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Delhi target outright win with four quicks

 Sports
Dec 142012
 

Virag Awate scored twin centuries on Ranji debut, Vidarbha v Maharashtra, Ranji Trophy, Group B, Nagpur, 4th day, November 27, 2012Maharashtra’s batsmen have piled on the centuries © Paritosh Pramanik
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Players/Officials: Vijay Dahiya
Series/Tournaments: Ranji Trophy | Indian Domestic Season

As the winter in Delhi begins to bite, its Ranji Trophy team has decided it must do the same – with a bullet. With only two matches left and 11 miserable points from six matches, Delhi will attempt to bring all their powers of purpose down on Maharashtra from Saturday at the Roshanara Club in north Delhi. Those powers begin with the fortuitous occurrence of a home ground going into preparation lockdown for an international game against Pakistan. It is why Delhi must move groundstaff, supersopper, catering unit and everything else it needs to play yet another all-or-nothing match on the fastest wicket in the neighbourhood with the promise of a four-man pace attack and a 9:15 start time known usually for freezing fingers in Delhi’s Decembers.

Even though the Kotla ODI between India and Pakistan is more than three weeks away, the logistical nightmare of moving from the Kotla to the private Roshanara Club, around 8 km away, will have to be undergone. The grumbling will be kept to the minimum if the move ends up being to Delhi’s eventual advantage, even though Ashish Nehra, their most experienced of quick men, is not on the team roster and Parvinder Awana, their quickest and most successful, finds himself in the Indian dressing room.

Instead, said coach Vijay Dahiya, medium-pacer Vikas Tokas had been called into the 15. If he does indeed turn up in the XI, Tokas will make his debut for Delhi after having played two Ranji matches for Railways in 2010-11. He completes the quartet of Delhi quicks being promised to stomp all over the Roshanara Club alongside Pawan Suyal, Pradeep Sangwan and Sumit Narwal. Delhi may be tempted to play five bowlers, including left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra, according to Dahiya, given that they are trying to snatch two outright wins and sneak their way into the knock-outs.

Against them will be a batting line-up that has rattled up totals of 764, 315, 333 and 540 and has six centuries, including a triple, from their batsmen in five matches. Yet, Maharashtra do not have a single outright win. Against Tamil Nadu, they were all out for 88 in their second innings in Chennai and beaten by 104 runs. Eight points and many tall totals have come from four draws, from first-innings leads against Vidarbha and Haryana. They may have three group games still left as compared to Delhi’s two, but at the tail-end of the Ranji Trophy, it is only strong and desperate opposition that lies in wait. First Delhi on what the day before the game looked like a green top, and then Baroda and Karnataka. In Group B, given Haryana’s unpredictability, Maharashtra must do all they can to ensure they do not end up hitting the bottom of the points table.

Anderson burst swings it England’s way

 Sports
Dec 142012
 

England 277 for 7 (Root 65*, Swann 19*) v IndiaLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Joe Root scored 28, Mumbai A v England XI, Mumbai, 1st day, November 3, 2012Joe Root’s impressive Test debut continued on the second day © Getty Images
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Matches: India v England at Nagpur
Series/Tournaments: England tour of India

The final Test continued to develop in slow-motion on the second day in Nagpur, but England will have been content with their morning’s work as they kept India in the field. Joe Root and Matt Prior, who both reached vital half-centuries, carried their sixth-wicket stand to 102 before India had two swift breakthroughs. But Graeme Swann remained with Root until the interval to maintain England’s ambitions of passing 300.

Root’s highly accomplished Test debut, which began shortly before tea on the first day, spanned 200 deliveries by lunch. His half-century came from 154 balls and even the loss of two quick wickets did not shake his concentration. If anything, it prompted a few more attempts at innovation with some deft paddles and sweeps that would have made Graham Thorpe proud. His one nervous moment came on 64 when he had to dive full-length to beat a direct hit from Gautam Gambhir at cover.

Swann, meanwhile, played a sensible innings to ensure the innings did not fritter away. Off the mark with a meaty clip through square leg, he twice lofted boundaries over deep midwicket against the spinners – the first a full delivery slog-swept and the second as he chipped down the pitch at Ravindra Jadeja.

England resumed on 199 for 5 and the familiar pattern of dead-batted blocks was the order of the day. The first boundary came via an outside edge from Prior against Ishant Sharma which summed up the state of the surface as the nick carried half to MS Dhoni, who was already standing reasonably close.

Sharma’s first spell lasted three overs – he could only operate in short bursts – then it was a return to all-spin which prompted both batsmen to remove their helmets in favour of England caps, Prior’s slightly more worn and sweat-stain than the crisp, fresh-out-of-packet, version Root was wearing. This really could have been Test cricket out of the 1980s in the subcontinent.

Steadily, though, England did begin to make useful progress. Any width was latched onto by both players as Root cut Piyush Chawla through point and Prior repeated the effort against Jadeja and another took him to his fifty. Curiously, both Jadeja, and more so Chawla, were given a bowl before Pragyan Ojha, but in the end the breakthrough came from the man who now appears the fourth-choice spinner having begun the series tipped to be the major threat.

R Ashwin switched his line to around the wicket and floated a straight delivery past Prior’s outside edge. Prior was aghast that he had managed to miss the delivery while Ashwin’s celebrations were those of relief as much as joy.

Although this isn’t a surface where anything is likely to happen quickly, India produced back-to-back wickets as Dhoni, in one of his more alert and innovative pieces of captaincy in what has been a passive series for him, immediately withdrew Ashwin from the attack in favour of Sharma.

Barely before Twitter fingers and commentators had started to question the move, Sharma found reverse-swing to trap Tim Bresnan in front of middle and leg. Sharma, though, could not bowl long spells and the movement he found reinforced the feeling Dhoni would have been better served with another seamer.

Chawla assures it’s not time to panic

 Sports
Dec 142012
 

Piyush Chawla gets ready to bowl at the nets, Colombo, September 25, 2012Piyush Chawla said the umpiring mistakes were part and parcel of the game © AFP
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Report : Anderson burst swings it England’s way
Features : Joe takes root in tenacious Test debut
Players/Officials: Piyush Chawla
Matches: India v England at Nagpur
Series/Tournaments: England tour of India

Piyush Chawla believes the Indian batting hasn’t failed, the bowling unit has been doing well, and that there is no need to panic. Replying to England’s 330 on a tacky surface, India – 2-1 down coming into the decider – were 87 for 4 with prospects of batting last on the pitch that can start breaking up any time.

“We have lost a few wickets, but we have two quality batsmen [Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni] at the crease,” said Chawla. “They are having a good partnership, they are seeing the ball really well, and hope for the best because the way these guys are middling it, we will like to have a good session in the morning.”

Asked if the batting failures have affected the bowling unit’s morale adversely, Chawla said: “There are phases. It’s not as if they have flopped a lot. We’re still we are scoring 300-350 every match. I don’t think it has affected the bowlers much. We are doing well as a bowling unit.”

Chawla said it was just one partnership – between Joe Root and Matt Prior – that thwarted them otherwise they restricted England well. England began the day at 199 for 5, and Chawla said they would have been happy if they had bowled India out for under 300. “We thought if we get one wicket at the start, we can stop them around under 300, but Prior and Joe Root batted really well,” he said. “Once we broke that partnership, we recovered well.”

Asked about how disappointing conceding lower-order runs were – England having been 139 for 5 at one stage – Chawla said, “As I said before, they got one big partnership, but after that we restricted them well.”

Chawla, who took 4 for 69, made a surprising comeback to the Test side in a season that he has averaged 54.30 with the ball. His first-class averages over the previous two seasons have been 40.61 and 41.04. He said the stats were bad because he has bowled on seaming tracks, and he hasn’t been getting long spells.

Chawla was asked – citing Cheteshwar Pujara’s disappointment at being given out caught off the elbow and pad – if it was high time that India agreed to using DRS. “Replays suggested that it was not out, but it is part and parcel of the game,” Chawla said. “At the end of the day, umpires are also human, so you can’t really say.”

Lots of cheer as India win T20 World Cup for the Blind

 Sports
Dec 142012
 

The victorious Indian visually-impaired team with the inaugural T20 World Cup, Bangalore, December 13, 2012India’s visually-impaired team with their spoils © ESPNcricinfo Ltd
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India against Pakistan, in the final of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup. No, we’re not talking Johannesburg 2007, but Bangalore 2012. This time, it was the inaugural T20 World Cup for the Blind, which India took by 29 runs.

The 12-day tournament, comprising nine teams, signed-off with much fanfare. There was India’s national broadcaster, Doordarshan, on hand to telecast the match. There were cheerleaders and the customary T20 bugle call being blasted over the PA. There were radio jockeys with boundary-side updates, and there were local actors to add a dash of glamour and get the crowd going. And, most vitally, there was a crowd to get going. A crowd that numbered around 4000.

“I don’t think I’ll ever experience anything like this in my life again,” South Africa’s visually-impaired cricket team captain, Desigan Pillay, said, as the spectators launched into a chant. His team-mate, Hendrik Christiaan, backed him up: “Back home, your wife thinks you’re great. And, probably, your mum. But to see so many people here, creating such an atmosphere, it’s very encouraging.”

Batting first on ground with a patchy outfield, India got to 258 for 8 – not a very intimidating total by blind cricket standards. At one point though, it looked like they might get much less. Enter Ketanbhai Patel, one of the four fully blind or B1 players in the XI (among the partially-sighted players, four are B2s – players who can see up to three metres – and the remaining three are B3s or those who can see up to six metres). As per the rules, B1 players have their scores doubled and so, when they click, they can make a huge difference for their team. Today, Ketanbhai clicked. He scored 98 off 43 balls, caught and bowled two short of a rare B1 century.

Pakistan came into the final unbeaten, and are the only team to make it to the finals of all four global blind cricket tournaments to date – this one, and the three 40-overs World Cups before this. They won two of those titles, the most recent being a victory over India in Islamabad in 2006. This time round, though, the very vocal home crowd wasn’t behind them and the pressure seemed to get to Pakistan. They lost wickets in a hurry and the run outs in the innings showed that they were nervous.

By the time the final over began, the game was over and the Indian fans knew it. Most left the shade of the shamiyanas (tents) surrounding the field, and crowded the boundary boards. The moment the final ball was bowled, and the 29-run win official, they spilled on to the field despite the best efforts of the volunteers and the police. Photographers with cameras flashing, schoolchildren draped with flags, physically challenged in wheelchairs … they were all out there. Some sprayed bottled coke on others, while the crackers went off in the background.

Over the next hour, the Indian visually-impaired team was hugged and hoisted on shoulders and raucously celebrated. After the speeches – several of them – mementos were handed out to all the teams by former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga and former India wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani, among others. The star player of the tournament, India batsman Prakash Jairamaiah, was garlanded and India captain Shekhar Naik was handed the trophy. Of course, there were a few well-deserved cheques handed out too.

Pietersen leads England on tough pitch

 Sports
Dec 132012
 

Toss England chose to bat v IndiaLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Alastair Cook won his first toss of the series and gave his batsmen first use of a heavily cracked, dry pitch that is expected to turn increasingly from the first day. India decided to play effectively four spinners on this surface, with Ishant Sharma being MS Dhoni’s lone seam option.

After losing the Kolkata Test to go 1-2 down in the series, India had made three changes to their squad for the deciding game in Nagpur. Two of the players they called up were named in the XI – legspinner Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja, a left-arm spinning allrounder who scored two triple-centuries in the Ranji Trophy this season, replaced Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. Chawla was playing his first Test since April 2008, while Jadeja was making his debut.

England also made two changes to the XI that won at Eden Gardens. Steven Finn was unfit so Tim Bresnan, who was dropped after a disappointing Test in Ahmedabad, made a comeback. They also gave the batsman Joe Root a debut and left out allrounder Samit Patel.

India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Ishant Sharma.

England: 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Nick Compton, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Joe Root, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar.

Toughest pitch I’ve played on – Pietersen

 Sports
Dec 132012
 

Kevin Pietersen made a vital half-century, India v England, 4th Test, Nagpur, 1st day, December 13, 2012Kevin Pietersen had to hold back on his natural free-flowing game on a very slow pitch © BCCI
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Features : A day of anti-cricket
Features : Mixed results for India’s gamble
Report : Pietersen leads England on tough pitch
Players/Officials: Kevin Pietersen | Joe Root | Ishant Sharma
Matches: India v England at Nagpur
Series/Tournaments: England tour of India

Kevin Pietersen described the Nagpur pitch as “the toughest I have played Test cricket on” after the first day of the final Test against India.

Pietersen top-scored for England with 73 out of 199 for 5 but, on a day when England were unable to score off 483 of the day’s 582 deliveries, Pietersen admitted that the slow pace of the pitch had made batting a real struggle. He remained confident that England were well-placed in the game, however, suggesting the balance of their attack – with two seamers and two spinners – would prove crucial over the remainder of the game.

India utilised four spinners on the first day, but the only seamer in their side, Ishant Sharma, was by far the most dangerous of the bowlers and dismissed both England openers, Nick Compton and Alastair Cook.

“It is tough and it is the toughest wicket I have played Test cricket on in terms of trying to play strokes,” Pietersen said. “I think we have done okay at 200 for 5 but what the wicket is going to do from now on, I haven’t got a clue because it looks pretty similar to what it did when we started the day. The key today was to try and bat for as long as possible because I don’t think that wicket is getting any better.

“My guess is as good as anyone’s in this room as to what that wicket is going to do. I don’t know, but goodness, it is slow.

“I think we are in a position of strength, having two seamers. I found Ishant Sharma incredibly difficult to play today. All I know is that scoring was incredibly hard, especially against Ishant, so we hope Tim Bresnan and Jimmy Anderson can do us a really good job.”

Pietersen was also impressed by the performance of Joe Root. The 21-year-old, winning his first Test cap, reacted to challenging circumstances with a composed innings that revived England’s hopes of setting a competitive first innings total. England slipped to 139 for 5 not long after Root came to the crease, but did not lose another wicket for the rest of the day as he and Matt Prior added 60 runs in 30 overs. On a pitch that may well deteriorate sharply, the time occupying the crease could prove almost as important as the runs scored.

“Joe was brilliant,” said Pietersen. “He is his own man. He played some lovely cricket shots. He has got a good head on his shoulders. I always say never judge anyone after a couple of hours batting for England but he showed signs that he will have a very good Test career.

“He didn’t need too much help. He came in there, and was scoring freely. He’s a good little player and a lovely man as well. He’s a good human being.”

Pietersen accepted that it had not been the most entertaining day for spectators and suggested that the slow pace of play would have persuaded many to stop watching long before the close.

“The Indians think that is the kind of wicket they can produce to pull the series back,” he said. “The viewers have got no interest in what I’ve got to say because they switched off four or five hours ago. It is an incredible challenge for the lads to see what we can get out of this over the next four days. We’ve had some incredible challenges over the last two or three years.”

Anjum Chopra joins SA women’s management

 Sports
Dec 132012
 

Anjum Chopra arrives on the cruise bar for the launch for the Women's World Cup, Sydney, October 29, 2008Anjum Chopra will assist the team in the areas of mental training and computer-aided analysis and will report directly to the newly-appointed head coach, Hilton Moreeng. © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Anjum Chopra
Teams: India | South Africa

Former India women’s captain Anjum Chopra has been inducted in the management team for the South African women’s side, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced. Chopra will play a technical advisory role in the squad ahead of the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup in India.

Chopra will assist the team in the areas of mental training and computer-aided analysis and will report directly to the newly-appointed head coach, Hilton Moreeng. Her first assignment will be the upcoming five-match ODI series in the West Indies.

“The availability of Anjum Chopra to work within the space of South African women’s cricket should close the gap in the international experience between South Africa and the rest of the top women cricketing nations,” Max Jordaan, CSA’s manager of women’s and senior cricket, said.

“The recent performances of the Proteas at the ICC Women T20 highlighted this shortcoming. We believe that the wealth of on-field cricket experience, leadership and business acumen elevates Anjum as the ideal person to lead our team into the semi-finals at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in India.”

Chopra, who represented India for 17 years, was the first women cricketer to appear in 100 ODIs. She played 127 ODIs in all, scoring 2856 runs at an average of 31.38. She is currently a cricket commentator, business coach, author and motivational speaker.

Broad ruled out of T20 series

 Sports
Dec 132012
 

Stuart Broad was among the England bowlers to suffer, England v India, World Twenty20, Group A, ColomboEngland’s T20 captain, Stuart Broad, has been ruled out of the series against India © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Stuart Broad | Steven Finn | James Harris
Series/Tournaments: England tour of India

Stuart Broad, England’s Twenty20 captain, and Steven Finn have been ruled out of the two-match T20 international series against India and will fly home to the UK. Broad had suffered a recurrence of the heel problem picked up earlier on the tour, while Finn strained a disc in his back during the third Test. Eoin Morgan will lead the T20 side in Broad’s absence.

Middlesex seamer James Harris, a member of the England Performance Programme (EPP) squad currently in Pune, where the first T20I will be played on December 20, has been added to the squad.

More to follow…

Balaji ruled out of Twenty20s against England

 Sports
Dec 132012
 

India seamer L Balaji has been ruled out of the Twenty20 squad against England due to a stress injury to his right big toe, the BCCI has said. Vinay Kumar, the Karnataka seamer, will replace him.

Vinay has played eight Twenty20s internationals, and made his last international appearance against South Africa in Johannesburg in March this year. In the ongoing Ranji Trophy, he has taken 17 wickets in four matches at an average of 20.58.

India play England in two Twenty20s later this month before a five-match ODI series.

Can brittle India stop England?

 Sports
Dec 122012
 

Match Facts

December 13-17, NagpurStart time 9.30am (0400GMT)

Tim Bresnan celebrates an early wicket, Haryana v England XI, tour match, Ahmedabad, 2nd day, November 9, 2012Tim Bresnan could be recalled by England if Steven Finn is ruled out of the final Test © AFP
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News : BCCI deadbats Amarnath’s comments
News : Finn in doubt for Nagpur Test
News : India have the character to bounce back – Dhoni
Players/Officials: Piyush Chawla | Alastair Cook | MS Dhoni | Ashok Dinda | Ravindra Jadeja | Ajinkya Rahane | Sachin Tendulkar
Matches: India v England at Nagpur
Series/Tournaments: England tour of India

The Big Picture

This could be a momentous Test match. From England’s point of view, a win or a draw would secure a series victory in India for the first time since 1984-85. For a new captain, Alastair Cook, that would be a herculean achievement, especially given the various issues he has had to deal with in the early months of his leadership.

Then there is India. It would be foolish to write them off despite the margins of defeat in the last two matches, but there is a feeling of significant change being on the horizon. Although a series-levelling win could buy key figures some time, (despite papering over cracks being dangerous) it is not inconceivable that a series loss will see the end of MS Dhoni as captain, the end of Sachin Tendulkar and the end of Duncan Fletcher as coach. That ‘perfect storm’ scenario is unlikely, but even the fact it warrants discussion highlights India’s predicament.

As has been the case ahead of each Test in this series, the pitch has been the focus of much attention although, sadly for comedic effect, there hasn’t been the sight of a groundsman being in the middle of a row. What do India think is best? England have shown over the last two matches that they are comfortable on a variety of surfaces. It was the slowest, lowest, pitch of series, in Ahmedabad, that caused them most problems.

It’s a sign of the problems England have had in 2012 that defeat in this Test would make it the most losses they have suffered in a calendar year. However, some big lessons have been learned and there is a sense that the team is back on track. Finishing with a series win in India would be substantial proof of that.

Form guide

(Last five matches, most recent first)

India LLWWWEngland WWLLD

Watch out for…

Test match No. 194 for Sachin Tendulkar. Could it be his last? Nobody knows what he is thinking about the future, but his powers are waning. There is a series against Australia next year, so maybe that will be time when he goes, but sooner rather than later the day will come for India. Does it need to be dragged out to a bitter end? This is not to say he can’t score runs – he fought doggedly for his 76 in Kolkata – but this is not the Sachin Tendulkar who has entertained the world for more than two decades.

James Anderson produced one his finest overseas performances in Kolkata and even three wickets in each innings did not do justice to the skill he showed. He may well need a similar return in Nagpur and it is looking as though he’ll have an even greater burden on his shoulders after the emergence of Steven Finn’s injury. There is also the opportunity for one last duel with Tendulkar. The pair will not meet again at Test level.

Team news

There will be at least two changes for India after Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh were dropped, but such is the state of chaos around the team it is not clear which way they’ll go. It might be back to three frontline spinners, meaning a recall for Piyush Chawla, and Ajinkya Rahane, who averages 63.35 in first-class cricket, could debut at No. 6. The other options include Ravindra Jadeja as an allrounder at No. 6 with a balanced attack. Ashok Dinda and Parvinder Awana were both playing Ranji Trophy until yesterday so have not had much time with the squad.

India (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Ajinkya Rahane, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Pragyan Ojha

England have been hit by a significant blow with Finn suffering a back injury, which makes him very doubtful. Stuart Broad is ruled out, so Tim Bresnan appears favourite to replace him, despite a poor year in Test cricket, although Graham Onions would also have a strong case. There are suggestions that Samit Patel’s spot at No. 6 could go to Jonny Bairstow. Patel has not looked out of his depth, despite not converting starts into a substantial score, and it would be a harsh omission.

England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Nick Compton, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Samit Patel, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar

Pitch and conditions

“White and dry,” was the basic description of the pitch on the eve of the Test. It had not been watered for two days so it will spin, the question is how much and how soon. The weather won’t be an issue with daytime temperatures in the low 30s.

Stats and trivia

If Alastair Cook has another successful Test he could rise to the No. 1 batsman in Test cricket. England have not had the top-ranked batsman since Michael Vaughan in 2003.

Only three England batsmen have scored four hundreds in a series – Herbert Sutcliffe (twice), Wally Hammond and Denis Compton

Jason Krejza, the Australia offspinner, made his memorable (for right and wrong reasons) debut on this ground in 2008 ending with match figures of 12 for 358. Two years later, Dale Steyn took 7 for 51 after finding considerable reverse swing.

Quotes

“We have kept it really close, and the good thing is we are enjoying cricket, which at times you don’t tend to do when you go through a rough patch. When it comes to dressing-room atmosphere, it’s looking great.”MS Dhoni insists everything is fine off the field

“Everyone knows how important this game is, but as a player you’ve got to take that emotion out of it. We’ve got to continue on the same path. We know how hard we’ve worked over these last couple of games, and we’ve got to do it again.”Alastair Cook does what he does best. Keeps it simple

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