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After defeat, seniors under scrutiny
Indian captain M.S. Dhoni in despair after the heavy defeat in the second One-dayer in Kolkata.
Indians look jaded: Abbas
Kotla readies for 3rd
One-dayer
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IPL focus to blame for India’s woes, say Gavaskar & Imran
SA crush Kiwis in less than 3 days
Australia edge ahead of
Sri Lanka
Uttrakhand, Railways win titles
Discuss demands or we won’t play Davis Cup: Indian players IndianayersAITAfinal tie
Cilic, Wawrinka ousted in Chennai
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After defeat, seniors under scrutiny
New Delhi, January 4 Talented Cheteshwar Pujara is all set to get a call-up when the selectors meet here on Sunday to choose the team for the upcoming five-match ODI series against England starting in Rajkot from January 11. There is a high possibility that one among Gambhir and Sehwag will be getting the boot while M.S. Dhoni’s good show with the bat against Pakistan will put captaincy speculation to rest for the time being. Pujara’s entry is almost certain after his splendid double century against MP at Rajkot where he reached 200 from 150 in only 17 deliveries. Also the first match will be played on the Rajkot featherbed where Pujara has scored 90 percent of his runs. Gambhir has two centuries and two half centuries having scored 388 runs at an average of 38.80 his last 10 ODIs while Sehwag has managed a meagre 238 runs at a dismal average of 23.80 in his last 10 ODI appearances. But it is their prolonged failure to provide a good start that has hurt the team the most. The selectors will be meeting at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground after the third and final ODI against Pakistan and some of the players may still retain their position by putting up a good performance. As of now, the five wise men led by Sandeep Patil want young Ajinkya Rahane to get a long rope as he has been warming the bench in the 50-over format for nearly one year now. However, the selectors would like to keep at least one of the two seniors in the squad due to their vast experience. The committee will also keep a tab on the performance of Murali Vijay and Abhinav Mukund, who will be playing for India A against England on the same day at the Palam ground. Rohit Sharma is another player who is expected to get the boot after a string of failures during which he has managed only single-digit scores. MP all-rounder Jalaj Saxena, who has been a consistent performer for India A over the last season is in the running to replace Rohit. The India A match against England will also be important as one would get the measure of S Sreesanth’s fitness as he would spearhead the attack against Alastair Cook and Co. The series defeat against England has also raised speculation over the future of coach Duncan Fletcher and many of the other support staff. Fletcher’s stint with India has not brought about the desired results and it looks unlikely that his contract will be renewed. — PTI |
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Indians look jaded: Abbas
New Delhi, January 4 “I did not expect such wins. It was a battle of nerves and Pakistan did better to win it. On the contrary, the Indian players were tired. They have played too much cricket recently and have not performed to the potential," Abbas said. He lauded Pakistan’s team-work. “Pakistan has done exceptionally well. Nasir (Jamshed) and (Mohammed) Hafeez were particularly brilliant,” he said. — PTI |
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Kotla readies for 3rd
One-dayer
New Delhi, January 4 The chilly, murky weather had only compounded Venkat’s anxiety as the sun has been playing hide and seek, and a cold wave has been sweeping the region, for the past few days. Though the intense cold continues to freeze Delhi, it was a bright day today, making the curator a happy and hopeful. “After the Ranji matches, the wickets had turned brown. We had to really work hard to turn it green. The Ferozeshah Kotla ground now looks like the grounds in Australia or South Africa”, Venkat told The Tribune. “It would be a good batting track, and the team posting 250 runs or thereabouts look like making it good on this wicket”, Venkat added. The Pakistan players will certainly relish the look and expected behaviour of the pitch, as they have both the batsmen and bowlers to make maximum purchase out of the wicket. “The Pakistan team have been winning on all sorts of wickets, and on a good batting wicket like the Kotla, they should do well”, Venkat surmised. The former North Zone opening batsman said the ground should witness a riveting contest, if the players apply themselves, and the weather holds out well, never mind the fact that Pakistan have wrapped up the three-match series after their emphatic victory at the Eden Gardens on January 3. Though Anil Kumble’s swan song haul of 10 for 74 in the 1999 Test match at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground had decimated Pakistan to help India level the two-Test series (Pakistan had won the first Test in Chennai by 12 runs), Pakistan posted a mammoth 303 in the 2005 ODI series to pummel India by 159 runs. Shoaib Malik had cracked 72 to win the Man of the Match award. That was the last of the six-match ODI series, which Pakistan won. Despite the match having only academic interest, the tickets, put on sale through the branches of a bank and on-line, were sold out in the first two hours after opening sale yesterday. Though both the teams have landed in Delhi, they preferred to rest, than have net sessions.
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IPL focus to blame for India’s woes, say Gavaskar & Imran
New Delhi, January 4
“If you look at the events that took place immediately after the 2011 World Cup, you will know the guys who actually took their places for granted, those who did not make themselves available and preferred to play in the IPL and then go for surgeries," Gavaskar said. “I think those are the guys who instead of looking at India were looking at contributing for their IPL franchises,” the former Indian captain added. “If at all you need to take a rest, you need to take a rest from club matches," he told a TV channel when asked about India’s One-day International series loss to Pakistan. Gavaskar was almost certainly referring to Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. It may be recalled that Sachin Tendulkar had opted to skip the Indian team’s tour of West Indies immediately after the World Cup. Sehwag had opted to play the IPL after the World Cup, and then opted out to have a surgery on his shoulder. Consequently, he had missed the first two Test matches of the disastrous tour of England. Gavaskar also blamed the team’s batting department for India’s shoddy performance as the hosts gave Pakistan an unassailable 0-2 lead in the three-ODI series at the Eden Gardens last evening. “It’s the batsmen, they are the ones who are known much more than bowlers (in India). They are the ones who are responsible. Indian batsmen are terribly out of form since 2011 World Cup. They have struck form sporadically," he said. Gavaskar’s views were supported by Imran Khan, who too feels that IPL has a big role to play in Indian cricket team’s decline in the past one year. “Unless Indian cricket deals with IPL, unless you work out a balance between Test cricket and Twenty20 cricket and the commercial aspect of IPL, Indian cricket will go down rapidly," the former Pakistan skipper warned. — PTI
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SA crush Kiwis in less than 3 days
Sydney, January 4
Dean Brownlie’s maiden Test century helped New Zealand to 232 for five at lunch on the third day after South Africa had declared their first innings closed at 347 for eight on Thursday. However five wickets fell for 23 runs in a lower order collapse in the second session and the New Zealanders ended up 27 runs short of making the world number one side bat again. Brownlie, who had been brought into the team as a replacement for Ross Taylor who opted out of the tour after he was replaced as captain by Brendon McCullum, resumed on day three with wicketkeeper BJ Watling, who was on 10. The duo were resolute in the morning session and a frustrated Proteas’ outfit were forced to watch as Brownlie reached his century with a big six over long-off off Robin Peterson. South Africa eventually got their man in the penultimate over before lunch as Brownlie cut a Morne Morkel delivery straight to Alviro Petersen on the point boundary having made 109. Watling and James Franklin continued to frustrate the Proteas in the first hour. Three dropped catches had marred the hosts fielding display on day two and Franklin was next to be given a reprieve as ro Petersen grassed his second chance of the innings at gully. — Reuters Scoreboard
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Australia edge ahead of
Sri Lanka
Sydney, January 4 Phil Hughes and David Warner got the hosts off at a canter on a glorious morning with half centuries in a partnership of 130 as Australia looked to build a big total in their bid to sweep the series 3-0. Two run outs, including one for Mike Hussey in his final Test, and a couple of soft dismissals, however, left Sri Lanka bowling at Matthew Wade, who had survived a good few scares to reach 47, and Peter Siddle (16) when stumps were drawn. Australia captain Michael Clarke also made 50 but will probably remember the day more for having given the call for the risky single that saw Hussey dismissed for 28 by Dimuth Karunaratne’s direct hit. Sri Lanka, who made 294 in their first innings, showed considerably more fight than they had in the innings and 201 run defeat in Melbourne last week and they were only a couple of dropped catches from being right back in the match. Hughes and Warner, who hit a pugnacious 85, had plundered runs in the opening session against a patched-up pace attack in almost perfect batting conditions. The only wicket to fall before lunch was that of opener Ed Cowan, who gave a precursor of what was to come when he ran himself out for four. Mahela Jayawardene finally introduced spinner Rangana Herath after the break and the most prolific wicket-taker in Test cricket last year almost had an immediate impact with a strong lbw appeal against Warner. It was turned down and a TV appeal showed the ball was turning too much to hit the leg stump but half an hour later the opener was heading back to the dressing room. The 26-year-old, who had reached his half century off just 37 balls, could not resist a slash at a Tillakaratne Dilshan delivery only for the ball to balloon up into the air for Dhammika Prasad to take the catch at long-on. — Reuters Scoreboard
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Uttrakhand, Railways win titles
Ludhiana, January 4 Despite enjoying an advantage of playing before the vociferous home crowd, the Punjab men appeared to be lacking in finishing the moves against their determined opponents. Punjab took the initial lead but their joy was shortlived as the visitors not only wiped out the deficit, but surged ahead decisively. Punjab's mainstay, skipper Talwinderjit Singh and Satnam Singh looked pale shadows of themselves today as Uttrakhand blocked them successfully. At the end of the second quarter, Uttrakhand lead 45-34. Yadwinder Singh played the pivotal role in Uttrakhand's victory with 33 points. In the women's section, favourites Indian Raiways lived up to the expectations as they outwitted Tamil Nadu to retain the title. |
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Discuss demands or we won’t play Davis Cup: Indian players IndianayersAITAfinal tie
New Delhi, January 4 In a press release issued on Friday, the players reiterated they were united in their stand against “certain practices observed in the management of the Davis Cup squad", but their intention was not to challenge the AITA’s authority. The players led by Somdev Devvarman who had sought the ouster of non-playing captain Shiv Prakash Misra besides changes in the team’s support staff, said their efforts were to attempt an “improvement of Indian tennis". The release quoted Devvarman as saying: “I feel our suggestions have been reasonable and have been arrived at based on what we believe we deserve." “If, in our opinion, the AITA’s response is unfair, I will stand united with the rest of the players and continue on our pursuit for changes in the system that I believe are necessary for the evolution of the sport and the system of sports administration in the country." “My involvement will always be for the greater good of the team and what we believe is best for our team. We will not continue to function with these archaic methods of management." They listed these demands:
1. The team must comprise six players to ensure adequate practice partners, while also allowing for exposure to Davis Cup playing conditions for a larger pool of Indian talent. 2. The decision-making process for choosing the surface and venue for home ties should involve the participation of all active players. 3. Professional team management to include a common team physiotherapist and coach, a move that we believe will foster team unity. 4. A revised agreement for the distribution of Davis Cup prize money. The current ratio of distribution has been implemented based on a twenty-year-old agreement that strongly favours the AITA. We propose that. Henceforth, prize money be distributed to the players after the AITA recovers all costs incurred through a Davis Cup tie. 5. All team members should be treated at par with regard to logistical arrangements. The release added: “In light of the AITA Secretary General Mr. Bharat Oza’s statement that the AITA will introduce a disciplinary code for players before the Davis Cup tie against South Korea in February... all of us are, regrettably, unavailable for Davis Cup selection unless the AITA is willing to consider and engage with us on our very legitimate suggestions in relation to the team." — TNS, Agencies |
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Cilic, Wawrinka ousted in Chennai
Chennai, January 4 French fifth seed Benoit Paire handed two-time champion and third seed Cilic a 6-4 1-6 7-5 defeat in the quarterfinal, which lasted one hour and 54 minutes. Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene put paid to the hopes of world number 17 and fourth seed Swiss Wawrinka with an impressive 6-2 7-6(6) win that came in one hour 31 minutes. — PTI |
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The repeated failures of senior openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag has raised a huge question mark about their selection for the ODI series against England amid increasing pressure on selectors to drop under-performing players in the wake of recent debacles.
Without naming anyone, Gavaskar questioned some Indian players’ complete focus on the IPL.