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champions
trophy
It looked all but over in the middle of that over
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Summer of ‘83: First brush with success
Oz sacks Arthur, Lehmann takes over
Nadal ousted, Federer cruises
Dhoni irked by Cook’s ‘poor decision’ remark
Els defies age with 28th European Tour win
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The man who won the west
Rohit mahajan in England
Dhoni kept his nerve when everyone else around him was losing his to win the Champions TrophyA day before the final of the final Champions Trophy tournament, Alastair Cook used the word “desperate” twice to describe his team’s quest to win England’s first big 50-over world event. He said he and his team were desperate to grab this chance to win a 50-over ICC title. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was much calmer on match eve, strolling in for a chat with the media playing a game on his smartphone, and departing in the same manner, laughing and joking. He seemed to be a man without a care in the world, a man stripped completely of any trace of desperation. On the field on Sunday, though, Dhoni was the more desperate man in his pursuit of victory. He didn’t score a run, but he was the architect of India’s victory. He really, really wanted this win, and he showed emotions like he rarely does — his anger at the misfields, joy at the wickets and the final victory. Big paradox Paradoxically, Dhoni was the calmer man too. He marshalled his bowling resources with intelligence and insight; his field placements, once he realised that the pitch was going to turn, were aggressive and intimidating. He delayed the bowling powerplay until the end, and he kept his two premier spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, to bowl the last two overs. And he himself didn’t do too badly behind the wicket, stumping two England batsmen and helping run another out. The calm-desperate Dhoni is not a contradiction in terms. He wanted the win more desperately, but he’s not really desperate for a victory — victory or defeat don’t seem to be a big deal to him when the emotion of the battle is past. Crucially, he was thus able to keep his nerve when everyone else was losing theirs in the endgame on Sunday evening. Later, he termed this an important victory. It made him the first captain to win the 50-over World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the Twenty20 World Cup. Then there’s also the small matter of taking India to the No. 1 position in Test cricket. Change in tactics Dhoni later said that he told his team that they must play the rain-hit match like a Twenty20 game. But once he realised that the pitch, despite the rain, had remained extremely dry under the covers and would help his spinners, he decided to play it like a Test match. He placed his men in close catching positions — slips, leg slip, gully, silly mid off. These are not your usual fielders in T20 cricket, which this match had become. But Dhoni knew that England had to be choked, and he did his best to apply the choke. England choked. “Before going in I said, let’s first of all get rid of the feeling that it's a 50-over game. It's a 20-over game, and we have seen in IPL and in T20 formats, 130 runs can be a difficult target to achieve,” Dhoni revealed after the match. “Secondly, (I said) nobody looks to the left of the pavilion. That’s the side that the rain was coming from. So, I said God is not coming to save us. If you want to win this trophy, we’ll have to fight it out. We are the number-one ranked ODI side, so let's make sure that they have to fight for these 130-odd runs. Don't look for any outside help.” Dhoni is a good self-help guru — calm under pressure, a man who thinks on his feet and implements the decisions. A man who can make his quiet desperation work for himself and the team. Player of the tournament Shikhar Dhawan topped run-charts, scoring 363 runs with two hundreds and a haf-century. From what is considered toughest test for openers, he’s come out with flying colours. He’s done really well for Delhi, North zone and Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL. The only change that I see in him is that he values his wicket even more. — VVS Laxman, Former India batsman All-winning captain MS Dhoni is the only skipper to have won all three ICC silverwares — World Cup, T20 World and Champions Trophy.
And that makes him arguably India’s best captain ever. Hats off to Dhoni, I think he is the best captain we have got. This looks like a complete team and Dhoni is probably the best captain India has ever had. — Ajit Wadekar, Former India skipper Rise and rise of sir jadeja Ravindra Jadeja’s rise has been phenomenal. Ridiculed as an all-rounder who can neither bowl nor bat initially, he finished as a top wicket-taker (13) and chipped in with the bat too. Jadeja has been outstanding, bowled brilliantly and contributed with the bat when team needed him the most. He has shown remarkable temperament. — Bishan Singh Bedi , Former India skipper — Sunil Gavaskar — K Srikkanth — Anshuman Gaekwad — Ajit Wadekar |
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It looked all but over in the middle of that over
Birmingham, June 24 After England, seeking 130 for victory, had been down to 46/4 in nine overs, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan staged a fightback. They had added 58 off 8.2 overs when Ishant Sharma started the 18th over. At that stage, Umesh Yadav had two overs still to bowl, while Ashwin, Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar had one each. Jadeja had figures of 1/20 off three; Bhuvneshwar none for 19 in three; Aswhin 2/6 in three; and Yadav’s were 1/10 off two. Dhoni could have used them to bowl the final three overs, especially since Ishant’s figures were the worst -- 0/27 off three. Yet, for some reason, Dhoni tossed the ball to Ishant. Slower ball first up, Morgan swung and missed; the second ball was short and on leg, and Morgan gleefully smashed it for six with a full swing of his arms. Third ball was wide outside off as Ishant tried to avoid bowling anywhere close to Morgan’s swing which sends ball from even outside off to midwicket. Then Ishant tried to go around the stumps; it didn’t work, another wide. Ishant seemed to visibly wither -- there had been a very conspicuous misfield by him in the previous over, and it seemed that his world was crumbling. Dhoni then changed the plans. The idea was to bowl wide outside the stumps to Morgan, but it wasn’t working for Ishant, as the two wides showed. Dhoni got Ishant to bowl in his normal manner. Different plan
“Ishant went for the six. The strong breeze was going across the stadium, and if you middled the ball, there was very good chance that it will go for a six,” Dhoni later said. “And the plan was to bowl outside off, for which I felt Ishant struggled a bit. So I said, no, let's get back to the original plan, you know? This wide delivery is not really working for you... So we brought him back. And he bowled a slower one and so deceived the batsman, so it worked.” Morgan couldn’t read the slower ball and struck it right to Ravichandran Aswhin at midwicket; Bopara hit the next ball to Aswhin, who was now at the square-leg for the right-hander. The two English batsmen had added 64 off 8.4 overs. They had got 39 of those in the previous 3.2 overs, taking India to the edge of a panic. Then the two lost their wickets in two balls to Ishant, both caught by Ashwin. The game changed decisively. Dhoni said flexibility in the middle is the key to keeping up to speed when the game is brief. “As I always say, you have to see the strength of the bowler and you can't just implement the plan because it works against a batsman,” he said. “You have to see if the bowler can really implement that plan, because you have to see if it's strength or not.” Dot ball, 6, wide, wide, wicket, wicket, dot ball, 1. This was the sequence of the strange occurrences in the 18th over of the innings. This would remain etched in Ishant’s mind forever -- he suffered before he rose to shine. |
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Summer of ‘83: First brush with success
Birmingham, June 24 That victory in the final of the Prudential World Cup, by Kapil Dev’s ‘Devils’, energised Indian cricket. It inspired a generation of players, some of who went on to become all-time greats of the game. That win, coinciding with the growth of TV, and colour TV, in India, was a game-changer. India was in decline as a hockey power, and hockey had been ceding ground to cricket in terms of popularity. After June 25 1983, cricket took over decisively as India’s most popular sport. People were hooked to the cricket on TV, even if the images beamed on Doordarshan were of primitive quality compared to what we have now; commentary on radio was soon marginalised. And India, which had been residing on the margins of world cricket, gradually edged towards the middle and then took the centrestage. That victory caused the World Cup to be moved out of England for the first time; Reliance Industries Limited saw enough marketing potential in it to sponsor the 1987 World Cup in India and Pakistan. With an ever-increasing TV audience — in a country of couch potatoes who don't have much to do after returning home knackered in the evenings — cricket on the TV turned out to be the most inexpensive and convenient mode of entertainment. Then the Indian economy opened up, and cable TV came in. This boom brought in billions in revenue to the Indian cricket board after the TV rights were first sold to private telecasters in the early 1990s. Cricket became a marketable commodity in India. The impact was worldwide. Playing against India, hosting India, became very rewarding in monetary terms because of the money TV companies — and thus, the cricket boards of those countries – abroad made from Indian advertising. The boom never went away, and India became the big boss in world cricket. The HQs of cricket moved to India. For men like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, 1983 was the year of great inspiration. Men like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, himself a little child in 1983, know the importance of that year. “1983, it was a very special year for us, winning the World Cup for the first time,” Dhoni said here a couple of days ago. “I would like to wish each and every person who was part of that team and the support staff and whoever who all were involved, thanks for giving us the ‘83 World Cup.” Dhoni is right in giving thanks to the class of 1983. He knows that the origin of the boom he and his fellow players across the world are enjoying now lie in the year 1983.
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Oz sacks Arthur, Lehmann takes over
Sydney, June 24 The team has endured a series of poor results, losing a test series in India 4-0 this year, and there have been a number of disciplinary issues in the squad. “It's not a decision we've taken lightly, but a baggy green cap is something that is important to all Australian cricketers,” Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland told a news conference in Bristol on Monday. Sutherland said results had simply not been good enough. “Consistency of behaviour, accountability for performance and discipline, they are things we like to see in a team that is improving.” he said. Arthur responsible
Arthur said he took full responsibility for the situation. “The reality is when you take a job on as head coach, you are totally responsible for the outcomes,” he told a news conference. “It's a challenge for all of the playing group, the team is going to play a certain way, an aggressive brand of cricket that entertains people and fans but also gets the job done on and off the field,” said Darren Lehmann.” — Reuters |
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Nadal ousted, Federer cruises
London, June 24 A year after losing to Czech Lukas Rosol in the second round, Nadal was outplayed by 135th-ranked Darcis on Court One, losing 7-6(4) 7-6(8) 6-4 in front of a disbelieving crowd. Fifth seed Nadal, who had never lost in the first round of a grand slam tournament before, served for the second set but Darcis hit back to move two sets in front. With Nadal, bidding for a third Wimbledon title, struggling to find his form and appearing to be struggling physically, Darcis then broke early in the third set and held his nerve to record the biggest win of his career. Darcis was the lowest-ranked player to beat Nadal for seven years, meaning the Spaniard became the first reigning French Open champion to lose in the first round of Wimbledon since Gustavo Kuerten suffered a first-round exit in 1997. Meanwhile, Roger Federer began the defence of his Wimbledon title by breezing to a straight sets victory over Romanian Victor Hanescu. The third-seeded Swiss barely broke sweat in demolishing his 48th-ranked opponent 6-3 6-2 6-0 with the final set taking only 17 minutes. On a chilly afternoon Federer strolled serenely around the lush court and was never remotely troubled in a match lasting only 68 minutes. Federer, bidding to become the first man to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title eight times, will face Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine in the next round. Murray breaks no sweat
Andy Murray showed the class that carried him all the way to Olympic glory as he beat Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-4 6-3 6-2 to reach the second round. Murray, extended his winning streak on grass to 12 as he dispatched Becker with minimum fuss. He dropped his serve only once as he tormented Becker with an assortment of baseline and volley winners. Third seed Maria Sharapova beat Kristina Mladenovic 7-6(5) 6-3 to move into the second round but had to work hard to end the resistance of her French opponent. Sharapova, champion in 2004 and losing finalist in 2011, was taken to a tiebreak in the first set before stepping on the gas and pulling away in the second. Painful win for Azarenka
While Sharapova recovered from a slow start, Second seed Victoria Azarenka fought through the pain barrier after a nasty fall to beat Maria Joao Koehler 6-1 6-2 to reach the second round. The Belarussian had cruised through the first set against the Portuguese world number 106 and was one point away from going 2-0 up in the second when she slipped behind the baseline while trying to reach a shot and almost did the splits. Azarenka screamed in agony as she lay on the grass. She received treatment there before taking a medical timeout. Her right knee was strapped and she walked gingerly back to continue the match, serving two double faults immediately before eventually losing the game. Hobbling between shots and unable to run for anything that landed away from where she was standing, Azarenka looked relieved when she won the match thanks to the errors of Koehler. Fifth seed Sara Errani was out-gunned in the first round by a teenager playing her first senior match on grass — Puerto Rican Monica Puig. The hard-hitting, Miami-based Puig, ranked 65th in the world, battered the Italian to win 6-3 6-2. — Reuters |
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Dhoni irked by Cook’s ‘poor decision’ remark
Birmingham, June 24 “I haven’t seen the TV, but there are lots of things that happened,” Dhoni said. “If you start dreaming about stuff, then not to forget, the last time we came over here (2011) we were playing the five ODIs. There was no ropes done (ie, running the ropes over the outfield to remove water after rain). There were never any breaks to make sure that the field was in good condition, and we paid the price. Every time we lost the toss, we were bowling second.” Dhoni had referred to this the day before the match also. He believes that this was an important factor in his team’s loss then, because his attack had spinners who couldn’t grip the ball after it became wet in the outfield. Dhoni wasn’t happy with the way the match was reduced to 50 overs a side affair, too. That made the result something of a gamble. His team was by far the best in the tournament, but the final result didn’t quite show that — it came down to the last ball of the tournament, and James Tredwell could have become England’s hero if he’d connected with his swing and hit a six. “I think it’s a bit unfair that in the ICC Champions Trophy 50-over format, we had to play a 20-over game to find a winner,” Dhoni said. “But still, I think they needed the result.” He got the result he wanted, and he seemed satisfied, in his own quiet and understated manner. There were a few big interruptions due to the rain in the India innings; Dhoni said that because of it, his team never really got its momentum going. He was glad, though, that most of the rain had exhausted itself before the match actually began. “After that, we went to bat and after every few overs they had to come off,” the captain said. “That really never allowed us to gain any kind of momentum or build the kind of partnerships that were needed. It reflected later on in the innings when the middle-order went into bat. They played a few big shots, and it never really paid off. It went straight to the fielders. I think it was the reason why we ended up scoring less than we should have scored or would have like to score. I don’t think there is much that can be done. But you’re right, there was a lot of problem with those breaks.” In the context of the recent bad results against England, including the Test series defeat at home late last year, and the 4-0 hammering India got here in the Tests in 2011, did this win give him special satisfaction? “No, opposition is just opposition for us,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter if we had beaten England in the final or some of the other sides, you know, because if you start looking at the opposition and particular teams, you want to win a game, then you may find it difficult. But it’s the same. It doesn’t matter who we have beaten, but the thing is we have beaten them quite well.”
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Els defies age with 28th European Tour win
Chandigarh, June 24 The reigning British Open champion, 43-year-old Els has won two US Opens as well as the British Open twice. “I am a very young 43-year-old,” the South African said yesterday, though he did say in his speech at the Open Championship last year when he won his fourth major whether “anyone believed he could win.” Ernie led the tournament after the first two rounds, but started the final round in a three-way tie for the lead. He carded a three-under 69 in the final round to finish the week at 18-under 270 and atop the leader board at the Eichenried Golf Club course. He is peaking just in time to defend his British Open title. Meanwhile, Jeev Milkha Singh missed the cut in Munich while Shiv Kapur finished the week with a total of five-under-par in a tie for 53rd place. “I am looking forward to the next few weeks on tour as I need to play consistently to get in contention, which is what I would like to do,” said Jeev who will now play the Irish Open, followed by a tournament in France before he heads to Scotland to defend his title at the Scottish Open. He will be joined by SSP Chowrasia, who also said, “I am looking forward to playing in Ireland and carding some low scores this week.” Meanwhile, on the PGA Tour, 44-year-old Ken Duke carded his first professional win ever as well as his first PGA Tour victory at the 2013 Travelers Championship, which he won in a playoff at TPC River Highlands. This is his first victory in 186 professional tournaments and in 19 years as a professional, having played various mini tours, the Canadian Tour, Asian Tour, South American Tour, Nationwide Tour and now the PGA Tour. Quite the contrary, on the Ladies Professional Golf Tour world number one Inbee Park won her fifth title this season in a playoff at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. She has won seven tournaments in 23 starts and her five victories this season include the first two major championships of the year - she won the Kraft Nabisco Championship by a clear four shots and the Wegmans LPGA earlier this month. She is in excellent form as she makes a bid for her first Grand Slam and her third major win this year at next week’s U.S. Women’s Open, a tournament she has already won once as a young 19 years old. On the Asian Tour, India’s Anirban Lahiri carded a second place finish at the Selangor Masters with a total of eight-under-par, one stroke behind the winner, Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul. Abhinav Lohan tied for 39th while Muniyappa finished in 57th place. Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha finished further behind in a tie for 58th place.
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Fortaleza, Brazil, June 24
They stretched their unbeaten run in competitive games to 28 and have not lost at all since England beat them in a friendly in November 2011. They will face Italy in Thursday’s semi-final. Alba slalomed his way past four opponents and got a lucky deflection off the shin of defender Kenneth Omeruo before firing home from eight metres for a wonderful goal in the third minute. Chances regularly fell to both sides in an exciting end-to-end game with John Obi Mikel, Joseph Akpala and Brown Ideye all going close for Nigeria. Soldado had two good chances to increase Spain’s advantage before the break but was twice thwarted by Nigeria keeper Vincent Enyeama. It was a different story after halftime with Spain midfielders Andres Iniesta and Xavi typically keeping possession for long periods. One of those moves produced a sublime second goal for Torres, who got away from marker Godfrey Oboabona to head in David Silva’s perfect cross. Spain completed their win went a quick free kick from deep inside their own half sent Alba galloping clear of the Nigeria defence and he calmly slipped past Enyeama to score into an empty net. Uruguay head for semis after thrashing Tahiti
Recife: Abel Hernandez grabbed four goals as Uruguay’s reserves won 8-0 against Tahiti, taking the South Americans into a Confederations Cup semi-final with Brazil and sending the Pacific islanders home after a third successive drubbing. It took Uruguay less than two minutes to open the scoring in the Group B game in Recife when striker Hernandez rose unmarked to head home from a Nicolas Lodeiro corner. Looking ahead to Wednesday’s semi-final against Group A winners Brazil in Belo Horizonte, Hernandez, whose goal in 79 seconds was the fastest ever at the Confederations Cup, said Uruguay will not be overawed by facing the hosts. “They’ve shown they are a good team, but we also have a good team,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.” — Reuters |
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BCCI announces Rs 1 crore each to players Shami replaces injured Irfan for WI tour Anand draws with Karjakin; Boris Gelfand wins Tal memorial Govt to take firm action against errant shooters Football tournament from June 28
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The 18th over of the England innings in the Champions Trophy final was the make or break over for both teams. India made it; England were broken.
Thirty years ago to date, on a pleasant day in London on June 25, Indian cricket made an unexpected date with history. No one saw it coming, but this tryst changed Indian cricket and, in the long run, world cricket.
London, June 24
It really has been a fantastic team because the way they have played, the way they have won every match, the way they have come out of tough situations, just speaks of a champion's mentality and that's what we have seen throughout this tournament
This is an excellent win. Yet again they proved that they are the best team in the world in one-dayers. In 2011 they won the World Cup and again they proved their superiority with solid performances
I am extremely happy and proud to be an Indian. They have played all-round cricket. These small targets are always dangerous, but the boys did not wilt under pressure and showed amazing character
Kudos to Sandip Patil and Co. Not many would have taken this chance especially when you're touring England. There was a lot of apprehension, we never thought this young brigade would do so well. So, whatever gamble or thinking they had put behind paid off. I would congratulate the selection committee also 
Two excellent goals from defender Jordi Alba, one of eight Barcelona players in the starting lineup, and a fifth of the tournament from Fernando Torres gave Spain a third successive win and top spot in Group B.
