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Well begun is half done
MAIL
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Well begun is half done Team India finally gave its fans something to cheer about. After a miserable performance in the World Cup, the team lived up to its billing this time and clinched the one-day series against the world’s No. 2 team South Africa. After trailing 0-1, India outplayed the Proteas in the next two matches despite the fact that the cold bug bit more than half the team and the Indian camp was struggling to find even 11 fit players for the opening tie. Though India won the Test and ODI series against Bangladesh recently, it was vital for the team in the post-World Cup scenario to beat a top side. The victory gave India another reason to rejoice as they avenged the 0-4 rout in the five-match series in South Africa before the World Cup. India won their first bilateral series against South Africa away from home. It was also their first ODI series triumph outside the subcontinent since 2002, when they clinched the Natwest Trophy in England and finished joint winners with hosts Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy. A major positive from this series was that young as well as experienced players contributed. While the vintage Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid came good with the bat and laid solid foundations, young guns like Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik finished off matches in style. On the bowling front, young spinners like Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla bamboozled the South African batsmen. Tendulkar, who failed to show his class in the World Cup, dominated the proceeding in the first two one-dayers, scoring 99 and 93, respectively. He also became the first batsman ever to reach the lofty milestone of 15,000 ODI runs. Tendulkar’s “revival”, which earned him the man-of-the-series award, is surely good news for Team India, though it would be too early to say that the master has regained his lost touch. The real hero of both victories was Yuvraj, who played kingsize (49 n.o. and 61 n.o.) and stayed at the crease till the end, never allowing the South African bowlers to dominate. He chipped in with the ball as well. In the second one-dayer, he took 3-36 in nine overs with his left-arm spin. Yuvraj’s decisive innings, which earned India their first ODI series win against South Africa since 1991, took him back into the top 20 in the rankings. Bowlers, too, did their bit by cutting down on the extras. In the three-match series, bowlers conceded just two no-balls and 12 wides. In the decider, not even a single wide or no-ball was bowled. Moreover, in the absence of senior bowlers, youngsters did their job well. Rudra Pratap Singh assisted Zaheer Khan with the new ball, while Chawla and Powar constantly troubled the rival batsmen. However, despite the positives, there is a lot to learn. The batting collapse in the second ODI was a repeat of what has been witnessed umpteen times. India were cruising along at 134 without loss and were heading for a big victory when four wickets fell in a heap, reducing the team to 142 for 4. Moreover, South Africa had fielded a depleted side in the absence of Graeme Smith, Shaun Pollock and Ashwell Prince. Now the players are bracing themselves up for a bigger challenge. Facing England on their soil will be tough and that too at a time when they are performing exceedingly well against the West Indies. English players like Kevin Pietersen and newly crowned one-day captain Paul Collingwood can prove tough nuts to crack for the Indian bowling attack. Indian batsmen might be the best players of spin bowling, but they cannot afford to take in-form Monty Panesar lightly. Left-arm pacer Ryan Sidebottom can also bother batsmen with his outside-the-off-stump line. The important thing for India is to maintain the momentum and not let the Englishmen call the shots. Failure to perform well in England would definitely undo the good work done in Ireland. |
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IN THE NEWS Sania Mirza scoffed at the controversy surrounding her partnership with Israeli Shahar Peer at Wimbledon, saying that it was purely a tennis matter and she was “not making any statement”. The 20-year-old Indian and her women’s doubles partner were bombarded with questions about their Muslim-Jew pairing. And Sania, who has been at the receiving end of such hyperbolic reporting before, was unimpressed. “We’re playing tennis, we’re not making statements. We’re just here to play tennis and we’re here to perform and be the best we can be,” she said. “Me and Shahar are playing just like the way me and Eva Birnerova played the French Open, just like the way I played with anyone else the last six weeks. It doesn’t make any statement.” The last time Sania, a Muslim, joined forces with Peer, at the 2005 Japan Open, their association was short-lived. Under pressure from militants furious over a Muslim and a Jew playing together, Sania called for some time out. She hopes their second stab at success will be remembered more for their on-court exploits. “We really don’t care whether she’s from Israel or I’m from Pakistan. At the end of the day it matters whether we win a match or not.” Doubles partnerships between Muslim and Jewish players have not gone down too well in the past. In 2002, Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi was threatened with a suspension from Pakistan’s tennis federation when he entered the Wimbledon men’s doubles with Israel’s Amir Hadad. The partnership won the duo a humanitarian award from the organisers of men’s tennis but Sania does not want any similar recognition. “I’m here to play tennis and so is she. That’s the end of that. It has nothing to do with anything else,” she said. — Agencies |
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An icon fades out Dilip Narayan Sardesai, who died earlier this week, was the first cricketer from Goa to play Tests for India. He was instrumental in transforming India from a team which was happy to draw a Test into one which tasted two consecutive series victories abroad in 1971. Sardesai played a major role in both triumphs, first against the West Indies and then versus England. In the victory against the West Indies at Port-of-Spain, Sardesai chipped in with a century, while in the historic win at the Oval, he had scores of 54 and 40. Sardesai gave a sense of confidence to the Indian team. His contemporary M.P. Pandove, who is now the joint secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said Sardesai was a very technically correct batsman, never willing to give up his wicket. Whenever he was at the crease, the team had the confidence that he would pull it off, never mind what the scoreboard read. And that’s exactly what happened on the Caribbean tour in 1971. In the first Test at Kingston, Jamaica, after India were reduced to 75-5, Sardesai’s 212 forced the West Indies to follow on. Then at Barbados, India were down to 70-6 before the Mumbai right-hander saved the team with a knock of 150. If that was the series which saw the emergence of Sunil Gavaskar, it was also the series of Dilip Sardesai, who aggregated 642 runs. Sardesai played 30 Tests between 1960 and 1972 at a healthy average of 39.23 with five centuries. In all he notched up a little over 10,000 runs in his first-class career spanning 12 years during which Bombay never lost in the Ranji Trophy. He was a member of the team led by Nari Contractor which toured the Caribbean in 1961-62. When the skipper was felled by a Charlie Griffith delivery at Barbados, Sardesai was at the non-striker’s end. In the following Test, he was asked to open. He did fairly well in this game but his technical brilliance was not enough as he bagged a pair in the next Test, which ended the experiment. It was at skipper Ajit Wadekar’s insistence that Sardesai was included in the team to the West Indies in 1971. The rest, as they say, is history. A great player of spin, Sardesai was equally sure against pace as he proved so eloquently in the West Indies and it is a pity that his career was not as productive as one would have hoped it to be. But then in those days, Test cricket was yet to become an industry as it is today. Sardesai wasn’t happy with the way cricket had changed or the way sponsors were playing with the careers of young cricketers. He will be remembered not only for his cricketing abilities but also for the role he played in shaping the careers of many youngsters. |
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Serving it up Serena Williams has a passion for carrot cake. Maria Sharapova is a great fan of the chocolate fondant. Daniela Hantuchova is a dab hand at salade nicoise, while world number one Justine Henin loves her sole fillet en papillotte. Forget the image of pampered tennis players jet-setting from city to city scoffing gourmet food at five-star restaurants. In fact, they love nothing better than rustling something up at home on the rare occasions when they are actually there. The world’s top women players have put together a book of their favourite recipes — Lovefood — so that, if all else fails, they could always try their hand at being a celebrity chef. “Mother taught me everything I know,” is a common theme. “My mum is a great cook and I have learnt much from her,” writes Italian Francesca Schiavone. Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic says, “I was taught to cook by my mother and grandmother.” France’s Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo, often accused of being prey to her nerves in big matches, has found that cooking can be calming. Showing off the merits of her cherry tomato soup, she writes: “Cooking is a good way to get your mind off the sport. It’s very therapeutic as well as being a lot of fun.” Alas, it didn’t work for her this time at the All England Club. But being constantly on the international circuit can cramp your cooking. Giving the recipe for her calamari fritti in the Whirlpool cookbook, Czech Nicole Vaidisova said, “I try to cook as often as I can but travelling so much means I don’t always have enough time.” Elena Dementieva longs for her own fillet steak with caramelised onions and creme fraiche. “With all the travel I end up eating in restaurants most of the time so it’s great to cook something from scratch,” she said. But for Russian compatriot Maria Sharapova, who loves stir-fried Thai noodles, globe-trotting does have its attractions. “Travelling gives me the opportunity to try different cuisines of the countries I visit.” — Reuters |
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Hockey fans were expecting a better show from the team after it had finished third in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh (Malaysia) in May. Incidentally, India had beaten an under-strength Argentina in that tournament. For a change, it was a well-planned trip this time, with the team attending a training in Germany before going to Belgium. However, the all-too-familiar mistakes returned to haunt India. Coach Joaquim Carvalho seemed more satisfied with the overall show than he should be. Admitted that the wet and cold weather made things difficult for the players — most of whom had little experience at this level — but the conditions were the same for all teams and it required quick acclimitisation to perform well. Carvalho agreed that India’s frequent and repeated failure to hold on to the ball in the final 10 to 15 minutes of a match was a cause for concern. India held the fort for over 60 minutes against New Zealand, only to concede two late goals to go down 0-2. “We tend to relax when ahead. Instead, we have to continue to apply pressure and score more goals,” the coach said. “These days, you cannot take anything for granted until the end of the match, for every team is capable of coming back despite being down by three or four goals. And so, it is important that we keep possession of the ball for as long as possible, especially in the last quarter,” he added. Penalty-corner conversion rate left a lot to be desired. India converted just about one-fourth of the penalty corners they earned (six out of 25). Appallingly, all 12 that they got against Argentina went abegging. Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh, back after a freak bullet injury, was the biggest culprit, even though he ended up as India’s joint top scorer along with Prabhjot Singh (four goals each). Looking ahead, Carvalho stressed on the need to play more matches and for exposure trips. “Just having camps is of no use. We have to provide exposure to our players and we can only judge them over a period of time. “I prefer playing against European teams and also Australia more often as the competition is far tougher than any Asian side can offer. India’s biggest target in the near future is to qualify for the 2008 Olympics. “We have to keep our focus on the qualifying tournament, which is our top priority,” he said. The team needs to pull up its socks soon if it has to avoid the unprecedented ignominy of failing to qualify for the Olympics. If, God forbid, the worst happens, it would certainly be the darkest day in the history of Indian hockey. — Agencies |
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MAIL Apropos of Ramandeep Singh’s write-up “The prince of spin” (Saturday Extra, June 23), Monty Panesar, the first Sikh to play Test cricket for England, has emerged as a spin force to reckon with on the international scene. He played a stellar role in inflicting a crushing 3-0 series defeat on the West Indies recently. He claimed his maiden 10-wicket haul in the third Test against the Windies to become the first England spinner in a decade to do so (the last one was Phil Tufnell, against Australia in 1997). Thanks to his superb performance, he has been ranked third behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble, two slow bowlers of great repute. That speaks volumes of his talent and ability. He boasts of an impressive record — 65 wickets in 17 Tests at an average of 28.40 with six five-wicket hauls. Panesar is an unassuming and down-to-earth person, but he’s very passionate about the game. If he does not let success go to his head, he is likely to achieve many milestones. Tarsem S. Bumrah,
Batala Foreign craze One cannot understand the craze for foreign coaches in Indian cricket, although there are a number of suitable Indian contenders like Kapil Dev, Madan Lal, Mohinder Amarnath, Yash Pal Sharma and Ravi Shastri. A former Indian cricketer can do a better job as coach because he would be familiar with the pulls and pressures of Indian cricket. Y.L. Chopra |
The Indian hockey team’s target was to win the Champions Challenge tournament in Boom, Belgium, or at least reach the final. They failed on both counts, and had to settle for the bronze medal. They lost to their two main rivals — eventual winners Argentina and runners-up New Zealand — and barely scraped past England and Japan. Their only convincing win was against hosts Belgium (4-1), who brought up the rear in the six-nation tournament.