P V Sindhu enters World Badminton Championships semis, assured of bronze

August 30, 2014

Copenhagen, Aug 30: Indian teen sensation P V Sindhu assured herself of a second consecutive bronze medal at the World Championship but it was curtains for star shuttler Saina Nehwal after she suffered a straight-game loss in the women's singles quarterfinals on Friday.

P V SindhuThe 19-year-old Sindhu, who clinched the bronze at the 2013 World Championship in China, produced another gritty performance to see off All-England champion Shixian Wang of China 19-21, 21-19, 21-15 at Ballerup Super Arena.

Earlier this month, Sindhu had won a bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

Earlier, Olympic bronze-medallist Saina, seeded seventh, struggled against World No. 1 Li Xuerui and the Chinese took just 45 minutes to send the Indian packing with an identical 21-15 21-15 scoreline.

However, Sindhu, seeded 11th, showed once again why she is considered one of India's finest shuttlers as she held her nerves in crucial moments during the energy-sapping battle to record her fourth win against Wang. Sindhu will now face the winner of the match between Chinese Taipei's Tzu Ying Tai and and Spaniard Carolina Marin.

In the quarterfinal contest that lasted for one hour and 25 minutes, Sindhu and Wang were locked in a battle of attrition and rode on each other's mistakes to gather points.

Sindhu dominated the net early on and used her height and reach well to lead 11-5 initially. However, Wang soon caught up at 15-15 before getting past the Indian to pocket the first game.

Frustrated by the first game loss, Sindhu stepped up her performance in the second and once again opened up a healthy 5-1 lead but Wang made her way back into contention at 6-6 with some precise net shots to lead 11-9 at the break.

A couple of unforced errors helped Sindhu to narrow the gap but the Indian faltered at the forecourt to help Wang keep the lead. The Indian kept fighting and used her smashes and better judgment of the shuttle to draw parity at 16-16.

Wang, however, faltered at the nets to allow Sindhu a 19-16 lead and then hit another miscued shot to give the Indian four-game points.

The Chinese saved three game points with a couple of brilliant shots from the back of the court but Sindhu finally managed to send one away from the outstretched right hand of Wang to bounce back into the contest.

The decider started with a long rally which Sindhu grabbed after Wang hit wide. The Chinese kept hitting wide and long and found the net allowing the Indian to lead 5-2. But Wang once again caught up at 5-5.

Both Sindhu and Wang committed too many unforced errors as the Indian managed to hang on to a fragile one-point lead at the breather with a smash which kissed the nets and fell over.

Back to her winning side, Sindhu grabbed the first point with a sharp smash but she found the net and misjudged the shuttle to allow Wang to draw level at 12-12.

While the Chinese used her deceptive drops and cross court net dribbles to gain points, Sindhu targeted Wang's weak back hand to lead 17-15.

Sindhu grabbed the next four points in a jiffy to not only slam the door on Wang but also assure herself of a consecutive bronze medal.

However, a medal at the prestigious tournament continued to elude Saina once again as she succumbed to her eighth defeat against Olympic champion and top seed Li in another quarterfinal contest that lasted for 45 minutes.

2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina, who had to fight her way back from a game down to register a 14-21, 21-18, 21-12 win over Sayaka Takahashi of Japan in the previous round, looked rusty from the start and was trailing Li in the entire first game.

Li took advantage of Saina's erratic play and raced to a 9-4 lead before the Indian brought the gap down to 10-8. But just when it seemed Saina was getting her act together, the Chinese recomposed herself and increased her lead to 18-11 before closing down the first game.

The second game was competitive till the first five points before the Indian pocketed four consecutive points to lead 9-5.

Saina maintained her four point lead till 12-8 before the Chinese shuttler earned four straight points to draw level at 12-12. However, Saina ran out of steam thereafter as she struggled to match her opponent, who raised her game considerably.

From 13-13, Li again won four consecutive points to take the lead for the first time in the game and then sealed the match in her favour without much ado. Li will play 16th seed Minatsu Mitani of Japan in the semifinals.

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News Network
June 1,2020

Jun 1: Premier India pacer Jasprit Bumrah won't miss the hugs and high-fives as part of a wicket celebration but he will certainly miss applying saliva on the ball and feels an alternative should be provided to maintain the red cherry.

The ICC Cricket Committee, led by former India captain Anil Kumble, recommended a ban on using saliva on the ball as an interim measure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Committee did not allow the use of artificial substances as a substitute move.

The new rule makes life tougher for the bowlers and Bumrah, like many former and current fast bowlers, feels there ought to be an alternative.

"I was not much of a hugger anyway and not a high-five person as well, so that doesn't trouble me a lot. The only thing that interests me is the saliva bit," said Bumrah in a chat with Ian Bishop and Shaun Pollock on ICC's video series 'Inside Out'.

"I don't know what guidelines we'll have to follow when we come back, but I feel there should be an alternative," he added.

Bumrah said not being able to use saliva makes the game more batsman-friendly.

"If the ball is not well maintained, it's difficult for the bowlers. The grounds are getting shorter and shorter, the wickets are becoming flattered and flatter.

"So we need something, some alternative for the bowlers to maintain the ball so that it can do something - maybe reverse in the end or conventional swing."

When former West Indian pacer Bishop pointed out that the conditions have been favorable to the fast bowlers over the last couple of years, Bumrah nodded in agreement.

"In Test match cricket, yes. That is why it's my favorite format because we have something over there. But in one-day cricket and T20 cricket… one-day cricket there are two new balls, so it hardly reverses at the end.

"We played in New Zealand, the ground (boundary) was 50 metres. So even if you are not looking to hit a six, it will go for six. In Test matches I have no problem, I'm very happy with the way things are going."

He finds it amusing that the batsmen keep complaining about the swinging ball.

"Whenever you play, I've heard the batsmen - not in our team, everywhere - complaining the ball is swinging. But the ball is supposed to swing! The ball is supposed to do something! We are not here just to give throwdowns, isn't it? (laughter)

"This is what I tell batsmen all the time. In one-day cricket, when did the ball reverse last, I don't know. Nowadays the new ball doesn't swing a lot as well. So whenever I see batsmen say the ball is swinging or seaming and that is why I got out - the ball is supposed to do that.

"Because it doesn't happen so much in the other formats, it's a new thing for the batsmen when the ball is swinging or seaming," said the 26-year-old.

The Ahmedabad-born pacer finds himself in an unusual position as he has not bowled for over two months due to the lockdown imposed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

When India will play next is not clear yet and Bumrah said he is not sure about how his body will hold up when he returns to action.

"I really don't know how your body reacts when you don't bowl for two months, three months. I'm trying to keep up with training so that as soon as the grounds open up, the body is in decent shape.

"I've been training almost six days a week but I've not bowled for a long period of time so I don't know how the body will react when I bowl the first ball.

"I'm looking at it as a way to renew your own body. We'll never get such a break again, so even if you have a small niggle here and there, you can be a refreshed person when you come back. You can prolong your career," he said.

Bumrah has risen rapidly in international cricket despite experts having reservations about his longevity due to his unorthodox action.

The gritty fast bowler sees similarities in his career graph to Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"Our personalities are different. But the story I could relate to is that not many people thought he would make it big. There was a similar case with me growing up as well.

"Wherever I went, it was the general feedback from people that 'this guy would not do anything, he would not be a top-rated bowler, he won't be able to play for a long period of time with this kind of action'.

"So, having the self-belief is important and the only validation that is required is your own validation. I saw that in his (Ibrahimovic's) story, so that's the thing I could relate to," added Bumrah.

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February 24,2020

Feb 24: India captain Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the opening Test but said they "can't help" if a few want to make a "big deal" out of the 10-wicket defeat. Hosts New Zealand thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Basin Reverse on Monday to go 1-0 ahead in the two-match series. This was India's first defeat in the World Test Championship, coming after two inept batting efforts. "We know we haven't played well but if people want to make a big deal out of it, make a mountain out of it, we can't help it as we don't think like that," the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

Kohli said he fails to comprehend why one Test match defeat should be made to look like the end of the world for his team.

"For some people, it might be the end of the world but it's not. For us, it's a game of cricket that we lost and we move on and keep our heads high," Kohli said.

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said.

"We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said. "We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

If he had given credence to the "outside chatter", he said the team wouldn't have been where it is now.

"That's why we have been able to play this kind of cricket. If we would have paid attention to the outside chatter, we would again be at No. 7 or 8 in the rankings. We don't really bother about what people are saying on the outside," the skipper said.

One defeat can't make a team, which has been winning games of Test cricket, "bad overnight".

"If we have lost then we have no shame in accepting that. It means we didn't play this game well. It doesn't mean that we have become a bad team overnight. People might want to change our thoughts, but it doesn't work like that."

The self-belief is intact and Kohli was confident the team would come back stronger in the second Test, to be held in Christchurch in four days time.

"We will work hard, and after four days play just like we have played all these years. Just because we have lost one match in between all wins, doesn't mean that the belief is gone. The dressing room thinks differently and team atmosphere is different."

Kohli felt that there is a very thin line between being ultra-defensive and over-attacking, something that his team didn't get it right in this Test match.

"New Zealand got into the mind of the batsmen and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to. think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure which we failed to do in this match and there is no harm in accepting that."

According to Kohli, it was a combination of both good bowling from the Kiwis and Indian batsmen not putting the pressure back on bowlers, which led to the drubbing.

"That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required. "It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership."

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July 18,2020

Johannesburg, Jul 18: Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Saturday mourned the demise of former spinner Ismail 'Baboo' Ebrahim who died in Durban at the age of 73.

"Baboo was one of the outstanding South African spin bowlers of the 1960s and 1970s who would undoubtedly have played as many Test matches for his country as the 48 first-class games to which he was limited," CSA said in a statement.

In those matches, he took 179 wickets at an average of 21.33 with an economy rate of 2.12 including 8 five-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket hauls.

The left-arm spinner only had one opportunity on the international stage when he played for a SA Invitation XI against the International Wanderers at Kingsmead in 1976.

"At the age of 29, he was in his prime and took a match-winning 6/66 in the second innings, his victims including international captains, Greg Chappell of Australia and Mike Denness of England. It was a clear indication of what he could have achieved on grounds around the world at the highest level had he been given the opportunity. He was a master of flight and spin and had a good arm ball to back it up," the statement read.

His ability to perform at this level had become apparent much earlier when he went to watch the Australians at practice before their Test match against South Africa in 1970.

He persuaded the Australians to let him bowl to them and made an immediate impression, bowling experienced Test batsman Ian Redpath and impressing the likes of Ian Chappell and Ashley Mallett, the latter being Australia's leading spinner of the 1970s.

He had one season for Radcliffe in the Lancashire Central League when he took 62 wickets at 14.62 apiece.

Baboo finally got his chance to represent his country in Masters events in one of which he dismissed both Sir Vivian Richards and Gordon Greenidge.

"Baboo Ebrahim was one of the countless number of outstanding cricketers who was denied the opportunity to display his talents to the world and live his cricketing dreams," said CSA Acting Chief Executive, Dr Jacques Faul.

"On behalf of the CSA Family I extend our deepest sympathy to his family, friends and cricketing colleagues," he added. 

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