Anand draws with Dubov; Carlsen back in hunt

Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands), January 23

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Viswanathan Anand played out yet another draw, sharing points with Daniil Dubov of Russia in the ninth round of Tata Steel Masters chess tournament. Anand could not do much with his white pieces against Dubov, although optically his position appeared to be preferable after the opening.

The players reached a fairly level position after the opening and the draw was not a problem for Dubov. With 4.5 points, the Indian is at the No. 10 position in the standings.

Magnus Carlsen of Norway stormed through the defence of Iranian teenager Alireza Firouzja to bounce back into the reckoning for the top honours. Carlsen showed to the world who is the boss, even as Firouzja is already being compared to him. The world champion was at his technical best in outclassing the Iranian 16-year-old out of a closed Ruy Lopez as black gave no chances whatsoever.

Fabiano Caruana of the United States emerged as the sole leader on six points out of a possible nine after drawing with Nikita Vitiugov of Russia. With Caruana on six, Carlsen is now joint second and pretty much within striking distance of attaining his eighth championship here. — PTI

Handling pressure will be key in T20 World Cup: Harmanpreet

Mumbai, January 23

The Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur said at the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia, handling the pressure would be crucial — something her side could not do in the last two global showpieces. Harmanpreet was speaking to reporters at the pre-departure press conference ahead of the Tri-series involving England and hosts Australia, which will be followed by the T20 World Cup next month.

India made a semifinal exit in the last T20 World Cup and in the previous ODI World Cup, they had finished as the runners-up. “We were quite close in the last two World Cups, the only thing is we have to keep in mind how to handle pressure in the tournaments. The last two World Cups, we lacked in handling pressure,” Harmanpreet said. “This time we want to enjoy rather than taking more pressure on ourselves, thinking that it is a big tournament. We have to avoid thinking like that and focus on giving our best,” she added.

The women’s T20 World Cup will be played in Australia from February 21 to March 8. India will take on Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the group stage. The 30-year-old Harmanpreet, who has played 104 T20Is, said the team needs to focus on enhancing skills instead of thinking about the pressure of performing at the big stage. “The last few World Cups, we put ourselves under too much pressure of playing in a big tournament. This time rather than thinking that we are going for a big tournament, we just want to focus on our skills, how we should play and how to make the team win,” she said. “That will be very important for us and when we focus on these things, we will produce better results,” she added. She counted spin bowling as one of the strengths of her team. — PTI

U-19 WC: India look to carry on momentum against NZ

Bloemfontein, January 23

Already through to the quarterfinals after two resounding wins, defending champions India will be keen to maintain their unbeaten run when they face New Zealand in their final Group A tie of the ICC U-19 World Cup tomorrow.

India, who are on top their group standings with four points, had cruised to a 90-run victory over Sri Lanka in their opening encounter before outclassing debutants Japan by 10 wickets. The Priyam Garg-led side will start as the favourites against New Zealand.

New Zealand, on the other hand, were unlucky to share a point with Japan after their match was washed out in Potchefstroom last week. However, they managed to clinch a late win against Sri Lanka to book a place in the quarterfinals.

Having won their warm-up matches against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan and the quadrangular series before that, the Indian team would not want to lose momentum. However, the team is yet to be tested against a strong opposition. — PTI

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Sivaramakrishnan, Chauhan, Khurasiya apply for National selector’s post

New Delhi: Former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has applied for a position in the national selection panel along with former off-spinner Rajesh Chauhan and left-handed batsman Amay Khurasiya. The last date for applying is Friday, January 24. BCCI will be replacing MSK Prasad (South Zone) and Gagan Khoda (Central Zone) from the current committee while Sarandeep Singh (North Zone), Jatin Paranjpe (West Zone) and Devang Gandhi (East Zone) will continue for one more season.

I have more money than hair on your head: Akhtar tells Sehwag

New Delhi, January 23

Shoaib Akhtar has dismissed Virender Sehwag’s claim that the former Pakistan speedster lavishes praise on the Indian team because “it makes business”. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Akhtar said he has more money than Sehwag has hair on his head. “I have more maal (money) than you have baal (hair) on your head. If you are not able to fathom that I have such high followers, then understand it. It has taken me 15 years to become Shoaib Akhtar,” he said. Akhtar’s comments come after an old video of 2016 resurfaced on the social media in which Sehwag said the former Pakistan fast bowler praises archrivals India as it “makes a quick buck”.

During the recently-concluded ODI series against Australia, Akhtar had analysed each and every match and had praised Virat Kohli’s men after they won 2-1. “Yes, I have a huge fan following in India, but I criticised them when they did not play well in the first ODI against Australia,” Akhtar said. “Just tell me one Pakistan Youtuber who does not praise India when their team does well. Ramiz Raja, Shahid Afridi and all others praise the Indian side when they do well. Tell me one thing, isn’t it right that the Men in Blue are the No. 1 side in the world, isn’t it right that Kohli is the No. 1 batsman in the world? I do not understand what problem people have when I am giving my opinion on matters related to cricket. I have played for Pakistan for 15 years. I am not famous for just doing the YouTube thing. I was the fastest bowler in the world,” he added. — IANS

Closer and closer to landing at stadium and playing straight: Kohli on tight schedule

Auckland, January 23

India captain Virat Kohli took a dig at the scheduling of their tour of New Zealand within five days of a home assignment against Australia, saying cricketers are “getting closer and closer to landing at the stadium and playing straight”.

India are set to take on New Zealand in a five-match T20I series from tomorrow after winding up the three-ODI series against Australia on Sunday. Kohli said the short turnaround is tough given the busy international calendar.

“Well, it’s definitely getting closer and closer to landing at the stadium and playing straight. That’s how compressed the game has become but I think this kind of travel and coming to a place, which is seven hours ahead of India time, is always difficult to adjust immediately,” Kohli said on the eve of the first T20I.

“So, I am sure these things will be taken into consideration much more in the future… Yeah, it is what it is, you can do whatever you can to get better and get on the park again, and that’s international cricket for you today, it is back to back,” he said.

On the upside, the skipper said the scheduling ensures that players are in the zone. “The last series we played against Australia was ODIs so we spent more time on the field, but we played a few T20s before that,” he said. “Having played a lot more cricket than just T20s in the last three games, we will find it easier to come here and play even though with less time to prepare. We are looking forward to that and starting with the series because this is the year of the World Cup and every T20 is important.” — PTI

BOX BOX

Relaxed NZ

Virat Kohli said touring New Zealand is much less overwhelming than other countries as cricketers don’t seem to have a larger-than-life image here. “Any New Zealand tour is much more relaxed. Every tour is a representation of how people look at the game in that region,” the Indian captain said. “In New Zealand, the game is looked at as a job for the guys that play the game. It is not larger than life or the most important thing in life.”

“It is part of the Kiwi culture and it is just a sport. They get on with it but they also play really hard and want to win the game. They are dejected or depressed if they don’t win, so I think it is a wonderful balance and something that every team that comes to New Zealand loves on this tour. Kiwis are the most relaxed and chilled out and professional about what they do,” he added.

As I said, him doing well with the gloves has really opened up a scenario for us where it gives us a lot more balance in playing an extra batsman and if he can keep playing that well, perform well with the bat, then why not. I know there will be a lot said about, talks around what happens to other players and what not, but the most important thing is what the team requires and the best balance we can create for the side.

Virat Kohli, On KL Rahul playing as wicketkeeper-batsman

Revenge can’t be on mind when you take on Kiwis

The loss in the ODI World Cup semifinals still rankles, but Virat Kohli said he can’t really bring himself to think of revenge as India take on New Zealand for the first time since the World Cup. “Even if you want to think of revenge, these guys are so nice you cannot get into that zone,” said Kohli. “We get along really well with these guys and it’s all about being competitive on the field. As I said in England, they are probably one side that has set the example for teams to play international cricket.”

2-1 New Zealand had beaten India 2-1 in the T20I series last year. The Black Caps also won 2-1 in the T20I series during their Sri Lankan tour, and then drew 2-2 at home against England in a five-match series. However, they lost 0-3 in Australia over the past month

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