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Dhoni plays straight, defends Yuvraj |
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Top 5 picks from this edition of World Cup T20
Oz women make it three in row
Anya Shrubsole named women’s player of tournament
Somdev leads India to easy win over S Korea
Punjab boys win third Nationals title in a row
Lee wins third India Open crown, Shixian clinches women’s final
Hamilton wins Bahrain thriller for Mercedes
Bale beauty keeps Real on leaders’ tails
Liverpool back on top; Everton beat Arsenal
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Overhaul India’s below par total of 130 easily to give a dream T20 farewell to Sanga, Jayawardene Subhash Rajta in Mirpur
SRI Lanka made two mistakes and both could have cost them the World Cup. One, they dropped the catch they shouldn't have; second, they caught the one they didn't need to. They made the first mistake when Lasith Malinga dropped Virat Kohli when he had scored just 11 runs; the second when Nuwan Kulasekara caught the struggling Yuvraj in the penultimate over of the Indian innings. Luckily for Sri Lanka, none of the two turned out to be the famous “You just dropped the Cup” moment as they knocked off the 131-run target with six wickets to spare. Kumar Sangakkara's unbeaten 35-ball 52 guided Lanka home in what seemed to have become a tricky chase before the left-hander finished the job.
Earlier, Kohli, as one would expect, punished the Lankans for the lapse as he went on to score a fluent 77. The in-form batsman again dug in his heels and anchored the Indian innings to, well, a below-par 130. Of course it wasn't his fault that India lumbered to a small target despite his quick 58-ball 77. It was just that he didn't get any support from the other end, especially from Yuvraj, who wasted 21 balls for his laborious 11 runs. As in almost every knock in the tournament so far, he was brilliant. After India were off to a sluggish start — they scored just 31 runs in the first six overs — he still managed to give India the platform from where they could have launched the final assault. At 111 for 2 after 16 overs, India must have been aiming for at least 160. And it's from here that everything went haywire for India. Kohli, who had hammered a six and two boundaries in the previous over and looked all set to lead the final assault, got to play just eight deliveries in the crucial last over. And as a result, India couldn't gather much in these overs, finishing at 130, a massive climbdown from what they could have achieved. And the man responsible for this bizarre turn of events was Yuvraj Singh. The left-hander, who had come in as early as the 11th over and should have been seeing the ball like a football by the 17th over, just grew roots, and consumed nine more balls in the next two overs and scored just four runs before he was put out of his misery in the penultimate over by Kulasekara, who caught him at long-off. Yuvraj’s stutter just killed the whole momentum, with neither Kohli getting enough strike, and Dhoni too failing to put bat to ball. Despite the very poor show by Yuvraj, the Sri Lankan bowlers deserve all the credit for bowling the way they did. After the opening bowlers did’'t allow the Indian openers to get off to a flyer, the spinners, Rangana Herath in particular, and Suchitra Senanayaka controlled the middle over really well. Had it not been for Kohli’s brilliance, they would have made life for Indian batsmen even more miserable. And then, in the end, despite Yuvraj developing cold feet, Malinga and Kulasekara were simply brilliant. With just 130 to defend, India required an inspired effort from the bowlers. The bowlers did fine but Sangakkara took away the game from them with a superbly paced half-century. Scoreboard India Sri Lanka Thirimanne c Dhoni b Mishra 7 T Perera not out 21 Extras: (lb 2, w 3) 5 Total (4 wickets; 17.5 overs) 132 Fall of wickets: 1-5 2-41 3-65 4-78 Bowling: Bhuvneshwar 3-0-18-0; Mohit 2-0-18-1; Ashwin 3.5-0-27-1; Mishra 4-0-32-1; Raina 4-0-24-1; Jadeja 1-0-11-0.
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Dhoni plays straight, defends Yuvraj Mirpur, April 6 It’s difficult to expect any skipper to tear into his own players publicly. So, it wasn’t a surprise to see MS Dhoni defending Yuvraj after the left-hander’s poor showing probably cost India the World Cup. Conceding that the last four overs changed the course of the game, the skipper chose to credit the Sri Lankan bowlers for their superb bowling rather than blaming Yuvraj. “Yuvraj tried and that’s what matters the most. I think the Lankan bowlers were just brilliant, they consistently bowled wide yorkers, and made it tough for us to get the big hits going. So, credit to them,” he said. When pressed further on where does he see Yuvraj going from here, the skipper said it wasn’t the time to look that far ahead. “Let’s not talk about it now. We know people will be angry and hurt, but the individual who has had a bad day would be more disappointed than any fan. Nobody wants to play bad, but it happens, it has happened even with the best of the athletes. So let’s just say that he had an off day, let’s not talk about individuals, it’s a team game,” said Dhoni. Malinga salutes Sanga
Lasith Malinga looked over the moon for obvious reasons. Not only the team had broken the finals jinx under his leadership, but it had also managed to send-off their two legends on a high. “Sanga had been struggling a bit in the last few games. But I told him that we just want one knock from him, and he delivered when it mattered the most. We are delighted to send off our stalwarts on a high,” he said. Sanga unplugged
Kumar Sangakkara sounded as fluent as he was while guiding his team home. “Well, it’s amazing… just don’t have the words to explain how I am feeling. It’s first time I’ve been a part of the World Cup winning squad and it’s just amazing,” he said. Key numbers 7 No. of balls Virat Kohli faced in the last four overs. 19 No. of runs scored by India in last four overs 0 No. of boundaries by India in the last four overs
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Top 5 picks from this edition of World Cup T20
Mirpur, April 6 Kohli, the best in business
It may sound ridiculous to call someone the best batsman in the world on the basis of his performance in a T20 tournament, even if it’s the World Cup. But if people are still willing to stick their necks out and anoint Virat Kohli as the best in the world, it shows how good the Indian batsman must have been. From commentators to players, spectators to net bowlers, no one has even an iota of doubt about Kohli being the best at the moment. More than his stats in the tournament, which are anyway stupendous, it’s his unflappable temperament and ability to dominate almost effortlessly that made him look a cut above the rest. Spinning it all the way
Spin was always going to play a huge role in this World Cup. Yet, the spinners managed to surprise everyone with the massive impact they had in the tournament. And it’s just not the mystery spinners — the likes of Sunil
Narine, Ajantha Mendis and Saeed Ajmal — who lived up to the expectations. Leg-spin, which is rarely seen in T20, made a sort of comeback with the likes of Amit
Mishra, South Africa’s Imran Tahir and West Indies’ Samuel Badree making the batsmen dance to their
googlies. While no one — including the wily Saqlain Mushtaq — has been able to pinpoint the reason why spinners have taken to the T20 format like duck to water, it’s been a welcome development, especially for India. For India the cherry on the cake was that stunning carrom ball from
Ashwin, easily the ball of the tournament, which dislodged Hashim Amla’s off stump after pitching way outside leg stump. Celebration WI style
One thing that no one is going to forget anytime soon is West Indies’ celebration after defeating Australia in that heated group stage game. That was perhaps the best ever celebration any team has ever indulged in on a cricket ground. Offended by a James Faulkner comment in the build-up to the match, the West Indians, normally laidback and friendly, gave it back to the Australians. That celebration will perhaps make the Australians reconsider using verbal barbs as strategy in the future. The ultimate fans
It’s not for nothing that Bangladeshi spectators are considered the most passionate followers of the game. Even though their team hurtled from one embarrassing loss to another, they kept coming in, cheering wholeheartedly for their team. And as is generally the case in other countries, India included, the World Cup did not finish for them the day their team exited from the tournament. They kept packing the stadium to the rafters for every game, saving the tournament from being played in front of deserted stands. Yet, strangely enough, instead of acknowledging their unconditional support, senior player Shakib-al-Hasan said that the team shouldn’t play at home for two years as the spectators had too high expectations for them. Just not on… Watching Australia losing to everyone except Bangladesh and making a quick exit was surprising, to say the least. The side, packed with T20 specialists, arguably had the most destructive batting line-up but they collapsed like a house of cards. As a result, the side which has dominated the 50-over World Cup — having won it four times — continues to struggle in the shortest format. Maybe they just need to take a leaf out of their women team’s book, who have won the Cup three times in a row. |
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Oz women make it three in row
Mirpur, April 6 As is often the case in big finals, the losers, England in this case, found no chance to make a comeback once they conceded the ground early on. The Australian bowlers took the game in a vice-like grip at the outset, and the England batswomen just couldn’t wriggle out of it. England of course didn’t lose a wicket early on, but that’s all they could manage, with runs coming in a trickle. And once their skipper Charlotte Edwards fell to a brilliant catch, it opened the floodgates, with none, except Heather Knight, offering any resistance to the charging Australian bowlers. With disciplined bowling, supported by fine fielding, Australia choked the flow of runs and all England could eventually total was a paltry 105 runs. With a small total to defend, England needed an inspired show from their bowlers. But the stunning assault from Australian skipper Meg Lanning (44 of 30 balls) and Ellyse Perry (31*) snuffed out the flicker of hope England may have had. Lanning, who struck the ball extremely hard for a woman cricketer, smashed two sixes and four boundaries in her sensational knock. “We just didn’t bat well enough. Credit to Australian bowlers, they were fantastic today,” said England skipper Edwards. Lanning, beaming with joy, said the experience of having won the final before helped them. When asked if the Australian women had been doing a lot of strength training as they had smashed the maximum number of sixes in the tournament, she chuckled, “Yes, we do spend time in the gym. But I think more than power, hitting sixes is about timing.” Brief scores: Australia 106/4 (Lanning 44) beat England 105/8 (Coyte 3-16) by six wickets.
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Anya Shrubsole named women’s player of tournament
Mirpur, April 6 Shrubsole was the unanimous choice of the select group of experts following her consistently strong form. The 22-year-old grabbed 12 wickets at an average of 5.75 in the lead up to the final, including three for six against India and three for nine against Sri Lanka. “It is clearly disappointing to finish as runner-up, but we got to the final, which is a wonderful achievement,” Shrubsole said after receiving the award. “To be named as Women's Player of the Tournament is humbling, and it is also a reflection of the hard work we've all put in as a team. I would have loved for us to win the title, but it wasn't to be for us this year.” David Boon of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees was the chairman of the independent jury that selected the women's player of the tournament. Other members of the panel included Marais Erasmus of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, ex-England captain Nasser Hussain, former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop and Utpal Shuvro, one of Bangladesh's senior-most cricket correspondents. — PTI
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Somdev leads India to easy win over S Korea
Busan, April 6 Somdev, who also had a hard fought win over Hyeon Chung in the opening round, displayed great fighting spirit in the reverse singles as well. Lim, Korea's top singles player, cracked under pressure despite doing well in the first two sets. Though Somdev won the first set, Lim came back strongly by winning the second set. However, Somdev was in his elements and easily won the last two sets. The second reverse singles match between Chung and India's Sanam Singh was cancelled since the tie was already decided. "Unreal effort by @SomdevD to give us the win against Korea! fightttttt @rohanbopanna, #teamindiaaaaaa.." tweeted Singh. "Beast Somdev :)," said double specialist Rohan Bopanna, who doubled up with Saketh Myneni to win the doubles match on Saturday that gave India the advantage. For India the win was sweet revenge for the 1-4 thrashing they had suffered against Korea in New Delhi last year when top players, led by Somdev, boycotted the tie. India now have 4-6 head-to-head record against Korea. Besides India, Uzbekistan also advanced to the World Group Play-offs from Asia/Oceania Group 1. Italy fight back to beat Britain, reach semis
Naples: Italy staged a superb fightback on Sunday to beat Britain in the Davis Cup quarterfinals as Fabio Fognini shocked Andy Murray, and Andreas Seppi eased past James Ward in the decisive fifth match. After securing back-to-back wins over Italy on Saturday for a 2-1 lead, Britain required one victory to reach their first Davis Cup semifinal since 1981, but Fognini was in inspired form on the Naples clay as he cruised past Murray 6-3 6-3 6-4. — Agencies How India won
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Punjab boys win third Nationals title in a row
Chennai, April 6 Starting aggressively, Punjab took the lead as Harjeet Singh converted a penalty corner in the very first minute and then Simranjeet Singh, who netted two goals in the win, scored the second goal in the ninth minute. In the 14th minute, Balvinder Singh made it 3-0. The exchanges were on an even keel for another 20 minutes and Odisha were looking to reduce the margin. Eventually, Odisha were rewarded when Sunil Ekka, one of their star performers, capped an almost solo effort five minutes before the break (1-3). Maintaining the tempo, Odisha again reduced the margin (2-3) in the 44th minute through Jose Toppo. Continuing their aggressive approach, Punjab were rewarded in the 57th minute when Parvinder Singh beat the Odisha goalkeeper and two minutes later, a wily Ajit Pandit came up with an opportunistic goal to increase the tally to 5-2. In the 67th minute, Simranjeet Singh made it 6-2. In the third place match, Haryana beat Sports authority of India 7-3 with the former's Mandeep More scoring three goals. Results
Final: Punjab bt Odisha 6-2; Hard line: Haryana bt Sports Authority Of India 7-3. — PTI |
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‘Our best performance in 3 years’ Chandigarh, April 6 “The team played brilliant hockey this year. We were consistent throughout and for me it was our best performance,” Punjab coach Avtar Singh told The Tribune via telephone from Chennai. Punjab beat Odisha, the team they had faced in the last two finals as well, today. Punjab had edged out Odisha 4-3 in Lucknow in 2012 to win the title, which they managed to defend last year with a tight 2-1 win in Sonepat. But the margin was overwhelmingly in their favour this year, winning the final 6-2. Their domination could be gauged by their goal-scoring spree throughout the tournament. In the four matches they played, Punjab scored 31 goals, including nine in their 9-1 romping of Tamil Nadu in the league stage. “We were missing Mandeep Singh, who is out with an injury. He would have added to our strength,” Avtar added. However, as the results suggest, the team didn’t need the India striker. Harjeet Singh, junior India team member, was adjudged the Player of the Tournament, while Jugraj Singh was named the Goalkeeper of the Tournament. Jugraj saved a crucial penalty stroke in the final. “The score was 1-0 and had they equalised, the match could have gone any way,” Avtar said. Despite the two individual awards, Avtar said it was hard to set apart any one player. “It was a perfect team effort. My defenders, my half-line and my forwards played brilliantly. Every member performed his duty without fail. The key to our success was the consistency.” This kind of dominance in the sport was not achieved overnight and Avtar said that it has taken years to reach this level. “It has taken seven years of hard work to reach this point,” said Avtar. “A comprehensive plan was put together in 2006, when Pargat Singh was the Director of sports. And the results are showing now.”
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Lee wins third India Open crown, Shixian clinches women’s final
New Delhi, April 6 The quiet Malaysian transformed into a ruthless warrior once the match began. The 31-year-old Chong Wei unleashed a series of smashes and delightful drop shots to win the first game, clinching it 21-13 when Long's smash went out. In the second game, it was a neck-and-neck fight as the two put on display a series of powerful and un-returnable smashes. A few of Chong Wei's deft drops did hit the net, but his cross-court shots made up for the errors. At 20-17, with Chong Wei serving for the match, it was just a matter of time before Long's shot landed out of the court. The usually shy Chong Wei did a little jig after his 21-13, 21-17 victory. "I dedicate this victory to my son, who will turn one next week. I will come back for the Thomas Cup. If I remain injury free this year, I might come back for the Indian Open (next year). Thanks to my fans for their love and support," he said. The women's singles final was an all-Chinese affair between the London Olympics gold medallist and world No. 1 Li Xuerui and the reigning All-England champion, world No. 3 Shixian Wang. Wang carried her superb All-England form to Delhi and scripted another famous victory over Xuerui. Wang, who is seeing a resurgence of her old form in 2014, beat her fancied compatriot 22-20, 21-19 in a match that was intense and worthy of a summit clash. "We were familiar with each other's game. I had defeated her in the All-England final recently, so I knew her game. It feels good to win the title. The crowd was also supporting me," said Wang. Both Chong Wei and Wang took home $18,750 as the winner's prize cheque. Denmark's shuttlers also made their presence count on Sunday, winning the men's doubles and mixed doubles titles. In the men's doubles final, Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen scored a hard-fought victory over China's Xiaolong Liu/Zihan Qui 17-21, 21-15, 21-15 in a contest lasting over an hour. In the mixed doubles final, third seeded pair of Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Christinna Pedersen beat the South Korean duo of Sung Hyun Ko/Ha Na Kim 21-16, 18-21, 21-18. In love with Indian food
Indian delicacies have always formed a part of visiting players' itinerary. A journey to India is incomplete without exploring the rich and diverse food culture. Scrumptious Indian food has tickled the taste buds of foreign players many a times. So, when Malaysian badminton legend Rashid Sidek made a trip to the famous Karim's restaurant in Nizamuddin, it did not come as a surprise. The chief singles coach of the Malaysian contingent found the food at Karim's so delicious that he made another trip to the restaurant. "I enjoyed mutton barra, butter chicken and badam pasanda," he said. — TNS |
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Hamilton wins Bahrain thriller for Mercedes
Manama, April 6
"They will be accepted," the Briton said at the Bahrain Grand Prix when asked about Haas's application. "We've also accepted another team as well. Whether they'll make it or not is another story. We are happy to have another couple of teams. "I've spoken to (International Automobile Federation president) Jean Todt and we agreed yesterday that another two teams want to come in, we'll let them in," said the 83-year-old billionaire. Last December, the FIA called for expressions of interest from potential new entries wanting to compete from 2015 or 2016, and set a January deadline. There are currently 11 teams competing. Full applications had to be submitted by February 10 and a decision was supposed to have been taken by February 28, although the governing body has remained silent on the subject. Haas, co-owner of the Stewart-Haas NASCAR team, acknowledged in January that Haas Racing Development had responded to the FIA's call. Former F1 principal Colin Kolles, who most recently led the failed Spanish HRT team after stints at Force India and its previous incarnations Jordan, Midland and Spyker, has also reportedly submitted a Romanian-backed application.Manama, April 6 Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday after a duel with Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg in a floodlit night race full of overtaking and wheel-to-wheel battles. The win was the Briton's second in a row, the 24th of his career and also a second successive one-two for a team in a class of their own and with two drivers free to race each other from start to finish. Mercedes have now won all three races so far in 2014. "Nico drove fantastically well. It was so fair but so hard to keep him behind me," smiled Hamilton, who last enjoyed back-to-back wins four years ago with McLaren. "I was on a real knife edge at the end," said the Briton, who won by 1.085 seconds and described the race as the hardest since his 2007 debut season. Mexican Sergio Perez took third place — 22.9 seconds behind Rosberg — as Mercedes-powered Force India celebrated the second podium finish in their history. Rosberg, winner of the season-opener in Australia, stayed top of the overall standings with 61 points to Hamilton's 50 after three races. "I strongly dislike coming second to Lewis, but it was definitely the most exciting race I have ever done in my entire career," said the German, who had started on pole and whose disappointment was clear as he stood on the podium. Hamilton, whose tally of wins pulls him level with the late Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio in the all-time lists, made the better start from second place on the grid and led into the first corner. He was never able to shake off Rosberg though, with both jostling for the lead in a race that made a mockery of suggestions the new V6 turbo hybrid era had turned flat-out racers into fuel-saving taxi drivers. — Reuters Bahrain Grand Prix
Financial problems
Ecclestone, who faces a court hearing on bribery charges in Germany later this month, appeared in good spirits and said he would have no problem with 13 teams. "Sure. And you can have a team and it can be 14," he joked. Formula One last admitted new teams in 2010, with a US outfit initially accepted but later removed from the entry list when it became apparent they were not in a position to race. — Reuters |
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Bale beauty keeps Real on leaders’ tails
Madrid, April 6 Atletico stay top, three points clear of third-placed Real, as they squeezed out a tense 1-0 win over Villarreal, whilst Barca remain in second after overcoming Real Betis 3-1 thanks to two goals from Lionel Messi. Real were leading 1-0 thanks to Asier Illarramendi’s opener when Bale pounced on an error from Sociedad keeper Claudio Bravo to register his 18th goal of the season with a sweet left-footed striker 25 minutes from time before Pepe and Alvaro Morata rounded off the scoring. Without Ronaldo due to a knee problem, Madrid took their time to get going in San Sebastian and could have been behind when Antoine Griezmann’s header flashed just over the bar midway through the first-half. However, Carlo Ancelotti`s men went in front the first time they really threatened the Sociedad goal as Bale fed Karim Benzema and when Bravo could only parry the Frenchman’s effort, Illarramendi was on hand to slot home against his former club. Bale killed the game off as a contest when he collected Bravo’s errant clearance and thumped the ball into the bottom corner before the Chilean international could get himself back into position. — PTI
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Liverpool back on top; Everton beat Arsenal London, April 6 Earlier Everton crushed a woeful Arsenal side 3-0 at Goodison Park to boost their chances of a top four finish and a possible place in next season's Champions League for the first time in nine seasons. The two vitally important games had a big bearing on the top of the table with Liverpool top with 74 points from 33 matches, two ahead of Chelsea who have also played 33. Manchester City, who play Liverpool next week, have 70 points and two matches in hand, followed by Arsenal on 64 from 33 and Everton 63 from 32. Liverpool continued where Everton left off by chalking up their ninth successive league win after Gerrard put them ahead in the 44th minute with his first penalty after James Tomkins handled a Luis Suarez cross at close-range. West Ham equalised a minute later with a controversial goal from Guy Demel after Andy Carroll appeared to foul Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet in the build-up. The ball dropped to Demel who swept it in. Referee Anthony Taylor had a long discussion with his assistant before allowing the goal to stand, but there was also controversy surrounding Liverpool's next goal. Taylor ruled that West Ham keeper Adrian brought down Jon Flanagan although TV replays showed the keeper got a hand to the ball first. — Reuters Chelsea go top with Stoke win, City thump Saints
Chelsea bounced back from their mini-slump and surged to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 home victory over Stoke City thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Frank Lampard and Willian at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. A 32nd minute strike by Salah, making his first start since joining Chelsea in January, and second-half efforts from Lampard, whose initial penalty was saved by Asmir Begovic, and Brazilian Willian saw the Blues move on to 72 points. They are one point ahead of Liverpool and two ahead of Manchester City, who beat Southampton 4-1 in Saturday's early match and have two games in hand on the leaders. — Reuters |
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SRI Lanka made two mistakes and both could have cost them the World Cup. One, they dropped the catch they shouldn't have; second, they caught the one they didn't need to.
Has Yuvraj Singh played his last game for India? If he hasn’t, he will need to do something spectacular wherever he plays next — be it the IPL or some other domestic tournament — to regain his shattered confidence and the faith of others if he’s to wear India jursey ever again.
It didn’t turn out to be the nail-biter Australian and English captains predicted it would be. But then, the World Cup finals rarely do. And Australia will too be happy after bagging their third consecutive T20 World Cup to ponder whether they were tested enough by England en route their comprehensive six-wicket victory on Sunday.
England medium-pacer Anya Shrubsole was on Sunday named as the Women's Player of the Tournament of the ICC World Twenty20 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium
(SBNCS) in Dhaka. Shrubsole was the unanimous choice of the select group of experts following her consistently strong form.
Top Indian player Somdev Devvarman pulled off a stunning win in the first reverse singles to enable India enter the Davis Cup World Group play-offs with a 3-1 historic win over South Korea in their Group I Asia/Oceania second round tie in Busan on Sunday.
Star-studded Punjab claimed the junior National hockey title with an overwhelming margin of 6-2 against a fighting Odisha in the final of the championship here today.
Starting aggressively, Punjab took the lead as Harjeet Singh converted a penalty corner in the very first minute and then Simranjeet Singh, who netted two goals in the win, scored the second goal in the ninth minute. In the 14th minute, Balvinder Singh made it 3-0.
It was the most anticipated match of the day and a sizeable Sunday crowd at the Siri Fort Sports Complex had reserved its loudest cheer for Malaysia's world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei and his final opponent, world No. 2 Chen Long from China. The loudest cheer was, of course, for defending champion Chong Wei, who made quick strides towards the centre court in his quest for his third Yonex India Open crown, having won it in 2011 and 2013.
Gareth Bale deputised ably for the injured Cristiano Ronaldo with a wonder strike from 35 yards as Real Madrid kept up the pressure on Atletico Madrid and Barcelona with a 4-0 win away to Real Sociedad on Saturday.
