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Team India hit rock bottom
Sehwag adds to rotation policy confusion, takes dig at Dhoni
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We are getting better: Mahela
Ponting retires from ODIs, will play Tests
Indian men, eves record easy wins Indian women’s hockey team celebrate after scoring a goal against Poland at the National Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday. India beat Poland 3-1. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal
Four lifters test positive
IOA emergency meeting on March 2
West Zone ODIs from today
Top paddlers for Asian C’ship
Indian football team in Muscat
Mercedes confident for new season
Bridgestone title sponsor for WSH
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Brisbane, February 21 The target of 290 was too stiff for the Indians under lights despite a good 96-run fourth wicket stand between Virat Kohli (66) and Suresh Raina (32) and a late counter-attack by Irfan Pathan who made 47 off 34 balls with seven boundaries. Sri Lankans were well served by Nuwan Kulasekara first up who claimed 3 for 40, including the scalps of Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir, and Thisara Perera who took 4 for 37. Kulasekara's effort earned him the man-of-the-match award. Sri Lanka now forge ahead of Indians on the points table though the latter were able to cross 231 and avoided conceding a bonus point. Lankans now have 11 points from five matches while Indians have 10 from six games. Australia have 14 points from five games. India's chase couldn't have begun on a worse note as stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag slashed at a wide delivery from Lasith Malinga and the catch ballooned up for third man fielder to complete the job. Sachin Tendulkar (22) kept everyone interested during his brief stay. He once punched Lasith Malinga through covers and then flicked him through mid-wicket, both of whom were shots of highest pedigree. But then he tried to leave a Kulasekara delivery and succeeded only in dragging the ball on to his stumps. The hole only grew deeper when Gautam Gambhir (29) walked out to Kulasekara and tried to dab him at the last minute past slips. It went rather uppishly and Perera at gully smartly held the chance. India were reduced to 54 for 3 in the 12th over and fighting for breath. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina then conjured a partnership, both having benefitted from dropped chances. Raina, on 5, steered at throat of backward point and Kohli's pull-shot when on 14 popped out of Dinesh Chandimal's hands at widish long on. Kohli was again put down on 34 at midwicket by Chandimal off Lasith Malinga at The two young batsmen benefitted from these reprieves and stabilized the innings, with singles although boundaries seemed hard coming by. Kohli reached his half century off 66 balls but in the 31st over as India suffered the loss of Raina (32) who spooned up a tame catch off Ferveez Maharoof to short covers. Raina made 32 off 55 balls with one four. The duo together put on 92 runs for the fourth wicket off 116 deliveries. The pace was too hectic and it told on Kohli who perished in the 36th over, lofting Perera to mid-on. He made 66 off 83 balls with two fours. India lost another wicket before the batting Powerplay was out when Ravindra Jadeja (17) dragged Kulasekara on to his stumps. India were 191 for 6 in the 38th over. Parthiv Patel (4) fell cheaply and Ravichandran Ashwin (5) also didn't last long to leave India 232 for eight after 43 overs. Pathan was brilliant with his late hitting and struck whistling clean shots in his 47 off 34 balls with seven fours. Earlier, Sri Lanka batted solidly through the length of their innings to raise 289 for six with openers Tillakaratne Dilshan (51) and Mahela Jayawardene (45) put on 95 runs for the first wicket. Dinesh Chandimal (38), Lahiru Thirimanne (62) and Angelo Matthews (49 not out) contributed handsomely, besides raising productive stands to chalk up an impressive total. — PTI Scoreboard J’rdene c Sehwag b Irfan 45 Dilshan c Patel b Ashwin 51 S’kara c Tendulkar b Yadav 8 Chandimal b Irfan 38 Thirumanne c Raina b Ashwin 62 Matthews not out 49 Perera b Raina 10 Maharoof not out 4 Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-18, nb-1) 22 India Tendulkar b K’skara 22 Gambhir c Perera b K’skara 29 Kohli c K’skara b Perera 66 Raina c Thirimanne b Maharoof 32 Jadeja b Kulasekara 17 Irfan c & b Perera 47 Patel c Malinga b Perera 4 Ashwin c S’kara b Malinga 5 Vinay c sub b Perera 0 Yadav not out 0 Extras: (lb-7, w-9) 16 |
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Sehwag adds to rotation policy confusion, takes dig at Dhoni
Brisbane, February 21
"I don’t know what he (Dhoni) said and what's going on in media. He told us he wanted to give chance to youngsters who had come here and play the next World Cup. That’s what he told us,” said Sehwag. Dhoni, after the crushing defeat against Australia in the ongoing tri-series, had stated the three senior openers - Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir - were not being picked together in the tournament because they are slow and could be costing the side at least 20 runs. “Have you seen my catch?” Sehwag snapped back in response, adding “We have been fielding the same way for the last 10 years.” Sehwag was again pressed as to what he thought could be the reasons for Dhoni to suggest that they were costing the team 20 runs in the field. “But you have to ask Dhoni again. What he told us was to give chance to youngsters and come here and play the next World Cup. That was what he told us,” said Sehwag. “He chatted with everyone, with Gautam and me and Tendulkar, he (said) he wanted to give chance to youngsters so they can play all the matches and prepare themselves for the next World Cup. They would have an idea how the wicket behaves in Australia.” Asked if he would clear up the matter with Dhoni, Sehwag retorted, “Why should I have chat with him? He is the captain and leader. If he and coach think they need to give a break to the top order, I am okay with it, I have no problem with it. I am available for all the matches. It depends on the captain and coach what 11 they pick. If they give me a reason that we are giving chance to youngsters and we take a break, I am happy with that,” he said. Sehwag, however, denied any rift within the team. “We are one unit, we are happy. He (Dhoni) is the captain, he can say whatever he wants to say. He addresses the media, has been doing it for the last two years, and we are okay with it,” he said. Talking about today’s match, Sehwag did not find fault with his bowlers but rather blamed the batsmen, including himself for their shot-selections as the team went down by 51 runs against Sri Lanka. “The last two games are a must-win games and we have to look at our shot selection. It’s a matter of playing 50 overs. If they (Raina and Kohli) had batted till the 45th over, it would have been a different story. Nobody batted till the end,” he said. On Ravichandran Ashwin’s attempt to run out non-striker Lahiru Thirimanne for backing up too much, Sehwag said, “I think Ashwin warned him, once in the previous over and then in next over. He took the bails off and appealed, umpires discussed and asked me. I said we could give him one more warning and if he does it again, we will go for that. “Ashwin did appeal. Umpires consulted. Since Billy Bowden was the senior umpire, he (Paul Reiffel) asked me and discussed with me. He said it’s your call now, if you appeal now, we can give him out. I took the decision that we could give him one more warning. If we appealed and umpires gave him out, then somebody would criticize that it was not in the spirit of the game. So we gave him one more warning.” — PTI
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We are getting better: Mahela
Brisbane, February 21 “I think I have to leave a couple of balls early in the innings and then take the bowlers later on,” said Sehwag, who has scored just 30 runs from the three matches he has played in the tournament. He rued that Indian bowlers conceded too many runs in the slog overs and the batsmen also failed to deliver yet again in the series. “We didn’t bowl well in the final 10 overs and we didn’t bat well later on. The way Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were playing in the beginning, I thought we could get a good start but we lost three wickets early,” Sehwag said. He admitted that India missed regular skipper Dhoni, who missed today’s game because of a one-match ban imposed on him due to slower rate in their last match against Australia. Sehwag also said they still had the chance to make it to the finals. Mahela Jayawardene was pleased with his side’s show but wants his players to do better. “We are getting better and better, we played smart cricket, we kept wickets in hand and put up a good score, we are still making some mistakes, hope we don’t make them in the bigger games,” he said. — PTI |
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Ponting retires from ODIs, will play Tests
Sydney, February 21
"I totally understand the reasons why and the national selectors are looking forward to building a team for the next World Cup of which I am not part of their plans going forward," he added. The 37-year-old made the announcement a day after he was dropped from the squad for the ongoing tri-series but said he would continue to play in Tests. "I will continue playing Test cricket and I'll continue playing for Tasmania as well. I think I proved to everyone and myself that I am still capable of dominating Test cricket as I did in the last Test series against India," Ponting said at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Ponting conceded that he had been informed by national selector John Inverarity that he did not fit into the selectors' plans in the 50-over format as they build towards the 2015 World Cup. "John (Inverarity) made it very clear to me yesterday the direction that they're heading with the one-day team and that I'm not part of their plans," said Ponting. Ponting's one-day sacking came less than a month after a superb performance in Australia's 4-0 clean sweep of the home Test series against India, where he scored 544 runs at an average of 108.80 with two centuries and three fifties. But the selection committee lost patience with his form in the tri-series as he scored just 18 runs from five innings at an average of 3.6. "The passion for me in international cricket has not died or changed and I've made it clear right through this Australian summer that I still don't see a finish line as far as my international career is concerned. Now that one-day cricket probably isn't there any more and we all know that (retirement) day is coming closer and closer for me, but I am not the sort of person who will want a massive farewell series," said Ponting. "I'll make a decision when I think that I can't contribute to winning games of cricket for Australia and that's all that has been motivating me for the last 12 months: to be the player I know I can be." Ponting said that he will finish his playing career on his own terms and not be discarded by selectors. "I am backing myself to finish the game and finish on a high. I don't want to finish on a low and I'll make the right decision at the right time. There's no doubt about that. Ponting said he now wanted to focus completely on Tests and prepare himself for every Test match. "The thing that I thought about most yesterday was how I was going to manage my time and to be well prepared for every Test match that I play for the remainder of my career. With no one-day international cricket obviously that makes it difficult for me. But there are those around Australia who only play Test cricket and I've seen it before with Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor and David Boon when they had retired from one-day cricket and still did well in Tests," said Ponting. — PTI
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Indian men, eves record easy wins New Delhi, February 21 Sandeep Singh brilliantly powered home the first two penalty corners and then scored from a penalty stroke to garner three goals, to take his personal tally to seven in the tournament so far, though when V.R.Raghunath attemped the next two, he failed to cash in on the chances. India set a scorching pace from the start, and took the lead in the fourth minute when Shivendra Singh connected a pass from the top of the dee by Tushar Khandekar, which was relayed to him by Saranvjit Singh. Four minutes later, India forced their first penalty corner, and Sandeep Singh’s scoop brooked no denial. And then, S.V.Sunil made the sprint of his life down the left flank, and as he cut into the dee for the kill, with Shivendra Singh on toe, he was tripped by a defender, and Sandeep quietly scooped in the resultant penalty stroke to take the score to 3-0. When the hosts were preparing for the half time break, France earned their first penalty corner, which was swept high into the goal by the tall and stocky Lucas Sevestre. India regained the advantage immediately on resumption when Sandeep swept in off the second penalty corner in the very first minute, and three minutes later, Shivendra cut in from the left and shot, which was deflected by rival custodian Mathias Dierckens, but Sunil charged in from the right to dispatch the ball in. France scored off their second penalty corner through Fabien Magner to give some jitters to the hosts as they narrowed the lead to 5-2, but Tushar rushed into paste the sixth goal eight minutes before the final hooter to help India record their third straight victory. India, however, may be in for some trouble, in the last two matches, as earlier, Canada spanked Singapore 15-1 while Poland pounded Italy 7-2. Poland, who had shocked Canada, may prove a difficult nut to crack for the hosts, though if they play with the same intensity and purpose as they displayed today, there is no reason why the home team should not end up on the podium in the final reckoning. Eves beat Poland Indian eves overcame a major barrier when they pulverised Poland 3-0 in a crucial match of the Olympic Qualifying Women’s Hockey Tournament at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium here tonight. With seven points from three matches, India have strengthened their claim for an Olympic slot, though the fight is far from over, as they are at par with South Africa. The three Ranis - Ritu Rani, Rani Ramphal and Rani Poonam - scored real royal goals to put the hosts on road to victory, after leading by a goal at half time. India heaved a sigh of relief when they took the lead in the 14th minute, after muffing an early chance to score, when a move down the half line, culminated in Rani Poonam passing the ball goalward inside the dee, and Ritu Rani deflected it in from close. India forced many chances, but had to settle for just one goal in the initial session, after Deepika Thakur and Rani Ramphal hit wide, with an open goal staring them. However, Ramphal made up for the lapse on resumption when she enhanced the lead just a minute after the restart by beating a clutch of defenders to slot the ball home. Then the hosts squandered three penalty corners in a row before Poonam found the mark off a cross from Deepika Thakur. So all of them made up for their lapses by featuring in the three goals, and the win came as big relief for India as earlier in the day, Ukraine stunned Canada 5-2 while Italy held South Africa to a 1-1 draw. Italy did India a favour by taking a point off South Africa, as India have a better goal difference of 7-2 compared to South Africa’s 5-2, and the tussle between the top two teams tomorrow will virtually decide the toppers. Tomorrow’s fixtures: Women: Ukraine vs Italy (10 a.m), Canada vs Poland (2 p.m); India vs S Africa (6 p.m). Men: Poland vs Singapore (12 noon), Italy vs France (4 p.m) and Canada vs India (8 p.m).
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Four lifters test positive
Patiala, February 21 Interestingly, out of these four players, three are women. Giving information in this regard, Director General of NADA Rahul Bhatnagar said NADA had collected a total of 60 urine samples - 30 men and 30 women in this championship. "Out of the 30 samples of women, 3 tested positive for Stanozolol, Methenedionone and Nandrolone whereas in the women's section, 1 sample turned positive for Nandrolone and Stanozolol," he added. He further informed that NADA has already issued notices to these players for getting their ‘B’ samples tested. Talking about this growing menace, he said NADA was committed towards uprooting the menace of drugs in the country and for this it would now tighten in grip on national-level tournaments. "The recent reports disclosed by NADA have brought to light the fact that players at a very age indulged in the practice of drugs and therefore, it was all the more important to check them at the initial stage. As not much sampling was done during school nationals and All Indian Inter-University Championships players were not very fearful of being caught in such act but now that we have started the tests, it would certainly change the perception of players," added Bhatnagar. He urged the Sports Departments of all universities to ensure that strict vigil was kept to check this practice and the coaches apprised these players about the ill effects of drugs.
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IOA emergency meeting on March 2
New Delhi, February 21 According to IOA sources, the meeting has been called to discuss letters received from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), including the status of IOA president Suresh Kalmadi vis-a-vis the Olympic body, considering that he's now facing court cases regarding the Commonwealth Games irregularities. Meanwhile, Suresh Kalmadi has written a letter to the IOA categorically stating that he will not exert his rights and obligations as "President of the Indian Olympic Association". In his communication to IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra, he stated: “This is to further inform you that I am fully occupied with my (Parliamentary) Constituency and legal matters. There will be further prolonged absence from Indian Olympic Association. I will not be able to devote time to Indian Olympic Association. I will also not exert my rights and obligations as President of Indian Olympic Association”.
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West Zone ODIs from today
Mumbai, February 21 Hosts Mumbai Cricket Association has earmarked the Wankhede Stadium and its ground at the suburban Bandra-Kurla Complex to host all the ten matches of the round robin competition, that ends on February 28. — PTI
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New Delhi, February 21 The other members of the men's team include reigning national champion A Amalraj, Subhajit Saha, Sanil Shetty and Soumyajeet Ghosh while the women players include Mouma Das, K Shamini, Mousumi Paul and Ankita Das. All the paddlers will compete both in the team as well as individual championships. The teams were selected on the basis of their performances both at the senior nationals held at Lucknow last month and before this season. — PTI
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Indian football team in Muscat
New Delhi, February 21 National coach Savio Medeira, feels the friendly would help India gear up for the coveted tournament in a major way. "The match against Oman forms an integral part of our preparation for the forthcoming AFC Challenge Cup." — PTI |
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Mercedes confident for new season
Barcelona, February 21 The German team had to settle for fourth place in the constructors' championship last year with drivers Nico Rosberg and Formula One great Michael Schumacher slumping to seventh and eighth. "The F1 W03 is a car I believe, and hope, our team can be proud of, and which will deliver the on-track results that everybody has worked so hard to achieve, said team principal Ross Brawn. — AFP |
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Bridgestone title sponsor for WSH
Mumbai, February 21 The World Series Hockey will be held from February 29 to April 2, 2012, and will involve 200 leading players - Indian and international - who will showcase their talent in 59 matches and vie for the biggest prize money hockey tournament in the world. The 8 venues for the inaugural edition of the league are Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Jalandhar, Mumbai and Pune. — TNS |
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India quelled a late fightback by France to record a 6-2 victory to earn full points in the Olympic Qualifying Men’s Hockey Tournament at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium here tonight. When India thought they were riding home nicely with a 3-0 lead, France pulled one back at the stroke of half time off their first penalty corner to make it 1-3.
"It's a little bit hard to come here today and say I'm retiring when I've already been left out of the side. I don't expect to play one-day international cricket for Australia any more and I'm pretty sure the selectors don't expect to pick me either. I have no bitterness at all about what's happened," Ponting said stopping short of formally declaring an end to his ODI career.