Goa beat Bengal to win Santosh Trophy

Goa exorcised the ghosts of the past by pulling off a 4-2 victory against nemesis Bengal via the penalty shootout following a goalless 120 minutes in the final of the 63rd National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy in Chennai on Sunday.

It was Goa’s first win against Bengal in six meetings in the final and their fifth title triumph and fourth outright (they were joint-winners once).

After a barren 90 minutes and half-hour of extra-time period leading to the penalty shootout, Climax Lawrence, Beevan D’Mello, John Charles Dias and Fulganco Cardozo converted for Goa whose captain Felix D’Souza brought off two grand saves as Bengal were successful with only two attempts by Snehashish Chakraborty and Pachau Lalam Puia.

It was another heart break for Bengal who last won the trophy for the 29th time 10 years ago while Goa regained the cup after a lapse of three years.

Goan skipper D’Souza thus came through the tournament without conceding a goal during regulation period to emulate the feat of the legendary state-mate Bramhanand some three decades ago as he blocked shots from inexperienced Safar Sardar and Lalkamal Bhowmick while Nicholas Rodrigues missed for Goa.

Bengal had to blame themselves for the defeat after missing scoring chances galore while Goa, playing their eighth match in three weeks, looked more likely to score though they too fumbled at the finish.

Tamil Nadu striker Muthu was adjudged Player of the tournament while Goa received the Fair Play trophy.

Bengal showed a lot of urgency at the start and had the Goans under pressure with a series of raids as they intelligently moved the ball around from flank to flank to keep the defenders guessing.

However, despite the early dominance, Bengal drew blank at the finish where their forwards were found wanting in positioning and also anticipating the stream of crosses that rained in from the wings.

It was a while before the Goans got their act together and in fact looked more dangerous when on the move. They used the width of the field to stretch the Bengal defence that just about managed to avert danger, but did not inspire confidence with their marking.

Meanwhile, Marcus Mascarenhas, the livewire in the Goan ranks, kept the team move on the move with some good promptings from the midfield and then following up on the attacks. Undoubtedly, he along with his counterpart Pachau Lalam Puia were the two players who caught most of the attention.

The “action” at the goalmouth were restricted a few headers and some stray shots at the target. So much so that neither goalkeeper was tested and the blank scorecard at half-time was indeed no surprise.

After the lemon break, it was Goa who took the initiative and the Bengal goal looked certain to fall at any moment. A few close shaves kept Bengal in the game, but their defending left a lot to be desired.

The Goan forwards, enjoying a lot of space in the Bengal box, were guilty wasting a couple of great scoring chances that should have been put away without much ado.

The repeatedly reprieved Bengal nearly struck on a counter-attack when Puia streaked down the left flank, crossed to Snehashish Chakraborty who in turn passed to Subho Kumar. With the Goan defence in disarray, Subho shot rather weakly across the goalmouth.

At the other end, the Goans nearly scored when Wilton Gomes crossed from the right after being put through by Beevan D’Mellow. The cross could not have been any better, but Marcus Mascarenhas was a step slow to get to it as the ball streaked across the goalmouth.

These were the two occasions when the rivals came closest to scoring a goal in the entire match that eventually spilled into 30 minutes of extra time period.

Early in the extra-time, the Goans nearly scored when D’Mello’s header narrowly missed target following a long, defence splitting cross lob from Mahesh Gawli. Indeed, the Bengal defence was looking shakier than before as Goa stepped up pace and pressure.

Bengal brought in Karthik Kisku for Gouranga Biswas to add a pair of fresh legs to the forwardline and the change had the desired effect. Karthik came up with a couple of strong runs on the right flank and even set up Puia with a precise cross. But an indecisive Puia shot wide of the goal.

In the dying moments, Goa survived some anxious moments and it took all of goalkeeper and skipper Felix D’Souza’s courage and reflexes to bring off a couple of saves to take the game into a penalty shootout.

Federer wins maiden French Open title

Roger Federer gloriously completed a career Grand Slam on Sunday by capturing a record-equalling 14th major with a 6-1, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 win
French Open Final.

The 27-year-old world number two finally won a Roland Garros crown at the 11th attempt and in his fourth successive final having come up heartbreakingly short in the last three showdowns against Spanish nemesis Rafael Nadal.

Blog: Federer awaits tryst with destiny

His victory, ironically over the Swedish 23rd seed who shocked four-time Nadal in the last 16, took him level with great friend Pete Sampras as the holder of 14 Grand Slam titles.

He also moved into a select group made up only of Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi as men who have won all four of the Grand Slam events.

“It was probably my greatest victory, I was under big pressure. I did it and it’s phenomenal,” said Federer who broke down in tears after being presented with the trophy by Agassi, the 1999 champion, and while the Swiss national anthem was played.

Soderling, who has now lost 10 times in 10 meetings with Federer, admitted the Swiss was a deserving winner.

“Roger was too good for me today, he played much better. He is a worthy winner and for me he is the best player in history,” said Soderling.

“He gave me a lesson in how to play tennis.”

Any doubts over Federer’s ability to overcome his Paris jinx were quickly dashed as the Swiss star, playing in a record-equalling 19th Grand Slam final and riding a tidal wave of support, dominated Soderling.

He broke the first game on a Soderling double fault and was soon a second break to the good to lead 4-0 when a sweetly-timed drop shot left the Swede stranded behind the baseline.

Soderling, the first Swede in the Roland Garros final since his coach Magnus Norman finished runner-up to Gustavo Kuerten in 2000, stopped the rot with a hold to trail 4-1, but Federer quickly nipped further ahead to 5-1.

Soderling’s uncompromising forehand, which was a dagger to the heart of Nadal, was looking more like a blunt instrument in the damp and chilly conditions.

His service game crumbled again in the seventh game as Federer claimed the opening set.

It had taken just 23 minutes with the Swiss losing just two points on serve.

The final was then delayed by a worrying security breach during the fourth game of the second set with Federer ahead 2-1.

A spectator, dressed in red, waved a flag of the Barcelona football club in the world number two’s face before he was wrestled off Court Philippe Chatrier by security guards.

But the Swiss star wasn’t disrupted from his elegant stride, either by the intruder or the rain which started to steadily fall.

Although Soderling slowly rediscovered his service power, it was Federer who was comfortably dictating the points and he fired down four aces in the tie-break to open up a two-sets lead.

He was a break ahead in the third set to lead 1-0 before Soderling carved out, and squandered, his first break point of the match in the fourth game.

Federer then sent down his 16th ace of the tie to stretch to 4-2.

He came out to serve for a place in history but faltered to 30-40 with a wild, running forehand.

With pregnant wife Mirka looking anxiously on, he averted the crisis and went to match point with a confident volley and claimed victory when Soderling netted a service return after 1hr 55min on court.

Federer slumped to the Paris clay in celebration and in tears as he secured his place as arguably the greatest player of all time.

Why Knight Riders coach John Boka-known must go

The seven deadly sins of Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Boka-known (boka means stupid in Bengali) and why he must go:

1. For floating the four-captain theory: It’s surely the dumbest theory in the history of cricket. The last thing that a team, which certainly isn’t the strongest on paper, needs is man-made confusion and demotivation. But Boka-known’s, oops, Buchanan’s theory did exactly that. At a time when the team should have been focusing on strategies to synergise its performance and outsmart its opponent, Buchanan’s non-theory ensured that KKR’s team spirit had taken a free hit before a ball was bowled.

2. For making Brendon McCullum the captain: In retrospect, it appears that the idea of having four captain was only a way of getting Sourav Ganguly out of the leadership role. But why McCullum? True, he can be a blazing bat, but what leadership quality has he ever displayed at home or abroad? Undeniably Buchanan’s initiative has weighed down a mercurial batsman with the crushing load of responsibility. Since he became captain, his scores are: 1, 21, 3, 1. And, by the way, has anybody seen any intelligent, pro-active move made by McCullum in any of these games. And one is not even getting into his using rookie trundler Anureet Singh in the last over against Rajasthan Royals and things like that. It appears the upgrading of McCullum has more to do with the Kiwi’s lack of experience, because it enables Buchanan to wield real power.

3. For downsizing Sourav: The Ganguly-Buchanan story is pretty similar to the Ganguly-Greg saga. Greg too wanted to control the team like a football manager does, forgetting that cricket and soccer are two different games. And he was out to prove that all ills in the national team originate from the Bengal left-hander. Initially, everybody listened to Greg. In this case too, owner Shah Rukh threw his lot with the coach. With IPL2 moving to South Africa, it was easier to downsize Ganguly without any fear of a public backlash. The deed was done. Except that the script has gone all wrong for Buchanan after that. Ganguly hasn’t faded away as expected by the Australian coach. On the contrary, he has been one of the few performers in the team. Go through the overall KKR record of IPL1 and IPl2. Ganguly has been the best KKR player by miles. So why has he been relegated to No 4?

4. For his touching faith in Brad Hodge: The Australian coach’s faith in the podgy middle-order Australian batsman is touching. Before he came out to bat against Mumbai Indians on Monday, Hodge’s IPL strike rate was in the 80s. That is like having a No 3 ODI batsman with a strike rate of 50. Hodge is yet to get a single 35-plus score in the eight IPL games he has played. A compact player, he seems to have no fourth gear, imperative for Twenty20. But Buchanan continues to persist with him.

5. For being clueless about the lower middle-order: It is one thing for the middle order to fail. It is another matter being clueless about it. Look at KKR’s 5-7 in the four games it has played in IPL2: against Deccan Chargers (A Chopra, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, M Henriques), against Team Punjab (Yashpal Singh, Chopra, Henrique); against Rajasthan Royals (Ganguly, Sanjay Bangar, Yashpal) and against Mumbai Indians (Yashpal, A Ghosh, Shukla). By the way, who’s A Ghosh? All I can say: It isn’t me. And, by the way, whatever happened to Debabrata Das who was reasonably successful last season?

6. For sending back Chopra and Bangar: Isn’t it strange that with the lower middle-order in such disarray, the think-tank feels confident enough to send back Bangar and Chopra. In all fairness, the two shouldn’t have been bought in the first place. Chopra is a rare batsman who dances down the track against spin only to offer a defensive shot, as he did against the Deccan Chargers. But why send them back when it means that KKR is left scrounging for the likes of A Ghosh. And if Ghosh deserves a second chance, why don’t Chopra or Bangar, who are at least proven internationals. And has Buchanan thought about the decision’s impact on the remaining KKR players? Can they really perform with the sword of being sent back hanging above their heads?

7. For being unsure about team’s bowling strength: Buchanan is clueless about his team’s bowling strength. Other coaches were much quicker in discovering the potential of slow bowlers on South African pitches. It took the KKR think tank three games to discover Ajantha Mendis. It was Mendis who put RR on the backfoot. His 4-0-19-2 was the  first match-turning spell by a KKR bowler this season. Agreed he got clobbered by Yusuf Pathan in the Superover (whether he was the right choice for that specific job is another question only Buchanan can answer) and by Tendulkar-Jayasuriya in the following game. But he remains a wicket-taker whom lesser players find impossible to handle. Again, Murali Karthik, an experienced Twenty20 bowler, was left out after two games where his figures were 4-0-23-0 and 1-0-7-0. Why?

Agreed, KKR doesn’t have the best bowling attack in IPL. But it isn’t the worst either. Don’t forget they also have Moses Henrique, Moshrafe Mortaza (why buy somebody with so much fanfare if you don’t play him?) and Ishant Sharma. How about a bowling attack of Ishant, Henrique or Mortaza, Mendis and Karthik? With Ganguly, Gayle and Shukla there to do the fifth bowler’s job. But to do that, Buchanan will have to drop Hodge. The four foreigners in this playing XI would be: Gayle, McCullum, Henrique/Mortaza and Mendis.

Solution: There’s only one way to save the season for KKR. Sack Buchanan. Now. Replace him with anybody, even Mandira Bedi. But Buchanan must go down under. There’s nothing he can contribute positively to this team. Sacking him will not make KKR the winner of IPL2. But it will improve the dressing room atmosphere and bring some passion back into the side.

If he cannot be sacked, then I have a ‘phony’ theory, rather appropriate in times of fake bloggers, for KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan to consider: Why not have four coaches and one captain? Surely having 25% of Buchanan is better than having 100% of him.

Nadal advances to semi-finals of Rome Masters

World number one and top seed Rafael Nadal progressed to the semi-finals of the ATP Rome Masters clay court tournament after a gruelling 6-3

Rafael Nadal hits a return to Fernando Verdasco at the Rome Masters.

, 6-3 victory against sixth seed Fernando Verdasco on Friday.

The scoreline did not do justice to a keenly contested match that lasted 1hr 50min and in which Verdasco had more than enough chances to cause an upset.

The final statistics told the story of a match in which the former three-time champion Nadal took his opportunities while Verdasco let his slip by.

Verdasco hit 20 winners to just six by Nadal but made more than twice as many unforced errors — 41 to just 20 from the world’s best player.

And both men forced six break points throughout the match but while Nadal converted four of his, Verdasco managed only one break.

The 25-year-old sixth seed started badly, double faulting to hand Nadal a break in the opening game.

However, he hit straight back as Nadal played a dreadful service game and was broken to love.

The top seed soon clicked into gear, though, and broke Verdasco twice more to take the set.

The main difference in the opener was that Nadal was massacring Verdasco’s second serve, winning 78 percent of the points when his compatriot missed his first service.

In the second set Verdasco had plenty of opportunities to get his nose in front but he missed three break point chances in the first game and two more at 2-2.

Even so, he was trading wilfully with Nadal from the back of the court and but for his high unforced error count he looked capable of beating the king of clay.

But at 4-3 to Nadal, Verdasco missed two simple volleys as he gifted his compatriot a break, despite having led 40-15.

He called for the trainer at the change of ends and his knee seemed to be giving him some pain, so it was unsurprising that he wilted easily in the final game.

Nadal took his win streak on clay to 28 matches since he was beaten here a year ago in the second round by Juan Carlos Ferrero.

India beat Malaysia to lift Azlan Shah Cup

Indian beat hosts Malaysia 3-1 in the final to clinch the 18th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh on Sunday.

Arjun Halappa, Prabhjot Singh, Shivender Singh scored a goal each for Team India. At half-time India were leading 2-1. They built the lead to 3-1 in the second half to win the title for putting an end to their 13-year title drought.

Earlier on Saturday, India overcame arch rivals Pakistan 2-1 to meet Malaysia in their sixth final in the tournament.

Row over Suites in SA like Scramble for Free Passes in India

As the Indian Premier League and cricket controversy are never far apart, a new controversy has raised its head, this time related to the clash for suites between the Suite Holders’ Union and the IPL. The IPL wants to retain full control over use of the suites, which had been stipulated by them if certain games were to be held by them.

Predictably, the suite owners, who have been offered pavilion seats as compensation, are far from pleased about the exchange.

Ever attended a live cricket match anywhere in India; either domestic or international cricket? Well chances are you went on a pass of some or other sort. The mind set of most of us Indians is that when we think of watching a live match, we first ask around for free passes rather than head for the nearest ticket booking counter.

For the organisers of any international cricket match in India the biggest headache is the allotment of the free passes: to VIPs (and of course those that think of themselves as VVIPs), sponsors, associates of players, it is a long list of people that expect and in fact demand free passes! It is this mindset that led to the building of the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai when there was a perfectly adequate Brabourne stadium over at the Cricket Club of India.

It is probably this same Indian mind set which will have so many expecting their free VIP passes that has caused the Indian Premier League to dictate terms in case of the spectators suites in South Africa as well.

On Wednesday there was a meeting held between the IPL officials and the Western Province Cricket club as well as the Western Province Cricket association when the Indian Premier League laid claim to all rights over the allocation of the suites.

Failing this gaining of full control over the suites, the Indian Premier League said that they would withhold the staging of 8 matches. It was the IPL’s ‘non negotiable position’ that if the West Province club and association wanted to host the 8 matches they would have to relinquish all right to the suites.

To compensate for taking over the suites, the IPL is willing to offer seat in the pavilion as well as free food and drink as well as access to the F&B tent near the field. Reportedly, two games scheduled for Bloemfontein are also in jeopardy for the same reason of suite owners being unhappy about giving over all rights to their suites to the Indian Premier League officials.

If the IPL keep up this kind of autocratic behaviour, they are not going to earn themselves any popularity contests in a country that rose to the challenge of hosting the Indian Premier League with such alacrity and at such short notice and has so far been so accommodating.  

Freddie dismisses IPL fitness fears

Andrew Flintoff does not believe playing in the Indian Premier League will have a detrimental effect on his performances for England because of the amount of cricket he has missed in the last year.

The 31-year-old has had several niggling injuries, the latest of which was a hip problem that ruled him out of the final Test and first two one-day internationals in the West Indies.

It has been suggested Flintoff should be wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the Ashes this summer, but the all-rounder told Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek: “I don’t know about that. I have missed so much cricket through injury that I don’t want to miss any more.”

He added: “I’ve not played a lot of Twenty20 cricket and I’d like to play more. I’m not saying the money is not very appealing, but there’s a lot more to it.

“I spent several weeks working very hard at my fitness when I came back from the West Indies and, hopefully, that will stand me in good stead come the summer.”

Other England players, notably Kevin Pietersen, have said the rigours of a long winter away have taken their toll, and Graeme Swann even likened the events of the last few months to an episode of Eastenders.

Flintoff’s Caribbean tour may have been interrupted by injury but he was involved in the debates following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and he insists missing home is normal.

“It’s been a tough winter all round,” he said. “Going to India before Christmas with everything that happened, and coming home and going back, was testing for everyone.

“There have been lots of things going on. These are long tours. We are proud to play for England but people have got things at home as well and families who you desperately miss when you’re away. When you come to the end of a trip, of course people are looking forward to getting home and seeing people you haven’t seen for a long time.”

India beat Pakistan 2-1, enter Azlan Shah final

Skipper Sandeep Singh continued his goal-scoring spree as India pipped Pakistan 2-1 to reach the final of the five-nation Azlan Shah hockey tournament on Saturday.

The in-form Sandeep, leading goal scorer for his side in the tournament, struck twice in the 28th and 60th minutes to seal the win in the do-or-die tie at the Azlan Shah Stadium.

For Pakistan, Mohamed Saqlain reduced the margin in the 50th minute.

With this win, India sealed their place in Sunday’s final with eight points in their kitty.

Sandeep led from the front in the crucial encounter against the traditional rivals, scoring on either side of the break and then ensuring that India does not succumb to their perennial habit of conceding late goals.

After 28 minutes of mid-field scramble by both the sides, India finally took the lead though Sandeep to go into the breather with a 1-0 lead.

Trailing by a goal, Pakistan came out all guns blazing in the second half and made repeated unsuccessful forays into the Indian penalty area before Saqlain drew parity in the 50th minute.

Stung by the reverse, India, who needed a victory to ensure their place in the final, attacked with purpose and regained lead 10 minutes later with Sandeep again founding the cage.

Although Pakistan tried hard for the equaliser in the dying stages of the match, the Indian defence stood firm and ensured that there were no last moment’s hiccups.

Sania-Chuang enter semi-finals in Florida

Sania Mirza and Chia-Jung Chuang stunned fourth seeded pair of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova in straight sets to storm into the Sania and Chuang doubles semi-finals of the $220,000 the MPS Group Championships.

The unseeded Indo-Taipei pair earned a hard fought 6-4, 7-5 victory over the formidable American-Russian duo in one hour and 19 minutes.

Sania and Chuang broke their rivals thrice in both the sets while saving five breakpoints en route the convincing win.

The winners will take on American Angela Haynes

and Latavian Liga Dekmeijere in the last-four pair stage.

Haynes and Dekmeijere upset second seeded Chinese pair of Peng Shuai and Zi Yan 7-6 (3), 6-4 in another quarter-final match.

Slap-gate distant past, Bhajji focussed now

 

Last year’s slapping row with S Sreesanth and the subsequent ban firmly behind him, feisty Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh says he is focussed on making an impact in the Indian Premier League’s second edition.

“I missed the whole IPL last year because of reasons well known. But I’m looking forward to come back and it should be nice against Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and all these big guys,” said Harbhajan, who was banned from inaugural IPL season after playing only three matches for Mumbai Indians for slapping Sreesanth.

Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth after a match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in Mohali for which he was banned for 11 matches which cost him around Rs 3 crore.

The Punjab off-spinner, who was in prime form during India’s just-concluded tour of New Zealand scalping 16 wickets, said the main reason Team India has been doing well is that the players are no more insecure about their place in the side.

“Why we are winning is because we are playing good cricket. Everyone is performing, everyone is willing to be a champion. A lot of credit must go to the support staff and team management for giving the surety to all the players that they would be getting at least 10-15 games. That gives a player a lot of confidence,” Harbhajan told a website.

“This team has a lot of talent of course like Viru (Sehwag), Gautam (Gambhir), Yuvraj (Singh), (MS) Dhoni, (Suresh) Raina … who have been doing big things which helps us believe we can win anywhere in any sort of conditions,” Harbhajan said.

“Probably that was lacking earlier, but now everyone is confident. They are not worried about their places, people go out to play for the team rather than playing for themselves.”

Harbhajan’s six-wicket haul in the second innings in Hamilton inspired India to a 10-wicket win, their first in 33 years in New Zealand before taking seven wickets in the drawn final Test in Wellington.

“It is always challenging bowling abroad – you don’t get much spin, bounce. You do get bounce but you don’t get sideways spin. It is always drifting kind of spin you get. Also with Anil bhai not being there it was challenging and there was a lot of responsibility on me as the senior spinner to do well. This was my third tour there and I’m glad that my wickets came at the right time – we won the game in Hamilton and we almost won it in Wellington, too.”

Harbhajan has now set his sights on a Test century and for this he said he would take tips from Sachin Tendulkar, his Mumbai Indians captain.

“One day I will get my hundred. I would like to spend time with Sachin, who has got so many centuries, and probably he can advise me to slow down or what I need to do to get from 60 to 100.”

He admitted Twenty20 was a batsman’s game but the bowlers will have to be brave and patient to earn success in this format.

“It is tough on bowlers. You need to be little more brave and smart and go with the flow. In this format you need to be smart rather than bowling magic balls.”