Winning with a calm head on their shoulders

January 14, 2013

England_victry

Kochi, Jan 14: Until recently, England’s reputation as travellers to the sub-continent wasn’t so flattering, especially so in India.

England hadn’t won a Test series in India for 28 years and they had gone without a victory in the last 11 ODIs. Their solitary success, in fact, in the last 16 matches had come way back in 2005 in Jamshedpur. Even after finishing the home series against India with an all win record in all three formats of the game in mid 2011, England found out how formidable India can be at home when they were routed 5-0 in the ODI series later that year.

Prior to visiting India for a return Test series late last year, England had lost to Pakistan in the Gulf 0-3 and had barely managed to save the series in Sri Lanka. A similar humiliation was waiting for Alastair Cook and company in India and the heavy loss in the opening Test at Ahmedabad only reaffirmed those beliefs. On slow turners, one would have foreseen, England were going to die a quick death. The Englishmen, however, scripted one of the greatest comebacks to turn the series on its head, stunning India in Mumbai and Kolkata to clinch the series 2-1 after drawing the Nagpur Test.

Now, Cook’s men want to set their ODI record straight and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if they actually realise their dream of winning a 50-over series in India, again after David Gower’s team did so in 1984-85. England at the moment appear to have got the wood on this Indian team. Unlike in the previous visits when they turned up at the ground having lost the battle in their minds, this English side’s resolve to fight shines through.

Given the nature of pitches, weather and the boisterous crowd, India is generally considered a tough cricketing nation to travel and the results over the last few decades drive home that point. Beating India in India is not just about bringing a set of skills to the table. Of course, that’s a crucial part, but it’s also about conquering the conditions that are totally alien. India successfully did that from early to late 2000s when they won series in Pakistan, the West Indies, England and New Zealand and regularly won Tests in Australia and South Africa. Annoyed by the constant taunt that they are ‘tigers only at home’ a bunch of pride men – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly – made a conscious effort to shed that tag and were quite successful in that endeavour.

This English squad under Cook appears as determined. They no longer complain about designer tracks (for Tests) and they have stopped worrying about batting beauties (ODIs). They gave India a dose of their own medicine in Tests by unleashing Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann and in the opening one-dayer at Rajkot, they beat India at their own game, by outbatting them on a barren strip. Irrespective of the way the results go in the next four matches, England have shown that they are here for a scrap.

England also no longer get worked-up with the general chaos in India, especially in smaller centres. Swann had cited ‘embrace-India’ attitude to their success in Tests and Cook epitomises this England’s new approach. In Rajkot, no one would have blamed the English skipper if he had shown his disapproval at the way how things were organised, rather disorganised, during his press conferences. But he dealt with them through a quiet smile, even if it appeared sarcastic.

A largely partial Indian crowd too can sometimes get on to you and England all-rounder Samit Patel felt that in Rajkot on Friday. “As a batsman, you hit a boundary and you don’t get a clap, that’s quite hurtful,” he admitted. “You know for a fact that you played a good shot, but no one’s really appreciating. That could get a bit under your skin. But it’s how you handle it. I think all the lads stay pretty calm out there and we’re learning every time we go out to the middle,” he remarked.

England have realised that to win in India (or in an Indian stadium), which is characterised by commotion in the stands, you need to have a calm head on your shoulders.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Jun 20: Bengaluru FC (BFC) have signed Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva for a one-year deal, the ISL club said in a statement on Saturday.

As per the agreement, BFC have the option of extending Silva's contract for another year.

The 33-year-old, who started his career with Brazilian side Madureira, moved to Thailand where he spent the better part of the decade playing for Muangthong United and Suphanburi, apart from stints in Mexico and China.

Silva, who also operates on the wing, became the first foreign player to reach the 100-goal mark in Thailand and finished top scorer of the Thai League 1 for two seasons. He also tops the charts of the all-time leading scorers of the League.

His biggest success came at Muangthong where he racked up 57 goals in 79 appearances and won three major trophies in as many seasons at the club.

The Brazilian, who was in talks with the Blues last season before the deal didn't materialise, said he was glad to have finally made the move.

"I've signed with Bengaluru FC because I want to be a champion and this is a club that is always after titles. I have that opportunity once again at BFC. I want to make the club and its fans happy. I have been following the club for some time now because we were in talks a while ago. And I liked what I saw. I am looking forward to making my way to Bengaluru and am excited to meet my new teammates, the fans and embrace the city," said Silva.

Silva, thus, became BFC's first new foreign signing of the season after the club had handed extended deals with Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Erik Paartalu.

Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat said Silva's addition was an important one, given his penchant for scoring.

"Cleiton has a proven track record when it comes to scoring and this is an area we needed to strengthen on the squad. The goals aside, he even has an eye for a quality final pass and we're looking forward to working with him," he said.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: Five centrally contracted Indian cricketers including Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul have been issued notices by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for failing to disclose their whereabouts as the BCCI cited "password glitch" as the reason for delay.

The other players to have received the notice include women stars Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, who are among the five cricketers in the 110 strong National Registered Testing Pool (NRTP). Speaking to PTI, NADA DG Navin Agarwal confirmed that BCCI has sent an official explanation for their five NRTP players' failure to submit whereabouts.

"There are two ways to fill up the whereabouts form in the ADAMS (Anti Doping Administration & Management Systems) software. Either athlete does it himself or association fills it up on his or her behalf," Agarwal said. "Now athletes in some discipline aren't educated enough or do not have access to internet and find themselves unable to handle the whereabouts clause of the ADAMS or upload the filled up

"They use assistance of their concerned federations. So federations have accepted responsibility of uploading their whereabouts," Agarwal said.

He said cricketers too at times find it tough to complete the process on their own. "Similarly in cricket also, although these people are well qualified and they can do it, perhaps they don't have the time for whatever reasons, so the federation concerned, the BCCI has taken upon itself the responsibility of uploading their whereabouts." So why didnt BCCI upload the the three-month whereabouts this time?

"Well they have given an explanation which appears to be reasonable but a decision will be taken. They have said that there has been a glitch with regards to password in ADAMS. Now they have said that issue has been resolved," Agarwal added. NADA DG added that "BCCI's explanation will be discussed as to whether it will be counted as one of three filing failures or not. It will be decided on the explanation given and how they (BCCI) proceed from here."

While country has been under lockdown, the rule to submit three months of whereabouts is mandatory. Three such failures to disclose leads to one Anti Doping Rule Violation (ADRV), which could lead up to two years of suspension upon hearing.

While BCCI has "officially gagged" its employees from talking to the media, it couldn't be ascertained that why as normal a glitch as a password error took days to resolve. A BCCI veteran, who has been privy to cricket operations, asked why the five cricketers were not told to upload the form themselves.

"This was lockdown period where they are not living out of suitcases. Some of the names have also engaged in multiple instagram chats and podcasts which their agents are managing," he said.

"If cricket operations team were having a glitch in fixing password, well the five cricketers could have been asked to do so and they would have done it individually with some guidance. "Probably NADA would be lenient this time but if it becomes an official warning, then who's responsible," he added.

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News Network
February 21,2020

New Delhi, Feb 21: Vinesh Phogat yet again fell to Japanese nemesis Mayu Muakida to go out of the gold medal race but Sakshi Malik will fight for the title after winning her semifinal bout at the Asian Wrestling Championship, here on Friday.

Vinesh had lost twice to Mukaida in 2019 – at World Championship and Asian Championships —and the trend continued as the gritty Indian yet again struggled to break the strong defence of the Japanese.

In a tough opening round, Vinesh tried single leg attacks a number of times but every time Mukaida blocked her move and eventually got the upper body lock to subdue the home favourite.

In her last two meetings, Vinesh had not scored a single point against the 2019 world silver medallist. She managed a takedown this time before eventually losing 2-6.

The hard-working Vinesh will now fight for bronze against Vietnam's Thi Ly Kieu but even a medal won't suffice to lift her mood as she and the fans have high expectations from her.

Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, who has been struggling of late, lost her opening round 1-2 to Naomi Ruike from Japan but later overcame two weak opponents to eventually reach the final of the non-Olympic 65kg category.

She could hardly attack Naomi but outplayed Korea's Ohyoung Ha in the next round, winning by technical superiority.

In her semifinal against Uzbekistan's Nabira Esenbaeva, Sakshi led 5-0 but her rival pulled off consecutive two-point moves to make it 5-4.

Sakshi has been losing in closing stages of late but this time she managed to hold on to her narrow lead, surviving anxious last two seconds.

Also in medal contention are India's brightest youngsters Sonam Malik (62kg) and Anshu Malik (57kg).

Sonam, who had defeated Sakshi in the trials, showed good tactical mind in her resounding win against Korea's Hanbit Lee and also in the 2-5 defeat against world bronze medallist Yukako Kawai.

She pulled off a superb point-scoring move from a disadvantageous position and resisted the 2018 U-23 world champion Yukako in a good fashion.

She will now fight for bronze against Aisuluu Tynbekova.

Anshu Malik opened up her campaign against Kyrgyzstan's Nuraida Anarkulova, winning by technical superiority but was outplayed by reigning world champion from Japan Riskao Kawai.

She will have to beat Sevara Eshmuratova from Uzbekistan to grab a bronze.

In the non-olympic 72kg, Gursharanpreet Kaur is in bronze medal contention. She beat Uzbekistan's Svetlana Oknazarova but lost to Kazakhstan's Zhamila Bakberzenova.

She still made it to the semifinal in which she lost to Japan's Mei Shindo.

She is now up against Mongloia's Tsevegmed Enkhbayar.

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