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Rohit-led Mumbai Indians aim for
second IPL crown
By Aritra Chowdhury
Mumbai: Mumbai Indians, the
most talked about team in the
Indian Premier League (IPL),
gear up for the eighth edition of
the cash-rich tournament as one
of the favourites to clinch the title for the second time. The 2013
champions are all set to take to
the 22 yards under newly-appointed coach Ricky Ponting,
whose aggression and experience
would be a big plus to the squad.
Last year, led by hard-hitting Indian opener Rohit Sharma, the
team reached the play-off stages
where they lost to Chennai Super
Kings (CSK) in the eliminator by
7 wickets. But after the 2015 IPL
auctions the team looks more
formidable even before the start.
Among the notable buys were
Australia's World Cup-winning
opener Aaron Finch, who was
bought for Rs.3.2crore. The Victorian, part of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL last season, has
played 22 Twenty20 Internationals for Australia and scored 756
runs. New Zealand's Mitchell
McClenaghan is another crucial
purchase. With his ability to pick
up wickets, the left-arm pacer is
considered a limited overs specialist, who has turned out in
16 Twenty20 Internationals for
his national side claiming 17
wickets. Mumbai Indians have
done well to get him for Rs.30
lakh. India's spinner Pragyan
Ojha bowled with guile during
the team’s triumphant run in
2013. In the February 16 auction he was roped in for Rs.50
lakh. During his seven-year IPL
stint, the Odisha born has got 89
Saina loses in Malaysia
Open semis
Kuala Lumpur: World No.1 shuttler Saina Nehwal went down in
her women's singles semi-final to
reigning Olympic champion Li
Xuerui at the $500,000 Malaysia
Open Superseries Premier here
on Saturday. The Chinese beat the
third seeded Indian in a marathon
match that lasted an hour and eight
minutes with the top seed prevailing 13-21, 21-17, 22-20 at the Putra
Stadium. With the win, World No.3
Xuerui extended her career record
to 9-2 against Saina, also ending
the Indian challenge at the tournament. Xuerui will take on reigning
World Champion Carolina Marin
in the final, who beat second seeded Chinese Shixian Wang 21-17,
24-22 in the other semi-final. The
newly crowned World No.1 started
in perfect fashion to clinch the first
game in dominating style. Though
the Chinese matched Saina's shots
till 6-all, the Hyderabadi stamped
her authority to take flight and
quickly seal the first game. The
second game was a neck-and-neck
fight till 18-17, in favour of Xuerui,
who held her nerve to win the last
three points and push the match
into the decider. The third game
was an even more hotly contested
one. Saina held the advantage at
12-17 but the former World No.1
won five straight points to close
the gap. Thereon, both shuttlers
did not allow the other more than a
point's difference. But at 20-all, the
most crucial point of the match,
Xuerui showed the killer attitude
to smash the next two points and
enter the final.
wickets in 91 matches. The 2011
and 2013 Champions League
T20 winners have retained bulk
of the team they fielded last year
and that allows for continuity.
Leading from the front will be
Rohit, who would be gunning
to better his lacklustre show last
year when he managed just 390
runs from 15 games. The advantage the team had over the years
is the pool of talented players,
both Indians and overseas. The
presence of Indian batting great
Sachin Tendulkar till the sixth
India defeated the hosts 1-0. The
Korean team led by experienced
Seungil Lee also had lost to India
in the World Cup and will like
to change the result on Saturday.
"Though all the matches are important for us but the opening
match always plays a big role in
every team's campaign," a statement quoted van Ass as saying.
"The good show surely enhances
the confidence level of the players
and brings very positive energy
in the coaching staff as well. Boys
are well-prepared and confident
to take on the Korean team." Van
Ass, who guided he Netherlands
to silver medal finishes in the 2012
Olympic Games and the 2014
World Cup, said since he joined
the team on March 16, the players have prepared well for the new
challenge. "We have spent good
time together during the preparatory camp and that have helped us
not only in batting but also because of the duo’s electric fielding. Pollard, who didn’t find a
place in the West Indies World
Cup squad, will aim to prove his
point and get his national spot
back. After a fantastic World
Cup, Hazlewood will surely be
handy for the team, considering
his form. However, the rich pool
of foreign talent could pose the
problem of plenty for the team,
as IPL rules allow only four overseas players in the final eleven.
No doubt like every season Malinga will be the key man for the
2013 champions. Since joining
the side in 2009, he has bowled at
an economy of 6.53 in 83 matches, claiming 119 wickets. The Sri
Lankan is also the first bowler
to complete 100 wickets in the
competition. While they have a
strong batting and bowling arsenal, its their athletic fielding
under the watchful eyes of fielding guru Jonty Rhodes that gives
them an edge. Mumbai Indians
play their first match against
defending champions Kolkata
Knight Riders in Kolkata on
April 8.
Sania-Martina enter
Miami Open final
Miami:
Indo-Swiss tennis
combine Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis reached their second successive women's doubles final when they entered
the summit clash of the Miami
Open with a straight sets win
at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park here. The top seeds
defeated the Hungarian-French
pairing of Timea Babos and
Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-4
in exactly an hour on Saturday.
Sania and Martina will take on
Russian second seeds Ekaterina
Makarova and Elena Vesnina in
the final on Sunday whom they
had defeated last month in Indian Wells to win their maiden
tournament as a pair. Though
the top seeds served twice the
number of double faults, they
were better in every other aspect of the game than their
seventh seeded opponents.
Crucially, Sania and Martina
Indian hockey team seeks fresh
start under new coach
Ipoh (Malaysia):The Indian men's
hockey team will seek a fresh beginning under new coach Paul
van Ass as the six-nation 24th
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup starts at
the Azlan Shah Stadium here on
Sunday. India had a fruitful 2014
when they won the the Asian
Games gold after 16 years. They
gave a tough fight to Australia as
well to finish a creditable fourth in
the Champions Trophy. Now, the
18-member team is gearing up to
play not only the first tournament
of the year but also it will be the
first assignment for Dutchman
van Ass, who takes over the reins
of the eight-time Olympic champions from Australian Terry Walsh.
In the tournament that concludes
on April 12, World No.9 India will
face reigning World champion
Australia, World No.7 New Zealand, World No.8 South Korea,
World No.12 Malaysia and World
No.15 Canada. For the teams participating in the tournament, there
will be added importance as it is
the last major international before
the Hockey World League (HWL)
Semi-Finals in June. Although
India have qualified for the 2016
Rio Olympic Games, they will also
gain momentum with a good performance. The opening day of the
tournament will witness Sardar
Singh-led India facing South Korea. The competing teams last met
each other in the semi-final of the
Incheon Asian Games where the
IPL was a great boost for the side.
Apart from Rohit, young talent
in the squad includes batsmen
like Aditya Tare, Ambati Rayudu, Unmukt Chand and not to
forget pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who
bowls with a unique action. As a
player, Rayudu is yet to convince
many experts, but as a talent his
ability has been talked about in
volumes over the years. The team
has showed a lot of faith in the
29-year-old and it's to be seen if
he can pay back rightly. The experience of seasoned campaigners Harbhajan Singh, R. Vinay
Kumar, Parthiv Patel will hugely count in Indian soil. Among
the overseas players who were
retained were New Zealand's
all-rounder Corey Anderson,
World Cup winning Australian
pacer Josh Hazlewood, West Indies big-hitter Keiron Pollard,
South Africa pacer Marchant
de Lange, West Indies batsman
Lendl Simmons, and last but not
the least the highest wicket taker
in IPL history Sri Lanka's Lasith
Malinga. Having all-rounders
like Anderson and Pollard is always an advantage for any team,
a lot. Team is very positive, energetic, well-practiced and ready to
take on the opponent in the first
match," the 54-year-old said. From
tomorrow I think I will understand
as the chief coach where does my
unit stands exactly and how do
we start working on ourselves as a
team." Aiming to register a victory
on the opening day, Indian captain
Sardar said: "First match is always
important for any team. We want
to start our campaign with a win
and the match will also give us
an opportunity to examine our
strength and weaknesses. "Korean
team is quite strong and always
rated among the best teams in
Asia. They have stunned us on few
occasions in the past and we are
not taking any chance to take the
match lightly." India have won the
Cup five times and they will face
a big test when they play two-time
defending champions Australia.
For the tournament, India have
recalled young strikers Mandeep
Singh and Satbir singh and they
will join Ramandeep Singh, S. V.
Sunil, Akashdeep Singh and Nikkin Thimmaiah in the attack. The
midfield will be marshalled by
skipper Sardar, who needs support from returning Chinglensana Singh, who had an impressive
outing for Dabang Mumbai in the
Hockey India League (HIL) 2015.
Manpreet Singh, Dharamvir Singh
and S. K. Uthappa are other linkmen in the team.
won five of the available breakpoints to that of two out of 10
chances for Timea and Kristina.
"We're still learning to play with
each other so it's good to play
against a tough team like that.
They're really good," Sania said.
"We were down a break in the
first set so we're happy we were
able to get it back and win the
first set 6-2. We're just happy to
be in another final now." Their
opponents in the final -- Ekat-
erina and Elena -- overcame
Czech ninth seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka
6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal.
Asked what they would be doing to defeat the Russian girls,
Sania quipped, "The same as we
did last week! We just have to
keep focused and fight for every point. I keep saying this -names don't win you matches,
neither does any result. Every
day is a different day."
'Speed and quick counter-attack
will be key in Hawke's Bay Cup'
New Delhi: Indian women's hockey young midfielder
Navjot Kaur on Saturday said
the national team is working
on improving their running
speed and counter-attacking
strategies that will be key in
the Hawke’s Bay Cup to be
held in New Zealand from
April 11 to 19. The tournament
will witness India, Argentina,
Australia, China, Japan, South
Korea, the United States and
New Zealand fighting it out
for the title. "We are going to
face the best hockey teams in
the world and it will not always be easy to materialise the
opportunities in goals. We are
working on all aspects of the
game, from basic quick running to out-of-the-box strategies," Navjot said in a release.
"Speed and counter-attack
will be the key factor in the
tournament. We have to react quickly and should look at
entering the opponents' D in
a few seconds," Navjot, who
was part of the bronze medal winning squad in the 2014
Asian Games, added. Navjot
will be accompanied by other
midfielders such as captain
Ritu Rani, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz, Liliy Chanu and
Sondarya Yendala, who are
part of the 18-member squad.
05 APRIL 2015
7
SUNDAY
NEWS IN BREIF
Sansui to sponsor KKR
Mumbai: Japanese electronics major Sansui announced
on Saturday it would sponsor, for the second consecutive
year, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the eighth season
of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Sansui logo will
appear on the jersey back of KKR, the defending champions of the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament. “I am delighted
to announce our partnership with the champion team of IPL
2014 -- Kolkata Knight Riders for the second consecutive
year. We wish the team good luck for their journey in IPL 8
and hope that they continue their winning streak," Sansui
Chief Operating Officer (COO) Amitabh Tiwari said.
Arsenal deserve to win Premier
League title: Pires
London: Football great Robert Pires on Saturday said his
former club Arsenal deserve to be the Premier League
champions this season but feels there will be regrets towards the end of the campaign. It has been 11 years since
Arsene Wenger led Arsenal to his third Premier League title. But the Frenchman has overseen a fine run with the
club having won nine of their past 10 league matches,
leaving them seven points adrift of leaders Chelsea, who
have played a game more. "In my opinion, this year Arsenal
deserve to be champions and they won't be far away. But
once more, there will be some little regrets at the end of the
season," Pires said. Pires, who made 284 appearances between 2000 and 2006 for Arsenal, said the London-based
club have been worthy of ending their wait for a league title, but a failure to consistently compete against the best
teams has been their downfall. "It's tough and frustrating for
the fans. Every time, Arsenal is close," the 41-year-old was
quoted as saying by Goal.com.
BCB to compensate PCB for
postponing tours
Dhaka: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will compensate its Pakistani counterpart for postponing two tours in
2012. BCB president Nazmul Hassan said that they want
to end the matter by paying Pakistan their due for missing
the two tours, adding that the amount could range between
$100,000 and $300,000. The announcement comes after
a three-month impasse between the two boards after the
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) set conditions for their upcoming tour to Bangladesh. "We have no more conditions
with them. They first demanded 50 percent revenue and
then said this is their home series. I told them this is our
home series. They kept repeating that we didn't tour Pakistan. I replied that I don't like listening to this in every meeting,” Hassan was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "ICC
has a rule for teams that don't tour a country after agreeing
to it. I asked them to let us know how much we are supposed to pay for that tour. It could be between $100,000 to
$300,000," Hassan said. "Whether they use it for plane fare
or not, is their concern. We will make the one-time payment
for missing that tour."
No surgery for Costa, says Chelsea
manager Mourinho
London: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes there
will be no need of surgery for Spanish forward Diego Costa who is suffering from a hamstring problem. "I don't believe we'll ever go in the surgery direction," Mourinho was
quoted as saying by Xinhua on Friday. "We don't believe
in operations. Our medical department and myself, we believe an operation is the last resort for every injury. So we
try and be conservative, to train and recover and try and
compensate the problems." Mourinho also insisted Costa
would be selected for their English Premier League home
match against Stoke City on Saturday. The 26-year-old
Costa joined Chelsea in 2014 and has scored 19 goals in
23 English Premier League matches so far.
Hrithik, Shahid, Anushka
to perform at IPL opening
ceremony
"Only speed and quick counter-attack can surprise the best
teams and allow us to take an
edge," Navjot, member of the
bronze medal winning squad
in the 2013 Junior World Cup,
said. We are working on these
areas and have improved a
lot. I am looking forward to
the tournament." The ongoing preparatory camp here
for the Indian team under the
guidance of high performance
director Roelant Oltmans
commenced on March 22 and
will conclude on April 7. The
team is also preparing for the
all important Hockey World
League (HWL) Semi-Final in
Belgium. If India finish among
the top three in Belgium, they
will qualify for the 2016 Rio
Olympic Games. India will
play their first match against
China on April 11.
Kolkata: Bollywood stars
Farhan Akhtar, Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Pritam and Hrithik Roshan are
all set to light up the stage
at the 2015 Indian Premier
League (IPL) Opening Ceremony at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Tuesday. According to a Board of Control
for Cricket in India (BCCI)
release, the entertainers will
come together to mark the
start of the eighth season
of the cash-rich Twenty20
league with the evening’s
proceedings being hosted by
actor Saif Ali Khan. All eight
team captains will be present to take the Marylebone
Cricket Club (MCC) Spirit of
Cricket pledge. Gautam Gambhir, captain of defending
champions Kolkata Knight
Riders, will put the trophy
back in play, signalling the
start of the 2015 season. The
two-hour show will start at
7:30 p.m. and the gates of the
venue will open at 5:00 p.m.
Tickets for the opening ceremony, which start at Rs.200,
can be purchased online at
iplt20.com or from gate No.1
and 4 of the Salt Lake Stadium. The programme will
be telecast live on Sony Max
and Sony Six and will also be
streamed on mobile app Hotstar.