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Kings’ power drive for women cut short
Raina fires as CSK crush Hyderabad |
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T20 has given cricket a new lease of life: Sir Viv
Rajasthan need to be on guard against unpredictable Punjab
Singapore keep title, Indian men take silver
Rider Dinesh Edwin succumbs to riding accident injuries
End of an era as Ferguson retires
Djokovic stung by Dimitrov
Bulgaria hails ‘phenomenal’ Dimitrov
Alonso must make it count at home in Barcelona
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Kings’ power drive for women cut short
Chandigarh, May 8 Great idea, but didn’t work. The credit goes to the joint collaboration of the franchisee and the Chandigarh Police. On a stage where women’s empowerment was purported to be sensitively deliberated, last match hero David Miller crassly begins ‘Chak-de-Phatte’, little realising the context. Poor firang! He was only parroting the line tutored in the last-minute rush. Manpreet Gony, like a true Punjabi, too rose to the occasion, gushing in chaste Punjabi, “This is a great occasion for me to make new fans.” Full stop. With IT professionals yet to a hear something worthwhile from players mouth, DIG (UT) Alok Kumar sensed the mood and reeled off Chandigarh police endeavours in a cloying confection. His message deciphered: Lara Crofts of the Tricity! Don’t shy away from being the Tomb Raiders. Yet the “use of some self-defence weapons” got lost completely in the din. It was not so on April 1, the launch day this season, at least not on the press release, where Kings XI Punjab had elicited in a grandiose heading, “Initiative with Punjab Police on women empowerment” though in the text they changed tacks with “Chandigarh Police”. Further it read: “The initiative is to focus on teaching basic methods to protect one-self (sic) as self defence plays a very important role. “The main focus area of the workshop will be: 1.Tell some basic self defence techniques to women. 2 Use of some self-defence weapons. 3 Ways to report to Police in shortest possible time. 4 Taking note of important elements while in such situations.” In times of pressing need for women empowerment, does corporate social responsibility matter to KXIP management? Hardly, seems so. All they had in mind was brand building, with time and money at a premium. Kings XI Punjab Chief Operating Officer Arvinder Singh was unavailable for the comment. Media manager Varoon Parmar confirmed, “The event was just one day affair. Chandigarh Police wanted the players to attend the event. I have no idea if the camp will be held again or not.” What happened of that match? Kings XI Punjab lost here too — to Infosys eves.
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Raina fires as CSK crush Hyderabad Hyderabad, May 8 Raina’s power hitting, aided by a 42-ball 67 by Michael Hussey and 29 off 20 balls by Murali Vijay, had taken Chennai to an imposing total of 223/3, the second-highest of the season. It was always going to be difficult for Hyderabad to come close to this total, let alone overhaul it. Hyderabad lost Shikhar Dhawan early for 3, and then Kumar Sangakkara for a dismal nine-ball 3. Hunama Vihari (3) and Darren Sammy (7) also failed to provide support to Parthiv Patel, who was on a song at the other end. When Patel too fell for 44 (30 balls), Hyderabad were reduced to 64/5 in nine overs and the match was effectively over. Earlier, Raina, coming in at 45/1 at the fall of Vijay’s wicket, added 133 with Hussey in just 12 overs. With their 10th win in 13 games, CSK consolidated their position at the top of the table, with 20 points. Hyderabad remained at joint fifth with 14 points. — TNS Scoreboard Hussey b Perera 67 Vijay c Patel b Perera 29 Raina not out 99 Dhoni c KV Sharma b Perera 4 Jadeja not out 14 Extras: 10 Total (3 wkts; 20 ovs) 223 Fall of wickets: 1/45 2/178 3/183 Bowling Steyn 4-1-17-0 I Sharma 4-0-66-0 Perera 4-0-45-3 KV Sharma 2-0-19-0 Mishra 4-0-41-0 Sammy 2-0-33-1 Sunrisers Hyderabad
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T20 has given cricket a new lease of life: Sir Viv
Mumbai, May 8
“Ever since T20 cricket, it may be a shorter version of the game, but the name doesn’t spell differently, it is still cricket. It has given cricket such a new lease of life. There are folks who like Test matches and there are folks, the new clientele, who obviously like T20 cricket, which I think is a great advantage for the game with the kind of followers,” the legendary Antiguan said at an event here to felicitate the coaches from Mumbai. The most destructive batsman of his era, Richards said Test cricket will always remain the “universe” to him and to understand the game and its beauty, the younger generation should go through the rigours of longer format. “All the administrators and governing bodies now realise that there should be a common understanding for an avenue for which they need the greatest format of the game if you need to understand the game itself, which is Test match cricket.” “You can’t change that. Test match cricket, that is the universe in my opinion. The youngsters should understand the game at its fullest in terms of Test matches,” he added. “When they are successful at that, then there is an avenue also where everyone can represent at IPL, the Big Bashes around the world and I guess you would have a magnificent combination,” said the 61-year-old, who is presently the Delhi Daredevils advisor-cum-ambassador. — PTI
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Rajasthan need to be on guard against unpredictable Punjab
Mohali, May 8 Led by 40-year-old experienced campaigner Rahul Dravid, the Royals have won eight games out of 12 and are placed third in the table, while Punjab with five wins from 11 matches are in contention for acquiring a play-off berth. The hosts would draw confidence from their dramatic six-wicket win over a formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last tie, where KXIP’s South African import David Miller bailed the team from the dumps and single-handedly won the match, chasing a mammoth 191-run target. ‘Killer’ Miller, the new name which the batsman has acquired from Punjab fans, had struck a 38-ball 101. His ability to bring the team out from tight spots on few other occasions in this season has made Miller an extremely dependable player. He had earlier struck a 41-ball 80 against Pune Warriors. Apart from Miller, Australian Shaun Marsh is another key player, who along with Mandeep Singh and Dravid could easily counter the opposition bowling attack. — PTI Today: KXIP vs RR (4 pm) PWI vs KKR (8 pm) live on set max
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Singapore keep title, Indian men take silver
New Delhi, May 8
It was a double delight for Singapore as earlier their women swamped England 3-0 to emerge champions. Singapore completed the decimation of the Indian men in just about 90 minutes as after Soumyajit Ghosh lost the opening singles in straight games, the hosts found no escape route from the vicious clutches of the visitors, who were a class act, to crash out, without offering much fight. The only Indian resistance came from Sanil Shetty who stretched Ma Liang to the wire. South paw Shetty, who got Ma Liang into a tangle, was cruising with a 7-4 lead when his strong forehand deserted him and the World No. 180 seized the chance to claw his way back, albeit after a see-saw battle, to eventually win the contest at 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11. Zhan Jian had made Singapore’s task easier when he fought back from a 6-10 deficit in the first match against national champion Soumyajit Ghosh, to equal at 10-10 before notching up a 13-11 win. In the other two games, Soumyajit showed continuous decline to cave in rather tamely at 13-11, 11-8, 11-3. The tall, well-built Jian had a the kind of game which Ghosh found difficult to counter, both in attack and defence, and expectedly crashed out in a whimper. Achanta Sharath Kamal, India’s best bet, was no match for Li Hu either, as the 56th ranked player pounded the Indian with vicious forehands and stonewalled him with a taught defence. Though Sharath put up a feeble resistance in the third game, Li was too good to be rattled by such minor irritants, to wrap up the match in straight games. Sharath admitted that it was a “bad result” as Singapore were far superior in every department and better-focussed too. Men’s coach Kamalesh Mehta said the Indian players needed to work really hard on their games to match up with top nations such as Singapore, as their game was far too good for the Indians. The Indian women had to settle for bronze medal after they were defeated by England in theri semifinals. Results (Women finals): Singapore beat England 3-0 (Feng Tianwei bt Joanna Parker 11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7; Yu Mengyu bt Kelly Sibley 14-12, 16-14, 9-11, 11-9; Zhou Yihan bt Ho Tin-Tin 11-4, 12-10, 11-8).
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Rider Dinesh Edwin succumbs to riding accident injuries
Chennai, May 8 The unfortunate incident has put the 2013 National Bike Racing Championship scheduled to commence in Coimbatore next month in trouble. The bike racers were up in arms against the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC), oldest member of Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India (FMSCI), for lack of facilities at the track. Over 50 racers, who had threatened to boycott the forthcoming nationals, had met the MMSC officials yesterday and demanded better facilities at the track. According to Prabha Kran, a national championship racer, the doctors who treated Dinesh had said that “he would not have been brain dead had he been given first aid at the track”. The comments in the social media, mainly by Dinesh’s friends, were highly critical of MMSC for failing to provide medical support, for the absence of doctor and ambulance at the track during the ‘pay and practice’ sessions. They demanded that the run-off areas be improved to prevent serious injuries to riders in the event of a crash. Meanwhile, MMSC today condoled the death of Dinesh and said in a statement, “It is with regret that we announce that motorcycle rider S Dinesh succumbed to his injuries after an accident at an Open Day for Private Testing at the Madras Motor Race Track earlier this week.” “The Madras Motor Sports Club would like to extend its sincere sympathies to S Dinesh’s family and friends following the tragic news of his death. We are shocked and saddened by this incident and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. A full-fledged enquiry is being conducted which will help in outlining future safety requirements,” the statement said. Vicky Chandhok, Vice President MMSC and President FMSCI, said, “Our thoughts and sympathies are with Dinesh’s family. The FMSCI has asked MMSC to conduct an inquiry. We also intend taking possession of his riding gear and send it to Geneva for analysis at the FIM (International Motorcycle Federation) institute. It is surprising that a rider in full and approved racing gear should suffer such serious injuries. Once we get the gear examined by experts at the FIM institute, we will of course share the information with everyone concerned.” On the absence of medical assistance during the ‘pay and practice’ session, Chandhok said, “There are different categories of hire. The riders on Sunday had opted for a category that did not provide for medical support at the track, but nobody was allowed on the track without approved racing gear, including racing overall and helmet. In the light of the accident, I think it is best that we offer ‘pay and practice’ facility with only full medical support even if it costs more so that we can avoid another incident such as this.” — PTI
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End of an era as Ferguson retires
London, May 8 The 71-year-old Scot ended intense speculation that he was about to call time on his career by confirming he would step aside after champions United’s last game of the season at West Bromwich Albion on May 19. His decision ends a glittering era at Old Trafford in which the club won 13 English league titles, two European Cups, five FA Cups and four League Cups as well as the FIFA Club World Cup. Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and Everton’s long-serving boss David Moyes, a Scot like Ferguson, are the bookmakers’ favourites to take over. Ferguson arrived in Manchester in 1986 after Ron Atkinson was sacked and, after a difficult start, began building an empire that shows no sign of crumbling with the club recapturing the English title from Manchester City this season. “The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time,” Ferguson, who has been in charge of 1,498 matches for the club, winning nearly 900 of them, said on United’s website. United said Ferguson, who is to undergo hip surgery during the off-season, would remain at the club as a director. “It was important to me to leave an organisation in the strongest possible shape and I believe I have done so,” added Glasgow-born Ferguson who had announced he would retire after the 2001-02 season before changing his mind. “Going forward, I am delighted to take on the roles of both director and ambassador for the club,” he said. “With these activities, along with my many other interests, I am looking forward to the future.” Ferguson, who in 2010 surpassed Matt Busby’s as the longest-serving manager in United’s history, had given no hint of his retirement in his programme notes for Sunday’s home game against Chelsea, appearing to suggest he would continue his reign for the foreseeable future. “Whether I will be here to oversee another decade of success remains to be seen but I certainly don’t have any plans at the moment to walk away from what I believe will be something special and worth being around to see,” he wrote. ‘MASSIVE SHOCK’ The suddenness of his decision left some who served under him in a state of disbelief. “I’m shocked, it’s a bombshell,” said former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who was part of the 1998-99 team that won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. “I’m disappointed and very, very sad. He had always said he would retire when something in his life wasn’t right, and it must be something we don’t know about.” Former Manchester United midfielder and current Blackpool boss Paul Ince said: “I’m totally shocked. What he’s done in unbelievable. You’ll never see anyone of his kind again. Two weeks ago he was talking about staying on for another two years, so it’s a massive, massive shock.” FIFA president Sepp Blatter reacted to the news by describing Ferguson as one of “the greats”. “His achievements in the game place him without doubt as one of the greats,” he said. “Will his longevity at the top ever be repeated?” Ferguson’s passion for the game has never diminished, as was demonstrated this season when he led the club to a record 20th league title, two more than the 18 won by Liverpool whom Ferguson vowed to “knock off their perch” when he walked into Old Trafford in 1986. Ferguson, a horse-racing enthusiast and wine connoisseur, was not an overnight success, experiencing some difficult years before landing the FA Cup in 1990 and the Cup Winners’ Cup the year after. Ending United’s 25-year wait for the English title in 1992-93 proved to be the catalyst for two decades of domination despite the challenges of Arsenal, Chelsea and more recently Manchester City. Famous for his so-called “hairdryer” outbursts of rage at high-profile players, his manic gum-chewing and almost child-like celebration of goals, Ferguson became one of the world’s most respected coaches with his philosophy of attacking football and his ability to re-build teams. His faith in young players launched the careers of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs while his signings of players such as Eric Cantona, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney proved masterstrokes. Robin Van Persie, his most recent big-name signing, has scored 25 league goals in his first season at the club as United reclaimed the title from Manchester City with ease. Off the field Ferguson proved himself the perfect ambassador and diplomat as the club controversially passed into the ownership of the American Glazer family in 2005. “Alex has proven time and time again what a fantastic manager he is but he’s also a wonderful person,” Joel Glazer, son of owner Malcolm, said in the club statement. “His determination to succeed and dedication to the club have been truly remarkable. “I will always cherish the wonderful memories he has given us, like that magical night in Moscow,” he added, referring to the 2008 Champions League final victory over Chelsea on penalties. — Reuters Fergie: A life in football
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Djokovic stung by Dimitrov
Madrid, May 8 The world number one, who had a bye in the opening round, was already a break down to the unseeded 21-year-old in the second set when he twisted the same ankle he hurt playing for Serbia in the Davis Cup last month. After a lengthy medical timeout, he broke back and saved a match point on the way to taking the tiebreak 10-8 to force a deciding set. He immediately lost his serve for a third time, however, and world number 28 Dimitrov battled through cramp to seal by far the biggest win of his career, ending Djokovic’s bid for a fourth title of 2013. Djokovic said his preparation for the claycourt event had not been ideal as he had not touched a racket for 12 days following his victory against Rafa Nadal in the final of last month’s Monte Carlo Masters. “Up until Saturday I didn’t know whether I would come or not because of the ankle,” Djokovic said. “But I am not trying to find an excuse, he was the better player and I congratulate him,” added the 25-year-old, who beat Dimitrov in their previous two meetings. Azarenka loses cool
World number three Victoria Azarenka squandered lost her temper on the way to a surprise 1-6 6-2 6-3 defeat by unseeded Russian Ekaterina Makerova in the Madrid Open second round. The Belarussian third seed, runner-up in the last two editions here, appeared firmly in control against her 24th-ranked opponent after cruising through the first set. Makerova raised her game to take the second set. After Azarenka smashed her racket on the ground at 3-3 in the decider, her game fell apart and the Australian Open champion suffered her first defeat of the year. — Reuters |
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Bulgaria hails ‘phenomenal’ Dimitrov
Sofia, May 8 Dimitrov became the first Bulgarian to beat a player occupying the world's top spot. “Bulgarian sport found its new hero after Hristo Stoichkov,” newspaper Trud wrote on Wednesday. Dimitrov, ranked 28th in the world, became hugely popular in the Balkan country after winning junior titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2008. The three Maleeva sisters — Manuela, Katerina and Magdalena — made the women's game successful in Bulgaria. However, only a couple of years ago, Orlin Stanoytchev was still the highest-ranked Bulgarian male player after reaching world number 96 in 2000. “Grigor made us proud to be Bulgarians,” said Bulgarian tennis federation president Stefan Tsvetkov. "It's an incredible win.” — Reuters
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Alonso must make it count at home in Barcelona
London, May 8 “We are not yet quite where we want to be,” he added. “In the first four grands prix we were not really able to fight for pole position and that is one of our main objectives at the moment.” The days when Alonso could count on the emotional boost of two home grands prix are gone. The Spaniard won in Valencia last year, but that race in the indebted port city is off the 2013 calendar, and he needs to get back on top of the podium at the Circuit de Catalunya. This time a year ago, Alonso arrived in Barcelona 10 points adrift of world champion Vettel in a battle that ultimately went down to the wire in the German’s favour. Now, despite Ferrari having a much more competitive car and Alonso winning in China, the gap between them is already 30 points and all the top teams are bringing new developments to the track now that they are back in Europe. Alonso suffered a retirement in Malaysia in March, after losing his front wing when he tagged Vettel at the start, and finished only eighth in Bahrain last month when his rear wing DRS system failed to function. That problem has been solved and Ferrari have updates to the bodywork, floor and wings. “With any new component, the difficulty lies not so much in its development but in deciding whether or not it is working on track as well as we had hoped,” said Tombazis. “By Friday evening in Barcelona, our objective is to have a clear view on what we will take forward to use in the race.” There are more questions than answers at this stage of the season and McLaren, regular title challengers who ended last year with the fastest car and started 2013 well off the pace, have plenty to deal with. “I think returning to a circuit where we undertook two of the pre-season tests will give us a useful benchmark of our progress so far,” said McLaren’s 2009 champion Jenson Button in a preview of the race. “I’m pragmatic about what we’ll discover next weekend. I’m hopeful that it’ll move us a step closer towards the destination.” Vettel has already won twice this season and his form in Bahrain looked ominous. Stopping that momentum is the big challenge. — Reuters
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Women’s empowerment and an IPL franchisee do not gel in any which way.
But since it’s a hot topic these days, why not cash on it? That thought seems to have struck the Kings XI Punjab management. So, it happens that a “two-week long camp for Self Defence for Women’” is snipped to a two-hour PR exercise
New Delhi, May 8
Alex Ferguson, Britain’s longest-serving and most decorated football manager, will retire at the end of the season after more than 26 years and nearly 1,500 matches at the helm of Manchester United, he announced on Wednesday.
The 71-year-old Scot ended intense speculation that he was about to call time on his career by confirming he would step aside after champions United’s last game of the season at West Bromwich Albion on May 19.
“At one point, I felt that Test cricket was dying all around the world and especially in India. India was one of the front-runners where attendance at Test matches was the most you could find in the world. And that started to go down at a real pace,” said Richards.
Trophies won
