‘India placed very well for wc’ Birmingham: Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has said that the Men in Blue are peaking at the right time and are currently placed very well for the 2015 World Cup, where they will be looking to defend their 2011 title.
“Every win is important and winning is good for a young team,” said Ganguly, when asked if this series win has been beneficial from the World Cup’s preparation point of view. “You can only prepare a team by winning matches. And it is a good win if you consider that they did not win any ODIs in either South Africa or New Zealand. India are placed quite well for the World Cup. They have played some good cricket here in England in the ODIs. And as long as they keep playing good cricket and keep winning, they will find the right combination for the World Cup,” he added. Ganguly felt Indian bowlers had been showing good signs. “I thought there were good signs about India’s bowling. Mohammad Shami bowled really well in this series. Bowling in the death-overs is something they will have to get better at and it is tough because almost every bowler gets hit in the death-overs nowadays. But let us not be too judgmental. India were outstanding with the ball in this series,” said Ganguly, who led India to the final of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.
KP bats for IPl
london: English cricketers can “forget” about the shorter format unless they embrace the Indian Premier league, according to the maverick Kevin Pietersen, who says his efforts to get his countrymen to play in the IPl have fallen on “deaf ears”. “looking into the future, until we let our young players appear in the IPl we can forget about the shorter form of the game. I have tried for years to get England players playing in the IPl but it has fallen on deaf ears,” Pietersen wrote in his column in the ‘Daily Telegraph’. “English cricket’s view is that if you play in the IPl you are a mercenary. But in the IPl guys learn to hit sixes. They learn that any target is gettable. The bowlers learn variations and different tricks. They learn new tactics from opposition players and guys in their own teams. They build friendships with players from around the world and understand cricket from a totally different perspective. England is the only country where the players have no idea what is going on in the rest of the world.”
Jajodia set to be President of bi
New Delhi: Sandeep Jajodia, CMD of Indian boxing’s long-time sponsors -- the Monnet Group --, is all set to be elected unopposed as the President of the much-anticipated new Federation after he was the sole candidate left in fray on the final day of filing nominations for the September 11 polls. The new federation is set to take shape after nearly two years if the elections on September 11 go ahead as planned. Pon Bhaskaran was the lone candidate against Jajodia in the initial list of nominations but he withdrew his candidature on the closing date today. “He probably realised that he did not have enough support base to take on Jajodia and decided to withdraw,” said a source. In the final list, there are three candidates in fray for the Secretary General’s post. Delhi’s Rohit Jain, Jay Kowli of Maharashtra and Haryana’s Rakesh Thakran. The three-way contest is expected to go down the wire as the candidates have been trading charges of manipulation. The Treasurer’s position will also witness a three-way contest. Manipur’s Khoibi Salam, Assam’s Hemanta Kumar Kalita and Tripura’s Dr Rupak Debroy are in the fray for this position. The election was initially scheduled to be held on July 9 but was postponed by Boxing India, the International Boxing Association-recogised body entrusted with the task of conducting the polls. BI itself is coping quite a bit of resentment from the state associations, some of which have stated that the AIBA-recognised body is trying to manipulate the polls to get its favoured candidates elected. The national federation was terminated in December 2012 by AIBA on charges of “possible manipulation” in elections. The federation was officially terminated in March this year.
Brathwaite century boosts WI
Kingston: Kraigg Brathwaite’s second Test hundred was the foundation-stone of a formidable West Indies batting effort as the home side closed a rain-affected first day of the first Test against Bangladesh here at 264 for three. On a day when the tourists relied heavily on debutant spinners Taijul Islam and Shuvagata Hom on a placid pitch at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent, Brathwaite’s unbeaten 123 off 269 deliveries (eight fours) reflected the 21-year-old’s unflappability in almost any circumstances. The rookie opener put on 116 for the first wicket with Chris Gayle (64) to make Mushfiqur Rahim regret his decision to put the West Indies in to bat on winning the toss at the start of the day.
ATK sign up Bangla captain
Kolkata: Bangaldeshi national team captain Mohammed Mamunul Islam was today signed by the city ISl franchise Atletico de Kolkata in Dhaka. The central midfielder also leads Bangladesh Premier league champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and had led the team to IFA Shields final here last season. Terming this an important milestone, the 25-year-old said.
Gowda finishes overall 4th
New Delhi: Ace Indian discus thrower Vikas Gowda got a morale booster ahead of the upcoming Asian Games as he finished overall fourth in the prestigious IAAF Diamond league Series to pocket $ 3,000 prize money. The United States-based Indian, who won a gold in the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, collected two points by virtue of finishing second in the season opening leg in Doha on May 9 with a throw of 63.23m. His second best finish was a fifth in Birmingham leg on August 24 with a throw of 62.78m.
India draw blank at Archery FINAl
Kolkata: lone Indian hope Rajat Chauhan lost to Pierre Julien Deloche of France by one point (145-146) to make a quarterfinal exit in the Archery World Cup Final in lausanne on Sunday. According to information received here, Chauhan, who was the first Indian compound archer to have qualified for the showpiece event, led 117-116 after four ends. But the Rajasthan lad conceded the lead in the final set of arrows after firing a poor 28 against the Frenchman’s 30 for the heartbreaking loss in the opening round. Based on their cumulative scores over four stages of the World Cup, the top eight in each category had made it to the Finals. Three-time silver medalist in the previous World Cup Finals, Deepika Kumari failed to make the cut after a miserable start to the season as compound archer Chauhan was the only Indian contender.