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Cook makes India look flat
Amazing to bat with Cook: Compton
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Alastair can finish with 50 tons
Another day of fielding woes for Indian team
Abhay appoints Malhotra life president
Raina says BCCI needs to popularise Test matches
Champions trophy
3rd
World Cup
Kabaddi
Chelsea exit Champions League as Juventus advance
Indian team has cleared dope test
PCB asks DDCA to provide 100 tickets for ODI Cook figures out the way to 23
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Cook makes India look flat
Kolkata, December 6 Doom waits upon the Indian team in the third Test; a sense of inevitability and certainty hangs over India’s capitulation. India are being cooked, slowly and surely in the third Test match too. After being bowled out for 316 in an hour’s play on the second morning of the match, India were ground down by Cook and Nick Compton. Cook got his customary ton as captain -- he's scored a century in all five Tests after being appointed captain this year. His 23rd Test century is also a new record for England. And he’s still very, very young, turning 28 this Christmas Day. India Vs england day
2 England are only 100 behind India. India have been outplayed yet again, their spin bowling proving ineffectual for the fourth innings in a row. That’s the most galling part in the whole affair —England’s batting has been methodical and effective against our spin; our spinners have looked quite ordinary after England’s first innings of the series in Ahmedabad. The fact that England conceded a lead of 330 in Ahmedabad seems quite incredible now. For the second Test in a row, India are being dominated at home, England are in complete control. Over the last 25 years, only Hansie Cronje’s team of 2000 had outplayed India in India in more than one Test match in a series. Now, after the retirement of some of the greats of India’s ‘golden generation’, and the fading of a few others, England’s domination suggests that the decline of the Indian Test team is on in real earnest. England’s incredible feat here is a triumph of their coaching staff, especially Andy Flower and Graham Gooch, and the batsmen, though it must be emphasised that the trio of Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Compton have got most of their runs. Allegedly, England were weak against spin — their recent record against spinners from Pakistan and Sri Lanka supports this theory. Before this series, over the last 10 years and excluding Bangladesh, they had won only two of 25 Tests in Asia, losing 11. In five matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka this year, 84% of their dismissals came against spin. India’s hopes, and captain MS Dhoni’s desire of extreme spin tracks, were based on this record. Reality has bitten India sharply, for England have proved ready for India’s spinners. After Ahmedabad, it seemed that Duncan Fletcher’s move of denying England batting time against spin bowling in the practice matches was a masterstroke. Now, though, it seems that England were better off practising in the nets against their own spinners, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, who have proved superior to India’s. Cook displayed excellent technique against spinners, and pacers, yet again. The man seems to have no weakness at all and is in the form of his life. He is made for Test cricket -- grounded in excellent technique, possessing equally admirable temperament. He kept India at a bay on turners in Ahmedabad and Mumbai; on a flatter track here, he took the fight to them. His drives on the off side were delightfully timed. He was defensive in his first two centuries of the series; here he was relatively offensive, even hitting a six, only the ninth of his Test career. He scored runs at close to 58 every 100 ball, significantly faster than his career scoring rate of below 50. The Indian bowling was woeful, to put it mildly; they did not concede too many runs in the beginning of the innings, but that may have been due to the England’s caution before lunch. After lunch, runs came in freely. Then Cook was dropped at 17, and he repaid the favour by scoring another century. The Indians bowled too many four-balls, and even the extremely conservative Compton came wildly swinging at them. Cook and Compton ran their singles rapidly, disturbed the spinners with excellent sweeps, and latched on to anything wide of the stumps. SCOREBOARD India 1st innings Gambhir c Trott b Panesar 60 Sehwag run out (Finn/Prior) 23 Pujara b Panesar 16 Tendulkar c Prior b Anderson 76 Kohli c Swann b Anderson 6 Yuvraj c Cook b Swann 32 Dhoni c Swann b Finn 52 Ashwin b Anderson 21 Zaheer lbw b Panesar 6 Ishant b Panesar 0 Ojha not out 0 Extras: 24 Total: (all out; 105 ov) 316 Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-88, 3-117, 4-136, 5-215, 6-230, 7-268, 8-292, 9-296 Bowling: Anderson 28-7-89-3, Finn 21-2-73-1, Panesar 40-13-90-4, Swann 16-3-46-1 England 1st innings Cook not out 136 Compton lbw Pjha 57 Trott not out 21 Extras: 2 Total: (1 wkt in 73 ov) 216 Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-88, 3-117, 4-136, 5-215, 6-230, 7-268, 8-292, 9-296 Bowling: Zaheer 16-4-48-0, Ishant 15-6-35-0, Ashwin 23-4-68-0, Ojha 19-4-65-1 LIVE ON STAR CRICKET 9:00 AM
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Amazing to bat with Cook: Compton
Kolkata, December 6
"Standing up there today and looking at the board and the stats that Cook is the youngest to put 7000 runs. It was quite an amazing moment! I was batting with this guy, the all-time leading century-maker for England," Compton couldn't stop praising his opening partner. Compton says that Cook has a very clear head and knows what exactly he's doing. "I would say he's very clear. He seems to know exactly what he's doing and what he wants to do. For me, it's easy to chill out there at the other end. It becomes a big difference when you have a player of Cook's calibre." The grandson of legendary Dennis Compton complimented Cook for his fantastic temperament. "Being very unflappable is probably a good way to describe him (Cook). He's tough. I've really enjoyed the time I spent out there," Compton said. "He's quite an easy guy to get used to. He keeps things very simple. It's just a good way to get to know someone by getting there in the middle. You can't be closer to someone really in the heat of the battle. I really enjoyed that." Compton says that Cook is only 27 and his achievements speaks for him. "He's still young. A lot of players get there at my age probably at 28-29 but he's still very young at 27. It speaks volumes about him." The Somerset batsman compared Cook with burly former opener Marcus Trescothick. "To bat with him in someways is similar to batting with (Marcus) Trescothick at Somerset. Clearly, they are different players but how clinical they are. They make very few mistakes on each delivery. Every ball is played in a similar fashion, he always sees the ball, when it's released." Compton feels that Cook's ability judge a delivery is exceptional. "He always knows what's he's going to do. He has forward defence, the sweep shot, he seems to do that time and time again. That's the mark of a serious player. He does the simple things for a long period of time. He's been very very clear batting at the other end." Compton scored his maiden half-century from three Test in a 165-run opening partnership with Cook. "He's very clear in his gameplan and confidence as well. It does give the other players confidence. He's so solid. You know he's not going to give his wicket way easily. If we can stay with him, you're doing job." — PTI
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Alastair can finish with 50 tons
Kolkata, December 6 “With this kind of form and even if his form drops a little, 15,000 Test runs and 50 Test centuries are not beyond him,” Gavaskar lavished his praise on the England skipper, who completed 7000 runs at a young age of 27 and with 23 tons has the highest number of centuries for his country. “The only unpredictable part in one’s career is injuries. If he can get away without any serious injuries, then these landmarks are not beyond him,” the legendary opener said. What Gavaskar liked about Cook was the left-hander’s ability to concentrate and his keen eye on the ball. “Concentration is a God given ability. What I like about Cook is that he is looking at the ball everytime, even when he is standing at the non-striker’s end. That’s one way to keep your concentration going,” he explained. “There are a lot of players who look everywhere. Like Ravi Bopara who is very talented but has a habit of looking here and there. The focus should always be on your job.” On a different note, he conceded that a total of 316 in the first innings is “not a par—score” on this kind of track. “On a good pitch like this, 316 is not a par-score. You need to score 450 and bat atleast four and half or five sessions. But once you get out inside four sessions, it is always difficult to come back,” he analysed. “In the sub-continent, the second day is always best for batting and the Englishmen capitalised on it. They have already batted for two and half sessions and if they can bat another three, then it will be very difficult for India to make a comeback.” Gavaskar agreed that dropping Cook proved costly but was also critical. “I don’t know why Viru was standing in the slips only to spinners,” Gavaskar said. — PTI
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Another day of fielding woes for Indian team
Kolkata, December 6 But why was he wearing the protective equipment worn at forward short leg or silly point? India’s fielding coach, Trevor Penney, was sent out to the press conference in the evening. It was a fair choice, for no Indian had done well today. The best individual performance had been Zaheer Khan inducing an edge off Cook’s bat, before the catch was spilled by Pujara; and perhaps the direct hits at the stumps by Sachin Tendulkar and Ishant Sharma while fielding. Penney would do, then. But Penny couldn’t explain much very satisfactorily -- not why the Indian fielding was so abysmal, not why the personnel in the slips were changed so frequently, and not why the fastest men weren’t placed in run-saving positions. Penny was asked why Ravichandran Ashwin was placed at slips. "Ashwin doesn't normally go in. Can't comment on that,” he said. “As I said, Pujara and Viru practise a lot in the slips, and Virat as well. We try and practise with everybody... Not everybody but quite a few people." Penney also agreed that perhaps, the best men were not placed at mid-off and mid-on to prevent the singles. “Some of the guys, maybe we didn't get our best fielders in those positions," he said. "It is quite crucial... Off spinners, hitting and running, it is quite hard to stop. Fielding in general is quite difficult on that outfield. It is very, very fast. Sometimes a bit wobbly. You have to take your chances, we didn't take ours." Penney said he and the team management discuss the fielding after every session, but added: "It's difficult sometimes with bowlers. Some of our fielders can't field everywhere. So they have got to go into positions like that. It's a pretty difficult situation sometimes…” "Sometimes in Test cricket you get to a position where people you'd rather have at, say, point but you have them catching because some of the bowlers might be tiring." Like Zaheer Khan, possibly the weakest links in the field. "He is still fielding really well," said Penney. "He is bowling and he is back to his best. He is at full fitness. Some bowlers are not as good as a general fielder, say Virat.” "He has got his own methods," Penney added. "He is bowling a lot, and he has played a lot of cricket." It’s not a young team — the average age of the side is 29-plus. Yet, the oldest man in the squad, Sachin Tendulkar, who turns 40 next April is among the quickest.
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Abhay appoints Malhotra life president
New Delhi, December 6 He also announced that Malhotra will be the chairman of the five-member committee constituted to run the day-to-day affairs of the IOA "in a democratic and transparent manner". The other members of the committee will be the IOA president, secretary-general Lalit Bhanot, treasurer N. Ramachandran and senior vice-president Virendra Nanavathi. Abhay Singh Chautala said during his two-year tenure as the acting president of the IOA, Malhotra not only took everyone along, but also tackled many important issues, and saw India make their biggest-ever medal haul of six in the London Olympics. Abhay Singh has also constituted a three-member expert advisory panel consisting of former Olympians P.T.Usha (athletics), Gopi Chand (badminton) and Dilip Tirkey (hockey) to advise the IOA on important athletes-related matters. He said he will also constitute a nine-member Athletes' Commission, consisting of Arjuna Awardees and Olympians, to get the athletes' views in perspective. Meanwhile, Punjab, due to the reported interest taken by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, gave full backing to the Chautala group and in turn got good representation in the new IOA body. While Punjab Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa has been elected as one of the eight vice-presidents, Raja K Sidhu and Rana Gurmet Singh Sodhi have been elected as joint secretary and executive council member, respectively. Chautala said his first priority would be to take a high-powered IOA delegation to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other ruling and Opposition Party leaders to request them to prevail upon the Government to "have a re-look on the Government guidelines" and scrap the contentious Sports Code to escape the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspension. He said the IOA will also write to the IOC, requesting them "to listen to us and reconsider the decision to suspend the IOA". He said the IOA had always followed and accepted the Olympic Charter, and there was no violation of it in the IOA elections. "We will follow all the IOC directives faithfully", Chautala added. He accused IOC member Randhir Singh of not fighting for the country's cause and interest. "Randhir Singhji should have defended the IOA and explained the true position to the IOC (in its Executive Board meeting at Lausanne, Switzerland, on December 4-5). He said he was confident of tackling the IOC ban, and promised to elevate the standard of Olympic sports in four years as he had done with boxing as its head during the last 12 years. Meanwhile, on the last day in office, Malhotra had the ironic fate of receiving a letter, signed by IOC president Jacques Rogge, about the Executive Board's decision to suspend the IOA at the Olympic Bhawan, which was inaugurated by Rogge, along with Manmohan Singh, on April 28, 2007 when Suresh Kalmadi and Randhir Singh were the IOA president and secretary-general, respectively!
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Raina says BCCI needs to popularise Test matches
New Delhi, December 6 He said the administrators of the game will have to find out innovative ways to make Test cricket more viewer-friendly and exciting. "Twenty20 is a form of entertainment, you go there to enjoy yourself. I feel the BCCI will have to take initiatives to make Test cricket more interesting," Raina said at 'Agenda', a conclave organised by Hindi news channel Aaj Tak here. Asked about the pressure on Sachin Tendulkar to quit the game in the wake of former Australia captain Ricky Ponting's retirement earlier this week, Raina said the decision should left to the champion batsman. "He (Sachin) is a great source of inspiration for us in the dressing room. His presence gives us energy. Soon, he will be the only player to play 200 Tests in the history of the game. The decision to retire or not is totally upto him," the left-handed batsman said. — PTI
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Champions trophy
Melbourne, December 6 The goal that settled the fate of the quarterfinal contest came in the 13th minute of the first shot India had at the rival goal. Nitin Thimmaiah capitalised on a rebound to send a firm shot into the right corner of the goal. The rebound had come to Thimmaiah on top of the circle following Gurmail Singh’s try off a cross from Birendra Lakra. India had very few chances thereafter and were forced to fall back to defend stoutly as Belgians asserted strength in the midfield. Belgium forced six penalty corners against India’s one. It was because of a fine display by defenders V R Raghunath and Rupinder Pal Singh, beside goalkeeper T R Potunuri, that India managed to maintain their lead. Belgium had beaten India in their last two encounters — in the final of the Champions Challenge last year and in the preliminary league of the Olympic Games in London. India are now in the hunt for their first medal since their lone Champions Trophy bronze in 1982. This will also be India’s highest finish since 2004 when they had lost the bronze medal match to end fourth. In the semifinals, India will take on the winner of the other quarterfinal match between four-time defending champions Australia and England.— PTI
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World Cup
Kabaddi India beat Afghanistan 73-24 Tribune News Service
Sangrur, December 6 In the men’s match, it was also almost one-sided affair as India secured 37 points and Afghanistan collected 11 points till half time. The game remained one-sided till the half time as the half time score was 39-5 in favour of India. However in the second half the Denmark team improved its position to some extent but finally it lost to India with 17-60 points In other two league matches, Canada beat New Zealand 62-31 points (men's), USA defeated Turkmenistan 44-27 points (women's). In the first match played between Canada and New Zealand, the Canadian team took control over the game from the beginning and dominated the proceedings through out the match. Till half time the score was 32-19 in favour of Canada. They emerged victorious with final score of 62-31 in its favour. In the third match, played between women teams of USA and Turkmenistan, the half time score in favour of the USA was 21-16 while the match ended with 44-27 points in favour of the USA. — TNS
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Chelsea exit Champions League as Juventus advance
London, December 6 Chelsea’s 6-1 win over Nordsjaelland last night wasn’t enough to secure second place in Group E, which went to Shakhtar Donetsk on a tiebreaker after the Ukrainian team lost 1-0 to Juventus, which led the standings. The top two teams in each of the eight groups advanced to the knockout stage of Europe’s elite club competition. “We knew that if Donetsk didn’t win then we would be out, unfortunately it is a reality,” Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech told Sky Sports. “We did what we could, we had a good performance and scored six goals.” Celtic beat Spartak Moscow 2-1 to finish as runner-up in Group G, while Galatasaray’s 2-1 win at Braga left it second in Group H. Juventus finished with 12 points, two more than Shakhtar and Chelsea, with the Ukrainian club winning the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Blues. Chelsea and the other seven third-place finishers will now join the round of 32 in the second-tier Europa League. Torres Double
Chelsea and Nordsjaelland each missed penalty kicks in the first half at Stamford Bridge in west London before David Luiz gave the Blues the lead from the penalty spot in the 38th minute. Fernando Torres made it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time. Joshua John scored for Nordsjaelland in the opening minute of the second half before goals from Cahill, Torres, Juan Mata and Oscar completed the rout. — Agencies |
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Indian team has cleared dope test
Sangrur, December 6 This was stated by Sikander Singh Maluka, president, Punjab Kabaddi Association, and senior vice chairman of administrative committee of the third Kabaddi World Cup. Giving details of the dope test, Maluka said, "The samples of 27 Indian players had been taken for dope test. The result of 25 players had been announced a day earlier. “It is matter of pride and great relief for India that all the Indian Kabaddi players (men and women) cleared the dope test”, he added.
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PCB asks DDCA to provide 100 tickets for ODI New Delhi, December 6 "We have received a request from PCB team about providing them with 100 VIP passes for their special guests who will be flying down for this particular match. Apart from that, they wanted another 1000 general tickets for their fans," said a senior DDCA official on Thursday. The ODI in the capital is likely to see the maximum number of Pakistani fans and celebrities in attendance as it is the most convenient among all the locations to watch an international match. PCB spokesperson Sarwar on his part informed that they are "satisfied with the arrangements and facilities" provided by the DDCA. Asked about the 22-yard strip at the DDCA, Sarwar replied,"We are not concerned about the cricketing part. For us the facilities and security arrangements are of paramount importance and we are quite happy with what we have seen so far." Raina: BCCI needs to popularise Tests Suresh Raina urged the BCCI to play a more proactive role in promoting Test cricket, which rarely attracts crowd these days. He said the administrators of the game will have to find out innovative ways to make Tests more viewer-friendly. "I feel the BCCI will have to take initiatives to make Test more interesting," Raina said. — Agencies
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Cook figures out the way to 23 Kolkata, December 6 The first man to reach the mark of 22 centuries was an Englishman — Wally Hammond, way back in 1939. That number has proved unsurpassable until now. Hammond didn’t get another century due to the small matter of the second World War, which robbed him of six years of cricket. Colin Cowdrey too reached 22, followed by Geoffrey Boycott. England produced wonderful batsmen right through the 1970s and 1980s, when the number of Test matches being played suddenly increased — the names that spring immediately to the mind are Graham Gooch, David Gower, Mike Atherton, Alec Stewart, Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss. None of them made even 22 Test tons. England’s two candidates to become all-time greats, Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen, then reached the magic number of 22 within a matter of 10 minutes and two overs in Mumbai. Cook today got his 23rd. It has taken 73 years to move from Hammond’s old mark of 22 to 23. Cook is placed only joint 20th in the list of Test centuries, but he’s broken away from the past and is ready to forge his future as England’s captain and premier batsman. Cook is a worthy follower of the English tradition of great Test batsmanship. Today he became the youngest batsman in Test history to score 7,000 Test runs. He turns 28 on December 25, and has a realistic chance of playing for another Test years.
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Alastair Cook, in the form of his life, is not the man you should drop. Cheteshwar Pujara dropped Cook in the third over after lunch today -- a tough but must-catch chance by Test standards. Zaheer Khan, the bowler, looked aghast. Pujara seemed to be wishing for the ground to open beneath his feet and swallow him up. 
India’s men and women teams stole the limelight in the league matches of third Kabaddi World Cup played at the War Heroes Stadium, by defeating their rival teams with big margins. In the men’s section, India trounced Afghanistan 73-24 points, while in the women’s section India thrashed Denmark with a big margin of 43 points as the final score of the match was 60-17 points.
