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champions trophy Dead rubber? Not for India, Pakistan fans |
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Messi overtakes Maradona as top goal scorer for Argentina
England accused of ball tampering
Quebec soccer body lifts turban ban following FIFA ruling
Mickelson leads halfway, Woods trails
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Buoyant India have Pakistan on the run
Dhoni and his men beat Pakistan by eight wickets to notch up their third consecutive win in the tournament Rohit Mahajan in England
A dead match it was, the rain and the gloom greeted the large Asian turnout at the ground, and Pakistan played with funereal dejection and dullness against India today. The atmosphere was electric, but never in the middle of the ground during Pakistan’s innings. Pakistan have been bowled out three times in three matches in this tournament -- scores of 170, 167 and 165 today underscore their frailties. Rain had reduced the match to 40-overs a side, and India’s adjusted target was 168 in 40 overs. At the time of going to press, Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, in the form of their lives, had racked up 47/0 in 8.1 overs when rain had caused a stoppage. Pakistan seem unlikely to gain something like redemption with a win over India in their tournament of misery. They didn’t look like deserving it during any part of their innings. Yes, the rain did hamper and hobble their innings, but they failed to play with anything close to the fiery intensity their fans showed in the stands today. Rainy and cold it may have been, but the pitch was subcontinental in nature; it was not the unfamiliarity with the conditions that did Pakistan in. India bowled intelligently, and the spinners were especially successful, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja picking up four for 65 in 16 overs. With the ball gripping the wicket and turning sharply on occasion, Ashwin adjusted his speed quite intelligently. He flighted the ball and turned it significantly. Jadeja was quicker in the air, darting the ball at the wicket, but he managed to turn it and confound the batsmen. The rain was a factor, too. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had read the conditions precisely, and had worked out what impact would the rain have if it arrived at different parts of the day. Yesterday, he had said that closer to play, the forecast would be more accurate and he’d then make up his mind about batting or bowling first. When he did win the toss today, he had no hesitation in bowling first —he knew the rain would be coming soon. The rain arrived right on time. Nasir Jamshed, who had made 406 runs in his last five innings against India, including two centuries, fell for two today when he edged one from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Suresh Raina at slips. Then, as Pakistan tried to recover, the rain came pattering down after Pakistan had improved to 47/1 after 11 overs. Then, first ball after play resumed, Mohammad Hafeez fell, edging the ball off Bhuvneshwar to Dhoni. He had been disturbed by a white object that fell down near the sightscreen as he played. Scoreboard
pakistan Jamshed c Raina b Kumar 2 Extras: (LB-1, W-2) 3 Bowling:
Kumar 8-2-19-2 india Sharma c Misbah b Ajmal 8 Extras: 3 Bowling: Irfan 4-0-24-0 |
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Dead rubber? Not for India, Pakistan fans Birmingham, June 15 On the way to the ground, there were long traffic snarls; people who walked to the ground had to shuffle along in close formation on the pavements close to the ground -- there was no room to walk briskly. Along the way, you could get your face painted in your team colours, or buy a flag or a hat. By the time the crowds reached the stadium, all of them bore marks of their tribe, their country, their roots — hats, faces painted green or blue and saffron, flags, scarves. There were hundreds of Indian and Pakistani flags in the stands, and there were wild cheers each time one team’s players did better. When Pakistan struck a blow, the stands were green; when the Indians got a wicket, the Indian flags were all over the stands. The only time the crowd seemed united was when they stirred up Mexican waves -- then it was exhilarating to watch Indian and Pakistani flags go up together.
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Messi overtakes Maradona as top goal scorer for Argentina
Madrid, June 15 On Friday night in a friendly against Guatemala, Messi produced a brilliant performance to overtake the man who delivered the 'Hand of God' goal in 1986. The 25-year-old play maker scored a hat-trick in his home side's 4-0 demolition of Guatemala. With a long career ahead of him, it is more likely than not that Messi will finish as Argentina's top scorer. Currently the Barcelona player is equal on 35 goal for Argentina with Hernan Crespo. But he is still 21 goals adrift from legend Gabriel Batistuta. In international football, Batistuta is Argentina's all-time leading goal scorer having scored 56 goals in 78 appearances for his national team. The now 44-year-old has played three World Cups for Argentina and for fans of the beautiful game in the South American country he is rated as a greater player than Maradona. Whether Messi will be a bigger player than Maradona is a debate that is out in the open for everyone to watch, comment and decide on. Maradona has won his home side a World Cup while Messi still has to emulate him in this regard. For football-crazy Argentina and many fans, more than goals, World Cup wins and trophies are a judge of success. Will Messi win Argentina a World Cup and will he become the countries leading gaol scorer only time will tell. The Ballon d'Or winner is surely headed in the right direction — Agencies
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England accused of ball tampering
London, June 15 Oddly enough, the accusation came from an Englishman, no other. Bob Willis, the former England fast bowler, now a commentator, accused an England player of tampering with the ball during their defeat to Sri Lanka. Willis made the accusation while speaking on air on Sky Sports. He had said that ball-tampering was the reason the umpires changed the ball halfway through the Sri Lanka innings at the Oval in London two days ago. Sri Lanka were chasing 294 for victory. “Let’s not beat about the bush — (umpire) Aleem Dar is on England’s case,” Willis said. “He knows that one individual is scratching the ball for England — who I am not going to name — and that’s why the ball was changed. Have you ever heard about the batting side or the umpire complaining about the shape of the ball? How naive does Alastair Cook think we are? He didn’t want the ball changed. So why was it changed?” The ball was changed after 25 overs. Later, England captain Alastair Cook rued this later, suggesting that the new ball difficult to get reverse-swing. “It was very hard to get the ball to reverse swing and it was changed after 21 overs,” Cook had said. England were very upset with this -- they’d only got the ball to reverse-swing, and after the change, Sri Lanka simply ran away with the game as Kumar Sangakkara struck a great century. Though Willis didn’t name the player, Cook generally has the responsibility of “looking after the ball” -- ie, ensuring that it is in the optimum condition to be swung by being kept dry on one side and moist and heavy on the other. This role is Cook’s because, apparently, he sweats very little and his hands remain dry. But Ravi Bopara has been handed that role during this tournament. Willis could have been referring to either of them. With the righteousness of the wronged, England coach Ashley Giles announced today: "We don't tamper with the ball.” “I hope we can talk about something else," he added. "It is disappointing because we have a huge game, a quarter-final must-win, and there are a lot of headlines about the wrong stuff.” “There is even mention of one of our player's specific roles and that player is an extremely good cricketer and has had an extremely good series so far and we would like to let him concentrate on playing his cricket as best as he can,” Giles raged on. Cook too had his say on the issue. “The ball was changed because it was out of shape. That was the umpire’s reasoning,” he said. “The umpires make those decisions, so you have to accept them. Sometimes you don’t think they are the right decisions but there’s not much you can do about it.” Giles said that the team achieved reverse-swing through perfectly legal means. He said the dry and abrasive pitches in the tournament caused the ball to be scuffed, and England managed to use the scuffed ball to their advantage. "The one big thing about this tournament so far particularly at Edgbaston, where we did get reverse-swing, is how dry the squares are... and the amount of wickets that have been cut on those squares,” he said. "And that (Edgbaston) is the one ground where the ball went around.” Willis’s accusation, of course, referred to a match that was played at the Oval in London.
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For once rain didn’t bring pain for South Africa
Cardiff, June 15 “We have been on the losing side of things like this. Luckily the par score was on the scoreboard all the time. It was in the back of our mind and we were aware of the equation,” said de Villiers. South Africa barely managed to secure a semifinal berth despite their Group 'B' match against the West Indies ending in a tie under the D/L method here on Friday night. De Villiers said his side played well against the West Indies but fickle weather made it difficult for his bowlers to adjust to the conditions. “The ball was getting wet. It was tough on our bowlers. We needed to be calm and we were. We played really good cricket most of the time. “We batted well but we were aware West Indies have strong batting. Dale Steyn looked really good, bowling with a lot of heat. And just glad he held on to that catch in the end,” said the captain. Interestingly, during the 1999 World Cup tie against Australia, the South Africans had failed to read correctly the Duckworth/Lewis method when they had the match all but won at Edgbaston. — PTI Blow by blow
South Africa just about managed to sneak through to semis after the decider with West Indies ended in a tie. Here's a recap of the thriller.. Rain plays spoilsport
Chasing a 231-run target in 31 overs, Windies were left stranded at 190 for 6 after the skies opened up and the match was called off. A freak tie
It turned out a par score under Duckworth Lewis System and the match was tied. Had West Indies been 191 for 6, they would have gone through. SA sneaked though on the basis of better run rate. Decisive blow
Dismissal of Kieron Pollard just before rain stopped play proved to be decisive. Had he remained unbeaten, the par score would have been 187 for 5, and West Indies would have sneaked through. SA break the jinx
SA have a long history of being unlucky in rain-interrupted and tied games. A look at a few instances... Big heartbreak
An abrupt rain saw South Africa facing an impossible target in the 1992 World Cup semis. They required 22 runs off 13 balls. After the rain, they had to get the same total in one ball. The loss that still hurts
Their 1999 WC semi-final match against Australia ended in a tie. Oz went through as they had beaten them in league stage. Mother of all blunders
SA failed to calculate how many runs they needed against Lanka in 2003 WC. As a result, they bowed out. |
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Quebec soccer body lifts turban ban following FIFA ruling
Montreal, June 15 “It has been our intention from the onset to get a confirmation that the FIFA allowed wearing of turbans, patkas or keskis,” said the Quebec federation’s executive director, Brigitte Frot. “We are very happy that the FIFA has responded to our request and by the same token dispelled the ambiguities created by a lack of clarification.” The ban prompted the Canadian Soccer Association to suspend the Quebec Soccer Federation earlier this week. Frot said her organization has sent a letter to the national body informing it that the ban has been lifted, which once received, should put an end to the suspension. The Quebec organization had cited safety issues for its controversial move as well as the fact the garments were not endorsed by FIFA. The ban had become a political football. The Parti Quebecois government supported the federation’s position, while many federal politicians slammed it as exclusionary. The federation “unwillingly” found itself the focus of a polarizing debate, Frot said in a statement Saturday. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) struck a blow against Quebec's turban ban, saying such headwear is perfectly acceptable on the pitch. Sikh body hails decision
World Sikh Organization President Prem Singh Vinning said, “the lifting of the turban ban by the QSF was long overdue. Common sense would dictate that if the turban is worn on soccer pitches across Canada without incident and was worn even in Quebec for many years prior to 2012, it can and should be permitted. It’s unfortunate that it took this long and this much effort for the QSF to realize that Sikh children should be allowed to play.” — Agencies |
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Saina bows out of Indonesia Open
Jakarta, June 15 World number two Saina, who won the title three times — in 2009, 2010 and 2012 — lost 21-12 13-21 14-21 to Schenk, ranked fourth, in a contest that lasted for 52 minutes at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno stadium. Saina, who was uncharacteristically misfiring on the day, trailed 12-10 after an early battle in the first game. Saina wrested back the advantage, using her deceptive drop shots that Juliane failed to read, and raced away with the first game — winning 11 consecutive points. Saina sealed the game with an over-the-head half smash. After changing sides, Juliane moved to a 4-0 lead in a flash as nothing went Saina’s way. The Indian tried to engage Juliane in long rallies, expecting the German to miss-hit, but Juliane, up to the task, moved to 6-0. Egged on by a vociferous crowd who chanted the Indians name, Saina won four consecutive points, but still trailed 11-4. Juliane, serving flat, retrieved everything and smashed hard to move to 14-6. Saina committed too many unforced errors to allow Juliane reach 20-11. Saina saved two game points but Juliane’s elegant cross-court flick caught the Indian napping at the forecourt. In the decider, Juliane matched the Indian shot for shot in long rallies and waited for her to commit mistakes. Saina once again started miss-hitting long and wide to allow Juliane to go ahead 6-4. Juliane’s smashes and aggressive net-play left Saina looking for answers as the German went into the breather at 11-5. Saina slowly narrowed the gap to 14-16, however a cross court smash, a brilliant drop and another down-the-line smash helped Juliane to make it 19-14. After two miss-hits, one wide and one into the net, Saina conceded the match. — PTI
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Mickelson leads halfway, Woods trails Ardmore, USA, June 15 Four-times major winner Mickelson finished his second round at one-under-par. Luke Donald was one stroke back, while Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were lurking well within range on three-over 143. — Reuters
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Hesh-Bops in semis at Queen's Club Archers settle for silver India go down to Holland Ankush makes it to India U-19 squad for Oz
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A dead match it was, the rain and the gloom greeted the large Asian turnout at the ground, and Pakistan played with funereal dejection and dullness against India today.
Merely 22,832 people came to watch the India-Pakistan match here today — it’s a very small number by Indian or Australian standards. But this was the capacity of the Edgbaston ground — the ground was packed.
