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India Vs england day 3 |
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Indian bowling exposed again
Share a good rapport with Chef
Our batsmen can force a draw: Ojha
Pitch doctor in trouble with BCCI over remarks
ranji trophy
Delhi hope for turnaround against Karnataka
3rd World Cup
Kabaddi
Indian women trap shooters win silver, team gold
Beginning of a new era in Indian hockey: Sardar
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Tough day pushes India to edge
Cook, KP flog bowling as hosts see match slipping way from their hands Rohit Mahajan /TNS
Kolkata, December 7 It proved to be a hollow triumph. The last hour saw Samit Patel, Matt Prior and Graeme Swann rapidly regain the territory the Indians seemed to have gained earlier in the day. They flogged the nearly lifeless India bowling attack without mercy — 86 runs came off the last 16 overs, for the loss of only Patel. The possibility of getting at the England tail today – the tail is longer than before, due to the inclusion of Steven Finn — ended abruptly. The illusion of an Indian revival was dispelled cruelly.
Reality looks India in the eye sternly and conveys a wordless warning — 193 runs behind already, and with England only six wickets down, India are in the danger of losing this match by an innings, which would be their second big defeat in a row. India have not lost two Tests in a row at home since 2000, the year South Africa beat them in Mumbai and Bangalore. England know they can do it, must do it from here on. India had got back into the game a bit in the space of some 23 overs. England had gone from 338 for one to 420 for five, losing batting majors Jonathan Trott, Cook, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen. Before this, the match had not been a contest of equals -- schoolboyish Indians against the steady professionals from England. But at 420/5, with England just 104 runs ahead, India’s bowling had the opportunity to bring a semblance of a contest in this match. India got lucky with wickets
That did not happen. It also reminded us that the four English wickets that had fallen had not been due to the relentless excellence of India’s bowling -- fortune had played a large part in it. Only Trott got a good ball, from Ojha; it turned across the face of his bat, brushed its edge and was received gratefully by MS Dhoni. Cook, though, had been run out for 190 entirely due to his own fault. After backing up at the non-striker’s end, he actually shrunk away from the crease, withdrew his bat from the line, as he tried to avoid being hit by the ball thrown in from midwicket by Virat Kohli. Ian Bell, new father to young Joseph Williams Bell, whose birth he presided over recently and thus missed the win at Mumbai, drove carelessly at Ishant Sharma and edged the ball to Dhoni. Pietersen was attempting to wake up the crowd --lulled into a gentle slumber by the beautiful excess of fish and fish and the careful sloth of Cook and Trott -- with some lusty hits. But he laid bare his stumps as he tried to sweep Ravichandran Ashwin, missed the ball and was out LBW. Patel’s wicket was manufactured by Virender Sehwag at slip -- he still has quick eyes and hands, and lunged out at a ball flying up and to his right, parried it overhead and caught it at second attempt. Patel had struck five fours in his 33 and can look into the mirror without flinching —this one was for the team, for England were then quite secure (453, 137 runs ahead) and needed to accelerate. England lost a Test in India —Chennai 2008, after dominating for more than three days — mainly due to slow batting in their second innings and the brilliance of Sehwag’s second-innings 83. They didn’t want that fate to fall upon them here -- Sehwag is still around and still dangerous. England wanted quick runs in the last session. That job was done admirably by Prior and Swann, who have added 56 runs in 13 overs. In contrast, the batsmen had played with caution in the first two sessions. Trott had played 223 balls for his 87; Cook played 141 today in adding 54 runs to his overnight 136. The Indian fielding, having reached a nadir yesterday, looked better today, essentially due to the catch created by Sehwag and the direct hit by Kohli that made the gentle, obliging Cook gift his wicket. But Cook was dropped today too, a simple return catch spilled by Ishant. The track didn’t offer much to the seamers today, or they weren’t able to get much out of it. The spinners got some turn, but the bounce wasn’t dangerously variable. There are cracks on the wicket, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it would crumble; Pakistan survived on the last day in Bangalore 2007 on such a wicket — that one had refused to break despite the pleading insistence of the experts and commentators. To survive here, India would need the track to remain harmless. And on top of that, they must conjure a defensive masterclass in their second innings. That seems quite unlikely — Indian batsmen aren’t defensive geniuses. SCOREBOARD India 316 England 509/6 (163.0 ov) Cook run out 190 |
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Indian bowling exposed again
Kolkata, December 7 It’s not a far-fetched analogy. Right from the second innings of the first Test, the series has been a pain for the Indian bowlers. They bowled 229 overs in a row in Ahmedabad; 121 in the first innings in Mumbai, and have bowled 163 over two days. The returns have been very dispiriting after the first innings at Ahmedabad; and the English batsmen have dealt with India’s bowlers, both pacers and spinners, with increasing confidence and authority. England have topped 500 for the first time in India since 1985; they’ve bettered their previous Kolkata best of 403, made in 1934. The Indian bowling, conversely, has floundered. Ravichandran Aswhin, in particular, has become a massive headache for captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He came into the series as the lead spinner but his performance has declined dangerously. After picking up three for 80 in 27 overs in the first innings at Ahmedabad, he has been handled with the greatest ease by England. In the four subsequent innings, he has bowled 141.3 overs, given away 461 runs and picked up only four wickets. In three of those four innings, he has conceded over 100 runs. Today was the seventh time that Ashwin conceded 100 or more runs in an innings in the 20 innings he has bowled in in Tests cricket — a worryingly high rate. Though inconsistent and troubled by injuries, Zaheer has been key to the Indian bowling attack over the last five years. The tracks have been unhelpful in India, but he’s been outbowled by Umesh Yadav in Ahmedabad and James Anderson here. Zaheer averages nearly 52 in the eight Tests he’s played (including the current one) this year, with the strike rate of a wicket every 17 overs. Ishant Sharma got a look-in here only because of the injury to Yadav; Sharma averages 110 this year in four Tests. With performances such as these, it’s no surprise that India are struggling even at home, especially as England are determined and well-prepared. Then again, India’s bowling has always been suspect. The famous wins abroad in the last decade were caused by rare individual bursts -- Zaheer in Durban 2010, RP Singh and Irfan Pathan in Perth 2008, Zaheer in Nottingham 2007, Sreesanth in Johannnesburg 2006, Ajit Agarkar in Adelaide 2003, for instance. These were not legacy-making performances. At home, it has been spin, and the extremely powerful batting line-up to crush the opposition bowlers. India’s strong batting has been shielding the weak bowling. Now that there are chinks, holes in the batting line-up, the bowlers have nowhere to hide. cook spoils broth
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Share a good rapport with Chef
"When you play a lot of cricket together it (the understanding) develops with time. You realise the sort of language and terminology your partner talks out there and you go about it easily," Trott said about his partnership with Cook. "We sort of talk in the same way about our batting, understand it and go about our business," the right-hander said. "We didn't want to put too much of pressure on us having had a great (second) day. We wanted to continue the good work. But it's disappointing not to have got a few more," Trott said about missing out on a triple figure mark. Trott was all praise for his an unflappable and unflinching Cook, who is having a dream tour after having registered his third century in the series. "He (Cook) has been playing magnificently over the last couple of months and years. It's always nice to get an opportunity to bat with him. He has a got a good rhythm," Trott said about his captain. Asked about Cook's freak dismissal, Trott said, "He didn't say anything. Obviously he was upset but that's the way it is. He would be very disappointed but he is someone who doesn't like to express his emotions." "I just put it down as a freak dismissal. I think if he had put his bat the down and lifted the other way he would have been not out. I think he was trying to do that but got just caught in between," he said. "It's really disappointing for him and the team to get out in such a way and miss a double hundred." Asked whether the Indian spin duo of R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha were less intimidating in the ongoing Test, Trott said, "They are a good pair and bowl well together. We saw in the first Test, they can be a handful. — PTI
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Our batsmen can force a draw: Ojha
"I think the pitch wasn't doing much. It was a straight wicket and the outfield is very fast. The batsmen don't have to do much," the left-arm spinner said. About their chances of a return in the Test, he put up a brave face. "Our guys are quite confident of saving the match. We have a good record on this ground. The way the wicket is playing, I'm quite confident that we would do well. The first session is very important. If we get early one or two England wickets, then the the tail would open out. It's a very good batting wicket though." Ojha conceded that after a certain point of time, he stopped attacking and concentrated on the flow of runs. "I had to bowl to my field without giving them easy runs. Yesterday, I was trying a bit more for early wickets. Then I spoke to myself that I should not be giving easy runs. It's not about getting defensive. It's just about not giving easy boundary balls." He tried to defend the shoddy show by Ravichandran Ashwin. "We are putting tremendous effort. Myself and Ashwin are trying very hard." Bowling coach Joe Dawes' role has often come under scanner but the youngster said that the Queenslander's inputs have been useful. "Joe always keeps working with us. He talks about the angles and variation with the crease. He's good enough He's got some knowledge." Asked why he did not come round the wicket, Ojha said: "Yesterday, I tried bowling round the wicket to Cook but he was easily sweeping the ball. But with the change in angle, it was a bit difficult for him to sweep and more chance to get leg before." Ojha said that words of advice from seniors like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag is really helpful. "Viru paaji and Sachin Paaji give us valuable advice and they really come in handy. Even we get a lot of inputs from Duncan (Fletcher)." Ojha feels that the Indian spinners should stick to their natural game. — PTI SMART STATS
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Pitch doctor in trouble with BCCI over remarks
Mumbai, December 7 BCCI vice president Niranjan Shah today hit out at Mukherjee for what he called a breach of the Board's "code of conduct" and said the curator cannot escape punishment now. "Tell me, which other curator in the past has gone and talked to the media like he has done. There is a code of conduct that the Board has established and he should have adhered to it instead of airing his views in the media. He cannot go scot free," Shah, a former secretary of the BCCI, told PTI from Rajkot. Mukherjee was in the centre of a huge controversy prior to the beginning of the third Test when he termed the demand of India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for a turning track at the Eden as "unethical". He even threatened to go on medical leave when the BCCI sent East Zone member of the Board's pitches and grounds committee Ashish Bhowmick to oversee the preparation of the wicket, after 83-year-old Mukherjee refused to toe Dhoni's line. "It is unethical to tamper with the pitch as per the liking of the captain. I have not done it in my life. Why now? , he had asked. — PTI
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Buoyant Punjab face stern Mumbai test
The home team, third in the pool standings with 10 points from four games behind toppers Punjab (29 from 5) and Madhya Pradesh (11 from 4), would look for an outright victory. Punjab, on a roll this season by winning four games, would also be keen to beat the 39-time champions in their own den after losing to Mumbai by nine wickets in their previous match here. The visiting team has been propped up by the return to the helm of Harbhajan Singh, released by the Indian team management in Kolkata to play this game along with Mumbai's Ajinkya Rahane. Both of them failed to find a berth in the playing XI in the ongoing third Test against England. Harbhajan would be fired up to get back to his best and ensure his berth in the playing XI for the fourth Test commencing two days after the scheduled end of the Ranji game, marking his 100th Test. Tie is crucial for Mumbai: Agarkar
Mumbai captain Ajit Agarkar said the match is crucial from the point of view of the team's progress to the knockout stage. "We are third in the group and we still have to play the two teams who are ahead of us. I don't think we are going to get too many seaming tracks when we travel away from Mumbai, or a turner. We have seen the scores in Rajkot and I don't expect much.” — PTI |
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Delhi hope for turnaround against Karnataka
Bangalore, December 7 While Delhi have 11 points from five matches despite couple of defeats, Karnataka are languishing right at the bottom of the nine-team league table with only five points from four matches. It's a must-win situation for both the teams and a result-oriented wicket will be on offer as the two teams prepare to lock horn. "It is difficult when you lose a match like the last one in Lahli. But we have had a couple of good sessions since w arrived in Bangalore. The boys have looked sharp in the training session and will not like to repeat the mistakes made in the last match," chief coach Vijay Dahiya said on Saturday. — PTI
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Argentina prove superior to Kenyan might
Deepankar Sharda/tns
Ropar, December 7 The athletes from both sides were full of stamina and muscle-power as Argentina prevailed over Kenya 55-22 in the ongoing third Kabaddi World Cup tournament on Friday. The Kenyan side never looked like minnows and proved out to be tough rivals to beat. Both the teams played at par till 19-19 but raider Yuri put the team ahead by grabbing four points in a row while defender Aljendro gathered five points for the team to lock the first half at 28-21. In second half, the duo again proved out to be hard nut to crack for Kenyan side, as they gathered a total of 15 points and posted a lead of 43 points while Evan and Custain contributed six points to lock the points tally at 53 points. On the other hand, the stoppers failed to carry forward their form as only Maingi (11points) and Kamar (17points) shared the honours. In the second match, the women's team from Malaysia registered an outright win over USA (45-18). Gripping the match from the very first minute, the Malaysian stoppers successfully halted the inexperienced American raiders and initiated team's win with ease. The team sealed the first half with a score of 21-9 with stopper Rekha gathering the highest 9-points for the team, while for USA side, skipper Guramrit scored 9 points. In another tight clash, the team from Iran upset USA 45-41 after ending the first half at 21points each. The match witnessed a tough tiff with both teams’ raiders and stoppers giving their best. For the wining side, Matkala (10 points) and Ali Raza (5 points) ensured team's victory while for losing side, raider Inderjeet gathered 16 points. Jaskaran also managed to score 4 points. Earlier on Thursday, 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. 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.
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Indian women trap shooters win silver, team gold
Patiala, December 7 In the women final of the second Asian Shotgun Championship, at the New Moti Bagh Gun Club the Kuwait shooter Alhawal Sarah won gold by scoring a total of 84 points (61+23) while close second was Shagun Choudhry settled for silver with a total of 83 points (64+19). Sirani Epideh of Iran scored 78 points (64+14) to win a bronze. “Though I bagged a silver medal today, but I just missed my last shot to settle for silver. You know it when you are shooting well and once then you fail to win it becomes really irritating. Infact it is saddening,” Shagun said.
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Beginning of a new era in Indian hockey: Sardar
"This will enable us to forget the disappointments of recent past. It is certainly the beginning of a new era in Indian Hockey. Champions Trophy is the biggest tournament after Olympics and World Cup and this success has given us new confidence," Sardar said. After defeating Belgium in the quarterfinal, India are now in the hunt for their first medal since the lone Champions Trophy bronze in 1982. This will also be India's best finish since 2004 when they lost the bronze medal-match to end fourth. Sardar has another reason to celebrate as he has been nominated for the FIH player of the year award for the first time in his career. FIH will announce the winner tomorrow in Melbourne. Jamie Dwyer (Aus), Moritz Fürste (Ger), Tobias Hauke (Ger), Robert van der Horst (Ned) are also in the fray. He said that the team is playing well as a unit. "Team is playing well as a unit. Commitment of players is commendable as they are trying to do their best despite injuries. The young brigade is also doing well. We can make a decent pool for the future, including these youngsters and the seniors who have been dropped post Olympic." The success is the result of teamwork, but the star centre half admitted that there were still many grey areas left. HI name unchanged squad for Asian Champions Trophy
Senior players continue to miss the bus as defending champions India named an unchanged 18-member squad under Sardar Singh for the second Asian Champions Trophy, Doha from December 20-27. India will open its campaign against China on Dec 20 followed by Japan (December 21). — PTI |
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Kolkata, December 7
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Kolkata, December 7
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