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India seek short, sweet win
Notts bars players from IPL deals
Pak to arrive in Bangalore today
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Family reasons force Bairstow to return
After Tests, Pujara confident of excelling in ODIs, T20s
IPL-2013
India-SL-WI ODIs replace Test series
We hope to carry the momentum forward, says T20 hero Yuvraj
ranji trophy
Sindhu storms into semifinals
Chopra cards 64 to shoot to top
India beat Japan 3-1 in Asian CT JK Tyre TSD rally on December 28
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India seek short, sweet win
Mumbai, December 21 Having gained the winning momentum again, the hosts would be eager not to let it go out of grasp especially with the high-profile series against Pakistan to follow immediately after the conclusion of the T20 stint at the Wankhede Stadium. India will take on Pakistan in a two-match T20 series from December 25 to be followed by a three-game ODI series. England, who have suffered their first reversal to India in a bilateral T20 game after having lost two others in the World T20 events, would also look forward to squaring the rubber and returning home for Christmas and New Year on a high note. Though India cantered home last night, the home team has some issues to solve immediately in both batting and bowling to achieve their aim of a 2-0 whitewash In bowling, the beginning and end overs are still a worry with debutant Parvinder Awana, who had a poor game, and Ashok Dinda bowling too short yesterday to be punished by the hard-hitting Alex Hales who blitzed his way to 56 with seven fours and two sixes. Though Dinda came back later to bowl well and take two wickets, Awana’s nervousness cost him 29 runs in two overs at either end of the innings and he is expected to give way to Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Abhimanyu Mithun tomorrow. Even R Ashwin, who started off well and bowled a maiden over to the left-handed Michael Lumb before taking his wicket too, was carted around later to concede 33 runs. Ravindra Jadeja gave away 22 runs in three and Piyush 24 in the same number of overs. But for Yuvraj Singh’s brilliant stint in the middle overs, when he got 3 for 19 to halt Hales and Luke Wright from running away with the game, India could have conceded 15-20 more runs, a fact not lost on rival skipper Eoin Morgan. “We got off to a fantastic start - Alex and Luke really came together as a pair - but from there we didn’t really kick on,” said Morgan. Hales and Wright added 68 runs in quick time, thrashing the Indian bowlers, before Yuvraj turned the match around with a 3-19 spell that included both these batsmen’s wickets as well as Morgan’s. In batting too, India started off brilliantly before openers Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane threw away their wickets in close succession by trying to hit big. It was Yuvraj’s experience and his ability to clear the rope at will that helped the home country steady the innings and then surge to a comfortable victory with 13 balls to spare. The left-handed dasher smashed 38 in 21 balls to help India regain the early advantage. Then useful contributions from Virat Kohli (21), Suresh Raina, who was also needlessly run out for 26 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (24 not out), saw the home team cross the finish line. England too have their problems, the prominent among them is to find an effective spinner in the middle overs as Danny Briggs’ left-arm spin was taken to the cleaners along with James Tredwell’s off spin. Stuart Meaker provided the extra pace to trouble the Indian batsmen, including Yuvraj, and Tim Bresnan was also impressive, while Wright was effective with his slow medium bowling. In batting, Hales came good yesterday with his forthright batting. England would hope the others – Morgan – deliver in the last game of the format. — PTI Squads: 2nd T20 ENGLAND: Eoin Morgan (captain), James Harris, Jonny Bairstow, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Butler, Jade Dernbach, Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Stuart Meaker, Samit Patel, Joe Root, James Tredwell and Luke Wright.
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Notts bars players from IPL deals
Chandigarh, December 21 Michael Lumb, Alex Hales and Samit Patel, part of England’s Twenty20 squad in India, were reportedly keen to secure contracts for the lucrative IPL tournament. However, it’s not certain that the three would have been picked up by any of the IPL teams. “We were very clear that we expected all of our players to be available to us as we would be severely weakened if we were to lose them for that period of time at that stage of the season,” Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, told the cricket website, Espncricinfo. “The players asked me to consider releasing them to enable them to take part in the IPL but they are key members of the squad and I explained that we wouldn’t be able to allow them to take part.” Currently, only Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan are the two centrally contracted England players who have IPL contracts. That number may remain low if other counties follow Nottinghamshire’s lead and debar their players from joining the IPL. If a cricketer gets an IPL deal, he would be missing the first six weeks of the county season. Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad, Nottinghamshire players centrally contracted with the England Cricket Board (ECB), would have their IPL offers decided by the ECB. ECB contracts have clauses that allow them to appear in the IPL. Earlier this week MS Dhoni suggested that as England’s leading players are not available for the entire event it will make it difficult for them to earn deals with franchises. Indian captain MS Dhoni had said earlier this week that England has great talent who are not able to secure IPL deals because of unavailability for the whole tournament. “Most of the time when the IPL happens, I don’t think the English team has a clear period - so they’re not available for the full 45 to 50 days of cricket,” Dhoni said. “That’s a big concern when it comes to some of the IPL franchises.” — TNS
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Pak to arrive in Bangalore today
Bangalore, December 21
Ajmal all set to take Indian challenge
Karachi: Beginning the mind games ahead of the one-day series against the arch-rivals, ace Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal says he is ready to bamboozle the Indian batsmen with a new variety of deliveries.
“I have some varieties up my sleeves for the Indian batsmen," he said. Ajmal said the series will be a tough test for his side against Indian batting.
“For T20 and ODI's they have a strong batting set up and it is going to be a challenge against them. It does not matter whether I am bowling to Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli my aim is to get wickets for my team," he said. — PTI
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Family reasons force Bairstow to return
“Jonny Bairstow has gone home today from India tour for family reasons,” a brief ECB statement said yesterday. It turned out to be a disappointing India tour for Bairstow as he batted just once during England’s historic 2-1 Test-series win over India, scoring only nine runs in second Test in Mumbai. Bairstow was also ignored for yesterday’s first T20 match, which England lost by five wickets at the Subroto Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune. The second and final Twenty20 International of the series will be played here tomorrow. — PTI
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After Tests, Pujara confident of excelling in ODIs, T20s
Jaipur, December 21 “I too want to excel in all three forms of cricket and all cricketers have to change their technique accordingly. I am confident of doing well in shorter versions of the game because I have already done well in the Challenger series apart from the tours of Australia and New Zealand,” Pujara said. Pujara, whose return to the side has bolstered the Saurashtra’s batting line-up ahead of their Group A Ranji Trophy tie against two-time defending champions Rajasthan here, said that scoring a double century and a hundred against the quality England bowling attack has given him confidence to face challenges in the upcoming rubbers. “The England team consisted of world class bowling attack given the likes of Graeme Swann, who is considered to be the best spinner in the world, Monty Panesar and pacer James Anderson, who can reverse the ball. “To be able to hit a double century and a hundred and also the fact that I could spend much time at the crease has given me the confidence that I have the technique to do so. I wish to make more improvements and carry on with the same form in the future also,” said the right-handed batsman. Pujara was the top run-scorer for India against England with 438 runs under his belt at an impressive average of 87.60, with 206 not out in the Ahmedabad Test being his best. Pujara attributed the 1-2 series loss against England to lack of partnerships and revealed that the issue was discussed in one of the team meetings. “We lost the series because we lacked big partnerships. You need to have at least one 100-plus partnership to post a big total. The point was discussed too but unfortunately it did not happen. Our bowling too was reasonably good as we could keep them down to a modest total on day one in Nagpur Test but the wicket did not assist the spinners. However, Ishant Sharma did bowl well,” he said. Though, the ever-modest Pujara felt that it was not right to compare him with Rahul Dravid, who retired from international cricket in March this year, the Saurashtra batsman conceded that he likes when people talk about him as a possible replacement for the legendary Dravid. “I feel the comparison is not right. He has amassed more than 10,000 runs in Tests and ODIs and I have just started my career. I am in his touch and often talk to him. I haven’t discussed with him on how to prolong my career. Sena plans protests against Pakistan Shiv Sena renewed its opposition to the proposed tour of Pakistani cricket team which is arriving in Bangalore tomorrow to play the first bilateral series against India in five years. "We will oppose the Pakistan team's visit to India. Balasaheb Thackeray had taken this stand that unless and until Pakistan does not stop terror activities emanating from its soil, the party would continue to oppose Pakistan playing cricket in India," senior party leader Manohar Joshi said today. — PTI
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IPL-2013
New Delhi, December 21 The 2013 season’s lung opener could not have got any better as two of the strongest teams in the tournament will set the tone for the high-octane Twenty20 tournament over the next eight weeks. One of the many highlights of the sixth edition of the tournament will be the debut of Sunrisers Hyderabad, who joined the IPL fraternity in October this year. They will begin their IPL innings with a home game against Pune Warriors India on April 5. The tournament will be played in the same format as the 2012 edition. Each of the nine participating teams will play the other eight twice, at home and away basis. The top four teams, at the end of the round-robin stage on May 19 will qualify for the Playoffs. The Qualifier 1 and Eliminator games will be played at the M A Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai – the home ground of the IPL 2012 runners-up - on May 21 and May 22 respectively. The Qualifier 2 encounter and the Final, will be played at the Eden Gardens – the home ground of the 2012 edition winners – on May 24 and 26 respectively. As many as eleven venues have been confirmed to host the matches. The nine home venues apart, matches will be played at two arenas that will be making their ODI debuts in January. The last two ‘home’ games of the Kings XI Punjab will be played at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala, which has hosted seven IPL matches since 2010. The Jharkhand State Cricket Association International Stadium Complex at Ranchi, will host the last two ‘home’ games of the Kolkata Knight Riders. “The countdown to PEPSI IPL 2013 has begun. We are poised to witness a competition that will be as, if not more, spectacular, than its predecessors,” said IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla. “The greatest cricketers on this planet will join forces with the stars of the future, to deliver some exhilarating cricket for their respective teams. The teams will play hard, but fair, and the most consistent of the lot will be crowned the champion on 26 May 2013,” he added. — PTI
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India-SL-WI ODIs replace Test series
St. John’s, December 21 The West Indies were originally scheduled to host Sri Lanka in two Tests, three One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals but the tour has now been deferred to allow players from both teams to participate in the Indian Premier League. While the Tests have been put back, the one-dayers will be absorbed in the Tri-Nation Series. The West Indies will open the tournament with a clash with India at Sabina Park June 28 and two days later face Sri Lanka, who they beat in the final of the World T20 Championship last October. Three matches will be played at Sabina Park while four matches, including the final, will be staged at Queen’s Park Oval. The final will be contested by the two teams with the most points after the six preliminary round matches. For the West Indies, the Tri-Nations is part of a busy 2013 schedule which also sees Zimbabwe touring the Caribbean for two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20s, and Pakistan arriving for a limited-overs series. — IANS
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We hope to carry the momentum forward, says T20 hero Yuvraj
Mumbai, December 21 “In Twenty20s and ODIs, we have done well against them Hopefully, we can carry the momentum, particularly with the important series against Pakistan coming up," said Yuvraj. “Losing 4-0 (in Test series in England last year) and 2-1 (recently in the four-match Test series at home) was quite shattering. England played better cricket but we beat them 5-0 in the one-dayers," said Yuvraj. “It's important to win the first game and get a good start. If we lose we are again trying to win back. With youngsters the fielding is better,” he said. — PTI
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Paras, the touchstone for Himachal Pradesh; Punjab to take on Gujarat
Gaurav Kanthwal/TNS
Chandigarh, December 21
Paras is behind Punjab’s debutant Jiwanjot Singh (776 runs in 7 matches) and the top run getter Ravindra Jadeja (794 in 5 matches). Importantly, runs have come through Paras’s bat at a wicket which is not a featherbed but a seamers’ delight. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in Nadaun assists fast bowling and it is not easy to score runs but Dogra has been unrelenting this season. He cracked a double ton (210) as Himachal Pradesh scored 544 /6 and his knock meant that the team took massive first innings lead over Services. The match however was drawn in the end. “The conditions were tough and I had to really work hard to score runs. I am happy that I have been contributing in team’s cause consistently. Our batsmen need to put more runs on board and try to win games this season,” he said. The 28-year-old right hand batsman began with a century (121) against Kerela. Then came the marathon knock against Services in the second match. He hit a century (122) against Andhra Pradesh at Nadaun. Emboldened by his consistent performances, he has hit two unbeaten centuries (105), his fourth, against Tripura and 119 against Goa in the last three matches. The former HP captain said, "We need to have outright wins in our pocket to move up the table. There have been matches when we have been plain unlucky to have settled for a draw. The time has come when team needs to lift its performance. Hopefully, I will help the team with my form," he said. The Bhawarna-born player has played 61 first class matches and scored 3,981 runs at an average of 45.23. His strike rate too is decent at 51.73, with twelve hundreds, five of them coming this season, and 16 half centuries. An attacking player, he has played well in the shorter format of the game, scoring 509 runs in 32 matches at a strike rate of 98.64. HP next face Jammu and Kashmir at Jammu in the Group C tie. HP have played seven matches, lost one match and drawn six. They have 12 points and are way below at sixth place in their group.
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Lucknow, December 21 The world No. 23 and second seed in the tournament was hardly tested in her 21-13, 21-17 win over Angguni, the runners-up at the recently-concluded Tata Open in Mumbai. However, as many as three Indian challengers fell by the wayside in the men’s singles quarterfinal clashes. The day’s proceedings began on the back foot for the hosts as India’s K Srikanth lost 21-16, 21-12 to the 14th seed Tanongsak Saensom-boonsuk of Thailand in just 35 minutes. Thereafter, the script remained unchanged in the round of eight as hopes continued to be dashed for the local fans. The shuttlers from Indonesia with a much higher BWF rankings, proved unassailable for the Indian challengers in both skill and mind games, though the latter put up a stiff resistance till the last minute. Third seed Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia beat India’s RMV Gurusaidutt 19-21, 22-20, 21-16 to enter the semis while fifth seed Alamsyah Yunus overcame HS Prannoy 18-21, 21-10, 21-12 in a match which lasted for more than an hour. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Sugiarto, who earned a yellow card from the referee for wasting time. Later, Gurusaidutt said, “He (Tommy) was taking too much time in the break which was hindering my game and the flow.” In the women’s singles, the third seed from Thailand Sapsiree Taerattanachai had an easy outing against the fifth seed Indonesian Aprilla Yuswandari, winning 21-16, 21-11 in 40 minutes to sail into the semifinals. Joining her in the last four was the Japanese sixth seed and crowd favourite Nozomi Okuhara, who beat Malaysian Sannatasah Saniru 21-17, 21-12. In the mixed doubles, the Korean pair of Ji Wook Kang and Sang Joon Lee upset the sixth seed Indonesian pair of Andrei Adistia and Christopher Rusdianto 21-18, 22-20. However, Indonesians Fran Kurniawan and Shendy Puspa Irawati moved to the next stage, trouncing their Thai opponents Patiphat Chalardchaleam and Jongkonphan Kittiharakul 21-15, 21-16. — PTI
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Chopra cards 64 to shoot to top
Noida, December 21 Gaganjeet Bhullar, widely tipped as Jeev’s successor in Indian, golf was fourth at 67, while Jyoti Randhawa, Shiv Kapur and Mukesh Kumar carded 68 each. Jeev himself carded 69 and was lying tied eighth with Anirban Lahiri and Abhijit Chadha. Arjun Atwal shot 70. “The real business is next two days, but the scores were great today and the conditions excellent. More than anything the response to this event is overwhelming and I want to take it to next level, maybe Asian Tour,” said Jeev. The second round will see Jeev go out with Atwal and Randhawa, while Chopra will play with Lahiri and Bhullar. The draw has been made to ensure greater interest for spectators. Chopra, who has been in lead at various times over last two weeks in Thailand and Malaysia, carried on as he had a brilliant round with eight birdies, an eagle and two bogeys. “It was great. It was a fantastic. I played well, drove nicely, and putted nicely, despite missing two putts inside three feet. It could have been a really low round,” said Chopra, who was in top-10 last weeks and was in lead group on final day both times. “With the shot gun start I can’t remember where the birdies came, but the eagle was, I think, on 17. I had a mix of long and short putts. I missed a two-footer for birdie on 11th and missed a three-footer for par on 18th. The key here is driving straight and putting well,” he added. “I have a good start and I am in position again like last two weeks. I need to continue and close it over two more days.” “I had a slow start, one-under for front nine,” Bhullar said. “Then I picked up four birdies on back nine I gave a double bogey. I went into the trap and then I three-putted for a double bogey.” — PTI
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India beat Japan 3-1 in Asian CT Doha, December 21 Vice-captain Raghunath struck in the 22 minute but only to see Japan equalise in the 50th minute though a stroke. Raghu again brought India on top in the 59th minute. Gurwinder Chandi posted a goal in between in the 51st minute. India had defeated China in the opener 4-0 on Thursday with Ragunnath finding the net twice. Despite territorial dominance, India could not move the scoreboard well due to poor shooting and soft attempts at goal. It took 22 minutes for the Indians to break the logjam.Raghunath struck from second penalty corner to put India ahead. Japan equalised in the second half through Koji Kayukawa (50th min), but star striker of India Gurwinder replied in style in the next minute to put India again on top. India earned three penalty corners on the trot in the last 10 minutes of which again Raghunath converted the third to place India comfortably. Japan goalkeeper Akira Morishima had an outstanding performance under the cage on Friday and made the task of India very difficult. India took Japan easily in the first half and when showed enormous urgency in the second half, it got the dividends. Indian chief coach Michael Nobbs praised the Japanese for the good fight they put up. "They played really very well. Our defense was holding on to the ball for too long. We have to work on that, we don't play that way, that's not our style," the Australian said. "We committed a lot of silly mistakes, it costed us. In fact we should have got 4, 5, goals more. I think we played easy," Nobbs added.— PTI
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JK Tyre TSD rally on December 28 Chandigarh, December 21 “The Chandigarh rally is scheduled for December 28-29,” Head of Operations, Motorsport, JK Tyre and Industries Limited, Hari Singh said. He said that Chandigarh has been a breeding ground for rallying in India and has produced some of top rally drivers in the country including Sunny Sidhu, Gaurav Gill, S S Seekhon, besides Singh himself. Singh also informed that the rally will be flagged off from Chandigarh and would cover an approximate distance of 180kms passing through parts of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Morni Hills. India ace rallyist and one of the organizer Rohitaaz Kumar said, “It has been a tremendous first season of the JK Tyre-FMSCI Indian National TSD Rally championship so far.” “Having traversed the length and breath of the country in the previous four rounds, we are looking forward to the Chandigarh leg." Time Speed Distance (TSD) is a unique form of rallying where crossing the chequered flag fastest is not the objective, he said, adding that mostly conducted on public roads within the traffic rules with sporadic off-road and track sections, the objective of these rallies is to maintain specified times and average speeds on various segments of a predefined route. Being conducted under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the rally is part of India's first national TSD Championship and marks JK Tyre's return to rallying after a decade. — PTI JK Tyre-FMSCI Indian National TSD Rally Date: Dec 28-29 Scrutiny: Dec 28 Rally: Dec 29 Flag off: Lake Club, Chandigarh Finish: Tiker Taal (Morni Hills) Distance: 180kms
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After rebounding superbly from the Test loss to England with a convincing victory in the Twenty20 series opener, India would be keen to complete a clean sweep of the shortest format by winning the second and final game here tomorrow.
Mumbai, December 21
True to his name, he has been somewhat like a touchstone this season. With five centuries in seven matches played so far, the HP batsman has amassed 742 runs in just 10 innings at an average of 92.75. His highest score being 210 against Services this season. He is third among the top run getters in 2012-13 Ranji season. And he is not finished yet. The 28-year-old right hand batsman has been one of the pillars of Himachal Pradesh batting lineup and the team has been banking on his knocks for quite some time now.
