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New Zealand’s tour of India
Hope Tendulkar continues to shoulder responsibility: Dravid
Laxman’s retirement leads to lukewarm
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Australia in Under-19 World Cup final
India aiming for title hat-trick
Yashvir Singh, Fernandez for Dronacharya honour
4 bestowed with Tenzing Norgay award
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New
Zealand’s tour of India
Hyderabad, August 21 Pujara was the obvious choice after Dravid's retirement in March. Now that Laxman too surprisingly retired ahead of the Hyderabad Test, the Saurashtra middle-order batsman feels the youngsters need to live up to the challenge. "Not only us, all the cricket lovers will miss them. Both VVS and Dravid have set benchmarks. It's a huge inspiration for the youngsters in the side. If we can at least try and emulate it, it would really help," he told PTI in an interview here today. "Obviously the youngsters in the side would have to take more responsibility now. It's difficult to replace them straightway. But they have been our motivation and now it's time to live up." Pujara along with Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath are in contention for the two vacant slots but the Saurashtra lad, known for his temperament and technique best-suited for the Test scheme of things, said he was not looking too far ahead.
"It was a tough last year. One of the toughest phases ... I had to deal with my knee injury and then my father had to undergo bypass surgery," he recalled about the last season when he went into sidelines after playing two Tests in South Africa. "You always have to start from a scratch after an injury. The rhythm take a beating as you are out of practice for three-four months. "But I never lost heart. I believed in myself. I knew I would make it once again. The support which I got from my father was immense." "I miss my mother (who died five years ago), but I know she is there with me through her prayers. She is there in my thoughts, something that helps me to do well," Pujara said. "Thankfully, I've now overcome that phase. I'm fully motivated to do well. I know if I perform well, I'll cement my place (in the side). So the priority is to score runs and win matches for India," he added. — PTI
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Hope Tendulkar continues to shoulder responsibility: Dravid
"Sachin has been burdened with responsibility and has been carrying it on his shoulders for the last 16 years. I hope he will continue to do it (in the India-New Zealand series)," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here. On Laxman's retirement, Dravid said the stylish Hyderabad batsman has been a great cricketer for India and it was a privilege and an honour to have played with him. Laxman meant so much for Indian cricket, not only with his performances on the field, but also just a kind of a person he has been off it, Dravid said. "Laxman has been known for his ideas. The way he has carried himself, the way he has prepared, his practice. I think he has been a great inspiration for a lot of young kids who have been in the team with us. I am sure they have watched Laxman a lot and they have learnt a lot from Laxman. I hope some of these guys will go on to emulate Laxman," he said. Reacting to the exodus of northeast people from the city following rumours of attacks on them, Dravid said Bangalore is one of the best cities in the world and he need not say anything on the matter as the city police commissioner and people in-charge have said what they need to say. "They have said it is a safe city and what more you can ask for. Doesn't matter what I say. At the end of the day, you have some very good authorities in the city who have always helped maintain Bangalore's name as one of the safest and best places to live in.I know they will continue to do that in the future.They are on top of it," he said. — PTI
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Laxman’s retirement leads to lukewarm response for first Test
Hyderabad, August 21 The Rajiv Gandhi stadium at Uppal wore a desolate look with little interest seen among the locals as Team India practised in the morning followed by the visitors' session in the afternoon. If the Hyderabad Cricket Association officials had earlier sounded unhappy for not being able to see Laxman one last time, the curator Y L Chandrashekhar too became emotional. "We are all taken aback at his decision... He prepared so hard, slammed two centuries recently one being at the Gymkhana ground the wicket of which I had prepared... But we all are sad that he would not be playing here. He would have loved to play on this strip," Chandrashekhar said. Chandrashekhar, who had drawn flak for preparing a flat track during the drawn Test match against New Zealand in November 2010, expressed confidence that the track would yield a result this time around. "We have prepared a track that would last five days. At the same time, there would be some help for the spinners from day two onwards..." — PTI
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India, Pakistan clubbed in same pool
Top eight teams in the ICC ODI rankings will compete in the tournament, which will be held for the last time as the world body of the game has decided to scrap it after this edition. Cardiff, Edgbaston and The Oval will each host four group matches of the competition that will see the eight teams divided into two pools of four each. Group A will feature Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka with India, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies contesting in Group B. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, to be played at The Oval and Cardiff, with the winners then progressing to the final at Edgbaston on June 23. Hosts England, will kick off their campaign against defending champions Australia at Edgbaston on June 8. Tournament Director Steve Elworthy commented, "This will be an incredible opportunity for fans to see the world’s very best One-Day International sides in action over the space of less than three weeks and the fixture schedule has thrown up a host of exciting head-to-head contests. "The format means every match counts and all eight teams will feel that they are capable of winning the tournament in a competition which is set to be one of the highlights of the 2013 summer." The tournament does not appear in the Future Tournament Programme after 2013, with the ICC having one championship for each of the three formats from 2015. — PTI
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Australia in Under-19 World Cup final
Townsville, August 21 Australia overcame a late charge by South Africa to achieve the target of 192 with nine balls to spare. Bancroft scored a fine 66, besides featuring in a match-winning 95-run third wicket partnership with Kurtis Patterson (46) after the defending champion had slipped to three for two in two overs in its run-chase. Australia will take on the winner of the other semifinal between India and New Zealand, in the final, which is scheduled to be played Sunday. The loser of Thursday's semifinal match will meet South Africa for the third-fourth position play-off on Saturday. Australia, who are bidding to become only the second side after Pakistan to win back-to-back titles, made a good start after captain Will Bosisto won the toss and elected to bowl in overcast conditions here. Joel Paris and Mark Steketee both struck early with the new ball to remove South Africa's in-form Quinton de Kock (1) and Gihahn Cloete (0). Steketee returned for his second spell and took the crucial wicket of Proteas captain Chad Bowes (46), who had struck up a handy partnership of 88 with Murray Coetzee. Coetzee (50) went on to make his second half-century of the tournament before he was run-out from a direct hit by Ashton Turner. Gurinder Sandhu maintained a good line and length, ending with the impressive figures of two for 23 from 10 overs, featuring three maidens. Steketee claimed three for 35 from his ten overs. In reply, Australia lost the early wickets of James Peirson and Meyrick Buchanan to be in strife at two for three. However, Bancroft and Patterson both soaked up the occasion and repaired the damage before Patterson was caught behind by de Kock for 49. Brief Scores: Australia Under-19 193 for 6 (Bancroft 66, Williams 3-40) beat South Africa Under-19 191 for 8 (Coetzee 50, Steketee 3-35) by four wickets.— Agencies
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India aiming for title hat-trick
New Delhi, August 21 In the previous two editions held at the Ambedkar Stadium in 2007 and 2009, Bhutia had played pivotal roles to guide the country to cup triumph, and both times against Syria, after the prestigious tournament was launched with much fanfare in 1982. Though over the years, the Nehru Cup has suffered a lean patch as the top teams have shied away from the event, the revival of the Cup has rekindled interest in the game in the country. With a new coach, Wim Koevermans of Holland, at the helm, new methods and strategy are being tried out, though the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is trying its best to erode the prestige of the cup, with bad planning and unwise moves. First, the AIFF organized the coaching camp at the Jaypee Greens in Greater Noida, far away from the city centre, to keep the players isolated but the camp was quickly shifted to Bangalore as the chief coach was not happy with the rainy and humid conditions in Delhi. But the players returned to Greater Noida for the final leg of the camp last week, and has been practicing there ever since, though it would have been a better option to practice at the Nehru Stadium training ground, where the event will be staged for the first time. In another quirky decision, the AIFF has allowed the Durand Cup Tournament to advance the dates, and hold it at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi to clash with the dates of the Nehru Cup, which is shocking and surprising. The Nehru Cup will be the first important tournament after Koevermans was engaged as chief coach, and no surprise, he has goal of winning the cup, to add to the hosts' collections of 2007 and 2009. "Our goal is to win the Nehru Cup", said the Dutch coach emphatically. With his thrust on attack, Koevermans plans to inject novelty in the gameplans to counter the tough methods.
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Everton stun Man U
London, August 21 The Belgian international, who hit the post in the first half with a close range shot and tormented United's defence throughout with his height, nodded in from a corner on 57 minutes. The home side had enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges and, as the game developed, created the majority of chances in front of a noisy Goodison Park crowd. United goalkeeper David De Gea had done well in the first half to keep the home side at bay by producing a string of first rate saves, most notably to deny Steven Pienaar's curling right-foot shot on the half-hour mark. Wayne Rooney had a decent chance at the other end, only to direct his shot straight at Tim Howard. However, with Fellaini working hard in the midfield, making his presence felt and linking up well with the Everton strikers, the home side always looked the more likely to break the deadlock. The Belgian rose above Michael Carrick to get on the end of Leighton Baines' corner and power in his header into the corner of De Gea's goal. Tom Cleverley's shot on 67 minutes was cleared off the line and the visitors then introduced new signing and league player of the 2011/12 season Robin van Persie, bought from rivals Arsenal last week. However, his debut did not affect the result. With Phil Jagielka in fine form, clearing Cleverley's 67th-minute shot off the line, the Everton defence held firm, frustrating Manchester United and taking a deserved three points. Jagielka told Sky Sports he was delighted with the result and hoped it could serve as a platform for the team to build on. — Reuters
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We must play against top teams regularly: Sandeep
New Delhi, August 21 Indian hockey touched a new low in the just-concluded London Olympics as the eight-time champions finished last in the 12-team men's competition. Star of the qualifying tournament, Sandeep too failed to live upto the expectations. “I feel very sorry for the Indian Hockey fans. They were expecting good show from us but we could not live upto the expectations.” Sandeep said. “We must play against top teams like Australia, Germany, Holland on the regular basis which is lacking so far. It will boost our confidence and we will be able to overcome our weaknesses,” said the full-back. Sandeep said that it's important to play more and more matches together as a unit. "We have immensely talented players in current team. We just don't know what went wrong but we have no dearth of talent. If this team with 10-15 youngsters is given four years, we can come better in Rio Olympics (in 2014)," he said. "This is a young team and players are playing together for last one year. You can not be in top five in Olympic after just one year's preparation. That is why I am focussing on beginning the preparation for next Olympic," he said. Asked about the weaker links in the team, he said that there were many areas on which a lot of work needs to be done. “I had worked really hard on penalty corner conversion but after the games I think I have to work harder. I have identified my weaknesses and I am working on those. We have to work on the play after conceding or scoring a goal. Finishing is also a matter of concern,” said veteran player. He said that forward line needs better coordination like the one Gagan Ajit Singh, Prabhjot Singh and Deepak Thakur used to have in earlier days. “In 2001, 02 and 03 our forward line had Gagan Ajit, Prabhjot, Deepak who were playing together since junior days. Their coordination was terrific. We need something like that which will come through experience," said Sandeep. — PTI
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Yashvir Singh, Fernandez for Dronacharya honour
New Delhi, August 21 Besides Yashvir, the five who have been recommended by the 15-member committee for the award were India’s boxing coach from Cuba B.I. Fernandez, athletics coach Virender Poonia, Sunil Davas (kabbadi), Dr. Satyapal (parathletics) and Harinder Singh (hockey). Fernandez, who has been involved behind the scenes for the past few years, which had seen India winning two boxing medals in the Olympics, became the first foreign coach to have been recommended for the coveted award. He has been nominated for the award on special consideration. Virender is the husband-cum-coach of discus thrower Krishna Poonia, who in 2010 became the first Indian woman individual gold medal winner in athletics in the Commonwealth Games. Harinder was the coach of the Indian hockey team for some months after Spaniard Jose Brasa was sacked following India’s poor showing in the 2010 Asian Games till Australian Michael Nobbs took charge in August 2011. — PTI
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4 bestowed with Tenzing Norgay award
New Delhi, August 21 Col. Anand Swaroop and Subedar Rajendra Singh Jalal (both land adventure), Bhakti Sharma (water adventure) and Mandip Singh Soin (life time achievement) are selected for the award that carries a statue, a certificate and prize of Rs 5 lakh. Col. Swaroop and Subedar Jalal are reputed mountaineers and have led many expeditions besides scaling some of the top peaks recently. — PTI
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"I'll look to perform and contribute to India's winning cause. I know that's the outcome if I win matches for India," Pujara said. The three-Test match old Pujara would make a comeback after a knee surgery in London and said he is hugely motivated to do well in the series.
Bangalore, August 21
London, August 21