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third odi
Dhoni praises fielding, bowling
Viru dropped as Pujara gets maiden ODI call-up
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Whatmore surprised by decision on Sehwag
Pakistan need to do more to convince international teams: ICC
Warm-up tie: England bow to India ‘A’ team
Fans brave intense cold at Kotla
Warne, Samuels
clash in Big Bash
RANJI TROPHY
Services zoom ahead
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third odi
New Delhi, January 6 India lasted only 43.4 of the 50 overs, a batting performance of indefensible profligacy. And Pakistan lost their last seven wickets for 44 runs in 15 overs — a miserable feat that only Pakistan can accomplish. Thus a 10-run win -- after the team's top four batsmen could add only 49 runs, and after the opposition batting order imploded spectacularly — is not particularly joyous. It doesn't wash away India's pain. Don't call it redemption yet. A lonely swallow it is, and it really doesn't a summer make. India's winter of discount, after a spring and summer of discontent, isn't over. Having said that, let's acknowledge a few heartening facts from this match — India put up a creditable fight on the field, which was a surprise because the team had been utterly crushed in the previous two games. Except for the most inexplicable dropped catch of the winter so far, by Ajinkya Rahane, the fielding was exceptional. Virat Kohli, Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja made some great saves. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq later said that good fielding saved India some 35 runs today, magnifying Pakistan's target by a few degrees. The new pacemen were effective: Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the debutant Shami Ahmed moved the ball significantly off the pitch, giving away a total of 54 runs off 19 overs and taking three wickets. Ishant Sharma tried his best and, in conditions that were helpful, and against an opposition under pressure, he came up with three important wickets. Ravindra Jadeja choked the Pakistani run flow with tight bowling, hitting the right length and preventing the batsmen from reaching out to strike him. Pakistan had lost two wickets early, Bhuvneshwar taking out Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan with deliveries that jagged in after pitching. Nasir Jamshed, with centuries in the previous three ODIs against India, and Misbah steadied the innings before Jamshed swept at Aswhin, missed and was adjudged LBW. It had been slow going, 47 coming off 13.4 overs. Then, from 61/3, Misbah and Umar Akmal took the score to 113 before Misbah fell. A useful partnership, 52 runs off 13.4 overs — something of a crawl by ODI standards, but the bowling had been accurate, the fielding outstanding. Pakistan, though, were safe as long as they didn't lose wickets. That's exactly what happened. Aswhin, bowling from around the stumps, got Misbah to turn one right into the lap of the man at leg slip, Rahane. Six runs and two overs later, Ishant jagged one into Shoaib Malik's pad, and the umpire raised his finger. 119/5 in 36.3, and it became 125/6 three overs later when Umar Akmal rushed out at Aswhin, missed the ball and was stumped. Umar Gul put up a fight of sorts with Mohammad Hafeez, but they had to be cautious and crawl instead of canter. Gul was caught going for a six, Saeed Ajmal edged one behind, and the panicky Junaid Khan was run out. Hafeez tried to make it a solo affair, but ended up smashing Ishant straight to Yuvraj at midwicket. The Indians — the players in the middle, the fans in the stands, the excitable ones in the press box — went ballistic with joy. That was the end they craved when they decided to bat first after winning the toss this morning; but at the end of the Indian innings, this result seemed impossible. Gambhir was scratchy, able only to nudge, edge and steer rather than drive; Rahane was more assured but kept in check. The Pakistan pacemen kept the Indians on the back foot and presented no opportunity to drive. Mohammed Irfan and Junaid Khan built up massive pressure on the Indians —Irfan's figures were 7-1-28-2 and Junaid's 7-1-12-1 after their first spells. The wickets fell in a torrent — Rahane edged one behind, Gambhir lobbed the ball to point, Kohli edged one to second slip, and Yuvraj failed to read a plain off-spinner. Four for 63, calamity in sight. Inevitably, Dhoni played a significant hand with 36, including three sixers off Hafeez. Raina made 31 and Jadeja 27. A total of 167 didn't seem to deserve a win, but their tigerish fielding and disciplined bowling in helpful conditions earned India a consolation victory. Scoreboard
India Gambhir c Umar b Irfan 15 Rahane c Kamran b Irfan 4 Kohli c Younis b Junaid 7 Yuvraj b Hafeez 23 Raina lbw b Ajmal 31 Dhoni c Umar b Gul 36 Ashwin lbw b Ajmal 0 Jadeja c Umar b Ajmal 27 Bhuvneshwar lbw b Ajmal 2 Ishant c&b Ajmal 5 Shami not out 0 Extras: 17 Total: (all out; 43.4 ov) 167 Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-29, 3-37, 4-63, 5-111, 6-111, 7-131, 8-141, 9-160, 10-167 Bowling: Irfan 7-1-28-2, Junaid 9-1-17-1, Gul 8-1-45-1, Hafeez 10-0-44-1, Ajmal 9.4-1-24-5 Pakistan Jamshed lbw b Ashwin 34 Kamran lbw b Kumar 0 Younis b Kumar 6 Misbah c Rahane b Ashwin 39 Umar st Dhoni b Jadeja 25 Shoaib lbw b Sharma 5 Hafeez c Yuvraj b Sharma 21 Gul c Jadeja b Sharma 11 Ajmal c Dhoni b Ahmed 1 Junaid run out 0 Irfan not out 0 Extras: 15 Total: (all out in 48.5 ov) 157 Fall of wickets: 1/3 2/14 3/61 4/113 5/119 6/125 7/144 8/145 9/145 Bowling: Bhuvneshwar 10-2-31-2, Shami 9-4-23-1, Ishant 9.5-0-36-3, Ashwin 10-1-47-2, Jadeja 10-2-19-1 |
Dhoni praises fielding, bowling
New Delhi, January 6 Dhoni said the outstanding fielding helped save around 20 runs, which eventually made all the difference. “We just needed to go there and express ourselves”. “Overall, it was a very good team effort. Outstanding fielding and the 20 runs saved made a big impact”, he said. He said the fast bowlers bowled well, and he showered special praise on Bhuwaneshwar Kumar and debutant Shami Ahmed. Dhoni said the batsmen should have made more runs, and the total should have been around 120-125 runs. He said it was better for the team if everyone had contributed instead of one or two big knocks. “We did not look at the scoreboard while fielding as the total was not enough. Our focus was on fielding and bowling”. The captain praised Shami Ahmed for his disciplined and sustained bowling. “It was not easy to play your first game in front of a big crowd. He was brilliant”. Dhoni said Bhuwaneshwar Kumar was outstanding too, as he was akin to Praveen Kumar, but he needed to improve his batting as the team needs a real good all-rounder. “Irfan Pathan is the only all-rounder we have now. But Kumar knows his limitations, and he executes his Yorkers well”. He said it was not the best team that was fielded today, but since the series had been lost, the team management decided to give a chance to others. “We had to make last-minute changes to give chance to others”, he explained. The captain said Ajinkya Rahane, who replaced Virender Sehwag in the final eleven, should have shown patience when the Pakistan fast bowlers were getting help from the wicket, when two new balls were in operation. Dhoni said the win will take the team forward “as we were going through a tough phase”. “This team has the character to go forward”. When asked whether the players would be ready to visit Pakistan for a series, Dhoni said: “We are BCCI’s soldiers. Wherever the BCCI sends us, we will go.” |
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Viru dropped as Pujara gets maiden ODI call-up
The squad has been selected for the first three matches and all the other members of the squad that played against Pakistan were retained. Two other non-performers Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, however, held onto their places despite a string of failures during the past few months. Sehwag's axe comes on expected lines as he had managed to score only 238 runs in his last 10 matches with a single half century at an average of 23.8. There were enough hints about his exclusion once the team management decided to drop him from the playing XI for the third and final ODI against Pakistan here today. Gambhir managed to stay in the team as selectors didn't want to risk dropping two senior openers keeping the Test series against Australia in mind. Sehwag has the highest individual score of 219 in ODIs and has tallied 8273 runs from 251 ODIs with 15 centuries. But at the age of 34 with slowing reflexes and problem with the incoming delivery, it will be very difficult for the dashing opener to make comeback into the shorter format. Pujara, who has been in terrific form having scored 761 runs in nine Tests with three centuries has also been a prolific limited overs player for India A and Saurashtra.
— PTI |
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Whatmore surprised by decision on Sehwag
New Delhi, January 6 But today, after Sehwag was not picked up in the playing XI, having been replaced by Ajinkya Rahane, Dhoni said that the Delhi opener had been rested, not dropped. Dropped or rested, the axe didn’t come as a surprise, really. Sehwag’s form in One-day cricket has been quite awful in the recent past. It did surprise the Pakistan camp, though — they were expecting Sehwag to play because “he is one Indian match-winner who, on his day, is capable of taking the fight to us (Pakistan)”. According to an Indian official, Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore was quite surprised when he learnt just before the toss that Sehwag has been “rested”. “I realise that his form has been quite patchy of late,” Whatmore reacted to this BCCI official in the morning. “But you have to realise that Sehwag is the one real match-winner in the Indian squad!” That’s the sort of awe even an off-form Sehwag inspires in the opposition. Perhaps there indeed was a case for keeping Sehwag, the big potential match-winner, in the XI and dropping one of the other failing batsmen — there were quite a lot of them. Ticket to Kotla
Touts were in action, selling tickets at a premium outside the ground today. The going rates were double the printed price. That’s no surprise, no news, for this happens everywhere. But was a bit surprising that Delhi cricket association officials got involved to make a bit of money. Again, it’s no secret that state association officials are part of the racket — in Chennai and Kolkata, they had been fairly subtle and discreet. The Delhi official, though, is not creature familiar with discretion or subtlety. One DDCA joint secretary actually sold a journalist Rs 500 denomination tickets (passes that his club had been given free by the DDCA, in fact) for Rs 1,200each. Another DDCA official proffered Rs 4,000 tickets for Rs 8,000 to this journalist — “special rate, only for you”. |
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Pakistan need to do more to convince international teams: ICC
New Delhi, January 6 I think it's premature to say whether it's safe to tour Pakistan or not," Richardson said. "For Tests and other series, the two parties (BCCI and PCB) are talking to each other on a continuous basis. Hopefully, they can work something out. Obviously, we would encourage that more cricket is being played between India and Pak,” he said.
— PTI |
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Warm-up tie: England bow to India ‘A’ team
New Delhi, January 6 Riding on Murali Vijay's 76, India 'A' posted a competitive 224 for four in 39 overs — which meant the target was revised to 229 under D/L method — and then skittled the visitors out for 175 in the 36th over. The match was reduced to a 39-overs-a-side contest due to bad light. It was a collective effort by the India 'A' team bowlers with comeback man S Sreesanth bowling an impressive first spell in which he removed the dangerous Kevin Pietersen (19) with a short delivery. With a shorter run-up, Sreesanth worked up lively pace and dug one short when he saw Pietersen trying to give him the charge only to lob it to the mid-on fielder. The celebrations though, after getting KP out, was muted by his standards. The figures of 7-1-16-1 was not bad at all. Lanky Ishwar Pandey trapped one-down Samit Patel leg before. Offie Jalaj Saxena then picked up stand-in captain Eoin Morgan and Jos Butler in quick succession. With the English batsmen looking uncomfortable against the spinners, they were soon reduced to 72 for six, virtually ending any chance of a comeback. Although Ian Bell (91) took the attack back to the opposition during his 89-ball knock that contained eight fours and two sixes, he didn't get much support from the other end as Ashok Menaria picked up three wickets. Talented Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder Parveez Rasool, making his 'A' team debut, then effected the run-out of James Tredwell. Earlier Vijay smashed a fine 76 as his century-plus opening stand with statemate Abhinav Mukund helped the hosts reach a fighting total. Sent into bat, the Tamil Nadu duo added 118 runs for the opening stand with skipper Mukund hitting 57. After the duo, it was Maharashtra's No. 3 Kedar Jadhav who chipped in with an useful 52 off 50 balls. Morgan was leading the side after skipper Alastair Cook, who was down with cold, decided to go back to the hotel due to extremely chilly conditions. While the players went back to the dressing room after five overs were sent down, the break was a welcome one for India 'A' openers. While Mukund dropped anchor at one end during his 81-ball knock in which he hit five boundaries, Vijay was the aggressive of the two with his 76 coming off only 75 balls. Vijay's innings contained eight fours and two sixes. He hit some crisp drives off Tim Bresnan's bowling but a flat batted six off Chris Woakes stood out. It was a kind of tennis shot that fell in front of the sightscreen. The second six came about when he came down the track and lofted offie James Tredwell to the adjacent practice nets. Mukund tried to give similar charge to Tredwell but was beaten by the flight and was stumped. Vijay was bowled by Samit Patel when he tried to hoick the left-arm spinner, but Jadhav batted with a lot of gumption. Along with Ashok Menaria (17, 2x6), he added 44 runs. Initially, he was finding it difficult to get the ball through the gaps. He even lost his bat once when Steven Finn dug one short, forcing the Maharashtra lad to be taken aback by the pace. But to his credit, he hung on there and hit a few boundaries to complete his 50 in the penultimate over. Jade Dernbach was the most successful bowler for England with figures of two for 23 in seven overs.
— PTI |
Fans brave intense cold at Kotla
New Delhi, January 6 A few vacant seats could be spotted only in the corporate boxes, though they too filled up very soon. A full house for an India-Pakistan contest at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground is nothing new, though this time around, the match had only academic interest with the visitors having already wrapped up the series 2-0. In the past, total polarization of fans in India’s favour was a done thing, but this time, some of the young fans got their cheeks painted with Indian and Pakistani flags in true sportsman spirit. And when Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan were spewing fire and brimstone in their 14-over first bowling spell in a stretch, the fans appreciated their fiery craft, though the hosts were facing yet another rout. The heavy rush was not confined to the stands alone. Even the media box was filled to the brim, and the late-comers were forced to sit behind a maze of cameras in an adjacent room, straining their necks to catch the action unfolding in the middle. Fourteen journalists from Pakistan and reporters from all over India far exceeded the number of seats available in the covering press box. The commentary boxes were also filled with former Indian and Pakistan greats. Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Navjyot Singh Sidhu, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Arun Lal, Wasim Akram and Wasim Raja made their presence felt. However, the surprie visitors to the media area was hockey stars Sardar Singh, Sandeep Singh and V.R.Raghunath. They came for a television interview with Sidhu after the Indian innings, though they keenly watched the terrible fall of the Indian wickets. Sardar told The Tribune that he was a fan of Yuvraj Singh and others nodded in agreement. "I watch cricket when Yuvi Paaji is batting", Sardar said. The hockey stars are in Delhi for the Hockey India League inaugural match on January 14 at the National Stadium, and most of the foreign players of the Delhi Waveriders have also arrived. Sardar said the team will start practising from tomorrow. Being a Sunday, the large turn out of the fans, including 1000 from Pakistan, did not clog the roads around the stadium, as the traffic-management was efficient, and the fans started filling the stadium since early morning, though the match started only at noon. The Pak fans were also chilled out about the Delhi cold, which remined them of the weather back home in Lahore. And they had no problem getting comfortable accommodation, particularly in the Old Delhi area, either. |
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‘Mr Cricket’ bids Goodbye
Sydney, January 6 "It couldn't have ended any better," he said after being applauded off the pitch by both teams at the end of his 79th test. "I feel very proud to have worn the baggy green cap and I've probably achieved a lot more in my career than I ever dreamed I could." Australia, chasing 141 runs to win the test, lost three wickets in quick succession just before tea to bring Hussey out for his final test innings before retirement. The break came with the hosts just five runs shy of victory and when Johnson pushed the ball wide of point for his only run of the innings, Hussey was already halfway down the pitch to secure the winning run. "I was telling Mitch the over before if it comes up that you hit it, then I'm more than happy to let us get this over and done with," said Hussey, who finished unbeaten on 27 for a career average of 51.52. "But I was more than happy to be out there when the winning run was hit. A dream come true. The important thing was making sure we won the test match." Australia had dismissed the tourists for 278 before lunch to set up the run chase but they inched nervously towards the target after David Warner had departed for a duck without a run on the board. Seamer Suranga Lakmal had the opener caught in the slips by his captain Mahela Jayawardene but it was the spin-bowling of Tillakaratne Dilshan and particularly Rangana Herath that was always going to provide most problems on a turning wicket. The peace of a hot afternoon at the Sydney Cricket Ground was punctuated by the loud appeals of the Sri Lankans pretty much any time the ball came near a batsman's front pad. Jayawardene, so profligate with his appeals to the TV umpire in this series, made the most of his first of the innings to remove Phil Hughes for 34 with Australia still 96 runs short of their target. There was some confusion as to whether they were appealing for a catch or lbw off the Herath delivery. The TV pictures showed no nick or glove but did reveal that the ball would have hit the stumps so Hughes was out. Clarke, the most prolific test batsmen of last year and later named Player of the Series, came to the crease for another duel with Herath, who took more test wickets than any other bowler in 2012. The crowd had already started chanting Hussey's name before Clarke's dismissal in the hope he would get out to bat again in his final test after being run-out in the first innings and they got their wish. "What a place to finish. The SCG is probably my top three favourite grounds in the whole world," Hussey said."The crowd support and the support in general has been a bit overwhelming and I've been a bit embarrassed by it. In a way I'm quite relieved that it's over now." — Reuters Scoreboard
Sri Lanka 1st innings 294 Australia 1st innings 432-9 dec Lanka second innings (overnight 225-7) Karunaratne c Wade b Bird 85 Dilshan c Hughes b Johnson 5 Jayawardene c Clarke b Siddle 60 Thirimanne c Bird b Johnson 7 Samaraweera c Hussey b Lyon 0 Mathews run out 16 Chandimal not out 62 Prasad c Wade b Starc 15 Herath b Bird 10 Lakmal b Johnson 0 Pradeep c Wade b Bird 9 Extras: 9 Total: (all out, 81.2 ov) 278 Fall of wickets: 1-24 2-132 3-155 4-158 5-178 6-178 7-202 8-235 9-237 Bowling: Starc 12-1-49-1, Bird 21.2-5-76-3, Johnson15-3-34-3, Siddle 17-4-42-1, Lyon 15-1-66-1, Hussey 1-0-6-0 Australia second innings Cowan lbw Herath 36 Warner c Jaya b Lakmal 0 Hughes lbw Herath 34 Clarke c Thirimanne b Dilshan 29 Hussey not out 27 Wade b Herath 9 Johnson not out 1 Extras: 5 Total: (5 wkts, 42.5 ov) 141 Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-45 3-104 4-108 5-132 Bowling: Dilshan 18-2-57-1, Lakmal 6-1-18-1, Herath 16.5-0-47-3, Pradeep 2-0-14-0 |
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Warne, Samuels clash in Big Bash Sydney, January 6 And when it was Samuels' turn to bat later in the game, Warne confronted him with an expletive. In the next over, Warne threw the ball at the Jamaican's chest while Samuels reacted by tossing his bat down the pitch towards the Australian. Samuels was forced to retire hurt when he top-edged Malinga delivery into his eye. — PTI
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RANJI TROPHY
Jamshedpur, January 6 Electing to bat, Jharkhand suffered an early jolt in the form of in-form Akash Verma (4), who caught plumb in front of the wicket medium pacer Siddharth Kaul in the fourth over of the innings. Manish Vardhan, who sat out of the last match due to injury, played a cautious knock of 31 and shared a valuable partnership 75-run second wicket stand with Nemat before he was cleaned up by leg-apinner Sarabjit Singh. The hosts received another within a space of 24 balls in the form of Saurabh Tiway, who fell lbw to Sarabjit. In a spot of bother at 97 three, middle-order batsman Jaggi joined hands with Nemat and the duo shared unconquered 98 runs for the fourth wicket to stabilise the Jhankhand innings before the day's play was called off 44 minutes early due to bad light. At close, Nemat was batting on 97 off 222 deliveries with the help of 10 hits to fence, while Jaggi was on unbeaten 50 with the help of six boundaries. While Sarabjit emerged as the pick of the bowlers with figures of two for 74, Kaul scalped one wicket for 33. Out-of-favour India off-spinner Harbhajan went wicketless even though he bowled 16 overs giving away 43 runs. Saurashtra 272/5 against Karnataka Sheldon Jackson's 83 and contributions from Shitanshu Kotak and Arpit Vasavada helped Saurashtra make 272/5 against Karnataka here at Saurashtra University ground. — PTI Scoreboard Jharkhand 1st innings Australia 1st innings Akash lbw b Siddharth 4 Nemat not out 97 Manish b Sarabjit 31 Tiwary lbw b Sarabjit 1 Jaggi not out 50 Extras: 12 Total: (3 wkts; 74 ov) 195 Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-85, 3-97 Bowling: Goni 14-2-31-0, Siddharth 15-4-33-1, Tanwar Kohli 2-0-7-0, Sarabjit Singh 24-5-74-2, Amitoze Singh 3-2-2-0, Harbhajan Singh 16-2-43-0
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Tendulkar hits ton to put Mumbai in comfort zone
He was well-supported by opener Wasim Jaffer (137 not out), who scored his second consecutive century today, having hit 171 against Gujarat in their last league game. Tendulkar and Jaffer lifted Mumbai from 35 for two at one stage to a 270-plus total by the end of day's play, after putting on a 234-run stand for the third wicket. Tendulkar, who recently retired from One-Day International cricket, looked in sublime form as he notched up his 18th Ranji century. From word go, the veteran was playing his shots. He hit a six off Ketul Patel to bring up the fifty, while his century came off an Ambati Rayudu over as he ran hard for two runs. Playing his 35th Ranji match for Mumbai, Tendulkar spent 296 minutes at the crease for a well-made 108 that came off 233 balls, and was studded with 10 hits to the fence and a six. He was castled by Baroda pacer Murtuza Vahora, four overs prior to the end of day's play. This was Tendulkar's second ton of the season. He had hit 137 against Railways in a league match in November last year. He is now one short of the Indian record held by Sunil Gavaskar, who has 81 first-class hundreds to his name. In Ranji Trophy, Gavaskar had scored 20 centuries.
— PTI |
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Services zoom ahead
Indore, January 6 Sent into bat, Services suffered an early setback when opener Mukul Dagar (5) was dismissed by medium-pace bowler Nishan Singh. UP skipper Mohammad Kaif (1) followed soon as he was trapped in front of the wicket by Nishan for his second wicket. The following batsmen — Eklavya Dwivedi (1) and Parvinder Singh (1) too, failed to to contribute. Left-handed opener Tanmay Srivastava scored 20 off 71 balls. Reduced to 40 for five at one stage, Piyush Chawla scored a quick 28, with the help of four fours and a six. A flurry of runs from pacer Imtiaz Ahmed towards the end helped Services cross the three-figure mark. His blazing half-century (53) came off just 35 balls and comprised four sixes and three fours. For Services, medium pacer Shadab Nazar ended up with an impressive figures of five for 51 in 13 overs. New ball bowlers Suraj Yadav and Nishan Singh bagged two and three wickets respectively. The Services batsmen, in reply, failed to capitalise on their starts with openers Nakul Verma (27) and Ansuhl Gupta (26) being dismissed with 67 runs on the board. They were reduced to 97 for five, before right-hander Rajat Paliwal and wicketkeeper Sarabjit Singh shared a partnership of 57 runs.
— PTI |
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Janko Tipsarevic fightbacks to win Chennai Open
Chennai, January 6 Tipsarevic conceded just four games in the last two sets to end the giant-killing run by the 24-year-old Spaniard, who defeated top-seed Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals. Tipsarevic won the Chennai title for the first time after four unsuccessful attempts, including a loss to big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic in last year's final. Tipsarevic earned $69,500 and 250 ranking points for the morale-boosting win ahead of the season's first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on January 14. Agut took home $36,650 and 150 points after making his first-ever tour final. Agut gained early control of the match when he broke Tipsarevic's serve in the second game and then held his own comfortably to run away with the first set in 36 minutes. Tipsarevic hit back with a break in the second game of the second set and then broke the Spaniard again in the fourth on way to drawing level in the match. The Serb played safe but solid tennis in the decider and secured breaks in the third game and the ninth that helped him wrap up. AITA works out compromise formula
India's tennis authority, AITA, have agreed to accept most of the demands made by its regular Davis Cup players who had threatened to boycott next month's home tie against South Korea. Eight top players, excluding Leander Paes, submitted a list of requirements to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) with a veiled threat to snub the regional first round tie in New Delhi from Feb. 1-3 if no action was taken. On Sunday AITA agreed to their demands for a new coach, a higher share of prize money and the players' involvement in the choice of venues for ties. In a letter addressed to the players, which was also made available to the media, AITA said it has asked the government to appoint a qualified doctor and a fulltime physiotherapist for the players. The governing body, however, rejected a request to change the captain and decided to retain SP Misra to lead the team.
— PTI
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India won the third One-day against Pakistan — or did Pakistan lose it? — in thrilling fashion tonight, but don't call it the harbinger of good times yet.
It was a dead rubber, the series having been lost in Kolkata.
New Delhi, January 6
Mumbai, January 6