16 DECCAN HERALD

Friday, March 29, 2013

Sport
In brief
Smith receives ICC Test mace
South Africa captain Graeme Smith on Thursday received the ICC Test Championship mace and prize money of USD 450,000 for leading the team to the top spot in ICC Test rankings on the annual cut-off date of April 1, reports PTI from Dubai. Smith received the mace from the ICCs umpires and referees manager, Vince van der Bijl, in a ceremony at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

Super Haas gets past Gilles to enter semifinals. P 17

Cricket Indian Premier League

Spinners have adapted

Kartik looking forward to a good season with Royal Challengers
BANGALORE: Murali Kartik is still considered the best active left-arm spinner in the country by many but somehow the Railways player didnt find favour with successive selection committees.
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Ryder incident has cricketing world in shock

AUCKLAND: The cricketing world was abuzz with prayers and best wishes on Twitter for New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder, who was assaulted outside a bar at Christchurch and is now in coma.

Zaheer opts out of bowling

On a day when the Royal Challengers Bangalore added a new face -- Murali Kartik -- to their camp at the National Cricket Academy on Thursday, the fleeting appearance of Zaheer Khan was a topic of debate. The left-arm seamer, who bowled at the camp on Wednesday after a twomonth lay-off following a calf injury, jogged inside the M Chinnaswamy stadium for a brief while and then spent some time chatting with NCA physiotherapist before being chauffeured out of the stadium. Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian will arrive in the City late on Thursday.
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Cameron elected WICB chief

Jamaican businessman Dave Cameron has been elected the president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), beating incumbent Julian Hunte in a close vote at the Annual General Meeting, reports IANS/CMC from Bridgetown, Barbados. Cameron, who previously served as the vice-president to Hunte, won 7-5 on Wednesday to usher the change of guard in one of the Caribbeans most prestigious bodies. His running mate Emmanuel Nanthan, the Windward Islands Cricket Board chief, also took the post of vice-president after beating Barbados Cricket Association president Joel Garner 8-4.

Having spent many years waiting for that elusive call, the 36-year-old finally appears to have detached himself from the idea of making a comeback. While doing well for the Royal Challengers Bangalore -- his third IPL side since playing for Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors -- remains a top priority, Kartik did rue his luck so far as international cricket was concerned. The Chennaiborn player, who has played in eight Tests and 37 ODIs for India, spoke to the media on Thursday. Excerpts:
Has the role of a spinner evolved in T20s?

Harmanpreet to lead India

Harmanpreet Kaur was on Thursday named captain of the Indian womens team replacing seasoned Mithali Raj for the limited-overs series against Bangladesh starting April 2 at home, reports PTI from New Delhi. Indian eves will play a three T20s and as many ODIs after their disastrous World Cup campaign in February at home. Senior Indian batswomen and captain Mithali Raj has not been named in the 15-member squad.
Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Poonam Raut (vice-capt), M D Thirushkamini, Smriti Mandhana, Anagha Deshpande, Sneha Dipti, Mona Meshram, N Niranjana, Archana Das, Poonam Yadav, Ritu Dhruv, Swagatika Rath, Shubhalaxmi Sharma, Sushma Varma Ekta Bisht.

The first time I played T20 cricket, I went for 39 runs in four overs, against Surrey. Then I thought this is not the game for spinners. Having come from the old school of playing four-day cricket and 50-over cricket, I was trying to bowl the 50-over way which didnt work. Everybody thought that we -- the spinners -- are going to be easy meat. As life teaches you to survive, the spinners have tried different things. Now you can see so many spinners bowling close to three overs in the Power Play. I have been bowling the first over in Power Plays for most of the teams I have played for Pune Warriors, KKR, Surrey, Somerset or Railways. From being a cannon fodder, youre bowling within the Power Play. That shows how much the spinners have come around. And 140-145 scores are sometimes defendable when the spinners have a massive role to play. The economy rate of spinners is also something I believe is getting better.
Have you been working on any variations?

and the batsman hits them for sixes to different parts (laughs)... thats all I can say. I have never been the one who has gone and tried these things. I try my own things relying on subtle variations which I have learnt after playing the game for so long. I think I am a classical left-arm spinner, and I do my things in a very different way.
Do you think IPL is a good platform to return to the National team?

I dont think like that. Personally, I have never looked at IPL as a criterion to get picked in Tests. If you do well in T20s, you need to get picked in T20s and if you do well in 50 overs, you need to get picked in 50 overs. Yes, it has helped people like Ashish (Nehra) and Bala (Lakshmipathi Balaji).
Does it affect you that you have been doing well in county and domestic cricket and you have not got the call up?

NEW ARRIVAL: Murali Kartik during RCBs practice session on Thursday. DH PHOTO

You cant fight destiny. God has been kind enough to me I bowl six different deliveries and allowed me to play for my

country. Wherever I go and play, I just need to bowl well and bat well. Given the situation, I need to adapt and thats all I have looked at. There might be a lot of guys who are willing to be in my place today.

Kohli being named as the captain?

He is somebody who has been earmarked as a leader not only for this team but also for India. He was the vice-captain to (MS) Dhoni, and if my memWhat is your opinion of Virat ory serves me right, on a couple DH News Service

of occasions he has stood in for Dhoni. He is a young guy who has got precocious talent and he has got that attitude and zeal... that is good to have in a captain. He is in a good frame of mind and space right now.

Four men attacked Ryder as he left Aikmans Bar in Merivale shortly after midnight early on Thursday after having a few drinks with Wellington Firebirds team-mates, The New Zealand Herald reported. The brutal assault has left Ryder in an induced coma with a fractured skull and multiple injuries. The New Zealand teams official Twitter page said: The whole NZC teams thoughts are with (Jesse) this morning. Former Australian pacer Damien Fleming wrote on twitter: Our thoughts to Jesse Ryder in intensive care after being assaulted. Shocking news. The left-hand batsman, who has been involved in alcoholrelated incidents in the past, was due to leave for India to represent Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League beginning April 3. IPL CEO Sundar Raman wrote on twitter: Not the best cricketing news to wake up to. Jesse Ryder get well soon. Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle said: Oh dear, it looks really bad for jesse ryder. He added: my first thoughts on reading the jesse ryder news were about david hookes; a valued colleague and a friend. bars are so so over-rated. West Indies explosive opener Chris Gayle tweeted: Will have Jesse in my prayer. Pray for Jesse. Lets hope he gets better soon. Former England captain Michael Vaughan posted a Twitter message: Devastating news regarding Jesse Ryder. Just hope he can pull through. Thoughts are with him and his family. Australian legend Glenn McGrath tweeted: Our thoughts are with NZ cricketer Jesse Ryder & his family. Jesse was assaulted & is in intensive care. Jesse Ryder

We wish him a speedy & full recovery. Just arrived in Sydney to the news about Jesse Ryder! Cmon big man hang tough, his fellow Kiwi Scott Styris added. England off-spinner Graeme Swann tweeted: Shocking news about Jesse Ryder, fingers crossed for a full and speedy recovery for the big man. Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir and Delhi Daredevils mentor T A Sekar also wished Ryder a speedy recovery. I spoke to him a couple of days back and he was looking to join the Delhi Daredevils squad. I got a call this morning from Jesses manager informing me that he had been beaten up, Sekar said. Gambhir on his part said that he is praying that the allrounder recovers soon and is back to the field. Whatever has happened is unfortunate and I wish a speedy recover for Jesse. I am praying that he recovers fast and is back in action again, Gambhir told during a promotional event in the city. It is very unfortunate that he got hit and is not in a position to play IPL. We are all praying that he should recover. He is a good kid and I have been watching him from 2008 onwards. Ashish Nehra, who was Jesses team-mate last season in Pune, told me that Jesse is a good team-man. He is a brilliant fielder, too, Sekar further added. Sekar said that the team will seek replacements for both Ryder and Varun Aaron who is out for atleast five months.

Rising Down Under

Cricket Syed Mushtaq Ali

Big money for CT winners

The winners of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament, commencing on June 6, will pocket a prize money of USD 2 million while the runners-up will be richer by USD 1 million, reports PTI from New Delhi. The total prize money of the 50-over event is worth USD 4 million and even the losing semi-finalists will get USD 400,000 each. The ICC will be paying USD 100,000 to the two third-placed teams in each group. The three venues for the tournament are Cardiff, Edgbaston and the Oval. India will be playing their opening match of the tournament against South Africa in Cardiff on June 6.

Indian origin cricketer makes it big in Australia

SYDNEY, AFP: Gurinder

UP prevail over Karnataka

INDORE, DHNS: Uttar Pradesh

Mathews to lead Pune Warriors

NEW DELHI, PTI: Sri Lanka

Trishul wins Nepal Open

Bangalores Trishul Chinnappa scored a sixshot victory in the Surya Nepal Amateur Open in Pokhara, Nepal. The teenager shot a combined score of tenover 220 (75, 71, 74) for the individual title, a day after powering India to the team honours along with Samarth Dwivedi.

Sandhu, Australias rising pace bowling star of Indian origin, on Thursday won the Steve Waugh Medal as the New South Wales cricketer of the season. The 19-year-old fast bowler won the award after playing only two Sheffield Shield fourday matches and four domestic one-day games. Sandhu, the first player of Indian background to play for NSW won the medal with 146 votes, three clear of Test wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Sandhu first came to prominence through the Australian under-19 team, but in his two Shield matches he took 14 wickets, with a best of five for 31, while in his four one-day Cup appearances he claimed 14 wickets for his state with a best of five for 35. He also made his debut this season for the Sydney Thunder in the Twenty20 Big Bash, Chairmans X1 and Australia A teams, contributing well to each of them. Sandhu also won the the states one-day player of the

GOING PLACES Gurinder Sandhu has bagged the prestigious Steve Waugh Medal awarded to NSW cricketer of the year.

year award, beating Steven Smith and Haddin. Sandhu, who was born in Australia after his father emigrated from the Punjab 30 years ago, is the first player of Indian background to represent NSW, according to the state crickets official historian. The Steve Waugh Medal, named after the former Aus-

tralia and NSW captain, is decided through a 3-2-1 vote by players after each Sheffield Shield and Ryobi Cup one-day match. The votes from all these matches are then combined to determine the winner, which was announced at a ceremony late on Thursday in Sydney.

defeated Karnataka by ten runs in a Group B Super League match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament here on Thursday. Karnataka skipper R Vinay Kumar asked UP to bat first after winning the toss, and his bowlers restricted the opposition to 163 for seven in 20 overs. Mohammad Kaif was the chief contributor to UPs competitive the total, making 70 off 54 balls with three fours and four sixes. For Karnataka, medium pacers Stuart Binny, Abhimanyu Mithun and Vinay chipped in with two wickets apiece. In reply, Karnataka made a stuttering start losing Manish Pandey and Kunal Kapoor with just seven runs on the board, both falling to Praveen Kumar. Robin Uthappa too departed soon, lofting left-arm seamer RP Singh to Tanmay Srivastav, as Karnataka slipped to 31 for three in 5.5 overs. That was hardly the beginning Karnataka were looking for, but Binny (39, 25b, 4x4, 2x6) and KL Rahul (34, 28b, 4x4) pulled Karnataka ahead

with a 67-run association for the fourth wicket that came in just over eight overs. Just when it seemed Karnataka were cruising towards their second successive win in this tournament, Binny was run out -- Umang Sharmas throw catching him short of crease. At 98 for four in 13.1 overs,
SCORE BOARD
UTTAR PRADESH: Prashant Gupta c Vinay b Mithun 4, Gaurav Tomar c Kunal b Gowtham 25, Mohammad Kaif c Karun b Mithun 70, Aksh Deep Nath c Mithun b Binny 2, Tanmay Srivastav c Kunal b Binny 22, Praveen Kumar (not out) 8, Piyush Chawla b Vinay 0, Imtiaz Ahmed c & b Vinay 5. Extras (LB-15, W-11) 16. Total (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 163 Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-58, 3-74, 4144, 5-149, 6-157, 7-163. Bowling: SL Akshay 3-0-21-0, Stuart Binny 4-0-29-2, K Gowtham 4-041-1, Manish Pandey 1-0-8-0, R Vinay Kumar 4-0-24-2, A Mithun 40-25-2. KARNATAKA: Robin Uthappa c Srivastav b RP Singh 20, Manish Pandey c Tomar b Praveen 4, Kunal Kapoor c & b Praveen 0, KL Rahul (run out) 34, Stuart Binny (run out) 39, Karun Nair c Sharma b Gupta 29, CM Gautam c Praveen b PS Gupta 7, R Vinay Kumar (not out) 8, K Gowtham c Praveen b Ahmed 9, A Mithun (not out) 0. Extras (B-1, LB-1,

Karnataka would still have fancied their chances of pulling off a win with the likes of Karun Nair, Vinay, CM Gautam and Mithun still in their ranks. But those hopes remained unfounded as UP bowlers pegged Karnataka back with regular strikes as they ended up with 153 for eight in 20 overs.
W-1) 3. Total (for 8 wkts, 20 overs) 153. Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-7, 3-31, 4-98, 5-105, 6-135, 7-135, 8-147. Bowling: Praveen Kumar 4-1-18-2, Imtiaz Ahmad 4-0-30-1, RP Singh 40-23-1, AS Mishra 3-0-25-0, Piyush Chawla 2-0-27-0, Prashant Gupta 30-28-2. Other scores in brief: Group A: Delhi: 80 all out in 19.5 overs (Suryakant Pradhan 4-11, Ankit Yadav 2-19) lt to Odisha: 84/3 in 18.4 overs (Ankit Yadav 26, Govinda Poddar 25 n.o.). Vidarbha: 138/5 in 19 overs (Faiz Fazal 27, Amol Ubarhande 55 n.o.; Padmanabhan Prasanth 2-25) lt to (via VJD method) Kerala: 111/9 in 12.3 (Raiphi Gomez 42 n.o.; Shrikant Wagh 2-27, Ravikumar Thakur 218). Group B: Punjab: 168/6 in 20 overs (Ravi Inder Singh 60, Mayank Sidhana 30; Shami Ahmed 2-30, Sayan Mondal 2-21, Sanjib Sanyal 2-35).

Bangladesh win to share series

PALLEKELE, AGENCIES:

I dont set targets

MUMBAI, PTI: Mumbai Indians

Boxer Ram Singh dismissed

International boxer Ram Singh, sparring partner of Olympian Vijendra Singh, was on Thursday dismissed by Punjab police in connection with the recent recovery of 26 kg of heroin worth Rs 130 crore, reports PTI from Fatehgarh Sahib. Sub-Inspector Sarabjit Singh, who was close to a retired Senior Superintendent of Police, was also dismissed by the Punjab police in connection with the drug haul case.

Bangladesh scored a thrilling three-wicket win over Sri Lanka to level the three-match series 1-1 here on Thursday. Set a revised target of 183 from 27 overs in rain-curtailed match, the visitors suffered a late collapse before scampering home with an over to spare. Bangladesh were helped along by Nasir Hossain's composed 33 off 27 balls as the visitors completed their first victory in 15 completed games against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. The hosts, meanwhile, didn't build appropriately on an excellent start, ending up at 302 for 9 in their 50 overs when

they looked on course for much more. Opener Tillakaratne Dilsha led Lankas batting with a brilliant 128-ball 125. Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak led the way to bring Bangladesh back into the hunt
SCORE BOARD
SRI LANKA J Perera c N Hossain b Mdullah .....56 Dilshan c N Hossain b S Hossain ..125 Sangakkara c Haque b Razzak ........48 T Perera b Razzak .................................4 Mathews st Mushfiqur b Razzak.......6 Mendis b Gazi.........................................5 Chandimal b Rahman...........................0 Thirimanne (not out)..........................25 Kulasekara lbw Razzak.....................11 Senanayake b Razzak ..........................0 Malinga (not out)...................................5 Extras (LB-2, W-14, NB-1)................17

by cutting out boundaries and picking up late wickets. Bangladesh began their chase in an equally good manner, with Mohammad Ashraful and Anamul Haque adding 77 runs for the first wicket. But
Total (for 9 wkts, 50 overs) ...........302 Fall of wickets: 1-116, 2-203, 3-212, 4-228, 5-233, 6-238, 7-263, 8-291, 9-291. Bowling: S Hossain 10-0-711, Rahman 10-0-65-1, Gazi 10-1-521, Razzak 10-0-62-5, Mahmudullah 10-0-50-1. BANGLADESH (TARGET: 183 FROM 27 OVERS) Anamul c Chandimal b Mathews....40 Ashraful lbw Senanayake ................29 Islam c Sangakkara b Mathews ......26 Mushfiqur (run out) ..............................9

rain delayed the chase by more than two hours, with the score at 78 for one in 13.4 overs. The visitors then needed to score another 105 runs to win in the next 13.2 overs, and they did it successfully.
N Hossain (not out).............................33 Mahmudullah lbw Senanayake.........6 Mominul c Sangakkara b Malinga..11 Ziaur c T Perera b Malinga..................0 Gazi (not out)..........................................4 Extras (B-4, LB-13, W-9)...................26 Total (for 7 wkts, 25.6 overs)........184 Fall of wickets: 1-77, 2-97, 3-119, 4126, 5-144, 6-166, 7-166. Bowling: Kulasekara 4-1-29-0, Malinga 6-0-29-2, Mathews 5-0-39-2, Senanayake 6-0-26-2, T Perera 4.60-44-0.

iconic player, Sachin Tendulkar does not want to set any targets for himself in the Indian Premier League Season-6 as the senior Indian batsman is focused on winning the maiden IPL crown for the home teams loyal fans. I dont like to set targets for myself, even if I set targets, I like to keep it to myself. I am little superstitious that way, said Tendulkar. The (team) target is to win the tournament, thats what all of us wanted to do. It would be a fantastic gift for all the Mumbai Indians fans. I always wanted to win it. We go out there to win and give our best. Leave the rest to the almighty, Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar, who would be playing under the captaincy of former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting this season, said the team has prepared well for the tournament and will go all out to win the trophy. In the earlier seasons also, we always went out to win the tournament but it wasnt so. Once we got really close and on a couple of occasions, we made it to the semis. All I can promise on behalf of the Mumbai Indians team is our commitment, focus and dedication will be there. And we expect the same kind of support that we have received in the last five years. Its terrific to have that kind of support which helps us to give our best as a team, he added.

Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews has been named to lead the Pune Warriors India for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier league, commencing on April 3. Allan Donald will be the head coach of the side, while Rob Walters comes on board as an assistant coach and will also double up as the fitness trainer and fielding coach of the team. Praveen Amre would continue to be the assistant coach. However, Mathews wont be available during Warriors away match against Chennai Super Kings as Tamil Nadu government has decided against allowing any of the Lankans to play in Chennai. Mathews, who has been a part of the Warriors for the past two years, said it would be a great opportunity for him to gain leadership experience working with a multi-national squad. Its a great honour to be offered the captaincy of the Pune Warriors and I am grateful to the team management and franchise owners for the faith shown in me, said Mathews. For me, this is a great chance to gain leadership experience working with a multi-national squad and a very exciting opportunity given the enormous talent within our young squad. Welcoming the Sri Lankan as the skipper of the Pune outfit, Sushanto Roy, Managing Director of Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, said the side would be benefitted by his leadership abilities. We had many options of international and national cricketers to choose from within the existing squad but we chose Angelo Mathews as our captain as we are confident of his leadership abilities, said Roy. All the senior players in the team are happy with the choice and it is a joint decision taken by the senior players and team management. We now have a correct mix of youth and experience to launch an aggressive IPL season 6 campaign under the leadership of Mathews, he added.