Tendulkar, lara equal: Steve Waugh
Bangalore: Former Australian captain Steve Waugh today rated Brian lara and Sachin Tendulkar as “equals” because they played in different conditions and under different sort of pressures. “I hate comparisons between players because it unnecessarily creates controversy. Both played under different pressure and for different teams. I would place them pretty much on equal terms,” Waugh told reporters during an interaction organised by Brigade Orchards here. lara and Tendulkar were unbelievable players, who won games for their teams, playing under different conditions, Waugh said. “Sachin was carrying on his shoulders amazing pressure of 1.3 billion people. Brian obviously was the best player in a weak team,” he added. Another former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting had rated lara ahead of Sachin as he felt the West Indian helped his team win more matches. On Tendulkar’s retirement, Waugh said all good players ultimately have to hang their boots. Despite the retirements of legends like Rahul Dravid and VVS laxman, Waugh said Indian cricket will survive as it has abundance of young talents. On Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy, Waugh said he has a magical touch and hardly commits mistakes. “During Australia’s tour of India last year, Dhoni came in and scored a double century when India’s chips were down. He knows how to perform at the big stage. He has got so much of magical touch,” Waugh said. “It is not easy to captain India where fans expect a lot from the players,” he said.
‘Absence of experienced cost us’
Johannesburg: The absence of experienced players in the South African cricket team cost them dearly during the away series against Sri lanka, which the Proteas lost 1-4, coach Russell Domingo has said. Domingo said the invaluable experience of Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn and Graeme Smith was dearly missed. “We need to manage guys like Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis. We also need their input in our one-day system. Their unavailability for this tour has shown up through the lack of experience we have had,” Domingo said.
New tie-up for Galatasaray
New Delhi: HCl Infosystems ltd. on Thursday made a grand tie-up with Galatasaray Sports Club, Turkey for its ME Tablet brand. The sponsorship agreement signed between Galatasaray and ME Tablet will make ME Tablet an “Official Sponsor” for Galatasaray Football and Volleyball clubs.