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Hammered and humiliated
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‘Batting a let-down’ Manchester sidelites
Sanga’s double spells trouble for Pakistan
Sushil stuck between the Worlds and Asiad
PGA championship
The Williams sisters show
Archery world cup
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Hammered and humiliated Shocking Surrender
India sink to an embarrassing innings and 54 run defeat inside three days; England lead series 2-1 India perished under gloomy skies on the first morning, losing four wickets for eight runs in the first hour. India perished under bright sun today afternoon, losing 5/13 in 29 balls. In the first innings, Stuart Broad took 6/25. In the second, he didn’t bowl at all, having been struck on the nose when he batted earlier in the day. Come rain or shine, heat or dust or storm or clear, Broad or no Broad, this Indian team has shown its strong inclination towards suicide in this Test match. England scored 367/9 on this very surface. India scored 152 in the first and got routed for 161 in the second, despite the absence of the injured Broad, who’d taken six in the first innings. A lead of 215 was a heavy burden on the Indians, yet there was a strong incentive to apply the mind and bat stoutly — a hurricane is scheduled to hit Manchester tomorrow, which likely would have restricted play, or even prevented it
completely.
There was a possibility that India would have had to bat less than two complete days to save the match. Yet, the Indians showed dreadful application and some distressing flaws in technique today. For 10.5 overs, the Indians managed to keep England at bay — it was sunny, James Anderson didn’t look menacing, Broad was having his injury attended to, and Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan, pacers No. 3 and 4 for England, were unthreatening. Yet, the wicket of Murali Vijay opened the floodgates — the fifth ball of the 11th over from Woakes was angled in, and Vijay failed to read the line and connect; it struck him on the pads, in line and going on towards the leg stump. Vijay looked stupefied with the decision, but it was the correct one. Gautam Gambhir threw it away once again — the evening before the match, the Delhi opener had done a bit of visualisation at the wicket. He’d gone to the middle and shadow-batted at both ends of the track. He’d looked quite comfortable then, as he drove outside off at the invisible ball with an invisible bat. The real ball and the real bat, though, today brought in an altogether more menacing dimension; they brought to fore the reality of his failing. He hadn’t played Test cricket for 20 months, and it is difficult to imagine him playing very regularly for India hereafter. Today’s dismissal underscored that view — he gloved a short ball from Anderson, going down the legside, to the wicketkeeper after he’d made just 18. Cheteshwar Pujara was unlucky to be given out — he’d taken a huge stride out to Moeen Ali, and when the ball missed his inside edge and hit his front pad, he nodded to Ajinkya Rahane at the other end, to signify that there was no run to be run there. The umpire then raised his finger for an LBW — it was a brave decision, for the batsman’s front foot was stretched out and the ball had quite a way to go. Pujara looked dumbstruck, as he well might have been, and the replays showed that the ball would have missed the leg stump. Virat Kohli lies at the heart of India’s troubles — his scores this series have been 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7. This is a bit off from the four centuries he’d been expected to score. The reason of his failure isn’t difficult to find, but it’s proving impossible to cure. He seems unaware of his offstump, and he seems to have lost his confidence in leaving deliveries — he was out leaving the ball during the Lord’s Test, and he’s now playing at balls that he should be leaving, or pushing ahead with uncertainty. His mind is fried. He played far out today, too, and he edged it today, too. Ravindra Jadeja, out to a chorus of boos yet again, tried to smash his way out — a sure sign that in the mind, he’s no more than a tailender, despite his multiple triple centuries in first class cricket. “He’s taking the easy way out,” said Sourav Ganguly. “He needs to dig in and fight.” That won’t happen here. After Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s aggressive resistance and Ashwin’s doggedness, India collapsed. The Sunday storm can rest.
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‘Batting a let-down’ Manchester, August 9 Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team has been caught in choppy waters, having lost two Tests in a row after the win at Lord's. Dhoni said that the top order's failure has hobbled the team badly. India lasted 46.4 overs in the second innings, after batting just 43 overs in the first. “I think even in the first innings we weren't up to the mark in the batting department,” he said when asked if he was very upset with the batting today. “I feel so far in the series our batting had not really clicked. Our batting needs to improve. There has been a lot of talk about our bowling but it's our batting that has to improve.” The poor form of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara has caused much strife in the team — these are the two men who were expected to form the backbone of the team here in challenging conditions. “Consistently we are exposing Pujara in the second, third or fourth over, and he might feel that he is better off opening the batting!” Dhoni said. “Our openers haven't given us good enough starts, and that has put a lot of pressure on Pujara coming in at No. 3, who has never felt settled.” And what of Kohli? “Virat has had a lovely spell for two and half years and this is something that will happen in international cricket,” he said. “But I am not really worried as he is middling the ball well. He's working on his batting, and it may take a bit of time, but I feel, as I said earlier, he's still middling the ball. One has to go through such a lean patch in international cricket.” Any positive from the match? “We will get two extra days of rest,” he said with a grin.
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Manchester sidelites “I get up at 5 every morning and play a round of golf,” says Kapil Dev. Well, in only his dreams, actually. About 10 years ago, Kapil Dev had become one of the best amateur golfers in India. As the cliché goes, it's easy to get to the top, very difficult to stay there. “You need regular practice,” says India's greatest cricketer. “If you don't do that, it becomes very difficult to play a very good round.” Kapil has done the Scottish golf circuit, the Carnoustie and the St Andrews and the Gleneagles. Quite a challenge, isn't that? “Yes, but essentially due to the conditions there,” he says. “If it's sunny and warm, there's no problem. But the moment the wind picks up and the rain starts falling, you're in trouble. You play with several sweaters on, and your score is likely to shoot up.” He’s close to being a scratch golfer when playing regularly. He's not a man to brag, and it's only on being probed he tells you that his best at the Old Course at St Andrews was three-under par. “Anyone can have a good round if the conditions are all right,” he says. “But if it becomes cold or windy, the score could go up to 78. You hit the ball a little wayward, and you've suddenly lost three shots!” He says he enjoys his round of golf, but he always plays in real earnest, with a bit of money on the line. “It all evens out in the end.” Rainy days at Old Trafford Rain can be officially advertised as a leading attraction during the Old Trafford Test matches. When the first ever Test match was played here in 1884, a full day's play was lost due to rain. Rain has remained a constant here, 130 years on, and the Indians failed to take advantage of it here — a storm of sorts is forecast for the fourth day on Sunday, but the Indians didn't survive even the sunny Saturday. India haven't played a Test in Manchester since 1990. That was a sorry game for India — England had three centuries in their 519, but thanks to Mohammed Azharuddin's 179, they managed 432. India needed 408 to win, and were in trouble at 183/6; Sachin Tendulkar then scored his first Test century to save India. Rain wasn't a factor in India saving the game then - India has found a stronger force. Finally, Pankaj picks up a wicket The giant Rajasthan paceman finally got a wicket. He'd bowled 25 spells in three innings. He'd bowled 415 balls. Only god knows what made him come back to bowl the 416th, but come back he did. He got lucky because he got a wicket - though it wasn't a ball that should have got a wicket. Joe Root didn't really need to play at that one passing down the legside, but he interfered with its trajectory and edged it to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Pankaj Singh, who's grinned his way through misery over the last eight days of Test cricket, broke into a grin that could have burst his cheeks.
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Sanga’s double spells trouble for Pakistan
Galle, August 9 Sangakkara's 10th double century put him just two behind Australian great Don Bradman's 12 as Sri Lanka declared at 533 for nine wickets for an 82-run first innings lead before returning to strike a late blow as well. Pakistan were four for one wicket in their second innings at stumps, having lost opener Khurram Manzoor for three to Rangana Herath. Ahmed Shehzad was one not out and Saeed Ajmal yet to open his account with Pakistan still trailing by 78 runs with nine wickets in hand. The day, however, belonged to Sangakkara who brought up his double century with a single off Ajmal, sparking off celebrations in the ground. His batted for 11 hours and 38 minutes, hitting 24 fours in his marathon 425-ball knock. Sangakkara endured some torrid moments, however, before reaching the double century when Ajmal followed up the dismissal of Angelo Mathews (91) before the tea break with a further three cheap wickets as Sri Lanka slumped to 475-7. — Reuters Brief scores: Lanka 533 for 9 dec (Sanga 221, Mathews 91, Ajmal 5-166); Pak 451; 4 for 1. |
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Sushil stuck between the Worlds and Asiad
New Delhi, August 9 Sushil, who won gold in the 74kg category at the Glasgow Games, is struggling to pick one over the other. Basically, he has three options -- participate in the World Championships, or in the Asian Games, or find a way to participate in both the events. While he's tempted to participate in the Worlds for the stiff competition it provides, the lure of the Asian Games is equally strong for it would be his last hurrah at the Games. Making it to both the teams, however, involves an injury risk. "Chief national coach Vinod Kumar wants me to participate in the Asian Games considering it's going to be my last appearance at the quadrennial event, but my mentor Satpal Singh is advising me to go for the Worlds. Personally, I would like to compete in both the tournaments. I am pretty confused right now and it's taking a toll on my mind," said Sushil. What would he do if he has to choose between the two? "That will depend on the selection trials on August 13 in Sonepat. I'll take a call on my participation after consulting the federation and coaches. I am yet to make up my mind." And if you are wondering why it's such a tough choice for Sushil, then here's the reason. "The Worlds gold is as valuable as the Olympic medals. For me, the World Championships has always been at the top. I'll prefer winning a WC gold over any other event, even it's the Asiad." Chief coach Vinod Kumar, however, has a different view. "We all know World Championships is an important event, but considering this could be his last Asian Games, we want him to compete and boost the country's medal tally." The other key wrestlers have already made up their mind. Yogeshwar Dutt has decided to skip the World Championships, being held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from September 4 to 18. Amit Kumar, another gold medallist from the Glasgow Games, has been told by the WFI to focus on the Asian Games, scheduled in South Korea from September 19 to October 4. Women wrestlers Babita Kumari and Vinesh Phogat will also give the Worlds a miss for the Asian Games. |
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Imperious Rory leads at halfway
Irishman shoots 67 to post a total of nine-under after two days; Woods misses cut
LOUISVILLE (USA), August 9 The British Open champion, in pursuit of a third consecutive victory on the PGA Tour, fired a four-under 67 on a wet, ultra-long Valhalla layout. McIlroy, the pre-tournament favourite heading into the year’s final major, holed an uphill 30-foot putt from just off the green to eagle the par-five 18th and also Four-times winner Tiger Woods, however, ended a miserable week prematurely when he missed the cut at a major for only the fourth time as a professional, looking tournament rusty in both rounds as he carded successive 74s. McIlroy squandered a golden opportunity to add another eagle at the par-five seventh, where he hit a brilliant second shot from 243 yards to eight feet before missing the putt, but signed off with a birdie at the ninth where he drained a 16-footer. “I played well for the most part,” world No. 1 McIlroy said after moving a step closer to winning the fourth major title of his career. “Scored really well. Some key up-and-downs to keep the momentum going in the round. You’ve seen before when I got on good runs like this, I can sort of keep it going for a little while.” McIlroy ended his round one ahead of Australian Jason Day, who fired a best-of-the-day 65, and veteran American Jim Furyk (68). Americans Rickie Fowler (66) and Ryan Palmer (70), and Finland’s Mikko Ilonen (68) were a further stroke back. Five-times major winner Phil Mickelson (67) was next best on a high-quality leaderboard, level at six under with Austrian Bernd Wiesberger (68). England’s Lee Westwood (72), fourth-ranked Swede Henrik Stenson (71) and American Steve Stricker (68) were among a group of seven players knotted at five under. — Reuters Lahiri misses cut
Anirban Lahiri gave it all, but it was not enough to keep him for the weekend as he missed the cut by two shots at the PGA Championship. Lahiri added a second round 73 to the 72 he shot on Thursday to get to three-over 145 but the cut was set at one-over. Lahiri admitted to making far too many mistakes and was also clearly somewhat rusty as he was still recovering from the illness and chicken pox suffered during the British Open three weeks ago. “That’s no excuse. Yes, I have not been a 100 percent but even then I should have played much better. I made far too many mistakes. Five bogeys in a round are way too many,” he said.
— PTI |
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The Williams sisters show
Montreal, August 9 It will mark the 25th time the sisters have squared off and first since a 2013 semifinal clash in Charleston that Serena won. While it is a matchup tennis fans always look forward to, for the sisters it is something they could live without. “I definitely don’t like playing her,” explained Serena. “I think I’ve lost to her more than anyone on the tour. Definitely not a fun match.” Despite the high praise, Serena holds a 14-10 advantage over her older sister in head-to-head meetings and has come out on top in their last five encounters, including the 2009 Wimbledon final. But the sisterly clashes, which were at one time almost a regular and welcome occurrence on tennis courts across the globe, have become rarer-and-rarer. The other semi will pit third seed Agnieszka Radwanska against Ekaterina Makarova. Poland’s Radwanska, the third seed, advanced with a dominant 6-2 6-2 win over Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka. Unseeded Russian Makarova beat American qualifier Coco Vandeweghe 6-1 4-6 6-1.
Tsonga beats Murray
Toronto: Roger Federer celebrated his 33rd birthday with a 6-3 4-6 6-3 win over Spaniard David Ferrer on Friday to move into the semifinals of the Rogers Cup. Federer will next face another Spaniard, Feliciano Lopez, who ended the last hope for a homegrown winner in sixth seed Milos Raonic 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3. The other semifinal will see Grigor Dimitrov take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has reached the last four by knocking off world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in Friday’s quarterfinal. Tsonga beat the Scotsman 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4.
— Reuters Sania-Cara in semis Sania Mirza and Cara Black beat Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears in just 52 minutes to seal a semifinal berth. The fourth seeds knocked out the sixth-seeded American team with a 6-2 6-1 win in the quarterfinal. — PTI
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India assured of three medals
Kolkata, August 9 With the compound mixed pair of Abhishek Verma and Purvasha Shende already in the final, India are ensured of at least three medals from the season-concluding meet. Besides, Deepika will vie for two bronze medals in the recurve individual and mixed pair, where she’s been tagged with Talukdar. The men’s semifinal went down to the wire as the Indians came back from behind and held their nerves in the shoot-off to oust the fifth-seeded Chinese trio of Xuesong Gu, Jialun Li and Zhiwei Yong. A poor seven off the last shot of the first end meant India trailed 0-2 but they bounced back in style, shooting three perfect 10s and three 9s in the second end to level scores. The Chinese hit the bull’s eye twice to take the third end before the Indians brought the issue on an even keel (4-4) with three perfect 10s in the last end to take it to the shoot-off. India kept a steady head, shooting two 10s to seal the issue. — PTI
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Kumar Sangakkara struck a sparkling 221 to move to the second spot in the all-time list of test double centurions as Sri Lanka grabbed lead before declaring their first innings on day four of the first test against Pakistan on Saturday.
Sangakkara's 10th double century put him just two behind Australian great Don Bradman's 12 as Sri Lanka declared at 533 for nine wickets for an 82-run first innings lead before returning to strike a late blow as well.
Sushil Kumar is having sleepless nights since the Wrestling Federation of India
(WFI) has decided to send a second-string team for the World Championships to maximize India's chances at the Asian Games. As the two events are scheduled close to each other, the WFI has decided to send two separate teams.
Sushil, who won gold in the 74kg category at the Glasgow Games, is struggling to pick one over the other. Basically, he has three options -- participate in the World Championships, or in the Asian Games, or find a way to participate in both the events.
Montreal, August 9
