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champions trophy
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An Indian fan wearing a hat in the team colours holds a pleading message for the rain to go away. — AFP
Why extend the final by 70 minutes, asks Michael Holding
Switzerland's Roger Federer arrives for a training session at the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on Sunday. — AFP
My father gave India confidence on cricket field: Saif
Neymar, Fred lead Brazil’s demolition of Italy
Fred scores during Brazil’s 4-2 win against Italy in their Confederations Cup pool match on Saturday. — AFP
Bubba Watson keeps share of lead at Travelers
Anand draws with Kramnik, stuck in 8th position
Sports Ministry officials under criticism for ‘illegal’
amendments
Srini elected TNCA Prez unopposed
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champions trophy Birmingham, June 23 Cricket went haywire at the Edgbaston ground on Sunday night. England nearly won their first major 50-over ICC trophy after 38 years of trying, but it was not really a 50-over match — rain reduced the game to a 20-overs-a-side match. It became a Twenty20 match, but not really, because the restrictions of T20 didn’t apply tonight because, remember, it was a 50-overs event. England were playing at home, but not really — Edgbaston seemed India, with Indian supporters making up 90 percent, if not more, of the crowd. It was cold and blustery and cloudy, it couldn’t have been farther from Indian conditions — but Mahendra Singh Dhoni placed men at slip, gully, silly mid off and mid off, and effected two stumpings. The evening was crazy, because it caught the infection of lunacy of the Twenty20 game. Things happened that scarcely happen in “normal” cricket. As England chased India’s 129 in 20 overs, a moment of lunacy struck the match and England in the 18th over of the innings. It was bowled by Ishant Sharma. England were in charge — they needed 28 off 18 balls. Ravi Bopara had made 30 off 24 and Eoin Morgan 27 off 27. Morgan hit the second ball for a six, and Ishant seemed to be going to pieces — he bowled two wides in a row. Then Morgan hit right into the hands of Ravichandran Ashwin at midwicket; then Bopara hit Ishant right into the hands of Ashwin at square let. Next over, Joe Buttler and Tim Bresnan had a mind-freeze. England were left to get 15 off the final over, bowled by Aswhin. They could manage only nine. After coming close to sharing this title, as they did in 2002, India won. After coming close to winning any big 50-over title, England were crestfallen. Fifty-over cricket gave way to T20 in the end of an enormously successful tournament — is it a sign of the times? After the rain abbreviated the match, the Indian team, packed with sparkling strokemakers and blasters, was thought to be the favourite. But the conditions weren’t quite those of the Indian Subcontinent. Then, the uncertainty and the nerves that T20 cricket causes plagued the Indians. India made India 129/7 in their 20 overs; only nine fours were hit in the entire innings, and four sixers. England bowled as many as 54 dot balls. It was that sort of a day, that sort of an innings. That India managed to reach 129 was a bit of a surprise, because halfway through, they were 59/2 in 10 overs. This soon became 66 for five in 13 as Ravi Bopara took two wickets — Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni — in the 13th over, without giving away a run. The perceived threats were James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan; but it was Bopara who cut the heart out of the Indian batting line-up with those two wickets, and that of Shikhar Dhawan earlier, off the second ball he bowled. A partnership of 47, off 5.3 overs, between Kohli and Jadeja enabled India to pass 100. Scoreboard India Rohit b Broad 9 Dhawan c Tredwell b Bopara 31 Kohli c Bopara b Anderson 43 Karthik c Morgan b Tredwell 6 Raina c Cook b Bopara 1 Dhoni c Tredwell b Bopara 0 Jadeja not out 33 Ashwin run out 1 Kumar not out 1 Extras:
4 Total: (7 wickets; 20 overs) 129 Fall of wickets:
1-19, 2-50, 3-64, 4-66, 5-66, 6-113, 7-119 Bowling Anderson 4-0-24-1 Broad 4-0-26-1 Bresnan 4-0-34-0 Tredwell 4-0-25-1 Bopara 4-1-20-3 ENGLAND Cook c Ashwin b Yadav 2 Bell st Dhoni b Jadeja 13 Trott st Dhoni b Ashwin 20 Root c I Sharma b Ashwin 7 Morgan c Ashwin b I Sharma 33 Bopara c Ashwin b I Sharma 30 Buttler b Jadeja 0 Bresnan run out 2 Broad not out 7 Tredwell not out 5 Extras:
5 Total: (8 wickets; 20 overs) 124 Fall of wickets:
1-3, 2-28, 3-40, 4-46, 5-110, 6-110, 7-112, 8-113 Bowling Kumar 3-0-19-0 Yadav 2-0-10-1 Jadeja 4-0-24-2 Ashwin 4-1-15-2 I Sharma 4-0-36-2 Raina 3-0-19-0
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It’s wet wet wet, but Indian fans don’t mind at all
Birmingham, June 23 Only six hours after the toss, which had taken place at 10 am here, did the sun make an appearance at the ground. Then it became very bright suddenly; a stiff wind rose and swept the darker clouds away, and there was light, as if the man upstairs had suddenly flicked on the power switch. It was then that, at 4 pm local time, for the first time in the day, there was action on the field. Indians constituted a large portion of the crowd. They cheered and danced as the DJ, quite wisely, played Indians’ favourite, Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin Todenge, and other India-centric songs like Apni Jeet Ho Unki Haar Ho from the movie Lagaan. There was a bit of action on the ground, too, as the players warmed up. The Indians played football, trying to score a goal between two stumps pitched into the ground. Mahendra Singh Dhoni displayed some good skills here too, doing some nifty step-overs. He adroitly passed the ball around, and was clearly the best man on the green. The amazing thing about the crowd was that it was some 90 percent Indian — if not more. This at Edgbaston, a bastion of English cricket! There was practically no support for the “home” team. Two years ago, it was at this very ground that India got out for 224 and 244; England had made England 710/7 declared. As India sunk in their second innings, the delirious English supporters, drunk on beer and something stronger, like happiness, sang and sang. The atmosphere here during the Ashes matches is even more pulsating, partisan — it feels like heaven for the Barmy Army here when England are thrashing Australia. But today, the Indians had taken over. The English supporters, perhaps more confident about the forecast made by their Met Department, had stayed away. The forecast for the day wasn’t sanguine; rain was supposed to fall through the day, with the possibility of the sun coming out late. The home fans, mindful of this, seemed to have put up their tickets for sale. Tickets were being sold in the black market well into today. There were lots of Indians who had driven up from Leicester or London or even farther just on optimism, in the hope of getting a few tickets. “We got the tickets in black last night,” said an Indian fan who came from London. “We paid double the listed price, 120 pounds for a 60-pound ticket. For our group, 1,200 pounds for the 10 of us. But we wanted to see our players in action.” The Indians here do seem to have the inclination to spend a good part of their income on the cricket when India are here; they haven’t quite taken to the football here, or to any of the other popular sports of this island. They identify themselves with only cricket, and only India. Then, they would have got a full refund on their tickets if less than 20 overs of play had taken place today. When the names of the Indian players were called out on the public announcement system before the match began, each name was the followed by a massive roar. When the England names were announced, there were hoots and boos, among negligible applause. However, when Ravi Bopara’s name came up, there was a big cheer.
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Why extend the final by 70 minutes, asks Michael Holding
Birmingham, June 23 One of the former greats, now a commentator, didn’t quite agree with the ICC decision. Michael Holding of the West Indies, doing commentary with Sourav Ganguly at that time, said the decision wasn’t fair. Why change the rule in the middle of the tournament, he asked. “Why did the ICC not add extra one hour when West Indies and South Africa played in Cardiff?” Holding wondered. Ganguly said he really couldn’t answer that, except to say that this decision had been made only for the final. “I don't agree with changing the rules in the middle of tournament,” Holding said. Holding was referring to the group match between his team and South Africa, which ended in a tie and South Africa reached the semifinals due to a better run rate. West Indies had left the field 190/6 in 26.1 overs as rain poured down; the Duckworth Lewis winning score for them in 26.1 overs would have been 191. If, as Holding said, that match had been extended by an hour, West Indies would have had an overwhelming chance of reaching the semifinal. Holding said that the Cardiff match was part of same tournament, why not change the rules for it? The decision to extend the final today was made by the event technical committee, of which the most notable part, in the Indian context, is Sourav Ganguly, the former captain. The others on this committee are Geoff Allardice, Campbell Jamieson, Steve Elworthy, Alan Fordham and David Lloyd. The decision did allow the match to progress to late evening; two days after the summer solstice, it was darkness at forenoon, noon, afternoon here. The prospect of the match getting washed out became very real. The possibility that India would share the Champions Trophy title for the second time increased by the minute; the possibility that England’s first major 50-over world victory would be a shared one became real. Why then, you would ask, was there not a reserve day for the final? There’s no time, to put it bluntly. The last time India reached the final of the tournament, in 2002, there indeed was a reserve day for the tournament. The host was Sri Lanka, the month was September, a wet September. But it rained on both the days. Sri Lanka had batted first and made 244 on the scheduled final day — and rain then ended the match with India 14/0. On the reserve day Sri Lanka made 222 and the rain ended the match with India 38/1. The trophy was shared. There was no provision for a reserve day here. India are scheduled to fly off to the West Indies for a tri-nation One-day series from here; they are scheduled to fly off from London on Wednesday. England too have no rest after the final —they play a Twenty20 match against New Zealand on Tuesday, followed by another on Thursday, both in London. It could be argued that the Champions Trophy final must hold precedence over a tri-lateral or bilateral series; that in wet England, a reserve day for the championship match should have been provided. However, it was not to be so. |
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Fed brings a decade of success into his 15th Wimbledon
London, June 23 “I’m very happy to be back, no doubt about it. It’s always a privilege and with big pleasure I come back here, especially with the memories I have from this place, not just from last year but the last 15 years,” said the winner of a record 17 titles at the majors who is looking to make more history with an eighth trophy at the All England club. “I’m excited that the tournament’s about to start. I’m happy to be playing. I’m fit. That’s really what matters now sort of 24 hours before my match.” Federer’s first test will come against Romanian Victor Hanescu on the untrammelled lawns of the most iconic tennis court in the game. The third-seeded Federer owns that series 5-0. The 31-year-old won his first grand slam singles crown at Wimbledon a decade ago, a victory which started him on the path to immortality. The father of two called the last decade “an unbelievable 10 years.” “I can’t believe it’s been this successful and this nice in the process. I really enjoyed myself on tour. I made many friends. I started a foundation. I’ve continued to be successful. I’ve played so many matches where I went through so many incredible moments. I’m forever grateful to the first Wimbledon title I was able to achieve here. It’s all happened a bit too fast for my liking, but I’m happy I’m still playing and continuing to give myself opportunities to be contending for the title here.” The popular Federer will not be, perhaps, the main draw card on a day predicted to be dry. The Swiss defending champion may be outshined by second seed and 2012 losing finalist Andy Murray, still working to crack the 77-year title draught for home players at the event. Murray, who won the Queen’s title a week ago on the same day that Federer claimed the Halle grass crown in Germany, will start with German Benjamin Becker, as the weight of the nation begins to bear down on his shoulders. Also on court is fifth-seeded two-time winner Rafael Nadal, playing Belgian Steve Darcis. Nadal’s ranking dropped due to the permutations of mathematics even after he won an eighth French Open title this month. But the Spaniard is not worried by his ranking and neither is Federer. Serena apologises to Sharapova over boyfriend barb
Sharapova, soundly beaten by Serena in the French Open final earlier this month, hit back on Saturday telling the world number one to keep her nose out of other people's business, adding an edge to the women's competition at the grasscourt slam. "I made it a point to reach out to Maria because she was inadvertently brought into the situation by assumptions made by the reporter," a smiling Williams said.
— Agencies |
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My father gave India confidence on cricket field: Saif
Saif's tribute came in writing in a handbook, Tribute to Tiger, issued by the Indian Journalists' Association (IJA) released at the launch of a book titles 'Pataudi: Nawab of Cricket' at Lord's Cricket Ground. "It was a privilege to have him as a father. I will not talk about his international career except to say he made India proud. We were a young and developing country badly in need of confidence; and at least on the cricket field he gave this to us. He played against and sometimes beat the best in the world," Saif wrote in the handbook. "He had a kind of genuine confidence that was way beyond the superficial. He never ever lost his cool, and never raised his voice in anger. He shone in every phase of his full and colourful life. I only wish he could have enjoyed his 70s more and taught me a little more about this world in which we live!," Saif added in his tribute. While Saif was unable to attend the launch event at Lord's, his mother Sharmila Tagore and sisters Soha and Saba Ali Khan were joined by former cricketer Farokh Engineer and Maharana Arvind Singh of Mewar among others from the MCC for the event. "When Tiger left us there was such spontaneous outpouring of affection and grief and that’s when the idea of this book came about. I welcomed the idea because I needed something to do and what better than to remember Tiger and learn so much more about him," said Sharmila in reference to the book, which is a collection of articles by former cricketers and people close to Tiger Pataudi, who passed away in September 2011. "This is one of the family's humble efforts and we will continue to do something to keep in touch with Tiger. It is a deeply moving experience for us," added the veteran actress, who has also written a foreword for the book edited by sports writer Suresh Menon. Chapters are made up of a mix of reminisces by cricketers, some contemporaries of Tiger and others just admirers of his game, such as Ian Chappell, Bishan Bedi, Vijay Merchant and Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid. There are a few other more personal accounts by Tiger Pataudi’s daughters Soha and Saba Ali Khan as well as journalists Rajdeep Sardesai and M J Akbar. “While my mother, brother, sister and I travelled the world, making films and speeches, giving and receiving awards, caught up in hectic schedules, you could always count on him to be at home by the telephone, solid and dependable as a rock," reads an extract.
— PTI |
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Neymar, Fred lead Brazil’s demolition of Italy
Both were sides already through to the semifinals of the World Cup warm-up so Italy coach Cesare Prandelli freshened things up with five changes from the team that started against Japan three days ago. But even though Brazil only needed a point to qualify in first place, they were the hungrier side from the off. Brazil almost took the lead in the first minute when Hulk forced Gianluigi Buffon to get down smartly to turn his shot round the post. Neymar should have done better than blaze wide after Oscar set him up with a lovely flick in 24th minute and he was unlucky to see one shot blocked after a lovely backheel and one-two on the edge of the box a few moments later. It was Neymar again who was involved in the opening goal right on halftime. His inswinging free kick from the left was headed goalbound by Fred and when Buffon could only parry it out, Dante was on hand to sidefoot the ball home. Italy grabbed an equaliser six minutes into the second period and it was Mario Balotelli who played a key role. His sublime backheeled flick put Emanuele Giaccherini free and he hammered his angled drive past Julio Cesar. Four minutes later Neymar won a dubious free kick right on the edge of the box and he took the kick himself, curling a perfect shot into the top corner of the net past a helpless
Buffon. Fred increased Brazil’s lead in the 66th minute when he latched onto a long ball from Marcelo and held off a defender before smashing the ball into the roof of the net from six
metres. Italy were down but not out and they snatched a goal back in the 71st minute. The Brazilian defence failed to clear a corner and the ball fell to Giorgio
Chiellini, who fired home despite Brazil protests that the referee had already blown for a foul on
Balotelli. Fred put a more accurate sheen on the result when he scored a fourth just a minute from time. Buffon was unable to hold a Marcelo shot and the striker was on hand to slot home. Hernandez scores twice in Mexico win
Belo
Horizonte: Javier Hernandez scored two headers and missed a stoppage time penalty as Mexico notched a 2-1 consolation win over Japan which sent their opponents home pointless from the Confederations Cup. Both teams had already been eliminated after losing their opening two Group A matches but the win may easy the pressure slightly on Mexico coach Jose Manuel de la
Torre, whose team have also been unimpressive in the World Cup qualifiers. Hernandez, who scored all three of Mexico’s goals at the tournament, put his side ahead in the 54th minute when he met Andres Guardado’s cross with a perfectly timed run and placed his header past Eiji Kawashima. He struck again 12 minutes later from close range after Hiram Mier flicked on a corner at the near post. Shinji Okazaki tapped in with four minutes left to give Japan some hope of claiming their first point, but Mexico should have restored their two-goal lead when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Hernandez. Mexico deserved the win overall with Guardado also hitting the post with a flying header five minutes before halftime.
— Reuters |
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Bubba Watson keeps share of lead at Travelers
Cromwell, June 23 Watson will go into the final round at 10-under par, tied for the lead with his countryman Charley Hoffman and Canadian Graham DeLaet, on a heavily congested leaderboard that included England’s newly-crowned U.S. Open champion Justin Rose. “I hit some shots today that were really good, some quality shots but got a couple bad breaks here and there but that’s golf,” Watson told reporters. “At the end of the day I still have a chance on Sunday and that’s what we are always looking for on the weeks we are playing.” Hoffman, who opened the tournament with a stunning 61 but fell back with a second round 73, carded a 66 while DeLaet signed for a 65, matching the best round of the day, as he chases his maiden PGA Tour win. American Chris Stroud (66) and Australian Nick O’Hern (68) were tied for fourth, just one shot off the lead, while American Ken Duke was alone in sixth after a 65. Justin Rose was among a bunch of players in the next group at minus seven, after he shot a second successive 68. At the end of the day, 18 players were within four strokes of the lead, setting the stage for a grandstand finish. Watson, who won his first PGA Tour title at the 2010 Travelers, came out fast with three birdies in his first six holes, before running into trouble in the stretch and getting distracted by spectators. Hoffman produced five birdies and a lone bogey to stay in contention 12 months after he blew his chance of winning the same tournament.
— Reuters |
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Anand draws with Kramnik, stuck in 8th position
Moscow, June 23 Looking to control some damage after losing as many as three games in one of the strongest tournaments ever, Anand did everything right and gave no chances to Kramnik who is on an unfamiliar last spot in the tournament he has won before. With just one round remaining, the draw did not help Anand’s cause for a comeback but did not do any further damage either. Boris Gelfand of Israel remained in front on 5.5 points after an easy draw with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan while world number one Magnus Carlsen scored a regulation victory over erstwhile leader Hikaru Nakamura of United States to jump to sole second spot on five points. Fabiano Caruana of Italy defeated Alexander Morozevich of Russia after the latter panicked out of a drawn situation and the Italian now shares the third spot along side Nakamura, Dmitry Andreikin of Russia and Mamedyarov on 4.5 points apiece. Russian Sergey Karjakin did not give much leverage to fellow Andreikin and drew comfortably to occupy the sole seventh spot on 3.5 points with just a lone game left to play against Anand who stands sole eighth a half point adrift.
— PTI |
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Sports Ministry officials under criticism for ‘illegal’
amendments
New Delhi, June 23 The CSI, in a symposium organised by it on the occasion of Olympics Day here, was also critical of a top Sports Ministry official for "hobnobbing" with officials of the IOA who are not recognised by the International Olympic Committee. Blaming the IOA squarely for the current mess in Indian sports, CSI President Ashwini Nachappa said that the national apex body should now enforce the basic principles of ethics and good governance. "The IOC, while giving reasons for India's suspension in December last, had clearly stated that the IOA had been unable to observe its statutes and the Olympic Charter and to enforce the basic principles of ethics and good governance," Nachappa said in her opening remarks of the symposium on 'IOC roadmap for revocation of suspension of India'. "Time has come for the stakeholders of Indian sports to lay emphasis on ethics and good governance. We should not allow tainted officials to be a part of Olympic Movement in India and play illegal role in the whole process (of India's return to Olympic fold)," she added. The speakers also slammed Sports Secretary P K Deb for chairing a meeting to discuss the draft amendments of the IOA Constitution on April 22, which was attended by president of the suspended IOA Abhey Singh Chautala and his Executive Council colleagues. “He has no business to chair the meeting and that too one which was attended by tainted people, not recognised by the IOC.”
— PTI |
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Birmingham, June 23
In a tribute to his late father, Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan says that with his flamboyant leadership style, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi gave India the much needed confidence on the cricket field.
Saif's tribute came in writing in a handbook, Tribute to Tiger, issued by the Indian Journalists' Association
(IJA) released at the launch of a book titles 'Pataudi: Nawab of Cricket' at Lord's Cricket Ground.
Goals from Dante, Neymar and a brace from Fred gave Brazil a well-deserved 4-2 victory over Italy on Saturday as the improving hosts made it three wins from three in the Confederations Cup.
With Neymar in sparkling form and Fred always dangerous in front of goal, Brazil were the better team for most of a Group A match they never looked like losing.
Serena Williams launched a charm offensive on Sunday as she sought to broker a truce with Maria Sharapova and calm the storm surrounding comments she made about a rape victim. On the eve of Wimbledon, where she is defending champion, the pre-tournament focus has been on an interview she gave to Rolling Stone magazine that touched on a high-profile teenage rape case in Ohio and brought her into conflict with her Russian rival Sharapova. The piece included an account of a private conversation between Serena and her sister Venus that the reporter interpreted as an attack on Sharapova's relationship with Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov.
Salvador, June 23
