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India
Vs New Zealand |
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6 wickets on unhelpful pitch is good show: Ojha
Pietersen’s date with destiny today
Venus hits 60 errors in 3-set loss to Kerber
De Silva slams SLPL critics
Nehru
Cup
Chelsea open title defence against Juve
Kobayashi makes the most of wet Spa practice
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India
Vs New Zealand Visitors 328/6 in 81.3 overs when bad light stopped play
Bangalore, August 31 Kruger van Wyk (63 not out) and Doug Bracewell (30 not out) carried on the good work after Taylor's dismissal, adding an unbeaten 82 runs for sixth wicket before bad light ended play 35 minutes early. The 28-year-old Taylor had promised a positive approach at the Chinnaswamy Stadium after New Zealand lost 18 wickets to the Indian spinners in the first test in Hyderabad, which the hosts won by an innings and 115 runs to go 1-0 up in the two-test series. New Zealand opted to bat first after Taylor won the toss and their intent was immediately clear as the batsmen attempted to put India on the backfoot. Taylor hit 16 boundaries and two sixes and attacked the bowlers from the onset to complete his seventh test century, and his third against India, off just 99 balls. He slog-swept the spinners effectively, played the cut shot fiercely and added 107 runs with Daniel Flynn (33) for the fourth wicket at a breathtaking scoring rate. Taylor and Flynn combined to add 72 runs off the first 10 overs after lunch before Flynn fell leg before to off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin while attempting another sweep shot. Pragyan Ojha kept India in the hunt by picking up his fourth wicket shortly after the tea break when Taylor was also out leg before also trying to sweep the left-arm spinner. In the morning, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni handed the new ball to Ojha to capitalise on New Zealand's spin frailty but it was paceman Zaheer Khan who struck the first blow in the second over of the innings. Opener Brendon McCullum was the first to fall for a duck when Zaheer caught him plumb in front of the stumps in his first over. Martin Guptill, dropped on 17 by Virat Kohli in the slips off Zaheer, went on the attack and made a quickfire 53, helped by eight boundaries. The right-hander mistimed a drive against Ojha to be caught at mid-wicket by Gautam Gambhir. Ojha then dismissed Kane Williamson (17) leg before and also got rid of all-rounder James Franklin (eight). — Reuters Scoreboard
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6 wickets on unhelpful pitch is good show: Ojha
Bangalore, August 31 “Zaheer Khan, Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin and myself supported each other well to pick wickets. Getting six wickets on a pitch which did not help bowlers is good to boost the bowlers' confidence,” Ojha told reporters. If the catch Martin Guptill offered when on 17 had been held in the slips, the story could have been very different as the ball was doing a bit in the morning, Ojha added. Guptill went on to score 53 before being dismissed by Ojha, who was India’s most successful bowler on the day with four wickets. Asked whether India were surprised with the aggressive tactics of the Black Caps, Ojha said the visitors worked well on their gameplan to attack Indian bowlers on a pitch which did not have much in it. Ojha said it was difficult to predict how the wicket would behave from the second day onwards, but added there was some turn when the ball was hurled at a slow pace. "However, I felt it was a good first day wicket," he said. Ojha expressed confidence that the Indian batsmen would do well on this pitch. The left-arm spinner said he was not surprised when Dhoni asked him to bowl the first over of the match. "Dhoni bhai told me before the toss that I will be bowling the first over and I was ready for it. There was some moisture on the wicket in the morning and Dhoni decided to use it to India's advantage by asking me to open the attack," he said. He further said he did not think much when he opened the bowling, except that he concentrated on maintaining a tight line, not giving much room to the batsmen to score. He added that he has brought variety into his bowling and is using the bowling crease to increase the chances of taking wickets. However, he did not specify which wicket-taking delivery he was working on. — PTI
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We’ll look to score 450 and take early wickets: Guptill
Bangalore, August 31 After scoring 328 for six on day one of the second Test match at Chinnaswamy stadium here, Guptill said his team would now look to exploit the conditions as the wicket had swing and seam on it. "The contest from here on would be interesting if my team put 400-450 on the board and pick a few wickets early on because there is a bit of swing and seam on this wicket. If we do that it will be great," he told reporters at stumps here. Guptill said the wicket looked good and hoped the team would be able to continue the positive way of play next morning. "The wicket was a little flat and our positive intent paid off well," he added. Guptill said the team came out with a positive frame of mind of attacking the Indian bowlers. "Ross (Taylor) showed some excellent footwork," he added. Guptill said New Zealand had always played positive cricket and luckily the plan worked out for the team which alleviated some of the pressure off the team. "We got enough boundaries initially that took load of us," he said. Asked if being aggressive cost them too many wickets, Guptill said: "You are going to give chances when you play positive. We got away with it sometimes and not on other occasions. That's the way cricket goes." On whether Indian bowling was below par as compared to Hyderabad Test, Guptill said the hosts are a good bowling side, but the bad balls which they bowled were punished and it put pressure on them. Guptill said it was all about properly executing a shot against the spinners as each player scores differently. “Sometime you opt to go straight, ariel and may not get it right. That happens in cricket. Franklin didn't get it in the middle. He got a leading edge. It's quite different for each player," he said. "Each player scores differently. I think they should go for the shots and they would continue to do well." Guptill was a bit disappointed for not converting his starts, but said he is trying to make sure that doesn't happen in the next few Test matches. "It is a little bit frustrating but that is the way it goes. Sometimes you go on to make a big score and sometimes you go only half way there," he added.Guptill also praised his captain Ross Taylor for scoring a brisk 113 and said he is a class player and his presence in the middle makes things a lot easier for the next batsmen. “It takes a bit of pressure off them," he said. — PTI
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Pietersen’s date with destiny today
London, August 31 Both sides insist the meeting has to take place 'behind closed doors'. Flower and Morris will lead the negotiations on the ECB's behalf before Alastair Cook, the new Test captain, takes a role, local media reported. The issue of the messages Kevin Pietersen sent to the South African team will be high on the agenda but will be far from easy to solve, as it is believed many of the exchanges were conducted not via text message but through the instant messaging system of Blackberry messenger and none have been stored. Many sportsmen and celebrities use Blackberry messenger as a method of exchange because a user can set the phone up to not store old messages, making it safer if handset is lost or stolen. In this situation it means the ECB will have to accept Pietersen’s word on what the exchanges involved. If true, it offers a convenient escape route for both Pietersen and the ECB, reports said. It is easier to move on if there is no factual record of what took place. So far, Pietersen has admitted they contained “provocative” content while the South African management have dismissed them as mere “banter”.— ANI
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Scrappy day for big names at US Open
New York, August 31 The Wimbledon and Olympic champion, an overwhelming favourite for the title, needed 82 minutes to dig out a 6-2 6-4 victory over 30-year-old Martinez Sanchez. Williams started superbly, winning 12 straight points as she led 4-1 but struggled thereafter, double-faulting six times and making a slew of simple mistakes. Martinez Sanchez could not capitalise, squandering a 2-0 lead in the second set as Williams battled through to face Ekaterina Makerova of Russia. Williams hurt her ankle on Wednesday while playing doubles with her sister Venus but it appeared to have little effect on her play against Martinez Sanchez. She first hurt the ankle at the Australian Open in January. Williams blasted 32 winners but had an uncharacteristic 24 unforced errors in the one hour, 22-minute match on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Both Williams and Martinez Sanchez had seven break-point opportunities but while Williams was successful on four, the Spaniard could convert only on one. Andy Roddick stunned the tennis world by announcing that the U.S. Open would be his last tournament on Thursday but there was no sign of the end of the road for his contemporaries Roger Federer and Serena Williams on day four at Flushing Meadows. Federer led the tributes for Roddick after defeating Bjorn Phau (6-2 6-3 6-2) with an evening exhibition to reach the third round of the men's draw, while Serena added her own plaudits after remaining on course for a fourth U.S. Open crown with a victory over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Roddick's announcement of his impending retirement came shortly after France's fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga produced his worst match of the year to be the first big-name casualty of the men's draw. The former world number one and U.S. Open champion said he realized during his first-round victory over Rhyne Williams that he had lost the desire to remain on tour. "I just feel like it's time," Roddick, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday, said. "I've always wanted to, in a perfect world, finish at this event. I have a lot of family and friends here. — Agencies
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Venus hits 60 errors in 3-set loss to Kerber
New York, August 31 Williams served poorly and stumbled badly for a set and a half before recovering to make things quite competitive. Williams came within two points of winning, but dropped five games. Buoyed by chants of "Let's go, Venus!" in a mostly empty Arthur Ashe Stadium - perhaps spectators figured in the second set that Kerber was on her way to a swift victory—Williams found the resolve and energy to put aside her 16 double-faults and 60 total unforced errors and get back into the contest. “I know this is not proper tennis etiquette, but this is the first time I've ever played here that crowd has been behind me,” she said. — AP
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Colombo, August 31 De Silva told reporters at a media briefing that the main focus of the SLPL, which featured local and foreign players together in seven teams, was to nurture young Sri Lankan cricketers. De Silva, who is a mentor for one of the team, Uva Next, said that he was keen to see a tournament like the SLPL being held in Sri Lanka and his dream came true when the cricket board managed to organise the event. "Leave aside political issues. I always wanted the youth of this country to benefit from the game. SLPL will help the youth of Sri Lanka," de Silva said. Dilshan Munaweera and Akila Dhanajaya, two young players who performed well in the SLPL, were picked to play for Lanka in the Twenty20 World Cup. The SLPL was criticised even before the tournament got off the ground and, with the final scheduled to take place Friday, critics have questioned if the tournament had met its goals. One of the major concerns was the inability of the SLPL to draw crowds similar to that seen in the more popular Indian Premier League (IPL). — IANS
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Nehru
Cup
New Delhi, August 31 With both the teams having qualified for the final, the result of the match was of no consequence. Cameroon topped the five-team league with 10 points while India finished on seven. Cameroon struck even before India could settle down when Bite Samuel got a through ball, took it down the left beating the defence and captain Gourmangi Singh. Samuel took the ball on his left foot and drove it into the far corner, beating custodian Karanjeet Singh, who dived to his right. It was Karanjeet Singh's first match but he acquitted himself somewhat when he saved a penalty in the 39th minute. It came about when Syed Rahim Nabi tried to win the ball from Eloundou Charles but ended up felling him inside the box. UAE referee Hashmi Hamad whistled for a spot kick, which was taken by Ebanga Bertin. Bertin was taking his third penalty of the tournament, and having converted the first two against Nepal and Maldives, he was considered a sure-shot. However, he attempted a fancy chip, which was palmed down by Karanjeet with his right hand. Though both the teams rested their key players and tried out the bench strength, there was no slackness in the intensity of the contest. Three minutes before they missed the penalty, Charles had beaten the Indian defence to take a stiff shot, but Karanjeet dived to make a fine save. India, playing Manandeep Singh as the lone striker, came by a couple of sharp chances. But Manandeep headed wide with Cameroon goalie Nkessi Hosea at his mercy, and Jewel Shaikh headed into the hands of the keeper. In the second half, India attacked more vigorously as Cameroon played it easy, not pressing hard, reserving their best for the final on Sunday. India did not include Sunil Chhetri, Subrata Paul, Nirmal Chhetri, Anthony Pereira and Raju Gaekwad in the starting line-up.
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Chelsea open title defence against Juve
Monaco, August 31 The Italian champions, who have lifted the European Cup twice, should give Chelsea a stern test on September 19 before Roberto di Matteo's side face Danish newcomers FC Nordsjaelland and Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk. An intriguing series of games is in prospect in Group D with nine-times European champions Real Madrid joined by Manchester City, Ajax Amsterdam and Borussia Dortmund. — Agencies
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Kobayashi makes the most of wet Spa practice
Spa-Francorchamps, Aug 31 Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi ended up with his name on top of the timing screens after a fastest lap of two minutes 11.389 seconds but the Japanese was among a small minority to get into double figures with his lap tally. Alonso, who has a 40 point lead over Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber after 11 of the 20 races, ended up 22nd and with a time 29.360 seconds slower than Kobayashi. Kimi Raikkonen, winner four times at his favourite circuit and a good bet for victory with Lotus on Sunday, was 23rd and 35.191 off the pace but will be equally unperturbed by the timesheets. The Finn's race lap record, set with McLaren in 2004, is 1:45.108. Daniel Ricciardo, with Toro Rosso, was third as cars hit the track again in the first practice session after break.— Agencies
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Bangalore, August 31
