Tendulkar surprised at Mumbai Indians not picking me: Tamim

Dhaka, Feb 21 (IANS): Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal says batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was surprised that he was overlooked by Mumbai Indians (MI) during the January 8-9 Indian Premier League-4 auction.

Tamim said that Tendulkar has promised to look into the IPL rules whether his team Mumbai Indians can still sign him up.

Here to play the opening match of the World Cup that India won against Bangladesh, Tendulkar regretted that his IPL franchisee did not rope in Tamim during the auction.

Tendulkar had instructed MI officials to pitch for Tamim, but when he was put on auction they remained silent.

Tamim came to know about this when he met Tendulkar before the Indian team left Dhaka.

"He (Tendulkar) told me he was very surprised at their decision," Tamim was quoted as saying in The New Age on Monday.

"He was out of India at that time and so could not dictate the terms. Tendulkar promised to see the rules if they could still sign me," said Tamim.

Lutfur Rahman Badal, the cricket chairman of the Mohammedan Sporting Club, said Tendulkar spoke very highly of Tamim.

"Mumbai Indians have only $1,25,000 left from their budget in this season. They have to hire some uncapped Indian players with this money. So he was not sure if they still can sign Tamim," said Badal.

Mohammedan Sporting Club has also invited Tendulkar to play for them in the next season and says that the master blaster has agreed to consider the proposal.

Tendulkar cleared to play after scan on left knee

Mumbai, Feb 21 (Reuters): India's key opening batsman Sachin Tendulkar has undergone an MRI scan on his left knee but he should be fit for their next World Cup game, the team's manager said on Monday.

Tendulkar, the biggest scorer in the history of the game, stayed behind in Mumbai for the scan on Sunday when the rest of the squad flew to Bangalore for their game with England on Sunday.

Ranjib Biswal told Reuters: "It's an old injury. It was just a niggle. It's nothing to worry about. The (MRI) report is all clear."

India won their first match in Dhaka on Saturday, beating Bangladesh by 87 runs. Tendulkar was run out for 28.

Kumble to promote Wipro's Santoor brand

BANGALORE: The `jumbo' is back in action. This time, it's off the field. Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCL), part of IT major Wipro, has signed up Anil Kumble to promote its flagship brand Santoor. Industry sources say the two-year endorsement deal may be valued at around Rs 2 crore, including brand promotions on TV, print and radio.

With India playing co-hosts to the World Cup, brands are counting on cricketers to get extra mileage. "Santoor is positioned as a young brand and for the first time, we have roped in a cricket star to promote it," said WCCL senior VP Anil Chugh. He said the company had a script woven around cricket that demanded a mature cricketer to be a part of it. "Anil Kumble fits with our brand personality and is best suited for a role of a respected cricketer and mentor for young aspirants. With two mega cricketing properties (World Cup and IPL), it makes sense to bring Kumble on board," he said.

The Rs 750-crore Santoor brand, which has soaps, deodorants, and other skin care products, has roped in the leg spinner to build an association with cricket and women fans. The commercial captures the spirit of a Santoor woman beating a gang of boys in a game of cricket. "The challenge was to use the growing trend of women enjoying cricket while simultaneously communicating what the brand stands for in an entertaining manner," added Chugh. DraftFCB Ulka is handling the creative and the TV commercial will go on air this weekend.

Advertising experts say Kumble's fortunes have grown over the years, but it's still a far cry from what his younger colleagues get. Sources say that newbie Virat Kohli's endorsement fee has shot up from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Ditto with Suresh Raina, who is not a regular in the cricketing circuit.

"Typically, bowlers get a fraction of what batsmen get. Kapil Dev is an all rounder. He still manages to get endorsements. However, Kumble is perceived as a strong brand that can add value to, say, banking and insurance products. He's not a me-too brand to sell anything and everything," said Percept Holdings joint MD Shailendra Singh. Advertising gurus say that the transition in Kumble's career graph to a mentoring role has given him the image of a strategist and innovator. He has previously endorsed brands like Indigo Nation, Manipal Education, ING Vysya and Alliance Group.

Sony India, PepsiCo, Castrol, Reebok, Adidas and others are leveraging on cricketers for brand promotions. Companies have revised upwards the endorsement fees of cricketers by 25-35% in the last year and a half, a consequence of the sporting extravaganzas. "But the caveat here is the team performance. If India is out in the quarter-finals, individual price tags will drop," Kwan Entertainment VP Indranil Blah said.

Arun Pandey, president of Rhiti Sports Management says the industry has seen a 30% jump in endorsement fee. "We were flooded with offers to sign up Dhoni for Rs 9 crore per endorsement. Sony India signed up Dhoni for something close to this last year. It all depends on the cricketer's performance in the last 3-4 years," he said.

TOI

England seek revival against The Netherlands

NAGPUR: Sample this: Out of the first four World Cup matches three have been one-sided affairs. If one goes by the record books then the schedule till the quarterfinals reveals that 16 of the 42 matches-that's almost 40%- look headed for a similar fate.

Of course, cricket being the eternal game of uncertainties, there may be an odd upset.

But England are sure that the upset won't happen on Tuesday. They are well aware of the pain that the bite of underdogs causes. The famous 2009 Lord's T20 reversal invariably finds a mention whenever the two teams square-off. But the Netherlands will find another giant-killing act hard to come. This time around, England will be anything but complacent. Thus, the game too looks headed for a one-sided end.

For the first time since 1992, England have a realistic chance of winning the Cup. The hopes skyrocketed on the back of a stupendous Ashes showing. But it was followed by 1-6 drubbing at the hands of Aussies. The debacle couldn't have come at an appropriate time for Strauss & Co. One can be assured that the Brits feet will be firmly on the ground.

Captain Andrew Strauss knows that if his players take the opponents lightly then danger lurks around the corner. "These guys are dangerous cricketers as we have seen in the past. You can't underestimate Netherlands. We need to give 100%. A 10% off, we will be in trouble," Strauss said.

England have made a bold statement by using Kevin Pietersen as an opener in the warm-ups. The middle-order boasts of in-form Jonathan Trott, who is at present troubled a bit by injured finger. The presence of Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara and Matt Prior make for a solid middle-order which the Netherlands bowlers will surely find too much to content.

James Anderson will lead the England bowling attack. Stuart Broad too has not taken much time to get into the groove, he has two five-wicket hauls in as many warm-ups.

There has been a debate surrounding associate members' participation in the World Cup. Though, the Netherlands skipper, Peter Borren, promised to silence the detractors with performance on the field, their coach was more realistic about the England game. "We lack the knowledge of batting in the ODIs," Peter Drinnen said.

"Our bowling attack is inexperienced and not youthful in age," Drinnen added.

TOI

National Games: Services consolidate top position

RANCHI: Kavita Raut continued with her sizzling performance on the track as she shocked Asian Games gold medallist Preeja Sridharan for the second time in the athletics competition while Services consolidated their lead in medal standings in the 34th National Games on Monday.

Having earlier beaten Preeja for 10,000m gold, the concluding day of athletics competition witnessed the 25-year-old Maharashtra tribal girl notching up a double as she pipped the national record holder from Kerala for the 5,000m title.

In a repeat of the 10,000m final, Kavita trailed past Preeja in the final run to stop the clock at 15:54.26 and shatter the 12-year-old Games record of Sunita Rani who had a timing of 16:05.36 in Imphal National Games.

Preeja's timing of 15:54.98 also bettered the meet record.

Kavita had finished behind Preeja in both the 10,000m and 5,000m in the Asian Games last year, settling for silver and bronze respectively.

In another upset of sorts, Indian sprint king Abdul Najeeb Qureshi was pushed to the third spot in 200m when Services Nitin Kumar bagged the gold from Andhra Pradesh's M Manikanandaraj in a photo-finish.

Services also clinched the 4x400m relay gold as they went on to add five more yellow metals to their Sunday's tally to take a commanding lead over their rivals with 44 golds, 33 silvers and 26 bronzes in the medal standings at the end of the ninth day of the competition.

Maharashtra were a distant second with 34-37-36 as Manipur, gaining heavily from cycling and fencing, occupied the third spot with 30-19-19.

Star international cyclist Ch Rameshori Devi of Manipur won her fourth gold, while fencing competition got underway with the North-eastern state bagging two more yellow metals through W Roji Devi and in the team event.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh marksmen dominated the shooting range, picking up both the gold medals on offer today.

Another highlight of the day was promising Nagpur shuttler Arundhati Pantawane's rise to stardom when she clinched the women's singles title after defeating P C Thulasi in the final. She had earlier stunned top seed Sayali Gokhale in the semifinals.

The Nagpur girl, who was briefly ranked India number one after she finished runner-up in the Nationals, came back from behind to oust Kerala's P C Thulasi for the title.

In the men's singles summit clash, Guru Sai Dutt of Andhra also rallied spectacularly after losing the first set against Karnataka's Aditya Prakash.

Having ousted top seed and statemate Sayali Gokhale in semifinals on Sunday, 21-year-old Arundhati continued her fine run as she pipped Thulasi 14-21, 21-17, 21-15 in a close tie.

In the men's final, Guru Sai recovered quickly after losing the first set against an error-prone Aditya Prakash to win 16-21, 21-10, 21-18.

The Andhra duo of Jyotshna Polavarapu and Nelakurthi Sikkireddy clinched the women's doubles title after beating Maharashtra's Sampada Sahasrabuddhe and Pradnya 21-16, 21-18.

Alwin Francis and Arun Vishnu Sivaraj Anrevamm of Kerala beat Maharashtra's Jishanu and Akshay 21-12, 26-24 for the men's doubles title.

Manipur dominated fencing competition with two gold medals while Services bagged one.

Vijay Kumar earned Services the individual foil gold as Tuka Ram of Andhra Pradesh bagged the silver while Gourav Gupta (Chandigarh) and Rajeshwar (Manipur) bowed out in the semifinals for bronze medals.

Manipur clinched women's team gold in the epee event as Punjab bagged the silver, while Kerala and Chhattisgarh bagged the two bronze medals.

W Roji Devi completed Manipur's domination with a gold in individual foil while Jasmine bagged silver. S Bindu Devi and Inderpreet Kaur won a bronze each after losing in semifinals.

In cycling, Gurpreet Kaur bagged two gold medals even as international rider Ch Rameshori Devi pocketed her fourth yellow metal in the competition.

Riding on Gurpreet and Rameshori's performances, Manipur and Punjab bagged two gold medals each to dominate the competition.

Having claimed a hat-trick of gold medals on Sunday, Rameshori clinched the women's 200m sprint, pipping her statemate K Suchitra Devi and stopping the clock at 13.876.

Kerala's Kezia Verghese settled for the third spot. Manipur clinched their second gold in cycling in men's 200m sprint through O Bikram Singh. Asia Cup (Japan round) bronze medallist Bikram Singh clinched his second gold when he stopped the clock at 13.338 en route to the 200m sprint title.

Punjab's Amrit Singh and R L Manoj of Services bagged the second and third spots respectively.

Pankaj Kumar of Haryana clinched men's 6km scratch title with 09:51.30 as Amandeep Singh (Punjab) and Manpreet Singh Kalsi of Maharashtra settled for silver and bronze.

Gurpreet earned Punjab the title in women's 4km scratch clocking 07:27.723, while Rejani V (Kerala) and T Nita Devi (Manipur) bagged the silver and bronze medal.

She bagged her second gold of the day logging 25 points en route to the title in the 16km points race as Th Helen Devi of Manipur (21) was pushed to the second spot. Rejani V of Kerala logged 17 for third place.

Chhattisgarh dominated the shooting range, clinching both the gold medals on offer today.

PPS Guron earned Chhattisgarh the men's skeet individual title shooting 143, as Services Allan Daniel Peoples was two points adrift for the silver. Chhattisgarh also bagged the bronze through Baba Bedi who shot 140.

With scores of 353, Chhattisgarh were clear winners for the team gold as Services (333) and Punjab (332) bagged the silver and bronze respectively.

In men's football, Bengal and Services dished out a dull goalless stalemate to join Goa and Services in the last four.

In the semifinals, Bengal will lock horns with Goa, while Services will clash against Punjab on February 23.

In men's basketball, Punjab scraped past Tamil Nadu 67-59 to move into the final.

Meanwhile, top boxers from Manipur and Services sailed into the semifinals after winning their respective bouts at JRD Tata Sports Complex at Jamshedpur.

In the women's fly weight (51 kg) class, Rebecca Lalinmawaii of Mizoram was no match for Sarita Devi of Manipur, who was the best boxer of National Championship held in Kerala last December.

A former world champion and four times Asian championship gold medallist, Sarita kept on the pressure on her rival with her left-right punches to widen the margin before she clinched the bout easily 18-2.

Vinita Mahar of Uttarakhand trounced Rijumoni Patar of Meghalaya 9-2 to move into the semifinal round in the same weight category.

Pinky Jangra (Haryana), who created a flutter by defeating five-time world champion M C Mary Kom in the quarterfinal of Senior National Boxing Championship at the same venue two years ago, maintained her form brushing aside international N Tonibala Chanu of Arunachal Pradesh 10-0 to move into the semifinals.

In the men's section, CWG bronze medallist Amandeep Singh of Punjab, internationals Sandeep of Tripura, Th Nanao Singh of Manipur and Sanjay Kolte of Services registered wins over their rivals Madan Lal (Haryana), Amit Kumar Shukla (Jharkhand), Madan Rai (Sikkim) and Madan Lal of Haryana respectively to sail into the semifinal round in the light fly weight (49 kg) category.

In fly weight (52 kg) class for men, junior international Gaurav Bidhuri of Delhi trounced L Devendro Singh (Services) by virtue of better points while Sunil Kumar of Haryana defeated Sunil Sharma of Jharkhand to move into semifinals.

Prakash Darjee of Arunachal Pradesh and Santosh Harijan outclassed Debendra Thapa of Orissa and Kulwinder Singh of Punjab in the same weight category in the quarterfinal.

Playing before the home crowd, Mishal Banjamin Lakra of Jharkhand delivered some powerful punches on Arun Kumar Limbu (Arunachal Pradesh) to emerge 11-5 victorious.

TOI

National Games: Top boxers move into semifinals

JAMSHEDPUR: Top boxers from Manipur and Services sailed into the semifinals after winning their respective bouts in the 34th National Games at JRD Tata Sports complex on Monday.

In the women's fly weight (51 kg) class, Rebecca Lalinmawaii of Mizoram was no match for Sarita Devi of Manipur, who was the best boxer of National Championship held in Kerala last December.

A former world champion and four times Asian championship gold medallist, Sarita kept on the pressure on her rival with her left-right punches to widen the margin before she clinched the bout easily 18-2.

Vinita Mahar of Uttarakhand trounced Rijumoni Patar of Meghalaya 9-2 to move into the semifinal round in the same weight category.

Pinky Jangra (Haryana), who created a flutter by defeating five-time world champion M C Mary Kom in the quarterfinal of Senior National Boxing Championship at the same venue two years ago, maintained her form brushing aside international N Tonibala Chanu of Arunachal Pradesh 10-0 to move into the semifinals.

In the men's section, CWG bronze medallist Amandeep Singh of Punjab, internationals Sandeep of Tripura, Th Nanao Singh of Manipur and Sanjay Kolte of Services registered wins over their rivals Madan Lal (Haryana), Amit Kumar Shukla (Jharkhand), Madan Rai (Sikkim) and Madan Lal of Haryana respectively to sail into the semifinal round in the light fly weight (49 kg) category.

In the fly weight (52 kg) class for men, junior international Gaurav Bidhuri of Delhi trounced L Devendro Singh (Services) by virtue of better points while Sunil Kumar of Haryana defeated Sunil Sharma of Jharkhand to move into the semifinals.

Prakash Darjee of Arunachal Pradesh and Santosh Harijan also outclassed Debendra Thapa of Orissa and Kulwinder Singh of Punjab in the same weight category of the quarterfinal round by points.

Playing before the home crowd, Mishal Banjamin Lakra of Jharkhand delivered some powerful punches on Arun Kumar Limbu (Arunachal Pradesh) to emerge 11-5 victorious.

TOI

National Games: Sandeep stuns Diwakar in lightweight boxing

JAMSHEDPUR: Olympian Diwakar Prasad's campaign in the 34th National Games came to an end as the Jharkhand boxer was beaten by Haryana's Sandeep at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Monday.

The young pugilist exhibited good skills and delivered accurate punches to surge ahead in the first round. He maintained his good form in the subsequent rounds before wrapping up the bout 2-0 to move into the semifinal of the lightweight (60 kgs) men's bout.

V Durga Rao of Karnataka, Neeraj Goyal of Tripura and Kerala's Kulwinder also moved into the semis after they defeated Amit Roy of West Bengal, Akshay Kumar of Delhi and Ankit Thakur of Himachal Pradesh.

Results:

Women (Bantam 54 kgs): Priyanka Khandeparkar of Goa bt Mamta Kumari Panda (Orissa); Sushma Kumari (Jharkhand) bt Ph Sony Chanu (Manipur).

Feather (57kgs): Mandakini Chann (Jharkhand) bt Kavita Bhatt (Uttar Pradesh); Priyanka Chaudhary ( Uttarakhand) bt Dorothy Lalchhanhimi (Mizoram); Pavitra (Haryana) bt Hemam Chaoba Devi (Manipur); Pwilao Basumatary (Assam) bt Rinky Singh (Andhra Pradesh).

Light (60 kgs): Meena Rani (Uttar Pradesh) bt Sangeeta Kumari (Uttarakhand); Sagar Tokas (Delhi) bt Meena (Jharkhand).

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Anger grows over World Cup final tickets

NEW DELHI: Furious cricket fans slammed organisers of the World Cup on Monday as the official ticketing website crashed amid a scramble for 1,000 tickets available for the final.

The website, www.Kyazoonga.com, showed an error message soon after business began at 1pm (0730 GMT), adding to the frustration of fans who are already angry about the small numbers of places available for the final.

Just 4,000 tickets in total are on sale for the game on April 2 at the historic but capacity-squeezed Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, with the rest being distributed through clubs and other cricket authorities.

Kyazoonga.com, a major Indian online ticketing company, told fans to be patient in a message posted on their Facebook page, blaming "unprecedented amounts of traffic from all over the world" for the problems.

"We understand your frustration and feel your pain. We are working non-stop to get you the tickets you need. Rest assured, not a single ticket that was meant for sale has been sold yet," the statement said.

Few fans were placated, with many saying the company should have been prepared for the huge demand in cricket-crazy India.

"If you couldn't handle this crazy traffic then you shouldn't have been responsible for the tickets in the first place," posted graphic designer Rahul Bhasin in a reply on Kyazoonga.com's Facebook page.

"You only have 1,000 tickets to sell online for the World Cup final - how could you not expect insane traffic?"

Others speculated that tickets had already been handed out to officials at low prices or free of charge in a repeat of the 2010 Commonwealth Games where many tickets were distributed to bureaucrats and politicians.

The venue for the title match, which has already been criticised for failing to meet fire safety regulations, has undergone major renovations which led to a reduction in seating from 38,000 to 33,000.

Tournament director Ratnakar Shetty said contractual obligations, which require 20,000 tickets to go to clubs linked to the Mumbai Cricket Association and 8,500 to the International Cricket Council, had slashed selling options.

Some fans complained that supporters were being squeezed out and questioned why Kolkata's Eden Gardens, with a 65,000-capacity, was not named as the venue for the April 2 showpiece.

"Disgusting... only 4,000 tickets... this is a big failure of management," wrote one fan on a website.

Another added: "Are you kidding me? Why are we hosting the final on one of the smallest grounds in the country? Assuming Eden Gardens is ready by April 2, the final should be moved there."

"What's the purpose of hosting the final in India if only 4,000 out of the millions of spectators are able to watch it from the stands," said one more.

Shetty admitted his hands were tied by contractual duties, but said the fact that 20,000 tickets were going to clubs meant that the public was not missing out.

"From the outset it was always going to be near impossible to satisfy the enormous demand for tickets," said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.

Meanwhile, Shetty insisted that the Wankhede would be ready for the final as well as its two other matches - New Zealand v Canada on March 13 and Sri Lanka against New Zealand on March 18.

That's despite fire chiefs' unhappiness at the level of safety standards at the ground.

"When we build a stadium, we take care of each and every person who will come to the stadium," said Shetty.

"Rest assured, all permissions will be in hand and all things required from the fire department."

Jayawardena not aware of Jayasuriya's record

Hambantota, Feb 21 (AP): Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardena was unaware on Sunday that he had broken a record set by his former captain Sanath Jayasuriya for the country's fastest century in a World Cup match.

"I didn't know that until the last minute when they asked me (on television) honestly," Jayawardena said after his innings helped secure a 210-run victory over Canada in Group A.

The otherwise calm and composed Jayawardena hit 100 off 81 balls that included an uncharacteristic four off a reverse sweep to break Jayasuriya's record of an 85-ball hundred made against Bangladesh at Port of Spain in 2007.

"I am quite happy it was a good start for us," he said.

Gayle eyes magical 200-run mark

New Delhi, Feb 21 (AFP): West Indies batting star Chris Gayle wants to emulate India's Sachin Tendulkar and notch up one-day cricket's second double-century at the World Cup.

Tendulkar rewrote the record books in February last year by hammering an unprecedented 200 not out against South Africa.

Tendulkar's team-mate and opening partner Virender Sehwag came close to matching his feat in India's opening World Cup match against Bangladesh last week before being dismissed for 175.

Gayle, also an attacking opener, believes he can achieve the magical mark if he bats out the 50 overs.

"The master-blaster (Sachin Tendulkar) got it. A guy like Sehwag can get it. These are the guys who can get it once they get off to a good start. You bat through the 50 overs and it becomes a possibility."

"If I get a chance, I'll definitely chase it," said Gayle, whose highest score in one-day internationals is the 153 not out he scored against Zimbabwe in 2003.

The left-hander is also keen to polish his all-round skills and contribute to his team with his off-spinners, which have fetched him 156 wickets from 223 ODIs.

"I want to be the best all-rounder in the World Cup," said the 31-year-old. "I should be able to do a bit of bowling and get a few wickets as well and also set up a good total for the team."

Gayle was realistic of his team's chances at the showpiece tournament.

"The preparation has been good. We came from Sri Lanka, of course things didn't go according to our plan but at the same time it is a big occasion and we want to get a winning start."

"The key is to get a good start and in this new format, the top four get to the quarterfinals. That would be our objective and then anything is possible."

West Indies drew all the three rain-hit Tests in Sri Lanka before losing the following one-day series 2-0.

In the World Cup, West Indies have been drawn in Group B alongside Bangladesh, India, England, South Africa, the Netherlands and Ireland.

Their first match is against South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.

Gayle said he was hopeful his team will script a turnaround in their fortunes this time.

"We have not done well in the two World Cups that I played and I hope things turn around here. We need to have the self belief. We have to take responsibility."

"We have to go out there and not just put up a fight but get victories."

Sachin Tendulkar undergoes MRI scan

AHMEDABAD: India's key opening batsman Sachin Tendulkar has undergone an MRI scan on his left knee but he should be fit for their next World Cup game, the team's manager said on Monday.

Tendulkar, the biggest scorer in the history of the game, stayed behind in Mumbai for the scan on Sunday when the rest of the squad flew to Bangalore for their game with England next Sunday (February 27).

The 37-year old batsman underwent an MRI scan on Sunday night at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital after he felt pain in his left knee.

"It's an old injury. It was just a niggle. It's nothing to worry about. The (MRI) report is all clear," Indian team manager Ranjib Biswal said.

The master batsman will join the rest of the Indian squad in Bangalore on Monday.

Three more one-day hundreds in the World Cup climaxing in his native Mumbai on April 2 would make him the only batsman to total 100 centuries in both Tests and ODIs.

India won their first match in Dhaka on Saturday, beating Bangladesh by 87 runs. Tendulkar was run out for 28.

Tendulkar became the most capped one-day player in cricket in Saturday's win with his 445th appearance but a mix-up with match-winner Virender Sehwag lost him the chance to join the run feast on a placid track against a weak attack.

India eventually made 370 for four. He is the leading scoring one-day and test batsman and ranked by most experts among the top players of any era.

TOI

Despite B'desh win, India's fielding needs a big push

MIRPUR: It was India's shoddy fielding, rather than S Sreesanth's wayward bowling in their opening World Cup match against Bangladesh that is a major concern for the team management.

It is not uncommon for a bowler to take a pounding in the odd match in limited-overs cricket. Even by his inconsistent standards, Sreesanth had a nightmare outing on Saturday. Having given away 53 runs in his first five overs, Bangladesh may have even won the game had not India skipper MS Dhoni taken him off the firing line for good.

Fortunately, Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel did the job for India along with senior pro Zaheer Khan, who improved significantly after an ordinary first spell. True, they had the luxury of a 370-run cushion, but at least the bowlers did the job.

The same cannot be said about Indian fielders. There were far too many fumbles in the outfield early in Bangladesh's run chase to give them the benefit of the 'dew'.

Youthful Bangladesh batsmen not only stole singles, but also converted ones into twos as India's ageing warriors struggled to keep pace with them.

Let's not forget that Suresh Raina substituted for a tired/injured Virender Sehwag when India took the field. Raina, who was left out of the playing XI against Bangladesh on Saturday, remains India's best fielder with an uncanny ability to hit the stumps from any position inside the 30-yard circle.

Ironically, Yusuf Pathan, who has usurped Raina's place in the XI, had a poor outing, allround — failing with the bat and ball and generally struggling in the field where he grassed two chances.

He is batting too low down the order to contribute substantially with the bat and as a bowler he lacks the guile of Yuvraj. He is best suited as a shock weapon against big teams in a counter-attacking role.

Bangladesh, in contrast, fielded quite brilliantly. In spite of Sehwag's lethal strokeplay, the Bangladesh fielding didn't wilt even towards the end. It was largely because of the Tigers' superb athleticism that prevented India from posting a 400-plus total.
No wonder Dhoni, who himself was not at his best behind the stumps, expressed concern about his team's poor fielding.

"We need to improve (in the fielding department). We need to save at least 10 runs on the field (in every game)," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.

Let alone saving runs on the field, with not more than four good fielders in their 15-member squad, India are easily one of the worst fielding sides in the ongoing World Cup.

Coach Gary Kirsten can do little about it at this juncture but pray that the Indian team would at least hold on to the catches that come their way to give the bowlers a leg up.

The big positive from the opening game was the early form displayed by the top-order and the maturity by young Virat Kohli. Not once during their 145-ball third-wicket stand of 203 runs did Sehwag and Kohli indulge in slogging.

The effortless ease with which they kept finding the boundaries meant the duo didn't even need to give Bangladesh bowlers the charge in the death overs.

It is the depth and quality of India's batting line-up that makes Dhoni's boys the favourites to win the World Cup.
All the big guns need not boom together.

India just need a couple of batsmen to come good in every match to put the issue beyond doubt — with or without some help from their bowlers and fielders.

TOI

Ponting breaks appearance record at World Cup

AHMADABAD: Ricky Ponting broke the World Cup appearance record on Monday when he played his 40th game at the tournament in Australia's Group A match against Zimbabwe.

The Australia captain overtook former teammate Glenn McGrath to hold the record outright. Both players had been tied on 39 appearances at the end of the 2007 event in West Indies.

Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram played 38 World Cup matches, with India's superstar batsman Sachin Tendulkar now up to 37 after India's tournament-opening victory over Bangladesh on Saturday.

Ponting, who is a three-time World Cup winner, said on Sunday he hadn't been aware he was about to break the record, but added the achievement would be "nice" when he finished playing.

TOI

National Games: Crowd cheers Dhoni

HOTWAR, RANCHI: All security arrangements at the venue of National Games in Hotwar near Ranchi went haywire once Team India skipper M S Dhoni arrived at the mega sports complex on Sunday.

Hundreds of cricket fans came down from the gallery of different stadiums to meet the local hero and laid a siege to the gate of the main athletics stadium.

Security personnel had a tough time managing the crowd to give safe passage for Mahi's exit.

Record Sunday crowd: The mammoth crowd that Mega Sports Complex at Hotwar witnessed on Sunday surpassed all previous records of mammoth gathering at one place. A stadium complex with 13 stadiums with different sitting capacities ranging from 2,000 to over 8,000 people and one main athletics stadium with sitting capacity of 35,000 were full to their capacities. The open arenas, too, remained crowded Sunday being holiday for most of the people. Sports lovers from neighbouring districts and other states also arrived on reserved buses.

Once more drizzle relief: Cool breeze followed by cloudy climate and drizzling on Sunday showcased actual climate of the host city to thousands of players and officials coming from other states. For, many had known Ranchi to be a hill station and thanks to the perfectly timed climate change that helped visitors walk comfortably across stadiums and players in demonstrating their skills to the fullest. However, a few athletes complained of muscle cramps and hamstring injuries while some others also complained of cold and cough.

Parking well organized : Even as arrangement hiccups remained order of the day, a disciplined parking lot before the Mega Sports Complex was a welcome scene for all the visitors. A huge queues of bicycles, two-wheelers, cars and big buses all lined up in order grabbed attention of every onlooker. However, information lapses to the security personnel managing the gates once again added to confusion of VIPs about their entry and parking lots. Health department principal secretary A K Sirkar was stopped by guards at a gate and it was difficult for him to convince the men in uniform that he holds a dignified post in the state bureaucracy.

TOI

Police set to move court against Lalit Modi for evading summons

CHENNAI: Former chairman of Indian Premier League (IPL) Lalit Modi has yet again refused to receive the summons issued to him by Chennai police in connection with a criminal complaint of misappropriation of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) funds. The summons was sent on both occasions to Modi's Mumbai residence.

With the second deadline set by the city police for the dislodged IPL boss to appear for inquiry lapsing on Tuesday last, the police are now mulling legal options to make him respond to the summons. A senior official told the TOI that the police was now set to move court against Modi and others for repeatedly evading summons to appear for inquiry. Modi is believed to be in London.

After BCCI secretary N Srinivasan filed a criminal complaint alleging misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 469 crore, Chennai police issued the first summons to seven persons, including Modi, on December 28, 2010. So far only two -- Kunal Das Gupta, former CEO of Multi Screen Media, a Sony TV subsidiary, and Ajay Verma -- have appeared before the police and given their explanations. Others excluding Modi have received their summons, but are yet to respond.

It was on January 13, 2011 that the police sent a second summons to five of those named and asked them to appear before the Central Crime Branch (CCB) here on January 25, 26 or 28, whichever date was suitable to them. The police had even announced that it would extend the deadline till February 15 for them to respond. However, none of them have responded so far. The charges against Modi and others are criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts, besides cheating.

"We are all set to move the court for wilful dishonouring of summons," city police commissioner T Rajendran told Times of India.

Lawyers say it is not impossible to serve the summons and force Modi and others to appear before the authorities for inquiry. "Police can send a summons through the Indian embassy in the foreign nation concerned. Authorities can also invoke the provisions of an extradition treaty if India had such an understanding with that country. Police could also move court to get Modi and other wanted persons declared as proclaimed offenders and initiate extradition proceedings with the cooperation of the country where they are staying at present," criminal lawyer N Raja Senthoor Pandian told to TOI.