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zabarwan times
sunday september | 15| 2013
Sreesanth vows to return from ‘biggest setback’ Agencies A day after he was hit with a life ban by the BCCI, Sreesanth has vowed to make a comeback. He called the ban the “biggest setback” of his life, and continued to maintain that he was innocent. “The BCCI action is the biggest setback in my life and I am disappointed,” he told reporters in Kochi. “I will try to overcome the crisis and make a strong comeback.” His brother Dipu Santh told ESPNcricinfo that Sreesanth’s camp will wait on the court’s verdict before deciding on a further course of action. “Sreesanth is not in a hurry to challenge the BCCI sanction,” he said. “He wants to wait on the Delhi court that is hearing the case of spot-fixing registered by Delhi Police against him and the other Rajasthan Royals players. The Patiala House Court is expected to hear the case on October 7 and Sreesanth’s camp is confident that he would be acquitted of the all the allegations pressed against him by Delhi Police. We will wait for the court decision on October 7 before deciding on our next step.” Dipu Santh said his brother was more surprised than shocked by the BCCI disciplinary committee’s verdict: “He thought the BCCI might take action only after the court’s verdict. He did not expect the BCCI to
take a decision so early.” On Friday, the BCCI had handed Sreesanth and his Rajasthan Royals team-mate Ankeet Chavan life bans after ruling them guilty of spot-fixing during IPL 2013. Sreesanth reiterated he was not guilty. “I can tell that I have not done anything wrong,” he said. “The only consolation for me now is that I am at home, not in a jail.” On Saturday morning, he tweeted: “Plss have faith in me..I am sure I will prove my innocence soon....I will get through this..I ve full faith ..God is great.” Sreesanth, Chavan and another Royals player, Ajit Chandila, were arrested by Delhi Police on May 16 in Mumbai, for the alleged fulfilling of promises made to bookmakers, along with eleven bookies including Amit Singh. Royals later suspended their players and the BCCI set up an inquiry into the matter, headed by its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit chief Ravi Sawani. Apart from the action taken by the board, the players face possible prison sentences should they be found guilty in a court of law. They were among 39 persons named in the Delhi Police’s chargesheet on alleged corruption in the IPL in July, charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and dishonesty under sections of the Indian Penal Code
and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. Sreesanth, Chavan and another Royals player, Ajit Chandila, were arrested by Delhi Police on May 16 in Mumbai, for the alleged fulfilling of promises made to bookmakers, along with eleven bookies including Amit Singh. Royals later suspended their players and the
Clint Mckay becomes the fifth Australian to take a hat-trick in ODIs Agencies Clint McKay has taken a hat-trick in the fourth OneDay International (ODI) between England and Austra-
ley leading the way with 87. In reply, England have been jolted early by the McKay hat-trick. Bowling the third over of the innings, he trapped Kevin
lia at Cardiff, Wales. Batting first, Australia were bowled out for 227 with George Bai-
Pietersen in front off the first ball. Jonathan Trott walked in at number three and chased
a wide one and edged it to Aaron Finch at second slip. Joe Root walked in to face the hat-trick ball. It was pitched full and Root tried to drive it, but he too ended up edging it to first slip. M c Kay has become the fifth Australian bowler to take a hat-trick in ODIs after the likes of Bruce Reid, Anthony Stuart, Brett Lee and Daniel Christian.
BCCI set up an inquiry into the matter, headed by its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit chief Ravi Sawani. Apart from the action taken by the board, the players face possible prison sentences should they be found guilty in a court of law. They were among 39 persons named in the Delhi Police’s chargesheet on alleged corruption in the IPL in July, charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and dishonesty under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
Injuries rule Praveen and Irfan out of India A squad Agencies Quick bowlers Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan have been ruled out of the limited-overs games against West Indies A over the next week due to injuries. They have been replaced in the India A squad by Vinay Kumar and Punjab’s Siddarth Kaul. Irfan has been regularly troubled by injuries since a starring role in India’s ODI series victory in Sri Lanka last year. A hamstring injury had curtailed his Ranji season, and another one ruled him out of the tri-series in the Caribbean in July. He was part of India’s squad in the Champions Trophy but didn’t get a game. Praveen has also had a troubled year, highlighted by a suspension after a disciplinary breach during the Corporate Trophy in February. He hasn’t represented India in a year and a half, and hasn’t played competitive cricket since the 2013 IPL. Both Irfan and Praveen
had been picked for the India A squad for the three
be played in Bangalore, on Sunday.
one-dayers and one Twenty20 against West Indies A, but were not in the squads for the four-day games. The first one-dayer will
The selectors made one other change to the squad, including Kerala batsman VA Jagadeesh for the second and third four-day games.
Zimbawe square series with historic win Agencies It took a long time coming. The last time Zimbabwe won a Test against a team other than Bangladesh was in 2001, but they stayed patient through the final day even as Misbah-ul-Haq threatened to dash their hopes to win the second Test and square the twomatch series.Zimbabwe began the day just five wickets away. Pakistan weren’t too far either: they needed 106 with Misbah still around. By lunch it became two wickets and 47 runs with Misbah still fighting it out. However, despite some quick runs post lunch it took Zimbabwe just one over with the new ball to mop up the Pakistan tail and spark wild celebrations in the ground, in the dressing room, and possibly all over Harare. Tendai Chatara bowled that over, completing his maiden Test five-for. When the teams started after lunch, there were still four overs to
come with the old ball, and Misbah was keen to make the most of it. He lifted the second ball of the second
session over the umpire’s head, but was fortunate it dropped just short of a diving mid-on fielder. Misbah curtailed his instincts for the next two
overs, taking singles towards the end of each as he shielded Junaid Khan from the strike. In the 79th over, he pressed forward and blasted a full delivery over extra cover, then stole a couple of runs to deep cover before walking down the pitch and driving another full delivery past midwicket to the boundary. Off the fifth ball, he took a single to make it 11 off the over. In the 80th, he scored two more boundaries, but crucially for Zimbabwe, the second came off the last delivery, which meant Junaid would be exposed to the new-ball. Chatara, who had taken two wickets earlier in the day, was entrusted with the new ball and his first delivery - an outswinger past the edge - set the tone as the cordon readied themselves. It didn’t take long as Junaid got a thick edge of the fourth delivery, straight to Malcolm Waller at gully. Rahat Ali was the new batsman, and was on strike. He, too, got an awaygoing delivery and was lucky his edge fell just short of Waller.
Modalities of 2014 Asia Cup discussed in Asian Cricket Council meet Agencies Chennai: Top members of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) today discussed the modalities of the 2014 Asia Cup tournament, which is to be hosted by Bangladesh for a second straight time, in FebruaryMarch next year. The tournament, to be held from February 24 to March 8, has gone to Bangladesh after India, who had earlier agreed to host it, backed out citing a packed international schedule. Bangladesh had hosted the last edition of the tournament in 2012. The tournament host was announced during ACC’s meeting in April and the details were discussed in today’s meeting here, according to ACC sources.
All eyes on Yuvraj Singh as India A take on West Indies A Agencies England started and finished their bowling effort strongly in Cardiff to restrict Australia to 227 as they aim to keep the one-day series alive, but George Bailey’s 87 ensured the visitors at least posted something competitive after their top order had been knocked over by high-quality pace bowling. Having been 57 for 4, Bailey led a recovery, firstly with Adam Voges and then with Matthew Wade, before the innings faded dramatically with Australia losing their last five wickets for 18 in six overs. James Tredwell, who like at Old Trafford was targeted with the short, straight boundaries on this ground, responded impressively after his first six-over spell went for 48 (35 of Bailey’s half-century came against the offspinner) to claim three wickets as part of the late collapse. Eoin Morgan had gambled by giv-
ing Steven Finn and Boyd Rankin 15 of their combined overs within the first 21 of the innings, having seen early wickets fall. While that strategy brought Michael Clarke’s demise it left England vulnerable in the second half of the innings and added further weight to the argument they are a specialist bowler short, although Morgan will point to Australia’s underwhelming total as justification for the selection.Heavy rain fell for much of the previous afternoon and evening, but a dry, bright morning brought muchneeded relief after the poor weather that has already led to two abandoned matches in this series. With a 10.15am start, and the surface having been covered for a considerable time, it was a more-than-useful toss for Morgan to win, akin to many a September one-day final at Lord’s.For the second time in the series, Finn made a breakthrough in his first over, this time
with his first legitimate delivery of the match - having started with a wide.
Rohit Sharma was the highlight of IPL-6: Anil Kumble Agencies The upcoming Champions League Twenty20 is all set to be Sachin Tendulkar’s
veteran’s swansong should be kept in check to ensure that the side’s performance is not affected. “Emotions can’t be
last appearance for the Mumbai Indians but chief mentor Anil Kumble feels the emotions related to the
brought into a game. It won’t help players’ performance. Emotions would obviously be there, but they have to
be kept in check...these emotions have to be kept in check. Every player understands that,” Kumble told the team’s official website. “He (Tendulkar) has been synonymous with Mumbai Indians right from the start of IPL. I have played a lot of cricket with him. It would be ideal for the boys to give him a fitting send-off. He has been a great contributor for Mumbai Indians all those years. “Although he couldn’t play in the last four-five games in the IPL 2013, but his contribution to the overall cause of the team has always been very important,” he added. Kumble lauded Rohit Sharma’s captaincy after he led the side to its maiden IPL trophy this year.
Yuvraj Singh would be the cynosure of all eyes when he captains India A, a team on a roll after the cleansweep against New Zealand A, in an ODI series against the West Indies A starting in Bangalore on Sunday. The glory of thrashing New Zealand A 3-0 was achieved under the captaincy of Unmukt Chand, who perfectly marshaled his team to victory. All eyes, however, will be trained on how Yuvraj, who has been out of favour in the recent times, handles the team as a captain against the West Indians. The left-hander, who battled and won over cancer, would be aiming to get back into the reckoning. Yuvraj is more often seen as a brutal force in limited
overs cricket than in Tests with his ability to hit the ball clean and long. Yuvraj aside, India A has its share of stars. Unmukt has scored 164 runs at an average of 48 with 94 being his highest in the three ODIs against New Zealand A, while Robin Uthappa has also scored a century in the lung-opener. The Under-19 World Cup-winning captain would look for another good show from his bat to help his team get a good start. Uthappa, who is in ODI exile, would be hoping to produce another sparkling show after the opening ODI ton to catch the eyes of national selectors given that a
limited overs series against West Indies and South Africa is in sight. Yuvraj will be hoping for Uthappa and Chand to dazzle in the opening ODI to give a
boost to the middle-order, which came good in the last two ODIs against New Zealand A with the likes of Kedar Jadhav and Mandeep Singh rising to the occasion. Jadhav has delivered consistently, making unbeaten 30, 37 and 57, respectively in the last series. The Maharashtra batsman will be hoping to get a chance to go up the order to showcase his talent. Yusuf Pathan, who has been provided another lifeline by selectors, will hope to recover from his steep fall since the 2011 World Cup. He is a powerful and aggressive right-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler.
‘Best team Sri Lanka have sent’ - Thirimanne Agencies Sri Lanka’s makeshift Twenty20 tournament was confirmed only two days before it began and was followed by the board’s public spat with Kumar Sangakkara, but Kandurata Maroons captain Lahiru Thirimanne believes Sri Lanka now sends the strongest ever side to represent the country at the Champions League. Four members of Sri Lanka’s frontline Twenty20 side, which has remained atop the world rankings for almost a year, will also play for Kandurata in India. In addition to Thirimanne and Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis and Nuwan Kulasekara are in the squad, along with Rangana Herath, who is not always in the Twenty20 XI, but has bowled crucial spells for Sri Lanka in the shortest format. Kandurata’s supporting cast includes sometime Sri Lanka players and domestic stalwarts Thilina Kandamby and Kaushal
Lokuarachchi, as well as earmarked youngsters like allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya and fast bowler
Vimukthi Perara.“I think this is the best team Sri
Lanka have sent,” Thirimanne said. “We’ve got some very experienced players - the likes of Sangakkara, Kulasekara, Upul Tharanga and Ajantha Mendis. Whether you look at our bowling or batting, we have a lot of ability and the side is well balanced. We’re very happy that we have players like Sangakkara and Herath, who are among the best in the world at the moment.” Spin bowling shapes as a particular strength for Kandurata, who have two slow-bowling allrounders in their ranks in Jayasuriya and Milinda Siriwardene, in addition to Mendis and Herath. Although Mendis’ statistics make plain his decline in the longer formats, he still averages 12.84 and has a strike-rate of 12.6 in Twenty20 internationals, where his variety has remained effective.“We will have a big advantage with the quality of spinners that we have. They will be playing in helpful conditions in India and maybe some of the teams aren’t very comfortable against spin - we’re playing the New Zealand side in the qualifiers. That said we’ll still have to play very well as a team to go through.”