Hindustan Times

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Dhoni gets his figures right

If cricket is about problem solving, Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to have all the answers at the moment. Ahead of the final, Dhoni had said that winning the toss was 60% of the job done, and putting 270 on the board increased the chances of success to 80%. His batsmen went one better, posting 319 for five, a score that has never been successfully chased at the R Premadasa Stadium. Kumar Sangakkara's team was unable to rewrite history, succumbing to 273 and defeat by 46 runs.

For the ninth time under Dhoni, India had emerged victors in a limited-overs episode. There was nothing certain about this outcome, especially in the light of India's thrashing at Lanka's hands on Saturday. But resilience has not been in short supply in this group.

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid set the tone with an unhurried 95-run stand. Dhoni then took the game into his hands, walking out at No. 3, as Tendulkar ground the bowling.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: 44th odi century, bowling, colombo, dhoni, harbhajan singh, odi against sri lanka, sachin odi innings, tendulkar performance, tri series final, victory

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

World champions stumble towards a mighty fall

The Second Test between India and Australia has produced scenes that would delight those envious of the seemingly unending domination of the world champions.

India are in sight of a famous victory as Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma reduced Australia to 141 for five at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium on Monday.

Australia's batting caved in on a surface where the Indians scored big at a good pace. The bowlers failed to capture or contain, there were frequent overthrows, the captain lost the plot and the team conceded the psychological game - even in defeat Australia have never looked so disjointed.

Matthew Hayden's wild batting in the second innings reflected the mental state of a team that had lost focus.

For everyone else losing is part of the game, but for Australia it's next to impossible. That's why they have won with amazing success in the last many years, when the stakes were high, even when the matches were inconsequential- showing no dearth of ruthlessness.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: Australia, Cricket Players, domination, harbhajan singh, India, Ishant Sharma, Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Ricky Pointing, second innings, Shane Watson, world champions

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Jaipur beat Mumbai, help Delhi reach semis

Mumbai are hosting the climax of the inaugural IPL tournament, but they may have been shut out of their own party.

On Monday, an unbeaten sixth wicket stand of 69 runs between Niraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja took Jaipur to a nail-biting last-ball win.

Even in the beginning of the league, Sachin Tendulkar's forced absence, compounded by Harbhajan Singh's ouster after 'Slapgate', had Mumbai reeling. Only after the Little Master returned that the team hit a purple patch and nurtured hopes of a final-four showing.

Before Monday's contest, with their fate hinging on the outcome of the last two matches, the one team Mumbai would have desperately wanted to avoid was Shane Warne's Jaipur Unbeaten in the fortress of the Sawai Man Singh stadium all tournament, Jaipur cut down Mumbai and confirmed that Delhi, on 15 points, entered the semis.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaer, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: climax, cricket, delhi, harbhajan singh, inaugural IPL tournament, IPL, IPL matches, Mumbai, Niraj Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, sachin tendulkar, semifinals, Shane Warne

Thursday, March 27, 2008

BCCI invokes spirit of Cricket at Indian Premier League

Don't be surprised if you see Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds being far more respectful to each other during the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) than they were in Australia.

Bhajji and Symmo haven't struck up a sudden friendship. But they will have no choice but to behave because the BCCI has taken the business of sledging to heart. It has invoked the Spirit of Cricket for the IPL.

The Spirit of Cricket is the doctrine enshrined by Sir Colin Cowdrey and Lord Ted Dextel: ex-England skippers and MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) members, in the 1990s in the laws of the game.

The Indian cricket board, campaigning for the eradication of sledging and abusive player behaviour, will ask the players to take a spoken oath that will bind them to playing by the spirit of the game and not just its laws.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: Andrew symonds, BCCI, cricket, harbhajan singh, Indian cricket team, IPL player auction, Marylebone Cricket Club

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Against All OZ

They Started the tri-series amid controversy over Harbhajan Singh's alleged misdemeneanours, and the dropping of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. They have no hope, the doubters said - not without the seniors, not against Australia and Sri Lanka.

So, after the victory lap and champagne celebrations were done, it was Mahendra Singh Dhoni's turn to give some of it back. He kept the focus largely on the Australian media, and to their Harbhajan Singh fixation.

"It was getting a bit too much…," Dhoni said. "Every day, there was something new in the papers (about Harbhajan). It didn't matter when some player, even Australians, did something good. It was all about Harbhajan, as if he was Michael Jackson. Who'll they write about once we leave?... Maybe when I go back to India I will surf the net to find what they are doing in the absence of Harbhajan."

The six-wicket drubbing in Sydney on Sunday and the loss in Brisbane on Tuesday ensured Australia haven't won the CB Series trophy for two consecutive years now. The tri-series - for long an integral part of the Oz experience - is now over forever, and India, with their first major tournament victory here since 1985, will be the permanent holders.

When he spoke, Dhoni held little back - but was as firm and as calm as ever. To the rest of the world, he sounded a warning: "There are youngsters in this team who are aggressive. You have to be careful while dealing with them. If you are harsh with them, you'll get it back."

Dhoni's men are going back with answers to many of the questions troubling Indian cricket for some time now. The toughest battlefield has produced a bunch of warriors who will hopefully inspire dreams, not wistful thoughts of past glory and opportunities lost.

To read the full article, click here...

To read the ePaper, visit:http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: harbhajan singh, India beats Australia, Sydney, tourism, tri-series

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Hayden escapes, cricket in prison

Depending on how you look at it, the latest farce in India's Australian summer appears either blatantly unfair or plain ridiculous.

In a tinderbox atmosphere that had gone to within an inch of the tour being called off, Matthew Hayden - 36-year-old veteran of 94 Tests played over 14 years - launches an outrageous, offensive, and completely unprovoked attack on Harbhajan Singh, calling him "an obnoxious weed" on a radio show. Cricket Australia promises the BCCI that it would take up the matter strongly and after a pointless, three-hour hearing, lets Hayden off with a mere reprimand - not even a token fine.

A little after 11 pm local time in Melbourne, CA spokesman Philip Pope said, "The charge was laid by CA CEO James Sutherland, and Code of Conduct Commissioner Ron Beazley found Hayden guilty He upheld the charge and issued a reprimand." Section 9 of CA's Code of Behaviour deals with "detrimental public comment" and prohibits a players and officials from "making any public/media comment which is detrimental to the interests of the game".

Hayden said he had made a "light comment" in a "jocular" interview. "I maintain my innocence. My intention was not to denigrate cricket or anyone. But in the spirit of cricket, I respect and accept the decision." There was no mention of an apology to Harbhajan.

There was also no mention, from either Hayden or CA, of the big batsman poking fun at Ishant Sharma's youth, mimicking his accent,

To read the full article, click here...

To read the article, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: BCCI, CA's Code of Behaviour, detrimental public comment, harbhajan singh

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Racism dir t on Bhajji

A day that India's batsmen dominated thoroughly ended in shock and disbelief for the visitors after the Australians lodged an official complaint saying Harbhajan Singh had abused one of their players racially Sources said the player is Andrew Symonds, with whom the offspinner had a verbal exchange on the field. Harbhajan is bewildered and upset. The Indian team is furious; they say the charges are utter rubbish, and will back Bhajji to the end. And there is a strong feeling here that the Australians, suddenly finding themselves in what may turn out to be a tight corner, have thrown a low blow The Australians would in fact, appear to have enough reasons to target Harbhajan. He was a thorn in their side for nearly 30 overs after lunch.

He smashed a feisty 63 that dashed India into an unlikely lead, allowed Sachin Tendulkar to reach century number 38, and took his side to a situation from where they can make a fight of this Test. And when Australia bat on a spinning track on..

To read the complete article click here..
To read the complete e-paper click here:epaper.hindustantimes.com
Image and Article source: Hindustan Times
Article taken from the issue: 5 Jan 2008

Labels: Andrew symonds, astralian cricket team, australian, cricket, harbhajan singh, Indian cricket team

: Name: PressMart Team; Location: India

Pressmart: World's Online Press... Digitizing and Publishing news content of all the newspapers and magazines online. A converged solution. Participate on the news content by expressing your opinions.

View my complete profile

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]