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Under-fire Dhoni goes on defensive
England rest Anderson, Trott from ODIs
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Indo-Pak series on course: BCCI
Siddle cleared of ball-tampering claims; Aussies beat Lanka
No Indian in Top-20 Test batsmen, Sachin slips to 22nd
Punjab’s bull run ends with a loss to MP
Shooters Vijay, Narang bright spots of year
Saina eyes All England C’ship
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Under-fire Dhoni goes on defensive
Nagpur, December 19 The 1-2 defeat hurts Ganguly, a proud man whose strong leadership in the first few years of this century played a role in India’s improved home and away record over the last 12 years. Some of Dhoni’s moves in Nagpur did seem quite inexplicable. Why did he not, for instance, place more men in catching positions around the batsmen in England’s two innings? Why did he let the game drift away, waiting in the hope that the batsmen would make an error, or the cracked pitch would produce an unplayable delivery? Why did he let the Indian tailenders bat without a hint of urgency on the fourth morning, when 29 runs were scored in an hour’s play? On the rapidly dying, unhelpful wicket, time was of essence, India needed to find as much of it as possible to have a go at England’s batsmen. Ravichandran Aswhin later said that it was difficult for the tail to bat faster against a bowler of the quality of James Anderson. Why play on, then? Dhoni did declare four runs short of England’s 330, but why not earlier, in the morning or when India could manage just four runs off the first four overs, in 23 minutes of desultory play? These are questions that bother Ganguly, and he’s unable to find a convincing explanation for Dhoni’s motives.“He had to make a fight out of it in this Test match,” Ganguly said. “England were ready to play the waiting game. And I really didn’t understand the field settings at all stages of the game.” “In the first innings, I understand what he did... He had lost the toss and had to control England on a good batting pitch,” Ganguly told the Tribune. “But on a fourth and fifth day pitch when we needed to win, he should have attacked. England would have scored runs quicker, but that shouldn’t have mattered, because that was his only chance. Dhoni could have come back into the match only by taking wickets. I don’t think he had enough fielders around the bat to keep the pressure on England.” When Dhoni was asked about his field placements, the absence of close catchers for most of the match, he said his decisions were forced by the dullness of the pitch. “We bowled for 10 hours and we got three batsmen out (in the second innings),” Dhoni explained. “The easier thing to do is to have three slips, four slips and even eight slips. But the wicket should support that. Okay, I didn’t have a short leg or silly point for a long time, but how many balls went there?” That’s exactly the question former captain Sunil Gavaskar addressed. "England batted well, but you do not position a forward-short leg or silly point to get a catch there; you do that to force a batsman to give a catch some place else,” Gavaskar said on Monday. “Trott or Bell might have done something stupid then. India could have attacked more.” “You have to try, that’s the key!” former England captain Geoff Boycott cried out with urgency, surprised by India’s lack of fight. “Dhoni didn’t try. I didn’t understand Indian cricket. If the tailenders couldn’t score quickly on the fourth morning, then declare! If I were an Indian selector, I would have gone down and asked the captain what was going on. And when England batted, Dhoni had to put four men around the bat... That may have allowed England to get away, to score quicker. But if you don’t take wickets, you can’t win a match you needed to win.” Dhoni deserves much praise for his amazing mental strength. His 99, in 398 minutes off 246 balls, was his longest, most patient innings. He managed to remain calm despite the storm of controversy over him being allegedly saved from the sack earlier this year by N Srinivasan, BCCI president and owner of his IPL team, Chennai Super Kings. This was an astounding innings from a man with his limited technique. “It’s very easy to sit outside and say we need a fielder here, we need a fielder there, Dhoni said after the match ended. "A lot of things you have to see, not just sit there and say we need to be aggressive. Aggression is not all about putting a short leg, a silly point or having a slip. On this wicket, we got three wickets in 10 hours, you are saying (you should) have a few more fielders up and they (batsmen) will get out. Doesn’t happen that way.” Dhoni’s way it was, then, with deeply unsatisfactory results. The demands for his head have already begun. Gavaskar, for one, wants Dhoni to be replaced by Virat Kohli. The next few months days and months are going to be interesting — and, on the evidence of the quality of India's batting, bowling and fielding against England, quite distressing as well. QUOTE SHOOT
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England rest Anderson, Trott from ODIs
Pune, December 18 The visitors have also included young batsman Joe Root in the Twenty20 squad for the upcoming two-matches. "Woakes and Buttler get their chance," the ECB said. The first T20 games is scheduled for Thursday in Pune and Saturday in Mumbai. Woakes, who is currently playing domestic cricket in New Zealand, has played six ODIs, taking seven wickets at 29.14 and scoring 72 runs. Buttler, the 22-year-old Somerset batsman, only has one ODI cap under his belt. Root was added to the T20 squad that was weakened by the injury to Stuart Broad, who will be replaced as captain by Eoin Morgan. T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (C), Jonny Bairstow, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Stuart Meaker, Samit Patel, James Tredwell, Luke Wright, Joe Root, James Harris ODI squad: Alastair Cook (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes, Jos Buttler. — PTI Vinay out, Mithun in
Karnataka medium pacer R Vinay Kumar was ruled out of the Twenty20 series against England due to a strained right calf muscle, paving the way for state mate Abhimanyu Mithun's return to the Indian squad. |
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Indo-Pak series on course: BCCI
New Delhi, Deccember 18 "There is no question of calling off the tour. All the arrangements have been made and the tour was planned much earlier. Politics should not be mixed with sports and the tour will go on," senior BCCI official and IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla told PTI. Yesterday in the Parliament, the BJP had accused Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde of remaining silent by not responding appropriately to Malik, who triggered controversy by equating 26/11 Mumbai attack with Babri Masjid demolition and describing LeT terrorist Abu Jundal as an operative of Indian intelligence agency. New Delhi has rubbished Malik's assertions. Senior BJP leader Yashwant Singh said, "The Indo-Pak cricket series (commencing on December 25) should be cancelled. "What kind of goodwill we are creating by playing cricket matches after Malik's visit," he told reporters outside Parliament House. "...our Home Minister has shown weakness by not responding to Rehman Malik in kind. He should have immediately responded, if he (Malik) used hard words, he (Shinde) should have used hard words," Sinha said. "If you (Malik) insulted India, you (Shinde) should have said we don't accept it. He (Shinde) should have contradicted the Pakistani Interior Minister's statement then and there." India are scheduled to play two Twenty20s and three one-dayers against Pakistan starting December 25. Online booking for India-England match
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government has allowed online ticket booking for the India-England Twenty20 match to be played at the Wankhede stadium on December 22. The tickets can be booked online and would be made available to the people at the stadium. The decision has been taken in view of maintaining law and order and streamlining the ticket sales, government officials said. Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will have to print the tickets or get it done through authorised agencies. — PTI |
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Siddle cleared of ball-tampering claims; Aussies beat Lanka
Hobart, December 18 Sri Lanka made an unofficial approach to Broad to complain that man-of-the-match Siddle had lifted the seam of the ball during Australia's 137-run victory, citing television footage as evidence. Broad said the umpires "found no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball had been changed," despite frequently inspecting the ball and reviewing the footage. Broad's decision means Siddle will not face any charge from the International Cricket Council over the allegations. Siddle took 4-50 in Sri Lanka's second innings for match figures of 9-104. Sri Lanka lost the first Test by 137 runs on Tuesday. Siddle and left-armer Starc, who took 5-63 in the second innings, caught fire after tea to bowl the tourists out for 255. Broad said the Lankan management had been informed that there was no proof of ball-tampering against Australian players. Senanayake had raised doubts that the ball was tampered. Interestingly, Australian wicketkeeper shed his pads and gloves to bowl a maiden over. — Reuters SCOREBOARD Australia 1st ings 450-5 d
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No Indian in Top-20 Test batsmen, Sachin slips to 22nd
Tendulkar, who dropped three places to 22nd, managed to aggregate a mere 112 runs with a lone half-century in the Kolkata Test. The other notable Indian batsmen like Virender Sehwag and Cheteshwar Pujara also slipped in the rankings, dropping a notch to 25th and 26th respectively. Virat Kohli gained four places to be ranked 37th while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained static at 38th. In bowling, Pragyan Ojha lost four places to be ranked ninth while R Ashwin made it to the 20th position after gaining two spots. Out of form seamer Zaheer Khan was static at 15th while Ishant Sharma's improved show in the Nagpur Test helped him gain a place to 32nd. Clarke, who entered the Hobart Test trailing number-one ranked Shivnarine Chanderpaul by just one ratings point, now leads the West Indian by nine points. Clarke's knocks of 74 and 57 in the Hobart Test against Sri Lanka that was won by Australia by 137 runs, played a part in helping him race to the top. — PTI
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Punjab’s bull run ends with a loss to MP
Chasing a 190-run target, Madhya Pradesh overcame two early jolts to chase down the required runs in 45.3 overs. The hosts earlier shot out Punjab for 364 as the two overnight batsmen —Sandeep Sharma (28) and Baltej Singh (8) could resists the home bowlers for just 5.1 overs. Punjab, who were following on, had began the day at 354 for eight at Captain Roop Singh Stadium. MP's chase was not ideal as they lost opener Naman Ojha (0) and Anand rajan (6) inside the first five overs. Paceman Sandeep Sharma had Ojha caught behind in the fifth ball of the innings and then he trapped Rajan in his third over. Saxena and Bundela though batted well to steer the side to a comfortable victory. Bundela's 100 came off 132 balls with the help of 11 fours and five sixes. Saxena faced 120 balls in his unbeaten knock and helped himself with 10 boundaries including two sixes. Brief Scores: Madhya Pradesh: 323 and 193 for 2 in 45.3 overs (D Bundela 100 not out, J Saxena 72 not out; S Sharma 2/39); Punjab 148 and 364 (f/o) in 97.1 overs. HP seal a draw
Himachal Pradesh`s Paras Dogra batted with resolve to score an unbeaten century even as Goa walked away with three points by virtue of taking the first-innings lead in Group C match at Porvorim. Dogra struck a defiant 205-ball 119 not out, his 13th first-class hundred and the season`s second, while Mukesh Sharma made an unbeaten 51 to seal a draw on the final day at the District Institute of Education and Training Ground. HPare sixth on the table with 12 points, while Goa have moved up to seventh place with an equal number of points but they have played a game less than Himachal. In their second essay, Himachal Pradesh were off to a disastrous start as they lost their openers, skipper Aakash Chopra (0) and Nikhil Gangta (5) with just 13 runs on the board. Next man-in, Mukesh, then combined well with Dogra and denied the hosts any further success. Dogra struck 12 fours and three sixes in his 205-ball stay at the crease. For Goa, Harshad Gadekar was the pick of the bowlers with two for 48 while Saurabh Bandekar and Shadab Jakati scalped a wicket each. Brief Scores: HP 338; 237/4 in 71.4 overs (Paras 119*, Mukesh 51*, Harshad 2/48); Goa 1st innings: 347 in 143.3 overs (Reagan 85, Swapnil 81; Rahul 5/71). —PTI Chargers now sun risers
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Indian Premier League team, formerly the Deccan Chargers, will be known as the Sun Risers from the 2013 season of the tournament, said Sun TV Network, the new owners said. The Kalanithi Maran-owned group made the announcement in Chennai on Tuesday. The unveiling of the logo will be done in Hyderabad on Thursday (December 20). The Sun TV Network won the bid for the Hyderabad franchise at a price of Rs 85.05 crores (850.5 million) per year for the next five years, significantly higher than the second highest bid of 69.02 crores from PVP Ventures. The new franchise thus becomes the second most expensive team in IPL after Pune Warriors India (Rs 702 crores for 7 years). — PTI |
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Shooters Vijay, Narang bright spots of year
New Delhi, December 18 There were huge expectations from the Indians even before they left for the British capital but the hype, perhaps, was a trifle misplaced as the biggest ever shooting contingent returned with just a silver and a bronze.The unassuming Vijay provided the shooting squad with a silver lining when he clinched the white metal in the 25-metre rapid-fire pistol event, a few days before the mercurial Narang bagged a bronze medal in the 10-metre air rifle showpiece. But Abhinav Bindra failed to reproduce the form that saw him win India's first individual Olympic gold medal, in the Beijing Games four years ago. The reserved rifleman from Zirakpur, Punjab could not even qualify for the final of his event — the 10-metre air rifle. The biggest letdown, however, has been Ronjan Sodhi. Athletes can take part OCA Games but not officials: OCA
The Olympic Council of Asia has barred officials of the suspended IOA from participating in OCA events, but said "as a special case" Indian atheltes will be allowed to take part in the OCA Games, including the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon under the IOC flag. The OCA's decision came in the wake of the suspension imposed on IOA by the International Olympic Committee earlier this month. — PTI |
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Saina stressed on developing the basic structure in the country in order to make it compete with China. As a part of the association with Sahara India, Saina will don Sahara logo while playing at tournaments worldwide. Saina said that the international badminton calender is very busy and it is very difficult for any player to excel at the international level for a prolonged period. Saina said, "It's a great honour to be associated with Sahara India Pariwar which apart from being a huge business conglomerate, has also done tremendously for the cause of promotion of sports in India. "This has certainty boosted my confidence and I am sure that I will be able to bring pride to the nation." — PTI
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Hobart, December 18
At the moment I don't really see a viable alternative. I really think Dhoni can be the man to take India forward if he has the energy, passion and the enjoyment to do it. It's really going to come down to a lot of these players actually sitting back themselves, once the emotion has gone back, and calmly reassessing where they're at, and their roads to the future they have to take Indian cricket forward. If Dhoni has it, I believe he is the right man but that's up to him
Dhoni had to make a fight out of it in this Test match. England were ready to play the waiting game. And I really didn’t understand the field settings at all stages of the game. In the first innings, I understand what he did... He had lost the toss and had to control England on a good batting pitch. But on a fourth and fifth day pitch when we needed to win, he should have attacked
India are not the force they have been in the past. Two great batsmen have retired in VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid while Sachin Tendulkar is no longer the great player he once was. Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan have been fine bowlers but are past their best. You could say touring India is a bit easier now because the hotels are better, English food in the big cities is excellent and travelling is so much easier
Dubai, December 18
Gwalior, December 18
Lucknow, December 18