A good tour but..

By RAMU SHARMA

By all accounts the Indian cricket tour of New Zealand was an outstanding affair. The team won the One-Dayers convincingly and virtually outplayed New Zealand in two of the three Test matches. It is the first time that an Indian team has won in New Zealand and that in itself should be considered an achievement. The result has naturally buoyed the cricket fraternity and the patriots among them have already started talking about India being the top cricketing country. They do not realize that winning a series is one thing but crowing about being the best team in the world is another.
We must be satisfied with the achievement and not go too deep into the details. This boast of being the best team can wait for sometime. Because no team can be the top team unless it is also a very good fielding combination. And any team which drops over two dozen catches in a series has first to improve its fielding before having ambitions of a top rate outfit. The Indian fielding was really poor in the series.
Another important aspect of the series was the difference between the teams. While India was a tried and tested side with victories at home over Australia and England as a padding New Zealand was a young side with a couple of players already having attained a reputation of sorts. Vettori is considered one of the best captains around and is a fine bowler to boot. But the team lacked experience and that showed very clearly. For all the brilliance of Taylor and Ryder the team folded up for less than 300 runs twice in the first test, less than 200 in the first innings of the third test and was on the verge of being out for less than 300 in the second innings when rain came to the rescue.
The third Test should in fact have been won by India with time to spare. Unfortunately Mohinder Singh Dhoni misjudged badly. He should have declared when India was about 500 runs ahead but instead chose to bat on for a target of 600 and more. That was quite unnecessary and cut in to the time already abridged by the weather. And then instead of attacking the batsman he chose to go on the defensive. That was rather strange from a man supposed to be very good at his job.
There was no two ways about the third Test. Given the circumstances India should have wrapped it well before the fifth day to finish the series 2-0, a verdict they were very much worth. Maybe Dhoni was apprehensive and worried that New Zealand would reach the target if it was a little more reasonable. But it was not cricketing logic. (Syndicate Features)

Remains of the Day

Like Mahatma Gandhi, the just concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) leaves a rich legacy for South Africa. Like all good things, it came to an end but many still reel under its heady impact on the nation. A Roy reports from Johannesburg
Shifted out of India due to the general elections, Indian Premier League (IPL) organisers turned disappointment back home into cheers on foreign soil. Many years ago it was Mahatma Gandhi who had left an indelible mark on the nation fighting social discrimination. Circa 2009, it is cricket which became a mover and shaker in South Africa.
Mahatma gave South Africans the weapon of satyagraha to fight against the ills of apartheid. Now the Indian Premier League (IPL) helped the Rainbow Nation revitalise its economy and offer its people taste of freedom and cricketing luxury not tasted before.
From creating jobs to boosting the tourism and economy, the second edition of the IPL was the best thing South Africa could have had before the Confederations Cup in June and the 2010 World Cup. IPL helped South Africa realise its potential to host a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Even newly appointed president Jacob Zuma couldn't stop thanking the IPL for reviving the country's economy ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
"The month-long IPL has revived the country's economy. It has boosted the South African economy by 1 billion rand with the number of hotel rooms booked and the number of flights that were added. It has given a fillip to South African tourism.
"The IPL was a great advertisement for next month's Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup," Zuma said.
Rain played spoilsport in the early part of the league by keeping away the fans, but soon the league came to live in all the eight cities with thrilling close finishes drawing the spectators to fill the stadium.
At the end the IPL turned out to be a blockbuster across all the eight cities and won over South African cricket fans as well as the entire nation that was initially skeptical of the high-pitched Indian extravaganza.
The fireworks, gyrating cheerleaders, and DJs belting out popular Hindi numbers, made IPL a heady cocktail of cricket and entertainment that was put together in a matter of three weeks.
To add to the excitement, the quality of cricket in the 59-match tournament was exhilarating. Close finishes and huge sixes gave the South Africans the taste of 'cricketainment'.
The ambience and timing was perfect for an evening blast. All and sundry -- students, Indian expatriates, businessmen came out in hordes to cheer for IPL.
Even the uninitiated could not resist becoming a part of the IPL jamboree.
Johannesburg-based Isha Srinivasan of Indian origin is a cricket illiterate but the entertainment quotient brought her to the New Wanderers.
"I am not a cricket lover. But I came to the stadium so that I can have a glimpse of Bollywood superstars Shilpa Shetty and Preity Zinta. Had it not been for cricket, we would have never seen them so close," says Isha.
For Isha it might be entertainment factor but for die-hard fans like Arvind Patel and Desmond Mphosa, cricket was the winner.
"We have been to Twenty20 World cup matches. But IPL is different. It is cricket without boundaries. We can never see our local lads playing alongside Indian super stars. But IPL made it possible," said Desmond, who came to watch his favourite cricketer AB de Villiers.
The IPL also came as welcome break for the school students. Enjoying the chilly winter afternoons and evenings with friends was a different experience for teenage South Africans. They turned out in large numbers as the match timings allow them to soak up the fun and frolic and return home before it is too late in the evening.
The IPL also came as a boon for jobless South African youths. The tournament has not only provided the unemployed some work, but also saved youth from being sucked into gang wars.
Youngsters like Moses, Lucas and Warner are not only thanking their stars, but also Lalit Modi for bringing the league to South Africa.
While Moses works as a carrier for a beverages company, Lucas sells hot dogs and Warner is a janitor at the Wanderers Stadium.
"We struggle all through the year to find a job. Jobs are not easy to get, but thanks to the IPL, we got some work," the 23-year-old Moses said.
But at the end IPL became a household name in South Africa.
As South African president Zuma said: "The tournament has become a household name in a very short time. People are aware of all eight teams that participated. It is a favourite here now. It brought cities to a halt during the matches. We will be happy to organise it again if the need arises in the future."
Though South Africa have to wait for some time before they get to host another edition of the tournament, IPL in South Africa was the best advertisement for cricket, which is looking to spread its wing to uncharted territory with Twenty20. (TWF)

World Cup fiasco

RAMU SHARMA

The World Cup T20 was a disaster for India in more than one sense. It was not that the team lost or failed to qualify for the last four but it was the manner of defeat in the second stage of the Championship that really jarred. The team just did not put up a fight. One wonders whatever happened to the team spirit and all that jazz worked up by M.S.Dhoni. The pity was that while the team itself collapsed the captain was in an even more desperate state. He was totally out of touch with the proceedings. A sharp contrast from the M.S.Dhoni in the first flush of captaincy.
The entire show by the Indian team was one full basket of contradictions. This was the team labelled as No 1 in rating. And it promised much in the warming up games the best of it being the huge win over Pakistan. But then something snapped or so it seemed. Ghambir and Rohit Sharma lost form as did Raina. And in bowling except for one stint by Zaheer it was a no-show. How did a team with so much potential and talent suddenly become the whipping boys of the competition? And there certainly was much wrong with M.S.Dhoni. He was far from the daring, confidence and extremely skilful player that had made him captain of the team so early in his career. And his indifference or whatever it was appears to have rubbed on to the team.
Post mortem of the performance is inevitable but one sincerely hopes that non-cricketing reasons should not be projected as the cause for the poor showing. It is a competition and India has not done itself justice. It is nothing new. It has happened in the past and is likely to happen in the future. It is not a crime to lose. Everything hinges on the approach adopted and if those can be studied, faults found and errors rectified, a lot could be achieved.
On the basis of the performance or non-performance, a team for the West Indies has been selected. Why India should go all the way to the West Indies for a series of four one-day matches is indeed baffling. One could have understood if it was a part of a bigger tour. There was no need to make this tour at this juncture, at a time when tiredness and questionable fitness are being trotted out as an excuse for the failure in the T20 World Cup.
Tendulkar has withdrawn because of injury problem while Raina and Sehwag have been rested to tend to their injuries. So has Zaheer been rested. One wished Ishan Sharma has been given a chance to cool his heels too. He sadly needs to rethink his bowling principles. He is very young to be caught up with the burnt out syndrome. He is India's future and should be nursed.
Another problem which needs to be thoroughly discussed and explored is the Sehwag injury. Why did not the vice-captain of the team confide at least to his captain before the T20 Cup? He knows how much the team depended on him? Sehwag is a senior cricketer and should have known better. He is not the only one to have kept quite on his injury. There have been other cases before him. The Board should warn players not to hide their injuries. After all it is the Board which pays for the treatment. Why then this hesitancy? Is it for money?
The Board has been very generous to the cricketers, present and even past. The players must also reciprocate the gesture. A free and frank debate must always be allowed. Virender Sehwag owes it to himself to come clean on the injury issue (Syndicate)

‘World No 1 crown not far’

Saina Nehwal scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after she clinched the Indonesian Open title with a stunning victory over higher ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta. A Roy catches up with the ace shuttler.She is just 19 and is dreaming to become the World No.1 by the end of the year. That's what Saina Nehwal is daring to do after taking the badminton world by storm with her meteoric rise to be among the top 10 in the world in a sport that has been heavily dominated by the Chinese.
The last 11 months has been great for current World No.7 Saina. In 2008 August, she made the quarterfinals at the Beijing Games, won the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix, made the semi-finals at the Singapore Open Super Series and ended the year on a high note by cracking into world's top-10. Last month she became the first Indian to win a Super Series title in the Indonesian Open.
But she is still not satisfied and wants to win the World Championships in her hometown of Hyderabad in August.
"The last 11 months have been great for me. I have improved a lot and I am happy that I am among the Top 10 in the world. I have been performing well so what more could I have asked for," Saina told TWF.
Since winning her first international title, the Philippines Open, three years it has been a rigorous journey for Saina and that has made her mentally strong.
"I have become mentally stronger. That's what the professional circuit teaches you. There is no place for losers in professional sports. For the last three years I have learnt it the hard way," she said.
Saina feels that it is her mental strength that has helped her come so far.
"It is all in the mind. Mentally I have become very strong. That has also helped me in improving my game. I have better control over my shots now and worked hard on my weak areas to get better everyday," she said.
Her coach Pulella Gopichand, a former All England champion, feels that Saina's win against higher ranked players has made the whole badminton world sit up and take note of her performance,
"More than winning tournaments, one of here greatest achievement is her ability to beat higher ranked players regularly. It does not matter how her international career unfold from here, but going by what she has achieved at such a young age she has already left her mark in Indian sport," said Gopichand.
For Saina, beating higher ranked players has become a habit, which she doesn't want to lose.
"When I take the court, rankings are tossed out of my mind. I don't bother about my opponents' rankings. My only concern is to give my best and win," Saina said.
Asked if her opponents are now finding her strength and weaknesses, Saina said: "Now each and every player knows her opponent well. So I keep working on my strengths and weaknesses. I know my weakness is my defence, so I am working hard on it. But I don't neglect my strengths. I have to keep on sharpening it, otherwise rust will catch up quickly."
Saina undoubtedly, has become one of India's biggest sporting icons. It has also put her in a difficult situation when she is compared with her fellow Hyderabadi Sania Mirza.
Recently her mentor and India's first All-England champion Prakash Padukone said that Saina's achievements are bigger than Sania.
A humble Saina has full regards for Sania and feels that it was not justified to undermine the tennis star's accomplishments.
"Any compliment coming from Prakash sir is always great. Maybe in his way he is right. But I feel comparing my achievements with Sania's is not justified. We are playing two different sports. Tennis is a power game and Sania is unfortunate that her career has been full of injuries. Had it not been the same I think, Sania would have also been among the top 10 in the world. She should get the credit for putting India's women tennis on the globe," Saina said.
Saina has already become a role model for her fellow Indians and it is the hunger to win that is driving her.
"I have to play as many tournaments as I can in a year. I know there can be case of burn out. But I am just 19 and this is my time to carry on with my game. But I have to also take care of my mental fatigue. It happened with me in the past as I was completely exhausted after winning a title but still managed to play in the next tournament without any luck," she said.
For the time being, Saina will be busy training for 40 days for the World Championships in Hyderabad.
"It will be great if I manage to win in front of my home crowd. It will be big moment of my life. Can't wait for that to happen. So the next 40 days will be very tough for me," she said. (TWF)

Baichung can dance

As the Baichung Bhutia case gets mired in controversy with both IFA and AIFF jittery on passing a verdict, Arindam Basu finds out why the marquee footballer has been pulled into such an administrative quagmire.
Baichung stands at a crossroads of his career where everybody wants to take part in the discussion on the future of the footballer, but nobody wants to pass a verdict on the road he should take.
The talismanic striker technically has two contracts now, which has sparked a bitter tussle between the oldest rivals of Indian football- East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. Bhutia, who has been denied release after being suspended for six months by Mohun Bagan, is now hoping for his liberation after signing the deal with his old club East Bengal, which he left in 2006 following a dispute.
The story of Baichung Bhutia is not that of a studied statesman who has worked his way to become the emperor of all he surveys, but of a carefree adventurer winning over every green pasture he has come across with his inane talent. It's a fairy tale of a boy from the hills descending on the plains and becoming the veritable god of Indian soccer.
And now suddenly he sees his career is at stake!
On July 9, 2009 the Indian Football Association (IFA) governing body met to decide the contentious issue of whether he is a free player or whether he has to play for Mohun Bagan. In just 30 minutes, IFA left the task of deciding the fate of the ace striker to the national body All India Football Federation (AIFF).
A note from the outgoing AIFF general secretary Alberto Colaco, who wrote to the state body that the matter has already been referred to the AIFF player-status committee, apparently prompted the IFA decision.
"On Wednesday evening my office received a letter of Baichung Bhutia forwarded by the AIFF secretary with a note that the matter has already been referred to the player-status committee," IFA secretary Utpal Ganguly told the house.
"The AIFF just wishes to have our opinion on the matter and it depends on the house whether we should at all discuss this matter," said Ganguly as he set the motion to a voice vote, where the majority seemed to accept the IFA secretary's hint.
And now the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) Player Status Committee (PSC) is all set to send the ball back to IFA's court. "The decision on whether the suspension is applicable or not is strictly a state matter as it involves two clubs from West Bengal. Two among the five representatives in the PSC has enquired about IFA's decision. In all likeliness it is going back to IFA," an AIFF insider says.
However, that may be far from the solution one could be looking at. Utpal Ganguly said, "If they send the matter back to us. We will send it to them with our opinion. We will not call another meeting on it. We are now preparing for IFA Shield."
However, he added quite candidly, "we did not need this row now. Indian football is on a positive curve and this will only push football back."
As we see the pictures of Baichung and company training in Camp Nou in Barcelona and shopping around in Madrid we wonder when for the first time Indian footballers are trying to find the key to their missing link with world football, was this row necessary!!!
FIPRO Asia representative from India, Ushanath Ganguly says, "The problem is that there is no uniform code of conduct for the clubs and the players. There are different sets of rules for different state associations and they always do not match with the AIFF."
"So it is easy to find loopholes and in the process both players and clubs could be at the receiving end. A proposal has been placed from FIPRO Asia council, an organization that looks after the welfare of footballers and is recognized by FIFA and AFC, to set up a uniform, code of conduct policy for registered associations. But that is still a far shot from reality," he adds.
In the defense of Baichung Bhutia, he adds, "Of the 113 days between February and May 14 when he was participating in a dance reality show Jahalak Dikhhla Jaa, Bhutia had missed only eight days of practice. And did so after telling the coach. He flew to Jordon and Aman to play Bagan's AFC games paying out of his own pockets. He is yet to be reimbursed. So much for commitment."
"Finally, according to AIFF's regulation 5.2 a player needs to be registered within a week of signing a contract with the club with their respective state association. That has not been donhas the authority to stop a professional player from doing that," he says.
So where is the problem in giving out a verdict? An AIFF insider, who refused to be quoted, said, "Mohun Bagan is a strong force in the AIFF also and no one really wants to antagonise one party for the other. So Bhutia is being victimised in the process."
For Baichung Bhutia it has become a battle to save the image he has painstakingly built over the last 18 years. He said: "They are out to finish me. Now it's a battle between good and evil and by god's grace good will win."
He then exhorted, "They have suspended me for six months without pay. I will not play club football for a year. But I will never ever play for Mohun Bagan."
"And all for a reality dance show! Is it believable!!!"
Everyone knows Baichung is fleet-footed on the field, but few could imagine him so footloose on the stage too. Many didn't believe he will win the dance contest, but when he did he set a few other milestones. But this has apparently caused severe heartburns among some green-maroon ranks, who began to feel Baichung was overshadowing their prominence in the club.
But imagine what Bhutia did in three months, Indian football hasn't been able to do in six decades. He made Indian footballers look super cool, talented, stylish and marketable. He was the perfect ambassador for a sport struggling for half a century to find its deserved place in the sun. He also made people think. The show has got them asking themselves; maybe our footballers can be cool dudes too like the Ronaldos and Becks of the world. Maybe pursuing football is not that bad an idea. Look at Bhutia, he is not doing so bad for himself, after all.
So is Bhutia's new love interest dancing? "I won't lie. I never thought that I could even reach the finals. It was like a miracle. But it's good that I won. I have always loved winning," he said.
"And as for a new found love, I was approached for a couple of shows but I turned them down. Now it's just football. Please don't ever be mistaken. I will always remain a footballer because that is what I think I know best and love most. I live for football and I will die for the game," Bhutia adds with his oodles of smiles and characteristic boyish candidness.
Football is something he wants to come back to and that is exactly what is at stake. So fate hangs in balance for this Sikkimese Sniper as he awaits a verdict on whether he will be given the license to live or not. (TWF)

‘I want to empty my cricket knowledgewith Bengal’

Roger Binny will make his maiden appearance as a coach with senior cricketers as he takes over the reigns of the Bengal Ranji Trophy team from Mohinder Amarnath. The all-rounder who was a lynchpin in India's 1983 World Cup win talks to Arindam Basu chats up the cricketer How big a challenge is it coaching the Bengal side?
For me it's a comeback vehicle. I am back to coaching in India after 8 years and want to prove my worth as a coach at the senior level. I am looking forward to the task at hand. I have not seen the team or interacted with them personally, but I know they are a talented bunch and I hope I will enjoy my stint with the boys and give the team the success it deserves.
What kind of knowledge bank do you have about the team? You must have received some brief.
I have had chats with the Bengal think-tank and they have told me about the huge potential in the side. Then there are senior pros like Sourav Ganguly and matured performers like Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Manoj Tewari. So we have a mixed bag of seasoned professionals and I feel it should make the job a lot easier. But I can comment on the team more specifically once I start working with them from the third week of August.
What is the one thing that you feel makes a difference in the side?
I was an all-rounder and understand its value. If the team can have a couple of quality all-rounders, it can make a huge difference to the team prospects. You have that added fire power at your disposal and can give more variation to the team.
Why did you suddenly move abroad after the huge success with the U-19 Indian team that won the World Cup?
Yes, it was a memorable stint. It is great to be working with the juniors. After that there was for a brief moment a proposition that I might take over as the coach of the senior team, but when that did not happen I went in look-out for greener pastures. It was then back in 2000 that I took over as the Development Officer with the Asian Cricket Council. I am bringing back with me a wealth of cricketing knowledge that I want to share with the Bengal cricketer.
What did your job profile include?
It was a new challenge. It was a new endeavour. It was to develop cricket outside the non-Test playing countries. I worked with countries like UAE, Oman, Thailand, Bhutan, Brunei and Myanmar. It feels great to see some of these countries doing really well.
Any peculiarities that you noticed while developing the game in these countries?
My job profile included developing the junior squads of those countries besides slowly developing cricket to such a level that they are equipped to play Test cricket. We have dealt with a lot of expats, ethnic team. The Thailand team for example has young Thai players and has shown great promise.
Lets come back to your playing days. What are the sweetest memories?
Obviously the 1983 World Cup. I took 18 wickets. It was a huge success for me at a personal level too. I still remember the series like it was yesterday. It has made us- the entire team- a part of India's cricket history and naturally it is close to my heart.
How was it playing under Kapil Dev?
He was a great captain. He was a team-man both on and off the field. He knew how to keep the team together, how to whip up the team spirit, how to egg each one of us on. It was a huge advantage sharing the new ball with him. No player took a risk with Kapil, and tried to hit me for boundaries and as a result they made mistakes and I took the wickets. (TWF)

Twenty20 cannot hurt Tests'

Wasim Akram, the Sultan of Swing, is very sad. He is unhappy that India hasn't included any series against Pakistan in the Futures Tour Programme (FTP) from 2012 to 2020. But he is also happy that in his new role as a coach at the Gatorade Centre for Pace Excellence in New Delhi he can help young Indian fast bowlers to learn some tricks that terrorized bastmen all over the world during his playing days. Sports Correspondent A Roy quizzes him on a lot of issues This is your first proper coaching job. How are you looking at it?
It is a great feeling to coach young fast bowlers and that too in India. This is one way I can give back something to the game that made what I am today. It also comes with lot of responsibilities as I have to shape their future. It is a challenging task.
So what are you going to teach them?
First I have to teach them the concept of fast bowling. It is an art and not just bowling at full speed. I will teach them how to identify a batsman's weaknesses, especially when they are bowling on the flat, sub-continental pitches. I'll also tell them how to bowl according to a set field and how to swing the new ball and get the best out of the old ball, which the Westerners call reverse swing. I will teach them how to appeal. That is also an art that keeps the umpires under pressure in a legal way.
How long will be your association with the academy?
It is not a full time job. But I will come three to four times in a year and stay here for eight to ten days during each trip. It will also help to track their progression over the year.
Do you plan to take up full time coaching job?
Full-time coaching is not my cup of tea. I don't have the patience it requires. I can just help them and this is the only way I can give back something to the game.
Is the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) using your services?
I don't know what's wrong with the PCB. I am disappointed that they are not using me to groom young fast bowlers. Sohail Tanveer, Umar Gul and Mohammed Aamir came to me and I helped them out. In fact I have also helped out bowlers of other countries. I have been telling the PCB that I don't need a job. I can help them free of cost.
What do you think about the future of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif?
I think Shoaib's career is over. He has got into trouble with the selectors and the board. But still the PCB tried to help him out and gave him some opportunities in the one-day series against Australia in Abu Dhabi. Asif has to learn from his mistakes. I also did during my playing days. Asif, probably is one of the best fast bowlers we have in Pakistan, but it will tough for him to make the final cut for the Champions Trophy. He has been out of cricket for a while and will face some serious competition from young fast bowlers like Aamir. Watch out for Aamir, he is going to the next big thing in Pakistan. I was the first one to spot him.
We will not see any India-Pakistan series from 2012 to 2020. What do you feel about it?
It has been a harsh decision by the Indian cricket board. The Test series between India and Pakistan is always fun and tough. India-Pakistan is the biggest showpiece even in the sub-continent and is also beneficial for the growth of the game. It is very important for Asia and world cricket that India and Pakistan play together. India-Pakistan series is even bigger than the Ashes and the two countries should play regularly to heal the political bitterness.
Do you think the popularity of Test cricket is declining?
Cricket started with Tests, so how can it end? Every aspiring cricketer in the world wants to play Tests. Twenty20 will take over the 50 overs game, but it can't hurt Test cricket. But the International Cricket Council (ICC) has to do something with Twenty20 because even cricket boards are running after since it is fetching them millions. Twenty20 is just a phase in international cricket, which will pass soon without harming Tests. (TWF)

Coming Commonwealth Games

Lalit Sethi

An extravaganza is in the making: the Commonwealth Games in 13 months from now, in October 2010. The venue: Delhi. The capital city of India is being given a big facelift to make it a truly modern city with helipads at some of the Games venues, metro railway to most others and flyover all along the way to provide rapid access to 10,000 athletes from nearly 50 Commonwealth nations and sports people as well as nearly 100,000 overseas viewers, besides tens of thousands of Indians and Dilliwalas. The preparations have been going on for almost four years, if not even more because some of the Games infrastructure has been inherited from Asian Games of 1982 and subsequent events, which are now being upgraded and modernized. New technology, which is the norm today, is being installed at all the venues. The overall cost may be anywhere between $10 and 20 billion or even more in a large variety of facilities, starting from a brand new international airport, besides new terminals at the domestic airport.
Delhi and the National Capital Region is being given a big facelift to showcase India’s inherent strengths and highlight the modern environment of life, business and governance in tune with the 21st century or the New Millennium, into which the country entered with the rest of the world nine years ago. Connaught Place, now called Rajiv Gandhi Place officially, is being restored to its old glory, just as the good old Chandni Chowk may well return to its time honoured looks, complete with may be trams of 50 years ago. Not all the slums and overcrowded areas could be off the sights and a proposal is to put up bamboo screens to keep them out of view of passersby.
Many other hotspots with lush green cover will transform the famed and fabled city of gardens with its redolent charm, full of new and old edifices and countless beauty spots. The Games of Commonwealth nations are just one big opportunity, not an excuse, to project the new face of India, reckoned to be one of the fastest growing economies of the world, with a great many checks and balances, suffering from the ongoing global recession, but not as hard hit as the most advanced nations.
One question uppermost in the minds of many people is: will the Commonwealth Games be able to upstage India’s basic obsession with cricket? Yes, indeed, the media, electronic as well as print, will focus on the immediate events at the start of autumn and that should be a good pointer to public interest. There was a wild card suggestion some years ago that the Games should include cricket, but the proposal was abandoned as rapidly as it was made.
Many people will think that even cricket crazy Indians will take some time off from their first love as sports and news channels devote prime time and other time to games other than the bat and ball, which tend to meander slowly. The athletics, be it boxing or swimming, running and many more are truly fast paced. The results are instant. The swimming pools hold special attractions with bluish waters.
There are close to 30 venues spread over the length and breadth of Delhi, and roads to them lead through some breath-taking sights, historical, vintage and truly modern. Add to them the smells of exotic Indian cuisine with its spices and masalas or international cuisines to slake differing palates, laced with exotic drinks, alcoholic as well as softer ones.
Indian athletes have shown their prowess in shooting, boxing, football and some other games and may bag a few gold medals in the October of next year and several silver and bronze medals, though India is not yet a force to reckon with in close to 70 events that are expected to be up for competition, but since the Beijing Olympics, Indians have been on the march and showing a bit of their prowess in several new areas.
The Government and the Indian Olympic Association have been organizing training and trying to ensure better health and fitness of the young people getting ready for the competitions. The State Governments have been providing some incentives as the new generation of boys and girls appear to be taller and smarter in larger numbers than ever before. Schools, colleges, armed forces, policemen and people from other walks of life are trying to improve skills in a wide spectrum.
One nagging question before the Government, IOA and the people is that many sports venues are far behind schedule and slow in coming up. Will they be ready in 13 months from now? Recent rain storms have tended to upset the applecart and slackness on the part of contractors engaged to get the Games venues have been blamed. Slow environment clearances as well as acquisition of required land for the games as well as infrastructure are causing considerable anxiety to the organizers.
The international authorities overseeing and monitoring the preparedness of India for the Commonwealth Games tend at times to raise queries whether this country and the city will be ready on time to host the Games or will some of the events have to be dropped. The authorities insist that the work is being speeded up and they will be able to meet the deadlines. The Urban Development Ministry insists that there is no shortage of funds and money is being released and all the required allocations are in the pipeline. (NPA)

‘I have got a lot to offer Australian cricket’

At 32, bowlers are planning to cut down on their speed, but Lee is in no mood to do so. He is determined to do whatever it takes to maintain his lethal pace of 150 kmph. Before making a comeback, Lee was out of international cricket for nearly a year due to a toe fracture. But in all these months, Lee has emerged stronger than ever before and played an important part in Australia’s campaign to retain the Champion Trophy in South Africa. Q. How tough it was to make a comeback to international cricket? A. Comebacks are always difficult. But it also tests the mental strength of the cricketer. When I was recovering from my injury, I only thought of making a quick recovery. I always had faith in my abilities. I had to just keep on telling me to never give up. I am also thankful to Cricket Australia (CA). The selectors trusted me and gave me a chance to make a comeback.

Q. You made an impressive return to the ODI. What about your chances in the Tests?

A. I see this next little time frame playing as much as I can in order to build up myself and get ready for that first Test. I certainly don’t think the door on a Test recall is shut. I think I have got a lot to offer Australian cricket as far as Test bowling goes. I will be definitely be putting both feet forward for that first Test against in Brisbane (against the West Indies).

Q. You have also crossed 300 wickets in Test. Is the 400 mark on your mind?

A. I’d like to be the first Australian to bag 400 one-day and 400 Test wickets. That would be a big achievement for me because 10 or 12 years ago I would never even have dreamed about. To think that one day you might get a chance - might, I say - because it’s going to take a lot more hard work ... it is certainly not off the limits if I play a couple of years of good cricket.

Q. Do you think that young guys like Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson are pushing you hard?

A. There is a good rivalry in the team. But that helps you to perform better and being the senior most bowler I have to set examples for the young guys. I don’t feel like I’m wearing down. I’m hoping my pace will speak for itself. I train hard and I am doing everything I can. It might all end tomorrow but I still want to play for a few years yet.

Q. How do you rate the current Australian bowling attack sans Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath?

A. Mitchell Johnson is going from strength to strength and the other boys are also developing well. I think we have got a good mix of youth and experience. The ODI tour to India will be tough.

Q. What do you think about Australia’s chances in the ODI series against India?

A. We have to make sure that we give our best and of course make the best of the experience. We want to carry on the momentum from winning the last two one-day tournaments we have played and hopefully enable us to play some decent cricket. We are now used to playing on low, slow turning wickets and some of the players have played on such pitches during the Champions League.

Q. So can we say Australia are the favourites?

A. You could put the favourites tag on the Australian team if we were playing somewhere else but, regardless of what has happened in the past, it doesn’t really count when we are playing in India. We have to play some really, really good cricket to keep our tag of being the No. 1 team but playing India at home was always an uphill task.

Q. How do you rate the current Indian team?

A. It is a very unpredictable team. But on their day they are capable of beating any team in the world. There is no doubt that it is going to be an extremely tough series and I say that based on the experience of having played here. (TWF)

"JKCA fails to avail home advantage"

Mithun Manhas, a Delhi Ranji Trophy cricketer needs no introduction in cricketing field. Hailing from a small town Bhaderwah of J&K State, Manhas has played cricket at all levels except wearing India Cap. Apart from having privilege of being Delhi Ranji Trophy skipper, captaining players like Sehwag, Gambhir , Nehra etc, Mithun has represented India A against west Indies way back in 1998 and since then has been a part of Board presidents XI and India A teams many a time. Mithun has the honour of scoring 133* in U-19 game against touring England in the year 1996. One of the highlights of his cricketing career has been his back to back centuries in Deodhar Trophy and helping North Zone to win the championship. A prolific run getter from Delhi and a permanent batsman of Delhi Daredevils IPL team, Manhas was on a joyride to the City of Temples as he was out of action because of a hamstring injury. During this trip to Jammu, Sports Columnist, Rajesh Dhar in a tete-a-tete with this star batsman and talked about cricketing scenario in the country in general and in J&K in particular.

Excerpts:

Q. In this busy cricketing season we expected you to be with Delhi Ranji Trophy team but surprisingly you are here in Jammu. Why?

A. I am presently a member of Delhi Ranji Trophy team but had suffered a hamstring injury while representing Delhi Daredevils during recently held champions league and it was my call to skip away from first two matches of this season to be fully fit for the third game against formidable UP.

Q. Delhi-UP tie will be a crucial game for you and your team. What do you except?

A. Both the teams are almost equally poised. They possess quality cricketers in Suresh Raina , Mohd Kaif , RP Singh and Piyush Chawla etc and we, on the other hand, will be having Ashish (Nehra), me and Virat (Kohli) back in the side. The team which holds its nerves better will be the winner. Coming back from the injury , I am personally looking forward to this game to fine-tune myself for the rest of the season.

Q. JKCA is hiring three professionals (players) from other states to represent in Ranji Trophy each seasons but fails to make a mark at the Ranji Trophy. Why?

A. JKCA should never expect miracles over-night. It should persist with a talented bunch of professionals for more than a season to achieve results. Hiring one 'LOT' for one season and the other one for the other season hampers the team performance. As you know, JKCA hired Shafiq Khan, Manoj Joglekar and Nizam last year and Vinayak Mane, Manvinder Bisla and Hiken Shah this year and it may be different three in the next season. The professionals and the local players need time to understand psyche of each other to help the team to play as a cohesive unit. Expecting good show without playing as a unit is to flog a dead horse.The most important factor as to why JKCA Ranji Trophy team fails to perform is that J&K never avails its home advantage as for as preparation of pitches is considered. They prepare wickets to support rival teams. JKCA team's strength has always been pace bowling so they try to make fast tracks which adversely its affect their team performance as their batsmen can hardly score on bowler friendly tracks. JKCA should prepare batting friendly tracks while playing at home to make their batsmen to score some runs and give their bowlers ( who have the ability to take wickets on any surfaces) good target to defend.

Q. But JKCA won the recently concluded Ranji match against Kerala in just three days on a bowlers friendly track?

. A victory once in a blue moon on bowler friendly tracks as not set Thames on fire. With this victory, I am not going to change my stand as I firmly believe that JKCA can win more matches on batting friendly tracks

Q. Now Coming to IPL-- People feel that Kolkotta knight Riders having bunch of outstanding cricketers have failed to make an impression in the IPL despite receiving extensive hype. Reason ?

A. Too many cooks spoil the broth is an old saying. Knight Riders had an amalgam of big stars like John Buchhanan, Shah Rukh Khan and Dada (Sourav Ganguly) in its management. Though, all of them were having the same goal but the ideology differed which affected the performance of the team. To except good results without working like a cohesive unit is simply to cry for the moon. Now, Dada is back as KKR Captain and Dave whatmore is the new coach, I reckon, their aggression and chemistry will change fortunes of KKR team in IPL 2010.

Q: What about Delhi Daredevils prospects in IPL 2010?

A: We have a pool of outstanding cricketers in Viru (Sehwag), Gauti (Gambhir), Devilliers, Dilshan and Nannes etc. I hope rather believe that we can make it atleast to the Semis and can win the tournament too.

Q. Virender Sehwag rates you among premier batsmen Delhi have ever produced. Your feeling?

A. Viru is a class act when on song. He is a proven mettle. It is a great rather blissful feeling if a bating great like him praises you. I simply take it as a greatest tribute.

Mithun has the honour of scoring 133* in U-19 game against touring England in the year 1996. One of the highlights of his cricketing career has been his back to back centuries in Deodhar Trophy and helping North Zone to win the championship.

A genius named Jimmy

K Chatterjee

My introduction to the world of cricket happened in 1982 as a 11-year old boy. India was in a tour to Pakistan where the team was being routinely devastated by the Imran Khans and Sarfaraz Nawazs. But one person caught my imagination who stood like a rock and scored as much as 3 centuries and jointly bagged the Man of the Series award with Imran. That man was none other than Jimmy(Mohinder Amarnath) who was making a comeback to the team.
In the very next series against the mighty West Indies, boasting of the feared quadruple of Marshall-Holding-Roberts-Garner; Jimmy scored two centuries, emerged as the highest scorer among the two teams and again bagged the MOS award. In the Barbados Test; Jimmy, when on 37, was rushed to hospital after being hit by a Marshall bouncer. When the team was in dire straits, Jimmy again emerged in the field and welcomed Marshall with an over-boundary in the very first ball he faced. The awe-struck great Marshall clapped Jimmy for his bravery. He went on to score 91 and again 80 in the second innings relieving India from the humiliation of an innings-defeat.
No wonder, he was selected as the Man of the Match. And 1983 Prudential World Cup was simply Jimmy's tournament. Not only did he display a consistent all-round performance, the Man of the Match award also did not desert Jimmy in both the semi-final and final. But strangely, he lost his Midas touch in the home series against Pakistan and West Indies. He got excluded from the Asia Cup, but made a comeback in the 1984 Pakistan tour and what an emphatic return! In the first Test at Lahore, Jimmy scored a fighting 36 in the first innings( eventually the highest scorer among the Indians) and came up with an unbeaten century in the second to ensure a draw. His berth in the Test eleven got secured but lost his place in the ODI squad in 1986.
The selectors cleverly forgot that just a couple of months earlier in the Rothmans Cup at Sharjah, Jimmy was the Man of the Match in final against Australia where he anchored the Indian win with an unbeaten 24 and bagged 2 crucial wickets of Kim Hughes and Allan Border! When the likes of Chandrakant Pandit also played the Reliance World Cup in 1987, that too as a batsman; the brilliant all-rounder Jimmy was left out in the cold. But India's successive failures in one-dayers forced the selectors to rehabilitate Jimmy in the squad against the West Indies in late 1987. In his comeback match at Guwahati, Jimmy emerged the highest scorer in the team( 33) and also took 2 wickets. In the very next match at Eden Gardens, India achieved their sole win in the series. Man of the Match? The evergreen "old" Jimmy --- 69 runs, 1 wicket, 1 catch and 2 run-outs! What a slap in the face of his detractors who wrote the epitaph of Jimmy in ODIs! In that very series also, Jimmy scored his debut ODI ton at Faridabad. His dream run in ODI continued in subsequent tournaments at Sharjah and Bangladesh.
Probably his best innings was registered in the 1988 Asia Cup match at Dhaka where he resembled a Goliath against Pakistan. When all the "greats" were back in the pavilion while chasing a meagre target of 144, Jimmy's valiant unbeaten 74 enabled India to romp home and reach the final. Immediately after came a "master-stroke" from Raj Dungarpur-led selection committee! Now Jimmy got dubbed merely as an ODI player and found himself out of the Test squad against New Zealand. This insult was too much for the gallant man to digest who got to play merely 69 Tests in nearly two decades, thanks to the whims of the selectors. Rightly he dubbed the selectors as a "bunch of jokers" and naturally was not selected for the Carribbean tour as well. When, even his well-wishers were resigned to the idea that it was the end of him, the never-say-die Jimmy thought otherwise. He forced into the team for the umpeenth time during the 1989 Nehru Cup after commendable show in Deodhar Cup. Jimmy of course did not excell in the tournament, but so were his "illustrious" team-mates. But all escaped scot-free, only Jimmy got the boot. Like all fairy tales, Jimmy's innings eventually came to an end, but only after having carved a permanent niche for himself in the hearts of every cricket follower.
Barring Sourav Ganguly, no other Indian cricketer had been subjected to such injustices throughout his career. But never did he bog down, instead repeatedly forced his critics to eat their own words. Sunil Gavaskar aptly remarked "Courage, thy name is Jimmy". The immense contribution of this unsung, courageous soul has at last been recognised by the current regime in the BCCI, who honoured him with C.K.Nayudu Award for Lifetime achievement. Salute to you Jimmy for inspiring us to fight against all odds. We are simply honoured by honouring you!

" I have changed for good'

For fast bowler Sreesanth, it has been like a second birth. His off-field antics almost killed his chances of reviving his international cricket. But luck always favours the brave and he made a sensational comeback in the Test series against Sri Lanka. Sreesanth, who just suffered from a bout of swine flu, in conversation with A Roy
The 26-year-old temperamental fast bowler doesn't want to look back and wants to make the most from his second birth. "Staying outside the team has been tough. But I have taught myself a valuable lesson. I am not looking at the past. For me past is history that means his-story and tomorrow is mystery that means my story," Sreesanth told TWF in an interview.
The Kerala pacer wants to thank god for the chance.
"To be honest, I almost gave up my hope of playing for the country. But God has been very kind and I got the opportunity at the right time," he said.
But he also remembered the help he got from legendary South African fast bowler Allan Donald during his Warwickshire stint.
"I think it was a good decision and I thank BCCI for giving me the permission to play county cricket. It was not easy bowling there in June-July. Donald Sir helped me a lot. I know he said certain things about me but he helped me get my focus on off-field things, work on my work ethics, my attitude, training schedule and my professional approach. I have made a lot of sacrifice over the last seven months," Sreesanth says.
Sreesanth feels that he tries to play the aggressively but has been misunderstood at time.
"I think I have been misunderstood a lot of times, not just once or twice. I must be one of the most misunderstood cricketers in the world. But I don't think I would change. I will do things which are right and not things which people say are right," he adds.
Asked about the changes he had made in his approach, Sreesanth says:
"I have become realistic now and set goals which I can achieve. I have made it a point that I am not here to prove a point. I am enjoying my game playing to my expectations. It's always a proud moment to play for the country."
Sreesanth also revealed that reading, writing and listening to music every day helps him to stay focussed on his game.
"'I am like just another guy. I write my diary every day, listen to music and read books every day. These things help me stay focused despite all odd things written about me almost every day. I try to switch off after a match and that also helps me relax. I pray to god every day as I come from a very religious family," he says.
Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee has been the biggest influence in Sreesanth's life.
"He has been my role model. I was lucky to work with him when I was a trainee at the MRF Pace Academy. I read his autobiography 'Dennis the Menace' and tried to learn from it. In his book he wrote 'if I bowl well on a day I don't get back into the dressing room with my chest out as if I am the best bowler in the world. Or if I bowl badly the next day I don't walk back in the dressing room with my shoulders drooped as if I am the most useless player in the team'. That's how I see myself," says Sreesanth.
On a lighter note he rated his horse dance in South Africa as his No.1 antic.
"My favourite one is my horse dance in South Africa after I hit Andre Nel for a six. I actually wanted to hit him for a six and after I really did, I couldn't control myself. I know my antics are a hot topic. But now I have changed for good," he says.
Sreesanth is now well aware of his responsibilities in the team.
"I know I have my responsibilities in the team and I never want to let down my captain and team. They have a lot of faith in me but I play my game aggressively and I definitely enjoy it,' says Sreesanth.
Asked if India can hold their No. tag in Test, Sreesanth says: " We have to believe in ourselves. We don't have to be afraid of any one. At least I am not. I know I play my game aggressively and I will continue doing that." (TWF)

The Year That Was

Indian sports scaled new heights in the year 2009.
Be it tennis, cricket, billiards, badminton, or boxing, the Indian tricolour flew high everywhere. While Sachin Tendulkar reasserted the fact that he is the greatest cricketer of our generation, boxer Vijender Singh took India somewhere it had never trod before- the top of the world rankings. Here's the places India went in 2009 where sports is concerned.
Arnab Nandy
Tennis
* Seventeen-year-old Yuki Bhambri in January created history at the Australian Open. He became the first Indian tennis player to win a junior Grand Slam. Yuki joined a select band of three great Indian tennis icons-Ramanathan Krishnan, his son Ramesh and Leander Paes, to win the singles title at a Grand Slam event beating Germany's Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas.
* Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza shrugged off their last year's disappointment, where they finished runners-up, with a strong performance as they thrashed Andy Ram of Israel and French Nathalie Dechy in straight sets to win the mixed doubles' Australian Open championship on February 1. This was Sania's first Grand slam title and Bhupathi's eleventh. The unseeded duo of Bhupathi and Sania, were clearly a dominant force as they outclassed Ram and Dechy 6-3, 6-1 and wrapped up the match in just 55 minutes.
* Leander Paes and his partner Lukas Dlouhy in September won the US men's doubles title defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles. This was Leander's fifth doubles Grand Slam and tenth overall.
* Somdev Devvarman beat South African Rik De Voest in a nearly five hour match to take India into the elite group of Davis Cup World Group after a gap of 11 years.
Cricket
* The Indian cricket team under captain M S Dhoni in December became only the third team after Australia and South Africa to surge to the top of the ladder since the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship was first introduced in May 2001. India for the first time became numero uno after winning the three test series against Sri Lanka 2-0.
* India claimed their first test series victory in New Zealand since 1968. Rain played spoilsport in India's push for a 2-0 series win on the fifth and final day and the Kiwis escaped with a draw after they were down 281 for eight in the post-lunch session chasing 617 for a win.
* In November, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar became the first person in history to score 30,000 runs in international cricket. Tendulkar touched the milestone on the fifth day of the first test between India and Sri Lanka at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Ahmedabad. The batting maestro, this year, also completed 17,000 runs in one day international cricket during the India-Australia ODI series in India. He is also touched the 13,000 mark in test cricket in November.
Boxing
* Indian boxer Vijender Singh in September became the world's rank one pugilist in the middle weight (75 kg) category. The 23-year-old Singh has won bronze medals in the 2008 Olympics and the world championship in Milan in September.
* Suranjoy Singh, who gave India its first Asian boxing championship gold in 15 years earlier this year, also became the first Indian boxer to fetch a gold medal at the inter-continental President's Cup on December 11. The 22-year-old Manipuri lad punched out Nordine Oubaali of France 8-1 in the fly weight (51kg) finals. The competition included the 11 Elite Men Weight Categories: 48kg, 51kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 64kg, 69kg, 75kg, 81kg, 91kg, 91+kg. Boxers between the ages of 17 and 34 from around the world competed in the AIBA President's Cup this year when eight Continental teams, from America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania, faced each other at the Serhedchi Olympic Sport Complex in Baku.
Badminton
* Saina Nehwal beat China's world number three Wang Lin to become the first Indian to win a super series badminton tournament with victory in the Indonesian Open in June. The world junior champion beat China's Lin Wang 12-21, 21-18, 21-9, having lost to the world number three at the Singapore Super Series the previous week. Nehwal, 19, became the first Indian woman to reach the Olympic singles quarter-finals in Beijing last year. "This is great... I never expected to win," said Nehwal, who is currently ranked eighth in the world.
Football
* India beat Syria on August 31 to win the Nehru Cup for the second time after 2007 riding on the shoulders of goalkeeper Subrata Paul, who won the game for India 6-5 in a sensational tie-breaker. Neither team managed to score in the 90 minutes and the score was 1-1 after extra time. India captain Baichung Bhutia won the player of the tournament award.
* The India U23 team won the SAFF Cup defeating Maldives at Dhaka on December 13, riding on the brilliance of goalie Arindam Bhattcharya during the penalty shootout. Bhattcharya was named 'player of the tournament'.
Billiards
* Pankaj Advani created history by becoming only the second Indian to win the World Professional Billiards Championship in September. He defeated Qatar's Mike Russel, a nine-time world champion, in Leeds. The only other Indian to have won this championship is Geet Sethi, who won it twice. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated Advani on his win. "On behalf of all Indians, I congratulate Pankaj Advani on winning the World Professional Billiards championship, the highest achievement in the game. Advani's talent and determination epitomize the true spirit of sportsmanship," Singh said. "I am sure that Advani's victory will be an inspiration to youth in the country to take up sport and strive for excellence. I wish him all success in his future endeavours," he added.
(India Blooms News Service)

Hockey up in arms

By RAMU SHARMA

The confrontation between players and the controlling authority in hockey is one of the saddest chapters in the history of Indian sport. That the differences surfaced a month before the World Cup in Delhi only highlighted the seriousness of the crisis.
The players wanted money and the authority, obviously not in a position to pay, hedged and even threatened. In the end public sympathy following media hype resulted in the players getting the money with the sponsors, Sahara India, helping out. The sympathy wave also enveloped the Indian cricketers who, goaded by Sunil Gavaskar, offered to contribute a big chunk.
Public support and sympathy in the Indian context always plays a major role in determining the consequences but it should be borne in mind that it often tends to twist facts around. Public sympathy is based on sentiment, something akin to the roar of the crowd in a cricket stadium in India which follows every appeal against the visiting batsman. He may or may not be out but the crowd wants him to go.
The hockey players have long since felt that the game was receiving step motherly treatment as compared to cricket and that more money should come to their pockets. But it should be understood that cricket generates money and hockey does not. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is one of the richest sports bodies in the world and can afford to be indulgent, vulgarly so sometimes.
And again India is no longer among the top hockey countries in the world. In fact, it is facing an-also ran future in a very large field. Cricket, on the other hand, is popular among a limited number of countries and has more chances to do well on the international stage. And that is where it counts.
Instead of trying to rival cricket, hockey and other games should look for patronage from the BCCI and accept the subsidiary status. Threatening to go on strike is the ploy of an industrial worker, not a sportsman. The hockey players may have had genuine grouse but not to the extent of holding the country to ransom and particularly so with the World Cup around.
One remembers earlier days when money just did not exist. All it mattered was that a player got a chance to wear the national colours. That was the most important thing in life those days. Times have changed now but the country should still remain uppermost in mind. (Syndicate Features)

75 yrs of Ranji Trophy

G V Joshi

Unbeatable Mumbai team yet again asserted its superiority in domestic cricket competition by winning the Ranji Trophy championship for the 39th time in early January this year.
The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, equivalent to the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia. The competition is named after Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji aka Ranji.
In the summer of 1934, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had met at Simla, where the founder of the BCCI, Mr A S De Mello had proposed a national championship.
In his words, "It was with something like trepidation that I submitted my proposal of a national championship to the august gathering, and also laid before the meeting, an artist's drawing of the proposed trophy, a Grecian urn 60 centimetres in height, with a lid, the handle of which represented Father Time."
The then Maharajah of Patiala, Bhupendra Singh, jumped up and claimed the honour and privilege of perpetuating the name of the great Ranjitsinhji, who had passed away in 1933.
He offered a gold cup of the magnificent design submitted by De Mello valued at then 500 pounds, to be called the Ranji Trophy. He also agreed to present a miniature trophy, which would become the memento of the winning team. Every year since then, the House of Patiala has presented the miniature.
Mumbai (formerly Bombay) have been the dominant team in the Championship so far, with 39 wins, including 15 back-to-back wins from 1958-59 to 1972-73.
The game of cricket came to India along with many other good things like Railways and Telegraph, that the English brought to India. English army and civilian employees of the East India Company (EIC) brought cricket to India. They used to play cricket in Calcutta and Madras in the 1720s.
The earliest record of cricket in India goes back to 1721, when English merchants played a game at Cambay, Gujarat. Army regiments of EIC used to play cricket matches among themselves in 18th and 19th centuries at their Regimental Centres scattered throughout the country.
A team led by George Vernon in 1889-90 played 11 matches in India where they won 8, drew 2 and lost one match, ironically to the Parsees.
Lord Harris, some time captain of England and Governor of then Bombay (now Mumbai) Presidency between 1890 and 1895 helped to popularise the game and changed the sporting ethos of a city-and then that of a nation.
The first regular cricket contest in India which was started in 1892, was the annual series of matches between the Parsees and the Europeans. Each year, two matches, one each in Mumbai and the other in Pune were played. From 1907 to 1911, the tournament became a triangular affair when Hindus joined in.
The contest then became quadrangular with the entry of Mohammedans in 1912. A fifth team, The Rest, was addeded in 1937 and the tournament became the Bombay Pentagular The tournament was abandoned in 1945, following an agitation by Mahatma Gandhi on the ground that it had a communal character.
Another man, who showed the way, was Ranji (K. S. Ranjitsinhji) later to be Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, a state in Saurashta region of Gujarat. He played little cricket in India; though he did play, some cricket for the House of Patiala's XI and led a Jamnagar team occasionally until 1915.
However, it is his achievements in England and Australia, for Sussex and England that made Indians think that they too could play the game better than its founder could.
To accomplish that, competitive tournament cricket was esstential. As mentioned earliar, a national cricket championship was proposed early in 1934 by A S de Mello.
And thus was born Ranji Trophy, the competition for an English game, a tournament named after Ranji, who with "a flick of the wrist sent to the ball to the leg boundary" or learned into the ball and sent it to the boundary "with the speed of thought." The first Ranji Trophy match in history took place at Chepauk, Madras, barely six months after it was suggested and adopted.
The Ranji Trophy, now in the seventy fifth year, is the award that every Indian 'state' team wants to win. And to play for those teams is every Indian cricketer's first dream.
It is from this first step that cricket players like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Sardesai, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and a host of others have blossomed to achieve the next step- to represent India in International Cricket. However, there are many who have played in Ranji Trophy matches, established records in batting and bowling, but never made it to the India team. Many of them play in English country clubs.
A cricket match has been used to settle some administrative problems like imposing taxes as shown in the movie Lagan. It was based on a true incident in one of the British colonies. (PTI)

Time to search for bowlers

Ramu Sharma

For a team which has been trounced by an innings in the first Test Match in a two match series, it is not very easy to fight back, particularly if the opponent is as professional as it is efficient and also well endowed as South Africa. But India not only fought back to level terms but inflicted as heavy a defeat as it had suffered itself in the earlier match.
Despite the one-sided nature of the victory margin the match was far from one-way traffic. It was a well contested match most of the time with the final verdict hanging in balance till the very last.
If credit is to be given to India for having the last say in a grimly fought contest equal credit should be given to South Africa for fighting every inch of the match thanks in the main to Hashim Amla whose personality was a discovery for the cricketing Pandits.
The 26-year-old South African eschewed his normal play to ensure that the Indian bowling was not allowed any liberty throughout his innings on the second part of the South Africa stay at the wicket. The fact that the Indian bowlers very rarely beat him speaks volumes of his patience, application and skill. He played for his team in the real sense of the word and all but ensured a draw.
Amla skill is also a reflection on the Indian bowling which struggled to finish off a match which it should have done much earlier. Agreed the main strike bowler, Zaheer Khan was on the injured list( these days he is nearly always on the injured list) but even then it does not justify the Nadkarni type analyses of Harbhajan Singh who is supposed to be the among the best of category.
Clearly it is time for the selectors to look beyond Harbhajan. He did come off in this crucial match but his achievements during the past few years are few and far between. It is not as if one can be definite that he will succeed like he did in his early venture against Australia in the now forgotten but need to be remembered home series, a series also known for VVS Laxman's brilliance and Dravid's patience. There has to be another bowler to cover for Harbhajan.
And then there is Ishant Sharma. He has been reduced to being a seasonal rash. After his brilliant performance in Australia where he made Ricky Pointing look very ordinary, Ishant has lost both pace and direction. For a man who had crossed 150 km mark in Australia he is struggling to cross 140 km. He desperately needs to work on his confidence. India cannot afford to go into Test matches on the strength of Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh alone.
In fact, the cricketing world is well aware of the fact that India's No 1 position is entirely built upon its batting skills. Unless India discovers some real good bowlers and improves its fielding, the claim for the top spot will be based on premises entirely hollow. (Syndicate Features)