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champions trophy
Indians throng team of the tournament
Balance and fielding won it for India
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1983 win changed Indian
cricket : Kapil
Rauf, Bowden sacked from ICC elite panel
Serena, Djokovic roll on
Brazil wary of Uruguayan firepower in semifinal
Time not ripe for legalising betting
Ancelotti appointed Real Madrid coach
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Played hard, but can’t party harder
Dhoni and his men fly to the West Indies on Wednesday, just 3 days after winning the trophy Rohit mahajan in England
Thirty years ago, the Indian cricket team partied in London when, shocking the world, they won the Prudential World Cup. This time around, after the win in the Champions Trophy, there was little time to party. After the match got over, the team stayed in Birmingham rather than coming over to London. The match ended late in the night, 8.32 pm local time. Then it was time for interviews and prize distribution and photographs. Then the celebrations began in real earnest in the dressing room, where champagne flowed like water. By the time it all ended, it was past 10.30. As they exited the ground, the team bus was serenaded by a small bunch of Indian supporters hammering away on their drums in the dimming light. The team then went to their hotel, the Hyatt, close to the Birmingham city centre. The hotel, like the stadium earlier in the evening, seemed like an outpost of India. Indian supporters numbering up to 300 were milling around the gate, the porch or in the lobby of the hotel. To the sound of drumbeats, the team reached the hotel around 11 pm. At the team hotel too, they had a small celebration where a cake was cut. The team has stayed on in Birmingham over the last two days. “Most of yesterday and today, they have been shopping around in the city,” said a team source. The team is scheduled to fly off to the West Indies tomorrow morning from Gatwick Airport in London. The support staff and the coaches have already left for the Caribbean islands. The team is aware that today is the 30th anniversary of the 1983 win, but they did not have any plans to celebrate that achievement. India were not the favourites in the week preceding the start of the Champions Trophy. Then they beat Sri Lanka and Australia handsomely in the practice matches. Then, in the main tournament, wins over South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan made them the favourites. They romped through the semifinal before edging out England in the final. MS Dhoni wasn't happy that the final became a T20 affair — he would have wanted a more decisive victory, for he knew that his was the best side here over the last three weeks. For him, victory didn't seem to be a surprise or a shock. In 1983, team members actually gave themselves a terrific shock with the Prudential World Cup triumph. India had won only one of six matches they had played in the two previous World Cups. Guess against whom did they score this lone win? East Africa, in 1975. In 1983, they beat the scary team from West Indies, winners of the first two editions , twice, including once in the final. Before that tournament, cricket historian David Frith had written that India should withdraw if they did not improve; he added that he would eat his words if India won. He did eat his words, literally, when he chewed up a copy of the article he had written and washed it down with red wine. Before this year's Champions Trophy, most of the media had written off India -- after tales of corruption in the IPL were uncovered, the team just didn't seem to be in the right frame of mind. The media wouldn't mind eating their words, if a few bottles of wine — or better still, champagne — are forthcoming.
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Indians throng team of the tournament
London, June 25 Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named the wicketkeeper/captain of the team. He could not have made it on the basis of his batting of wicketkeeping -- he made only 27 runs, took five catches and effected four stumpings. But he makes to the team because of his inspirational, inspired leadership, which was never more emphatically on show than in the final. He didn’t have to do much batting -- he played only two innings and faced only 30 balls in all. But he had the men doing the job for the team. Four of them made it to the ICC team of the tournament. Shikhar Dhawan The Delhi opener was the star of the tournament —watchers were left wondering where he had been hiding all these years. He started off with two centuries in the matches against South Africa and West Indies. His lowest score in the event was 31 in the final, in a match reduced to 20 overs. That six in the final, with the upper cut far over third man with both feet off the ground, epitomised his audacity and flair. No wonder he was named the Player of the Tournament. Ravindra Jadeja The Saurashtra allrounder, ridiculed and dismissed as an international class cricketer, nearly became the team’s No. 1 spinner. His accuracy and discipline made him very difficult to face, as did his change of pace and extent of spin. He rocked the West Indies with 5/36, was very effective in the final against England and scored some important runs against SA and England. Virat Kohli He didn’t really get to do much in the early part of the tournament, but had two important knocks in the semifinal (58*) and the final (43). His one relative failure was the 31 against South Africa; in the wins over West Indies and Pakistan, he had been called to the middle only to put the final touches on the fine work done by Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. MS Dhoni (Captain) The captain got to play only two innings. Against South Africa, he knocked up 27 off 26 balls. Against England in the final, he failed to score. But he captained his side with intelligence and nous, and would not have been a difficult choice to make it to the XI to captain it. Bhuvneshwar Kumar There was not much swing for Bhuvneshwar Kumar here, which was a bit of a surprise to him too. But he did provide important breakthroughs to India. He was smacked around for 49 in the first match against South Africa; but West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England failed to do much against him. Among pacers who bowled 20 overs or more, his was the best economy rate. Rohit Sharma would be aggrieved at not making this 12. And he would be justified, too. Though he was criticised for throwing away his wicket in almost every match, he did score 177 runs in the five matches. Crucially, he put up four partnerships of 50-plus —two of them of over 100 — in the five matches. Another Indian, R Ashwin, could have made the team. He picked up eight wickets at 22.62 and was key to India’s win in the final, in which he bowled his four overs for 15 runs and took two wickets. He took three key catches, too, in the final. The others named in the Champions Trophy XI
Jonathan Trott (England) 229 runs, Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) 222 runs, Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan) 173 runs, Ryan McLaren (South Africa) 83 runs & 8 wickets, James Anderson (England) 11 wickets, Mitchell McClenaghan (New Zealand) 11 wickets, 12th man: Joe Root (England) 173 runs |
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Balance and fielding won it for India
New Delhi, June 25 India enjoyed an undefeated run in the tournament as they clinched the title with a five-run victory over England in the rain-reduced final on Sunday. “They were the best team. They didn't panic in crucial situations, they won the critical moments towards the end of both the innings. India's batting, to get them to 130, the partnership between Kohli and Jadeja and also bowling towards the end. So India were the better team on the day as well,” Dravid told ‘ESPNcricinfo’. “I think the great thing that India had in this squad is balance. The conditions in England surprised us, I mean look at how much the ball spun, so because of the nature of wicket, it helped India play seven batsman with (Ravindra) Jadeja at number seven and actually five frontline bowlers. In the past, India didn't have that luxury...They played brilliantly,” he added. He lauded India's fielding during tournament. — PTI
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1983 win changed Indian cricket : Kapil
Kapil, who led India to the win, along with his teammates Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, the youngest man in the team, walked down memory lane recalling some of the best memories of the 1983 Prudential World Cup. "We were just a bunch of young boys who wanted to have fun. Winning was more fun in the evening and that's what we started to look out for - how we can enjoy more. The first match itself (against West Indies) gave us a little hope. After that our aim was to make the top four. Every match became more and more serious after that," Kapil was quoted as saying by BCCI.tv. "We felt that the 1983 World Cup changed the entire sport in our country and gave a new dimension to Indian cricket," he added. Shastri said the fact that India had beaten the West Indies and Australia in the group stages to reach the semi-final gave them a lot of confidence. After battering Australia by 118 runs, India booked the semi-finals berth and were off to Manchester to take on England in the semi-finals."The fact of the matter was that we had beaten the West Indies and Australia to reach the semi-finals. When we reached Old Trafford for our semi-final game and saw the pitch, we knew we had a very good chance," said Shastri. The Unthinkable had happened. India had made it to the World Cup final. Off to London, off to the Lord's! “We just said, 'let's go out there and enjoy ourselves'. There was no thought of winning or losing. We had played damn good cricket to reach the final and now let's go and enjoy," said Shastri. Gavaskar said Kapil told the boys to make the final "a memorable one.” "That's what Kapil said, 'We have worked hard and made the final. Yes, nobody is giving us a chance but this is a huge occasion so let's go out there, give it our best'. That's exactly what we did," said Gavaskar. Kapil said the track at the Lord's was prepared to suit the West Indies bowlers. “There was so much grass on that wicket, I still remember it clearly in my mind. I thought, 'what the hell is this? This is not a one-day wicket. We discussed it in the team meeting and I said, 'I am sure they will cut the grass. There's no way it will be so bouncy and green for the final'. But that didn't happen," he said. On the day of the final, Clive Lloyd won the toss and put India in to bat. — PTI
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Rauf, Bowden sacked from ICC elite panel
London, June 25 Rauf, who is being probed for allegedly taking expensive gifts from suspected bookies, and Bowden have been replaced by former Test cricketers Richard Illingworth and Paul Reiffel. “The selection panel considered the overall performances of the umpires over the past 12 months while deciding which umpires would be offered contracts for 2013-14. In Asad's case, it is important to emphasise that the recent speculation linking his name to the IPL spot-fixing investigation was not considered during the selectors' deliberations,” said Geoff Allardice, Chairman of the ICC Umpires Selection Panel.— PTI
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London, June 25 Putting aside her recent comments that led to apologies and a brief spat with Maria Sharapova, Williams looked every bit the five-time champion as she began her Wimbledon title defense with a routine 6-1, 6-3 victory over Mandy Minella of Luxembourg. Williams put the focus firmly back on tennis following the recent verbal jousting with Sharapova about their private lives and comments about a high-profile rape case. As usual on grass, the top-ranked Williams dominated with her hard serve, winning the first set without dropping a single point on her service game. Her serve let her down only at the start of the second set, when Minella was able to take a 2-0 lead when Williams double-faulted on break point. She was one point from trailing 3-0 but won 15 of the next 18 points to take a 4-2 lead, and broke again to wrap up the win. Williams improved her career record to 68-8 at the All England Club and extended her career-best winning streak to 32 matches, which included her second French Open title. Also Tuesday, 42-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm cruised past German teenager Carina Witthoeft — who is less than half her age — 6-0, 6-2 in just 44 minutes. Date-Krumm is the second oldest player to have won a match at Wimbledon after Martina Navratilova, who was 47 when she reached the second round in 2004. The 18-year-old Witthoeft was making her Grand Slam debut. Sixth-seeded Li Na of China reached the second round, routing Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-1. Novak Djokovic beat Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3,7-5,6-4. Divij and Raja's Slam debut ends Divij Sharan and Purav Raja frittered away a two-set lead (7-6 (4) 6-2 3-6 4-6 4-6) to spoil their Grand Slam debut as they bowed out of men's doubles event of the Wimbledon after losing a marathon opening round match. — Agencies Rafa’s Nemesis
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Brazil wary of Uruguayan firepower in semifinal
Belo Horizonte, June 25 It was the Uruguayans who delivered Brazilian football its arguably greatest ever blow in winning the 1950 final in Rio’s famed Maracana stadium, the revamped version of which will host Sunday’s final. That ‘Maracanazo’ loss sent shockwaves around Brazil and they only made up for the reverse eight years later when, with a teenaged Pele in the team, they finally lifted the trophy for the first time in Sweden. More recently, Uruguay have also shown they can mix it with their more powerful neighbours, the nation of barely 3.5 million lifting the 2011 Copa America in Argentina, where Brazil lost in the quarterfinals. Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar yesterday warned the host nation they must beware if they are not to suffer an ambush in Belo Horizonte. Uruguay have shown some mediocre recent form in World Cup qualifying but the 2011 South American champions have found some form with wins in Brazil over Nigeria and thrashing minnows Tahiti. Moreover, Julio Cesar points out that in Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan — match winner against Nigeria with a record 34th goal for the Celeste — and Luis Suarez the Uruguayans have no shortage of firepower. “They are very strong in attack and can decide a game on their own,” Cesar said. The trio are set to return after being rested for the 8-0 whipping of Tahiti. “I know them all well and we shall have to beware. The tiniest thing can decide a match.” Brazil, starting to come to the boil under Luiz Felipe Scolari, saw off Japan, Mexico and Italy but Uruguay had to regroup after losing their first match against world champions Spain, who will face Italy in the other semifinal. “Nobody is favourite. They will be confident as they won the Copa America in 2011,” said Julio Cesar. The four semi-finalists have won 12 World Cups between them — a record five for Brazil, four for Italy, two for Uruguay and one for Spain. Uruguay last beat the Selecao in 2001 — ironically it was Scolari’s first match in charge, but he would months later lift the World Cup to land a Pentacampeao or fifth title. Since then the record book reads four wins for the auriverde and two draws. Uruguay’s wily coach Oscar Tabarez says his team has “reached its minimum objective” in making it out of the group stage and while he accepts Brazil are probably favourites, he sticks to an old optimist’s dictum. “In football, nothing is imposible. Though it will be tough as Brazil are a great team and playing at home.” — PTI
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Time not ripe for legalising betting
London, June 25 “No”, says the Special Commissioner of Delhi Police S.N.Srivastava. He said time was not ripe for legalizing betting as it can't be said with certainty that it will curtail match-fixing. In the wake of the IPL's spot-fixing scandal, many stake holders in sports had advocated the need for a stricter legal framework and legalization of betting to keep a check on match and spot fixing. But Srivastava, who is heading the team investigating into the IPL scandal, begged to differ, at an interactive session on “Regulating Sports Betting: Way Forward to Counter Match Fixing”, organized by FICCI here on Tuesday. Srivastava said though regulated sports betting could generate revenue in the form of taxes from betting operators, apart from acting as a deterrent to players and others indulging in spot or match-fixing, it had a flip side too -- betting was not approved by society “and we also lack the requisite education and awareness in this regard”. While agreeing that that country needed stringent laws in sports, he felt India was not ready yet to accept regulation in betting. He advocated that legalizing betting in India could be considered “10-15 years later” when the society would be mature enough to accept such a practice. Some other speakers, however, argued that the country was ready for it as it would reduce the match-fixing menace because the authorities would work in tandem with the betting operators, not against them. “The betting operators will not encourage match-fixing as they would want to earn profits and will be answerable to the authorities”, noted Albert Climent, adviser, Asian Gambling Brief. He said in such a scenario, only reliable operators would be issued licenses and it would also be ensured that they comply with all the prerequisites. He said if betting is legalized, it would be easier to track the flow of money, and it would allow Indians to bet with Indians only, thereby keeping the money within the country.
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Ancelotti appointed Real Madrid coach
Madrid, June 25 The former Paris St Germain manager will be presented on Wednesday and will replace Jose Mourinho. “Familiar with the pressures of managing the great teams of the continent (Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea and PSG) the Italian is a guarantee to direct an exciting project,” Real said on their website. Ancelotti, 54, has been linked with the post since Mourinho's departure and had asked to leave PSG but the deal was reportedly held up until the French champions found a replacement. — Reuters
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Belo Horizonte, June 25
New Delhi, June 25
Steve Darcis beat the twice former champion Rafael Nadal in the first round in straight sets 7-6(4) 7-6(8) 6-4 on Monday night. He is man who has effected Nadal's only defeat in the first round of the 35 grand slams he has contested.
