Sidhu takes dig at Waugh for criticising Dhoni

New Delhi: Former India cricketer turned commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday came down heavily on ex-Australia skipper Steve Waugh, who criticised India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for demanding tracks that turn from the very first day.

"Ask Steve Waugh whether the Indian team gets a turning track when we visit Perth?," asked Sidhu.

"Does Waugh wants that we gift the Test series to England? The track will be same for both teams," he added.

Sidhu also said that the hosts, in order to win the Test series 4-0, should go for the turning tracks.

"We are not here to give comfort to the English side. We would like to win this series. When we go to England, do they make tracks that offer turn? It is important for India to win this series," Sidhu said.

Dhoni, after winning the first Test against England at Ahmedabad, expressed his displeasure at the Motera wicket and said that "We wanted the curators to prepare the pitches that will turn from day one."

The second Test in Mumbai is scheduled to start from Friday where ball is expected to turn a lot and Sidhu suggested the Indian team go to with an extra spinner in Harbhajan Singh, in addition to Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha.

"I have been saying since Day I that their strength is swing and ours is spin. More the number of spinners, better it is. If we play Harbhajan in Mumbai, then England will feel psychologically bogged down," he concluded.

Read More

2-0 Test win against England can put India in third place

New Delhi : India can jump two places to the third spot in Test rankings if they beat England 2-0 in the four-match Test series starting Nov 15 in Ahmedabad.

England are also in their pursuit of first Test series win in India since 1984-85. But besides aiming to end the 27-year wait for success in India, England are also targeting at getting back the number one spot in the Reliance ICC Test Championship table, just a few months after losing the top spot to South Africa.
England have to beat the hosts by 3-0 or even bigger margin in the series starting Thursday at Ahemedabad.
However, England’s return to the top will be dependent on some help from rival Australia, who take on South Africa in a series that began Friday in Brisbane.
If Australia win against South Africa by a margin of 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1, then it would become the No. 1 team. But England could displace Australia from the top if it were then to beat India by a margin of 3-0 or 4-0.
Similarly, if the Australia-South Africa series is drawn level at 0-0 or 1-1, it would see Graeme Smith’s side retaining the number-one spot. If this were to happen, England could displace South Africa if it were then to beat India by a margin of 3-0 or 4-0.

Read More

Home > Sports > Cricket > Pujara makes crucial No.3 position his with double-ton Pujara makes crucial No.3 position his with double-ton

Ahmedabad : Cheteshwar Pujara Friday ticked another box in the process of filling the key No. 3 position in India’s batting order, vacated by the great Rahul Dravid. Playing in only his sixth Test, Pujara hit his maiden double century (206 not out) against England in the first Test at Ahmedabad.

The 24-year-old has thus cemented his place at the highest level of the game, the big knock coming soon after his first hundred against New Zealand in August.
His next big test will be to perform overseas. He has already played two Tests in South Africa but not with much success, scoring 19, 10 and 2 in three innings.
The Rajkot-born cricketer has only played Test cricket and showed his brilliance in his debut game against Australia in 2010 when he scored 72 in the fourth innings chasing a successful victory target.
The Saurashtra batsman forced the selectors to take note of his heaps of runs on the domestic circuit. He has made 4,954 runs in 68 first-class appearances at 53.84. Pujara has an enviable record in List A with 2,735 runs in 61 games at 56.97.
He was one of the top run-getters for Saurashtra in the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season, prompting Kolkata Knight Riders to sign him for the inaugural Indian Premier League edition.
The following year he smashed two triple hundreds for Saurashtra in an under-22 tournament and replicated the feat in the Ranji Trophy to make it three in a row in a month.
In his short career, he has already been sidelined by a serious knee injury, but he recovered well to stage an impressive comeback.

Read More

photo gallery

Read More

NMC urges ICC to mediate in BCCI row over coverage restrictions

Johannesburg: Media organisations have urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to intervene in a row with the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) over coverage restrictions of the Test series between India and England, saying the dispute was damaging the game.

The News Media Coalition, writing on behalf of a group of news agencies, newspapers and publishers, urged the ICC to use its influence and global standing to convince the BCCI to lift the curbs which have set off a text and photo blackout of the series.

“We recognise that the ICC does not have direct authority of the media policy of individual national cricket bodies but view the ICC as the collective custodians of the good name of the sport, fair play and the promotion of the game,” a website quoted the letter, as saying.

“The BCCI`s policy of locking out an important sector of the news industry risks damaging much that the ICC has sought to achieve,” the letter added.

The ICC has drawn up proposals for Twenty20 cricket to eventually become an Olympic sport.

Kevan Gosper, chairperson of the International Olympic Committee`s press commission, is among those to have criticised the BCCI stance, calling it a direct attack on the freedom of the media.

The accreditation dispute is the latest between the BCCI and media organisations to mar the series.

Read More