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As easy as a stroll in the park
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Gopichand mum over split with Saina
Bolt wins in cricket, ‘loses’ 100m dash to Yuvi
IOA-Boxing India on collision course
Marathon man Nishikori
Sania in semis; Paes out
Schweinsteiger is Germany captain
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As easy as a stroll in the park
Birmingham, September 2 India last won a bilateral ODI series in England in 1990. Back then, the tourists won both the matches in the two-match series — at Leeds (by six wickets) and Nottingham (by five wickets). Opting to bowl today, the visitors first restricted England to a modest 206 and then overwhelmed the target in 30.3 overs to record their third consecutive victory in the ODI series at the the Edgbaston, in what turned out to be yet another lopsided contest. While Rahane destroyed a pedestrian English attack with a 100-ball 106 with the help of 10 fours and four sixes, out-of-form Shikhar Dhawan (97 not out; 11x4s, 4x6s) re-discovered his touch as the opening duo put on a 183-run partnership off 28.4 overs to lay the foundation for the comfortable win. It was a dramatic turnaround for India after the shambolic 1-3 drubbing in the recent Test series, in which the batsmen struggled to cope with the swinging ball. Earlier, Indian bowlers produced a disciplined effort to bundle out England for a below-par 206 with Moeen Ali's 67 being the top score for the hosts. Ali's second ODI fifty guided England to a score of respectability as the hosts were bowled out in 49.3 overs. England wasted a perfect first-use of a good batting surface with only three batsmen crossing the 20-run mark. Ali faced 50 balls, hitting four boundaries and three sixes. Mohammad Shami (3-28) ended up as India's best bowler on the day. He was ably supported by Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-14) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-40), while R Ashwin (1-48) and Suresh Raina (1-36) were the other wicket-takers. Playing his first ODI, Dhawal Kulkarni (0-35) went wicket-less from his seven overs. Rahane taking control
Rahane took the lead early-on as Dhawan took his time settling down. The former was quickly off the blocks as he struck four boundaries in the fifth over bowled by James Anderson (0-38). It helped the scoring rate quite a bit and when Dhawan got going as well, India's 50 came up in good time. It was incidentallly also the first 50-run partnership by an Indian opening pair on this tour. Rahane, who has moved up from number four in light of Rohit Sharma's injury, scored his fifty in style off 60 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes, hitting Moeen Ali (0-40) for a maximum off the first ball of the 18th over. Three balls later, he brought up his 100-run stand with Dhawan. The big-hitting Dhawan did play some lusty shots as well, hitting his first six in the 21st over off Anderson and bringing up his first half-century of the tour and his eighth ODI fifty overall. He got to the mark off 57 balls with the help of seven fours. Their charge towards victory-line continued unabated as the English bowlers had no answer to the duo's unabashed hitting on a placid wicket. The pair brought up their 150-run stand in the 25th over off just 149 balls. Rahane really accelerated after reaching his half-century, scoring his next 50 runs off only 36 balls with another four boundaries and two sixes. He got to his maiden landmark in the 28th over off 96 balls. Just when it appeared that the two would finish the job as India took the batting power-play in the 29th over, Rahane was dismissed after a splendid innings. — PTI Scoreboard England India Bowling: Anderson 6-1-38-0; Gurney 6.3-0-51-1; Finn 7-0-38-0; Woakes 4-0-40-0; Ali 7-0-40-0. Dhoni India’s most successful ODI skipper
Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the most successful Indian captain ever in the One-dayers after India's nine-wicket thrashing of England in the fourthODI. Tuesday's win at the Edgbaston was Dhoni's 91st ODI victory as skipper. He surpassed Mohammad Azharuddin's tally of 90 ODI victories as captain. Azharuddin took nine years between 1990 and 1999 and 174 matches to get to his mark while Dhoni did it in only seven years and 162 matches. The 33-year-old Dhoni now has a realistic chance of becoming the first Indian to lead the country in 100 ODI victories. He has scored 8098 runs from 246 ODIs so far, averaging 53.27 with a career strike rate of 89.31. Dhoni's record against England in ODIs is better than any of his predecessors, with 17 wins and five losses out of 25 matches. |
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Gopichand mum over split with Saina
Hyderabad, September 2 Struggling with her form, India's top shuttler Saina has sought the help of former chief coach Vimal Kumar to prepare for the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, but said she will return to Hyderabad after the tournament. However, Gopichand didn't seem too amused by the development. "Well, it has been ten years we worked together. I saw that report in the paper in the morning. Leave it at that," Gopichand said. "I don't want to comment on that issue because it is two weeks to go for the Asian Games. I think where ever you are training the last thing you want is your focus to be out. So leave it at that, (lets) address it later," he said. Saina has been struggling with her fitness and form for almost two years. She had broken her 20-month long Super Series title drought, winning the Australian Open in June. However, the Indian withdrew from her title defence of Commonwealth Games in Glasgow just days ahead of the tournament citing fitness issues. Saina returned to action at the World championship last week but crashed out of the tournament with a straight-game loss to world No.1 Chinese Li Xuerui in the quarterfinals. With the Asian Games just a fortnight away, Saina decided to hone her skills with Vimal. The 23-year-old flew to Bangalore today to train at the Prakash Padukone academy for the next two weeks. "I wanted to train under Vimal sir ahead of the Asian Games as his advice helped me during the Uber Cup," Saina said. "I will train under him for the next 15 days. I want to win a medal at the Asian Games and hope it helps me to do well there." — PTI
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Bolt wins in cricket, ‘loses’ 100m dash to Yuvi
Bangalore, September 2 The Jamaican, the first man to win six Olympic sprint gold medals, blasted his way to a 19-ball 45, studded with five sixes including three off Yuvraj, as his team chased down the 59-run target in the last ball off the match. Yuvraj though had his 'sweet revenge' as he 'defeated' Bolt in the 100 meter sprint on the track, which culminated the spectacular event played in an electrifying atmosphere. Bolt, who holds both the world records of 100m and 200m, 'allowed' Yuvraj to win the race. As he went past the finishing line, Yuvraj celebrated the 'victory' in mobot-style which Bolt had done during 2012 London Olympics by imitating celebrated British long distance runner Mo Farah. — PTI My 100m record is pretty much out of reach
In his typical in-your-face style, Bolt declared that his 100m record was "pretty much out of reach". “As an athlete, I have seen records come and go. They have always been broken, but if you want to be as great as me, you have to work very hard. That's why my records will stand the time”. AB fastest, Gayle slowest
“The fastest cricketer for me would be, without a doubt, AB de Villiers. I would put him as the 100 metres champion among cricketers,” said Bolt. The sprinter also took a dig at his compatriot and friend, the big-hitting Chris Gayle. “Gayle is definitely the slowest cricketer. I always tell he should stop running, because every time he does, he pulls a hamstring,” he grinned. Here everyone wants to play cricket
Bolt has an interesting take on why, despite producing successful cricketers, India has not been able to produce famous athletes. “India is all about cricket and more youngsters here want to play cricket. A lot may have the talent to be athletes but they won't find out because in their heads, they want to play cricket.” Bolt said that as a youngster he had harboured a dream of becoming a cricketer. “My dad is a huge cricket fan, and I started watching cricket with him. When I reached high school, I had two options – either pursue cricket or take up track and field.” “My dad said to me that because of the country we live in, it is hard to make the national team. So he told me to follow track and field because ‘as long as you are fast they will pick you, but in cricket you might be in or out of form and that might determine your career.” Bolt was asked what would he prefer to race against, a cheetah or a fast car. “I think a cheetah would be cooler to race against,” before adding, with a big grin. “I can see the headlines, which would say ‘Bolt beats cheetah'.” — Agencies |
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IOA-Boxing India on collision course
New Delhi, September 2 The elections, to be held on September 11, have been mired in controversy ever since the International Boxing Association (AIBA) recognised Boxing India as the provisional body to conduct fresh elections and could again face a possible postponement. Several state associations have written to AIBA president Ching Kuo Wu, informing him about Boxing India's attempt to manipulate the electoral process to get its favoured candidates elected. IOA president N Ramachandran has himself taken up the matter and sought an immediate appointment with Ching Kuo Wu so as to allow the IOA to hold the elections. "The IOA has been flooded with letters citing various irregularities in the Electoral College which is quite different from the previous Electoral College. This is a matter of serious concern to the IOA and the Government of India," Ramachandran said. "It would be best if the IOA conducts these elections in a free and fair manner in the presence of an Observer from the Ministry of Sports. In the long run, this would be the best solution for the boxing community in India," the letter further added. State associations from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Gujarat and Haryana have already offered their support to the IOA and have distanced themselves from Boxing India. The IOA has also called a meeting of all state associations on September 5 to discuss the possibility of holding the state and national boxing championships which have not taken place since December 2012 following AIBA's suspension of IABF. However, the latest missive by the IOA hasn't gone down well with Boxing India, which has issued a veiled threat to its member affiliates to not attend any such proposed meeting. "With the elections just around the corner, Boxing India is looking forward to having a new and elected body that will drive the future of Indian boxing. The commissioning and holding of any events/championships such as National Games will be our priority after getting elected. It would be advisable to state associations to keep all discussions related to holding of championships in the hands of our own elected members after the elections," said the Boxing India letter.
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Marathon man Nishikori
New York, September 2 Djokovic charged past Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-1 7-5 6-4 to set up a blockbuster meeting with longtime rival Andy Murray, who booked his own place in the last eight with a steamy 7-5 7-5 6-4 win over ninth seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Williams warmed up for her match in the mid-day sun sporting a black dinner jacket over her pink leopard print dress and then turned back the frustrations of a disappointing season at the majors by hammering Estonia's Kaia Kanepi 6-3 6-3. Gunning for her third consecutive U.S. Open title, Williams made something of a grand slam breakthrough for 2014 by reaching the last eight. Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka, 10th seed Kei Nishikori and twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka avoided the worst of the heat by playing under the evening floodlights but they were still made to sweat for their wins.
Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka fought off two set points in the third set on the way to a 7-5 4-6 7-6(7) 6-2 win over Tommy Robredo. — Reuters Round 4
Men: Kei Nishikori beat Milos Raonic 4-6 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 7-5 6-4, Andy Murray bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5 7-5 6-4,Novak Djokovic bt Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-1 7-5 6-4, Stanislas Wawrinka bt Tommy Robredo 7-5 4-6 7-6(7) 6-2; (doubles quarterfinal): Scott Lipsky/Rajeev Ram bt Eric Butorac/Raven Klaasen 6-3 7-6(4) Women (Round 4): Victoria Azarenka bt Aleksandra Krunic 4-6 6-4 6-4, Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) bt 7-Eugenie Bouchard 7-6(2) 6-4, Serena Williams bt Kaia Kanepi 6-3 6-3, Flavia Pennetta bt Casey Dellacqua 7-5 6-2 |
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New York, September 2 Sania alongside Bruno Soares beat the Rohana Bopanna and Katarina Srebotnik 7-5 2-6 10-5 in the mixed doubles quarterfinals. The Hyderabadi made the quarterfinals with Cara Black, defeating Czech-Serbian combine of Klara Koukalova and Jelena Jankovic 6-3 6-2. Sania has not won a title yet at the US Open. Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek lost to Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 2-6 6-4 1-6 in the third round. In the mixed doubles, Paes-Cara lost to Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez, losing the quarterfinal 4-6 6-4 8-10 in the Super Tie-Break. In the junior boys round one, Sumit Nagpal got past Viktor Durasovic of Norway 6-3 6-4. — Agencies
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Schweinsteiger is Germany captain
Berlin, September 2 The 30-year-old Schweinsteiger, who has won 108 caps and scored 23 goals for Germany, will not lead the team in Wednesday's friendly rematch of the final against Argentina due to injury. The Bayern Munich midfielder is the most experienced player in the team. — Agencies
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Ajinkya Rahane smashed his maiden ODI century as India clinched their first 50-over series win on English soil in 24 years after thrashing the hosts by nine wickets in the fourth ODI to take an invincible 3-0 lead in the five-match series here today.
India last won a bilateral ODI series in England in 1990. Back then, the tourists won both the matches in the two-match series — at Leeds (by six wickets) and Nottingham (by five wickets).
No one work harder, or longer, for their victory than Japan's Nishikori, who needed five sets and four hours and 19 minutes to tame fifth seeded Canadian Milos Raonic 4-6 7-6 (4) 6-7 (6) 7-5 6-4. The marathon contest equalled the latest finishing match ever played at the U.S. Open with the two exhausted players walking off the Arthur Ashe Stadium court at 02:26 AM. Eugiene Bouchard's bid for a fourth consecutive grand slam semifinal appearance came to a n end with a 7-6 (2) 6-4 loss to Ekaterina Makarova. 
