|
|
|
|
|
Farewell Sachin
Shami swings into limelight on debut
|
|
|
Of Sachin, his bowling, fielding and another goof-up
Sachin moments
Ranji trophy
Sexual assault
Anand has a definite chance: Grover
Carlsen relaxes at beach resort
|
|||||||||
|
Farewell Sachin
West Indies won the toss and thus gained the first use of the pitch, always a crucial advantage in India. They then proceeded to throw that advantage away, playing like careless billionaires in a Monte Carlo gambling house. This in a match which promises to be recalled repeatedly, to be never forgotten in cricket’s history. Their numbers, their attitude, would be summoned over and over again with shame. They must do something urgently tomorrow with the ball, and with the bat in their second innings, to salvage their honour. Mohammed Shami, India’s debutant pace bowler, later said that the West Indies batsmen didn’t play as if it was a Test match. The wicket didn’t possess demons, though it was a bit two-paced; West Indies were bowled out for 234, Shami knocking off four batsmen.
Chris Gayle was lazy and seemed disinterested. But then that’s the way he plays, doesn’t he? Kieran Powell tried to hook a wide bouncer and was caught at mid-off; Darren Bravo was run out when played the ball straight to Shami behind square leg and ambled for a single. Denesh Ramdin had his stumps knocked back by a Shami in-dipper; captain Darren Sammy murdered his own innings by trying to launch Pragyan Ojha for a six. That was a shocking shot from the team leader. Only two men resisted, Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, using varying methods. The former lived dangerously, playing attractive and often perilous strokes; he ended when he drove at a Shami in-swinger, leaving a gap between bat and pad. He hit 11 fours and two sixers. It was good while it lasted. Chanderpaul played in the manner of a Test batsman, defending and attacking with nous and intelligence. It took a really good ball, the ball of the day, bowled by Ravichandran Aswhin, to get him. Chanderpaul was bowled when he played a quicker delivery from the off-spinner down the wrong line. The ball was excellent; Chanderpaul, playing his 149th Test, may have been disheartened by that time because of the profligacy of his teammates. He was the ninth man out, but he would have loved dearly to be the last man standing. West Indies lost eight wickets for 96 runs. India did have a stroke of fortune when the ball was changed after the 40th over because it had gone out of shape; the replacement swung and reverse-swung better than the original. In nine deliveries, West Indies lost Samuels, Bravo and Ramdin; the changed ball had a role in the dismissals of Samuels and Ramdin. West Indies were left ruing wasting the first use of the wicket in an important -- in terms of historical significance, if not in terms of a great contest -- Test match. The Indian openers were solid in the 12 overs they got to pay today. West Indies must do something remarkable tomorrow, for the Indian batting line-up is formidable -- it’s been bolstered by the addition of Rohit Sharma, the man in form. “When you get bowled out on the first day after winning the toss, you’ll be very disappointed,” Samuels later said. “It’s something to discuss when you go back to the dressing room. But the runs are on the board already. It’s for us to go out there and defend it as a team.” He added that “I’m just enjoying cricket and having fun -- loving Test cricket, the best cricket”. That love should have been supplemented by better application and stroke-selection. Scoreboard West Indies Gayle c Vijay b Kumar 18 Powell c Kumar b Shami 28 Bravo run out (Shami/Dhoni) 23 Samuels b Shami 65 Chanderpaul b Ashwin 36 Ramdin b Shami 4 Sammy c Kumar b Ojha 16 Shillingford lbw b Tendulkar 5 Permaul c & b Ashwin 14 Best not out 14 Cottrell b Shami 0 Extras: (b 4, lb 7) 11 Total (all out; 78 overs) 234 Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-47, 3-138, 4-138, 5-143, 6-172, 7-192, 8-211, 9-233, 10-234 Bowling Kumar 14-6-33-1 Shami 17-2-71-4 Ashwin 21-9-52-2 Ojha 24-6-62-1 Tendulkar 2-1-5-1 India Dhawan not out 21 Vijay not out 16 Extras: 0 Total (0 wickets; 12 overs) 37 Bowling Best 2-0-15-0 Cottrell 5-2-13-0 Shillingford 4-2-8-0 Permaul 1-0-1-0
|
|
Shami swings into limelight on debut
Kolkata, November 6 Shami has announced his name to the world. You’d better get it right, you’d better spell and pronounce it right. Shami, 23 years and 242 days into his life, has told everyone not to mess with his name. “The press has turned me from Mohammed Shami to Shami Ahmed. My actual name is Mohammed Shami, so it would be nice if I’m called Mohammed Shami,” he said today, the day he made his Test debut for India. “My name appears in the press as Shami Ahmed, and they also make the ‘h’ silent (when pronouncing the name)!” It’s quite bewildering, but even in Kolkata, where the sound ‘s’ becomes ‘sh’ by default — Shourav Ganguly, or Shochin Tendulkar, for instance -- Shami was being addressed as ‘Sami’ up to today. It shouldn’t happen any more, for Shami has spoken. It must be noted, though, that Shami didn’t broach the topic; he made his protest in a gentle, even humorous manner. He’s a gentle chap. He’s a bit of a son of the soil, not dripping with sophistication, his voice a bit low and squeaky, his mien a bit diffident. He’s not diffident when he’s bowling. He bowls fast, keeps a good length, swings the ball, hits the pitch with the seam well positioned, and has a good yorker. These attributes earned him four wickets on debut today; he’s become the most successful pace debutant for India since Mohammed Nissar (5/93 at Lords) in 1932. Shami says he’s come a long way. It’s a very, very long way, starring on his first day in Test cricket for India, because, in his words, where he comes from, “there was nothing”. He comes from Sehazpur Ali Nagar in the Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh. It’s a village 21 kilometres from Moradabad. Shami was spotted by a Kolkata coach, Mohammed Badaruddin, who’s known for picking up talent in the hinterland, transporting it to Kolkata and polishing it. But that talent didn’t really come out of “nothing”. Shami credits his mother for her support, and his father, uncle and brothers for being fast bowers. Father Tousif headed the village panchayat for a dozen years; he played the game and bowled fast, as did his three sons. When Shami was 12, Badaruddin advised Tousif to send his son to Kolkata; Tousif demanded a big compensation for his son’s absence — the boy must play for India one day. Badaruddin said that such a day would indeed come. Shami was impressive on his ODI debut earlier this year against Pakistan, when he bowled four maiden overs in a row. He was impressive in the recent ODI series against Australia. And he was very impressive today, bowling with speed, moving the ball in the air and off the pitch. “In the morning, the first ball (before it was changed after the 40th over) was swinging a little less, and it was a bit soft,” Shami later said. “After it was changed, it was swinging and reversing well. We worked on it, it reversed well… It’s good to look at, and you like bowling with it.” It helped that several West indies batsmen played as if it was a T20 game rather than a Test match. “They just didn’t care that it is Test cricket,” he said. “In my view, the played their strokes continuously… So it becomes easy for me. I knew I’d get them if they played strokes against me. I know a few boundaries would be scored, but I’d get the wickets. That made it a bit easy for me.” On Diwali day, hours after the final ODI against Australia, Shami flew from Bangalore to Kolkata with the rest of the weary squad. They’d requested, and obtained, seats in the front of the plane. Most of them dozed off, none walked toward the back of the plane. Shami was the only one who did; he even occupied a window seat in the last row in the plane for some time. Despite being clothed in the India blue, he was left unmolested by the passengers. They had eyes only for the big stars -- Dhoni, Kohli, etc. Shami’s anonymity allowed him to dwell with the flying commoners in the sky. Shami doesn’t have the airs of a star; but he has the skill that could thrust him into the limelight. It was just one day of Test cricket, but Mohammed Shami showed he’s got it in him. He can be a good thing for
India. |
|
Of Sachin, his bowling, fielding and another goof-up
Tendulkar, the 40-year-young man playing his final Tests, could well have been among the youngest man on the field today. He chased the ball with energy, he advised and counselled the young pacers from his post at mid-on; he chatted with the ball boys at the boundary, signing autographs for them; he electrified the fans in the stands by a mere wave of his hand. Then, turning back the clock, he took a wicket, too. Tendulkar thus took his 46th Test wicket, to go with his 154 ODI wickets -- making a nice total of 200 international wickets in serious cricket; he also has one international wicket in the lightweight Twenty20 format. Tendulkar last grabbed a Test wicket on January 5, 2011, removing Mark Boucher with the first ball of his second over in the second innings. Boucher was out LBW; today he got Shane Shillingford out LBW with a quicker straight ball. The moment he was handed the ball by MS Dhoni, the cries of ‘Sachin, Sa-chin’ rose in the stands. The first ball was a leg-break, the second a googly that went down the leg side. The third was a leg-break, too, played safely. The fourth was a deceptive one, quicker and straighter. Shillingford could not put bat to ball. LBW, declared umpire Nigel Llong without a moment’s hesitation. The stadium erupted into a massive sound wave. His wife Anjali and son Arjun were in the stands, a very occurrence. They’d been welcomed to the ground by a message, in massive letters, on the giant screen. It read: “Welcome to Mr Anjali Tendulkar and Master Sachin Tendulkar...” For the second day in a row, the printer’s devil struck the Eden Gardens. Yesterday’s ‘Sachine’ caused a show-cause notice to be presented to the villain; today’s “Mr Anjali Tendulkar” could cause a public beheading. |
|
Sachin moments Harbhajan Singh shares a bond with Sachin Tendulkar that perhaps no other cricketer does. So it’s hardly surprising to hear the feisty off spinner talking about the master blaster in glowing terms. “I have spent lot of time with him and I salute and thank him for the joyous moments he gave us through this game, said Harbhajan. Sachin, who is playing his 199th Test, has played almost double the matches Harbhajan Singh has played till now. That’s probably why Harbhajan sounds so impressed with the longevity of Tendulkar’s career. The next thing the off-spinner talks about is the quality that Sachin brought to the side and the feats he accomplished over the years. “Hats off to him for achieving the kind of records he has over his long career. But despite all this, it’s amazing to see how humble and down to earth person he is.” Harbhajan can’t thank Sachin enough for the support he gave him during the tough period in Australia. During the ‘monkey gate’ it was Sachin’s statement that probably saved him from getting deeper into trouble. “Salute to him. He is a great player and we all are going to miss him once he retires. Not only cricket, Sachin has guided me in life too. How to face difficulties and tough times…I always seek his advice.” Harbhajan has fond memories of the days when they would sit next to each other in the dressing room. “I have a spent a lot of time with him in the dressing room and he has been fantastic,” Bhajji said, choosing not elaborate on the banter and jokes he shared with the master. It’s a bit incongruous that on a day when Sachin Tendulkar will be batting in his penultimate Test in Eden Gardens, Bhajji will be plotting the fall of Sachin’s team in the Ranji tie. More than anything else, Harbhajan would be regretting the fact that he isn’t part of the side in Tendulkar’s farewell series. Top of the line
155* vs Australia in Chennai, 1998 This was a contest between Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne, both at the peak of their powers. Sachin, however, simply demolished the Australian wizard on that day in Chennai. Warne tried every trick he had up his sleeve but Tendulkar proved too good for him. That ferocious assault, as Warne would later admit, gave him nightmares up, besides handing a psychological edge to the Indian maestro over the greatest spinner ever. Figure this 15837
The number of runs he has scored in Test cricket. He's followed by Ricky Ponting (13 378 runs in 186 Tests) and Rahul Dravid (13, 288 runs in 164 Tests) at the second and third sport, respectively. |
|
Ranji trophy
Punjab cannot be tagged as favourites but they have an edge, playing at home. That is only if the Mumbai batting line-up does not deliver. Harbhajan Singh-led Punjab will be bolstered by Yuvraj Singh, while Mumbai’s weak link — spinners — will be subjected to a rigorous test for the first time in the season. Zaheer Khan, who took a five-for to return to the national side four years ago, will once again take to Sector 16 stadium in hope of making a comeback. Also in the fray will be Harbhajan and Yuvraj. Coach Sulakshan Kulkarni said, “Mumbai have a couple of youngsters who have an opportunity to make name for themselves.” Punjab skipper Harbhajan said, “Mumbai is a strong team but we are confident. The team has prepared well and ready for a tough fight. We have Yuvraj and other players who lend experience to our side.” When it comes to defending champions Mumbai, most of the teams are content to force a draw at home and split points but Punjab are not thinking in defensive terms. Instead the home team has the belief to beat the fancied rivals. The track has been tailored to the home team’s strengths and how well it exploits Mumbai’s weakness remains to be seen. Punjab, a relatively young team, will have to guard themselves from falling in heap. If they play to their potential Mumbai have a tough task at hand. For Punjab, Yuvraj Singh and leggie Sarabjit Ladda have come in for VRV Singh and Sunny Sohal. One of the most important aspect of this Ranji tie is the presence of sizeable crowd at this stadium. Last time Punjab played Mumbai (a draw) here, four years ago, almost 1,000 strong crowd from nearby colleges and varsity turned up to cheer the stars. This time the star power is even more. Expect a big crowd here. |
|
|
Bayern, City enter last 16
Paris, November 6 Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, whose side equalled the Champions League record of nine successive wins set by Barcelona back in the 2002/03 season, was satisfied despite the unconvincing display exemplified by yet another poor first-half performance. "We have taken all the points we could in the four games, which shows how strong we are," said Guardiola. City got the better of CSKA with a Sergio Aguero double and a hat-trick from Alvaro Negredo, with manager Manuel Pellegrini saying: "It is the first step, but it's an important one as the team has not qualified before. We have done that now." Real Madrid came close to joining them but having gone 2-1 up in Turin against Juventus they were pegged back to 2-2 with a goal by former Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente the Italian club's saviour. Cristiano Ronaldo's opener for Real, Gareth Bale got their other, took him level for the all time total of goal scored in the group phase with eight. The result leaves Real needing a result at home to Galatasaray, who lost 1-0 away at FC Copenhagen, later this month to assure themselves of a place in the Last 16. "Take our foot off the gas at the Bernabeu against Galatasaray? No, the only way forward is to keep up the pressure," said Real boss Carlo Ancelotti. For his Juventus counterpart Antonio Conte there was much to be pleased with even if his side are bottom of the table, a point off both Galatasaray and Copenhagen. "It's a positive result and seeing how much the players put into this game against a team like Real really satisfies me," Conte said. Former French champions Paris Saint Germain, who Ancelotti left for Real at the end of last season, also missed out on claiming their place in the Last 16 as they were held to a surprising 1-1 draw at home to previously pointless and goalless Belgian outfit Anderlecht, who the French side had thumped 5-0 in their match a fortnight ago in Brussels. In the end with the restive PSG fans booing their side, who nonetheless extended their unbeaten start to the season all competitions, it was Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic who grabbed them a point for the hosts after they briefly trailed. PSG coach Laurent Blanc was like the club's fans similarly dissatisfied with the performance, though, they can seal their second successive knockout spot with a draw at home to Greek side Olympiakos later this month. Missed penalty
While City won with something to spare — though their defence looked shaky at times — their city rivals Manchester United laboured to a 0-0 draw at Real Sociedad, who gained their first point of the campaign. Robin van Persie summed up United's frustrating evening hammering his second-half penalty against the post, though Ashley Young looked to have dived to win it in the first place. To cap it all United's Belgian international midfielder Marouane Fellaini was sent off in the closing stages. They still lead their group by a point but both Bayer Leverkusen and Shakhtar Donetsk, who drew 0-0, are lurking. However, United manager David Moyes said he was happy with their position. "We are in a healthy position, you want to be top of the group and that is where we are."
— PTI results champions league
Manchester City 5-2 CSKA Moskva Plzen 0-1 Bayern Munchen Juventus 2-2 Real Madrid Real Sociedad 0-0 Manchester United Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Anderlecht Křbenhavn 1-0 Galatasaray Shakhtar Donetsk 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen Olympiacos 1-0 Benfica |
|
Sexual assault
Patiala, November 6 The shooter, hailing from Madhya Pradesh, was earlier “suspended for allegedly sexual harassing” an Italian lady who was part of the housekeeping staff in the team hotel in Masari, Italy, in August 2013. Highly placed sources in the NRAI confirmed that the Athletes Commission, which was asked by the NRAI to probe the matter, has suspended the accused shooter for “not following the moral code of conduct” and “sexual undertones towards the hotel
staffer”. The Commission, chaired by former shooter Murad Ali and four other Indian shooters, took a stern view of the offence as “the Indian team had been training in the Italian range for the last two decades” and there was never a complaint of this nature against any Indian shooter. “Initially the shooter tried to make advances but the woman refused,” said a member of the Athletes Commission. “However we could not establish the initial media reports about any sort of advances by the shooter to allegedly outrage the modesty of the victim.” The report, submitted to the NRAI headquarter on Wednesday evening, says that the shooter will face complete suspension from any kind of shooting till November 30 and after that he will have to qualify for two more international events but not participate. “He has already missed two events post his suspension in Kazakhistan and Peru. Further in case the accused shooter qualifies, he would not be allowed to travel with the Indian team till his punishment sentence is complete,” the report said. The shooter was withdrawn from the championship after team manager Amarjang Singh reported the matter to the NRAI president Raninder Singh. “The accused shooter had physically abused the female hotel staffer when she entered his room to deliver his laundry and had it not been for the fellow shooters who heard the staffer raise an alarm, things would have been worse,” said an NRAI official, who has seen the report. Talking to The Tribune, NRAI president Raninder Singh said he hadn’t seen the report as he was away, but action would be taken as per the commission’s recommendation. “Indiscipline of any kind on and off the shooting range that too by a shooter representing the country abroad would not be tolerated.” |
|
Win over Wawrinka ensures Nadal stays No 1
London, November 6 The Spaniard arrived in London needing a minimum of two victories at the year-ending showpiece and, after breezing past David Ferrer on Tuesday, he was stretched to the limit by Swiss Wawrinka in his second round-robin match before coming through 7-6(5) 7-6(6). His straight-sets victory means 13-times grand-slam champion Nadal is assured of a semifinal spot at the event which he has never won, while tournament debutant Wawrinka can also make the last four if he beats Ferrer on Friday. While, Novak Djokovic ground down Roger Federer 6-4 6-7(2) 6-2 in his opening match late on Tuesday. World number seven Federer, bidding for a seventh title at the year-ender, fired a forehand wide to give Djokovic the opening set after 37 minutes of an eagerly-awaited contest in front of a sell-out crowd at the 02 Arena. The 17-times grand-slam champion produced some vintage play in the second set but squandered a set point at 5-4 as the crowd willed the 32-year-old to go the distance. They got their wish as Federer dominated the tiebreak against an opponent looking weary under the lights. Just when Federer appeared to have given himself a fighting chance of an increasingly rare victory over one of the big guns, Djokovic slammed the door in his face. The Serbian broke the Federer serve to love at the start of the third set and then fought off a break point to open up a two-game lead he never looked like relinquishing. Another break condemned Federer to his first opening-match defeat at the Tour Finals since 2008 when he failed to survive the group stage and defeat by Frenchman Richard Gasquet on Thursday would leave him staring at a similar fate. Djokovic joins Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, whom he plays on Thursday, at the top of the group.
— Reuters |
|
Anand has a definite chance: Grover
New Delhi, November 6 "No one can doubt or have any apprehension on Carlsen as Anand's challenger but from what I have been reading, it looks like Carlsen is a huge favourite, which in my opinion is not entirely correct," the 18-year-old said. "Carlsen has been at the top of his game for many years but is yet to play a match of this stature. I am not saying he can't beat Anand but his chances should be about level. He is in great form but Anand has proved himself to be a great match player. How many favoured Anand to beat Kramnik in 2008? Yet he did it with awesome ease. Anand has a definite chance against Carlsen," he added. A fan of Bobby Fischer, Grover said Anand is one of the few greats in the world. "The last few decades have been changing times in the world of chess. Historically, Fischer played well ahead of his time and Kasparov tormented the opposition like no one else. In the last 40 years these two apart from Anatoly Karpov can be classified as players who ruled the chess world in their prime. When we look at others, only Anand has matched these standards. Who has won the world championship five times in various formats?" he asked.
— PTI |
|
|
Carlsen relaxes at beach resort
Chennai, November 6 "He was at our property Nov 4-6. Carlsen spent most of his time relaxing by the poolside, enjoying a game of volleyball on the beach as well as tennis and badminton," the hotel official said. The official added that Carlsen prefers his food to be medium spicy. "He particularly relished spaghetti aglio olio with bacon, whole wheat croissants and cheese omelette with green chillies, while indulging in fresh mango juice during his stay," the official said. Carlsen was served specially curated meals from the all-day diner Seagull and the Mediterranean specialty cuisine restaurant — Upper Deck — the official added. The official said three premium indulgence sea view cottages and one superior charm room were booked by Carlsen and his eight-member team that included family personal chef and security personnel. Carlsen is challenging the reigning world chess champion Viswanathan Anand. The first match is slated November 9. — IANS
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Kolkata, November 6
Kolkata, November 6
Chandigarh, November 6
