Sports work by Prashant Gujar

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leadinG The ViraT Way After Series Victory, India Captain Stresses On Tactics And Vision Times in WesT indies shashank.shekhar @timesgroup.com Gros Islet, St. Lucia: As one follows and observes Virat Kohli at media interactions, two things stand out: Clarity of thought and the fine enunciation of those thoughts. He knows what he wants and has a clear plan of action to achieve his goals. And the way he articulates his thoughts, it further establishes him as a clear-headed, thinking young man. Add to that his incredible drive, his supreme talent and passion and you have a lethal mix. Just as he has pushed the envelope with his batting, Kohli has led the team with verve, vision and derring-do. Don’t expect him to follow any ‘norm’ or go for ‘safe’ routes. He is ready to play with fire and burn his fingers if that’s the consequence. On Saturday, soon after India clinched the Test series against West Indies who have been anything but competitive, Kohli laid it bare: “If the team needs, I can open the batting too because that’s the rule applicable to everyone in the team.” Kohli was responding to a question regarding the three changes he made in the eleven for the third Test. Obviously, he didn’t like it when the decision to play Rohit Sharma ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay was panned by some experts and sections of

AFP

at the top, predominantly we haven’t been consistent. We are not getting starts we’ve been looking for. The batsmen at the top need to come to the party and be a lot more consistent

the media. With a resounding series win behind him, Kohli minced no words as he defended his moves. “Usually, very few people like change. But this team doesn’t think how others would react or what they might say. We put out a combination that’s best according to the pitch.” In Test cricket, batsmen usually like a fixed batting spot. But in Kohli’s avant garde world, these notions are passe. “When I came at No. 3 (in the third Test), many people asked why I did it. But I am not attached to my batting spot (mujhe apne batting slot se koi lagaav nahin hai). It’s not as if I will stay at No. 4 and others will shuffle their positions. To field a player like Rohit Sharma we had to make him bat at No. 5. To make that happen, the other players will go one place up the order. That’s we did.” The skipper also spelt out his reasons for bringing in Bhuvneshwar in place of Umesh Yadav. “We felt that since the ground is so good it would be easier to maintain the shine on the ball (to help Bhuvi swing it). The pitch was also hard so there was carry. Bhuvi gave us the results.” As a proactive unit, Kohli and his

— Jason holder WesT IndIes cAPTAIn

stats: Rajesh Kumar

ViraT kohli’s capTaincy record in TesTs played

Won

lost

drawn

Winning %

Total

53.84

home

75.00

away

44.44

midas Touch: India have won seven out of the last nine Tests under Virat Kohli, while having drawn two

team would go out and make things happen rather than wait for them to happen. “We realised that if we have to seal the series here then we had to make changes according to the conditions. We could not wait for another match because you never know if you play one or two bad sessions, the series could be levelled.” And it was sealed with a flourish at the Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium on Saturday, a 237-run romp in three and a half days. This is only the first time India have won two Tests in a series. How does the accomplishment feel to the team? “Team’s feeling really good, especially because we didn’t have a day of play in Jamaica and the fifth day was really testing for us. We didn’t get the result we wanted. Here also, we played two good days of Test cricket then we lost the third day to rain. On day four, the bowlers came back and executed what we wanted to do. So we can play with a more positive intent in Trinidad and express ourselves fully and understand the areas we still need to improve on as a Test side.” What turned it around for you here? “Bhuvneshwar was amazing on the fourth day, picking up five for 28 runs on that wicket in 24 overs was a great spell. That really changed things around for us. Not to forget the first innings … Saha and Ashwin, the way they batted was really top class as well.” This was India’s seventh win in 13 Tests under Kohli’s captaincy. With three back-to-back series wins, the skipper is flying high although he knows tougher Tests are ahead. For now, it’s time to talk about a sense of fulfilment. “Winning is the most important thing for any team. As a team you want to win every match you play. That has to be the intent. And when you execute the plans, it gives you a lot of confidence as a team. We have won three back-to-back series now.”

Kohli backs nation’s under-fire athletes shashank.shekhar

Gros Islet, St Lucia: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Virat Kohli too has pitched for Indian athletes who are taking part in the Rio Olympics. While the cricket team is flying high in the Caribbean, the Indian contingent is yet to open its account at the Summer Games. Asked for his thoughts, Kohli said on Saturday, “In an event like Olympics, we need to look at how these athletes prepare. They give their heart and soul. And for some people to just ignore what they do, I think it is very hurtful. We

need to give credit… hats off to the guys who go there and compete because it’s so hard with no preparation and facility.” The India Test captain added, “Even in cricket, you can’t perform every game. These guys go and give 100 % in what they do. But some of these athletes don’t even have 10 % of the facilities that sportsmen from other countries have. They’re giving their 120 %, and at the end of the day, that is what matters.” Kohli also called for hope and positivity. “We just need to stay positive with the events that are left.”

Rohit, Bravo fined for verbal volleys Dubai: India’s Rohit Sharma and Darren Bravo of the West Indies have both been fined 15 per cent of their respective match fee for verbally engaging with each other in a manner that was not in keeping with the spirit of the game during the final day’s play in the third Test. The players were found to be in violation of Level 1 Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game. On the final morning of the match, Bravo and Sharma ignored numerous requests and instructions from the umpires to stop verbally en-

gaging with each other in a manner that was not in keeping with the spirit of the game. After the conclusion of the Test, both the players admitted the offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Ranjan Madugalle of the Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. As such, there was no need for for mal hearings. The charges had been laid by the onfield umpires Nigel Llong and Rod Tucker, as well as third umpire Gregory Brathwaite and fourth umpire Nigel Duguid. All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of a warning/reprimand and/ or the fine of up to 50 % of the applicable match fee. PTI

Marsh, Smith keep Aus afloat Shah stars as Pak beat Eng to draw series Colombo: Half-centuries from skipper Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh kept Australia in the hunt after Dinesh Chandimal’s ton for Sri Lanka dominated Sunday’s play in the third and final Test. Australia, who lost opener David Warner early, were 141 for one at stumps on the second day in Colombo and trailing the hosts by 214 in the first innings. Dhananjaya de Silva, who scored his maiden Test century on Saturday, struck again with the ball to claim the crucial wicket of Warner for 11. But Smith, who was on 61 at stumps, soon took charge along with Marsh who finished

AFP

smith & Marsh scored fifties

the day on 64. The pair used their feet to good effect against the Sri Lankan spinners as they combined the right mix

of caution and aggression. Smith’s 108-ball stay was laced with five boundaries and a six. Marsh, who was drafted into the XI for his Asia experience, struck 10 fours.However Chandimal, who started Sunday on 64, was the hero of the day after his dogged 132 helped Sri Lanka post 355. Chandimal’s overnight partner De Silva advanced from 116 to 129 before falling, but not before the pair had rescued the innings with a 211-run stand. Brief scores: sri lanka 355 (D Chandimal 132, D de Silva 129, R Herath 33; M Starc 5-63, N Lyon 3-110) vs australia 141-1 (S Marsh batting 64, S Smith batting 61). AFP

London: Leg-spinner Yasir Shah took five wickets to help Pakistan crush England by 10 wickets in the final test at The Oval on Sunday and level a fluctuating series 2-2.

fourth test The touring side bowled England out for 253 in their second innings, Shah completing figures of 5-71, before Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam eased them to a simple target of 40 in 13.1 overs to complete an emphatic win. “It was special, keeping in mind it was Independence Day, it was something special to draw the series here after

being 2-1 down, losing the second test badly and losing the third,” Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq told the BBC. “But the way the team fought back, I’m a really happy captain.” England had resumed on 88 for four and Gary Ballance soon fell for 17 but Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 65 to give the hosts hoping of saving the match. Shortly before lunch, however, Shah deceived Moeen with a quicker delivery and the left-hander, on 32, nicked another catch to a gleeful Sarfraz. Chris Woakes was run out following a mix-up with

AFP

Yasir shah took five for71

Bairstow, who drove the next delivery from Wahab Riaz straight to extra cover, his departure for 81 ending any realistic chance of England saving the match. Stuart Broad reverse swept Shah straight to Younus Khan at slip and after Steven Finn and James Anderson shared a defiant last-wicket partnership of 32, Anderson was trapped lbw by part-time offspinner Iftikhar Ahmed for 17. Azhar smashed Moeen for a huge six to take Pakistan to 42-0 and clinch victory, punching the air in delight before leaving the field with Aslam to warm applause from the

sun-baked crowd. “You expect to win your home series, but Pakistan showed their class — we knew Younus was going to get us eventually as you don’t average 50 in more than 100 Tests if you’re not a class player,” England captain Alastair Cook said, referring to the innings of 218 by Younus Khan which set up Pakistan’s victory. Pakistan won the first test at Lord’s and England were victorious in Manchester and Birmingham. Brief scores: england 328 & 253 (J Bairstow 81; J Root 39, M Ali 32; Y Shah 5-71) lost to Pakistan 542 & 42-0. ReuTeRs

At 60, Botham hits impotence for a six ‘Welcome admission by Thakur’ London: Cricket legend Ian Botham on Sunday revealed that he underwent impotence treatment and has encouraged other men suffering sexual problems to seek help. The 60-year-old former English cricketer said he had four sessions of shockwave therapy to prevent erectile dysfunction in the future. He said: “I’m a male and men do have problems and you have to front up to them. There’s no downside to this - only a big upside.It’s prevention rather than cure. I didn’t need the treatment but I didn’t want to be worrying about it in ten years’ time.” Ian, married to his partner Kath for 40 years but has been linked to a string of beautiful women in the past, said he had received Vigore Linear Shockwave therapy, which

involves stimulating the patient’s groin with acoustic waves for around 20 minutes and claims to regenerate tissue and blood vessels, improving blood flow. It is estimated that half of all men between the ages of 40 and 70 suffer from some degree of erectile dysfunction, which can be caused by psychological problems or physical issues such as heart problems and diabetes, the Telegraph reported on Sunday. Ian, who played his last Test in 1992, said he was speaking out about receiving the treatment in order to encourage men suffering from impotence to explore the options available to them. He said: “I hope that this becomes

Mahesh Benkar

a talking point and that people break to taboo. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. What’s more embarrassing? This or popping some pills and saying to your partner ‘I’ll be with you in 20 minutes, I’m just waiting for this to work?’ “I would say to blokes, don’t be shy. If you’ve got a problem, go and sort it out.” Ian said that he had timed his four treatments to coincide with England Test match games over the summer. He added: “Kath has got a gold medal for 40 years of putting up with me. I hope this treatment will improve things in the bedroom department - that’s the whole point of it. I’m trying to give myself a better life for longer.” PTI

Gaurav.Gupta @timesgroup.com

Mumbai: There are no signs of a truce in the battle between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and (retd) Justice RM Lodha Committee. With the BCCI facing the Supreme Court-appointed panel’s deadline on implementing major reforms in the world’s richest cricket body, its president Anurag Thakur had on Friday quipped that people who had not played the game were trying to administer it. “People who have never even played the game, they are trying to govern the board. Efforts are being

made to cut BCCI’s roots,” Thakur had said. Responding to Thakur’s comment, sources close to the Lodha Committee said: “This is a welcome admission by Thakur on behalf of the BCCI. It’s precisely because of those who’re running cricket without any knowledge and interest of the sport that the Lodha Committee and the SC have sought to bring about a change.” The Supreme Court had upheld most of the sweeping reforms of the Lodha panel, including an age cap of 70 for the BCCI office-bearers, cooling off-period, one state one vote and a ban on ministers

and bureaucrats from holding a port in the Board. Earlier this week, the Lodha Panel had given a deadline to the BCCI to comply with a set their recommendations after a meeting with Board secretary Ajay Shirke in the Capital. The Board is supposed to submit a ‘compliance report’ on the implementation of the reforms by August 25. Seven of the 11 reforms need to be implemented by September 30 and the remaining four by October 15. Some of the reforms also deal with constitutional changes, awarding various contracts including the lucrative TV rights and changes in the IPL rules which will require the Board to keep a 15-day gap between the T20 league and international calendar.

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SUNDAY TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI JULY 10, 2016

Serena Levels Steffi’s Graph Williams Beats Kerber To Claim 7th Wimbledon Crown; Ties German Icon On 22 Career Slams AP

and the spirit – more so at a time when the equal prize-money debate is revisited every day. Serena was at the top of her play, thundering down 13 aces, and the left-handed Kerber – energetic and eager - threw everything at her opponent, making her play, daring her to come up with the winner. And when they were done, Kerber raced to the net and embraced the champion. “We played a great match and you deserved to win,” Kerber said. “Serena, you are a great champion and a wonderful human being.” The tearful German then turned to her box and said, “I have the best team, best family and best friends. I’m not always easy to deal with…. But thanks for supporting me, for believing in me.” Earlier, on a windswept day at this picturesque suburb, the World No.1 was in control of most things, save for her layered dress, which was all over the place. It contrasted beautifully with her play, which was sound and on target. A heavily struck forehand down-theline won Kerber the first point of the match on Serena’s serve, announcing that there would indeed be a match, a brawl. After going toe for toe with the 34-year-old for the first ten games, the Australian Open winner’s nerve shook in the 12th. She saved the first of the two breakpoints/set points, before the American grabbed the next and celebrated like she had won the match itself.

TIMES AT Prajwal Hegde London: Serena Williams lay on her back, spreadeagled on Centre Court, looking up at the radiant London sky. In her 81 minutes in the middle, the American had eclipsed the afternoon sun, powering to a 7-5, 6-3 win to clinch Grand Slam No. 22. Back on her feet, she threw up her arms, beaming, underlining her achievement. Steffi Graf ’s Open era record is now jointly owned by the 34-year-old superstar. Earlier, German Angelique Kerber took the challenge to Serena in a high-velocity Wimbledon final, but the younger of the celebrated Williams siblings simply raised the roof with her performance. The 28-year-old, who had to win every point, twice and thrice over before drilling one past Serena, saw the American respond to every blow with a deadly swiftness that has characterized her play in recent years, finishing with a forehand volley. “Thanks for being here to see no.22. I love you,” Serena shouted to the packed house after laying her hands on the Venus Rosewater dish for the seventh time in her career. High up in the stands, older sister Venus, a fivetime champion herself, with who Serena was to return to the court she now calls ‘home’, later on for the women’s doubles final, was on her feet applauding. “I love playing, Angelique, you bring out the best in me,” Serena continued. “She’s a wonderful person, we can play a match like this and still smile when we walk off the court. I’m excited, I don’t know what to say. “Thanks to my box, my mom and dad, who is not here, my family and Venus who has been an inspiration.” The final was a stirring advertisement for the women’s game – the shots

FIRST AMONG EQUALS Serena Williams ONE FOR THE ALBUM: Serena Williams waves to the crowd after beating Angelique Kerber in the final on Saturday

6 3 7 6

Moya influenced Raonic’s thought process Leander Paes

he coming of age of Milos Raonic has been scripted through the primary influence of Carlos ‘Charlie’ Moya. While John McEnroe has been involved of late in an advisory capacity, for me the patience that Raonic shows out there exemplifies the Moya thought process. The biggest change has been that he no longer gives away free points. Against Federer, the 25-yearold’s superior fitness also shone through. At 6’5” Raonic isn’t the tallest tennis player out there but his formidable bulk makes

him look far bigger. Those legs are akin trunks of trees and while earlier he was a bit gangly trying to recover, now he bounds back from the away ball. Strategically, he had a pretty simple plan. Raonic’s gameplan revolved around stretching the Swiss maestro wide on both flanks. He used the slice serve penetratingly to open up the deuce court and went for wide flat serves on the ad side. That saw Federer

EPA

CHARGING AHEAD: Defending champion Christopher Froome of Team Sky celebrates after winning the 8th stage of the 103rd Tour de France over 184km between Pau and Bagneres-de-Luchon on Saturday

Froome takes yellow jersey with solo win Bagneres-de-Luchon: Defending champion Chris Froome won the eighth stage of the Tour de France with a daring downhill attack and claimed the yellow jersey on Saturday. Froome led at the top of the final climb of the day, the Col de Peyresourde, and attacked again when least expected.

TOUR DE FRANCE Crouched on top of his handlebars for extra aerodynamics, he opened a 20-second lead and used his time trial qualities to post a sixth career stage win in the Tour. Froome’s Team Sky displayed its impressive collective strength throughout the four major ascents, preventing his main rivals from trying their luck in hot temperatures. They set up a faster tempo on the final

climb, before Froome surprised his rivals on the downhill. “It wasn’t really planned. I thought I’d give it a try in the downhill as the few tries on the climb didn’t work out,” Froome said. “They were sticking to us. So I decided to give it a go in the descent. It was cool. It’s just a really good feeling to win. The guys rode all day so I did it for them.” Froome flashed a wide smile as he crossed the line, raising both arms in celebration then pumping his right fist emphatically. Dan Martin, an Irish rider with Etixx-Quick Step, won a sprint for second, crossing 13 seconds behind, and Joaquim Rodriguez, a Spaniard with Katusha, finished third. Froome leads Adam Yates and Joaquim Rodriguez by 16 seconds overall, according to provisional results. AP

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move about a lot and the impact of it was obvious when the veteran called in the physio at the end of the fourth set. Federer is recovering from a knee injury and as matches wear on, a recent ailment can debilitate a player not only physically but also mentally. Wearing him down has been a strategy that Nadal and Djokovic have successfully applied against Federer in the past. Now, Raonic has also joined

Jayaram sails into US Open SFs El Monte (USA): It was a tough day for the Indian shuttlers barring Ajay Jayaram, who sailed into the men’s singles semifinals with a comfortable win over compatriot Anand Pawar in $120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here on Friday. The World No. 22 and fourth seed Jayaram comfortably beat his colleague 21-11, 21-11 in the quarterfinal. The 28-year-old will next face Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama. However, there was no good news from the doubles camp as in the men’s doubles, the Riobound Manu Attri and B Sumeeth lost to the Japanese combine Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-18, 7-21, 16-21. The women’s doubles pairing of Poorvisha and Meghan also failed to advance after losing to second seeds from America, Paula Lynn Obanana and Eva Lee 21-15, 21-12. PTI

that select club. The weariness in Federer’s legs was quite evident in the fifth. Raonic’s second serve has also improved drastically. Earlier, it was usually his bread-and-butter kick serve that one saw. But the way he is mixing in the slice now makes his weaker delivery quite inscrutable. It’s not been the most satisfying Wimbledon for me but then one has to learn to take the bitter when striving for something that the best players in the world are going for too. A saying by Sir Rudyard Kipling that hangs within these hallowed walls always sticks with me as my motto for life: “If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same...” TCM

Steffi Graf

Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open

4 6 7 5

LADIES’ FINAL: WILLIAMS WON 7-5, 6-3

WILLIAMS

Murray’s return key to his hopes

KERBER

Boris Becker

MATCH STATS WILLIAMS

KERBER

Aces

1st Serve in

43/66

44/66

BP Won

2/6

0/1

Unforced Errors 21

NP Won

16/22

4/6

Winners

TP Won

he fact that Andy Murray has made his third straight Grand Slam final would cheer every British supporter’s heart, but the record that would worry them is that he has won only two of his 10 finals in Grand Slam tournaments. If there is one place where Murray could turn that statistic, it is at Wimbledon on Sunday, when he faces the big Canadian Milos Raonic. Murray has worked incredibly hard at his game over the last 12 months and is actually playing at a very high level. The way he shut Thomas Berdych out on Friday showed that he is serving

AFP

DF: Double Faults; BP: Break Points; NP: Net Points; TP: Total Points

RESULT Men’s Doubles final: (1) P Herbert (FRA)/N Mahut (FRA) beat J Benneteau (FRA) E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-3.

It’s been incredibly difficult not to think about (Steffi’s record). But it makes the victory even sweeter to know how hard I worked for it.” — Serena Williams

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM Pics: Reuters

ALL GUNS BLAZING: Milos Raonic (left) and Andy Murray are likely to engage in an absorbing contest today

well and is also returning very well. The way Murray handles Raonic’s serve would be critical to the fate of the match. He is a great returner and has a great sense of the Centre Court. If he can get a measure of Raonic’s serve and deny the tall Canadian any rhythm, he will have the edge. Raonic is a calm, young man and I don’t think the occasion will get to him. However, Murray is hard to beat at Wimbledon, especially when he is playing this well. Murray had a good rela-

EPA

Silverstone: Lewis Hamilton completed a clean sweep by topping the times ahead of Mercedes team-mate and rival Nico Rosberg in Saturday’s crash-interrupted final practice for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The session, which began gingerly with the drivers making cautious progress in

GRID LOCK

BRITISH GP FRIENDS OR FOES? Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates clinching pole position for the British F1 Grand Prix as teammate Nico Rosberg looks on at the Silverstone race track on Saturday

both Friday sessions, clocked a best lap time of one minute and 30.904 seconds to outpace the championshipleading Rosberg by 0.063 seconds on a cool, damp and overcast day at the former wartime airfield in central England.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo was half a second adrift in third place ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas of Williams. Two-time world cham-

1st row: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)/Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 2nd row: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)/Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 3rd row: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)/Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 4th row: Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)/Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso) 5th row: Fernando Alonso (McLaren)/Sergio Perez (Force India)

pion Fernando Alonso continued to demonstrate the improvement of the McLaren team by taking seventh place ahead of Nico Hulkenberg of Force India, Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari and Spaniard Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso. AFP

McGill pips erratic Ashlesha, Omkar dazzle for Ace Wilson for title TIMES NEWS NETWORK

R.Satya@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad: Touted as the next big thing on the pro tour, Scotland’s Anthony McGill outplayed an error-prone Kyren Wilson of England 5-2 to annex the Indian Open worldranking snooker crown at the HICC here on Saturday. The 25-year-old, who stunned former world champion and World No. 4 Shaun Murphy with a brilliant comeback win (4-2) in the semifinals, returned a little under two hours later for the title clash against a well-rested Wilson.

Although he did say that ideally the two semifinals should have been played simultaneously instead of one after the other, McGill didn’t look in any sort discomfort in the final that lasted a little over three hours in front of a goodly crowd. In fact, he looked the fresher of the two. “It feels fantastic to win my first ranking tournament,” said McGill, who took home 50,000 British pounds. “This win will change my mindset and now I will go into tournaments believing that I can go all the way,” added McGill. Final Result: Anthony McGill (Sco) bt Kyren Wilson (Eng) 5-2 (86-28, 16-88 (65), 83-27, 49-61 (50), 97 (96) -25, 60-12, 50-39).

the moment and not get overawed by Federer’s presence and the occasion. Federer would feel that he had his chances in the fourth set and could have made it. Once the match went into the fifth set, it seemed a bit stacked against the seven-time champion who had survived a marathon against Marin Cilic in the quarters. So where does the former champion go from here? He is at that stage of his career where the ‘How long?’ question will surely be on the minds of his fans. GAMEPLAN

COURTING ATTENTION: (Above) Tennis legend Martina Navratilova and her partner Julia watch the ladies’ final. (Below) Singer Beyonce with her husband musician Jay Z

Hamilton sizzles at Silverstone

the temperamental conditions, was stopped for 18 minutes in the final period when Marcus Ericsson crashed heavily in his Sauber car. He walked away without appearing to suffer serious injury but Sauber later said he had been sent to hospital for a routine check-up after what it described as “a massive crash”. The reigning champion Hamilton, who was fastest in

tionship with Amelie Mauresmo but they parted ways a couple of months ago, and Ivan Lendl is back in his team. This might help Murray since Lendl is a multiple Grand Slam winner and would have good inputs about getting over the line. On the other side of the net is Raonic, one of the bold new bunch of men who are knocking hard at the doors of tennis superstardom. I had mentioned that he is under the mentorship of the great John McEnroe. That as well as his superb power game has held him in good stead. He played the match of his life against Roger Federer and kept believing when the Swiss legend had him on the ropes in the fourth set. His powerful serve helped him, but it’s creditable that he managed to remain in

Mumbai: Riding on good performance from Ashlesha Trehan, Ace beat High Tide 5-4 in their last league tie of Group ‘A’ to reach the semifinals of the iProspect-Mumbai Super League (MSL) Table Tennis Championship, organized by 11Even Sports at the NSCI on Saturday.

MSL TT The other teams to reach last four stage are MTC Royals from Group ‘A’ and Supreme Fighters and Kool Smashers from Group ‘B’. Ashlesha first beat Charvi Kawle 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10 in women's singles clash and later teamed up with Omkar Torgalkar to win the men’s and women’s mixed doubles

Ashlesha Trehan of Team Ace returns to Charvi Kawle of High Tide during their MSL match

tie against Bhavitavya Shah and Charvi Kawle 11-8, 11-4, 12-10. In the men’s singles, Torgalkar sidelined Bhavitavya Shah 12-10, 11-4, 11-4. Earlier, Maharashtra state champion Ravindra Kotiyan and Mrunmayee Mhatre were instrumental in leading Supreme Fighters to a 6-3 win over Blazing

Bashers in a Group ‘B’ league match. Results: Ace bt High Tide 5-4 (Veteran’s singles: Suhas Kulkarni bt Nitin Walawalkar 11-4, 11-6, 11-6; Men’s singles: Omkar Torgalkar bt Bhavitavya Shah 12-10, 11-4, 11-4; Women’s singles: Ashlesha Trehan bt Charvi Kawle 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10; Junior mixed doubles: Shivam Das/Manasi Chiplunkar lost to Mandar Hardikar/ Diya Chitale 6-11, 6-11, 6-11; Cadet boys singles: Kushal Patel lost to Rajveer Shah 8-11, 13-11, 5-11, 11-5; Senior mixed doubles: Omkar Torgalkar/Ashlesha Trehan bt Bhavitavya Shah/ Charvi Kawle 11-8, 11-4, 12-10; Junior girls: Mansi Chiplunkar lost to Diya Chitale 7-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 911; Veteran & men’s doubles: Suhas Kulkarni/Omkar Torgalkar bt Nitin Walawalkar/Bhavitavya Shah 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8; Junior boys: Shivam Das lost to Mandar Hardikar 911, 5-11, 7-11.

Dattaraj, Dempo set to quit FC Goa Marcus.Mergulhao @timesgroup.com

Panaji: FC Goa’s long-running and bitter battle with the Indian Super League (ISL) is set to end later this week with the departure of co-owners Dattaraj Salgaocar and Shrinivas Dempo. Dattaraj and Dempo have collectively held 65 per cent stake in the Goan franchise since inception in 2014 and were actively involved in the running of the franchise, helping FC Goa become one of the most loved brand. But when the third edition of the ISL kicks off in October, both will not be around and instead the franchise will be taken over by a new owner. Videocon and cricketer Virat Kohli will continue as co-owners.

ISL FIASCO The FC Goa duo’s exit from the franchise is likely to come out in the open on Sunday. Sources said, during the ISL Appeal Panel hearing in Mumbai, the duo will express regret – through their lawyers – over the fracas that ensued after the final. The change in stance from FC Goa means the one-man ISL Appeals Panel comprising of Justice Kshitij Vyas, former chief justice of the Bombay High Court, could take a lenient view and allow FC Goa to start afresh, possibly without any points deduction. Dattaraj and Dempo were both banned for three and two years respectively for bringing the ISL into disrepute for boycotting the ISL prize distribution ceremony. With the exit now evident, it’s more than likely that the suspensions will be lifted as well.

‘PEOPLE WILL KEEP GIVING YOU NEW TAGS AND NEW NAMES’ Pics: Santosh Bane

Team TOI Sport

jinkya Rahane’s journey from a young boy who lugged a heavy kitbag in the local trains as he travelled four hours a day to make it to Azad Maidan from Dombivli and back, to the current vicecaptain of the Test team and India’s best all-weather batsman in Tests has been a heady one. On a welcome break after a hectic season, the elegant middle-order batsman took time out from his training schedule at BKC and indulged in a 45-minute interaction with the TOI Mumbai sports team. During the conversation, the man curiously nicknamed Jinx, shed light on how karate helped him maintain composure, the fire and ice combination with Virat Kohli and his ability to score challenging hundreds in tough conditions at historic Test venues. Excerpts: How has the break been for you? We’ve seen you post nice pictures on social media? I really enjoyed my break. After a long time, we got a break. I went on a holiday with my wife. We’ve been playing continuously since last year’s IPL. We went to Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka and Australia. It was a long season. If you are a professional cricketer, you need that break at times. I started training at the BKC five days ago and I am focusing on the West Indies series. The pictures on social media paint you as a fun-loving person. It is almost the exact opposite of the serious, focused athlete you are on the field. I am a fun-loving person and I am keen to improve my image even off the field which is important. Till now I was focusing on things on the field. Now, I have got to know from my managers that even off-the-field activities are important. You have robust characters around you in the team, people who don’t hold back. How do you manage to hold yourself back in such situations? What do you mean when you say ‘hold yourself back’? If you look at Rohit Sharma confronting Steve Smith or Virat confronting anybody, how do you hold back? You must have heard a lot of chatter in Australia. That is my way of dealing with things. Every person is different on the field. I don’t like to express

RAHANE UNPLUGGED myself. If I stay composed, cool and calm, I can be aggressive through my batting not through my actions. That is my mantra. I like to stick to that because whenever I got angry on the field, I didn’t do well. I realised very early that if I stay calm under pressure, I can do much better. You went after Mitchell Johnson at the MCG in December 2014. Was it a reaction to what was said to you? Not too many batsmen have taken Johnson on. He was actually going after Virat. During that innings, I just felt as if I must take him on. I was visualizing my innings and how I am going to attack all the bowlers when I was watching Virat and Vijay bat. Once I went in and got set, I told Virat I am going to take the bowlers on. If you look back at the Indian teams that have done well in Australia, they have all played attacking cricket. We really wanted to play attacking cricket in Australia and dominate them and we wanted to show them that we are here to win. You have a tendency to play special knocks at historic venues like Lord’s, Wanderers, MCG. Many top cricketers get nervous while playing in big venues, but you seem to enjoy it. I never think about the results whenever I step on

MAN FOR ALL SEASONS: Ajinkya Rahane at The Times Of India Mumbai office on Wednesday

to the field. I like to focus on preparation, routines and processes. For me, every ground is equally important. You have to adapt quickly to different conditions and wickets. I don’t think about big venues or small venues. You started off as a top-order batsman and then shifted down. How did that happen? When I was playing for Mumbai, the management said it will be beneficial for the team if I batted at No. 3. I accepted that challenge. For me the team always comes first. I wanted to do well at No.3. Rahul Dravid is my role model and he batted at No.3. You grew up idolising Dravid, but you are thrust into a role that VVS Laxman used to essay... Just because I bat at No. 5, people will start comparing me with Laxman bhai. If I bat at No.3, the

comparisons will be made with Rahul Dravid. If I bat at No.4, the comparisons with Sachin paaji will be made. I have idolized Rahul bhai and Sachin paaji as a child, but it is important to stick to your game and not copy any one. I got to learn a lot from Laxman bhai when I was with the team from 2011. I saw how he prepared before he went out to bat at No.5 or 6. He used to take a shower and nap and just walk in when his turn came. You are among the best Test batsmen in the world at the moment. Opposition bowlers would be putting in extra effort to get you out. Also, India play 18 Tests this season year. How do you look at the forthcoming challenges? I am really excited about these 17-18 Tests in the coming year. But at the moment I am only looking at the West Indies series where we will play four

‘Dombivli to Lord’s, the journey has been amazing’ Team TOI Sport

Mumbai: They say success is 99% perspiration and one % inspiration. If you take a look at India batsman Ajinkya Rahane’s career, you would know why that adage is true. As a skinny kid, he used to wake up in the wee hours of morning and leave his house in Dombivli at 5 am to make it in time for practice at Azad Maidan. Recalling his journey, the batsman got a bit misty-eyed and in between generous sips of mineral water, he narrated how he made it big.

“I still remember those days travelling from Dombivli to CST, Shivaji Park, Azad Maidan, and Cross Maidan. I used to start my day at 5 am, walk down to Dombivli station to catch a train, because I used to go back to Kalyan and from Kalyan I would travel to CST. Dombivli is too crowded now. Even then it was very crowded, so I would go back to Kalyan, keep my kit bag in the train and go to CST. I really learnt a lot from that journey,” he stressed. People travelling in the local trains would tell you how you encounter hostility, gen-

erosity and empathy from fellow travellers and Rahane was fortunate to have people who were supportive. “I would just sleep on the train. People would sing bhajans and people actually helped me a lot by giving me space to keep my kit bag and they actually took care of me. I would walk from Cross Maidan to Elf or to Azad Maidan, play a game and return. This experience made me strong and patient as a cricketer. I always thought that if I travel four to five hours in a day, I want to do something special.”

Tests. I always like to prepare myself really well and stay two-three steps ahead of my opposition so that I can outplay and dominate them. My preparation has been really good and I always give importance to minute details. You have risen steadily among the ranks and have become the vice-captain. How do you see yourself in that role especially on away tours where you will have a lot of say in meetings? I am really excited about this new role. I am not the type of guy who will go to the captain each and every time and tell him certain things. But I just want to be prepared all the time so that when Virat comes to me, I should have an answer for his question. It helps to have a calm vice-captain especially when the captain is… (laughter) As I said, everyone is different. Being aggressive is actually very good for Virat because it comes very naturally to him and he can get the best out of himself. For me, being calm and composed has really helped me on and off the field. But our combination has been really good. We enjoy each other’s company be it on the field and while batting. We discuss cricket during practice sessions, during the game and also on flights. For someone who has played top class cricket for 10-12 years, how difficult or easy is it for a batsman to mould his game to a different level? Domestic cricket helped me know my game better. I played five-six years of domestic cricket before getting into the Indian team. At the highest level, it’s not about technique all the time. It’s about how you are looking to improve your game day by day, match by match and series by series. I don’t give too much importance to technique. All your Test runs have come on different pitches. When you go in at 40-3, what do you tell yourself? When I go out to bat in that sort of a situation, my mindset is always to give the first 30 minutes to the bowlers. Just respect them, just try and see what the wicket is doing and then score runs all the time. If I am batting on 25-30 odd, I always want to score runs. I bat at No. 5 and it’s important to score at that number because sometimes you bat with the lower order or the

bowlers. That’s what I learnt from VVS Laxman and even MS Dhoni who have batted with the tail-enders. It’s important to score runs in Tests with the lowerorder and the bowlers because the partnerships you get with them actually frustrates the opposition. We have seen you in all formats. You have done well and then suddenly you get branded as a Test specialist... (Laughs) I don’t think about all these things. People will give you some tags. It’s important for you guys to change this tag now. You can write this in your newspaper and change my tag. All that I think about is improving with every game and that’s what I have been doing. Were you always a very good fielder, or did you have to work towards it? I always enjoyed fielding, but, yes, I always give 10-15 minutes extra to my fielding, because now-a-days, you can win games by taking a brilliant catch or effecting a run-out. Saving 10-15 runs for your team is huge. I place a lot of importance to slip catching; I take 100 to 150 catches every day after batting in the nets. Even on match days, I take 50 to 100 catches. Practice makes you perfect. You are also comfortable throwing with both hands. We have seen batsmen attempting switch hits, reverse hits, reverse scoops. Is throwing with both hands going to be the next challenge for players? It’s very good to have another option with you because if your right elbow is injured you can throw with your left hand. You don’t want to sit out for that particular reason. So I am just working on that. My underarm throw with the left hand is really strong. I can throw from 30 yards, but I am working on throwing from the boundary. What role did your parents play? My parents just wanted me to play some sport. Nowadays, kids are sitting at home and playing on their PlayStation or mobile or I pad. It’s not good. You just want to go outside and play some outdoor games. So I used to practise karate. I used to attend cricket practice in the morning and afternoon and go for karate in the evenings again. In between, there was school. My father just told me to try and give 100 % in whatever you do and not look for short cuts. That’s quite unusual. Most fathers want their children to spend lot of time with their books He told me ‘focus on your studies as well’. But he got to know from my neighbours that my technique looks good and they told him he should try and get him into cricket’. He just told me ‘whatever you are doing, do it with 100 % commitment. You mentioned your cricketing role models. What about role models from other sport? Roger Federer. Just because of how he handles pressure. He is very calm and composed. Do you still practise karate? No. I finished my karate long time back. But I still know some moves (laughter). I can defend myself and my family. The Olympics are around and there are high expectations from the Indian contingent. Do you feel the overall outlook to sport in India is changing? Yes. People are giving importance to each and every sport now. Football is becoming bigger. There’s the ISL happening, you also have a kabaddi league happening, a badminton league happening. You have a futsal league too. It’s important to back every sport. You pouched a lot of catches off Ashwin’s bowling. What is it that works for you two as a combination? I think we understand each other really well — me as a slip fielder, Ashwin as a bowler. His hand movements, sometimes he will just do this (illustrates to explain Ashwin’s signals). I know how Ashwin bowls. It actually came because of practise. We talk about his bowling, about my slip catching. Are you following the pink ball discussion? I was watching the game (CAB Super League final) in Kolkata. I just saw five to 10 overs. I’m not thinking about that now. But yes, the Duleep Trophy is coming up after the West Indies series. There was more bounce than the red ball. And more movement with this pink ball. It will be challenging and we’ll see how it goes in the Duleep Trophy.

It is difficult for us to play in counties. But I remember when Zak bhai (Zaheer Khan) went there and played for Worcestershire; he came back and did really well for India. It even helped Rahul bhai. Nowadays it is difficult for us to play in county cricket unless you are free for six to eight months. There is no point in playing just one or two games I am not the type of guy who will go to the captain each and every time and tell him certain things. But I just want to be prepared. When Virat comes to me I should have an answer for his question. —Ajinkya Rahane, INDIA BATSMAN

Times Special Kabaddi world Cup Promotion

Know your KABAddi moves india’s indigenous sport has undergone a sea change in the last three years. While the basics remain the same, the game has been jazzed up to attract more eyeballs. Here are the new rules of engagement...

PlAying PosiTions righT Corner

righT Cover

righT in

CenTre

raiD POint

lefT in

lefT Cover

tacKLE POint

lefT Corner

SUPEr raiD

When a raider scores a bonus point or touches a defender and returns to his court within 30 seconds, a raid point is awarded.

When defenders prevent a raider from returning to the mid-line within 30 seconds of the raid, a tackle point is awarded to the defending team.

if a raider succeeds in picking up three or more raid points from the rival team in a single attempt, the move is referred to as a super raid.

SUPEr tacKLE

DO-Or-DiE raiD

aLL OUt

When a team has three or less defenders on court and they successfully tackle an opposition raider, an additional point is awarded and the tackle is called a super tackle.

if a team has two back-to- back raids without scoring a point, the third raid becomes a do-or-die raid. the raider has to score a point in this third raid, else he is deemed out.

When all players of a team are out, an all-out is imposed upon them and the opposition team is awarded two extra points. the play is started by recalling all players of the team which suffered the all-out back on court.

POtEntiaL ChAllengers riSing money sTAKes india may not have it easy this time as other teams have improved considerably. two teams, however, can pose a serious challenge to the favourites.

Pro Kabaddi League has raised the stakes for players. this year alone `12.82 crore was spent during the auction. Here are the top five earners

irAn

souTh KoreA

iranian team has the athleticism, speed and agility and if india does get complacent, they can cause a big upset. they nearly did that in the 2014 asian games when they lead by 16-7 and 21-13 before the indians heroically pulled it back. to add to iranians’ armoury is the fact Fazel atrachali (Patna Pirates) and Meraj Sheykh (Dabang Delhi) have gained valuable experience by playing with and against the indians. Both of these players are as good as an indian player. it’s only the combined wealth of indian talent, and experience, that helps india become the super dog.

MOHit ChhillAr: the

Jan Kun Lee is a known name in PKL and the South Korean surely knows more about kabaddi now than he must have before he started his stint with PKL team Bengal Warriors. Surely, the boyish-faced Kun Lee would have definitely shared his wisdom, earned from PKL, with his teammates. if kabaddi is about agility and athleticism then Kun Lee and the other Koreans would definitely be a step ahead of the indians. With their diligence and focus, they have become a good kabaddi nation is a known fact. the country had finished a creditable third in the asian games and they are a power to be reckoned with.

defender from nizampur was bagged by Bengaluru Bulls from U Mumba for an astonishing amount of `53 lakh. the 22-year-old is highest grosser till date and he’s lived up to the billing.

JEEva KumAr: the powerfully built defender known for his hard tackle came at a price tag of `40 lakh for U Mumba. JaSMEr SingH guliA: the

Haryana cop may have fallen out with the selectors but telugu titans paid Puneri Paltan `35.5 lakh to get him on board. the 33-year-old from Panipat was part of the team that won gold at the 2010 asian games.

SanDEEP nArwAl:

telugu titans paid Patna Pirates a whopping `45.5 lakh to sign the all-rounder. the 23-year-old has good overall solid game.

SHaBEEr BAPPu: He aspired to be a long jumper but found his calling in kabbadi. the man from Palakkad switched his loyalties to Jaipur Pink Panthers for `32.2 lakh.

ParticiPating CounTries Pool A

india

South Korea australia

England

Pool B

Bangladesh

argentina

iran

thailand

Japan

USa

Poland

Kenya

‘We know a billion eyes will be following us’ we are going to be in a familiar territory and that is going to be a plus for us. we have been playing under same rules for last few years and all our team members have adapted it. we have kind of developed an understanding of the rules

shailendra.Awasthi@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: India’s kabbadi captain Anup Kumar has been a member of the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games gold medal winning squad. The strongman from Haryana is confident that India will not let the World Cup go anywhere the tremendous pressure of playing at home, notwithstanding. The deputy commissioner of police bared his thoughts to TOI on the upcoming World Cup. Here are the excerpts:

— Anup Kumar

do you feel the pressure of playing a big event at home?

Yes certainly. Playing for country always puts a lot of pressure on us as any mistake on our part can cost nation dearly. We may be in midst of action but back of mind we always feel a billion eyes are watching us with great expectation.

what are india’s chances to retain the world Cup?

I think even if we play to 80 per cent of our potential, we will still win the world cup. The reason for my confidence is that I think we are still far ahead of the competition because we have a big professional league in our country and have a rich pool of talent.

This world Cup will be played with the rules that are applied in Pro Kabaddi. do you see it as an advantage?

Yes certainly. We are going to be in a familiar territory and that is going to be a

of the World Cup, it was Iran who we had to fight in title clash. Besides them I think South Korea and Japan are other teams that will be tough to beat.

what about countries in the fray?

plus point for us. We have been playing under same rules for last few years and all our team members have adapted to it. We have kind of developed an understanding of the rules and they are at back of our mind.

which team can pose a challenge to us?

I think Iran would be a tough team to beat. They too have a league of their own in their country. We also have top Iranian players like Hadi Oshtorak, Meraj Sheykh and Fazel Atrachali playing in Pro Kabaddi. They are good players and have developed a fan following in India. Don’t forget that in the last two editions

The other teams like Poland, Argentina, Kenya, USA etc. can be tricky opponents as they are an unknown quantity to us. We don’t really what are their strengths and weaknesses. So it is going to be interesting. Such teams will help us remain at our toes.

most indian players play for different teams at the competitive level, how is the squad getting along?

That’s where the training camp has helped us greatly. Our coaches Balwan Singh and K Bhaskaran sir have been trying different combination to develop the understanding between players. It’s helped us to anticipate better and quicken our reflexes.

tEAm INDIA sEt to tAKE oN thE thuNDER thAIs

wILL Put thEIR BEst Foot FoRwARD: captains from the four semifinalists teams pose with the silverware on thursday

India Overwhelming Favourites Against Thailand In Semifinals Dhananjay.Roy@ timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad: If, at all, India needed a wake-up call at the Kabaddi World Cup, they got it on October 7, the opening day of the tournament, itself. Few had expected the twotime defending champions, and seven-time Asian Games gold-medallists to be upstaged by South Korea, but that’s how things panned out in front of 3,000-odd spectators, who were left dazed at the outcome. Anup Kumar & Co. risked no over-confidence thereafter, and as things stand, India start favourites to enter the final when they take on Thailand in the second semifinal this evening. In a way, the narrow 34-32 defeat to the Koreans was just what the doctor ordered for a team that started

overwhelming favourites to reclaim the title. The stinging loss had an immediate impact and the string of impressive wins thereafter – 54-20 over Australia, 57-20 over Bangladesh, 74-20 over Argentina and 69-18 over England, is evidence enough that India are set to retain the title. “I could not sleep after the Korea match. All of us found it difficult to digest that we had lost the opening game,” Anup Kumar said on Thursday. “We held a meeting the next day to analyse where things had gone wrong. I told

INDIA

Surender Nada (15 points). Nada, in particular, has used his ankle-hold abilities to bring about the fall of some of the best raiders in the field. Although the hosts will fancy a smooth ride into the final where they will face either Iran or Korea, India will take the Thai lads lightly at their own peril. The SouthEast Asian nation has the youngest team in the competition and if there’s one quality they have shown throughout, it’s their ability to never give up, as Japan found out in a tight contest on Wednesday.

I could not sleep after the Korea match. All of us found it difficult to digest that we had lost the opening game — Anup Kumar, IndIa captaIn

south KoREA

IRAN

KEY PLAYER

KEY PLAYER:

KEY PLAYER

PArdeeP NARwAL

KHOnKAn ChANJARoEN

JAng Kun LEE A speed

FAzeL AtRAChALI

CAPtAIN’s CoRNER

captain is synonymous with the rise in popularity of Kabaddi in South Korea. He already established his credibility in the 2014 Asian games, 2016 Beach games (bronze medal). He manages the team from the left cover position and displays perfect timing in his tackles.

Tactical leader: If Fazel takes calls on a raid-toraid basis, Meraj calls the shots when it comes to making tactical decisions and controlling the game. In PKL 4, he led Indian players and was at the helm of affairs as captain of dabang delhi. He has shown in the past that he can turn around the scoreline in no time with his quick thinking.

He does not plan his raids, but attacks based on the cover defender’s movements. He is also an escape artist — he goes for the kill by creating gaps and then uses his escaping skills to avoid the struggle and retreat to the midline

CAPtAIN’s CoRNER AnuP KumAR

He Leads by example, taking responsibility whenever India is in a crunch situation, both in offence and defence. He is a strategist, setting up play in his raids for his successive raiders to attack. He is a tactician, controlling the pace of the match according to the state of play. It helps that he is large-hearted to take a back seat in the interest of team.

rOAd TO SeMIS

right corner with good raiding skills. Safe defender who takes his time to go for tackles. Prefers to play in the shadow of his captain. good judge of pursuits

CAPtAIN’s CoRNER

KHOMSAn thoNgKhAm

Leads from the front — he is the top scoring raider after the league phase. Though only 24 years old, he shows remarkable maturity in guiding the young squad. Bronze medal in 2014 Asian games and 2016 Asian Beach games. Bonus points are his forte and can really rattle the opposition by not allowing to pull away to a big lead

v/s

rOAd TO SeMIS Lost to Iran 23-64 Win v/s Poland 65-25 Win v/s Kenya 53-21 Win v/s uSA 69-22 Win v/s Japan 37-33

Lost to rep. of Korea 32-34 Won v/s Australia 54-20 Won v/s Bangladesh 57-20 Won v/s Argentina 74-20 Won v/s england 69-18

KWC reCOrdS

Showed great mental strength to oust Japan despite the pressure of a play-off berth. did not stretch themselves too much against the stronger Iranians, saving themselves for the remaining games to stay firmly in the semi-final race. Appears a skillful side with an India flavor, thanks to years of training under coaches from the subcontinent. Players have stood by Khomsan, their leader in the middle.

Most Tackle Points in a match — 24 v/s Argentina no tackle point conceded v/s Australia

STYLe OF PLAY

Kabaddi World Cup Promotion

thAILAND

the players very clearly that if we don’t learn quickly, we will get knocked out. Everyone, including me, was told about where we had fallen short, and after that we were determined not to repeat those mistakes,” the skipper added. India have been riding high on the raiding form of veteran Ajay Thakur (41 points) and youngster Pardeep Narwal (33 points) and the duo will have to carry the weight of the side against Thailand as well. That’s because, Anup a top-class raider, has not found his groove yet, with only 15 points to his credit. “Ajay and Pardeep have done well. Their effort has taken some pressure off me, but I will definitely have to score and help the team,” admitted the veteran of many a bruising battle. The Indian defence has been well served by the presence of Surjeet (17 tackle points), all-rounder Manjeet Chhillar (17 points) and

India play skillfully, strategically and calculatively. A perfect mix of precision of timing and application of the most optimal counteractive skill. raiders are the benchmark of footwork and application of preplanned strategies.

Finished on top of Pool B ahead of Iran despite the poor start

STYLe OF PLAY

machine, his lightning-fast attacks and sharp footwork leave the defence with little time to react. Jang Kun Lee’s escaping style of using his full body strength for powerful retreats to the midline makes defenders hesitant to indulge in a struggle against him. He is one of the quickest raiders while executing frontal attacks through the toe-touch, hand-touch or the kick

HOng dOng Ju The

rOAd TO SeMIS

Won v/s India 34-32 Won v/s Argentina 68-42 Won v/s Bangladesh 35-32 Won v/s Australia 65-23 Won v/s england 56-17

KWC reCOrdS

Fastest All-out inflicted – v/s Argentina, 2 minutes, 25 seconds

STYLe OF PLAY

Speed is their biggest weapon. growing maturity in handling tough match situations. Out of the Box raiding and defensive skills, basic skills through extensive practice, maturity and a newly gained confidence is what South Korea is riding high on. They can bounce even when trailing.

He is the leader on the mat, controlling not only their defence, but also takes the call on attack based on the situation in defence. He is mature, experienced, intimidating, powerful and confident. Fazel’s upper body strength and wrestling-type stance make him highly successful in solo and advanced tackles

MerAJ shEYKh

v/s

rOAd TO SeMIS

Won v/s uSA 52-15 Won v/s Thailand 64-23 Won v/s Kenya 33-28 Won v/s Japan 38-34 Lost v/s Poland 25-41

KWC reCOrdS

Conceded the least tackle points in a match — 1, v/s uSA

STYLe OF PLAY

They are the most aggressive team. They not only put pressure on the opposition with their powerful defensive skills but stand out for their success in supertackles. This is a result of their attitude and brute force.

Visakhapatnam: The preDiwali fireworks were not too many but there was joy unbridled for Team India as they took the ODI series against New Zealand 3-2 at the ACAVDCA Stadium here on Saturday night. With the Kiwis chasing 270, a peach of a delivery in the first over by pacer Umesh Yadav castled opener Martin Guptill to give the hosts early momentum. There was no looking back after that as the Kiwi were snuffed out for just 79 in 23.1 overs. The visitors, who were aiming for a first series win in India, came a cropper against the slower

Logo Here

bowlers too. After Umesh and then Jasprit Bumrah did the early damage, the spinners spun a web from which the Kiwis couldn’t extricate themselves. With their best batsmen – Tom Latham (19) — failing to a Bumrah delivery which stopped on him, the chase was never on. Skipper Kane Williamson (27), who played a few silken drives, too perished while trying to hit his way out of trouble. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra (5/18) made the Kiwis dance to his tune as he proved virtually unplayable. The visitors were shot out for 79, which incidentally is the lowest score on this ground. The 190-run victory saved India the blushes since the hosts had lost two ODI series — 2-3 to South Africa and 1-4

Happy Diwali

NUMBERS GAME

399 53.4

he said. “We expect a lot more of our batting, and losing 8 wickets for 20 or whatever it is unacceptable. Playing against one of the best sides in the world, there is room to learn. A lot of it comes on the back of losses, so tough lessons. But it’s important we take them in. The disappointment is very fresh after a performance like this,” he added.

Amit Mishra

N.Zealand

India

14.33

5/18

Anil Kumble

Pakistan

Canada

12.23

4/12

Harbhajan Singh

England

India

15.58

5/31

New Zealand’s lowest completed innings totals in ODIs TOTAL

OPPONENT

‘Wasn’t easy sitting out of Test matches’ Solomon.Kumar @timesgroup.com

to Australia — at home in the recent past. After winning the toss, Dhoni choose to bat despite the track record at the ground suggesting otherwise. Was it a gut feeling or had he read the conditions well? With Dhoni it could well be a combination of both. Whatever it was, the skipper was spot on. The Indians failed to get the kind of start they would have liked. It took the skill and ingenuity of a back-among-theruns Rohit Sharma (70; 65b, 5x4, 3x6), Virat Kohli (65; 76b, 2x4, 1x6) and Dhoni himself (41; 59b, 4x4, 1x6) to set things up for the final assault. Kedar Jadhav (39*; 37b, 2x4, 1x6) and Axar Patel (24; 18b, 1x4, 1x6) struck some bold blows at the death to take India to 269 for six. TIME TO GO: Martin Guptill is bowled by paceman Umesh Yadav for nought at Vizag on Saturday. (Below) MS Dhoni with the trophy Rohit and Kohli’s innings were a study SCOREBOARD in contrast. Rohit, who was slow off the India blocks, warmed up Number of Number of A Rahane c Latham b Neesham after the fall of Raconsecutive wickets 20, R Sharma c Neesham b Boult hane. The Mumbaimatches captured by 70, V Kohli c Guptill b Sodhi 65, MS kar choose to attack without an Amit Mishra at Dhoni lbw b Santner 41, M Pandey the Kiwis and lined opening partnership of an average of 14.33 — his best c Boult b Sodhi 0, K Jadhav not up leggie Ish Sodhi fifty for India in ODIs at performance in an ODI series out 39, A Patel b Boult 24, J Yadav for some special treatment. He home — their last opening against a strong opponent — not out 1 struck two fours and two sixes stand of 50-plus being two his second best overall next Extras (b-1, lb-1, w-7) 9 in Sodhi’s first three overs but years ago — 62 by Ajinkya only to the 18 (ave.11.61) in Total (6 wickets; 50 overs) 269 the shot of the day was the Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan five matches vs Zimbabwe in Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-119, 3-190, first six he hit off James Neevs Sri Lanka in 2014. 2013. 4-195, 5-220, 6-266 sham – it left Kohli open Bowling: T Southee 10-0-56-0, T mouthed! An injury he sufBoult 10-0-52-2, J Neesham 6-0fered while stealing a run Despite 30-1, M Santner 10-0-36-1, I Sodhi hampered Rohit in the latter posting 10-0-66-2, C Anderson 4-0-27-0 Rahane b Mishra 0; T Boult not part of his innings. only out 1 On the other hand, Kohli Run-aggregate accomplished one 50 in the series, Rohit New Zealand Extras (w-6) 6 choose to play the waiting by Virat Kohli in four innings Sharma is averaging 50-plus in M Guptill b U Yadav 0, T Latham c J Total (all out; 23.1 overs) 79 game. He ran his singles and at an average of 99.75 at the ODIs since Jan 2013 — his tally Yadav b Bumrah 19, K Williamson Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-28, 3-63, twos hard and kept rotating ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium being 3153 (@53.44) in 67 c Jadhav b Patel 27, R Taylor c 4-66, 5-66, 6-74, 7-74, 8-74, 9-76, the strike. The vice-captain here — the most recorded matches, including eight Dhoni b Mishra 19, J Neesham 10-79 strung a 79-run stand with by him in any home venue hundreds. Among Indians he is b Mishra 3, BJ Watling b Mishra Bowling: U Yadav 4-0-28-1, J Rohit for the second wicket in ODIs. He has hit one ton the only one to have averaged 0, C Anderson lbw b J Yadav 0, Bumrah 5-0-16-1, A Patel 4.1-0and then added 71 for the third here. 50-plus in four years (2013-16). M Santner b Patel 4, T Southee 9-2, A Mishra 6-2-18-5, J Yadav wicket with Dhoni, who yet —Rajesh Kumar st Dhoni b Mishra 0, S Sodhi c 4-0-8-1 again showed that he has warmed up to his new role as a No.4 bat. By the time Kohli Indian bowlers — most wickets in a 5-match bilateral ODI series fell, he had laid the foundation BOWLER OPPONENT VENUE M WKTS AVE BEST 5WI for what turned out to be a formidable score. Amit Mishra Zimbabwe Zim 5 18 11.61 6/48 1

Williamson at loss of words Visakhapatnam: After the defeat on Saturday, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was at a loss to explain this acute turn of events. “We pride ourselves on learning game to game, and today we didn’t show that. It’s very hard to look past today’s performance for us, you expect to put up a good performance whether we win or lose and today we were terrible,”

PTI

OVERS

VENUE

DATE

35.5

1.78

26.3

2.75

Pakistan

Sharjah

15-4-1986

Sri Lanka

Auckland

31.1

2.37

Pakistan

Sharjah

6-1-2007 1-5-1990

29.0

2.55

Australia

Wellington

20-2-1982

23.1

3.41

India

Visakhapatnam

29-10-2016

25.2

3.71

Australia

Christchurch

4-3-1990

33.4

2.88

Australia

Faridabad

29-10-2003

Visakhapatnam: The frustration of having to sit out the Test series against New Zealand seems to have made legspinner Amit Mishra determined to prove a point. In the ODI series which concluded here on Saturday night, the Delhi spinner took 15 wickets at an average of 14.33 – the best among all the bowlers on either side. Mishra’s 5/18 in the final game was incidentally his second five-for in ODIs in 36 matches. Mishra didn’t mince words when asked about the frustration of having to sit out, but added that coach Anil Kumble’s tips had helped him tide over the low phase. “Anil bhai helped me become mentally tough. It was not easy missing out on action during the Test series but he kept on telling me to be patient and that I will get my chance. He gave me a lot of small tips about my bowing and also asked me to improve my batting,” Mishra, who was named the Man of the Match as well as the Man of the Series, said after the match. “There was bounce and spin in the pitch, so bowling slowly, bowling nor mally worked for me. Anil bhai also talked to me about it before the match, to trust my strength, to trust the flighted balls,” he added. On the targets that he sets for himself, Mishra said: “I don’t think about it. The day I keep setting long-term goals, the pressure will increase. I keep my focus on the match on hand. My aim is to look how I can take wickets and win matches.”

Logo Here “I know I have to keep on taking wickets. Whenever I get to bowl, my only aim is to get wickets. I have decided to focus on things which are in my control like taking wickets and scoring runs. Playing a match is not in my hands and I stopped worrying about it. When given a chance, I try to make the most of it and contribute to the team’s cause,” he added. Mishra said he was very happy with the outcome of the series. “It was a pressure match and I am happy that I was able to do well in this game. We had put in a lot of hard work and hence I am not surprised with the result. We knew that if we got a couple of early wickets, it will not be easy for them to chase the score against our attack. To perform in a crunch game gives one great satisfaction,” the 33-year-old spinner said. “Initially I was worried about the short boundaries but Dhoni told me not to worry about anything and to bowl normally,” he added before signing off. PTI

Dhoni happy with bowlers’ efforts

Visakhapatnam: India captain MS Dhoni lavished praise on his bowlers for the resounding series-clinching win over New Zealand in the fifth and final ODI here, describing the effort as “one of the best performances by the bowlers”. “It was one of the best performances by the bowlers. This was one game where the spinners bowled with a lot of assistance. Before this when we bowled first, the wicket was always better to bat in the first half. It was an exceptional performance as there was a bit of dew. The pace at which the spinners bowled was perfect,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “Mishra’s beauty is he bowls slow, so as a keeper you have time to recover,” he added. PTI

India celebrate the fall of New Zealand’s final wicket in Vizag on Saturday. Dhoni’s side won the five-match ODI series 3-2

@WashKastles

Mishra Triggers Kiwi Collapse In Series Decider Solomon.Kumar @timesgroup.com

TIMES SPORTAL

THE TIMES OF INDIA, BENGALURU WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

F S T

day 2

98 Runs, 5 Wkts

EDEN GARDENS HIGHLIGHTS

After a modest show with the bat, India fought back impressively to leave New Zealand in tatters with Bhuvneshwar Kumar claiming 5/33. The visitors trail by 188 runs and will have to perform a near miracle to fight back.

IRST SESSIoN

ECoND SESSIoN

64 Runs, 2 Wkt

HIRD SESSIoN

43 Runs, 3 Wkts Rain BREaK: A super sopper had to be pressed into service after it began raining at the Eden Gardens on Saturday afternoon

FINAL SCORE India 316-7; NZ 239-7

nuMBERs gaME

15 5/33 3 •

Runs scored by New Zealand’s top three batsmen — Martin Guptill 13, Tom Latham 1 and Henry Nicholls. The tally is their second lowest in the first innings of a Test vs India. At Motera in 2003, the top three had scored 14 — Mark Richardson 6, Lou Vincent 7 and Stephen Fleming 1.

•

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling figures — his best ever at home. His first five-wicket haul in Tests on Indian soil is his fourth in Tests — the best ever being 6/82 vs England at Lord’s in July 2014. In all, he has bagged two five-wicket hauls vs England and one each vs West Indies and New Zealand.

• Bhuvneshwar is the

third Indian speedster to bag five wickets or more in an innings vs New Zealand in Tests at home — the first two being Ramakant Desai (6/56) at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium in March 1965 and Javagal Srinath claiming 6/45 at Mohali in october 1999.

54 •

An excellent unbeaten knock off 85 balls played by Wriddhiman Saha — his maiden fifty in seven Tests at home, surpassing the 36 vs South Africa at Nagpur in February 2010. In overseas Tests, he has recorded a century and two fifties.

it was my dream to take five wickets in india. when i saw that the wicket would help me, i told myself i want to take five wickets. i really wanted to make use of the opportunity and i’m very happy with how i bowled —Bhuvneshwar Kumar indiA PAcEMAn

Rajesh Kumar

Bhuvi swings it india’s way Bcci

Seamers 5-33 Puts Hosts Right On Top archiman.Bhaduri@timesgroup.com

Kolkata: A 15-minute-shower robbed two-and-half hours of play and held up India’s surge towards victory against New Zealand in the second Test at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday. The hosts, however, took a stranglehold on the match after leaving New Zealand struggling on 128 for seven at stumps on Day II. New Zealand’s woeful batting display on a two-paced Eden track left them 188 runs behind India’s first innings tally of 316 with three days remaining in the match. Earlier in the day, the Indian tail wagged long enough to add 77 vital runs to their overnight tally of 239/7 before the hosts hit back with the ball. Wriddhiman Saha, playing his maiden Test on his home ground, made a superb unbeaten 54. He forged a useful 41-run stand for the eighth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja before added another 35 runs to the team’s tally with his Bengal mate Mohammad Shami. Saha, who had opened his account with a six on Day 1, hit left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner for a four and a six to bring up India’s 300 and his own half-century. If spin proved to be the Kiwis’ nemesis in Kanpur, they were undone by the pace and movement he combined lateral generated by Indian new-ball movement with bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami. The Indian pacers impeccable line and picked up a wicket apiece in 26 length. the best part minutes that New Zealand batted was he forced us to play before lunch to help their team every ball dominate the morning session. —Luke Ronchi | on Shami drew the first blood by Bhuvneshwar trapping opener Tom Latham leg-before wicket with a delivery that was angled into to the left-hander. Martin Guptill became Bhuvneshwar’s first victim as the under-pressure opener was bowled in a bizarre fashion. The right-hander shouldered arms to a delivery outside his off-stump but the ball bounced a bit more than he anticipated and hit this elbow before ricocheting on to his stumps. There was no respite for the Kiwis after the break as Bhuvneshwar had Henry Nicholls — playing in places of his indisposed skipper Kane Williamson — chopping the ball onto his stumps. Luke Ronchi and stand-in skipper Ross Taylor put up a brave front by taking the fight to the Indian pacers. Shami’s efforts to unsettle the duo with short deliveries didn’t quite pay off. Ronchi, swing’s BacK: Bhuvneshwar Kumar who pulled a short-one from Shami over square made the ball talk at Eden Gardens leg for a six, however, was a touch lucky when Gautam Gambhir, substituting for an indisposed Cheteshwar Pujara, failed to latch on to a difficult Guptill b Kumar 13, Latham lbw chance at point. India were somewhat lucky to Shami 1, Nicholls b Bhuvneshwar 1, see the back of Ronchi just before the rain interindia (i innings; o/n 239/7) Taylor c vijay b Bhuvneshwar 36, ruption. The batsman was declared lbw to Jadeja Saha (not out) 54, Jadeja c Henry b Ronchi lbw Jadeja 35, Santner lbw to a delivery appeared to be missing the leg stump. Wagner 14, Bhuvneshwar lbw Bhuvneshwar 11, Watling (batting) And when play resumed after the rain interSantner 5, Shami c Henry b Boult 14, 12, Henry b Bhuvneshwar 0, Patel ruption, Bhuvneshwar, picked ahead of Umesh Extras (B-8, LB-10) 18. (batting) 5. Extras: (B-5, LB-4, W-5) Yadav in this match, dismissed three more batstotal (all out; 104.5 overs) 316. 14. men to register his maiden five-wicket haul — Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-28, 3-46, 4-187, total: (For 7 wkts; 34 overs) 128. fourth overall — on Indian soil. 5-193, 6-200, 7-231, 8-272, 9-281. Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-18, 3-23, 4-85, Taylor was the first to succumb when he edged Bowling: Trent Boult 20.5-9-46-2, 5-104, 6-122, 7-122. one to first slip. Bhuvi began his 10th over in telling Matt Henry 20-6-46-3, Neil Wagner Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10-0fashion by removing Santner and Matt Henry with 20-5-57-2, Mitchell Santner 23-5 -8333-5, Mohammed Shami 11-0-46-1, his first two deliveries. While left-handed Santner 1, Jeetan Patel 21-3-66-2. Ravindra Jadeja 8-3-17-1, was caught plumb in front of the stumps, Henry new Zealand (i innings) Ravichandran Ashwin 5-2-23-0. was bowled through the gate.

scoREBoaRd

‘Focus was to build small partnerships’ archiman.Bhaduri @timesgroup.com

Kolkata: Modern-day wicketkeepers are considered to be all-rounders and are expected to perform consistently with the bat as well. Wriddhiman Saha is excelling in that role for Team India these days. The Bengal stumper followed up his maiden Test century, against the West Indies in St Lucia in August, with a useful unbeaten 54 in the second Test against New Zealand at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. Having gone out to the middle with India in a spot of bother at 200 for 6 in the final session on Thursday, the local boy — playing his first Test on home turf — batted well with the lower order to guide India to 316 in their first innings. Talking about his approach on the second morning, after resuming on 14, Saha said: “Our plan was to extend our partnerships and carry the innings past 300.” He said the focus was to build small partnerships of 15-20 runs to create pressure on the opposition. Saha said he enjoyed batting with the tailenders and looked to rotate the strike as much as possible. “We have a good understanding amongst teammates. So we were able to rotate the

strike easily,” he observed. Saha said it was not an easy pitch to bat on. “It was seaming a bit. So we decided not to miss out on scoring chances off loose balls. Otherwise we would not have got past 250 or 260,” quipped Saha, who hit two sixes and seven fours in his 85-ball knock. Saha praised Bhuvneshwar Kumar for tilting the scales of the Test decisively in India’s favour with his five-wicket burst. “We have a good bench strength and the team is formed as per the conditions (of the venue). It is a seaming track here and thus thought Bhuvi will prove to be useful,” he said, explaining the team management’s decision to bring in the UP seamer in place of Umesh Yadav, who played in the first Test.

Batting on his home turf, Saha came into his own

Relaid Eden track left Black Caps surprised Kathakali. Banerjee @timesgroup.com

Kolkata: Ravindra Jadeja is turning out to be Luke Ronchi’s nemesis. After getting out to the left-arm spinner in both innings (38 and 80) in the Kanpur Test, Ronchi fell leg-before wicket to Jadeja on Day-2 of the second Test at Eden Gardens on Saturday. To be fair to Ronchi, the ball appeared to be missing the leg stump. The Kiwi batsman, however, took it in his stride, saying, “We have to accept the umpire’s decision.. Such things happen. You get away with some while some go against you. All I can do is stay positive and hit the ball well,” Ronchi said after the day’s play. The Kiwis, including their captain Ross Taylor, were unhappy with the umpires’ decision to continue the action in fading light following a long stoppage caused by a sharp shower. Taylor, who had complained to the officials about the light, shortly before he was dismissed, left the ground shaking his head. “It’s obvious that he (Taylor) would react. But there’s nothing we can do. The umpires go by the reading on the light meter. It’s their decision,” Ronchi said.

Opener Martin Guptil makes a meal of out of a Mohammad Shami delivery

Ronchi also admitted that the Kiwis were surprised by the Eden track, which unlike the one in Kanpur, has aided pacers. “A lot of us were quite surprised when we saw the grass on the pitch. The spinners have not turned it as much as we thought. Jadeja was bowling stump-to-stump and getting balls to skid but I guess a lot of people would not have expected the seam bowlers to take as many wickets as they have through the Test,” said Ronchi. Asked about Bhuvneshwar’s fine spell, Ronchi said: “He combined lateral movement with impeccable line and length. He forced us to play every ball.”

Bhuvneshwar proved his worth at Eden stRaight dRivE SuNIL GAvASKAR

huvneshwar Kumar is one of those cricketers who lets his deeds do the talking. He would have been perfectly justified in being peeved at being left out of the team for the historic 500th Test in Kanpur. After all, just a couple of Tests earlier he had bagged another “Michelle” in the West Indies. The next Test was washed out so he had done nothing wrong to be left out for Kanpur. Be that as it may, the unassuming seam bowler

showed exactly why he should be a fixture in the Indian bowling line-up with another “Michelle” five-for at the Eden Gardens. Earlier in the day, it was another quiet but solid performer — Wriddhiman Saha — who gave India the extra runs with a fine half-century. Saha, Ashwin and Jadeja give India’s batting the kind of depth that any skipper would love and their regular contributions are saving the blushes for the top order, which has still not fired as it should. Pujara is another player in the same quiet mould who is letting his bat speak for him. His partnership with Rahane rescued India from

the precarious position it found itself in. Both would be upset at missing out on hundreds because they had done all the hard work and deserved the prize of a Test century. The pitch is two-paced, a far cry from the ones the late Prabirda used to create at Eden Gardens. Batting will not be easy on this surface because of the tennis-balllike bounce. On a surface like

this no batsman feels he is set and has to be watchful all the while. India will be hoping to wrap up the Kiwi innings quickly and use the cushion of the lead to put themselves in an impregnable position. They will be hoping that their batsmen will show their appreciation of the bowlers’ efforts by a determined display with the bat. PMG

India brace for pace again Syed Asif

Fit-Again Vijay Could Return As Kohli & Co Look To Clinch Series Gros Islet, St Lucia: It’s back Test. And while it checked Into being patient for Team India dia’s march towards absolute here in the West Indies. It was dominance in the series, it also the theme players stuck to when infused some welcome competithey spoke before the series be- tive spirit into the contest. The fact remains, though, the gan. Pacer Mohammed Shami, speaking two days ahead of the India have been head and shoulstart of third Test, too felt pa- ders above the hosts so far and tience was going to be the key barring the final day in Jamaiwhen India take on West Indies ca, have been in control. They would be looking to finish the here from Tuesday. j o b h e re a n d Asked about clinch their sevthe plans the enth successive team might series triumph have come up over the Caribwith after the beans. West Infiasco on the fishashank.shekhar d i e s, t h o u g h , nal day of the @timesgroup.com would be in a s e c o n d Te s t , better frame of Shami said, “It was all about being patient in mind to repel India’s advance Test cricket. The more patience after the second-Test heroics. The pitch at the Darren Samyou show the better.” All set to wrap up the second my Cricket Stadium has been a Test in Jamaica to go 2-0 up in batsman’s paradise. If it stays the four-Test series, India were true to form then it’s difficult to hit by a double whammy – rain see how West Indies can take 20 took away more than 100 overs Indian wickets in the Test. The of play and on the final day, West script then could very well folIndies put up a stellar batting low what unfolded in Jamaica show to comfortably draw the – West Indies bowling a restric-

We should not doubt our ability going forward. We’re good enough to take 20 wickets — Virat kohli indiA cApTAin

TImes In WesT IndIes

FIT agaIn: Opener Murali Vijay, who missed the 2nd Test with a thumb injury, could be back

tive line to keep Indian batsmen in check and Indian bowlers trying to break through the West Indian batting line-up. A positive India captain Virat Kohli felt that the pitch was one where a result was very much possible. “The surface looks similar to Antigua (first Test) with an even grass covering. It should be hard enough. They didn’t have time to water it and roll it enough because of rains. But it should become hard. We’ve known this wicket to have a lot of bounce and carry where you have a chance to take five wickets on all five days,” Kohli said on Monday. Is opener Murali Vijay, who missed the second Test with a thumb injury but is back in practice, likely to play in the third Test? Kohli admitted that this was a vexatious issue the team had to deal with. “Cricket is sometimes a very uncertain game. Injuries are not in anyone’s hand. The good thing is

that all three openers (Vijay, Shikhar and Rahul) are playing well. The bad thing is that we have to choose only two. We will sit down on it later in the day.” Virat added that the team management would also be taking a look at the bowling combination and decide on the one ‘most suited to the condition here.’ About the lessons learnt in Jamaica, Virat again struck a positive note. “We should not doubt our ability going forward. We’re good enough to take 20 wickets. The bowlers are in a good mental frame.” Calling the Gros Islet pitch the ‘best in West Indies,’ home captain Jason Holder said that it was quicker that most tracks in the Caribbean. “There is a strong possibility that we may go for an extra pacer here,” Holder said. That may see leggie Devendra Bishoo making way for either Carlos Brathwaite or young Alzarri Joseph. The heat and humidity in Gros Islet is going to make this a sapping contest. Besides, rain and thunderstorms are forecast every day for the next few days. So, watch out for the elements. They could turn out to be a crucial factor in the game.

I lost 15 kilos to attain peak fitness, says Shami shashank.shekhar @timesgroup.com

Gros Islet, St Lucia: One big plus for Team India on the West Indies tour has been the return of Mohammed Shami. The pacer had endured a long layoff from cricket. He had knee surgery in 2015 after which he was on crutches for 40 days. There was a question mark over his career as he spent many

months recuperating. It was a severely depressing time for Shami. When he landed in West Indies, the question was whether he would be able to withstand the rigours of Test cricket. The team knew it was crucial for them to have Shami firing on all cylinders. On the evidence so far in this series, Shami has made a remarkable comeback, bowling with rhythm and pace. Obvi-

ously, the team management is delighted and relieved. And who could be happier than the man himself. What has made this turnaround possible? “No secret to it, just the hard work you have seen I put in during my time at the NCA. I told doctors and trainers to give me as much load as possible because I didn’t want any doubt going ahead into the season. After that, I worked in the nets and did as

many sessions as possible and put in as much effort as possible. I am thankful to god and I hope it keeps going in the same vein.” What was his focus during the time he was out of action? “My only focus was to reduce my weight as much as possible. I have lost nearly 14-15 kg… my weight went up as I was on the bed for two months,” said Shami, who looks as lean and fit as he

ever has. And how did he analayse the final day of the second Test in Jamaica, during which India could take only two wickets in the entire day? “We have to understand that in Test cricket ups and downs happen. But they also played well. Even the wicket was a bit flat and the conditions were good for batting. Our effort will be to not allow a repeat of that,” he said.

Live on Ten CriCkeT, 7.30 pm IndIa

ICC TeST RAnKIngS

2 8 17 30 heAD To heAD

pITCh

The pitch looks a batting beauty.

WeATheR There is a chance of the rain distrupting play during the Test.

odds: india 1/2; Wi 7/1; draW 5/2

numbeRS gAme

In the only resultoriented Test (out of the four played) at Darren Sammy national Cricket Stadium, gros Islet, St.Lucia in 2014, West Indies had defeated bangladesh by 296 runs. The first three Tests played by West Indies at this venue - one each vs Sri Lanka in 2003, bangladesh in 2004 and India in 2006 - could not produce results.

With a win in the gros Islet Test, India, leading by 1-0, would register their sixth consecutive series triumph vs West Indies. between 2002-03 and 2013-14, they have won five successive Test series. The gros Islet triumph would enable India to perform a hat-trick of wins in the Caribbean for the first time.

ready for carnival? It is now just one month until the first Olympic Games in South America get underway and Rio de Janeiro is ready for its big moment. TOI lists five major talking points in the run up to the quadrennial spectacle

Brazil awaits you with open arms Michel Temer

ZIkA thReAt leAdS tO StAR pullOutS the fear of a deadly Zika outbreak at the Olympics has dominated headlines across the world for the past few months and has been responsible for a host of prominent athletes withdrawing from the mega event. Cyclist tejay van Garderen was the first uS athlete to withdraw from the Games after raising concerns about the virus and the potential effects it could have on his pregnant wife. As of date, seven of golf’s Major winners including Jason day, Shane lowry, Adam Scott, louis Oosthuizen , Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy, Graeme Mcdowell and Vijay Singh have withdrawn. Basketball stars Stephen Curry and leBron James too have pulled out citing they were in need of rest.

ClOud OVeR BOlt’S pARtICIpAtIOn there’s little doubt that Usain Bolt was the face of the last two Olympic Games at Beijing in 2008 and london in 2012. he won gold in each of the three sprint events – 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay — at these venues for Jamaica and was eyeing an unprecedented three gold medals at Rio. But the revelation last week that he is nursing a hamstring injury has shocked his fans the world over. they are eagerly waiting for the meeting of the Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) committee on thurs-

day which will consider Bolt’s medical exemption, and ensure a possible last-minute entry for the all-time great.

A fIne BAlAnCe fOR RuSSIA Russia’s participation at Rio too hangs by the thread as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is likely to sort out the dispute between its athletes, the Russian Olympic Committee and the governing body of world athletics, IAAf, by July 21 on whether the one-time super powers at the Olympics can head to the Brazilian city. the country’s track and field stars have been suspended from international competition since november last year following a WAdA report and are barred from the Games as a punishment for systematic doping problems.

IS BRAZIl ReAdy tO WelCOMe WORld? Rio is in the final stages of its preparation for the Games and as per reports last week, construction work on the Olympic park had reached 99 per cent. According to officials, five of the nine venues at the park -- the Arena Carioca 1 (basketball), Arena Carioca 2 (judo, wrestling), Arena Carioca 3 (taekwondo, fencing), future Arena (handball) Days and the aquatic centre To go (swimming) – are fully ready for d day. Also, tourism authorities claim about 5,00,000 tourists are likely to flock to Rio, but industry experts don’t see more than 3,50,000 fans descending on the iconic city.

CAn IndIA BetteR lOndOn tAlly? India have a challenge on hand, and a major one at that. they returned with six medals from london four years ago, so the standards have been set pretty high for a country that is still finding its feet

in the Olympic arena. three of the medallists – wrestler Sushil kumar, boxer MC Mary kom and shooter Vijay kumar – are not part of the contingent, but there are a host of other genuine contenders across disciplines to look forward to support four weeks from now.

7000 number of athletes who have competed in test events that have put staff and the venues through their paces. Officials claim that every venue is now ready for competition

37 42 306 206 Venues

disciplines

events

Countries

ODAY, one month before the world’s greatest sporting event is scheduled to begin, Brazil can say with confidence: we are ready to host the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to take place in South America. The Olympic Village, housing more than 17,000 participating athletes in one of Rio de Janeiro’s most beautiful settings, has just been inaugurated. All sports facilities, especially those serving the Olympic Park in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, are also up and ready. The country has put together a solid security program of 85,000 federal, state, and municipal government personnel to ensure that sporting events take place in an atmosphere of absolute peace and tranquility. Over the past few years, our country has developed an expertise in hosting megaevents on an international scale. We hosted the World Cup, the Pan-American Games, the World Military Games, World Youth Day and the Confederations Cup — all unanimous successes, which we conducted in a spirit of excellence, dedication and with the characteristic Brazilian joie de vivre. And now, another success is on its way. The Games will show the world one of the major global economies at work in a mature democracy: a country with great business potential that at the same time has set the standard for policies to fight inequality. Rio de Janeiro is expected to receive hundreds of thousands of visitors from Brazil and abroad during the Games, while the five Soccer Cities -São Paulo, Salvador, Manaus, Brasília and Belo Horizonte

— will also find themselves inundated with local and foreign fans. It should be emphasized that 60 percent, 7.07 billion reais, of the total investment in the Olympic facilities were financed by the private sector. These resources and efforts will remain as legacies to the entire country. For instance, the Games will disseminate throughout Brazil the hallmark values o f c o m p e t i t ive sports: cooperation, solidarity, discipline and resilience. As a more concrete benefit, Brazilians throughout the country’s five geographic regions will also inherit a national sports training network of worldclass facilities for both sports beginners and high-performance athletes. Over the past few weeks, rumour of the possibility of an outbreak of tropical-disease during the Games has circulated. We can assure you — as has the World Health Organization — that the risk of Zika infection during the Games is practically non-existent. Historically, an extremely low incidence of disease transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti has been recorded during the winter season in the Southern Hemisphere. Indeed, there has been a dramatic decline in cases of Zika infection in Rio de Janeiro and throughout Brazil in the past few weeks. I recall a similar prediction of epidemic during the 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil. No epidemic occurred. Brazil is ready to receive visitors who will be enjoying the pleasure of watching the world’s elite international athletes compete, and surely, we will have a great deal to show to the world. (Michel Temer is the interim President of Brazil)

—rajesh kumar

Heroic Herath inspires Lanka to series sweep over Oz Colombo: Sri Lanka completed a rare 3-0 sweep over Australia after left-arm spinner Rangana Herath spun the hosts to a comprehensive 163-run victory in the final Test in Colombo on Wednesday. Chasing 324 in a bid to s a l v a g e s o m e p r i d e, Australia surrendered to Herath’s guile and folded for 160 before tea to lose their number one ranking to India and slip to third place behind Pakistan. Herath (7-64) claimed a 13-wicket match haul to bag the man-of-the-match award while his 28 wickets from three Tests also made him the obvious choice for the man-of-the-series award. “What a fantastic moment,” home captain Angelo Mathews said after lifting

the Warne-Muralitharan trophy. “Credit to Herath, for doing his thing. You just can’t keep him away from the game. “He had a groin strain, he couldn’t run, he couldn’t jump. He was fantastic with one leg. One leg was enough for him to have a bowl on this type of wicket.” Sri Lanka batted for 4.3 overs in the morning to add 35 runs to their overnight score of 312 for eight before declaring. Set an improbable victory target on a final day track, Australia needed a good start and the tourists got that from David Warner and Shaun Marsh who raised 77 runs, the highest opening partnership in the low-scoring series. Warner brought up his first fifty of the series after

sPin Wiz: the aussies had no answer to Lankan spinner Rangana Herath (R) who ended the series with 28 scalps

lunch before the wheels came of f Australia’s challenge with Herath striking a double blow in his 10th over. The wily left-arm spinner bowled rival skipper

Steve Smith (8) for the fifth time in six innings with the first delivery of the over and trapped Adam Voges leg-before with the last. Perera cut short Warner’s fluent innings at 68,

bowling the southpaw around his legs in a dismissal that was a microcosm of the series in which the Sri Lankan spinners tor mented the touring batsmen on tracks that suited them. “It’s been a tough series,” Smith said after Australia exposed their spin frailties and slumped to their ninth consecutive Test defeat in Asia.“We’ve been outplayed in all three matches in this series. I think Sri Lanka have played some great cricket over this series. Disappointing but a big learning curve for the guys as well.” ReuteRs Brief scores: sri lanka 355 & 347-8 dec (Silva 115, de Silva 65*; Lyon 4-123) beat australia 379 & 160 (Warner 68; Herath 7-64) by 163 runs.

when the aussIes were blanked Whitewashes suffered by australia in a series of three or more Tests oPPonenT

Venue

1886

season

England

3-0

1969-70

S.Africa

4-0

1982-83

Pakistan

3-0

2012-13

India

4-0

Sri Lanka

3-0

2016

marGin

Between February 2013 and August 2016, Australia have lost nine successive Tests in the subcontinent - the second worst sequence by a visiting team in the subcontinent next only to West Indies’ ten between November 1997 and October 2002

Bowlers taking 28 wickets in three-Test series vs australia Bowler

Wkts

ave

series

12.15

1985-86

richard hadlee harbhajan singh

17.03

2000-01

muttiah muralitharan

23.17

2003-04

rangana herath

12.75

2016 Rajesh Kumar

Can india gain at Port of spain? Newly Crowned World No. 1 Test Side Aims To Maintain Its Stranglehold Over Hapless Hosts aFP

Times in WesT indies shashank.shekhar @timesgroup.com Port of Spain: The Queen’s Park Oval is a historic cricket arena which has retained it’s old-worldly feel. It’s also, like most other stadiums in the Caribbean, a picturesque venue besides being the biggest in West Indies in terms of spectator capacity: 25,000. For India, this ground has special significance. The win India clinched on this ground in March 1971 was their maiden Test victory in West Indies and also inspired them to win the series 1-0 for the very first time. The legend of Sunil Gavaskar also took root here when he stroked a century and a double century in the final Test of the same series (it was a draw) to cap an outstanding debut series. Then, in April 1976, India recorded one of their greatest Test wins by chasing down 406 in the fourth innings. India also tasted victory here in 2002 when the side led by Sourav Ganguly defeated the Carl Hoopercaptained West Indies by 37 runs. Of India’s seven Test wins in West Indies, three have come here.

— Virat kohli IndIa CaPtaIn

final flourish: Virat Kohli’s men are favourites to end their Caribbean sojourn on a high at a venue that holds fond memories for India

The fourth Test which begins here on Thursday will be another momentous occasion for Team India as it enters the ground as the No. 1 Test team in the world. India now have to win this Test to retain the rank which otherwise will go to Pakistan.

IndIa become no.1 In tests for 3rd tIme India had achieved the No.1 ranking for the first time when they had beaten Sri Lanka 2-0 in 2009 at home India had started the series against Sri Lanka at third place on 119 points, trailing top ranked South Africa by three points. But victories in Kanpur and in Mumbai earned India the much-needed five points which helped them to the top spot India remained the No.1 team from December 2009 to August 2011

it’s a nice incentive but doesn’t really change anything for the team. our goal has been to play good cricket and we’ve done that in the past one year or so. even last year, when we beat south africa, because of some other team losing, we became no. 1. for a brief period but to become really the best team in the world you need to play consistent cricket for a span of 3-4 years. This is an immediate and short-term incentive

South Africa’s 2-1 series defeat to England in January this year, had provided India with an opportunity to be ranked No. 1 for the second time in Tests with 110 rating points for a month as Australia were one point behind India (112 points) achieved No.1 ranking again for the third time after the whitewash suffered by Australia (108 points) to Sri Lanka on Wednesday To retain their top ranking, India must win the fourth Test against the West Indies. Even a draw won’t do Rajesh Kumar

Who will bet against India not winning the Test and retaining the top rank? Having already pocketed the series 2-0, their confidence is sky high; they have most bases covered whatever be the conditions; they have been clinical in exploiting the many chinks in West Indies’ armour and they are still hungry for more success. Now, they have the added motivation of retaining the No. 1 status if they win here. Captain Virat Kohli has spoken about the team’s need to inculcate ‘good habits.’ “Winning is a good habit and we want this team to develop good habits,” he had said after winning the first Test in Antigua. If habits die hard, then West Indies are in for some hard times again. As the cliché goes, West Indies have only pride to play for. But do they have enough pride in their performance in the Test arena? Sadly, one is forced to be sceptical on this count, going by the way they have been playing Test cricket for a while now. They have allowed

teams to ride roughshod over them without putting up an earnest challenge. Their capitulation for 108 at Gros Islet in the third Test last week was the latest episode in this Caribbean soap opera. One hopes the ‘glorious uncertainties’ of cricket will be at work and help West Indies surprise us with a display worthy of the great legacy that these islands boast of. History suggests that the pitch will assist seam early on Day 1 which may prompt the captain who wins the toss to bowl first. The Queen’s Park strip is also known to turn from the third day onwards. Whether it’s swing and seam, or spin, India have the upper hand. Rain and thunderstorms have been lashing the city for the last three days and the forecast is not too good for the next three days too. The final two days are also expected to be cloudy. Thankfully, it clears up quickly after a spell of rain here. But keep fingers crossed. Persistent clouds in the sky, meanwhile, may help pace bowlers to move it around. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, fresh from a dream spell in Gros Islet, will relish that more than anyone else. And if there is turn in the latter part of the Test, the threat posed by R Ashwin will once again loom large for West Indies. Ashwin is also on the verge of a remarkable landmark: If he manages to take eight wickets here, he will join Clarrie Grimmett as the fastest to 200 wickets — in 36 Tests. Grimmett achieved this feat in 1936!

Virat must bat at No. 3 in Tests too sunil Gavaskar

ndia’s magnificent performance on the last two days of the third Test at St. Lucia not only won them the series but has also helped them to go top of the Test rankings. They could cement that spot and stay there for a while if they beat West Indies at Port of Spain in the fourth Test which begins today. That wo u l d b e a t re m e n d o u s achievement for a young side led by a young skipper. At lunch, on Day 4 of the third Test, the West Indies were seemingly well entrenched at 195 for 3 and a draw was the most likely outcome what with the entire third day’s play being washed out. But Kohli just did not give up and he rotated his bowlers cleverly to dismiss the remaining seven wickets in no time at all. This West Indian team also is a young team under a young skipper, but unlike Kohli, who is a certainty for India in all three formats of the game, and so has automatic respect in the dressing room, the same cannot be said of Holder. The West Indian is a personable young man, but unless he comes out to lead from the front, he will never be looked up to by the rest of the team. Kohli showed his leadership by opting to bat at No. 3 in place of Pujara who had been dropped for the Test. Like Ricky Ponting, who was Australia’s best batsman

and so came at the fall of the first wicket, Kohli too will have to sooner than later make a statement that he will be batting at one drop as that allows him to take control of the innings and lead it as he sees fit. He bats at No. 3 in ODIs and T20s, so it makes eminent sense for him to bat at the same number in Tests too. Sure, he didn’t score runs at that spot, but it is only a matter of time before he does so. If Holder who is a capable batsman can also make a statement by coming up the order it will also allow the West Indians to go in with five bowlers which will balance that attack. Roston Chase is an allrounder who is proving his mettle in Test cricket and if Holder can bat after him then the West Indies will be better served. The way Marlon Samuels got out and the manner in which he is staying back in the crease and not getting behind the line of the ball does indicate that the time to look beyond him is near. For a batsman who looked as if he was going to be the next Carl Hooper, Samuels has not quite delivered as consistently as his talent demanded. India are unlikely to make changes to the team combination and if the Trinidad pitch stays true to what it’s been for the last decade or so, the Indians could well get a day off unless of course rains play spoilsport again. PMG

Our players need to work harder, says ‘Big Bird’ Garner shashank.shekhar @timesgroup.com

Port of Spain: Joel Garner was part of the golden generation of fast bowlers who took West Indies cricket to the pinnacle and kept it there for quite some time in the 1970s and 80s. Known as the ‘Big Bird’ in his playing days because of his 6’8” frame, Garner has a splendid Test and ODI record. In his heyday, West Indies were known as ‘The Invincibles.’ The same team is now lan-

guishing at eighth spot in the ICC rankings. It must be hard for the likes of Garner to digest the current plight of the team, especially in the Test arena. Garner, now 63, is West Indies’ team operations manager and is seen around the squad with a small, worn-out bag in his hand. He is a reluctant speaker and doesn’t want to exceed his brief. So when queried on the team’s troubles, he simply said, “These questions are best suited for the coach and the coaching staff. I don’t deal

with coaching matters.” He did, though, share his views about what ails West Indies cricket and what is the solution. “The problem is the players don’t work hard enough. If every player is prepared to work as hard as they need to, we can reach the top of world cricket,” Garner said candidly while also pointing out that local cricket structure needed to be more robust in the Caribbean. “We have challenges. You can’t fix them with one-

off or two-off performances. Most of our challenges are coming from tiny territories where cricket is played only at the local level. What you see is what we have at the regional level, what we put at the international level. But if we are serious about our cricket, then we have to be serious about the developmental stage.” When asked to point out what are the specific areas West Indies players needed to focus on, Garner

said, “The longer they bat in the middle, the easier it becomes to bat. That is something I would like them to do, not only bat long but bat effectively. If you look at it, partnerships are important in any form of cricket. The reason we were able to save the game in Jamaica was we had batting partnerships.” Garner also voiced strong opposition to the two-tier Test system which the ICC is mulling. “Well, I wish them luck if they want cricket to remain with the ‘big three’ or

‘big four’. The only way you can get into the two-tier system is by playing against teams that are above you in the table. How can you get in if you can’t play teams that are above you? The question is, what purpose does it serve? Are you trying to preserve Test cricket or are you trying to keep it to a chosen few? The only way you can preserve Test cricket is to let people at the lower level play against teams above them to be able to compete and to be able to gauge the progress.”

SERENA: 300 AND COUNTING Getty Images

Defending Champ Tames Beck, Tsonga Prevails In Marathon London: Serena Williams was in demand and she was happy to oblige. Can you look up, Serena. Over here, Serena. A selfie please, Serena. It seemed like the World No.1 spent more time on her way out of Centre Court on People’s Sunday at Wimbledon, signing autographs and posing for photographs, than on court for her third round match. On the job, Serena Williams held nothing back, flattening the challenge of the 22-year-old Annika Beck, a junior champion here, coming through 6-3, 6-0 in 51 minutes to set up a fourth round meeting w i t h Ru s s i a n S ve t l a n a Kuznetsova.

3RD ROUND: TSONGA WON 6-7 (3), 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 19-17

TSONGA

was good for her confidence. “I know what it takes to win these tournaments. It’s about doing it now,” she said before adding, “The Christina McHale (second round) match really helped me. I felt like losing that first set and her playing better than she’s ever played in her life really helped me to realise that I can play better. I can lift my

MOST GRAND SLAM WINS Martina Navratilova

300 Serena Williams

299

Prajwal Hegde

KYRGIOS IN DOCK FOR ‘RETARDED’ BLAST AT BENCH Fiery Australian Nick Kyrgios was at the centre of a new Wimbledon row on Sunday when he was heard labelling one of his own support team as “retarded”. The incident, picked up by courtside microphones, occurred during the second set of his third round match against Feliciano Lopez on Court One late on Saturday. AGENCIES

Chris Evert game to compete with people when they’re frankly treeing.” Serena, who leads the headto-head against the Russian 9-3, with the duo splitting their two meetings this year, in Miami and Rome, said they get along well off the court. Argentinian powerhouse Juan Martin Del Potro, playing his first Grand Slam tournament since the 2014 Australian Open, fell to Frenchman Lucas Pouille 7-6 (4), 6-7 (8), 5-7, 1-6.

278 Steffi Graf CHAMPION STUFF: World No.1 and top seed Serena Williams banished the woes of the second round by romping to victory against Annika Beck to set up a fourth round meeting with Kuznetsova

Twelfth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France outlasted American John Isner 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 19-17 in 4 hours

and 25 minutes. Aussie 15thseed Nick Kyrgios beat Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-7 (27), 6-3, 6-4.

Among the women, American Coco Vandeweghe shocked the sixth-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4.

For SanTina, it’s as easy as it gets Prajwal.Hegde @timesgroup.com

London: Top-seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis moved into the third round of the women’s doubles, outplaying the Japanese pairing of Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato 6-3, 6-1 in 53 minutes on Sunday. Sania and Hingis, the defending champions, were too strong for the Japanese duo, taking early leads

Prajwal.Hegde @timesgroup.com

306

TIMES AT

The 34-year-old defending champion started slowly and was broken in the third game of the match when Beck’s cross court beat the rooted American. Serena did well to break right back, at love with Beck, ranked 43, double-faulting at 0-40. From 1-2 in the first set, Serena won 11 of the next 12 games to clinch victory. She was particularly dominant in the second set, not dropping a point on her serve. Serena said the Beck match

ISNER

start, beating Lara Escauriza of Paraguay 7-6 (7-1), 7-5. Meanwhile, in the men’s draw, it seems there will not be a Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes face off in the men’s doubles. Paes and Marcin Matkowski suffered a meek second round defeat at the hands of John Peers and Henri Kontinen losing to tenth seeds Finnish-Australian pair 6-3 6-2 in the second round.

in both sets and refusing to look back. Late on Saturday, SanTina, kicked off their Wimbledon title defence with a straight-set victory over Ana-Lena Friedsam and Kaura Siegemund of Germany. The Indo-Swiss pairing won 6-2, 7-5 in 1 hour and 22 minutes. Karman Kaur Thandi, the lone Indian in the junior draw, got off to a winning

Big servers find a way to haunt Djokovic again

MATCH STATS TSONGA

ISNER

Aces

1st Serve in

144/197

168/228

BP Won

3/6

1/4

Unforced Errors 20

NP Won

45/55

51/73

Winners

101

TP Won

222

203

DF: Double Faults; BP: Break Points; NP: Net Points; TP: Total Points

KEY RESULTS Men, 3rd rd: 7-Richard Gasquet (FRA) bt Albert Ramos (ESP) 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-3; 10-Tomas Berdych (CZE) bt 24-Alexander Zverev (GER) 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1; 12-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) bt 18-John Isner (USA) 6-7 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 19-17; 15-Nick Kyrgios (AUS) bt 22-Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4; 32-Lucas Pouille (FRA) bt Juan Martín Del Potro (ARG) 6-7 (4), 7-6 (), 7-5, 6-1 Women: 3rd rd: 1-Serena Williams (USA) bt Annika Beck (GER) 6-3, 6-0; 27-Coco Vandeweghe (USA) bt 6-Roberta Vinci (ITA) 6-3, 6-4; 21-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) bt 11-Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) 6-3, 6-2; 13-Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) bt 18-Sloane Stephens (USA) 6-7 (1), 6-2, 8-6; Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) bt 24-Barbora Strycova (CZE) 6-4, 6-2; Elena Vesnina (RUS) bt Julia Boserup (USA) 7-5, 7-5.

We joke a lot. When he’s in the locker room, it’s just instant banter. We just have a lot of fun. KYRGIOS | ON MURRAY

London: There’s a type of player that Novak Djokovic -tennis’ indomitable force – doesn’t enjoy playing. Tall, big-serving, powerful. While he has scaled many a mountain in his 879 matches on the Tour, the Serb is more than aware that against this cast of players – the Isners and the Querreys – he could get locked out in a storm of serves. Not much unlike his Wimbledon third-round against the 6 ft 6’’ Californian Sam Querrey, who sent down 31 aces in the near three-hour meeting. Sometimes, Djokovic threw up his arms in frustration, other times he smiled, the light not

quite catching his eyes. The World No. 1, who until Saturday evening was the holder of all four Grand Slams, the first man since Rod Laver in 1969, looked out of sorts on Friday, more so after he lost the first set. The mental wobble may have preceded the physical struggle. The 29-year-old has never been happy playing the sports’ skyscrapers, who’re delivering the ball at some from 6 ft 6’ or higher. These 130-mph serves draw him out of his

comfort zone and are less inclined to be controlled by his razor-sharp strokes. It becomes particularly problematic when the pressure is on, as

I think maybe he felt winning all four titles and being the defending champion of all four was a Grand Slam in his mind. Even if it wasn’t in the calendar year, it didn’t matter. ROD LAVER | OZ GREAT it was for Djokovic at Wimbledon. The sting is as much in the situation as in the serve. “I knew this match was going to be very close, not easy to break his serve. If he’s on a roll, it’s really hard to read his serve,” Djokovic said. “He hits his spots really well.” Add a relaxed attitude to the equation, and you have a potent mix. “I slept great. I’m a pretty relaxed guy,” Querrey said of the night he had wrecked early damage on Djokovic’s Golden Slam dreams. During the rain breaks on Saturday, the American’s coach Craig Boynton, reminded him, “Make sure you’re always smiling out there, having fun.” Querrey did. Ironically, the Serb, whose play revolves around giving his opponents little or no time, was rushed off the court. “Serve and accuracy,” Djokovic said of his opponent’s play. “I think he didn’t want to stay too long in the rally. Few long rallies. Other than that, he was just going for it. He was aggressive and it paid off.”

clay quEEn slips on grass French Open Champion Muguruza Stunned By Slovakian Qualifier Cepelova; Nishikori Survives A Scare, Ferrer Ousted Pics: AFP

London: Garbine Muguruza, the world number two and French Open champion, was knocked out of Wimbledon on Thursday as Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori struggled into the third round. A below-par Muguruza, who was runner-up to Serena Williams last year, lost 6-3, 6-2 to Slovak qualifier Jana Cepelova, the world number 124, in just 59 minutes on Court One. It was the same arena where the 23-year-old Cepelova had defeated Simona Halep last year, a result which illustrated the Slovak’s liking for the big time -- having also seen off Williams in Charleston in 2014. “I deserved to win. I’m so happy,” said Cepelova. Spanish 22-year-old Muguruza was bidding to become only the eighth woman to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back. But she was undone by 22 unforced errors and hitting just nine winners in a flat performance. Nishikori saw off France’s Julien Benneteau, whose world ranking has sunk to 547 due to injury, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on Centre Court and goes on to meet Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov. Nineteen-year-old Belinda Bencic, the Swiss seventh seed, retired from her second round match against US qualifier Julia Boserup.

Bencic was 6-4, 1-0 down on Court Three to the World No. 225. Bencic, who missed the clay court season with a back injury, had only completed her first round match late Wednesday and struggled Thursday with a wrist problem. “It’s my left wrist. I think I have to get it checked. It started a couple of days ago,” said Bencic. “It just got worse. That’s why I had to retire.” Spain’s David Ferrer, the 13th seed, lost to fellow 34-yearold -- and grass court specialist -- Nicolas Mahut 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. Canadian sixth seed Milos Raonic, regarded as a dark horse for the tit l e, b r u s h e d past Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-2.

2nd round: cEpElova Won

I played really well, and I think I deserved the victory. last year I beat halep on the same court and I had great memories. I am just so happy.

MuguruzA vs

MAtCh StAtS

cepelova muguruza

Aces

1st Serve % in 22/53

29/44

BP Won

1/4

4/4

Unforced Errors 12

Murray cruises into third round

Andy Murray maintained his challenge for a second Wimbledon title as the world number two crushed Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in the second round on Thursday. Murray had dismissed fellow Brit Liam Broady won Tuesday. AGeNcIeS

these losses. Error-pronE: In the 2015 US Open semifinal, Serena committed 40 unforced errors and converted just one of her six break points in the two sets she lost. 22 of her 40 unforced errors came on the backhand side. Serve letting her down: During her loss in the 2016 Australian Open final, Serena made 46 unforced errors and put just 53% of her first serves in play. In the set she won, the American great made a total of five unforced errors in 52 points played, one for every 10 points.

CepelOvA

jana cEpElova | slovakian qualifier

NP Won

5/7

6/12

Winners

TP Won

DF: Double Faults; BP: Break Points; NP: Net Points; TP: Total Points

KEy rEsults

siMply stunning: Unseeded Slovakian qualifier Jana cepelova stunned second seed Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of Wimbledon on Thursday

Serena in a catch-22 Situation World No. 1 Serena Williams has 21 Grand Slam titles to her credit. In her quest for the elusive 22nd, she has faced numerous barriers, the most recent being the glamorous Garbine Muguruza; who forced Serena to collect her second runner-up trophy of the year in a Slam at the 2016 Roland-Garros. Serena had two other chances to add to her silverware: losing to Roberta da Vinci at the 2015 US Open semifinal and Angelique Kerber at the 2016 Australian Open final. We take a deeper look into what may have contributed to

6-3, 6-2

In the two sets she lost, she made 41 unforced errors in 124 points, one for every three points played. Despite leading the WTA Tour in service games won and being second in first serve points won, Serena has won less than half of her second serve points. strongEr challEngEr: But her loss to Garbine Muguruza in the 2016 Roland Garros final was somewhat of a different story. Usually, Serena is the dominator who sets the tone and determines the outcome. But this

match differed from her other recent Grand Slam defeats in that Serena was out-hit and was the player on the defensive end for the majority of the match. Muguruza had more unforced errors than Serena. Serena got just 49% of her first serves in for the match, similar to her performance in Australia. This allowed Muguruza to be very aggressive on the return of serve and she took advantage by winning 20 out of 35 points when Serena had to hit a 2nd serve. TexT: VARUN BecTOR

Men’s rd 2: 2-A Murray (GBR) bt Y-H. Lu (TPE) 6-3, 6-2, 6-1; 5-K Nishikori (JPN) bt J Benneteau (FRA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2; 6-Milos Raonic (CAN) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-2; 11-David Goffin (BEL) bt Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 6-4, 6-0, 6-3; Nicolas Mahut (FRA) bt 13-David Ferrer (ESP) 6-1, 6-4, 6-3; 14-Roberto Bautista (ESP) bt Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) walkover; G Dimitrov (BUL) bt 16-G Simon (FRA) 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-4; Lukas Lacko (SVK) bt 23-Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4; Round One : 18-John Isner (USA) bt Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 7-6(2), 7-6(5), 6-3 Women’s Round Two: J Cepelova (SVK) bt 2-G Muguruza (ESP) 6-3, 6-2; 5-Simona Halep (ROU) bt FRAsca Schiavone (ITA) 6-1, 6-1; 8-Venus Williams (USA) bt Maria Sakkari (GRE) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3; 9-Madison Keys (USA) bt Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; 12-Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) bt Denisa Allertova (CZE) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1; Sabine Lisicki (GER) bt 14-Samantha Stosur (AUS) 6-4, 6-2; Misaki Doi (JPN) bt 15-Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 7-6(5), 6-3; Alize Cornet (FRA) bt 20-Sara Errani (ITA) 7-6(4), 7-5

Tennis coach happy with ‘Master class’ London: It’s more than feelgood. It feels real. The MarcusWillis@Wimbledon2016 story. It’s a ‘you’ or ‘me’ starrer. The boy from small town Slough who lost his way. Food, wine and dance, a little too much of it. At 25, Willis looked set to finish as part-time player and club coach who taught little boys and portly gents how to strike a tennis ball on weekday afternoons. Then, Willis found love. Dentist Jennifer Bate, 30, a former beauty queen he met at an Ellie Goulding concert, pushed him back to the sport that begins at love-all. The 25-year-old went to work, battled a rebelling body that had been abused and wasn’t used to the workload and lost some 25 kilos. In his three years of trying, he hit the wall several times. Then the 706th-ranked play-

TIMES AT Prajwal Hegde er in the world got a chance ticket into Wimbledon’s pre-qualifying event, which he came through to make the qualifiers proper. In the main draw, he beat world No. 54 Ricardo Beranakis of Lithuania before winning himself a Centre Court assignment against the legendary Roger Federer. Changing and quitting, lifestyle issues and weight battles are commonplace. People have embraced the Marcus Willis story because they identify with it. “I get messages saying, thanks so much, I believe in myself now. It’s nice. It’s nice to have that touch,” Willis said. So real that the Centre Court scene even had a fan boy moment, or so it seemed. Willis, who came on court to rousing welcome, sported a tee from the RF collection and matching headband. He

Roger Federer (right) had a lot of good things to say about Marcus Willis

bought the tee last year, for the qualifiers he never made. Federer, who called the story ‘gold’, was quick to caution the media, saying that behind that timeless script and cinema-setting was a player, an athlete who wanted to come good. “I hope the press respects his situation. It’s easy now to just use it, chew it up and then throw it all away. He’s got a life after this. He’s got a career after this,” the 34-year-old said. Federer led by example, saying he approached Wednesday’s match like he was playing a top-50 player. “He reads the game well, he knows when you’re coming in,” Federer said of Willis. “He can slice. He chips it really well, cross-court and down the line. He sees when it’s short and steps into the court and goes for it. He has a nice serve and is solid at the net. I think for him, it’s a question of just day-in and day-out, just wanting it,” Federer concluded. Willis, however, stirred the Cinderella story to life one more time. Asked what memento he took away from his clash against the mighty Fed, the 25-year-old, dimpled smile in place, said: “I played a good point where I lobbed him. I can say I lobbed Roger Federer.” Sometimes life does write the best stories.

AFP

London: In a world of strapping physical specimens, Roger Federer is lite, almost invisible. Yet he fills stadiums, much in the way a king his court, with his presence. So, when the seven-time champion entered SW19’s Centre Court for the first time in the second

Grand Slam singles wins by a man or woman in tennis history. Navratilova finished with a win-loss record of 306-49. Early in the last-sixteen encounter, Johnson asked the questions, he hustled and pressed with power, but came up short on consistency. He had

4TH ROUND: CIBULKOVA WON 6-3, 5-7, 9-7

CIBULKOVA RADWANSKA vS

ROGER ROLLS ON

Leander Paes

Swiss Ace Destroys Johnson, Faces Cilic In Quarters

week, you felt it before you heard it. The adoration and then the rapturous applause, thunderous in its production. In the 1 hour and 37 min-

TIMES AT Prajwal Hegde utes of action that followed, the 34-year-old Swiss, seeded three, sparkled like his whites, winning 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 against the big-serving American Steve Johnson. With the fourth round victory Federer (win-loss 306-50) equaled Czech-born American Martina Navratilova for the most

two chances to break Federer’s serve in the fifth game, but on each of those openings, tennis’ most decorated champion upped the amp, blasting a 120 mph down-the-middle serve and then improving on that to 122 mph. The Swiss then broke the American in the 6th game, a backhand crosscourt, sharp and stinging beating Johnson. Federer attacking the 26-yearold’s backhand broke again in the eighth game to wrap up the set. The artist-athlete, who lost in the finals to world no.1 Novak Djokovic in the previous two championships, stuck with the same tactics in the second set, charging to a two-sets-to-love lead. In the third set, the two players

mAtCh StAtS

CIBULKOVA RADWANSKA

London: Top-seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis laughed their way to a 47-minute, third-round win over American Christina McHale and Lativia’s Jelena Ostapenko on an outside court at Wimbledon. Sania and Hingis or ‘Santina’, who last year kickstarted their Grand Slam charge — that brought them three successive major titles — here, are gunning for their second suc-

cessive women’s doubles crown at the Church Road venue. On Monday they came through 6-1, 6-0. The Indo-Swiss combine, an eye on the darkening sky,

1st Serve in

87/118

82/135

BP Won

7/22

6/10

came through a little before the skies opened up. The fancied duo now await their quarterfinal opponents, likely to be determined late on Tuesday. Meanwhile, in third round action in the men’s doubles, 10th seeds Aussie John Peers and Finland’s Henri Kontinen knocked out sixth seeds India’s Rohan Bopanna and Romania’s Florin Mergea. Peers and Kontinen won 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 8-6 in just under three hours. With Bopanna’s loss, India’s challenge in the men’s doubles came to an end.

old then broke Johnson in the 11th game, before serving out the match with an ace in the 12th. Federer, into his 48th Grand Slam quarterfinal, the most

in the Open era, will play the ninth-seeded Croat Marin Cilic, who advanced when Japan’s fifth-seeded Kei Nishkori was forced to stop midway through the fourth round meeting.

tennis tournament. “We chose this (date) because I never saw myself as such a great grasscourt player,” a beaming Cibulkova said. “But winning Eastbourne and now being in the quarterfinals I would change my mind. “But it’s no problem. We can postpone it (the wedding). I’m still here and I’m playing my match tomorrow.” On Monday, Cibulkova used a thunderous serve and thumping forehand to wear down Radwanska 6-3 5-7 9-7 in an energy-sapping contest. reuTers

thakur on the prowl Dhananjay.roy @timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad: Ajay Thakur’s father was a wrestler and his uncle a kabaddi coach. He chose to follow the advice of the latter and made steady progress ever since he appeared for trials at Sport Authority of India’s Bilaspur centre in 2004. It took him merely three years after that to break into the Indian team and now aged 30, Thakur will be one of India’s key raiders at the World Cup. “When I started out, the scope for kabaddi was not great for me as the village I come from (Dabhota in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district) is situated in the hills. Getting an appropriate place to pursue the sport there is difficult, but I stuck it out,” Thakur tells TOI. And he is happy for putting in the hard yards that also saw

him win gold as part of the Indian side at the Asian Games in Incheon in 2014. “Kabaddi has taught me a lot of things. A fit body and sharp mind are two of the main gifts of pursuing this sport, but another major thing that I have developed through it is discipline,” says Thakur who is employed with Air India’s cargo division in Mumbai. What’s more, he is relishing the fame that the sport has brought him over the past couple of years. “Earlier, some of my relatives would ask me what I was deriving from playing kabaddi. They wondered if I was successful, even though I was playing for India! “But since kabaddi was taken to world-wide TV audience thanks to the PKL, their perception has changed. Whenever I meet them, they admit that my decision to stick with the sport has been right.”

ajay thakur

20/27

14/22

Winners

TP Won

131

122

RESULTS

Cibulkova wedding plans uncertain London: Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova may have to postpone her wedding on Saturday after reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon with a rip-roaring victory over third seed Agnieszka Radwanska. Everything is prepared for her to marry Miso Navara in Bratislava on the day of the women’s final, the wedding date set well before Cibulkova discovered a penchant for grasscourt tennis that earned her the Eastbourne title nine days ago and a place in the last eight at the world’s most prestigious

Men’s 4th rd: 3-Roger Federer (SUI) bt Steve Johnson (USA) 6-2, 6-3, 7-5; 2-Andy Murray (GBR) bt 15-Nick Kyrgios (Aus) 7-5, 6-1, 6-4; 6-Milos Raonic (CAN) bt 11-David Goffin (BEL) 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; 9-Marin Cilic (CRO) bt 5-Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-1, 5-1 (Nishikori retd.); 28-Sam Querrey (USA) bt Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-4. Women’s 4th rd: 1-Serena Williams (USA) bt 13-Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 7-5, 6-0; 19-Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) bt 3-Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 6-3, 5-7, 9-7; 4-Angelique Kerber (GER) bt Misaki Doi (JPN) 6-3, 6-1; 5-Simona Halep (ROU) bt 9-Madison Keys (USA) 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3; 8-Venus Williams (USA) bt 12-Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) 7-6(3) 6-4; 21-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) bt 27-Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 6-3, 6-3.

I’m not going to lie. After the Novak match, I watched every highlight I could over and over SAm qUERREy

Height

6’2"

Position

Debut

raider

2007 indoor asian Games

temperament: Thakur, being a senior raider, can ill afford to lose his cool. That’s where his composed demeanour benefits the side.

30 aGe

JerSeY no

technique: He relies heavily on the hand touch and is adept at giving the opposing defenders the slip in the nick of time.

Nada’s proud of his tattoos ShwetaSingh @timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad: He sports a calm demeanour but as they say, looks can be deceptive. The same is true for top defender Surender Nada. A resident of Ahri village in Jhajjar (Haryana), Nada has done what not many of his teammates have contemplated doing. The head constable with CISF has been sporting two big tattoos reading ‘kabaddi’ in two different scripts, one on his right forehand and another on the left side of his neck. But, why two same tattoos? “I got both done during my stint in the Pro Kabaddi League. Whatever I have

achieved in life is because of this sport and I like to show to the world what this game means to me,” the 29-year-old told TOI. As a youngster, Nada was just a kabaddi enthusiast and played circle-style kabaddi, a format very popular in Haryana, back in 1994 and also trained as a wrestler for seven years. It wasn’t until his elder brother, a wrestler, took him to the Sports Authority of India campus at Sonipat that he fell in love with the sport and hasn’t looked back ever since. “I spent three years from 2006 to 2009 at the SAI campus. In 2004, I played my first junior nationals and two years later graduated to seniors,” he said.

technique: Nada is an expert at holding both ankles of the opposing raider and winning his team crucial points.

surenDer

naDa Position

defeNder

NP Won

DF: Double Faults; BP: Break Points; NP: Net Points; TP: Total Points

CHAMPION’S ROAR: seven-time champion roger Federer reached his 14th Wimbledon quarterfinal courtesy a straight-set win over American steve Johnson on Monday

Sania-Martina enter last 8; Bopanna-Mergea fall Prajwal.Hegde @timesgroup.com

Aces

Unforced Errors 39

exchanged early breaks. The Swiss pro’s sweetly timed 91 mph serve swung away from an outstretched Johnson in the sixth game to level scores at three games all. The 34-year-

Djoko didn’t come to locker room after loss

Height

5’7’’ Debut

2016 South asian Games

temperament: He tires raiders out and then pounces on him

29 aGe

12 JerSeY no

he weather so far has been so tough that it has compounded the misery of the seeded players. The constant stop-star t matches, punctuated with rain delays, impact the flow of established players far more than the contenders. Most lay fans of the sport wonder that since conditions are the same for all players out there, why is it that the seeded ones seem to suffer far more? It’s quite simple, actually. Top players reach that far on account of games that are built upon rhythm. So, the longer the match goes on, the easier it is for a big player to find that steady ball-churning ability which defines consistency. Rain delays scuttle this rhythm. The less-fancied player, on the other hand, is anyway swinging at the ball as they have nothing to lose. With the seed unable to get any con-

pressure with the expectation of a win and the constant irritants of rain delays only pries chinks in the mental state. The cold weather at Wimbledon does not help as it makes warming up all the more cumbersome. Keeping the body ready to perform at the first sign of the rain backing off can be even more mentally draining. Novak Djokovic did not even come to the locker room after his loss. Boris Becker and his other suppor t staff came in to clear his cupboard. M e a n wh i l e, we had a bad day in office playing the men’s doubles. My partner Marcin Matkowski and I just didn’t seem to get the chance to get our engines firing on all cylinders. But I am still looking out to create a new record in mixed doubles by claiming my 11th title. That stays my driving force this Wimbledon.

Logo sistency, the rookie gets the edge. Of course, only a few of the unfancied have the nerve to actually seal off a win. But looking at this Wimbledon, it does illustrate that modern tennis is now so deep in skill level that even a much-lower ranked player can take on the world number one given the top one is not fully on the ball. The seed is facing more

The middle Sunday play was a resounding success with fans thronging for tickets. They were sold online and I was told about 20,000 sold out in a scant 20 minutes and over 100,000 were unable to get any. With better weather predicted for the days to come I would now look for the seeds to take root and sprout their true colours. TCM

CCI NG 3.5

Product: TOIMumbaiBS

PubDate: 08-07-2016 Zone: MumbaiCity

Edition: 2

Time: 07-08-2016

00:39 Color: C K Y M

TIMES SPORT

I’m scared for my life: Bartoli Former Wimbledon Champion Is Suffering From Mystery Virus

Pics: Getty Images

London: Former Wimbledon winner Marion Bartoli said on Thursday she fears for her life after picking up a mystery virus which has caused dramatic weight loss. The 2013 champion from France, who has shocked fans with her skeletal appearance, was barred from playing in an invitational event at Wimbledon this week after doctors expressed fears over her health. Bartoli, 31, told a British daytime television show that the virus is so rare that medical experts have no name for it. Insisting that she is not anorexic, Bartoli said she can only eat organic salad leaves and cucumbers without skins. She added that she needs gloves when she uses her mobile phone as the virus has caused severe electro-sensitivity. Bartoli also claims that she has to wash with mineral water rather than tap water. “I fear for my life. I worry that one day my heart will stop,” the 31-year-old told ITV’s ‘This Morning’ programme. “This is not life. I am just surviving.” Bartoli said she probably picked up the virus when flying between Australia, New York and India in January and February this year. She has since lost 20 kilos which has reduced her life to a “living nightmare”. Bartoli said that after visiting Miami and Dallas in February to promote her fashion line, her condition started to deteriorate. “I felt worse and my body rejected more and more things,” she said. “I can’t type on the phone without gloves and for no more than five minutes as my heart will start to pump faster. “My life is a living nightmare. I don’t wish this on anyone but it is gradually getting worse.” Bartoli, who was around 60kg during her playing days, said she will start a course of treatment at a clinic on Monday. “I want to go back to a normal life. I have been reduced to eating organic salad leaves and pre-washed cucumber with no skin. I cannot process protein. I just drink and drink and drink to get everything out.” Bartoli said she respected the decision made by the Wimbledon doctors to with-

Page: TOIMSPO3 User: kanakkottu.narayanan

* THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2016

VENUS SLAYED

But Serena Up Next For Kerber In Rematch Of Oz Open Final London: In the 19-ball rally, the last of the match, Venus Williams, all arms and legs, chased the ball, corner to corner. At one point it even appeared like she had won the point, when her 28-year-old opponent Angelique Kerber seemed to over reach. Then as the American, running on reserve, slapped a forehand down-the-line and charged in to the net, the German went down on her knees and pulled off a low cross court that went whistling past a stranded Venus. It was also the point of the match.

TIMES AT Prajwal Hegde Comeback girl, the 36-yearold Venus, was scripting her own Hollywood blockbuster until she ran into the Australian Open champion in the second of the Wimbledon women’s singles semifinals here. Kerber, who came into the last four clash with a clear idea of what she needed to do, drained the five-time champion of her energy and waltzed into her first final at SW19. Kerber won 6-4, 6-4 in 72 minutes to set up a rematch of the Australian Open title round. She’ll take on the World No.1 Serena Williams in Saturday’s final. The defending champion was ruthless in her semifinal against the World No. 50 Elena Vesnina winning 6-2, 6-0 in 48

mins to storm into her ninth finals here. Serena dropped just one point on her first serve and two on the second, statics that showcased her dominance of the day. Kerber, on the other hand had a mountain to climb, 5 ft 8 and left-handed, she gave her opponent, who has made eight finals here, a run around, playing it low, mixing pace with angles. By the end of the opening set, the towering American, who was always chasing, looked to be tiring, while Kerber’s physical expression matched t h e brightness of the sun overhead. The women’s semifinalists — cheered on by the Duchess of Cambridge, who had turned out in a canary yellow Ro s a n d a Illincic dress — matched the cheery

flavor of the day in their stroke play. Kerber took a 3-1 lead in the second set and each time Venus, who was looking to make her ninth final here and complete a heroic comeback after battling an auto-immune disease with which she was diagnosed five years ago, tried to keep up with her opponent. But Kerber, who recommitted to a grueling fitness regimen at the end of last season, seemed like she could go on forever, serving out the match in the tenth game. “It’s an amazing feeling to have beaten Venus and be in the final here for the first time,” Kerber said, “she’s such a great champion, has had so much success here. I was trying to find a way, really going for my shots. I’m in a good place personally and in my career. I have a lot of experience and I’m really enjoying my tennis. The final will be dif-

SEMIFINAL: SERENA WON 6-2, 6-0

SERENA

VESNINA VS

MATCH STATS SERENA

VESNINA

Aces

1st Serve in

24/31

26/43

BP Won

5/9

0/0

Unforced Errors 7

NP Won

5/7

2/5

Winners

TP Won

DF: Double Faults; BP: Break Points; NP: Net Points; TP: Total Points

ferent in that it’s a new match on a different surface than in the last Grand Slam we played, I’ll try to go in with a lot of confidence.”

PICTURE OF CONTRASTS: (Above) Having lost significant weight, Marion Bartoli is seen during this year’s French Open at Roland Garros. (Below): She waves to fans after winning Wimbledon in 2013

draw her from the women’s invitational doubles at the All England Club. “I was looking forward to it. I am happy when I am on court. But the doctors told me that I couldn’t play because of my health. I understand that and respect the decision.” AFP

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No. 160 Vol. CLXXIX Air Charge: Raipur & via Re 1.00 , Chennai, Kochi, Coimbatore, Ernakulam, Trivandrum & via Rs. 2.00, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Udaipur, Vizag & via Rs. 4.00, Delhi, Kolkata, Patna & via Rs. 5.00. International Retail Prices (Daily): Abu Dhabi 3.50 DHS, Doha 3 QR, Dubai 3.50 DHS, Hong K ong 20 HK$, Kuwait 350 Fils, Malaysia 6.50 MR, Oman 350 Baizas, Saudi Arabia 4 SR, Singapore 4 S$, U.K. £ 1.50, U.S.A. $ 2, Canada 2 Canadian $. Published for the proprietors of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., by R. Krishnamurthy, at The Times of India Building, Dr. D.N. Road, Mumbai-400 001, Tel. No (022) 6635 3535. Fax: (022) 2273 1144 and printed by him at (1) The Times of India Suburban Press, Akurli Road, Western Express Highway, Kandivli (E), Mumbai-400 101. Tel No. (022) 2887 2324, 2887 2930 and (2) The Times of India Print City, Plot No. 4, T.T.C. Industrial Area, Thane Belapur Road, Airoli, Navi Mumbai-400 708. Tel. No. (022) 2760 9999; Fax: (022) 2760 5275. Tel. Nos. Mumbai Response (022) 6635 3636, 2273 3636, Fax: (022) 22731144, 22731401. E-Mail: toieditorial@timesgroup.com. Editor (Mumbai Market): Derick B. D’Sa - responsible for selection of news under PRB Act © All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of Publisher is prohibited.

London: Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych have serious history. Their Wimbledon semifinal clash — the first of the duo’s 15 meetings to be played on grass, that slick and often fickle surface — is likely to see more sparks than just the fire of strokes and serves.

PREVIEW After the Scot, a two-time Grand Slam champion, split with Ivan Lendl in 2014, the Czech approached the Czechborn American with a request to coach him. Lendl, who had two successful years with Murray, said, he wanted to cut back on travel, and passed up the opportunity to work with the 30-year-old Berdych. The World No.2 then signed on Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, a move that is believed to have caused some unrest in his camp. His

hitting-partner Dani Vallverdu, who had worked closely with Lendl in helping Murray to two Slam titles and the Olympic gold, broke away. Berdych, not the swiftest of movers on the court, was quick to hire Vallverdu as coach at the end of the 2014. Shortly after, at the Australian Open (2015), Berdych and Murray were involved in a heated exchange during their semiﬁnal encounter and Murray’s now wife Kim Sears was caught on camera bad mouthing the Czech. The Vallverdu hiring was believed to be reason for the bad blood. Last month Berdych sacked Vallverdu. The Czech, tipped as the best player from his generation never to win a Grand Slam, shrugged off Lendl’s decision to return to Murray. “I approach Ivan when he stop with Andy, the ﬁrst time,” Berdych said. “He basically said that he doesn’t have the time and he don’t want

HEAD TO HEAD World No.7 Milos Raonic (CAN) VS World No. 3 Roger Federer (SUI) H2H (2-9)

World No 2 Andy Murray (GBR) VS World No. 9 Tomas Berdych (CZE) H2H (8-6)

to be involved in tennis. Then he come back to Andy. So that’s how it is.” Friday’s lastfour affair then could lend a fresh turn to that long-ﬂogged line of ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’. A man scorned?

Leander Paes

ROGER Federer’s Houdini act against Marin Cilic showcased the efﬁcacy of a stroke that’s fast disappearing from the arsenal of modern players. The sliced backhand has been my bread and butter stroke too but the way Federer utilized it to dismantle Cilic was strategic brilliance at its brightest. Usually Federer is prone to hit deep from the baseline — after all it’s the depth and accuracy of those groundstrokes that make it terribly hard for a novice to take him on — but against Cilic he chose to keep chipping his backhand cross court just short of the service line. He began to use the shot a lot in the third set and it’s incidence only increased as he clawed back from a two-set deﬁcit. That one stroke, used consistently, upset Cilic’s rhythm. With the ball staying low on the damp grass, Cilic was forced to hit up and thus was unable to generate enough force in his shots. Federer incited him to come up behind the ball and that, in turn, had the Croat play into the champion’s hands as the legend’s passing shots are totally on

the dime while Cilic stays uncomfortable volleying. The slice backhand is not encouraged by the hardcourts where the ball just sits up and is easy to smack back. As such, modern players really don’t develop it in their formative years. But Federer showcases just why having a large repertoire of strokes is what demarcates the many from the legendary. The other bit that allowed Federer to squeeze out of the trap Cilic had weaved for him was his ability to come up with the unexpected. Like that sliced second serve onto Cilic’s forehand at match point. Now, most players would avoid the forehand on such a big point, but Federer ﬂummoxed Cilic by surprising him. That, then, is the fundamental differentiator that makes Federer great as he is. The laws of physics and the human imagination dictate that a certain set of shots are possible from any particular angle on the court. While even Federer can’t mess with the laws, what he does exceptionally is in reimagining the angles and the possibilities. He comes up with shots under pressure which few have seen before. That’s why this man keeps winning and will continue to do so till the time those legs keep up with his brilliance of mind. TCM

I will go out there like in Australia, trying to show her I’m here to win the match.” — Angelique Kerber

Men’s semis: A clash of contrasts Prajwal.Hegde @timesgroup.com

Federer reimagines angles, possibilities

Berdycyh, in the semifinal here for first time since 2010, trails the head-to-head 6-8, having dominated their early meetings, but coming up short in their last four encounters. “At the beginning he was a bit more defensive, waiting what the opponent is going to do. It was working pretty well for myself. I was able to dictate the game and play aggressive. Now he becomes more aggressive, more creative on the court,” the 30-year-old said. Murray, who used the crowd to move past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinal late on Wednesday, said, “The last few years I have been playing more aggressive tennis,” Murray said. “Playing with a little bit more variety. That’s worked well against him.” The other last four matchup pits seven-time champion Roger Federer, against the 25-year-old Milos Raonic in a clash between youth and experience, bruising power versus artful craft.

Sania, Paes out of Wimby

‘I believe in my second serve’

Prajwal.Hegde @timesgroup.com

London: Hungary’s Timea Babos and Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova shocked top-seeds and defending champions Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-4 in the Wimbledon quarterﬁnals on a sun-kissed Thursday at the All England Club. The Swiss struggled with her serve right through the 69-minute contest, failing to hold in the ﬁrst set, which was done in 27 minutes. Babos and Shvedova, particularly strong with their serves, didn’t allow their opponents to play to their strength, locking out the return. Hingis returned on court to partner Leander Paes in the mixed doubles a bit later. However, the 16th seeds and defending champs lost to Finland’s Henri Kontinen and Britain’s Heather Watson 6-3, 3-6, 2-6 to crash out.

London: Roger Federer was rock-solid in his quarterfinal victory over the big-serving Croat Marin Cilic, a mindset that reflected in his serving, especially his second delivers, angled and cutting through the air at 120 mph. The superstar Swiss, seeded third, flourished under pressure, blasting 27 aces in his five-set win. “I didn’t serve a single double-fault in five sets. I believe in my second serve,” Federer said. “Even if I go bigger, it’s still not that much of a risk for me. That has served me well throughout my career.” Federer added, “Pete (Sampras) once said, ‘you’re only as good as your second serve’. I’m happy that my second serve has always been there for me.” It sure was.

Djoker cracks Monfils mystery Top Seed Quells Frenchman’s Bizarre Approach To Set Up Title Clash With Wawrinka New York: For quite a while, Novak Djokovic’s opponent in the US Open semifinals, Gael Monfils, looked as if he didn’t want to win, or even be there at all. That premeditated “great strategy” of hoping to lull the No. 1 seed and defending champion into complacency and mistakes, as Monfils described it later, worked briefly, yet did not prevent a two-set deficit. So he transformed back into his entertaining, athletic self. A sweatsoaked Djokovic sought help from a trainer for aches in both shoulders, and what was no contest suddenly became one. Monfils forced a fo u r t h s e t , a n d Djokovic ripped off his white shirt angrily a la “The Incredible Hulk.” The ultimate outcome was only briefly in the balance, though. Djokovic regained the upper hand, as he so often does, reaching his 21st Grand Slam final and seventh at the US Open with an eventful and, at times, bizarre 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Monfils on Friday. “Well, it was a strange match,” said (Stan’s) a big Djokovic, match player. He who will face loves to play on No. 3 Stan the big stage, against big Wawrinka in players, because that’s when Sunday’s fihe elevates his level of nal, “as it performance always is, I — Novak Djokovic g u e s s ,

when you play Gael, who is a very unpredictable player.”

Monfils defends tactics

Never more so than on this muggy afternoon, with the temperature at 90 degrees and the humidity above 50 percent. Monfils, now 0-13 against Djokovic, spent most of his news conference defending his unusual approach and said he knew beforehand he might try it. On ESPN’s telecast, John McEnroe blasted the 10thseeded Frenchman for lack of effort. The Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd jeered him. “First question is, like, ‘You’re not competing?’ ... Yes, I’m competing,” Monfils said, cursing for emphasis. “I made a sign to my coach (to) say, ‘OK, I’m going to Plan B.’” Djokovic had three set points while serving at 5-1, 40-love, and Monfils transitioned into something that at first blush appeared to be “tanking” — losing on purpose, for who knows what reason — but which he explained afterward was the tennis equivalent of Muhammad Ali’s boxing “rope-a-dope,” absorbing someone else’s best shots and pretending to not be interested in attacking. Instead of his usual crouch preparing to return serves, Monfils casually stood upright at the baseline, without a worry in the world, looking like someone waiting to place his takeout espresso order. During points, Monfils would hit slices or make halfhearted, half-swinging strokes, then occasionally wallop a 100 mph passing shot.

Miscue after miscue arrived from Djokovic, and Monfils won three games in a row, before eventually dropping a set for the first time all tournament. “I thought, at times, that he was maybe behaving a little bit, for some terms and judgments, unacceptable,” Djokovic said. “But I guess that was part of his tactics. If he said that you have to believe him, I guess.” Djokovic will try for his third US Open championship and 13th major trophy overall against Wawrinka, whose first final at Flushing Meadows came via a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 6 Kei Nishikori that lasted more than 3 hours and finished with the roof shut. Djokovic has won 19 of 23 previous meetings, but Wawrinka did win their 2015 French Open final for his second Grand Slam title. AP

— Stan Wawrinka

HEAD TO HEAD Total Wins: Djokovic 19 Wawrinka 4 In Grand Slams: Djokovic 4 Wawrinka 2 MEMORABLE MAJOR MEETINGS Aus Open 2013 (R4): Djokovic won 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(5), 12-10 US Open 2013 (SF): Djokovic won 2-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Aus Open 2014 (QF): Wawrinka won 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 Aus Open 2015 (SF): Djokovic won 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 French Open 2015 (F): Wawrinka won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

Stan subdues tired Nishikori New York: Stan Wawrinka outslugged Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori 4-6 7-5 6-4 6-2 in energy-sapping humidity at Flushing Meadows on Friday to set up a US Open final against world number one Novak Djokovic. The third-seeded Swiss took a while to get untracked as 2014 US Open runner-up Nishikori played a near flawless opening set of the semifinal with just two errors. The Japanese broke Wawrinka to start the second set, but the Swiss started rolling after breaking back in the fourth game and Nishikori, who went five tough sets to upset second seed Andy Murray in a four-hour quarterfinal, began to wither. Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open winner and 2015

Djoker ‘caught off-guard’

“For sure, people are not really ready to see that,” Monfils said. “Definitely, I try to get in his head, try to create something new for him to see.” Somehow, the tactic was effective, for a short while, anyway. “I was completely caught off-guard,” Djokovic acknowledged.

Pavic-Siegemund win mixed doubles title

French Open champion, broke Nishikori in the last game of the second, third and fourth sets to reach his first US Open final. The Swiss has lost 19 of 23 matches against defending champion Djokovic, who beat French 10th seed G a e l Monfils in his semifinal, but Wawrinka has beaten the Serb on his way to both of his Grand Slam titles. “To tell myself I’m going to be in the final is something crazy,” said Wawrinka. “ I’ m re al ly e xcite d. I watched the final so many times here. Roger (Federer), Novak, Rafa (Nada)

they are amazing champions. To play Novak in the final... is going to be something special.”REUTERS

Novak to star in reality show

the women’s singles at the US Open, lost to Venus Williams in the third round. The US Open also marked the first time that Vandeweghe and Ram, who won a silver medal with Venus Williams at the Rio Olympics, had teamed up. It was further Grand Slam disappointment for Vandeweghe, who lost in the final of this year’s Australian Open mixed doubles with Horia Tecau. REUTERS

New York: Croatia’s Mate Pavic and Germany’s Laura Siegemund claimed the first silverware of the US Open on Friday, landing the mixed doubles title with a 6-4 6-4 upset win over the seventh-seeded US partnership of Rajeev Ram and Coco Vandeweghe. It was the first Grand Slam title for the unseeded Pavic and Siegemund, who swept through all 10 sets and three tie-breaks to hoist the trophy. Siegemund, seeded 26th in

It’s gonna give me confidence to tell myself that I know I can do it, because I did it at the French Open. He knows also that I can play my best tennis in the final of Grand Slam

New York: Novak Djokovic reached the US Open final Friday and marked the occasion by announcing he will be the subject of a documentary series about his life. The world number one, and the only man to win more than $100 million in prize money, agreed to allow the cameras to follow him on and off court. The series, which has the working

title of “Novak”, will be aired on Amazon Prime in the United States, United Kingdom, Austria and Japan in 2017. “My fans have been suffering and celebrating with me from the very beginning of my career on the tennis courts,” Djokovic said in a statement released by the ATP. “Now I want to share with them all my daily life and what’s important to me.” AFP

CaVaLIERS END TITLE CURSE LeBron Guides Team To First NBA Championship; Third Overall For Him

All I was thinking at the end of the game was Mamba mentality

KyRIE IRVINg | on drawing inspiration from kobe bryant after nailing the

Varun Bector

clutch three-pointer over

NUMBERS gaME

he Cleveland Cavaliers created history on Sunday night by becoming the first team ever to overcome a 1-3 series deficit and clinching the championship against the Golden State Warriors. In doing so, they also ended Cleveland’s 52-year- old drought in major professional sports championships, the last addition to their silverware coming in the year 1964, courtesy of the Cleveland Browns. Unanimous Finals MVP LeBron James led the charge for the Cavs with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists – his 7th triple-double in the NBA finals, as the Cavs topped the Warriors 93-89. For the Warriors, Draymond Green erupted for 32 points, 15 rebs, 9 assists. The Cavaliers played tenacious defense and held the sharp-shooting duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, dubbed the ‘Splash Brothers’, to a combined total of 31 points, on an abysmal 6-of- 24 shooting from 3 point range. Kyrie Irving played a monumental role in the title-clinch-

stephen curry

52 20 11 3 1

Years since Cleveland won a major professional sports title. It is also their first NBA title Times the lead changed hands in game 7 of the NBA finals The number of times the teams were tied during the deciding game

Championships for LeBron. Two were with Miami Heat in 2012, 2013 Cleveland are the first team to comeback after trailing 3-1 in the finals

Raw EMOTIONS: LeBron James (left) and Kevin Love celebrate their hard-fought victory over the Warriors

ing game, pouring in 26 points, none of which were more spectacular than his go-ahead 3 pointer to put the Cavaliers up 92-89 with 52 seconds left on the clock. Kevin Love, often considered a poor defender, played lock-down defense on regular season MVP Stephen Curry in the last possession, denying him any space to get a shot up

LeBron draws the foul, leading to the gameclinching free-throw

Akron’s finest go at it

in time. A win for the Warriors would be seen as a fairy-tale ending to their historic regular season record of 73-9, if it wasn’t for the dominant play of James, who led the Finals in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks to lead the Cavaliers to their first ever Larry O’Brien trophy.

STEVE KERR | warriors head coach

TwEETS Congrats @KingJames @KyrieIrving and the rest of the @cavs unbelievable series. Well deserved #champs #enjoy Kobe Bryant @kobebryant

Rebounds

LeBron James with this championship sealed his legacy as one of the five greatest players to ever play the game. Earvin Magic Johnson @MagicJohnson

Assists

62 16 18

Congrats @cavs for winning @NBA title. @warriors u had a great regular season. But the greatest team of all time is the 95-96 @chicagobulls Dennis Rodman?@dennisrodman

LeBron leads all categories in Finals Points

Blocks Steals

208

MEMORaBLE MOMENTS IN gaME 7 ‘Cleveland, this is for you’ LeBron James with the Larry O’Brien and finals MVP trophy

We’re stunned. We thought we were going to win. I was extremely confident. We had a phenomenal season. We did something that’s never been done before. Couldn’t finish it off

LeBron James leaps out of nowhere to swat away Andre Iguodala layup attempt

Kyrie Irving drills the go-ahead three pointer over Stephen Curry

SIlver lInIng In DefeAT Gutsy India Go Down Fighting 3-1 To World Champs Australia In Champions Trophy Final

London: The Indian hockey team settled for a silver medal in its best ever Champions Trophy performance after the spirited side went down 1-3 to world champions Australia in a controversymarred summit clash penalty shootout here. Only Harmanpreet Singh was able to score in the shootout, while SK Uthappa, SV Sunil and Surender Kumar all hit wide off the target. Just four attempts were required from the two teams as Australia had gained a winning 3-1 lead. Aran Zalewski, Daniel Beale and Simon Orchard scored for Australia, while Trent Mitton’s try was blocked by goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. India thus improved on its bronze medal show in the 1982 edition. There was plenty of drama in the shootout as Beale’s shot was re-taken after he failed to score and sought a video review. The video

umpire asked the shot to be taken again, leaving Indian coach Roelant Oltmans fuming on the sidelines. At the end of the match, India protested against the second successful attempt awarded to Beale, delaying the final announcement on the result of the match. The officials assembled to decide on India’s appeal as trophies were removed from the ground and fans also left the stadium. After discussing the appeal for more than an hour, the jury declared that there was unintentional obstruction on part of Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh in the seventh second thus the re-take of the shot was justified. The presentation ceremony was later held indoors. Fancied Australia, looking for their 14th Champions Trophy title, faced a stiff fight from the Indians, who were playing their first final, but raised the level to come within striking distance of the title. Agencies

HArD Done BY: The indian team walks around the Queen elizabeth Olympic Park after lodging a protest with the authorities for a controversial penalty shootout against Australia during the champions Trophy final, in London, on Friday

TWeeTS

HI rewards team for claiming silver medal india’s silver medal winning performance in the 36th champions Trophy has earned the players and team officials a reward from Hockey india. immediately after the medal presentation, narender Batra, President of Hockey india, went to the dressing room and announced the rewards. Hockey india’s chief announced that each player and the chief coach would receive a reward of Rs 2 lakh, while the remaining support staff shall be rewarded Rs 1 lakh. Young defender Harmanpreet singh, who was on Friday adjudged the Youth Player of the Tournament, will get an additional Rs 1 lakh as reward. Agencies

ment. Any coach would be absolutely pleased with this Indian show. We’ll use the confidence gained here at the Champions Trophy to give a better display in the Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro,” Oltmans said. Oltmans said the way India performed in the title contest has boosted his faith of a fine show in the Olympics. “Look at the way the boys raised their game to play a competitive final. It was just a day after we lost 2-4 to Australia in the league match,” said Oltmans. Agencies

congrats to our Hockey Team for a spirited performance in champions Trophy finals. Their effort has been brilliant. We’re proud of the team. Prime Minister narendra Modi @ narendramodi

Prasanth.Menon @timesgroup.com

Kochi: For once, PR Sreejesh came second best in a penalty shootout. The goalkeeper had made it a habit of dishing out superlative performances under the bar in shootouts and has been the cornerstone of Indian hockey team’s recent success. But on a cold Friday evening at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre in London, the lad from Kochi couldn’t really pull it off against the mighty Aussies in a controversial penalty shootout which India lost 1-3. Sreejesh spoke to TOI on the significance of India’s Champions Trophy silver medal, the disappointment of losing in shootout and team’s chances in Rio.

This was the first time that you captained India and the team won its first-ever CT silver medal...

We will carry confidence into Olympics, says Oltmans London: India hockey coach Roeland Oltmans is delighted at his team’s outstanding performance at the Champions Trophy and said it will boost their confidence to produce a better show at the Rio Olympic Games. India settled for a silver medal in its best ever Champions Trophy performance after the spirited side went down 1-3 to world champions Australia. Oltmans praised his team for putting up a fine show after making their first appearance in the final of the showpiece event in the annual calendar. India had held Australia goalless in regulation period. “I’m delighted with my team. By all yardsticks, their performance the final was outstanding,” said Oltmans. “I am proud of what we’ve been doing as a team. Our performance is getting better with every tourna-

‘The win has given players self-belief’

i congratulate our Hockey Team for a good performance in the champions Trophy, proud of you! BCCI president Anurag Thakur @ ianuragthakur

Jury looks for escape route as India protest shootout

Proud of @TheHockeyindia team. congratulations on the silver medal in champions Trophy. it was a brilliant game. All the best for #Rio2016 India Test captain virat Kohli @ imVkohli

The medal presentation was then staged in the media interview room, away from the spotlight in the middle of the pitch. “The umpires have failed,” said Narender Batra, President of Hockey India, who vehemently protested from the VIP galleries. “Is this the quality of umpires you post in the final of the Champions Trophy?” asked Batra. “The shootout attempt went on for over 14 seconds, and then it was retaken. Just to cover up their shortcomings, they are now pointing out at a different incident,” he said. “If the goalkeeper had made an infringement, then a penalty stroke should have been awarded,” Batra emphasised. PTi

attempt was allowed to go on for more than 14 seconds and the obstruction that was cited took place outside the eight-second limit for such attempts. The score then was 1-0. After an hour and a half of the match’s conclusion, the jury eventually discovered that the ball had rolled under Indian goalkeeper’s pad for a couple of seconds. The jury now cited this as the cause why the shootout was retaken. But it still took the jury a lot of explanation to the Indian captain and coach before announcing that the result would stay. Australia thus won the title, but both teams had to be ushered out of the ground, to send a signal for the crowd to go home.

London: Off-field drama marred the controversial Champions Trophy Hockey title showdown as the tournament jury spent one hour and a half to find a way out to India’s protest against a shootout infringement against Australia. The tournament jury seemed to be in a fix when India filed an appeal against the video umpire’s decision to re-take the second attempt in the shootout. India had lost the shootout 1-3 after holding world champions Australia goalless in 60 minutes of regulation period on Friday night. It took the jury multiple replays to find a way out of the embarrassing situation that kept the result pending. India had complained that Daniel Beale’s shootout

great effort by our team in the finals of #HcT2016 and congrats for silver medal. We will continue to work hard to make our country proud. India hockey captain Sardar Singh @ imsardarsingh8

congratulations 2 indian Hockey team on a well fought finals & a fantastic #HcT2016 All the best for the future matches former cricketer vvS laxman @ VVsLaxman281

I’m a bit disappointed. We played brilliantly in the final, got under the skin of Aussies. But a goal eluded us in normal time and in the shootout things didn’t go our way. But I am very happy at what we have accomplished. This silver medal was important for this young team. It is a huge confidence-booster as we head to the Olympics.

You are known as India’s saviour in shootouts. What happened against Australia?

(Laughs) I was confident going into the penalties and was hoping to pull off at least two saves. But the shootout is not just about goalkeepers. Your fellow players have to score too. Our players did exceedingly well in regulation time. But couldn’t deliver in the shootout and I felt that extra bit of pressure in goal.

What about the controversy regarding Daniel Beale’s penalty in shootout?

These things happen in hockey and you have to take it on your chin.

So that meant that India’s first ever silver-medal had to be presented indoors.

Yeah, it was a bit disappointing. But then, history won’t show whether you

great effort by @TheHockeyindia, went right down to the wire. Lost a great final in Penalty shootout but won our hearts. former cricketer virender Sehwag @virendersehwag

‘MANNEQUINS IN RED SHIRTS’ Former Full-backs Gary & Phil Slam £145m Man United Midfield After Chelsea Thumping London: Former Manchester United full-backs Gary and Phil Neville have slammed the club’s “garbage” defending after Sunday’s crushing 4-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League. They also ripped into United’s highpriced midfield, which included 89 million pounds ($108.89 million) signing Paul Pogba, after N’Golo Kante was million able to waltz through them for Chel(From Everton, sea’s fourth goal. 2013) United manager Jose Mourinho blamed “incredible defensive mistakes” for the humiliating defeat on his return to Stamford Bridge, where he won three Premier League titles in two stints in charge. “For the fourth goal, (Ander) Herrera and Paul Pogba there, I think it’s absolutely scandalous,” Phil Neville was quoted as saying by a British daily. Gary, now a TV pundit, said: “They are like mannequins in those red shirts. He (Kante) has walked through 130 million pounds of midfield. It’s absolutely garbage defending.” In addition to a porous defence and trampled-over midfield, target man Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked off the pace, leaving 18-year-old Marcus Rashford to do too much work. Having made a flying start to his United career with four goals in as many games, the 35-year old Ibrahimovic has netted just once in his last eight appearances, a 1-0 Europa League win over Ukrainians Zorya Luhansk. Pogba, who scored twice in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Turkish side Fenerbahce, is struggling for consistency in a three-man midfield crying out for a creative playmaker.

Marouane Fellaini

£27.5

Mourinho’s main concern must be the shaky defence, however, and they will face another stern test with the visit of Manchester City in the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday. The Portuguese, who also guided Inter Milan to the treble in 2010 and won the 2012 Spanish league title with Real Madrid, apologised to United fans after the rout and dismissed any suggestion he still had a soft million spot for his former club. (From Athletic Bilbao, “The millions of fans that we have around 2014) the world, they are obviously with a very bad feeling,” he told MUTV. “I have to apologise for that as the leader of this dressing room, and the only thing I can say is that I am Man United 100 per cent.” REUTERS

Paul Pogba

Ander Herrera

£89.3

£28.85

million

(From Juventus, 2016)

Mourinho, Conte quiet about spat While Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte chose not to talk about the terse touchline exchange after Chelsea thumped Manchester United 4-0 on Sunday, pitch-side microphones suggested Mourinho had accused Conte, in Italian, of trying to “humiliate” his side by urging the home fans to make more noise. Prior to walking down the tunnel following Sunday’s game, stony-faced former Chelsea manager Mourinho cupped Conte’s head and spent a good while whispering in the Italian’s left ear.

Mental strength is key: Mata

London: Manchester United’s Juan Mata believes remaining “mentally strong” will be vital to their hopes of bouncing back against Manchester City in Wednesday’s derby clash following a thumping defeat by Chelsea. “It sounds like a cliche but it’s true: when we win and everybody praises you it’s easy to be united and celebrate together, but it is now, after such a defeat, when we must remain mentally strong and keep going,” Mata said.

I think that they got a little bit shoddy in the second-half. It was embarrassing from Pogba and Herrera. Kante just walked through them. They are the central midfield players — Gary Neville FORMER UNITED DEFENDER

Morata winner sends Real atop

The Portuguese is no stranger to clashes with opposing managers. Here’s a couple of his famous run-ins

Madrid: Real Madrid took advantage of Atletico Madrid’s first defeat of the season at Sevilla to move to the top of La Liga as Alvaro Morata struck a late winner to secure a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Steven N’Zonzi struck Sevilla’s winner 17 minutes from time to seal a 1-0 win at a soggy Sanchez Pizjuan.

Touchline shoving

LA LIGA TABLE

Mourinho and Arsene Wenger were seen pushing each other inside the technical area back in October 2014. Mourinho spoke about the incident saying, “He (Wenger) was asking for a red card in my technical area. I told him to go back to his area. He pushed me. I told him, ‘Here you do that, you know I can’t react, but I will meet you one day in the street’.”

Tito eye-poke

Mourinho poked a finger in the eye of Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova after a wild tackle by Madrid defender Marcelo on Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas sparked a scuffle between the sides in 2012. Mourinho later admitted his actions were wrong. He was among the first people to send his condolences when Vilanova lost his battle with cancer in 2014.

Team Real Madrid Sevilla Barcelona Villarreal Atletico

P W D L Pts 9 6 3 0 21 9 6 2 1 20 9 6 1 2 19 9 5 4 0 19 9 5 3 1 18

Real Madrid lead Sevilla by a point and Barcelona and Villarreal by two at the top of the table. Atletico, who started the weekend top, slip to fifth, three points back on their city rivals. Madrid couldn’ t have hoped for a better start when Enric Saborit’s slip allowed Isco to tee up Karim Benzema for a simple finish after just seven minutes. However, Real’s deGD 15 fensive deficiencies surfaced once more when 5 Ath le tic levelle d in 17 scrappy fashion as Javi11 er Eraso’s tenacity won +17 the ball inside the Ma-

drid box for Merino to slot home. Cristiano Ronaldo’s poor early season form continued and there were even jeers for the Portuguese when shot straight at Gorka Iraizoz with Isco and Benzema begging for a cut-back for a tap in. AFP

were presented the silver medal on the field or off it. History will always reflect India as silver medal winners in Champions Trophy in 2016.

It’s not often that see the Indian team dominate possession against the mighty Aussies and hold them goalless. What changed in 24 hours after losing to them 4-2?

After the loss against Australia we did a bit of soul searching and had an extended team meeting. And we were more determined to do better when we stepped on to the field on Friday evening. We already knew we were a part of history. However, we wanted to translate that already assured silver medal into gold. Unfortunately, we couldn’t.

What are the positives to come out of this?

There was a general feeling that India can give more fancied opponents a tough fight only at full strength. In this tournament, we had rested quite a few senior players including our captain Sardar Singh. The youngsters who came in played remarkably well. Though I was named captain, on the field the captain’s armband was worn by a field player. We rotated the on-field captain in the tourney and whoever wore the armband took the responsibility and marshalled the troops admirably. This tournament has given tremendous exposure and self-belief to the players, especially the younger ones and I think we are moving in the right direction.

The indian team can stand tall with their heads held high. Proud of the boys. You played your hearts out former India captain viren rasquinha @ virenrasquinha

Barcelona rest 10 for Super Cup tie Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique granted rest to 10 footballers, including attacking trident Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi, and left them out of Tuesday’s Catalunya Super Cup final against Espanyol in Tarragona. Besides the three forwards, Ivan Rakitic, Marcandre Ter Stegen, Lucas Digne, Javier Mascherano, Sergi Roberto, Sergio Busquets and Samuel Umtiti will have a rest until Thursday, reports Efe. The 10 footballers did not participate in Monday’s training session.

Sissoko faces ban on elbow charge Tottenham Hotspur’s Moussa Sissoko looks set for a threematch ban after being charged by the FA for appearing to elbow Bournemouth’s Harry Arter in the face in Saturday’s goalless draw. Sissoko caught fellow midfielder Arter at Bournemouth’s Dean Court ground but escaped immediate sanction since the incident was not seen by referee or his linesmen.

Marseille’s Diaby ruled out four months Marseille midfielder Abou Diaby’s injury woes continued on Monday as he was ruled out for four months following an ankle operation, his club confirmed. The French side said former Arsenal player Diaby underwent an operation in London after complaining of pains in his right ankle for several weeks. His estimated time out means he is unlikely to return before the end of February.

Sanches wins European Golden Boy prize Renato Sanches won the European Golden Boy award, given to the best footballer under 21 years of age. The Portuguese’s performance that helped Portugal in winning Euro 2016 was the key element for him winning the award.

MuMbai haND To DRive iNDia Ravi Shastri and Sandeep Patil’s Close Involvement With Players Could Help Either Of Them Land Team India Job; Tendulkar, Ganguly And Laxman Set To Take Final Call Santosh Bane

K.ShriniwasRao @timesgroup.com

Mumbai: The BCCI has zeroed in on 21 of the 57 applications for the post of Team India’s chief coach and left it on the three-member advisory committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman to take the final call.

The biG DeciSioN The shortlisting of the applications that had come in since June 1, 2016, concluded on Wednesday here and board secretary Ajay Shirke, said in a statement: “The cricket advisory committee will process and scrutinize all the applications, conduct interviews and seek presentations from candidates as the committee deems fit.” Shirke added that should the committee desire to look at all the 57 applications as well, the said will be made available to them. Former BCCI joint secretary and selector Sanjay Jag-

dale has been appointed the coordinator of this committee and will work with the former India legends on the appointment. The advisory committee is most likely to be caught in the middle of three impressive choices at their disposal. Ravi Shastri, by virtue of having worked with the Indian team as director and as someone who enjoys the support of skipper Virat Kohli; Sandeep Patil, by virtue of having been the chief national selector of the BCCI and having seen the circuit from very close quarters; and Anil Kumble, by virtue of being a legendary ex-cricketer, an exceptional leader and a much respected voice in the game. Sources following the developments say the final choice for the committee may remain between Patil and Shastri, in that order. Kumble, for all his accomplishments as a cricketer, has only coached in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and both his assignments — first with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and later with the Mum-

Who Will GeT The call? Ravi Shastri (left) and Sandeep Patil are tipped as favourites for the India coaching job

bai Indians — ended disappointingly. More importantly, Kumble does not meet the BCCI’s first condition in the advertisement listed for the post (see below). Shastri, on the contrary, enjoys Kohli and his predecessor MS Dhoni’s support — a fact that won’t be lost on those in charge of taking decisions. Patil, meanwhile, comes with experience, having been involved with the Indian national team as the chief selector since 2012 and of course his tenure as coach of the Kenyan national team that made it to the semifinals of the 2003 World Cup. Patil’s term as selector is scheduled to end this year. The Board had listed out a few prerequisites for potential candidates when it advertised for the job early this month. The first two of those state: * (Candidate) should have successfully coached a cricket team of any of the member

countries of the ICC, at the first class or at the International level. * It is preferred the candidate should be qualified through a certification/assessment programme conducted by any of the full member countries and currently possess such a valid certification. Since the IPL does not qualify as First Class cricket, Kumble’s candidature is likely to be ruled out for now. Between Shastri and Patil, the former hasn’t coached at the international or First Class level but has been incharge of the Indian team for almost 18 months. Patil is the only candidate who fulfils all the criteria listed by the BCCI by virtue of having famously coached the Kenyans in the 2003 World Cup. With the BCCI emphasizing on communication skills (though Hindi is not mandatory), one has to wait and see if Patil and Shastri indeed lock hor ns — unless of course, the remaining list of 21 candidates has something different to offer.

India complete clean sweep GCA officials also withdrew Harare: Unbeaten half-centuries from KL Rahul and debutant Faiz Fazal earned India a clean sweep of their three-match One-Day International series in Zimbabwe after a crushing 10 wicket victory here on Wednesday. Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat at the Harare Sports Club but their woeful form continued as they were bundled out for a meagre 123 in 42.2 overs. India made light work of their reply and blasted their way to their victory target from 21.5 overs as Rahul (63 from 70 balls) and Fazal (55 from 61 balls) pummelled the bowling. Zimbabwe sacked experienced coach Dav Whatmore on the eve of the series and have since been trounced by an understrength Indian side, who have won their three matches by eight-, nine- and now 10 wickets. Zimbabwe’s top score with the bat in the series was 168 in the first game, and only four players managed double figures on Wednesday as Indian seamer Jasprit Bumrah returned career-best figures of four for 22 in his 10 overs. Vusi Sibanda was topscorer for the hosts for the second match running with 38. Meanwhile, Indian skipper MS Dhoni achieved two mile-

`26L to pay fake companies

From p 1 esides the Rs. 2.87 crore fraud, police sources said the GCA officials also withdrew Rs 26 lakh from other bank accounts using fake identities on the pretext of paying a non-existent company. The GCA officials have been booked under sections 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant), 419 (cheating by personation), 463 (forgery), 464 (making false documents), 471 (using as genuine a forged), 420 (cheating), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code. The case of the BCCI cheque was brought to the notice of the Supreme Court last month by former Goa Ranji Trophy team vice-captain Hemant Angle who told the special bench of Chief Justice of India T S Thakur and F M I Kalifulla how a bank account was fraudulently opened by allegedly submitting forg ed documents. T he documents showed Vinod Phadke as GCA president even though the associa-

Faiz Fazal scored a half century on his ODI debut as India romped to a ten-wicket win over Zimbabwe in Harare on Wednesday

stones in the series. With 107 wins as captain, he equalled Allan Border for the second highest number of wins in ODI history. Ricky Ponting leads with an all-time high of 165. Dhoni also became the first Indian wicketkeeperbatsman to complete 350 dismissals in 50-over cricket. The teams will now play a three-match Twenty20 series in Harare starting on Saturday. agencIeS Brief scores: Zimbabwe 123 (Sibanda 38, Bumrah 4-22, Chahal 2-25) lost to India 126 for 0 (Rahul 63*, Fazal 55*) by 10 wickets

TiMeS vieW: The farcical nature of the Zimbabwe tour is evident from the ridiculously onesided contests the three ODIs produced. Yet, this tour could have proved useful in giving newcomers to the Indian squad some exposure to playing in unfamiliar conditions. With the series already won 2-0, the third game could have been used to give Rishi Dhawan, Mandeep Singh, Jaydev Unadkat and Jayant Yadav a look-in. Sadly, that did not happen. One hopes that they will get an opportunity at least in the 3 T20s to follow

tion was then led by Dayanand Narvekar. A GCA resolution, mandatory for any association to open bank accounts, was not attached with the documents submitted to the bank. “The account was opened in DCB Bank (Panaji branch) and there were a total of 49 withdrawals, all through fictitious names

cleaN up job on self cheques. Only one name was correct: Suryakant Naik, who withdrew Rs 10.25 lakh and he happens to be a central government employee,” said Angle. The senior GCA officials have all along maintained that they were unaware of the bank account until it was brought to the Supreme Court’s office and widely reported by newspapers. Phadke had filed a police complaint at the Porvorim police station alleging that signatures of their top three officials were forged and a fake bank account was created.

‘More rotten apples will be plucked out’ Gaurav.Gupta @timesgroup.com

Mumbai: At a time when it has been under relentless pressure from the Supreme Court to implement reforms recommended by the Justice RM Lodha panel, the arrest of its marketing chief and Goa Cricket Association president Chetan Desai by the economic offences cell is surely embarrassing for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), you’d think. A top Board official, however, welcomed the development while speaking to TOI. “These days are good days for cricket in India. The process of cleansing Indian cricket has begun. “Just wait and watch. More rotten apples will be plucked out in the coming days. A few have given a bad name to the BCCI, and they will suffer the same fate,” he said.

Hadlee latest to join Kohli fan club

Santosh Bane

Gaurav.Gupta @timesgroup.com

Mumbai: The way he’s batting these days, Virat Kohli is beginning to leave a lasting impression on the greats, and India’s Test captain would be delighted to know that the latest to join his ‘fan club’ is one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, R i c h a r d H a d l e e . T he charming Kiwi, who took 431 wickets in just 86 Tests @ 22.29, apart from scoring 3124 runs@27.16 in an illustrious career in which he troubled batsmen consistently, admitted that he was ‘bowled over’ by the 27-yearold’s class with the bat. Kohli slammed a record 973 runs (including four hundreds) in IPL-9. “He’s clearly world class, a phenomenal player, real joy to watch. He plays proper cricket shots in all forms of the game, even in T20 cricket. He stamps his impression on the game and looks to dominate the bowlers. It takes a brave batsman to do

Special voice that because he’s showing no fear and is looking to get the scoreboard tricking over. He’s beautiful to watch,” complimented the 64-yearold, who was in the city as a guest of Tata Trusts on Wednesday. Hadlee rated Kohli, along with current New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and South African ‘freak’ Ab de Villiers, among the top three batsmen in world cricket. “They are all different players. Kane Williamson is a fantastic player. Without doubt, he will be our best ever batsman. He will break all New Zealand batting records. Again, he plays normal cricket shots. De Villiers is another of those really destructive and orthodox batsmen. They are the top three in world cricket and the rankings reflect that. They’re all a joy to watch,” he summed up. Hadlee, though, wants the modern-day batsmen to work harder for their runs. “I would like to see bigger boundaries. Bowlers at times suffer in some formats with smaller boundaries, and you want to make that a contest. Running between the wickets is an important part of the game. We don’t see a lot of ‘threes’ being run, so make the grounds a little bigger,” he suggested. That the first man to

break the 400-wicket barrier in Test cricket is a keen watcher of the IPL is reflected when he praises Indian seamer Dhawal Kulkarni, who did well for the Gujarat Lions in this edition. “I like the look of Kulkarni, because he sticks to the basics of running in straight, bowls good lines, lengths, does a bit with the ball. I think he’s got some talent there,” Hadlee praised.

‘Day-Night Tests the future’ Hadlee backed the concept of day-night Tests, which is still in a nascent stage. “Day-night cricket is the future of the game. What we saw at the Adelaide Oval when New Zealand took on Australia (in the first-ever Day-night Test), was a wonderful spectacle. Clearly it attracted the crowds and is great for television,” Hadlee felt. “We saw how the pink ball worked visually (well) on television. It behaved better than what the players expected, because there was some controversy and lack of confidence from players whether actually the pink ball will last and whether it could be seen. We saw an extraordinary Test. Even (if) that was over in three days, it was a (good) contest between bat and ball. And that’s what you wanted. It was a wonderful spectacle,” he added. Looking back on his epic career, which began in 1973 and ended in 1990, Hadlee confessed that the highlight of his career was the 33 wickets he took in t h e t h re e - Te s t s e r i e s against Australia in 198586, which included a perfor mance of 9-52 at the Gabba. He credits then New Zealand coach Glenn

Chethan shivakumar

60 iN

RUNS

2 OvERS!

For the first time in the history of the IPl, two overs of 30 runs each (18th and 19th in rcb’s innings), delivered by Dwayne bravo and Shivil Kaushik respectively, were recorded in an innings.

112 144

runs scored by rcb in their last five overs.

rcb recorded the biggest win in terms of runs in the IPl. The previous biggest was by 140 run wins by KKr vs rcb at bangalore in 2008.

killER DUO: Virat Kohli and Ab de Villers smashed brilliant hundreds to power rcb to a 144-run win over Gujarat lions in bengaluru on Saturday

kohli went from 50 to 100 in 14 balls! Virat Kohli took 39 balls to reach his fifty, but thereafter, it took him just 14 balls to reach 100 from 50. here’s a look at how much he scored off every delivery after crossing 50: 1,1,4,6,2,1,6,4,6,6,6,2,2,6.

RECORDS GAlORE

After playing 143 matches in succession between April 19, 2008 and May 8, 2016, Suresh raina missed his first game in his IPl career— it is an IPl record. he has played 132 matches for chennai Super Kings and 11 for Gujarat lions.

Virat Kohli is the first captain to score 600 runs in an IPl season twice — 634

(ave.45.28), including six fifties, in 16 matches in 2013 and 677 (ave.75.22), including three centuries and four fifties, in 11 matches in 2016. his tally this year is a record by a captain in an IPl season. Sachin Tendulkar is the only other captain to score 600 runs or more in an IPl season — 618 (ave.47.53) in 15 matches.

This is the first time that two batsmen have hit centuries

season. The only other batsman to hit three centuries in a T20 tournament is Michael Klinger in the NatWest T20 blast last year.

(Virat Kohli 109 & Ab de Villiers 129 not out) in an innings in the IPl. The only other time this happened in a Twenty20 was when Kevin o’brien (119) and hamish Marshal (102) scored tons for Gloucestershire vs Middlesex at Uxbridge on June 26, 2011.

229

Number of runs added by Ab de Villiers and Virat Kohli for the second wicket — a new partnership record for any wicket in the IPl. The pair beat its own record of 215* for the 2nd wicket vs Mumbai at Mumbai on May 10, 2015.

Number of centuries hit by Virat Kohli in this IPl to become the first batsman to accomplish the feat in an IPl

StAtS: Rajesh kumaR

ThE bEST oF ThE lEAGUE... ORANGE CAP

PURPlE CAP

677

rUNS

viRAt kOhli rcb

WIcKETS

m mCClENAGhAN MI

Shock & Awe! hOW thEY StAND

TEAM

N/R

PTS

srh

+0.41

-0.74

+0.37

KKr

+0.20

-0.43

rCB

+0.62

De Villiers srh

538

B Kumar srh

Warner srh

515

A Russell KKr

KXIP

-0.38

Rohit MI

428

S Watson rCB

rPs

-0.08

Rahane rPs

417

Mustafizur srh

SCOREBOARD RCB: c Gayle b Kulkarni 6, V Kohli c bravo b Kumar 109, Ab de Villiers not out 129, S Watson c Karthik b Kumar 0; Extras: (b1, lb1, w1, nb1) 4 total: (3 wickets; 20 overs) 248 Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-248, 3-248 Bowling: P Kumar 4-1-45-2, Kulkarni 3-0-33-1, Kaushik 3-0-50-

0, Tambe 2-0-25-0, bravo 3 -0-46-0, Jadeja 4-0-34-0, Smith 1-0-13-0. Gl: D Smith b Aravind 7, b Mccullum c de Villiers b chahal 11, r Jadeja c & b Jordan 21, D Karthik c de Villiers b Jordan 2, A Finch c Aravind b baby 37, D bravo lbw b chahal 1, A Nath b chahal 3, P Kumar b Jordan 1, D Kulkarni b Jordan 2, P Tambe not out 7, S Kaushik c Aravind b

updated till RCB vs Gl matCh

Sachin baby 0; Extras: (b1, lb3, w5, nb3) 12 total: 104 all out in 18.4 overs Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-37, 3-44, 4-44, 5-47, 6-68, 7-69, 8-74, 9-104 Bowling: binny 2-0-13-0, Aravind 3-0-15-1, chahal 4-0-19-3, Watson 1-0-3-0, Jordan 3-0-11-4, Aaron 2-0-19-0, Kohli 1-0-13-0, Gayle 2-0-3-0, baby 0.4-0-4-2. Result : rcb won by 144 runs.

Many congratulations @ AbdeVilliers17and @imVkohli truly class first time missed a game but saw a great game of #IPl2016 play well boys?? @imRaina This is like ronaldo and Messi on the same team! ?? #IPl2016 @josbuttler Easily the two best batters in the world. @imVkohli @ AbdeVilliers17 how many times has two players scored 100 in 20/20 for a team? @davidwarner31 Actually can’t believe what I’m seeing #rcbvGl. Next generation cricket @albiemorkel Incredible hitting by @ AbdeVilliers17 3 hundreds in one ipl unbelievable performance @imVkohli @YUvStRONG12

SMOOTH START FOR SUPER SERB Djokovic makes light Work Of Ward; Venus equals slam record For most appearances Prajwal.Hegde @timesgroup.com

L o n d o n : Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, who wore her hair like a crown, held together by a dyed-red weave that a provided a striking creeper effect, handed out lessons in style and substance in her Wimbledon opener. The 36-year-old American, the oldest player in the women’s draw, in her 19th appearance at this sprawling, southwest London facility, pulled off a record-equalling 71 appearances in Grand Slams, with a hard-fought 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 win over the combative Croat Donna Vekic. Vekic, who’ll turn 20 on Tuesday, was cheered on by her boyfriend Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who sat beside her parents and coach David Felgate. The Croat, impressive in patches, had more winners, 26 to Venus’ 18. But had more unforced errors, 28 to the American’s 20 to surrender whatever advantage she had gained with her fierce hitting. More so when she broke in the seventh and 11th games of the first set, going for too much to allow the veteran back into the

contest. “She hit more winners than I did. She seemed to track down every ball that I hit, produced a lot of winners,” Venus said of her opponent. “When I go out to play my matches, I definitely expect my opponents to play well, so that’s kind of a given. If she can build on that play that will be great for her for the rest of the year.” The eighth-seed, who went with an a-line ensemble for her Court No.1 engagement, also had a lesson for Vekic’s dressmakers. Nike’s Little White Dress for The Championship, which they reportedly recalled for necessary alterations, raised as many eyebrows and not for the same reason as Vekic’s play on the day. The ‘dresstress’, as the line is beginning to be known as, a cross between a top and tunic, was more slip or sleepwear than something a competitive athlete would wear. Each time Vekic swung, the dress took flight. Unfortunately for the Croat, in pivotal moments of the clash, her play resembled her clothing, which was all over the place. “I’ve had a lot of fashion adventures, that’s for sure,”

Reigning champion Djokovic breezed past Briton James Ward

Venus, who has her own clothes line said. “But it’s never stopped me on the court. I’ve been able

to play my best.” When asked what was more important - fashion or function – the towering

American said, “Fashion is very important for me, so (whatever I wear or design) always has to be fashionable. But clearly it also has to be functional. They go hand-in-hand. I wouldn’t pick one over the other. But it’s easy to design something functional without being fashionable. It’s about challenging yourself to push it a little bit.” Venus played her best tennis in the tie-break. In the second set, Vekic, who is fluent in three languages Croatian, Italian and English, once again struggled on important points as Venus powered through to set up a second-round meeting with Greek qualifier Maria Sakkari. World No.1 Novak Djokovic knocked out British wildcard James Ward 6-0, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in a first round engagement. In other men’s matches, sixth-seed Milos Raonic dismissed Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 while ninth-seed Marin Cilic put out American Brian Baker 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in a shade under two hours. In women’s matches, ninth seed Madison Keys powered past Germany’s Laura Siegemund 6-3, 6-1; former finalist Sabine Lisicki put out American Shelby Rogers 6-1, 6-3 and in a key upset, 223rd-ranked Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova upset former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 7-5.

‘SanTina’ return to scene of sweetest triumph Prajwal.Hegde @timesgroup.com

London: Sania Mirza gazed out of the players’ restaurant that overlooks SW19’s picturesque facility and spotted the falling rain. “Of course,” she said, her voice dropping musically, “it’s raining, so we must be at Wimbledon.” The world No. 1 doubles pro, back to the scene of her sweetest triumph, said the last 12 months had been rewarding. “A lot has happened this past year. I’ve been No.1 for over a year and we’re back to where we won our first Grand Slam title as a team,” she said of her partnership with Swiss

Martina Hingis. “No matter how many more Slams I win, nothing is going to top the 2015 triumph. Not just because it was my first (women’s doubles), but the way we won it and then it set us up for the streak that followed our win at the US Open.” Starting Wimbledon (2015), Sania and Hingis went unbeaten in Slams until they fell to

the unheralded Russian pair of Daria Kasatkina and Alexandra Panova in the third round of the French Open last month. “I feel good, prepared,” Sania, who arrived in London in the weekend, said while dismissing the hay fever that has been bothering her this past week. The 29-year-old, stylishly turned out in a bohemian jacket and fitted bottom, wavy locks falling loosely around her shoulders, noted: “The reason I played the two tournaments leading up to Wimbledon -- Birmingham and Eastbourne -- was to find my rhythm. I’m a rhythm player and I need to practice before I

play on grass. It’s not about winning or even how many matches you play, it’s about getting that practice in and you know mentally preparing yourself for this whole startstop affair that is the feature of playing on grass.” SanTina, the top seeds, have drawn the tricky German pairing of Anna-Lena Friedsam and Laura Siegemind in their opening encounter. “You may have played on grass for 20 years, but each time the season begins, you’re starting fresh, finding your step again.” Sania said: “It’s the most physically demanding of surfaces, in clay and even on hard courts you can get away at

times without using your feet too much, managing to steer it with your hands. But on grass you just have to get down to play the ball.” SanTina, who won just one match at Eastbourne, where they lost in the quarters, coming into The Championships, will find that it’s as much a physical exercise as it’s a mental one. “It’s about us,” Sania said. “It’s important for us not to get stuck on the fact that we’re defending champions and come out and play like we know we’re capable of playing. I think the first few rounds are crucial, it’s important that we play ourselves into the tournament.”

FIRST ROUND: GARBINE WON

6-2, 5-7, 6-4 garbine

camila vs

match stats Camila

garbine

Aces

1st Serve % in 70/120

54/95

BP Won

4/19

2/4

Unforced Errors 42

NP Won

13/14

11/16

Winners

TP Won

102

113

DF: Double Faults; BP: Break Points; NP: Net Points; TP: Total Points

HOW THE SEEDS FARED Men Singles (Rd 1): 1-Novak Djokovic (SRB) bt James Ward (GBR) 6-0 7-6(3) 6-4; 6-Milos Raonic (CAN) bt Pablo Carreno (ESP) 7-6(4) 6-2 6-4; 9-Marin Cilic (CRO) bt Brian Baker (USA) 6-3 7-5 6-3; 11-David Goffin (BEL) bt Alexander Ward (GBR) 6-2 6-3 6-2; 13-David Ferrer (ESP) bt Dudi Sela (ISR) 6-2 6-1 6-1; 16-Gilles Simon (FRA) bt Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 4-6 6-4 7-5 6-3; Denis Istomin (UZB) bt 20-Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4-6 6-7(13) 6-4 7-6(2) 6-3. Women Singles (Rd 1): 2-Garbine Muguruza Blanco (ESP) bt Camila Giorgi (ITA) 6-2 5-7 6-4; 8-Venus Williams (USA) bt Donna Vekic (CRO) 7-6(3) 6-4; 9-Madison Keys (USA) bt Laura Siegemund (GER) 6-3 6-1; 12-Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) bt Zhang Shuai (CHN) 6-3 4-6 6-4; 14-Samantha Stosur (AUS) bt Magda Linette (POL) 7-5 6-3; Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) bt 23-Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 6-2 7-5.

TIMES SPORTAL

THE TIMES OF INDIA, BENGALURU WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Now Playing: Rafa & Friends

I love to represent my country: Nadal

Spain’s Davis Cup Team Enjoy Time Together As Long-Time Pals Unlike The Indian Camp PTI

Devadyuti.Das@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The rarity of an IndiaSpain Davis Cup clash is hard to match in the modern era — once in nearly every half a century! So 51 years after the 1965 meeting in Barcelona – the last encounter between the two nations -- they’ll get together in a World Group Play-off clash from Friday at the RK Khanna stadium in the Capital from Friday. The Spanish armada is lined up with Rafael Nadal (14-time Grand Slam champion) and David Ferrer (world No. 13) in their ranks, which means the only thing on paper standing between a possible embarassment of a ‘whitewash’ at home is Saturday’s doubles clash. But that too has begun to carry its own story. Over the last 26 years, Leander Paes has piled up a 42-11 doubles win-loss record in the Davis Cup — a record in the tournament level with Italian legend Nicola Pietrangeli. That ‘doubles’ aura, which featured another record of 23 successive wins SMILES ALL AROUND: Leander Paes (right) and Saketh Myneni at a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday by the Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi pair, is When Rafa is not available, Marc he’ll be forced to pair up with a new fast fading from Indian tennis and the dia’s last World Group Play-off clash reasons behind it are far less to do at the same venue here Delhi last year. has another friend in Feliciano Lopez partner which will be a toss-up beIronically, while everyone is talk- (also referred as ‘Deliciano’ by Andy tween Saketh Myneni, Ramkumar with sport than politics in the backroom. The rapidly declining relations ing about the singles prowess of the Murray’s mother Judy) and the duo Ramnathan and young Sumit Nagal. “We are waiting to see how the first between Paes and India’s highest- Spaniards, the camaraderie in their are the reigning French Open chamranks is what makes them formi- pions. In fact, friendship is what binds day’s matches pan out. We’ll take a call ranked doubles player Rohan Bopanna dable, lending an ominous feels to all four members of the Spanish squad on Leander’s partner depending on (world No. 18) came to an ugly end at how long Ram or Saketh are on their doubles challenge. The thread including David Ferrer. the Rio Olympics. When Rafa was asked about his the court. Forced to pair up together, that binds the doubles game is “All three options are open and welagainst Bopanna’s wishes, 34-year-old Marc Lopez toughest opponent in the pre-draw Davis Cup conference on Wednesday, the come,” Indian Davis Cup captain from Barcelona. the duo crashed to an unWe’ll take a call on Marc and Rafa have rest of the three chipped in simultane- Anand Amritraj said on Tuesday. fancied Polish pair of Leander’s partner Asked about his choice for a doubeen the best of friends ously to say, “Ferrer!” Marcin Matkowski and In the past, Ferrer has gone on re- bles partner, Paes said, “I look forward since 2001, when they depending on how Lukasz Kubot in the first were roommates in the cord to say, “The truth is that I have to pairing up with Saketh. He is a round of Rio Olympics long Ram or Saketh Real Club de Tenis in some great peers on tour, such as Marc natural ad-court player with great doubles event. Relations are on the court Barcelona. While the 14- Lopez, Rafa and Feliciano. I can’t pick wing-span. But I am also prepared to were never cordial be— Anand Amritraj time Slam champion a favourite one, but I would say that take up a mentor’s role with Sumit tween the pair and the INDIA CAPTAIN Nagal. Both of us have been champisigns should have been heeddoesn’t often try his hand at they are my closest friends on tour.” This time around while Paes may ons in the junior Wimbledon tournaed when Paes-Bopanna lost to the doubles, he had no hesitation in Czech pair of Radek Stepanek and pairing up with Marc for Rio and the continue to carry India’s flag in Satur- ment in the past. It’ll be up to me to day’s rubber, with Bopanna’s pull-out, guide him.” Adam Pavlasek in straight sets in In- duo promptly won the gold medal.

Reuters

Munich: Newly-crowned World No. 1 Angelique Kerber has nothing left to prove after clinching the US Open for a second Grand Slam this year and securing a place in the record books, the German said on Tuesday. The 28-year-old became the oldest player to rise to that rank when the new list was published on Monday, capping a memorable summer that also included the Olympic silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and a Wimbledon final appearance. Her success in Rio was followed up by a final defeat in Cincinnati to Katerina Pliskova, who she then beat in the US Open final. “In Cincinnati, that is where the questions about number one started coming up and that is where the additional pressure started,” she said. Kerber had started the year by winning the Australian Open but said her triumph in New York on Saturday, coupled with the number one ranking, had now taken off any pressure. “Winning the second Grand Slam, it was a bit different,” she told a news conference in Munich following her return to Germany.

HOME, SWEET HOME: Angelique Kerber in Munich on Tuesday

“I don’t have anything to prove anymore. I am at the top, number one. I waited for this moment all my life,” she said. “Melbourne was different as it was my first Grand Slam. I had to deal with a lot of things off the court after that.” Kerber, who beat Pliskova in three sets in New York, having secured the top spot days earlier following Serena Williams’ exit, said her improved fitness and mental strength had been key to her success. “This year everything came

together. The experiences, specifically dealing with pressure. I am even fitter now than earlier this year. I am more positive and can deal with things even if they do not go that well.” Kerber said she would now put her tennis racquet to the side for a few days and would treat herself to a special gift with some of her $3.5 million prize money. “It will probably be in the direction of jewellery. But exactly what it will be I do not know yet.”REUTERS

After Rio drama, Kyrgios commits to Davis Cup tie Melbourne: After controversially missing the Rio Olympics, Nick Kyrgios has pledged his commitment to Australia’s Davis Cup team ahead of their World Group playoff against Slovakia. The 21-year-old firebrand withdrew himself from consideration for the Rio tennis tournament after being publicly upbraided about his conduct by team chef de mission Kitty Chiller. Kyrgios on Tuesday was still battling to shrug off a hip injury which ended his US Open campaign but trained with the team ahead of the weekend’s tie at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to play,” he told reporters. “I feel ready. I’m playing probably the best tennis I have. “I’ve hit twice since I’ve been here and been going for about an hour to an hour and a half so it’s feeling good and I’m feeling confident with (the injury).” World No. 15 Kyrgios was named in the squad for Slovakia and if fit, will play in the singles rubbers with Bernard Tomic, who also withdrew from Rio after a public warning from Chiller. The tennis players had a minor feud in March when

tional Tennis Federation early next month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Tuesday. The Russian tennis star had initially hoped to get fast-track verdict in July before the Rio de DOPE Janeiro Olympics began. After both sides’ lawyers said they needed more time to prepare their case, the target was then set for Sept. 19. Now, CAS plans to issue its verdict during the first week of October.

Sharapova was banned in June by the ITF after testing positive for meldonium at the Australian Open. She acknowledged taking meldonium before each match in Melbourne, claiming she was not OPERA aware that the drug, also known as mildronate, had been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency as of Jan. 1. An independent three-person panel appointed by the ITF ruled that Sharapova did not intend to cheat, but

Piyal Bhattacharjee

Paes with Nadal on Tuesday

have been so many great moments especially all the finals we have played, some we won and others we lost,” the 30-year-old added. Marc, Nadal’s doubles partner in their gold medalwinning run in Rio, echoes his teammate’s feelings. “Olympics was definitely tiring and we had a long campaign at US Open as well. But I am happy to be part of a g reat team of friends,” Marc said. At the other end of the spectrum, India are once again at touching distance of a World Group spot but the hurdle looks a hard one to surmount. “We are ranked at our best-ever position at number 20 — which means we are just four places below the World Group (of 16). We are one of the best Asian teams which is saying a lot since teams like South Korea and Japan have been improving every year. I hope we’ll be able to clear the hurdle sooner or later,” India captain Anand Amritraj said.

I am still very much a work in progress: Saketh for the world No. 137, placing him at the start of another journey. “This time I know,” the 6 ft 4’ pro says. “I’m t was August 10, 2006. Saketh Myneni, 18, was boarding to another world. He was still very much a work in progress, but I know this is what I can do. I also have a better underdressed in weekend casuals for his first standing of what I’m up against. I would like to international flight that was to take him across the Atlantic Ocean. The teengive my singles a real push, explore the extent, improve my game, foot speed. ager had no idea of what awaitI want to play on the Tour, compete ed him on the other side. I GREW UP, FOUND in Grand Slams. I’m looking for“I wasn’t scared, more anxious,” he says, now sitMYSELF. I WAS ABLE ward to doing that for a few years.” Myneni, who will lead ting in the comfort of his TO FIGURE OUT MY India’s challenge against Rafa Vizag home. “I was leavPRIORITIES, MAKE Nadal’s Spain in the weekend’s ing behind family and Davis Cup World Group playfriends, a nice life and NEW FRIENDS, BUILD off round in New Delhi aims to plunging into the unRELATIONSHIPS, finish the year playing in Asia, known. The only thing I START FROM mixing qualifying draws of Tour knew was that I wanted to events with ATP Challengers. play for India.” SCRATCH “I like playing at home and in Cut to August 29, 2016. Myneni, India’s No.1, played his Asia,” Myneni says, adding that he has benefitted by the number of Challenger tournafirst Grand Slam main draw match at the US Open. The 28-year-old acquitted himself ments in the country in recent years, enabling admirably against Czech Jiri Vesely, ranked Indians to improve their ranking and game to some 100 places higher than him, and who compete on the world stage. “We’ll look at the tie had only months before beaten the seem- against Spain as a learning experience,” he says, ingly unbeatable world No.1 Novak “we have to play our best, leave it all out there.” Djokovic in Monte Carlo. Life had come full circle EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT In his four years of playing collegiate tennis in the United States, turning out for the University of Alabama, Myneni worked the summers at a country club teaching tennis in Greenwich, Connecticut, a posh neighborhood, once home to tennis’ royalty like Ivan Lendl. Myneni, an only child, who, rather than take money from his father, worked at Burning Tree to pay college fees, double majored in economics and finance. He could’ve finished sooner, majoring in one rather than two subjects, and perhaps turned pro earlier, but he figured the extra year in college was good for his tennis, besides, he says, “education is important to me”. “Not so much for security, but for the journey itself,” he clarifies, the unmistakable twang in his accent betraying his time away from home. “I grew up, found myself. I was able to figure out my priorities, make new friends, build relationships, start from scratch. So much so that I have two worlds that I call home — Vizag and Hyderabad and in the United States where I lived.” Prajwal.Hegde@timesgroup.com

I Tomic questioned Kyrgios for pulling out of the World Group tie against the United States in Melbourne due to a “flu-like illness”. On Tuesday, each moved to allay concerns about any lingering bad blood. “He’s a great player, with great potential and doing great things,” Kyrgios said of world number 21 Tomic, who crashed out of the U.S. Open in the first round and was heavily fined for a crude outburst directed at a heckler in the crowd. Tomic said he and Kyrgios would be in Davis Cup for the long haul. “Obviously this is a new week. We’re excited and I’m sure everyone else is and I’m sure it’s something that has m a n y more years to come.” REUTERS

Maria to find out decision on appeal next month Lausanne: The verdict in Maria Sharapova’s appeal against a two-year ban for doping has been delayed for a second time. Sharapova should now find out the decision in her case against the Interna-

New Delhi: Leander Paes, who is India’s most decorated player with 18 Grand Slam doubles titles, had no qualms in admitting even that at this stage of his career, he can learn by watching Spanish great Rafael Nadal train and play. The 43-year-old, said the lineup that Spain has presented for the Davis Cup tie against India is a must watch for every single budding athlete in the country. Spain have come with 14time Grand Slam champion Nadal, world number 13 David Ferrer, the marathon man of world tennis with 26 ATP singles titles, and French Open champion pair of Mark and Feliciano Lopez. “It’s a great showcase of tennis in India. If I were 9,10, 15year old budding athlete, I would be packing the stadium, every single day. To come and watch a 14-time Grand Slam champion is unbelievable. For me even now, at this stage of my career, where I have played 30 years, you can come out and watch what Rafa does and learn so much,” Paes said. PTI

New Delhi: When it comes to Davis Cup, it is a matter of pride for Spain. The fivetime champions dominated the tournament betwen 2000 and 2011, winning all their five titles in this period besides being losing finalists in 2003 and 2012. Now languishing a rung below the World Group for the last two years, one can see the desperation in them as they look to get back into the big league. Rafael Nadal has 14 Grand Slam crowns to his name and a packed schedule in the second half of the year after returning from injury but had no hesitation in flying over from New York to New Delhi after a heartbreaking five-set loss in US Open to play the Davis Cup tie. Marc Lopez and Feliciano Lope z already have this year’s French Open doubles title to their name and took the same flight with Nadal after losing in the US Open semifinals. Rafa was ready to turn out in singles, doubles and mixed doubles in the Rio Olympics for the country and was the first one t o a n swe r t h e c a l l fo r Davis Cup. “Every player has his own personnel schedule and taking part in a tournament depends on the person’s health. I love to represent my country whenever possible whether it’s Olympics or Davis Cup. This time there is extra motivation to move into World Group,” Nadal said in the build-up to the playoff against India beginning Friday. “I have been playing Davis Cup since I was 17. There

that she bore “sole responsibility” and “very significant fault” for the positive test. Sharapova said she first was prescribed the Latvianmade drug, typically used for heart conditions, for medical reasons in 2006. Her ban is due to end on Jan. 25, 2018, which would force her to miss eight Grand Slams. AP

JUMPING THE GUN? @WashKastles

New World No. 1 Kerber soaks in love of home fans

Paes wants to learn from Rafa

PTI

Devadyuti.Das @timesgroup.com

Serena pens female-power poem for fashion show in NY New York: “She turns her disappointment into triumph. Her grief into joy. Her rejections into approvals. If no one believes in her it does not matter. She believes in herself. Nothing stops her. No one can touch her. She is woman.” So said Serena Williams via loudspeaker Monday as part of a female-power soundtrack for a runway show of her Serena Williams Signature Statement collection for HSN during New York Fashion Week. Williams interspersed the long-form poem that she wrote and recited on the soundtrack with music from women only, including her buddy Beyonce’s

“Lemonade.” “I wrote it right after Wimbledon and during the Olympics, and I just was in this moment of I want to empower women,” she explained in a backstage interview. “It was right around the time I was asked, ‘How do you feel about being the greatest female athlete?’ and I was, like, they never ask men that. I wanted to give women strength. I played it for Beyonce and she loved it.” The idea, said the tennis great, was to carry that strength and unity into the clothes into her third show. The fall collection of soft faux shearlings, feminine black lace, ivories,

Reuters

TURNING UP IN STYLE: Serena arrives at the New York Fashion Week

touches of soft stretchy leather and classic wool maxi coats in gray and black was available immediately on HSN as Williams

joined the “see now, buy now” push that’s become increasingly common during Fashion Week. She paired dainty stovepipe leg-

gings in a soft rose with long, matching vests and cardigans, a velvet and fur-trimmed dress with sexy pumps, and a black lace gown worn over high-waisted shorts. And she included knits in a Merlot and touches of fall green. The sophistication spoke to her years in fashion, along with her sister, Venus, who focuses on athleisure wear for another company. Are they competitive in fashion as well as tennis? “It is very competitive spirit, but we’re in totally different fields,” Serena smiled. “She’s into more sportswear and I’m into more ready-to-wear, and more sportswear, too.”

Her older sis was on hand front row to cheer Williams on. So how does Venus feel about some friendly sisterly competition? “We give each other confidence, so if your sister likes it you know it’s going to be OK,” Venus said. “Your sister always tells you the truth. We definitely help each other out and give suggestions. And that’s the way sisters should be.” Williams won Wimbledon this year but lost in the semifinals at the US Open. She tied with Steffi Graf ’s Grand Slam record of 22. She also tied Graf ’s record until this week as the No 1 female player in the world for 186 weeks. AP

ndian tennis star Leander Paes, who was recently spotted at the US Open cheering his mixed-doubles partner Martina Hingis during one of her doubles encounters, seemed to have jumped the gun while indulging in some Twitter banter with the Swiss earlier this week. After the pair's World Team Tennis side Washington Kastles tweeted a picture of the Indian seemingly munching on fries in the stands during the match, Hingis said: Are you gonna share that fries with anyone, @Leander? Paes responded: "With you Partner, how can I not share some with the World No.1 @mhingis #idonteveneatfries" Interestingly, in the latest WTA rankings, Hingis continued to be behind former partner Sania Mirza, who independently holds the world No.1 ranking.

NO GAIN, ONLY SPAIN Inexperienced Ramkumar Takes A Set Off Lopez, Ferrer Tames Saketh As India Go 0-2 Down Pics: Piyal Bhattacharya/PTI

Devadyuti.Das@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: It is not easy getting into the shoes of Ramkumar Ramanathan. T he 21-year-old has been fasttracked into the big league of Davis Cup with India missing the services of top players like Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman due to injury over the last year. It has not been an easy initiation by any means for the youngster, who won on debut against South Korean Seong Chan Hong in Chandigarh in the last tie. When he went to sleep on Thursday night he would have been getting mentally ready for the biggest match of his fledgling career against one of the modern-day legends of the game, Rafael Nadal. But just an hour and a half before this supposed tie, team captain Anand Amritraj walked up to him to inform that Nadal would not be turning out. Instead, Feliciano Lopez would be opening the contest on Friday. One can’t be sure if his hopes suddenly rose after the news but the Chennai youngster came out all guns blazing against Lopez. His captain had wanted Ramanathan to get off to a fast start against Nadal and he managed to do the same against Rafa’s replacement. At the end of the day, the score will show that Ramanathan lost 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 1-6 in 2 hours, 24 minutes to Lopez but what it won’t reflect is the fight put up by the Indian youngster. In the second singles, Saketh Myneni fizzled out without a fight, losing 1-6, 2-6, 1-6

RESULTS 1ST MATCH: Feliciano

Lopez bt Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1

2ND MATCH: David Ferrer bt Saketh Myneni 6-1, 6-2, 6-1,

Was informed that I’ll be playing against Feliciano when I was warming up. The tactics were the same which I had planned for my match against Nadal. —Ramkumar Ramanathan | INDIA PLAYER SERVING IT HOT: Feliciano Lopez battled a brief fightback from Ramkumar and the hot and humid conditions in New Delhi on Friday

in 1 hour, 28 minutes to World No. 13 David Ferrer. So, as expected, India are down 0-2 after the first day of this World Group playoff tie.

Even though results were along predicted ines, the bright spot of the day for the hosts was world No. 203 Ramanathan, who gave the crowd lots to cheer even in the ab-

sence of Rafa. The Chennai lad matched the world No. 26 shot for shot from the back of the court — at least early on in the tie. The match was level at 2-2 after the first four games of the tie before Lopez changed a gear. Unlike many of the other European tennis stars, Feliciano Lopez (nicknamed ‘Deliciano’ by Andy Murray’s mother Judy) is much more adept at serve-andvolley. A couple of grass court ATP titles in his career underline his skills at the net which shone through even on the hard and fast court at the RK Khanna Stadium. Lopez finally broke through Ramanathan’s defence in the fifth game of the match to move a break up and went on to clinch the first set in 41 minutes. The man from Toledo followed up by breaking Ramanathan in the first game of the second set and held on to that to two 2 sets up after another 33 minutes. The high point of the clash was the third set, just when one thought Ramanathan would throw in the towel. However, the Indian as not willing to let go. Up 3-2 in the third set, Ramanathan took a medical timeout to get some treatment on his knee. The break seemed to have rejuvenated Ram, who finally earned his first break points of the match in the eighth game. Feliciano managed to save a couple but Ramanathan got the break with a backhand down-theline winner. The tie was alive with the Indian winning the 33-minute long set. However, Feliciano, who won the French Open with Marc Lopez, managed to silence the crowd.

Conchita remains at ease in a man’s world Devadyuti.Das@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: It’s exactly been a decade since Conchita Martinez hung up her racquet after an illustrious 18-year career, the highlight being the 1994 Wimbledon title, but the traces of old still exist. The trademark headband may be long gone but for anyone who still cared to see the Spanish captain practice with her Davis Cup team this week in the Capital, that delectable backhand slice was still very much there. She can still ‘out-slice’ the likes David Ferrer off the court. There is a relaxed air around the Spanish team here and Conchita has a lot to do with it. After a turbulent last couple of years, the European giants of Davis Cup have chosen to return to this women’s legend, hoping to find their rightful place back into the World Group. Conchita, who is already the Fed Cup captain after Arantxa Sanchez Vicario stepped down in

2013, is slowly guiding the Spanish team her way. The team had refused to play under their first woman captain Gala Leon with lack of knowledge and inexperience cited as reasons for the players’ displeasure. The team, though, have magnificently come together to rally behind Conchita. “I don’t see any reason why a woman can’t captain a men’s team,” Conchita told TOI on the sidelines of the team’s final practice on Thursday, “It’s not different from coaching another person. It is about managing the players and similar to challenges in any other aspect of managing tennis.” “I spoke to every one of the players before I took up the job. Communication is key for succeeding in this job. The players were very comfortable about it and that’s why I decided to go about it,” she said about her choice to take up this job,” she explained.

Getty Images

MARTINEZ WITH THE 1994 WIMBLEDON TROPHY

KNOW CONCHITA

BORN Monzon, Spain AGE 44 GRAND SLAM 1 (Wimbledon 1994);

2 Finals (Australian Open 1998, French Open 2000) HIGHEST RANKING No. 2 (1995) OLYMPIC MEDAL Silver (doubles, 1992 & 2004), Bronze (doubles, 1996) CAREER TITLES 33 *Currently Davis Cup & Fed Cup captain of Spain

Conchita made her debut back in 1988 — the same year as Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic — and went on to win 33 singles and 13 doubles titles before retiring in 2006. Apart from the Wimbledon title, Conchita had reached the final of French Open in 1992 before going on to win the Olympic doubles silver medal in that same year. Asked to compare the current generation from her own, Conchita said, “The two generations are quite different. The first person who started to hit the ball hard from both sides was Monica Seles. She played at a much faster pace, which we had to adapt to. “Then the Williams sisters came and everyone started to hit the ball even harder and the racquets got much stronger. Now there is less variety and players don’t use much slice or high ball or strong forehand or drop shot,” said the Spaniard.

What kept Rafa out? Was it wrist or Delhi belly? Devadyuti.Das @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Davis Cup World Group playoff tie between India and Spain here became a marquee match-up primarily due to one man -- Rafael Nadal. With entry into the arena free throughout the weekend for this tie, Delhiites made a beeline for DLTA Stadium in RK Puram many hours before the 5pm start on Friday in the hope of catching Nadal in action. The World No. 4 was drawn to play the first match of the day against India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan. However, an hour and a half before the first match, news streamed in that Nadal would miss the clash and fellow southpaw Feliciano Lopez would be stepping up in his place. Rumours started floating around of a case of ‘Delhi belly’ for the 14-time Grand Slam champion or even a case a dehydration in the extremely humid weather here. However, conflicting versions from the Spanish camp left everyone flummoxed and confused about the real reason for the Rafa no-show. Feliciano, who replaced Nadal, first came out and announced that his illustrious teammate was resting the wrist which kept him out of action for two and a half months this year. However, team captain Conchita Martinez later claimed that it was just ‘stomach ache’. “We knew during the week that I might play the tie instead of Rafa as he was not 100 per cent sure if he will be up to for the tie. We spoke last (Thursday) night about it and till the last

After practice this morning he (Nadal) had a little stomach ache. We didn’t want to risk him in this weather. It is definitely only the stomach because he has been practising all week.” —Conchita Martinez | SPAIN DAVIS CUP AND FED CUP CAPTAIN

We knew during the week that I might play the tie instead of Rafa as he was not 100 % sure if he will be up to for the tie. We spoke last (Thursday) night about it and till the last moment he was not very sure.” —Feliciano Lopez | ON REPLACING RAFAEL NADAL

moment he was not very sure,” Feliciano said. “Rafa has been struggling with his wrist for last two or three months, he didn’t want to take risk. We talked with the captain and decided it was the right decision that I should play,” the World No. 26 said. Conchita, though, said, “After practice this morning, he (Nadal) had a little stomach ache. We didn’t want to risk him in this weather. It is definitely only the stomach because he has been practising all week.” The Delhiites will now hope that Nadal will at least play the doubles on Saturday.

BEHAVE: The Spanish security team had a tough time keeping overzealous autograph hunters in check on Friday

Rafa Gets The Win He Came For Pics: PTi

Brave Paes-Myneni Stretch Nadal-Lopez Before Bowing Out

with a bout of nerves when he was serving for the second set at 5-4. A couple of uncharacteristic errors from the 28-year-old and he lost his serve going for an ugly looking drop shot. The Spaniards, cheered on by a handful of expatriate crowd sitting in the stands, found a fresh gear to roar into a 5-0 lead in the second set tie-breaker and levelled the match after a 59-minute long second set with a 7-2 scoreline. The fourth set was truly ‘do-or-die’ moment for India and they had all the opportunity to take the match to the decisive fifth set when they broke Nadal in the second game of the fourth set to go 2-0 up. Paes valiantly fought off two break point opportunities to reel off five points in a row in the fifth game of the set. But the Spaniards were closing in for the kill as Myneni gave the crucial break back with Nadal-Lopez converting the third break point opportunity of the game to get back on serve at 4-3.

Devadyuti.Das @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Rafael Nadal has almost sounded like a needle stuck on an old LP record this week, going on and on about getting Spain back into the Davis Cup World Group. That was the sole reason why the 14-time Grand Slam champion made the 11,000km journey from New York to New Delhi after the US Open. It was a long and tiring journey and it took a marathon clash in the doubles tie for Nadal and Spain to book their return into the World Group. After missing the singles match on Friday, Nadal teamed up with his Rio Olympics gold medalwinning teammate Marc Lopez for Saturday’s doubles against Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni. The Indians pushed the visitors to the limit before losing 6-4, 6-7 (2), 4-6, 4-6 in a 3hr 23 minutes encounter. IT gave Spain a winning 3-0 lead in the World Group Play-off tie with two reverse singles remaining on Sunday. “It was a very tough match for us. We know what great doubles players the Indians are and they showed it to us here. I have been saying again and again it is really important for Spain to get back into the World Group with so many top 50 players. That’s what we have managed to do,” a delighted Nadal said after the match. When it comes to Davis Cup, there aren’t many more experienced players than the 43-year-old Paes. The man was appearing in his 124th match (singles and doubles included) but still looked a little nervous starting off a tie which was a ‘must-win’ for the hosts who were down 0-1 after Friday’s rubbers.

keepiNG THeiR Cool: spain captain conchita Martinez applies ice packs on Rafael nadal (left) and Marc Lopez during their doubles match against Leander Paes and saketh Myneni

It was Myneni who calmed the Indian nerves after the pair had trailed 1-4 early in the first set. The Indian fightback started there as a couple of Lopez forehand errors handed India the early breakback. The Indians reeled off five straight games in a row and the familiar Leander roar was on show again. The man, who is tied with Nicola Pietrangeli with 42 doubles wins, finally started to get

back his familiar touch and impeccable placements on his volleys as errors crept into the Spaniards’ game. Both Nadal and Lopez started to wilt under the pressure and lost the first set 6-4 in 45 minutes. The Indian momentum continued in the second set as Lopez lost his serve in the third g ame with Myneni coming up with a sizzling backhand crosscourt winner. It was Myneni’s turn to deal

Murray bros keep GB in the hunt

Glasgow: Andy and Jamie Murray kept Britain alive in its Davis Cup semifinal against Argentina, winning the doubles match in four sets to reduce the titleholder’s deficit to 2-1 on Saturday. The Murray brothers beat Juan Martin del Potro and Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in front of a rowdy crowd in Glasgow. The semifinal moves to the reverse singles on Sunday, when Andy Murray is set to play Guido Pella and Del Potro is down to play Kyle Edmund. WoRlD “Two-one down is a tough position to be in,” Andy Murray said, “but we are closer than we were at the start of the day and I still believe we can come back.” Del Potro and Murray were back on court after an epic 5-hour, 7-minute opening singles match Friday, won by Del Potro in five sets. Del Potro wasn’t slated to play in the doubles and was a surprise late change by Argentina captain Daniel Orsanic, especially given the player’s injury problems in recent years.

Croatia go 2-1 up versus France puTTiNG up a FiGHT: Leander Paes and saketh Myneni had their moments in the match

Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig put Croatia 2-1 ahead in the

semifinal against France by upsetting top-ranked doubles pair Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6 (6), 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-3. Cilic, who won his singles on Friday, replaced Marin Draganja and it proved to be an inspired choice. Herbert, the more inexperienced of France’s doubles pairing, sent his volley into the net to hand Croatia an unexpected victory at the Kresimir Cosic Hall in Zadar. Richard Gasquet now must beat Cilic in the first of Sunday’s reverse singles to GRoup ke e p F r a n c e alive. Gasquet leads the 2014 US Open champion 2-1 in their career head-to-heads.

Nishikori shines for Japan

Kei Nishikori teamed up with Yuichi Sugita in a dominant doubles victory as Japan completed a 3-0 defeat of Ukraine to return to the Davis Cup’s top table Saturday. The world No. 5 looked sharp as the Japanese pair ran out easy 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 winners over Artem Smirnov and Sergiy Stakhovsky in Osaka to give the home side an unassailable lead in the World Group playoff with only two rubbers remaining. Agencies Reuters

Finally, Delhi gets to see the ‘showstopper’ on stage Devadyuti.Das @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: It is not often that you see the RK Khanna tennis stadium packed to the rafters, but that is how it has been these last two days. It is overflowing with people having a blast. Call if the Rafa effect. Throwing open the gates of the venue has certsinly but rarely do you see this stadium full even when the entry has been free in the past. Everyone

wants to have a glipmse of Rafael Nadal. The crowd went back slightly disappointed on Friday when Nadal pulled out of the singles tie at the last moment — due to either a dodgy wrist or a case of ‘Delhi Belly’. But for those arriving early for the doubles rubber on Saturday, there was a surprise in store as the 14-time Grand Slam champion walked on to the Centre Court around 5pm to have a practice hit with dou-

bles specialist Marc Lopez. One still wondered if this was too good to be true, and whether Rafa would indeed risk himself in a doubles game

NaDal HolDs CouRT — a format he rarely plays in apart from representing his country at the Davis Cup or Olympic Games. He has an imposing 22-1 record in Davis Cup singles, but a 4-4 win-loss record when it comes to the

doubles game. But when Feliciano Lopez, one half of the French Open champions with Marc, turned up in his slippers at the courtside, it was clear that the world No. 4 singles star would finally make his Davis Cup debut in India. Crowd started filling up the venue around half past five and chants of ‘Rafa, Rafa’ started to ring around the venue. The mediapersons started to furiously work on their smartphones, tweeting

the good news that Rafa would be the ‘showstopper’ this Saturday night. The official announcement finally came an hour before the tie -- that Nadal would be reunited with his Rio Olympics gold medal-winning doubles partner Marc in a bid to settle the World Group Play-off tie in favour of visitors Spain . A massive cheer went around the venue, the stadium ringing with cries of ‘I love you Rafa’. When the match began, the

fans did shift loyalties and started cheering for their local stars. However, Rafa had his own faithful corner throughout the doubles tie with ‘Go, Go Espanyol’, ‘Hala Madrid’ and ‘Vamos Rafa’ often drowning out cheers for India and the pair of Paes and Myneni. One thing is for sure, when it comes to cheering for sporting superstars, the Delhiites know no religion, region or nation. On Saturday, their love for Rafa shone through!

Andy Murray and Jamie Murray celebrate winning their doubles match against Juan Martin del Potro and Leonardo Mayer

extra time CHampions LeaGUe mUstn’t BeCome eLite, says neW UeFa Boss CeFerin

newly appointed UeFA president Aleksander Ceferin warned Friday the Champions League should not become an exclusive club for the wealthiest, saying one of his priorities would be to examine the current system. “The Champions League cannot continue in this direction because that would lead us towards an exclusive club,” Ceferin told journalists at his first news conference as president in slovenia on Wednesday. The slovenian added that it will be hard to reduce the differences between wealthy and less wealthy clubs but said the recent changes in the Champions League systems were carried out without informing the public.

reaLity CHeCK For UniteD AP

Honeymoon Over For Mourinho After Two Straight Defeats

FiFa prez rUBBisHes LinKs to resULt

FiFA president Gianni infantino has dismissed as “imagination and lies” any suggestion that he lobbied in favour of Aleksander Ceferin who was elected head of european football’s governing body Uefa this week. “Mr Ceferin has said it as well, this is imagination and lies and i think the result speaks for itself,” former UeFA general secretary infantino told reporters.

simeone reDUCes atLetiCo ContraCt

Coach Diego simeone said on Friday he has shortened his contract with Atletico Madrid by two years until June 2018, a move likely to stir fresh speculation about his future. The 46-year-old Argentine, who took Atletico to the spanish league title in 2014 and to two Champions League finals, including last season, has been linked to many of europe’s top clubs, including Paris saint-Germain, Arsenal and inter Milan. simeone signed a contract with Atletico in March 2015 that originally tied him to the club until June 2020.

BaLLon D’or DeaL retUrns to FranCe

The Ballon d’Or deal between France football and FiFA has ended, the French publication and football’s governing body announced on Friday. The coveted award will from now on return to its original home after France Football’s agreement with FiFA finished. The next recipient will be determined by a vote of journalists — players (national team captains) and managers will no longer have a say.

LeGia WarsaW CHarGeD over vioLenCe UeFA has charged Legia Warsaw over crowd violence and racist behavior at the club’s first Champions League game in 20 years. Fans clashed with stadium security staff, and anti-discrimination monitors reported anti-semitic abuse during a 6-0 home loss against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. UeFA said Friday its disciplinary panel will judge the case on sept. 28.

aGUero CLose to neW City DeaL

striker sergio Aguero is close to agreeing a contract extension with Manchester City, manager Pep Guardiola revealed on Friday. City are due to announce that the Argentina international has agreed a one-year extension to his current deal, which will commit him to the club until 2020. Guardiola said he was “so, so happy” about the news. “i don’t know if i am the right person to talk about that,” the City manager added. “i think he’s going to extend his contract, but it’s not official.”

Hart HoLDs no GrUDGe toWarDs pep

Torino and england goalkeeper Joe Hart said on Friday he has no hard feelings towards Pep Guardiola despite being unceremoniously forced out at Manchester City and replaced by Claudio Bravo from Barcelona. “it was fairly obvious to everyone,” Hart told media when asked about the circumstances surrounding his high-profile divorce from City. Asked if Guardiola had been honest with him, Hart said: “He was open with me.”

BUrGLars raiD LoCKer oF CyprUs CLUB

Cyprus police say burglars have raided the locker room of a first-division football team and made off with 70 pairs of boots and four pairs of goalkeeper gloves. A police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Friday in line with police rules, said the nike and Adidas boots, each valued at an estimated 200 euros ($225), as well as the 100-euro-apair gloves, were stolen sometime over the last two days.

iraq raLLy to stUn soUtH Korea

To the delight of their fans, iraq fought back from a goal down to beat south Korea 2-1 in a match of the AFC U-16 Championship at Margao on Friday.

acid test for inter against Juventus

man City look to retain momentum

Milan: Mauro Icardi’s dream of “winning trophies” with Inter Milan has been dealt a Europa League blow and now faces a Serie A acid test in Sunday’s visit of champions Juventus for the “Derby d’Italia”. The Argentine striker has hit the net six times against the Old Lady of Turin, including three times with his former club Sampdoria. And with three goals from the opening three games of the season, the 23-year-old fans’ favourite will be looking to stretch his impressive record against Juve’s legendary ‘keeper Gianluigi Buffon. AFP

London: The Premier League season is only four games old, but ahead of Saturday’s home game with Bournemouth, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City already appear the team to beat. Last weekend’s impressive 2-1 derby win at Manchester United left City with the only 100 percent record in the division and they followed it up with a classy 4-0 Champions League victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach. The Gladbach game was held back 24 hours due to a ferocious rainstorm on Tuesday, but they are confident it won’t affect them. AFP

Bereaved Nicolai leads by example marcus.mergulhao @timesgroup.com

sUCKer pUnCH: Feyenoord’s Tonny Trindade (right), celebrates after scoring the winner against Manchester United in Rotterdam on Thursday

London: Manchester United’s first appearance in the Europa League group stage ended in disappointment after Feyenoord’s Tonny Trindade applied a slide-rule finish late in the second half to secure a 1-0 win on Thursday. Europe’s second-tier contest began in earnest with three times continental champions United topping the bill in Group A, but Jose Mourinho’s side were undone after a poor display in which clearcut chances were at a premium. It was a different story in Israel where there were goals galore in Maccabi Tel Aviv’s game against Zenit St Petersburg with the Russian club fighting back from 3-0 down to win 4-3 with all their goals coming from the 77th minute onwards. For United it was a second defeat in six days after they lost to rivals Manchester City in the Premier League, and it ended

Mourinho’s honeymoon period after he began the season with four straight wins including a Community Shield victory. United never really looked like scoring even after striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was introduced in the second half as part of a triple substitution and they were picked off on the counter in the 79th minute. Nicolai Jorgensen looked offside when he burst clear on the right flank but he crossed low for Trindade to slide the ball past David De Gea with a precise sidefooted finish. Mourinho complained that Jorgenson was offside when he delivered the cross for Feyenoord’s goal. “In that moment we were pushing and they capitalized because it is exactly at that moment where we lose the game,” he said. “We were double unlucky because it’s a clear offside.” AGenCies

eUropa LeaGUe (tHUrsDay resULts) Group a: Feyenoord 1 (Vilhena 79) beat Manchester United 0; Zorya Luhansk 1 (Grechyshkin 52) drew with Fenerbahce 1 (Kjaer 90+5) Group B: BSC Young Boys 0 lost to Olympiakos 1 (Cambiasso 42); APOEL 2 (Vinicius 75, De Camargo 87) beat Astana (KAZ) 1 (Maksimovic 45+1) Group C: FSV Mainz 05 1 (Bungert 57) drew with Saint-Etienne 1 (Beric 88); Anderlecht 3 (Teodorczyk 14, Rafael 41-og, Capel 77) beat Qabala (AZE) 1 (Dabo 20) Group D: AZ Alkmaar 1 (Stijn Wuytens 61) drew with Dundalk 1 (Kilduff 89); Maccabi Tel-Aviv 3 (Medunjanin 26, 70, Kjartansson 50) lost to Zenit St Petersburg 4 (Kokorin 77, Mauricio 84, Giuliano 86, Djordjevic 90+2) Group e: Astra Giurgiu 2 (Alibec 18, Sapunaru 74) lost to Austria Vienna 3 (Holzhauser 16-pen, Friesenbichler 33, Alexander Gruenwald 58); Viktoria Plzen 1 (Bakos 11) drew with Roma 1 (Perotti 4-pen) Group F: Sassuolo 3 (Lirola 60, Defrel

75, Politano 82) beat Athletic Bilbao (ESP) 0; Rapid Vienna 3 (Schwab 51, Joelinton 59, Colley 60-og) beat Genk 2 Group G: Panathinaikos 1 (Berg 5) lost to Ajax 2 (Traore 34, Riedewald 67); Standard Liege 1 (Dossevi 3) drew with Celta Vigo 1 (Rossi 13) Group H: Konyaspor 0 lost to Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Ferreyra 76); Sporting Braga 1 (Andre Pinto 24) drew with Gent 1 (Milicevic 6) Group i: FC Salzburg 0 lost to FK Krasnodar 1 (Joaozinho 37); Nice 0 lost to Schalke 1 (Baba Rahman 75) Group J: Qarabag 2 (Michel 7, Sadygov 90+4) drew with Liberec 2 (Sykora 1, Baros 68); PAOK 0 dr with Fiorentina 0 Group K: Inter Milan 0 lost to Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2 (Miguel Vitor 54, Buzaglo 69); Southampton 3 (Austin 5-pen, 27, Rodriguez 90+2) beat Sparta Prague (CZE) 0 Group L: Osmanlispor 2 (Diabate 64pen, Umar 74) beat Steaua Bucharest (ROU) 0; Villarreal 2 (Pato 28, Jonathan dos Santos 45+1) beat FC Zurich 1

Panaji: Coach Nicolai Adam put India duty before personal tragedy ahead of the crucial lung-opener against United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the AFC Under-16 Championship at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Thursday. Nicolai’s father, Lambert Adam, who would have turned 88 today, passed away back home in Germany on Wednesday, but the India coach did not let the shattering news affect either him or the team’s preparations ahead of the opening match. He conducted the training session, even attended a pre-match press conference for all coaches the next day and ensured the team was not found wanting on any front. India took UAE, and the handful of spectators, by surprise with their speed and guile at the start but could not hang to their

lead twice, eventually losing 2-3 after enjoying a 2-1 lead at half time. “My father passed away on the morning of September 13 and it was not good for me personally. It was bad news. But my father was sick for a long time. My brothers, sisters and mama are happy that he is finally released from the pain that he had. The timing is bad but we have to focus on our jobs,” said Nicolai, speaking exclusively to TOI at the team hotel in South Goa on Friday. Nicolai said his father did not take any special interest in football but was the one who inspired him to stick with the beautiful game. “My father was never interested in football. None of my brothers or sisters are into football. What I remember most about my father is that he told us, ‘you guys always do what you like the most’. In that manner, he inspired me to stay in football,” said the India coach.

Title race heats up as Cristiano My hunger is strong as ever: Terry Ronaldo returns to Madrid fold J Joe Morrison

HE’S BACK! Yes Cristiano Ronaldo is back! How do I know this? Well it is not because his name was on the official team sheet and it is not because he scored for Real Madrid after only six minutes of his return from a knee injury sustained during the Euros. No the real reason I know this is that he has had a ‘pop’ at Xavi reiterating that he has not won a Balon D’Or and Cristiano has of course won three. Now Xavi is not the type to get in a public spat and I don’t think you have to be a genius to work out that Xavi got his hands on

not only two UEFA Euro trophies but also the prize that Ronaldo is unlikely to ever attain — the FIFA World Cup. In most European leagues the battle for the league crown does not really get going until about 10 games in. In La Liga it begins as soon as one of the big two drop points and Barcelona were first to blink, so I can now officially say the La Liga title race has begun. Now those of you that know me well, know that I love to talk about goalkeepers. They re-

ally are a unique strange breed, almost like aliens from another planet. Well the former Barcelona keeper Claudio Bravo came for a cross in his Manchester derby debut, didn’t collect and conceded. Over in Italy his predecessor Joe Hart on his debut for Torino came for a ball, missed it and conceded. This reaffirms that the media will compare the performances of these two all season. I still believe that goalkeepers should be chained to the posts! PMG

ohn Terry is Chelsea’s great survivor – the centre-back has been at the club since he was a boy and played under 13 different managers in that time. With Terry’s help can Chelsea be serious challengers for the title this time after finishing 10th last year? Excerpts from an interview:

How do you feel this seaosn?

Everyone knows I’m a Chelsea man through and through, and I’m so pleased to still be here. This is my 19th campaign as a first team player and I have to say my hunger and will to succeed is as strong as ever.

How do you think it’s gone so far under antonio Conte? It’s been a good start, very positive. We had a good pre-season, working on the new coach’s

ideas in training and we’ve taken that into the season. It was important after everything that’s happened to get off to a good start and we have done that.

What’s the aim for 2016-17?

We know what a club like Chelsea demands and we know last year wasn’t good enough. We’re determined to take this club back to the top of the table, to challenge for the title again. That is the standard we and previous players have set at the club.

Last season was a disaster — 10th place and a long way from the top four. are there any special mes-

sages for players this season?

You can’t let your standards slip. This isn’t a league where you can afford to drop many points so we want to take everything we can from every game. If we show the same spirit we’ve shown in the matches so far, then we’ll be all right.

What about eden Hazard? it’s almost like a new signing with the way he is playing this year compared to last! He’s been terrific. For me he’s up there with the very best in the world. He’s a world class player and we’re very lucky to have him. TCM