MUMBAI: Few things unite India like cricket, and on December 6, 2009, millions of Indians were united in celebration as their team ascended to
the top of theICC Test rankings.
Main men for Team India
Fittingly, the victory that made it possible was marked by standout performances from the men who have played a crucial role in India’s ascent. Virender Sehwag has scored more runs than any other Indian batsman over the last 25 Tests - played over a two-year period beginning November 2007. His innings of 293 - played at a pace that left the bowlers ample time to finish the demolition job - proved pivotal as India fulfilled its destined tryst with the top slot.
Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan have been India’s highest wicket-takers during this period. Both picked up six wickets apiece for the match, with Zaheer coming up with a five-wicket haul to polish off the tail on Sunday morning and take India to a comfortable win by an innings and 24 runs.
Gautam Gambhir was missing, but the glorious trinity of SachinTendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman all made valuable contributions. In the autumn of their careers, they finally got to savour a moment they have dreamt of for many seasons. What made it particularly poignant was that it came in perhaps their last Test on home soil together. India has no Test series scheduled at home next year and by the time 2011 dawns - post World Cup, that is - age may well have caught up.
But that’s in the future. For now, the team deserves to soak up the moment. Sadly, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble aren’t part of the present squad, but there’s no denying their massive contribution.
India needed to scalp four Sri Lankan wickets on Sunday morning to clinch the series and ascend to the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. When the moment did arrive, it came with dramatic rapidity. Zaheer produced a near-perfect inswinger to get rid of Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara early on the fifth day.
On the fourth day, Sangakkara had been the lone man standing between India and their ultimate achievement. With him gone, the rest of the batting soon perished against a fired up Zaheer, who logged his career’s eighth five-wicket haul.
‘‘The way they played in the two Tests (Kanpur and Mumbai), they deserve to be there,’’ was Sangakkara’s way of paying tribute to the world’s new No 1 team.
It is only the third time in the last 47 months of Test cricket that India have managed to register two consecutive victories. Yet, the 2-0 win has catapulted them to the top of the world. A far cry from where India were exactly a decade ago: the 3-0 thrashing in Australia in 1999-00 immediately comes to mind, followed by their first ever home series defeat to South Africa in 2000.
In between, there were two drawn series Down Under, a historic series win in Pakistan (2003-04) followed by series victories in West Indies (2006), England (2007) and New Zealand (2009). That India ruled at home too, during this phase, has finally led them to the zenith.
Dhoni knows the bigger effort now will be to sustain that position. Australia did it for eight long years, ever since the Test championship was introduced in 2001. South Africa briefly reigned and Sri Lanka arrived here with a shot at the title too. In fact, if they had won this series 2-0, they would have been numero uno.
SALTA: India, leading 1-0 at the break, drew 2-2 with New Zealand in their opening Pool A game of the Champions Challenge hockey
tournament.
Tushar Khanderkar (30th) and Shivendra Singh (51st) scored for India while the Kiwis replied through Dean Couzins (47th) and Andrew Hayward (58th) on Sunday.
In a hotly contested match, New Zealand were on the attack with a very active Ryan Archibald prompting the moves. However, the Indian defence was vigilant and never let the Kiwis really threaten with goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza, too, doing a fine job.
The game continued at a high pace with neither team able to grasp control of play. Phillip Burrows had a deflection from close range go inches wide and a hard shot crash on the post, but it were India who finally opened the scoring through Khandekar at the conclusion of a quick counter-attack that took the New Zealand defence off guard.
The Black Sticks besieged the Indian goal in the final minutes of the period but were kept at bay by an Indian defence solidly organized around Sardara Singh.
New Zealand started the second period on the same attacking note, but still could not manage to shake the Indian defence.
It finally took a penalty-stroke conversion in the 47th minute by Couzins to bring back New Zealand into the match. However, they had little time to rejoice, as Shivendra Singh nearly scored on the next attack. His deflection from close range hit the post, but he had a similar opportunity shortly after and this time made no mistake to beat Kyle Pontifex in the New Zealand goal.
The Kiwis were not down yet and tied once again when Hayward scored from a penalty corner. The final minutes of the game were intense, providing good entertainment for the crowd, but no more goals were scored.
In another Pool A match, Belgium edged past a fighting China 4-3, while Pakistan, with two penalty corners goals by veteran Sohail Abbas defeated Canada 2-1 with Wayne Fernandes scoring the lone goal for the vanquished in Pool B.
Later, Argentina carried too much firepower for South Africa and won 6-2 in Pool B as Pedro Ibarra scored thrice for the hosts.
JAIPUR: Union minister C.P. Joshi on Monday defeated Indian board vice-president Lalit Modi in a much-talked-about election for the post of
Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) president.
Joshi defeated Modi, who is also the chairman of theIndian Premier League (IPL), by a margin of six votes. Joshi secured 19 votes while Modi was able to garner only 13 of the district association votes.
It is for the second time in less then a year that Modi has lost elections for the top post of RCA. In March, Modi had lost to a Rajasthan-based bureaucrat Sanjay Dixit, who this time was selected as the RCA secretary.
It was the first time in the history of RCA that a leader of the stature of Joshi fought the election to the top post.
As soon as the news of Joshi winning the election was announced, his supporters started to gather and shouted slogans and distributed sweets in the state office of the Congress party where Joshi since morning was keeping an eye on the poll, which was being held at the RCA academy.
After winning, a visibly happy Joshi said he would work for the development of cricket in the state.
"I, with the support of my colleagues in RCA, would do my best for the development of the game in the state", Joshi told reporters.
Earlier in the day, unruly scenes were witnessed at the RCA where supporters of both the groups clashed alleging rigging and police had to intervene to restore normalcy.
Both the parties had brought their supporters in large numbers. Fearing violence, a large contingent was deputed in Sawai Mansingh Stadium where RCA academy is situated.
Lalit Modi refused to directly hold any one responsible for the trouble.
"I and my supporters were manhandled by the rival group. There is no point in politicising the issue. I don't know who the people were. It is the job of the police who would be able to identify the miscreants as lot of video footage is available", Modi said while talking to media persons.
When Modi came out after casting his vote, Joshi's supporters allegedly jeered him, and even threw stones at his car. Joshi termed the incident as unfortunate.
MELBOURNE: In a scathing attack on the Indian cricket board, Australian media on Monday said the financially strong Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) is doing every bit to kill Test cricket even as their team has taken the top spot in the traditional format.
"India rule Test arena while trying to kill it," a Sydney Morning Herald header screamed.
"It is incredible that India, long seen as promoting the death of Test cricket by driving the proliferation of Twenty20 matches, has reached the sport's pinnacle."
India played only six Test matches this year, an away series against New Zealand in March followed by the just concluded three-Test series against Sri Lanka after a gap of seven months.
The scene is worst next year. India will tour Bangladesh for two Tests in January, and after playing countless ODIs and Twenty20s, will meet New Zealand in November for three Tests.
"If you cast an eye over the ICC's (International Cricket Council) Future Tour Program (FTP) the answer many well be 'no'. In a bizarre twist, India's ascension to the number one spot coincides with a period where the team will largely be inactive in the Test arena for the next two years," said Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
The Sydney Morning Herald said: "A scheduled three-Test series against world No.2 South Africa has been cancelled, denying all cricket supporters of a major series that would have had significant impact on the rankings. Instead, the Proteas will play five one-dayers."
It also means that Indian fans will have to wait for a longer period to see their side play a Test series at home.
"The outrageous absence of home Tests for such a length of time underscores the problems faced by the traditional format."
"They won't admit it, but the fixtures are determined purely by television revenue. Indian broadcast moguls are not interested in Tests because they rate poorly - as indicated by the recent survey - while ODIs and Twenty20s push their numbers through the roof."
"There is increasing pressure from the BCCI - which sells matches for a handsome profit to television networks - to scrap Tests for more ODIs and Twenty20s. The ICC has not stood up to India for years and clearly isn't about to start by the looks of the FTP, which has been manipulated from its original plan to accommodate the BCCI's thirst for short-format games."
"The situation is also not helped by the willingness of Australia, England and South Africa to jump at every chance to play meaningless ODIs in India, simply to boost revenue for the BCCI in return for partnerships in the Champions League Twenty20 competition and other financial benefits."
WASHINGTON: The tabloid storm enveloping Tiger Woods gathered strength on Sunday with more lurid revelations from supposed mistresses and claims of million-dollar payoffs to cover up a string of alleged affairs.
Pleas from the world's number one golfer to be left alone after confessing earlier this week to "personal sins" were ignored as Britain's tabloid press got in on the act and a raft of new allegations surfaced.
The News of the World, Britain's top-selling tabloid, published an interview with a restaurant manager who claimed to have slept with the golf star at his Orlando,Florida home.
The weekly newspaper alleged that Mindy Lawton, 33, was the first of his known affairs but that she was dumped by the golf star in early 2007 when he began seeing 24-year-old cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs.
Britain's Sunday Mirror reported that Woods had also had a fling with 26-year-old model Jamie Jungers in a Las Vegas hotel, but the source for the tabloid's claim was the woman's former fiance.
A US tabloid, The New York Daily News, linked Woods to a sixth woman, Cori Rist, who was quoted as saying she had: "No comment... Not at this time."
Woods, 33, apologized on Wednesday for "transgressions" in his family life as a magazine posted what it said was evidence of an extra-marital affair between him and Grubbs.
Another alleged mistress Kalika Moquin, manager at a Las Vegas night club, told celebrity magazine Us Weekly on Thursday that rumors of an affair between her and Woods were "completely untrue."
The first woman linked to Woods, Rachel Uchitel, has also denied an affair but widespread tabloid reports say she is seeking a multi-million-dollar payout to prevent her from revealing a horde of damaging emails and messages.
Celebrity gossip site RadarOnline.com reported that Uchitel, who canceled a scheduled press conference on Thursday citing "unforeseen circumstances," will receive between one and three million dollars for her silence.
Woods has yet to be seen in public since the furor erupted when he crashed his car on November 27 outside the Florida home where he lives with his wife Elin, a former Swedish model, and their two children.
Uchitel was first linked to Woods in a report two days before the golf star drove his car into a fire hydrant and then a tree, sustaining facial injuries that required hospital treatment.
After the crash, celebrity gossip websites speculated that Elin chased Woods with a golf club and smashed the rear windows of his vehicle, causing him to lose control.
The world's number one golfer ended five days of silence over the affair allegations after Us Weekly quoted Grubbs as saying she had secretly dated him for 31 months and met him for sex 20 times.
The magazine posted an online recording purported to be Woods urging Grubbs not to identify herself by name on her voicemail because he was afraid his wife was becoming suspicious.
"I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart," Woods said, but added he did not want to elaborate on his shortcomings in public.
"Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions," he said, attempting to draw a line under a scandal that has dented his squeaky clean image.
MUMBAI: India will reach the top of the ICC Test rankings for the first time if they win the third and final Test against Sri Lanka starting on Wednesday.
India lead the series 1-0 after thumping Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs in last week's second Test in Kanpur and have been given an added incentive to make it 2-0.
India are currently third on the world rankings behind South Africa (first) and Sri Lanka (second) but are close enough to leapfrog them both with a victory in Mumbai.
Climbing to the top spot would undoubtedly represent a major milestone in Indian cricket but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has tried to play down the significance, warning his players just to concentrate on the match and forget about the rankings.
"It will be an added responsibility," he said.
"Becoming the number one side is not important, we've got to maintain our performance level."
India's chances of beating the Sri Lankans have already suffered a blow with in-form opener Gautam Gambhir, the world's top-ranked batsman, pulling out of the match to attend his sister's wedding.
The left-handed Gambhir has played a significant role in India's great start to the series, scoring centuries in each of the first two Tests and sharing in a 233-run opening stand with fellow centurion Virender Sehwag in Kanpur.
He is expected to be replaced by Murali Vijay, an exciting but relatively inexperienced batsmen who played his only Test against Australia last year.
Batsmen have dominated the series so far with 10 centuries in the two Tests although Indian medium-pacer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth gave the seam bowlers some hope with a five wicket haul in the first innings in Kanpur.
Although they cannot win the series, the Sri Lankans are eyeing their own slice of history and are putting their faith in spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
They never won a Test on Indian soil and the form of Muralitharan remains a real cause of concern with the world record holder managing just five wickets at a cost of 396 runs.
"We got the worst bowling conditions in the last two Tests," Muralitharan said.
"We didn't have the bowlers, that was one of the factors."
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara remains confident Muralitharan can recover and play a starring role in what will be his final Test away from home.
"He is still the best bowler that has played the game," Sangakkara said.
"So you still have to have faith in him and trust him and keep backing him 100 per cent to do the job because he is going to do it at one point.
"We have still got a lot to achieve in Mumbai. Whether we can win the series or not, we can still equal the series and finish the series 1-1. That is a great motivation for us."
MUMBAI: In-form Indian opener Gautam Gambhir on Sunday won the Ceat International Cricketer of the Year award for his stupendous performance with the bat in the 2008-09 season.
Gambhir, who has notched seven hundreds in his last nine Tests including four in the last four, also won the Test Batsman of the Year award at a function held on Sunday night.
Gambhir's India and Delhi opening mate Virender Sehwag won the ODI Batsman of the Year award.
The Test Bowler of the Year award was bagged by Australia's left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson.
Former spin great Erapalli Prasanna was given the Lifetime Achievement award while Australia got the Team of the Year award.
Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was given a special felicitation award for completing 300 wickets in Tests.
The International Spirit of Cricket award went to Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera who got injured in the Lahore terror attack in March while his compatriot Ajantha Mendis bagged the ODI Bowler of the Year award.
Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar said at the function that these ratings are accurate as indicated by the fact that some of the previous International Cricketer of the Year award winners were modern day greats Brian Lara (West Indies), Muthiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) and Ricky Ponting (Australia).
"Ceat Cricket Rating strives to focus on identifying the right talent. The ratings are pretty much accurate as you can see some of the modern greats like Brian Lara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ricky Ponting etc winning the Ceat International Cricketer of the Year in the past," he said.
While Gambhir got Rs 5 lakh for being named as the International Cricketer of the Year, the other individual awards were worth Rs 2 lakh each except Samaraweera's which was worth Rs one lakh. Prasanna received Rs 5 lakh. The Australian team was given Rs 10 lakh.
Gambhir said that his contribution towards India's Test series victory in New Zealand, after more than three decades, had given him a lot of satisfaction.
"I was happy to do something for India winning a Test series in New Zealand after 32 years," said Gambhir who batted for ten hours while making the match saving 137 at Napier in the second Test again New Zealand during India's visit between February and April.
Gambhir said that he himself was surprised that he could bat for so long.
"I myself was surprised that I could play a long innings as I am not a patient guy," he added.
The award winners:
International Cricketer of the Year and Test Batsman of the Year - Gautam Gambhir (India)
ODI Batsman of the Year - Virender Sehwag (India)
Test Bowler of the year - Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
ODI Bowler of the year - Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)
Spirit of Cricket Award - Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka)
300 Wickets Felicitation Award - Harbhajan Singh (India)
Lifetime Achievement Award - EAS Prasanna (India).
