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Process to reclaim No.1 Test ranking is on: Dhoni
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Century will settle KP down: Bell
Dhoni’s bike team looks to widen horizons
Businesslike SA dismiss Oz mind games
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KP sends warning signal
Ahmedabad, November 8 Pietersen smashed a 94-ball 110 before retiring hurt to let his colleagues get some batting practice as England reached a strong 408 for three on day one of the game. Left-handed Cook, who did not play against Mumbai A, yet again batted splendidly but missed out on his century by three runs after electing to bat. Ian Bell (57) and Samit Patel (11) were at the crease when stumps were draw for the day at Sardar Patel Stadium B Ground. Bell has already smashed nine boundaries, including three sixes in his innings. Except for skipper Amit Mishra, none of Haryana’s bowlers has played international cricket and both Pietersen and Cook relished the batting practice ahead of the Test grind. Mishra took two of the three England wickets to fall. Pietersen, who hit 16 fours and three sixes, is the fourth England batsman to hit a century after arriving in India with Cook and Samit Patel reaching the three-figure mark against India A. Reserve wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow had stroked his way to a hundred against Mumbai A in the last game. Cook, who was dropped early in his innings, scored a boundary-filled 97 with 18 hits to the fence. Nick Compton (74) also staked a claim for the opening slot in the first Test with his second successive half-century. The two openers put on 166 before Cook was caught by wicket-keeper Sandeep Singh off spinner Jayant Yadav. Jonathan Trott replaced the skipper at the wicket and he too got some runs under his belt ahead of the first Test. In the company of Compton, Trott added 45 runs before the former was trapped in front of the wicket by leggie Mishra. Compton, who played 111 dot balls during his stay at the crease, hit nine boundaries and a six in his 144 ball-innings. The fall of Compton brought Pietersen to the wicket. He began with a boundary, a flick to the mid-wicket off Amit Vashisht before hitting two more crisp boundaries of spinners.
— PTI SCOREBOARD
England XI Cook c Sandeep b Yadav 97 Compton lbw b Mishra 74 Trott lbw b Mishra 46 Pietersen retired hurt 110 Bell (batting) 57 Patel (batting) 11 Extras: 13 Total: (3 wkts in 90 overs) 40 Fall of wickets: 1-166, 2-211, 3-247. Haryana bowling: S Budhwar 15-3-62-0, A Vashisht 21-1-115-0, S Rana 19-6-48-0, C Saini 8-2-40-0, J Yadav 16-1-85-1, A Mishra 11-1-50-2 |
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Process to reclaim No.1 Test ranking is on: Dhoni
Mumbai, November 8 It’s a slow constant process that we are subjected to,” Dhoni told the mediapersons during a promotional event here today. Questioned on the upcoming England series, he said that it will be an interesting one. “It will be an interesting one. If you see the England side, they are a very good side but what important thing is to focus on our strength and our weaknesses. We also need to improve over a period of time,” the skipper observed. Dhoni said that the short camp in Mumbai before the series will help them get into groove. “We are reporting in a couple of days. We have a few practice matches before we get into the team,” Dhoni told reporters on the sidelines of his biking event. On a different note, Dhoni revealed that being a professional cricketer was never on his agenda and would have rather been happy serving the country as an armyman. “Coming from a small town, I never thought that cricket will be my profession. I wanted to join Indian Army. It was my dream. But then cricket happened. Everything fell into place, I started performing well in first class cricket, Duleep Trophy and all the other tournaments.”
— PTI |
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India’s practice game at CCI
Mumbai, November 8 The team is set to practice in the afternoon tomorrow and will have full day sessions on the following two days, Cricket Board sources said. Coach Duncan Fletcher is expected to arrive tonight from abroad to oversee the sessions, the sources added. On the first day, the team will use 10 net bowlers and on November 10 and 11, for the full day sessions, there will be 18 net bowlers, it was learnt. The team is set to fly to Ahmedabad on November 12 morning. The visitors are already in the Gujarat city preparing for the series which is being billed as a 'revenge rubber' for India's humiliating 0-4 whitewash in England in 2011.
— PTI |
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HC lifts life ban on Azhar
Hyderabad, November 8 Ruling that the ban on Azhar was not maintainable by law, the division bench, comprising Justice Ashutosh Mohantha and Krishnamohan Reddy, ordered lifting of ban imposed on the stylish Hyderabadi batsman in December 2000 for his alleged involvement in match-fixing. The HC set aside the order of a lower court which had upheld the ban. Azhar had moved the court, challenging the ban that ended his 15-year-long career. The 49-year-old cricketer, known for his wristy shots and agile fielding, welcomed the verdict and thanked his supporters who stood by him in his long struggle. Though the revocation of ban at this stage will not translate into revival of his cricketing career, it will certainly remove the stigma attached to an otherwise glorious innings. Azhar was one of India’s most successful captains and a prolific batsman, having led the team through much of the 1990s. He played 99 Tests and scored 6125 runs at an average of 45. He also appeared in 334 ODIs, scoring 9378 runs at an average of 36.92 during a 15-year career. He took the cricketing world by storm in 1984-85 with a world record of three consecutive centuries in three Tests on his debut in England. Now a Congress MP from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, Azhar struck a philosophical note while reacting to the court’s order and said: “I do not want to blame anybody. You have to take everything in your stride and move forward. It is all in the fate.” However, he expressed a desire to help the budding cricketers in whatever way he can. “I will do something in cricket. I always wanted to do something in this sport since my childhood,” he said. On December 5, 2000, the BCCI had imposed life ban on Azhar after a CBI probe established his involvement in match-fixing. In the same case, Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar were suspended for five years while Test player Ajay Sharma also received a life-ban. Since then, Azhar has been keeping himself away from cricket-related matters. He took a political plunge in 2009. |
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Century will settle KP down: Bell
Ahmedabad, November 8 Bell, who himself ended the day on unbeaten 57, feels the century could not have come at a better time for Pietersen, who retired after scoring a quick-fire 110 off 94 balls to make way for other batsmen. “It was good for him to get into the groove. It will help him to settle down in the team. It is also a positive sign for the team," he said at the press conference after the opening day's play of the four-day match. “Batting with him releases pressure," Bell said about Pietersen, who will make a comeback into the England team in the upcoming Test series following the controversial text-message row. Speaking about his own innings, Bell expressed satisfaction over the amount of time he had spent on the wicket today ahead of the series against India, which commences here on Nov 15. “It was good to spend some time in the middle and get some runs under the belt ahead of the opening Test match. “The wicket was an excellent one to bat on. The ball was skidding on nicely," he said. Asked about his attacking intent against spinners early on in his innings, Bell said, "I like to come down the wicket against spinners. That's how I have played them in England, Australia and South Africa and that is what has given me success against spinners." He also said that it was a pleasant experience to bat against leg-spinner Amit Mishra ahead of the Test series. "He (Amit) is a quality leg-spinner. He has played quite a lot of Test matches. It was good to bat against him," Bell said of the Haryana skipper, who was the only player to have played international cricket in England's rival team. Bell was in no mood to give much attention to injuries to pacemen Steve Finn and Stuart Broad, who sat out of the ongoing practice game. "It's not an issue. I am sure they will be fit for the first Test," he quipped. England raced to 408 for three on the first day against Haryana attack that lacked precision and incisiveness.
— PTI |
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Dhoni’s bike team looks to widen horizons
Mumbai, November 8 “We will have to chalk out a plan because there are three categories, Sport Supersport and Superbike. We will see how it goes. Definitely it's and option for us,” Dhoni told reporters last night. The team rechristened itself as Mahi Racing Team India. It was earlier called MSD R-N Rcing Team India. On the name change, Dhoni said, “We thought MSD R-N was quite a big name. There were some other reasons also. So we thought let's keep it sweet and simple to Mahi Racing Team India.” He further said they will be opening two riding schools based out of Greater Noida and Sriperambudur. "I would lie if I said I dreamt about opening a riding school. Opening a riding school definitely wasn't the agenda. But now we are in a position to do it,” he said.
— PTI |
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Businesslike SA dismiss Oz mind games
Brisbane, November 8 Individual plans for targeting South African players, including psychological profiling, supposedly derived from an Australian team dossier were published in the Courier-Mail newspaper on Thursday, the eve of the first Test at the Gabba. Smith, however, backed his team, unbeaten on the road in Test series for six years and coming to Australia fresh from having earned the number one ranking by beating England in England, to brush off any attempts to get under their skin. “It doesn’t really make a difference to be honest with you,” Smith told reporters at the Gabba. “We know in our minds what we’re expecting over the next few days. The most important thing for us was our preparation. I think we’ve done that really well and we’re looking forward to starting tomorrow. “In terms of that stuff, it’s neither here nor there, it’s all going to start
tomorrow. ”Four years ago, South Africa won a tight three-match series 2-1 for their first triumph on Australian soil. That was under the guidance of Mickey Arthur, who now coaches the
hosts. Arthur has obviously shared his knowledge of the South Africans with his new charges and made a few public comments about perceived weaknesses.
— PTI |
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RANJI TROPHY
Chandigarh, November 8 Three points instead of seven is a bad deal, nobody needs to tell them. Services, on the other hand, did well by grabbing the first innings lead from Andhra Pradesh in Anantapur. HP skipper Aakash Chopra does have a task at hand. They would not like to remind themselves of a lead of over 300 against Kerala and then letting Rohan Prem score a gritty century to put paid to all their efforts and settle for a draw. Himachal need to back the batsmen especially after Paras Dogra, Amit Kumar and Rishi Dhawan scored centuries in the first match. Services top order too need to fire and Yashpal Singh has a great role to play in this match. Services will bank on Nazar and Suraj Yadav in bowling departments. Hosts HP have an edge over Services. Squads: HP: Aakash Chopra (capt), Sumeet Verma, Amit Kumar, Aatish Bhalaik (wk), Prashant Chopra, Rishi Dhawan, Paras Dogra, Chandrasekar Ganapathy, Gurvinder Singh, Hemanth Kumar, Vikramjeet Malik, Jitender Mehta, Mohinder Sharma, Mukesh Sharma, Sangram Singh, Varun Sharma; Services: Soomik Chatarjee (capt), Penta Rao, Pratik Desai, Ansuhl Gupta, Shakti Malviya, Muzzaffaruddin Khalid, Shadab Nazar, Nishan Singh, Rajat Paliwal, Sarabjit Singh, Avishek Sinha, Soumyaranjan Swain, Nakul Verma, Suraj Yadav, Yashpal Singh. Meanwhile, Delhi will take on Odisha at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground. |
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Mandeep takes over reins as Punjab take on Bengal
Mohali, November 8 The onus lies on young Mandeep Singh, who will be standing in as skipper for the first time. He will be assisted by leggie Rahul Sharma as vice-captain, which means he sure will be in the playing XI after being made to sit out in the first match. Indications are that Punjab might test Bengal on a wicket that is spinner-friendly. Punjab coach Arun Sharma said, “Every team has its own strengths. But what we got to try and see is how the game develops and make counter-strategies. We can’t make an advance plan in a four-day game. We have to get into the match and then adapt according to it.” Bengal must be a tad disappointed after their performance against defending champions Rajasthan. Coach WV Raman said, “It was a good to start a fresh season against defending Ranji champions. It was a good match but now is the time to build momentum. There is always stuff which could have happened and might have happened in the first match but the important thing is to keep improving, it’s a long season. That game (against Rajasthan) is history for us.” Bengal will be banking on Manoj Tiwary, Ashok Dinda and Wriddhiman Saha to do well in. “Ashok Dinda will be expected to lead the bowling. He is our strike bowler. It would have been good if we had Shami also fit to play. He could have been a handful in these conditions,” Raman said. On away games, he said, “ It's important we don’t worry about the tracks. We have to adapt in the away games according to the conditions. It’s a strength of a good side to adapt accordingly." Squads: (Punjab): Mandeep Singh, Karan Goel, Amitoze Singh, Gurkirat Ahluwalia, Bipul Sharma, Manpreet Gony, Jiwanjot Singh, Siddarth Kaul, Uday Kaul (wk), Sanddep Sharma, Rajwinder Singh, Rahul Sharma, Mayank Sidhana Bengal: Manoj Tiwary (capt), Rohan Banerjee, Jayojit Basu, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Parthasarathi Bhattacharjee, Anirban Chatterjee, Subhomoy Das, Anustup Majumdar, Arnab Nandi, Writam Porel, Ashok Dinda, Veer Pratap Singh, Sourav Sarkar, Iresh Saxena, Laxmi Shukla. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma will lead Mumbai in the absence of Ajit Agarkar, who suffered a calf injury, in second Group A game against Rajasthan in Jaipur. |
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Celtic expose Barca defence
London, November 8 Favourites Barca lost 1-2 in Glasgow after Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt struck in a famous win for the modest Scottish champions, who exposed the continued defensive frailties of the slick passing Catalans with non-stop energy and physicality. Lionel Messi pulled one back late on but the point that would have put the Group G leaders through was not forthcoming even if they still lead Celtic by two points and Benfica, 2-0 winners over Spartak Moscow, by five with two to play. “It’s right up there, one of the proudest moments of my career. This is monumental,” Celtic manager Neil Lennon told reporters. His side had also led at the Nou Camp before a late 1-2 loss last month. “We wanted to do ourselves justice and we surpassed that. We’ve beaten the best club in the world. It was a stiff examination and we came through it with flying colours.” United came from behind to win 3-1 at Braga after a Robin van Persie strike, Wayne Rooney’s penalty and Javier Hernandez’s scrappy goal in the final 10 minutes sealed a knockout stage berth as group winners following a painful early exit last term. A powercut after Alan’s opening penalty for the Portuguese hosts had held up the Group H game for around 10 minutes in the second half but United roared back. Galatasaray’s 3-1 win in Cluj left second spot open. Shakhtar Donetsk could have gone through with a win in Group E but lost 3-2 at stuttering holders Chelsea, who netted in injury time through Victor Moses’s header from a corner to spark wild scenes at Stamford Bridge. “We deserved to win the game today, particularly in the second half where we dominated. I only played 10 minutes but it was good to get the winning goal,” forward Moses said. Brazilian Willian, who reports have linked with the Londoners after he helped the Ukrainians win 23 out of their last 23 domestic league games, had equalised twice with neat finishes after well-worked moves from the 2009 UEFA Cup winners. They had shot themselves in the foot early on when goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov’s clearance cannoned into the goal off Fernando Torres and the keeper’s clearing header was wonderfully sent into the net from distance by Oscar to make it 2-1. Juventus powered to 4-0 home victory over Denmark’s Nordsjaelland, avenging the 1-1 draw at the minnows two weeks’ ago, but the Turin side stay third on six points with the Ukraine and English sides on seven. Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro bagged a 15-minute first-half hat-trick to help hosts Bayern batter Lille 6-1 and top Group F with nine points alongside Valencia, 4-2 victors at home to BATE Borisov thanks to Sofiane Feghouli’s brace. Bayern, beaten by Chelsea in last season’s final, were 5-0 up at halftime against the hapless outfit after B Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben had also hit the net. Toni Kroos made it six in the second half.
— Reuters |
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Paes-Stepanek reach semis of Tour Finals
London, November 8 They were pushed hard by the sixth seeds in a match lasting one hour and 31 minutes, twice having to come from a break down in the second set before eventually sprinting to the finish line with a barrage of winners. Paes and Stepanek now have a dead rubber in their final match against top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. Later, defending champion Roger Federer also guaranteed his place in the last four of the singles event with a straight-sets win over Spain's David Ferrer. The Swiss world number two, bidding for a seventh title at the end-of-season finale, dished out yet more punishment to Ferrer in a 6-4 7-6 victory.
— Reuters |
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