Master
batsman Tendulkar turns 35
MUMBAI, Apr 24: The difference
between Sachin Tendulkar’s 34th
birthday and his 35th, which he
celebrates today, could not be starker.
One year
ago the master batsman, considered to be
among the all-time greats of the game and
perhaps next only to Don Bradman in
stature as a pure batsman, was distraught
following India’s early and shameful
exit from the World Cup and celebrated
his birthday quietly at his home with his
family.
It was a
dismal time for Indian cricket as a whole
in the aftermath of the disastrous World
Cup where the much-hype team led by Rahul
Dravid was eliminated in the first round.
Tendulkar,
true to his fashion, lifted himself as
well as the country’s cricket from
that low by making his bat talk loud in
England and Australia to play a leading
role in the campaigns in both countries,
the oldest rivals in international
cricket.
The
stalwart contributed mightily to the
team’s test and odi victory in old
blighty as well as a first-ever triumph
in the tri-series Down Under after
helping India match the world champions
step for step in the acrimonous test
series that they lost narrowly to the
hosts after a rip-roaring battle.
The ace
batsman, who in the process also
increased his century count to 39 in
tests and 42 in ODIs, besides overtaking
Sri Lankan ace Sanath Jayasuriya as the
leading run-getter in the 50-over game,
has truly bounced back in style after
some critics wrote his epitaph in the
aftermath of India’s dismal display
in the World Cup in the Caribbean.
The only
dark spot surrounding Tendulkar’s
35th birthday is that he is continuing to
be troubled by his injury woes.
He has
missed the first two matches in the
ongoing Indian Premier League and has
been unable to lead the Mumbai Indians
team at two of his most favoured venues -
Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and
Chennai’s Chidambaram Stadium,
Chepauk.
A groin
strain that he picked up when guiding
India to a fantastic 2-0 triumph over
Australia that got aggravated when he
chose to play against South Africa at
Chennai’s Chapauk ground in the
first test last month, left him
frustrated.
He could
take no further part in the series, which
the home team squared in the third and
final test at Kanpur.
But
otherwise, things are looking bright for
the ace batsman and his happy frame of
mind was visible when he chose to crack
jokes with the media at the pre-match
conference on the eve of Mumbai
Indians’ opening encounter against
Bangalore Royal Challengers at his home
turf here.
Tendulkar
has also stated clearly that retirement
from either tests or odis is the furthest
thought occupying his mind currently.
Unlike
last year, this time he is celebrating
his birthday on the cricketing road with
his Mumbai Indians teammates who would be
wishing fervently he gets back into
action at the soonest and turns around
the team’s plunging fortunes after
two straight defeats in the first two
ties.
With the
hectic schedule in store for the team
post-IPL, he as well as millions of
cricket fans must be praying on his
birthday that he recovers fast from his
groin injury and remains fit for the
remainder of India’s long and tough
campaigns ahead. (PTI)
Kalmadi
hopeful of resolving autonomy issue
amicably
NEW DELHI, Apr 24: Hailing the
new Sports Minister’s move of
bringing hockey and football back in the
‘priority list’ in the Olympic
year, IOA President Suresh Kalmadi today
hoped for an amicable resolution to the
issue related to its autonomy in the
proposed sports policy.
Sports
Minister M S Gill yesterday upgraded
eight disciplines including volleyball,
swimmimg, basketball, cycling, school
games and school and university games for
which Kalmadi thanked Gill and described
him as "an autonomy loving
person".
"I
thank the Sports Minister for upgrading
the eight disciplines, including hockey
and football, to the priority list. These
discplines will get more government
financial support and international
exposure. That was a right step," he
said.
"I
suggested him the idea (of giving
priority) in the morning (yesterday) and
he took the decision in the evening. I am
hopeful that the issue of autonomy in the
draft policy will also be sorted out. I
will take up the matter with him, he is
an autonomy loving person," Kalmadi
said taking stock of the work progress at
the Thyagaraj Sports Complex here.
The
comprehensive draft sports policy
formulated by former Sports Minister Mani
Shankar Aiyar had sought to establish a
body to regulate the sports bodies which
was vehemently opposed by the IOA and the
NSFs.
Kalmadi
endorsed the Sports Minister’s
suggestion that young blood should be
infused in the NSFs but said Gill’s
remarks were not specifically directed to
Indian Hockey Federation. (PTI)
Pakistanis
taking IPL like movies with
popcorn:
Shoaib Malik
NEW DELHI, Apr 24: Jaw-dropping
action, nerve-wrecking thriller, high
glamour quotient and song-and-dance to
boot, the Indian Premier League is
threatening bollywood’s popularity
across the border, according to Pakistan
Cricket Captain Shoaib Malik.
Popular
Hindi movies have traditionally, and
often stealthily, managed their ways to
the other side of the Line of Control.
But of late, the Pakistanis have
discovered a new source of wholesome
entertainment in the form of the ongoing
IPL, said Malik.
"People
there have lapped it up like movies.
It’s like enjoying a cinema with
popcorn. The three-hour duration (of the
matches) also helped to create the
craze," Malik, part of the IPL Delhi
Daredevils squad, said here today.
Along with
the rest of the people in Pakistan, Malik
and his teammates were also hooked on to
IPL matches even when they were playing
against Bangladesh in the just-concluded
ODI series.
"Even
when we were playing Bangladesh, we saw
the IPL matches in the dressing
room," he said.
Malik had
no qualms admitting that the IPL’s
standard was higher than that of
Pakistan’s recent series against
Bangladesh.
"The
competition is definitely tougher (in
IPL). So many international players are
involved and each team can have only four
foreigners, so the competition is
naturally intense."
Malik
rates his team among the top three
strongest sides of the IPL and seemed in
awe of his captain Virender Sehwag.
"I
saw the first match of the team on
television. The team has got great
combination. Our fielding is superb and
if you can save 20-25 runs in a match,
that makes a hell lot of difference. As
batsmen, Delhi players are naturally
hard-hitting and we have a quality
bowling attack as well."
On Sehwag,
who butchered the Deccan Chargers with a
buccaneering unbeaten 94 off just 41
balls, Malik said, "he would have
gone on to score 160-170 that day. But we
soon overwhelmed the target. I was padded
up for I was supposed to go out
next."
"When
a player was in that form, it gives a lot
of confidence to the next man in. Sehwag
is a great player."
On his
part, Malik said he has not left any
stone unturned in his preparation for the
Twenty20 extravaganza.
Stressing
on the need of improvisation in this
slam-bang format of the game, the
Pakistani captain said, "I have been
practising the scoop shot to perfect it
and whenever I get the chance, I would
play the shot." (PTI)
Yuvi,
Bhajji would be eager to open account in
IPL
MOHALI, Apr 24: With no certain
word still on Sachin Tendulkar’s
Indian Premier League debut tomorrow,
Kings XI Punjab will be eager to take the
opportunity to clinch an elusive win at
home turf against Mumbai Indians here.
The Yuvraj
Singh-led Punjab team, having lost both
its matches — against Chennai Super
Kings here and Rajasthan Royals at
Jaipur, is bound to be under pressure to
record a victory as it will be again
playing before their home crowd.
Though
Yuvraj is one of the dangerous batsman in
this format of the game, he is yet to
unleash his real firepower for which he
is known. He scored 23 and 57 in his
previous two matches.
Other top
batsman Mahela Jayawardene is also yet to
prove himself while his compatriot Kumar
Sangakkara would wish to play a big knock
tomorrow.
Punjab’s
other problem are its strike bowlers, who
are yet to live up to their reputation.
Right-arm
fast bowler Brett Lee finished with
similar figures of 4-0-35-1 in his two
matches while left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan
had figures of 4-0-47-2 in his first
match.
S
Sreesanth is yet to come good for the
Punjab team as he has proved expensive in
the six overs he has bowled in two
matches without much success.
The spin
department, with piyush Chawla in the
forefront, has also failed to click so
far.
Another
keen thing to watch out will be how
Yuvraj tackles his state-mate Harbhajan
Singh.
Mumbai
Indians, who are also yet to score a win,
will be hoping that Sri Lankan veteran
Sanath Jayasuriya plays a big knock as he
has so far scored just 49 runs in his two
outings.
Besides,
if Tendulkar, Mumbai Indians regular
captain currently recuperating from his
groin injury, is fit to play tomorrow, it
will definitely add to the firepower of
the team, also including Robin Uthappa
and West Indian Dwayne Bravo.
"I
hope Sachin plays in Chandigarh
(Mohali)... I can also concentrate on my
bowling," said Mumbai Indians
stand-in captain Harbhajan Singh after
his team lost by narrow six-run margin
against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai
last night.
Harbhajan
along with talented youngster Abhishek
Nayar showed grit at the Chepauk.
Harbhajan was quite economical but he
under-bowled himself with just two overs.
Uthappa
has shown that he can be dangerous in
this format, but he will need to ensure
that he stays at the crease for longer
duration to play big innings.
South
African Shaun Pollock is another big
asset to the team with his wicket taking
ability and also chipping in with useful
knocks.
As the
match will be played under floodlights,
Mohali track should suit Pollock and
left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra and even
right-arm medium pacer Dhaval Kulkarni
should be able to move the ball here.
Unlike
Chennai, where there was heavy dew on the
field last night, Mohali ground should be
okay.
"We
don’t foresee this problem here.
However, still we are prepared to tackle
dew in case there is any," PCA
curator Daljit Singh said. (PTI)
3
international players among 30 probables
selected
J&K to face
Pondicherry in Santosh Trophy opener
Excelsior Sports
Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 24: Hosts J&K would
lock horns with Pondicherry in the
inaugural match of the 62nd edition of
Santosh Trophy at Bakshi Stadium on May
25. Total 27 teams including champions
Punjab and runners-up Bengal will vie for
top honours.
A total of
8 clusters will be played in the
championship including two in Jammu.
The Jammu
clusters will be played from May 26 to 31
while the one off pre-quarterfinal at
Jammu will be played on May 2.
The
Srinagar clusters will be held from May
25 to 30 followed by Pre-quarters from
June 1 to 2.
Quarterfinal
league matches would be played from June
5 to 10 whereas July 11 will be the rest
day.
The
semifinals will be played on June 12 and
13. June 14 would be the rest day.
The final
will be played on June 15.
Meanwhile,
the J&K Football Association has
selected 30 probables including 3
international players for the 4-week
coaching camp commencing tomorrow Biscoe
School, Srinagar.
The
probables included Tanvir Ahmed,
Vikramjit Singh, Wasim Feroz, Kamaljeet,
Billu Khan, Majid Yousuf, Imran, Manoj
Kumar, Adil Qadir, Rizwan Sheikh,
Shahnawaz, Bilal Ahmed, Rohit Kumar and
Verma (J&K Bank), Ajay Kumar, Vijay
Kumar, Gulzar Ahmed, Zubair Ahmed and
Asif Majid (J&K Police), Atif Pervez,
Sandeep Sharma, Shabir Ahmed and
Harmanjeet Singh (SRTC), Zamir-ul-Hassan,
Taufiq Ahmed and Manzoor Ahmed (Forest)
and Danny Burat (New Bharat Club, Jammu).
The
international players included Arun
Malhotra, Mehrajuddin Wadoo and Ishfaq
Ahmed.
The final
20 players to represent J&K will be
selected on May 22.
Sheikh
Mahmood was appointed as manager of the
team while Zahoor Ahmed Teli as Assistant
Manager.
Biswajeet
Bhattacharya of Kolkata was appointed as
the chief coach while Abdul Majid Kakroo
as State coach.
Prof
Bashir Ahmed was nominated as the chief
spokesman of J&K Football
Association.
The
Itinerary:
Jammu
Clusters: May 26: Tamil Nadu vs Sikkim
and Bihar vs Chandigarh.
May 27:
Services vs Nagaland and Manipur vs
Orissa.
May 28:
Chandigarh vs Tamil Nadu and Sikkim vs
Bihar.
May 29:
Orissa vs Services, Nagaland vs Manipur.
May 30:
Chandigarh vs Sikkim and Tamil Nadu vs
Bihar.
May 31:
Orissa vs Nagaland and Manipur vs
Services.
Srinagar
Clusters:
May 25:
J&K vs Pondicherry (Bakshi Stadium)
and Daman and Diu vs HP.
May 26:
Karnataka vs Jharkhand (Polo Ground),
Delhi vs Gujarat (Bakshi Stadium),
Haryana vs Madhya Pardesh (Polo Ground)
and Chattisgarh vs Mizoram (Bakshi
Stadium).
May 27:
Pondicherry vs HP (Bakshi Stadium), Daman
and Diu vs J&K (Bakshi Stadium) and
Meghalaya vs Uttarakhand (Polo Ground).
May 28:
Jharkhand vs UP (Polo Ground), Gujarat vs
Tripura (Bakshi Stadium) and Mizoram vs
Railways (Bakshi Stadium).
May 29:
J&K vs HP, Pondicherry vs Daman and
Diu and Uttarakhand vs Goa (Polo Ground).
May 30:
Tripura vs Delhi (Bakshi Stadium), UP vs
Karnataka (Polo Ground), Assam vs Haryana
(Polo Ground) and Railways vs Chandigarh
(Bakshi Stadium).
May 31:
Goa vs Meghalaya (Polo Ground).
Carrom
championship begins
Excelsior Sports
Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 24: District
Srinagar Carrom championship organised by
J&K Carrom Association commenced at
Carrom Hall, Polo Ground today.
Avtar
Singh, President of the association
inaugurated the championship.
Nayeemah
Khan, Naseema, G S Bakshi and Firdous
Ahmed Khan were also present.
Results:
Sub-Junior
boys: Tulaib beat Thair, Musaib beat
Shabir and Asif beat Idris.
Sub-Junior
girls: Aquib Khan beat Abrar Shafi and
Faizal beat Sohail Shah.
Senior
girls: Yasmeena Majid beat Gosiya Hamid
and Nimra Iqbal beat Supreet Kour.
Senior
boys: Sami-Ullah beat Opneek Singh, Amir
Mian beat Adnan Amin and Tahleel beat
Danish.
Benia
lifts Ramban Kesari title
Excelsior Sports
Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 24: Pahalwan
Benia of J&K Police defeated Manjit
Singh in a tough bout to clinch the 13th
Ramban Kesari title at Government Higher
Secondary School, Ramban.
The event
was organised by Ramban Dangal Committee
in association with J&K Indian Style
Wrestling Association.
In all 32
bouts were played. In other bouts, Onkar
Singh beat Dharma, Bhura beat Mukhi, Asha
Singh beat Riaz Ahmed, Kaka beat Bittu
and Love beat Chirag Deen.
Tara
Singh, Assistant Commissioner, Revenue
was the chief guest on the occasion while
Shiv Kumar Sharma, President, J&K
Indian Style Wrestling Association
presided over the function.
The winner
pahalwan awarded a cash prize of Rs 3,000
alongwith traditional silver Gurj and
Patta whereas Manjit pocketed Rs 2,500.
Total 51
wrestlers from HP, Punjab, Delhi, J&K
Police, Haryana and BSF participated in
the dangal.
NZ
Tennis Ball Cricket tourney from May 10
Excelsior Sports
Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 24: The
J&K Tennis Ball Cricket Association
would organise North Zone Tennis Ball
Cricket championship (men and women) at
Government Boys Degree College and sports
stadium at Anantnag from May 10 to 12.
Teams from
HP, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh,
Uttaranchal, Delhi and host J&K are
participating in the championship to be
played on league-cum-knock-out basis.
The
tournament will be played under the aegis
of Tennis Ball Cricket Federation of
India.
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