 |
|
| SPORTS TRIBUNE |
|
Handy in
gloves
WORLD CUP: FLASHBACK |
|
|
|
Handy in
gloves
Contemporary cricket belongs to all-rounders as they are the key to winning one-day tournaments. It is not just batting or bowling where the player has to excel — fielding is an equally important dimension. The wicketkeeper is expected to perform with the willow just like a specialist batsman. Any captain would love to
have Adam Gilchrist or Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his team. Other
match-winning wicketkeeper-batsmen are South Africa’s Mark Boucher,
Sri Lanka’s Kumara Sangakkara, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and
Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal. Adam Gilchrist: He has revolutionised the role of the wicketkeeper in the team with his aggressive batting and is now considered to be one of the best of his kind in the history of the game. Gilchrist, who was ODI Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004, has played 257 one-dayers and scored 8585 runs, which include 14 tons and 48 fifties. His strike rate is 96.29, a real threat to any world-class bowler. Equally important is his record behind the stumps. He has 376 catches and 37 stumpings to his credit. And he is very miserly in conceding byes and too sharp to stop batsmen from taking extra singles. He has played a crucial role in keeping Australia on top in world cricket. Gilchrist, who debuted in 1996, is playing his third World Cup. In the previous two editions in 1999 and 2003, he scored 632 runs in 20 matches, including six half-centuries. With 35 dismissals, he heads the list of top 10 World Cup wicketkeepers. Mahendra Singh Dhoni: He lies third among batsmen in the latest ICC rankings but is on top among all wicket-keepers. (Sangakkara is at the sixth position and Gilchrist at ninth). His heroics for Team India have strengthened the middle order. Dhoni has scored 1958 runs in 66 matches at an average of 46.61 and a strike rate of 98.49, apart from doing his duty behind the stumps. But he is in the team more because of his exploits with the willow than with the keeping gloves. The Caribbean-bound squad has another keeper in the form of Dinesh Karthik, who is also a good batsman. Kumara Sangakkara: He is a strong pillar of the Lankan batting line-up and had won many matches for his country. His ability to hit boundaries and taking smart singles along with a brilliant keeping make him a superb all-rounder. He shares a unique record with Dhoni. Only once in the history of international cricket have wicketkeepers from either side scored a century in the same match. On October 31, 2005, Dhoni hammered 183 at Jaipur, while Sangakkara scored an unbeaten 138. Mark Boucher: He is a fighter to the core. Alert behind the stumps, he is a busy batsman too. Converting singles into two and performing under crunch situations is his habit. He helped his team pull off the greatest run chase (435) of all time against Australia at Johannesburg last year. He remained unbeaten on 50. Boucher, who was declared South Africa Player of the Year thrice (1998, 2000, 2006), has 3607 runs to his credit in 233 matches at a strike rate of 82.78. Boucher is easily one of the trump cards for South Africa in the quadrennial event. Brendon McCullum: He has proved his worth as a batsman by dominating the best attacks. He helped the Kiwis complete a rare Aussie whitewash in the Chappell-Hadlee series earlier this week. He stayed till the end in the third match as New Zealand succeeded in chasing a massive target of 347. He has also done well with the keeping gloves (121 catches in 104 matches). He has got good reflexes. Remember how he ran out Muttiah Muralitharan as the Sri Lankan left his crease to congratulate Sangakarra for completing a century? Kamran Akmal: He has opened the innings for Pakistan occasionally and hit three hundreds. With 1120 runs at an average of 24.88 in 62 matches, Akmal provides strength to Pakistan batting. He is also reliable in the middle order. Behind the stumps, he
keeps encouraging the bowlers and has a decent record of 54 catches and
nine stumpings. His match-winning ability will be put to the test in the
World Cup. |
|
|
Russian ruleth Unseeded Russian Yaroslava Shvedova won her first WTA tour title after defeating Italian top seed and last year’s winner Mara Santangelo 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Bangalore Open tennis tournament. The big-serving 19-year-old dropped to her knees in celebration after beating world number 36 Santangelo in 96 minutes. "She played better than me... congratulations to her," 25-year-old Santangelo said at the prize ceremony. "I tried my best. It has been a great week for me... I reached the final," she added. Shvedova, ranked 143rd going into the tournament, maintained the form that helped her beat seventh-seeded Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn in the second round and second seed Sania Mirza in the quarterfinals. The 1.78m-tall Moscow-born Shvedova broke Santangelo in the seventh game to win the opening set in 44 minutes after trading breaks early on. The Russian then held on to an early break to win the second set. — Reuters
|
|
|
WORLD CUP:
FLASHBACK India’s sensational triumph over the West Indies in the 1983 final might appear to be the biggest upset in World Cup history, but it mustn’t be forgotten that India had defeated their formidable rivals in two of their four previous encounters — at Old Trafford (England) and Berbice (Guyana). Hence, beating the two-time champions in the final was not really a miracle. There have been a few huge upsets in the mega event when Test-playing nations have been humbled by the "un-Tested" ones. The astonishing victories not only helped the minnows to shake off their "whipping boys" tag but were also an important step towards entering the Test league. Sample this believe-it-or-not stuff. Sri Lanka vs India Indian skipper S. Venkataraghavan won the toss and put the Lankans into bat. Their three top batsmen — Sidath Wettimuny, Roy Dias and Duleep Mendis — got going, hitting half-centuries. Mendis was the pick of the lot with 64 off 57 balls. Among the bowlers, Mohinder Amarnath took 3-40. Kapil Dev, barely 20 then, got rid of top-scorer Wettimuny (67), while veteran spinners Venkataraghavan and Bishan Singh Bedi went wicketless. Sunil Gavaskar (26) and Anshuman Gaekwad (33) began slowly but steadily. The former fell when the team score was 60, while his partner was dismissed 16 runs later. Dilip Vengsarkar (36) and Gundappa Viswanath (22) both fell when they looked well set. The other batsmen came a cropper and the team was bowled out for 191 in 54.1 overs. Barely three years later, the Lankans were accorded Test status. MoM: Duleep Mendis Zimbabwe vs Australia This was Zimbabwe’s debut match and they made a dream start by defeating the Aussies. All-rounder Duncan Fletcher, who is presently the England coach, made a defiant unbeaten 69 against a pace attack boasting of Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson and Geoff Lawson. After being five down for 94, Zimbabwe recovered to reach 239 for 6 in 60 overs. Australia made a solid start through Graeme Wood and Kepler Wessels. However, they lost Wood and captain Kim Hughes in quick succession, both dismissed by skipper Fletcher. The latter also accounted for David Hookes and Graham Yallop to return figures of 4-42 in 11 overs. Despite a gutsy fifty from wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh, Australia lost by 13 runs. Interestingly, Fletcher returned as the Aussie nemesis recently when he guided England to a stunning triumph in the tri-series. Zimbabwe shocked eventual finalists England at Albury in the 1992 edition, with Eddo Brandes picking up four wickets. Later that year, Zimbabwe made their Test debut at Harare against India. MoM: Duncan Fletcher Kenya vs West Indies Playing in their first World Cup, Kenya had lost their first three matches to India, Australia and Zimbabwe. A fourth successive defeat loomed large as they were bundled out for 166 by the Caribbeans after being put into bat. The Kenyan total owed a lot to the 37 extras conceded by erratic West Indian bowlers, including Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. Steve Tikolo was the top-scorer with a patient 29. The run chase proved to be a disaster all the way. Rajab Ali got the prize scalps of captain Richie Richardson and Brian Lara, while Kenyan skipper Maurice Odumbe removed Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jimmy Adams and Roger Harper. Ali finished with 3-17 from 7.2 overs, and Odumbe was even more impressive (10-3-15-3). The once-mighty Windies were shot out for 93, recording their most ignominious defeat. In the 2003 tournament, the Kenyans humbled the Lankans at Nairobi and went on to reach the semifinals, where they lost to India. However, despite their sporadic ODI heroics, they are yet to become a Test-playing nation. MoM: Maurice Odumbe B’desh vs Pakistan This final group match was a mere formality for Pakistan as they had already qualified for the Super-Six stage. Taking their unfancied rivals lightly cost them dear as they slumped to a 62-run loss. Put into bat, Bangladesh made a decent total of 223 for 9 in 50 overs. Akram Khan (42), Shahriar Hossain (39) and Khaled Mahmud (27) were the main contributors. Pakistan’s reply began badly as they were reduced to 42 for 5 in the 13th over. New-ball bowler Khaled Mahmud was the wrecker-in-chief, getting rid of Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Salim Malik. Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 161 in 44.3 overs, giving Bangladesh their first-ever victory in the premier event. Rumours of match-fixing did the rounds, but these were never proved to be true. In November, 2000, Bangladesh made their Test debut. MoM: Khaled Mahmud
|
