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Caught in a vicious winless circle
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Dhoni finds nothing wrong with bowlers’ performance
Don’t blame Dhoni for losses: Kirmani
ICC overhaul: Lanka too bites the bullet
champions league
U-19 World Cup
Gay rights activist detained at Sochi
Mumbai bow out with a win
winter
olympics
Yogeshwar, Sushil unlikely for World Cup Rio faces challenge to build credible doping lab Punjabi varsity beat Sirsa boys
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Caught in a vicious winless circle
Wellington, February 18 McCullum struck a historic 302, while BJ Watling made 124 and debutant James Neesham scored an unbeaten 137 as New Zealand declared their second innings at 680 for eight, giving India an improbable 435 runs to chase in a little over two sessions of play. India overcame some anxious moments before finishing at 166 for three in 52 overs when the two captains decided to call off the proceedings with no result in sight. Virat Kohli smahed his sixth Test century and remained unbeaten on 105, while Rohit Sharma was not out on 31. It turned out to be a disastrous tour for India as they remained winless, losing the ODI series 0-4 and the Test series 0-1. India looked like winning this Test after reducing New Zealand to 94 for five in their second innings but McCullum staged a remarkable fightback. Chasing an impossible 435-run target, India lost their top three batsmen in the post-lunch session. Kohli, however, stood tall and scored an unbeaten 105 off just 135 balls with the help of 15 fours and one six to steady India's ship after they were reduced to 54 for three.
He made good use of the life he was given in the 13th over at a score of 23 when umpire Steve Davis had failed to judge an edge off Trent Boult. Kohli and Rohit put on an unbeaten 112 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership to deny New Zealand any further inroads. Starting at 10 for no loss post-lunch, India had the simple task of batting out two sessions to save the Test. But as has been the story in this tour so far, the visitors almost botched it up. Openers Shikhar Dhawan (2) and Murali Vijay (7) were dismissed soon after the resumption of play. Tim Southee struck another blow when he had Pujara caught behind for 17, with India's score on 54. — PTI ‘I was unsure of the magnitude of the feat’ Wellington: Brendon McCullum was unsure of the magnitude of the task he was attempting when he walked on to the Basin Reserve on the fifth day of the second Test against India with the opportunity to become the first New Zealander to score a test triple century. The 32-year-old McCullum had started the day on 281 not out, the second highest individual score by a New Zealand batsman with Martin Crowe's 299 in sight and a moderate crowd in nervously expectant mood. “I wasn't too bad until I saw the size of the crowd; every ball that I defended, left or got a single they would start cheering and it made me a little bit more nervous,” said McCullum. “That's probably when I understood the magnitude of the task at hand and the immense joy it gives fans of this cricket team to see guys succeed and see records broken.” McCullum reached the mark when he dabbed Zaheer behind square and immediately raised his arms in celebration as the crowd roared and rose to their feet in thunderous applause that rolled around and around for more than a minute. — Reuters For the record
Scoreboard
New Zealand 1st innings 192 India 1st innings 438 New Zealand 2nd innings P. Fulton lbw b Khan 1 H. Rutherford c Dhoni b Khan 35 K. Williamson c Dhoni b Khan 7 T. Latham c Dhoni b Shami 29 B. McCullum c Dhoni b Khan 302 J. Neesham not out 137 T. Southee c Pujara b Khan 11 N. Wagner not out 2 Extras: (b-9, lb-12, nb-7, w-2) 30 Total:
(for 8 wkts decl.) 680 Fall of wickets: 1-1 2-27 3-52 4-87 5-94 6-446 7-625 8-639 Bowling: Ishant 45-4-164-0 Z Khan 51-13-170-5 Shami 43-6-149-2 Jadeja 52-11-115-1 Rohit 11-0-40-0 Kohli 6-1-13-0 Dhoni 1-0-5-0 Dhawan 1-0-3-0 India 2nd innings M. Vijay c Anderson b Southee 7 S. Dhawan lbw b Boult 2 C. Pujara c Watling b Southee 17 V. Kohli not out 105 R. Sharma not out 31 Extras:
(nb-2, w-2) 4 Total: (for 3 wkts) 166 Fall of wickets:
1-10 2-10 3-54 Bowling: Boult 16-5-47-1 Southee 16-3-50-2 Wagner 11-3-38-0 Neesham 5-0-25-0 Anderson 4-1-6-0 MOM:
Brendon MCCUllum for his match-saving triple hundred. |
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Dhoni finds nothing wrong with bowlers’ performance
Wellington, February 18 Dhoni, who has invariably come out with bizarre explanations for the team’s shoddy performances at press conferences, again ignored to dwell on the bowling frailties and came to the rescue of his “fantastic” bowlers who gave away 680 runs in second innings, saying that they bowled “in the right areas”. Summing up what has turned out to be a disastrous tour, Dhoni said he was disappointed with the ODI results as they failed to capitalise on situations but was more satisfied with the performance of his “young” team in the Test matches. “Overall, quite a good performance. We have been improving right from South Africa. We have shown that we are a side that’s very talented,” said Dhoni. But Brendon McCullum (302) staged a remarkable fightback and together with BJ Watling shared a world record partnership of 352 runs for the sixth wicket to take the hosts to safety. “In the first Test our second innings was brilliant. And then we came here, won the toss and bowled really well in the first innings. In the second innings, too, we got a good start till Brendon and Watling came in. I don’t think it was bad bowling but it is just that they kept the good deliveries out,” the Indian skipper explained. “Appreciate what Brendon and Watling did, soaked up the pressure when we were bowling well and scored freely once the bowlers were tired,” he said.
— PTI |
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Don’t blame Dhoni for losses: Kirmani
Mumbai, February 18 “It does not matter whether it is four losses or five. Every team goes through it. Every individual goes through a bad form. We are going through a bad form overall. You cannot be expecting Dhoni to win all the series at all the times or all the formats at all the times. It is a combat between the ball and the bat,” he told reporters here. “It should not be a matter of concern. It happens to everybody in their lives, not only in sports. You cannot be in form all the time.” India have lost their last four series abroad starting with the 4-0 rout suffered in England and ending with the 0-1 loss to New Zealand today. The 64-year old cricketer-turned-golfer said at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club in Chembur that critics and fans need to be patient with the team. “It happens to every individual cricketer, to every team as well. You have got to accept certain defeats. You have to be patient and you can't be criticising a man who has done great things for the country. He has brought some sweeping changes into the game and he is one of those leaders leading from the front,” said Kirmani. Asked if coach Duncan Fletcher needs to be replaced, Kirmani said that coaches play a minuscule role in the success or otherwise of a team.
— PTI |
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ICC overhaul: Lanka too bites the bullet
Colombo, February 18 SLC arrived at the decision at its Executive Committee meeting on Monday, a few days after it had refrained from voting on the revised proposals at the ICC Board meeting in Singapore on February 8. SLC had then said it needed more time to discuss them. “The Executive Committee met on February 17th at SLC headquarters to discuss the revised resolutions forwarded by the ICC at the ICC Board meeting held on 8th February 2014 in Singapore,” the SLC said in a statement on Tuesday. “Subsequent to the committee members assessing the revised resolutions in detail, all members were satisfied with the amendments made in the areas of governance and competition models and thus unanimously decided to support the paper,” it said. SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said that supporting the Big Three would benefit Sri Lankan cricket. The SLC would earn a revenue of around $47-48 million through series with the three countries in the next seven years.” When you calculate, a series with these three countries will bring us a revenue of $ 47-48m. People who talk about principles will not give us the money. We have to make our money from these tours,” Ranatunga said. India is due to tour Sri Lanka in 2017.
— Agencies
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Gunners ready for reshoot
For second year in a row Arsenal take on Bayern for a place in quarters
London, February 18 Holders Bayern were utterly dominant in 3-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium, and although Arsenal went on to salvage pride with a 2-0 win in Munich in the return leg, it was not enough to prevent the Gunners going out of the competition in the round of 16 for the third consecutive season. They face a daunting task to avoid making it four years in a row, however, with the Bayern juggernaut showing little sign of slowing under Pep Guardiola, who led Barcelona to victory over Arsenal at this stage in the 2010-11 season. Despite recent wobbles, Arsenal are a sterner proposition this time as they mount their first serious Premier League challenge for years, and should be boosted by a 2-1 FA Cup victory over Liverpool, eight days after the same opponents thrashed them 5-1. German defender Per Mertesacker acknowledged that it would take “two perfect games” for Arsenal to progress, but that it was important not to show Bayern too much respect “We have to go for two perfect games against them,” he said. “We know we can beat them now, so maybe mentally we are in a better condition than last year. Maybe we have learned something from those lessons and will do better this time.” Mikel Arteta is suspended after being sent off in the group stage loss to Napoli, while Jack Wilshere and Bacary Sagna, who remained on the bench against Liverpool, Kieran Gibbs and Santi Cazorla, who were second half substitutes and Tomas Rosicky, who was rested, were expected to return. Bayern’s domestic dominance shows no sign of slowing, with Saturday’s 4-0 win over Freiburg coming despite Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, Thiago and Mario Goetze being rested. Their Bundesliga winning streak is 13 matches and victory extended their unbeaten run to 46. Their only loss in this season’s Champions League group stage came at home to Manchester City, with qualification already assured. They will be without France winger Franck Ribery, who is suffering with a buttock injury, and his potential replacement Xherdan Shaqiri, who scored twice against Freiburg, is also out with a thigh strain. — Reuters
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England, Windies make the quarters
Dubai, February 18 In the other matches on the fifth day of the 16-day competition, two-time runner-up South Africa recorded an easy seven-wicket victory over Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka defeated the host United Arab Emirates (UAE) by eight wickets. Electing to bat first, England were restricted to 229 for eight after Ryan Higgins scored a watchful but attractive 83 that came from 123 balls with five fours and two sixes. England was extremely severe in the last 10 overs which yielded 100 runs, including 57 off the final five overs. In their chase, New Zealand were rocked by fast bowlers Matthew Fisher and Jack Winslade, and spinners Rob Sayer and Rob Jones as they were bundled out for 114 in 36.1 overs. Brief Scores: England 229 for 8 (Ryan Higgins 83, Joe Clarke 33; Brett Randell 3/57); New Zealand 114 all out (Raki Weerasundara 41; Matthew Fisher 3/18). West Indies 289 for 4 (Tagenarine Chanderpaul 93, Nicolas Pooran 67 not out, Keenan Tinto 2/64); Canada 226 all out (Nikhil Dutta 62, Nitish Kumar 50; Ramaal Lewis 2/44, Ray Jordan 2/44). — PTI
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Gay rights activist detained at Sochi
SOchi, February 18 According to reports,
Luxuria, dressed in rainbow colours of the gay rights movement, on the first occasion tried to brandish the slogan “It's OK to be Gay” and on the second attempted to shout it at an ice hockey match. She was on Sunday evening escorted out of the Olympic Park by Russian police but does not appear to have been formally arrested. “What happened yesterday is a little bit unclear, I understand she was in the Park, walking around, taking to spectators,” said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. “Some people were pro, some were against, some were very against,” he commented. He said that Luxuria continued to demonstrate when the activist was at the ice hockey venue in the Olympic Park “and I believe she was escorted from there, peacefully, and not detained.” But he added: “The Olympic Park, the Olympic venues are not for us the place for demonstrations, whether we are sympathetic or not. “This (issue) has split opinions around the world so we would ask anyone to make their case somewhere else.”
— PTI |
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Mumbai bow out with a win
Lucknow, February 18 Wizards, however, reduced the margin of defeat a minute later when skipper VR Raghunath converted a penalty corner. By virtue of this win, Mumbai pocketed five points, finishing fifth in the competition with 18 points from 10 games. Wizards finished the league campaign with 28 points.
— TNS |
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Golden Vaultier shines through
fog
Sochi, February 18 After two days of delays and postponements organisers will have been delighted to get back on schedule as Frenchman Pierre Vaultier won the men’s snowboard cross in a race originally due to be run on Sunday. Tina Maze won her second gold medal, in the giant slalom, and this time did not have to share it, while Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen claimed his third Olympic title and denied France’s Martin Fourcade a golden Sochi hat-trick in a photo finish to the 15km biathlon mass start on Tuesday. There was a second gold for Norway in the Nordic Combined large hill thanks to Joergen Graabak, while South Korea triumphed in the women’s short track 3,000m relay, where China crossed the line second but were disqualified. Up in the mountains, having had to wait two days for their moment in the spotlight, the snowboard cross men produced their usual exciting racing. In a close final Vaultier edged out Russian Nikolay Olyunin. It was even tighter in the men’s biathlon as Svendsen and Fourcade reached the final straight together. The Norwegian seemed home and dry when he pulled away in the sprint for home but almost paid the price for a premature celebration as Fourcade thrust a ski forward at the line. Svendsen was awarded the victory after a photo finish, giving him a third gold after his 20km individual and relay success four years ago. Amazing Maze
In the women’s giant slalom, Maze, who shared downhill gold with Swiss Dominique Gisin, was alone on top of the podium on Tuesday after making the most of starting first in slippery conditions in the first run. But it came down to hundredths of seconds in the end, as she just edged out Anna Fenninger of Austria.
— Reuters |
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Lucknow, February 18
As many as 120 palyers from various universities of the country took part in the fourth All India Inter-University Kabaddi (circle style) Men’s Championship at Punjabi University campus.
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, beat MD University,
Rohtak, 39-27. In another match of the day, Punjabi University, Patiala, beat Chaudhary Devi Lal University,
Sirsa, 47-25 in a one-sided match. Results: GNDU bt MDU 39-27, Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo bt Thapar University, Patiala 31-20, Punjabi bt Ch. Devi Lal University, Sirsa 47-25.
— TNS
“We did well in the series, in this Test because we fought back pretty well. We bowled in the right areas, which I think is very important on flat wickets,” he said. Having bundled out the Black Caps for 192 in the first innings and taken a 246-run lead, India looked like winning the second Test, as they reduced New Zealand to 94 for five in their second innings.
Mumbai, however, made a remarkable comeback and pumped in three goals to stun the hosts. Gurjinder Singh levelled the score for Mumbai by converting a penalty corner in the 31st minute before veteran Prabhjot Singh (56th minute) and captain Glenn Turner scored field goals within a span of six minutes.
