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Asian Voice - Saturday 25th February 2012
Lanka pacemen make merry against India
India once again wilted against quality pace bowling as Sri Lanka defeated them by 51 runs in the eighth match of the one-day Triseries at the Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday. India, who were shot out for 178 by the Australian pace battery during a 110-run loss at the same venue on Sunday, were all out for 238 in 45.1 overs against Sri Lanka, chasing 290 for victory. Nuwan Kulasekara picked up three wickets, including Gautam Gambhir (29) and Sachin Tendulkar (22), while Thisara Perera cleaned up at the end with four wickets. Lasith Malinga took two while the remaining wicket went to paceman Farveez Maharoof. India, the 50-over world champions, got off to a dreadful start, losing their top three batsmen with just 54 on the board. Virender Sehwag, who led India in the absence of the banned Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was caught at third man off the second delivery of the innings while Tendulkar's wait for his 100th ton was prolonged after he played Kulasekara on to his stumps. India tried to rebuild with a 92-run stand for the fourth
Sri Lanka bowled out India for 238 to post a 51-run win
wicket between Virat Kohli (66), who was dropped twice by Dinesh Chandimal, and Suresh Raina (32) but it was never enough. Irfan Pathan (47) played an entertaining late cameo to deny Sri Lanka a bonus point before India were all out on the first delivery of the 46th over. Tillakaratne Dilshan (51) and Mahela Jayawardene (45) gave Sri Lanka the ideal start with a 95-run opening stand after they won the toss and opted to bat. Sri Lanka lost three quick wickets during the middle overs and needed some an assault by Lahiru Thirimanne (62) and all-rounder Angelo Mathews (49 not out) to get to
Shoaib Akhtar in a new controversy
Former Pakistan Test pacer Shoaib Akhtar has once again found himself in a new controversy after actor Meera claimed that she had a year long affair with the speedster, who never appreciated her commitment. Pakistan's popular and well known actor said that the affair took place two years back while Shoaib was still playing for the national team. "It was an intense affair and I wasted one precious year of my life waiting for him. I was committed and sincere to him. But he didn't
appreciate me," she said. "It happened two years back. I was sincere to him. But I ended the affair when on the same day he proposed to me and my cousin. It was a joke for me," Meera, who is known for her publicity stunts, said. Meera, who has even worked in Indian movies and had a spat with Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, also claimed that Shoaib had once slapped her in front of some staffers at a television station but she did not say a word for his sake. However, Shoaib, who retired during the 2011 World Cup abruptly and is currently working as an expert with a channel for the PakistanEngland series, denied the allegations. "I don't know what she is talking about," he said. Shoaib also said that he was never romantically involved with Meera.
289 for six from their 50 overs. Aussies crush India: India came a cropper against Australia at the Gabba on a pacy pitch that woefully exposed the capabilities of the ‘young’ Indian team on Sunday. Made to field first, nothing seemed to go India’s way and chasing a stiff 289 was always improbable if not impossible. In fact, India were rattled straight up by Aussie pacemen Brett Lee and Ben Hilfenhaus and as early as the 11th over, the writing was on the wall. MS Dhoni’s heroics had helped the Indians edge past the hosts with their highest run chase of 269 in their previous clash at the Adelaide
Oval, but this time the Australians raised the bar and in reply the Indians gave up without a fight being dismissed for 178 runs in 43.3 overs to lose by 110 runs. What’s worse, they also conceded a bonus point. Shockingly, when the Indians needed to be cautious, early on, they were carefree. In fact, the last ten overs of the Australian innings and the first ten of the Indian innings turned out to be the most decisive passage of play. Australia scored 101 runs from their last ten overs and cleaned up the top four Indian batsmen in 10.3 overs, which more or less settled the issue and put the hosts back on top of the league table. Hilfenhaus, who returned to the One-Day squad after a two year break was at his menacing best and picked up 5 for 33 in 9.3 overs. Lee supported him well with 3 for 49. Dhoni, who is turning out to be India’s most consistent batsman, top-scored with 56. When India began their chase, Gautam Gambhir struck a sweetly timed straight hit to the fence, but fell soon to a snorter from Lee which he edged to Matthew Wade behind the stumps for the first of his five victims.
Andrew Symonds retires from all forms of cricket Former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, one of the game's highly talented but maverick players, last week announced his retirement from all forms of professional cricket, bringing an end to a career marked by controversies and disciplinary breaches. The 36-year-old Symonds, a temperamental and colourful personality whose racial row with Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh made headlines in 2008, cited family reasons for his decision to quit cricket. He would not be playing for his IPL side Mumbai Indians this season as he was quitting competitive cricket in the wake of the impending birth of his first child. He has not played for Australia since being sent home from the Twenty20 World Cup in England three years ago but has turned out for several domestic sides and clubs in limited-overs
cheat, Britain's Press Association reported. Mark Milliken-Smith, lawyer for Westfield, told the
court: "It is clear, we submit, that Kaneria and his associates targeted Westfield. Westfield was on the verge of the squad, more susceptible for that reason; less likely perhaps to be able to say no to the club's international star, his future with the club uncertain." The court was told other Essex players heard Kaneria talking about spot-fixing while Milliken-Smith told the court a "blind eye" was turned to the rumours. Westfield, who was playing in one of his first televised matches, received an interim suspension order from the England
Action at a Glance Lanka thrash Australia A clinical Sri Lanka rode on captain Mahela Jayawardene's unbeaten half century to register their first win of the cricket tri-series with an eight-wicket crushing of Australia in a rain-affected match on Friday last. Chasing a revised target of 152 for a win under the Duckworth-Lewis method, Jayawardene (61 not out) anchored the run chase with a solid 67-ball unbeaten knock after opener Tillakaratne Dilshan (45) and Kumar Sangakkara (30) laid the foundation for an easy win at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Earlier, electing to bat, Australia were all out for 158 in 40.5 overs after the match was reduced to 41-overs-a-side affair with rain interrupting the tie at the end of the 26th over when Australia were 88 for six. The target for Sri Lanka was revised to 152 and they chased it down in just 24.1 overs, thereby collecting a bonus point also. They needed to overhaul the target in 32.4 overs to get a bonus point.
Yuvraj says he is getting better Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh revealed that the malignant lung tumour, for which he is undergoing chemotherapy in the Unites States, is "almost out of his system" after the first cycle of treatment. "Got very good news from dr lawrence today! The tumor is almost way out of the system After reading my todays scan !Second cycle has started," Yuvraj, being treated at the Boston Institute of Cancer Research, wrote on his twitter account. The 30-year-old, who went to US last month, has gone bald during the treatment, which will go on till the last week of March before the process of rehabilitation starts in April. The dashing batsman had earlier got a message from US cycling legend Lance Armstrong, whose own inspirational triumph over cancer is well-documented, wishing him a speedy recovery. "Message from @lancearmstrong makes me feel better! Thank you lance means a lot hope we can meet," tweeted Yuvraj.
Sahara to remain Team India's sponsor
cricket and Twenty20 leagues. "Effective immediately, I am retiring from all forms of professional cricket," Symonds said. "It is with regret that I will not be able to fulfill my final year of the IPL with the Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians and the IPL have both been very supportive of me, but the impending arrival of my first child is a priority," he said.
Pak cricketer Kaneria named as go-between in fixing case Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria was named in court on Friday as a gobetween in a spot-fixing case involving former English county player Mervyn Westfield. Bowler Westfield, 23, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to being paid 6,000 pounds to give away a set number of runs in the first over of a match between his Essex side and Durham in September 2009. The London court heard that Westfield's Essex team mate Kaneria told him that a friend would pay him to
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and Wales Cricket Board. Legbreak bowler Kaneria, who played 61 tests and 18 one-day internationals for Pakistan between 2000 and 2010, was arrested in connection with the case but later released without charge. In November, a British court jailed three Pakistani players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - for fixing parts of a test in England in 2010. The Westfield case has raised fresh concerns about connections between cricket and illegal gambling circles on the Indian sub-continent.
The impasse between the Indian Cricket Board and Sahara ended with the BCCI agreeing to Sahara's demand. Sahara will remain as Team India's sponsor and the Pune Warriors will continue to play in the Indian Premier League. The board has also agreed to reactivate the auction money for the Pune warriors. On February 4, Sahara decided to cut its ties with the BCCI, withdrawing its sponsorship of the Indian team and ownership of the Pune Warriors India IPL franchise. Sahara said the decision to end their partnership comes over longstanding business grievances with the BCCI and the IPL governing council's handling of Yuvraj Singh, who is the captain of the Sahara-owned IPL team, Pune Warriors.
Serbia confers top award to Novak Djokovic Serbian President Boris Tadic awarded tennis star Novak Djokovic with the Gold Star of Karadjordje, the highest state honour medal for his "exceptional merits." Tadic called Djokovic the "best ambassador" of Serbia, according to a presidential press release. It will be the first time the Star of Karadjordje has been awarded since it was discontinued by the leadership of Yugoslavia after World War II. The decoration was first established in 1904 by King Peter and reintroduced in 2010. Karadjordje established the modern Serbian state and led the first successful uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1804. He was the founder of the Serbian royal family.