Aussies made vulgar, personal comments in Kochi: Harbhajan

Star Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh revealed that it was an unrelenting barrage of vulgar personal remarks from the Australian fielders that provoked him to a verbal duel in the second one dayer at Kochi.

In the heated match on Tuesday, Harbhajan got out to Michael Clarke and while leaving, the offie was seen exchanging words with the Australians till umpire Steve Bucknor patted him on his shoulder, asking him to move on.

Harbhajan later revealed that he was reacting to some vulgar personal comments from the Aussies. He felt the ‘arrogant’ Aussies were still smarting from their Twenty20 World Cup defeat to India and their outburst was just a manifestation of that frustration.

“They think they are superior and can do and say whatever they like, but that is not the case,” Harbhajan said.

“They are very bad losers. They were beaten in the (Twenty20) World Cup and they clearly did not like that,” the off-spinner was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.

“They are a very good cricket side, but that does not mean that they can do whatever they want to do. They say they play the game in the right spirit, but they don’t in reality. There is nothing gentlemanly about the way they play,” said Harbhajan, seething with anger.

Harbhajan said he did not mind little war of words but stooping to personal level was a strictly no-no.

“I was responding to a lot of vulgar words that were said to me. I don’t have any problem with chitchat on the field, so long as it is about the game. But when it is very personal and vulgar, that is not on. They think you cannot fight back and they do not like it when you do.”

“I won’t listen to that crap. If they want to play like that, they’ll get it back from us,” Harbhajan said.

The second one-dayer was marked by a number of such moments and Indian pacer S Sreesanth too had an altercation with Andrew Symonds and after the match, ICC match referee Chris Broad called Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and asked them to rein in their teammates.

Harbhajan said the Aussies are “poor losers” and every other team shares this sentiment.

“Ask any team. They will tell you that when (Australia) get beaten, they react badly. In this game, you win some and you lose some, but regardless of the result, there is no excuse for their kind of behaviour,” he asserted.

The daily also quoted Symonds lashing out at Sreesanth and saying, “When I go to another code of sport I like to see confrontation, I’ll admit that, but you don’t want to see ugly confrontation and you certainly don’t want to see confrontation that degrades your code”.

He, however, gave enough indications that the Australians would continue with their all-round aggressive approach to the game to gain a psychological edge.

“Because we’ve got them for so long, if you can get an edge over them, it starts to eat into them mentally as well I think,” he said.

“If we can play well here on their end, it would be good to take that confidence and that success back home,” Symonds said.

India should concentrate on cricket rather than verbal duels

HYDERABAD: With their unusual show of bravado backfiring heavily in Kochi, India will need to focus more on the game instead of trying to unsettle Australia with verbal duels as they go into the third cricket one-dayer here on Friday.

The hangover of the Twenty20 World Cup triumph seemed still around in Kochi and the 84-run battering in the second ODI there was actually a clear message that Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his teammates would need to raise their game by a few notches if they are to match the ODI world champions in this 50-overs-a-side format.

The Indians seemed determined to match the Australians in the sledging game in Kochi but it did not pay much dividends with the players not trasnlating the aggression into their game. Australia have already proved that their batting line-up has enough depth and the middle order, especially the underrated Brad Haddin and the incredibly talented Michael Clarke is capable of surviving any top order collapse.

And to further bolster the batting, regular captain Ricky Ponting is almost certain to return to the playing eleven, having recovered from the hamstring injury he had picked up during the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.

Ponting attended yesterday’s practice session and it would be interesting to see how he is accommodated in the line-up, which may be at the expense of Brad Hodge. However, more than Ponting’s return, Dhoni would be pre-occupied with the bowling woes of his side.

As it was the case in the washed-out series opener in Kochi, the Indian pacers got early breakthrough to peg the visitors on the back foot and then allowed them to get off the hook with some ordinary stuff and on both occasions, Australia overcoming early jitters to post 300-plus totals.

“The pacers bowled well and gave us a good start but I think we did not bowl well during 30 to 50 overs once again and that made a lot of difference. I think we need to improve on this aspect,” Dhoni rued.

S Sreesanth’s volatile temper has become another unwanted worry for Dhoni and he is finding it increasingly difficult to rein in the speedster’s temper. Adam Gilchrist has already picked up the gauntlet and promised that his team would pay India back in their own coin, which may result into yet another ill-tempered match on Friday.

Another worry for the hosts has been their frontline spinners, Harbhajan Singh and Ramesh Powar, both of whom proved a big let down. Together, they conceded 87 runs in 15 overs without any success in Kochi.

Dhoni was clearly unhappy with the show by the spin twins and said both had a “lot of room for improvement”. And if the bowlers could not maintain the momentum, it was worse with the batsmen. Chasing imposing 300-plus marks, India never had the start that would have laid the foundation for a successful chase.

In the rain-ruined Bangalore opener, India were nine for one in the third over when heavens opened up and the match was called off. In Kochi, it was worse. They lost opener Gautam Gambhir at 11 and eventually slumped to 87 for four and could not recover from there.

“I think the batsmen needed to apply themselves a bit more. It was a wicket where one needed to do that to score runs,” Dhoni lamented. Though Dhoni (58), Robin Uthappa (41) and Rahul Dravid (31) got some runs under the belt in Kochi, it was just not enough to upstage the Aussies.

Meanwhile, a cloud of doubt still hovers on Sourav Ganguly, who missed the last match with a hamstring injury. Apart from their big-hitting batsmen, Australia have been served well by their bowling combination too. Mitchell Johnson’s lively pace has asked all those uncomfortable questions, while Brett Lee gave no leeway even though he was not among the wickets.

Stuart Clark has done justice to his growing stature as an able successor of Glenn McGrath, while James Hopes too met success in Kochi in his first over.

Brad Hogg proved he has enough guile as he grabbed three wickets to emerge as the pick of the Australian bowlers in Kochi and the left-arm chinaman bowler would prove a handful for the host batsmen once again. And Michael Clarke’s part-time off-spinners were good enough for him to finish with two scalps.

Ganguly named ‘Best Captain’ in 75 years of Test cricket

Sourav Ganguly beat some of the biggest names in Indian cricket when he was named ‘Best Captain’ in 75 years of Test cricket at the 10th Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence here.A wonderful evening in the backwaters of ‘God’s Own Country’ Tuesday honoured eleven former captains for their service to the game.

Besides Ganguly, late CK Nayudu, late Vinoo Mankad, Nari Contractor, Chandu Borde, Ajit Wadekar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were the skippers especially chosen for the recognition.

Nayudu’s daughter Chandra and Mankad’s son Atul received the awards on behalf of their illustrious fathers. The gala night had anecdotes flowing like champagne from the former stars.

Recalled Contractor: “I became an opening batsman only because of Vinoo. I had never opened in my life and for some reason Vinoo was not available for a Test against New Zealand. Polly Umrigar was the captain and he asked me to open. And in the next Test, me and Vinoo opened the innings, and that is how I became an opener.”

When asked how many bats he carried in his kit bag during his playing days, Contractor said one. Much to the amusement of those in attendance, Ganguly, known for carrying plenty of bats on tour, quipped: “If you carry one bat now, then you might be dropped from the side for the next match due to lack of commitment.”

Bedi revealed that he was a big fan of legendary West Indies captain Sir Gary Sobers. “The greatest batsman I ever bowled to was Sobers. I never felt bad when he hit me for boundaries. It was a treat to watch him play,” Bedi fondly remembers.

Nayudu’s daughter Chandra too became nostalgic, saying: “My father used to say ‘cricket khelne ke liye dimag ki zaroorat hoti hain’ (You need brains to play cricket). I think the boys are quite intelligent now and the Twenty20 win by Dhoni and his brigade is the best gift my father could have wanted while celebrating 75 years of Test cricket.”

Chandra drew parallels between her father and new Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, both known for their big hitting. “I think Dhoni plays the way my father used to play. Both want to hit big sixes. But there is one difference between my father and Dhoni. As a captain, my father was more of a commander while Dhoni seems like a companion,” said Chandra.

Besides honouring the former Test captains, awards were also given to players of six different eras. Nayudu was honoured as the ‘Best Indian Cricketer’ of the first era 1932-47 while Mankad received the honour for 1947-61.

Former captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who revolutionised Indian cricket and instilled a winning habit, received the award for the 1961-71 era. ‘Tiger’, as Pataudi is commonly known, couldn’t make it to the awards gala, but in a recorded message congratulated the Twenty20 world champions.

Gavaskar, the first batsman to score 10,000 Test runs, and Kapil Dev, the first Indian bowler to take 400 Test wickets, won the award for the 1971-81 and 1981-1997 eras respectively.

Dravid and Tendulkar shared the award for the sixth era – 1997 to 2007.

Members of the triumphant Twenty20 squad were also felicitated. Amid all the celebration, there was no mention of Mohammed Azharuddin, under whose leadership India enjoyed a fair degree of success.

Harbhajan can’t cop it, says Ponting

Captain Ricky Ponting has escalated the ill feeling between the Australian and Indian camps by questioning the courage of volatile spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Ponting was more than happy to take a few shots at the home side before his expected return in Friday’s third match of the seven-game series in Hyderabad.

He accused Singh of being able to dish out the verbal abuse but not take it in return after the off-spinner accused the Australians of being vulgar and bad losers.

“I don’t really care what he has to say to tell you the truth,” Ponting said of Harbhajan.

“He has plenty to say on the field and then when ever someone says something back to him he is the first one to run away from it.”

“I don’t care too much about what they say.

“We play our cricket in a nice aggressive way and we play within the rules and within the spirit of the game.”

The exchange has ramped up the considerable tension between the sides that surfaced in Tuesday’s fiery clash in the southern seaside city of Cochin.

“They are ones that have come out and made all the statements since we have been here,” he said.

“We have not come out and they have made statements nearly every day about this new India and this new aggressive outlook they are going to play with.”

The Australians have had a testy relationship with Harbhajan ever since his stunning performance in India’s 2-1 win in their memorable home three-Test series in 2001.

The Turbanator has never masked his feelings towards the Australians on the field and that continued when he had a slanging match with the tourists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

After being stumped off Michael Clarke’s bowling, Harbhajan stopped mid-pitch to have crack at the Australians for their banter on the field.

Umpire Steve Bucknor eventually dragged him away from the scene.

Some of the comments from both camps during this series, particularly from firebrand Shantha Sreesanth, have sounded more like a boxing promotion than for a cricket series.

Buoyed by their triumph at last month’s Twenty20 world championships in South Africa, the Indians have talked up their new aggressive approach they believed would assist them in taking down the reigning World Cup holders.

Ponting suggested that India’s aggression was all just a front and that it wasn’t working against his men.

“We know that is not the way they generally play their cricket, so they are trying to put on some sort of brave face and brave front,” he said.

“So far we have played some great cricket and I look forward to us playing some better cricket as the tournament goes on.”

The skipper, who missed the opening two games through injury, felt the Australians had worked hard to improve their on-field behaviour in recent times and that it was tame compared to Sreesanth and Harbhajan.

“Perception is an amazing thing in this world,” he said.

“If we were ever as bad as people have said you would have seen a lot more Australians being reported, especially in the last couple of years.

“Not many, if any, have been for sledging over the last couple of years, if at all.

“I don’t really know what happened too much the other day but if you look at his (Harbhajan’s) record and Sreesanth’s record over the last few years and they have been involved in a lot of those altercations.”

Focus is on youth after Twenty20 triumph

While we euologise the Aussies for their consistently high quality performance, the fact is that we overlook the hard work that has shaped their cricket. They do the little things better than any other team and therein lies the secret of their success. The Australian cricketer radiates energy, enthusiasm, passion and more importantly, a commitment to excellence. The Indian team has three of the four attributes, but falls short on commitment to put in time on the field, practising till they drop dead, as it were. Thus, in a pressure situation, the Australians react better as a team whereas the Indians depend on individuals to see them through.

The Aussies are no angels of innocence. They are not above “targeting” key opposition players, constantly needling them to the point of distraction that eventually leads to the fall of a wicket. It is part of their gamesmanship that at times has earned them the tag of a “bully”. Watching them, some of our Indian youngsters seem to believe that aggression is a key to success. At most times it is, but so long as it is within limits of decency.

To a large extent, Ian Chappell’s Australians and Clive Lloyd’s West Indians have been the architects of sledging, attrition and unbridled aggression. Perhaps, the genesis of this malaise lies in the infamous Bodyline series where England targeted Bradman, attempting to physically injure the great batsman. But these days, the aggression has been reduced to bootlace levels with players not reluctant to mouth abuses, indulging in “gully cricket” antics and theatrics, much like Sreesanth did at Kochi and in South Africa.

Yes, we would not like to see robots playing cricket. The passion has to radiate and due allowance should be made for players to express their feelings, be it frustration or euphoria. But then, so long as these actions are within limits (and these days, the limits are truly stretched), they should be permitted. A glare or a jibe is fine as they add spice to the proceedings. However, Sreesanth’s act of appealing for a runout in a dead-ball situation at Kochi, went beyond decency. A pity that such a talented young cricketer repeatedly goes astray. The onus is on skipper Dhoni to lead the young stallion back on the racetrack, even if it means a spank on the bottom.

During Ganguly’s captaincy, the team followed its skipper’s example of standing up to the opposition. The shirt-waving act from Lord’s balcony was a clear signal to the rest of the team to go the distance in the name of aggression. And now, it has gone over the top with players like Sreesanth and Harbhajan not averse to adopting below-the-belt tactics.

These are among the many issues that are confronting the Indian cricket Board, which is finally admitting that the game is getting younger and unless you are a Hayden or a Ponting or a Gilchrist, there is no place for the oldies (read above 30). The tight schedules with so much travel and play with insufficient recovery period, the life of a modern-day cricketer is certainly getting shorter. Even Dhoni, only 26, complained the other day about non-stop cricket and how it is affecting the body.

Perhaps, the selectors took the hint from Dhoni and are now contemplating rotating players, especially the seniors. I suspect the selectors are trying to gather courage to tell the likes of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly that it is time they retired from one-day cricket. The trio might yet get the odd big score to remind us of their calibre, but in the long run, their continued presence in the one-day squad would only stunt the development of young talent.

The Twenty20 triumph last month has put the focus firmly on youth. There is a craving to see new faces, fresh legs and more enthusiasm. Thus, the pressure is far greater on the Big Three now than at any time in the past. Instant entertainment and instant result is the new theme song whose tunes might not be as lilting, but we are in the age of “Remix”!

The Hyderabad game on Friday, thus, would be crucial in more ways than one. India need to win to stay in the hunt as also the seniors who have to perform or be “rested” (a euphemism for sack). Either way, it could turn out to be another potboiler.

Sikkim Governor’S Gold Cup – 2007

The countdown for the 27th All India Governor’s Gold Cup Football Championship has begun in Sikkim.Launched in the year 1979 the tournament has the distinction of running without any interruptions for the last twenty seven years. No other tournament can boast of such a record, not even the Federation Cup and the Santosh Trophy, two of India’s premier tourneys.

The tournament is organized by the Sikkim Football Association (SFA)  the apex body of all the football organizations in Sikkim with the support from the state government and some business organizations ,there is no official sponsor as such. All the matches are played at the picturesque Palzor Stadium in Gangtok.  

‘Gold cup’ for the locals the tournament is like a festival in Sikkim, Gangtok the capital city which hosts the tournament comes alive during the period. Gold Cup becomes the talk of the town. Almost everyone plunges into this carnival even people who are not crazy about the game (although this kind of people are very hard to find in Sikkim).The kind of impact this tournament has in Sikkim can be gauged by the fact that the government employees are allowed to go and watch the matches if they have the tickets and its truncated classes for the schools and colleges for the entire duration of the tournament. Every individual of sikkim soaks in this festive spirit.  

Teams from Kolkata have always performed well in the gold cup with Mohun Bagan winning it record 9 times. East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting have also made their presence felt with the latter triumphing twice. Red and golds surprisingly don’t have any Gold cup titles to their credit. Outside the three giants many other Kolkata outfits have also participated in the gold cup giving some very good performances.  

The tournament also gives the local a chance to see the best clubs of India in action along with the national teams of Bhutan and Nepal. A club team from Bangladesh is also invited. This is one tournament the people of Sikkim don’t miss for anything. The die-hards wait throughout the year for the gold cup to start  

The local talents gets an opportunity to showcase their skills at the nationals level during this tournament as the domestic league champions and knockout tournament (independence cup) winners get a berth in the gold cup along with a selected Sikkim football association team. last year sikkim sports academy which had got a wild card entry into the tournament performed brilliantly and reached the semi finals which was beyond anyone’s expectations. Two boys from that team namely Sanju Pradhan and Nirmal Chettri have already completed a season with Air India.Bhaichung Bhutia had also impressed during the gold cup from where he was picked up by East Bengal and rest as they say is history. 

This year the Gold cup will start from the 24^th of October and the wait has already begun for the football fans of Sikkim. Along with the Durga and Laxmi Puja Gold cup is another festival which is celebrated in Sikkim.