised from the penalty spot 11 minutes later. Nathan Dyer put the Welsh side in front on 57 minutes, Theo Walcott came good with an equaliser in the 69th but Danny Graham hit back with the winner straight from the re-start.

Henry, Arsenal's all-time top scorer who made a fairytale return last Monday with the winning goal in an FA Cup third-round tie against Leeds United, came on in the 63rd minute but was unable to conjure up more of his magic. The 34-year-old Frenchman, on loan from the New York Red Bulls during the Major League Soccer close season, last played in the Premier League with Arsenal five years ago.

While part of the principality was celebrating a famous victory for Swansea's neat-passing promoted team, former Wales manager Hughes watched his relegation-threatened side lose 1-0 at Newcastle United. — Reuters