Team not to rest on past exploits, says Dhoni

Mahender Singh Dhoni believes in living in the present, does not carry burdens of the past and is clear about the direction his team is striving for in future.

The India cricket captain, expressing his thoughts on Asia Cup 2008, was clear that his team will be starting from scratch in the seven-nation event hosted by Pakistan.

“Indian teams have always done well in Pakistan, but that is in the past. For this team, the scenario will be different, the conditions will be different. We are working towards playing to potential, play to the best of our abilities. Then the chances of winning games are more.”

The Triangular Series final loss to Pakistan, the captain attributes as part of the game. “Winning and losing is all part of the game,” reasoned the skipper, stressing on the playing to potential factor as the surest way to record more victories than defeats.

The team flies out from Mumbai at a time when the silver jubilee celebrations of the 1983 World Cup winning squad is foremost in people’s mind. The current Indian captain, asserting his own leadership style and developing into a mature batsman as a result of responsibility, referred to Kapil Dev’s historic triumph with pride.

Dhoni (born July 1981) was an infant when India turned the one-day world upside down defeating West Indies at Lords on June 25, 1983.

Gambhir powers to an unbeaten century

Gautam Gambhir is light on his feet and heavy with his contributions. The left-hander is making all the right moves these days.

His compelling footwork, timing and balance were the highlights of an unbeaten hundred in the last league match of the Kitply tri-series cricket tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men made light of a chase of 223, romping home by seven wickets in the 36th over. They will now meet Pakistan in the final here on Saturday.

Gambhir’s unbeaten 107 (101b, 13x4, 1x6) indicated his growing maturity. He played second fiddle to Virender Sehwag without being negative and launched into strokes after his senior partner’s departure.

It was crucial for the host to be consistent with the shiny, hard ball and force mistakes. Apart from Mashrafe Mortaza, the rest disappointed.

Sehwag began with a flowing cover-drive off Mortaza and then cut loose. He was provided width by Farhad Reza and promptly responded with cuts and pulls. There were also occasions when Sehwag converted the length. A yorker-length ball was eased past the bowler and the ropes.

India scores an emphatic win Paceman Praveen complements Sehwag, Gambhir’s good effort

With his unique wrist action, Praveen Kumar is among those rare pacemen who can swing and seam, often the same delivery.

The canny Praveen cut through the Pakistani top-order on a sluggish wicket to fashion an emphatic win for India in a Kitply tri-series league game at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium here on Tuesday night.

Chasing 331, Pakistan was dismissed for 190 in a no-contest.

The victory also brought to an end Pakistan’s run of 12 ODI wins

The deceptive Praveen of a quick-arm release dismissed Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf before prising out a threatening Kamran Akmal.

Nadal demolishes Federer

Rafael Nadal equalled Bjorn Borg’s record of four consecutive French Open crowns, overpowering World No.1 Roger Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in the final in Paris on Sunday. The Spaniard’s win — his third on the trot against Federer in French Open finals — kept his unbeaten record at Roland Garros intact.

By the fourth game, Rafael Nadal had Roger Federer kicking the clay in frustration. By the second set, the normally stoic Federer was screaming at himself.

The drubbing went on from there. Nadal won his fourth consecutive French Open title in a rout Sunday, again spoiling Federer's bid to complete a career Grand Slam.

Dominating the world's No. 1 player with astounding ease, Nadal swept six consecutive games early in the match and swept the final nine games to win 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.

It was Federer's worst loss in his 173 Grand Slam matches, and the shortest Roland Garros men's final in terms of games since 1977.

So thorough was the thumping that during the trophy ceremony, Nadal was moved to apologize.

``Roger, I'm sorry for the final,'' Nadal said.

For the No. 2-ranked Nadal, it was merely another in a series of dominating victories. He lost only 41 games in seven rounds.

``I've hoped I could have done better today than four games,'' Federer said. ``But Rafael was very strong this year.''

The Spaniard became the second man to win four consecutive French Open titles. Bjorn Borg did it in 1978-81.

ri-series gets underway today

It was only in March this year Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men achieved one of India’s greatest ODI triumphs. India won a gruelling triangular series down under, also featuring Australia and Sri Lanka.

Now, many talk about the death of the ODI. Twenty20’s sweep and popularity have shortened public memories. It’s fast and fun-filled. And it’s not predictable.

The ODI faces a challenge but should survive the phase. After all, among the abbreviated versions of the game, it’s a more complete test of skills. Here, the bowlers have a greater say.

Under the circumstances, the Kitply tri-series, the first ODI competition after the IPL, will be followed with keen interest.

India, Pakistan and host Bangladesh will duel it out in a short four-match (three league games and the final) tournament.

The series begins with a day-night clash between Pakistan and Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday.

There have been spells of rain in these parts, but every game has a reserve day. The drainage facilities at the venue are considered adequate as well.

IPL owes its success primarily to player commitment

The close encounter in the finals at Mumbai, yet again, proclaimed the roaring success of the Indian Premier League. Kudos to the organisers who stood up to the challenge and put up a great product.

That leads us to the next question. What were the factors that made this a big success?

The primary reason for IPL’s success was the players’ high intensity and sustained involvement through out the tournament. No matter how philosophical one is, the unprecedented flow of money is the strongest reasons for player’s unflinching commitment. At the same time, loyalty to the team cannot be discounted either.

Team owners seemed to take it pretty seriously too, going as far as sacking team officials and not mincing words even to the icon players and demanding results. The players must come to terms with owners’ reactions, which may not be very pleasant at times.

Terrific end to a stupendous show

Jubilant Rajasthan Royals players celebrate after defeating Chennai Super Kings in a final-ball thriller in Mumbai on Sunday.
The inaugural DLF-IPL Twenty20 competition was not about the big hits alone. Pacemen with control and movement struck. Spinners with clarity of thought and variety largely delivered. There were phases when batsmen who could graft were needed by their teams like oxygen. And natural stroke-makers flourished without resorting to crude methods.

Of course, there were a few ugly heaves that went for the maximum and a few dismissals that were self-inflicted. But then, Twenty20 cricket proved more than just a ‘hit or miss’ format.

Shane Warne, a tactically sharp captain with great motivational skills, showed strategy had its place even in the shortest version of the game. Warne shuffled his batsmen, managed his overs wonderfully well and switched his fielders around with great tact, either luring or suffocating the batsmen.

Fittingly, the Royals skipper was in the middle when his team nailed a humdinger off the last ball in a pulsating final.

The popular IPL witnessed packed stadiums and high-octane duels. The competition could grow in the years to come.

Chennai Super Kings lost by a short head and the side paid for a couple of tactical lapses in the final. S. Badrinath could have been sent higher in the order and the side should have squeezed in an extra bowler in the eleven for the title clash.

Cricket made IPL a success: Warne

After a dream victory in the inaugural DLF-IPL, the Rajasthan Royals captain and coach Shane Warne declared that “as long as his body holds” he would return to the Indian Premier League.

“I will be 40 next year, a bit too old for these sorts of finishes. But the players make me feel young. The IPL is here to stay. Lalit Modi, the franchises, all made it possible. It was an entertainment package, but the IPL was successful because of cricket.”
Defining moment

Sohail Tanvir’s pull shot off Laxmipathy Balaji turned out to be the defining moment on the last day of the 44-day, 59-match entertainment-filled league for the Royals at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Sunday night. It was the Royals’ 13th win out of 16 IPL matches, the reverses having come against Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab.

“It was just one of those things that were meant to be. After all, we are the entertainers of the IPL. No one could have written a script like that, a last-ball finish to win.

“During the journey to the ground, the number of people I saw on the way, it was tremendous.”

When asked how he felt to have won a first trophy as captain in his 20-year-career, Warne said: “I was the vice-captain of the Australian side that won the 1999 World Cup in England and I have been part of Australia’s victories in the Ashes and against India. The IPL is up there.

Warne’s Rajasthan Royals reigns supreme

Rajasthan Royals had the serendipity of scripting a glorious last-ball win in the DLF-IPL final in front of a full house at the D.Y. Patil Stadium here on Sunday. Unperturbed by the fall of a clutch of wickets and undaunted by the climbing run rate, the Jaipur outfit proceeded to dare the rival.

Yusuf Pathan (56, 39b) was the most daring batsman profited mostly from glaring lapses made on the field by Chennai Super Kings, especially by Suresh Raina and Manpreet Gony off his own bowling.

Pathan capitalised on the luck that came his way and secured the final victory for his team with a blazing knock that had four mighty sixes and three boundary shots and forged a crucial fourth wicket partnership with Shane Watson that fetched 65 runs.

Fittingly Shane Warne, who had moulded a team filled with rookies into a winning combination, was in the thick of action when the moment came, although it was the left-handed Sohail Tanvir who dispatched L. Balaji for a four off the last ball of the tournament.

Royals needed eight runs off the last over and Balaji was given the responsibility of bowling the make or mar over. He bowled a wide, and the eighth wicket pair managed to steer the side to a phenomenal triumph on the final day of the IPL.

Raina’s steady hands had worked efficiently to make good runs in the first session and then held a sharp catch at backward point. A catch that came off the bat of Pathan when Royals’ score was 75 for three was a regulation catch he would have taken 99 times out of 100.

It turned out be a costly lapse and perhaps the title too went down with it. Later he ran out Pathan with a direct hit, but by then Royals was within striking distance of the target.

Earlier Raina’s ingenuity and purposeful batting paved the way for Chennai Super Kings to post a modest total. It was a peculiar first session when the left hander was the lone batsman who came close to dominating the bowling. Mahendra Singh Dhoni added valuable runs in the end to take the total to 163.

Rajasthan Royals crowned IPL champion

Rajasthan Royals, chasing 164, scored a last-ball three-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings to win the DLF-IPL title at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

The Royals required eight runs off the last over with skipper Shane Warne and Sohail Tanvir at the crease. The side needed one run off the final ball delivered by paceman L. Balaji. Tanvir sealed the win for the Royals amid excruciating tension.

Yusuf Pathan, with his big-hitting (56 off 39 balls) and fastish variety of off-spin (three for 22), emerged the hero for the winning side.

He was sensationally run out by Suresh Raina, who scored a direct hit after running to his left from point. However, Raina had put down Pathan at mid-wicket off Muttiah Muralitharan when the batsman was on 13. It proved a crucial miss.

The match was in the balance when Warne cover-drove Makhaya Ntini to the fence off the final ball of the penultimate over. Ntini, who had bowled impressively, was a picture of anguish. There were celebrations in the Royals camp. Then, Warne and Tanvir ensured that their team finished at the right end of a thriller.

Pathan was adjudged Man of the Match and all-rounder Shane Watson the Player of the Series. The Jaipur team was coasting towards a win when Muralitharan deceived Shane Watson (28 off 19) in the air. Earlier, the little Swapnil Asnodkar of compelling hand-eye coordination and bat-speed, lofted the ball over the infield on either side of the wicket. His 28 gave the innings momentum.

Then, the Royals lost ground. With the Royals slumping to 42 for three in the seventh over, the Super Kings were full of beans. The Royals recovered through Shane Watson and Pathan.

When Super Kings batted, opener Parthiv Patel (38) and a free-stroking Suresh Raina (43) produced useful efforts.

Watson and Tanvir bowled well at the death, but Dhoni (29 not out off 17 balls), produced a few timely blows.