SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 6, 2014
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World T20 final ...
Dhoni, India stand on the cusp of record treble By Amlan Chakraborty MIRPUR, Bangladesh, - (Reuters) - Under a charismatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, world champions India could seal an unprecedented limited-overs treble with victory against neighbours Sri Lanka in today’s World Twenty20 final. After sealing victory in the 2011 50-over World Cup final in Mumbai, Dhoni led India to Champions Trophy glory in England two years later. They now stand just one match away from becoming the first country to hold three major one-day titles at the same time. India may not have won a single Test abroad since prevailing in West Indies in June 2011 but they have flexed their limited over muscles to reach the final of the 20-over world event they won in 2007 under Dhoni. Asked for his view on the rare honour beckoning him and the team, the Indian captain, however, did not want to get drawn into the debate ahead of Sunday’s clash against Sri Lanka at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. “The only important thing now is to do well in the final. We should not think about anything else,” Dhoni said as he got ready for a repeat of the 2011 50-over World Cup final. “It’s more important to win the World Cup for your country than think about stats. “That (treble) will be very good for the side, but that’s something we can always think about after we’ve done well in the final tomorrow.”
Dhoni would not say he feels extra motivated in International Cricket Council (ICC) events which seem to bring out the best in him. “If you talk about this tournament, the spinners have got
MS Dhoni and Lasith Malinga pose with the World Twenty20 trophy on the eve of the final, Mirpur, yesterday.
GCA/CARIB BEER T20
Deonarine hits 50 in losing cause for GYO - Everest also record win over MSC
By Calvin Roberts DESPITE a pugnacious half- century from Christopher Deonarine, Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO), who inflicted a humiliating defeat on Transport Sports Club last week, were defeated by Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) at the Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC) ground ,yesterday, in their Georgetown Cricket Association/ Carib Beer first division T20 competition. Also in victorious mode was Everest Cricket Club who defeated MSC in the second match of the competition at the same venue, but it was Deonarine who set tongues wagging at the venue, with his boisterous hitting to all parts of the CHRISTOPHER ground. DEONARINE Deonarine struck seven sixes and three fours in his 44 balls 72, which together with Garfield DeRouche’s 35 (27balls, 2x4, 2x6) and 31 from former Guyana and West Indies Under-19 left hander Kwame Crosse, piloted GYO to 163 for 6 from their 20 overs. Deonarine and Crosse added 58 for the second wicket, following the early demise of Abdool Raheim who was run out for 2, before Crosse was caught low down by Joshua Wade at long on off Limacol Caribbean Premier League’s Amazon Warriors selectee Robin Bacchus, as he looked to hit the bowler over that area.
Deonarine soldiered on despite losing Crosse, hitting boundaries at will including a big six off Treon Forde that saw the ball landing inside the Tutorial High School compound, before he holed out to Chidananand Shivram
at long off, at 130 for 3 in the 16th over. Some belligerent hitting from DeRouche, which included two sixes in the final over bowled by Ricardo Ali Mohammed (2 for 35), piloted GYO to their eventual total, with Bacchus and Forde picking up a wicket each for GCC, who in reply lost Martin Pestano-Belle (09), caught low down by DeRouche off his own bowling. Bacchus worked the ball around, picking up the odd singles while the loose balls were dispatched for boundaries, but after chalking up 46 from 35 balls with seven fours and a six, he was lbw to Deonarine who deceived the left handed batsman with a quicker one through the air. Gavin Singh topscored with 47 scored off 25 balls with five fours and two sixes for GCC before he was run out, but the group leaders had nothing to worry about, as Ali Mohammed 21 (8balls, 2x4, 2x6) capitalised on a chance given to him by DeRouche, by hitting Deonarine for two sixes in the penultimate over and completed the match with a four through backward point off a no ball from Surendra Heeralall. In the second match of the day’s double- header, the home team took on Everest and asking their opponents to bat first saw them posting, what turned out to be, an imposing 146 for 8 from their 20 overs. Khemraj Ramdeen 41 (2x4, 1x6), Saeed Mohammed 40 (3x4, 2x6) and Troy Gonsalves 23, which included back to back sixes struck off Mark Cumberbatch, were the principal scorers for the Camp Road based Everest lineup, with Ramdeen and Mohammed adding 71 for the third wicket from 9.5 overs. Vishal Narayan took 4 for 35 and skipper Kellon Carmichael 3 for 7 for MSC, who in reply were bowled out for 139 off the final delivery of their 20th over, with Carmichael returning with the bat to topscore with 36 (3x6, 2x4). Jamal Norton offered support with his 33 that included five fours, Shaquille Williams got 19 and Narayan 15, but that aside, the home team batsmen struggled to come to grips with the visitors bowling, led by Christopher Surat who took 3 for 26 and Riyad Sattaur’s 2 for 11 for the victors.
a bit of purchase of the wicket and they made sure they capitalised on that,” he said. “Overall it’s a perfect team environment where when somebody needs to do a job, there have been individuals who rose to the occasion and said ‘Ok I’ll be the person who will take the responsibility’.” Dhoni probably has contemporary cricket’s most daunting task, leading the national team of 1.2 billion-plus unforgiving cricket-crazy fans but the 32-year-old, sporting grey sideburns, said he had learnt to live with it. “Over the years, as the captain, I think I have seen everything,” Dhoni said. “There’s nothing really in Indian cricket that I have not seen. I’ve seen Indian cricket at its best and also when we went through a lean phase. “Controversies are big part of Indian cricket and I’ve been through it all. There is hardly any good or bad thing in Indian cricket without my name (being attached). “You’ve got to concentrate on the process more. I know certain things are under my control, I look to move into that direction rather than to give a thought about something beyond my control. “It has been an interesting time, up and down. That’s what international sport is all about, doesn’t matter which game you are playing. “It has taught me a lot and it’s still a learning curve for me. Hopefully it will teach me many more and help me in the life after cricket.”
Pineau De Re wins National on doctor’s orders By Justin Palmer LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - Doctor Richard Newland, who trains a small string of horses as a “hobby” while keeping an eye on his healthcare businesses, won the Grand National at the first attempt with 25-1 outsider Pineau De Re yesterday.
Leighton Aspell, a 37-year-old journeyman jockey who quit the saddle for almost two years before returning with “unfinished business” steered Pineau De Re to a five-length victory in the Aintree showpiece. Balthazar King (14-1) was second under Richard Johnson with Double Seven, the 10-1 joint favourite ridden by champion jockey Tony McCoy, in third. Newland trains 12 horses in Worcestershire, central England having stopped surgery practice earlier this year. Pineau De Re was the 50-year-old’s first National runner, although he has been coming to Aintree “long before I trained or even owned horses”. “This is a hobby for me really and I have no real plans to change anything,” he said. “It’s great fun but it’s not my primary source of income. I’m lucky enough to be able to do this (training) and enjoy it but if you do it as a full-time job there’s a higher level of stress and less fun. “I feed the horses in the morning, harrow the gallop and leave instructions for the day.” Newland studied medicine at Cambridge University and has only stopped doing surgeries in the past year. Pineau De Re’s name refers to an aperitif wine produced in the Charente department in western France and Newland said he knew he had a “classy, classy horse”. “He has the combination of stamina and a touch of speed and it was just a wonderful performance even though he made a few errors.” DREAM COME TRUE Aspell finished second with his first National ride in 2003 and savoured “a dream come true”. “I remember watching the National as a very young boy and, as much as you enjoy sharing in everybody’s success, you seek and crave a bit too. It’s great to get a chance. “I knew we were in with a chance jumping Valentine’s second time around. You’re never certain of winning, even when you reach the Elbow, but I knew we’d have to tie up badly to be caught at that point.” Aspell said he had retired in 2007 because he had lost the enjoyment and thrill of riding but returned in 2009 when he realised there was still “life in the old dog”.