Paes, Bopanna fail to create magic; leave India trailing 1-2

September 19, 2015

New Delhi, Sep 19: Leander Paes, partnering Rohan Bopanna, suffered a rare doubles defeat in the Davis Cup as Radek Stepanek and Adam Pavlasek gave Czech Republic a 2-1 lead over India in the World Group play-off tie, here today.

paesIt was one rubber in which India entered as favourites but the fancied team were tamed by the Czechs 5-7 2-6 2–6 in two hours and 10 minutes.

It was Paes' only second defeat in a Davis Cup doubles in the last 15 years. The last defeat had also come with Bopanna against Uzbekistan in an away tie in 2012.

It was also the first defeat for Paes in a home tie since 2000 when he and Syed Fazluddin had lost to Lebanon's Ali Hamdeh and Jicham Zaatini in Lucknow.

Paes, who won US Open mixed doubles last week, had joined the team only on Wednesday for the tie while other players had started to assemble from Saturday. Paes had only two practice sessions with Bopanna after his arrival.

The result leaves Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri with a daunting task of winning both the reverse singles tomorrow if India are to re-enter the elite 16-nation World Group.

Yuki will take on left-hander Jiri Vesley in the fourth rubber while Somdev will clash with big-hitting Lukas Rosol in the fifth match.

Bopanna, world number 13 in doubles rankings, was rusty today as he lacked control over his shots and there was no sting in his serve either.

Bopanna struggled to keep the ball in the court, which cost India dearly. Most of the half-volley pick ups Bopanna made went outside the lines. Even as he improved his serve in the third set but India could never recover.

On the other hand, Adam packed a lot of punch in his shots with impressive hand and eye co-ordination. His returns were solid and at net too he was a delight to watch. He hardly missed a shot and was a winner in his duels with both Paes and Bopanna.

In each set, Indians were first to lose serve and the Czech took full advantage of their lead.

Paes was more in control of his shots and made less errors than his compatriot.

Paes dropped his serve four times in the match and Bopanna thrice. Stepanek, who won two Grand Slams with Paes, was solid his service games and the Czechs lost serve only twice, both times Pavlasek failed to hold.

The Indian duo was always playing catch up after Bopanna lost his serve in the fifth game of the opening set. His backhand went soaring over the baseline that put the Indians down by a breakpoint. The Czechs capitalised on another error from the Indian.

Supported by thousands of fans, who braved blazing sun, the Indians managed to get the break back when they broke Pavlasek but Paes dropped his own to trail again. It was an engrossing rally from right behind the net between Pavlasek and Bopanna with the Czech coming out on top with a deft volley.

Radek served out the set comfortably as Paes’ attempted lob went out. The support of the Indian hockey team from the stands did not change the fortunes of the hosts.

Paes lost his second consecutive game as Pavlasek yet again showed terrific hands, winning his second duel with Bopanna, who sent a forehand volley out.

Pavlasek hit a cross-court winner to earn the Czechs two break points on Bopanna’s serve in the fifth game. They saved both but Bopanna smashed an overhead volley into the net, facing the third chance.

The young Czech lost his serve immediately after that but Paes surrendered his won and Stepanek served out the Czechs to a 2-0 lead.

The third set was same story as Bopanna handed advantage to the visitors by dropping serve in fifth game. There was little drama in that game as the Indians thought they have got the game point at 40-30 but the Czech team challenged the call and called it right. It was deuce.

Pavlasek was at it again and this time Paes was at receiving end. The young lad pipped the seasoned in another net battle.

Indians managed to save two breakpoints in that game but Paes hit a volley out in the third. Another error from Paes in the seventh game gave the Czechs their second break and it was over for India in the next game as Stepanek served out the set and match.

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Agencies
May 23,2020

New Delhi, May 23: Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said India will not host any international event in immediate future and fans will have to learn to live with the new normal of sporting activities happening behind closed doors in the post-COVID-19 world.

Rijiju's statement gain greater significance in the context of the suspended IPL, which the BCCI wants to host in October-November in case of the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia is postponed.

"We have been working for quite some time now to resume sporting activities but before that, we have to think about practice and training. We are not going to have a tournament kind of situation immediately," Rijiju was quoted as saying by India Today.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

"We have to learn to live with the situation where sporting events will have to be carried forward without spectators in stadiums and sports venues," he added.

Talking specifically about the 13th edition of IPL, which has been put on hold for an indefinite period due to the pandemic, Rijiju said it is the government's prerogative to take a call on conducting any tournament in the country.

"In India, the government has to take a call and it will take a call depending on the situation. We cannot put health at risk just because we want to have a sporting event.

"Our focus is fighting Covid-19 and at the same time, we will have to work a mechanism to get back to normalcy. It is difficult to confirm dates but I am sure we will have some kind of sporting events this year," he said.

Rijiju's statement came close on the heels of Sports Authority of India (SAI) laying out a detailed Standard Operating Procedure for the resumption of sporting activities across the country in a phased manner.

"In the background, their (athletes) fitness and everything has been tracked. They are in touch with the coaches, the fitness experts, the high-performance directors. We are monitoring each and every athlete who are of the higher stature, who played for India and higher clubs," he said.

"Now it has been laid out. SAI has prepared a detailed SOP. These are prepared by experts from different fields. This SOP has already been issued to all sports federations and other sports bodies including govt stakeholders. So, based on this SOP training will start."

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on May 23

The Sports Minister, however, reiterated that resumption of sporting activities will entirely depend on guidelines of respective states and local administrations.

"We have been clearly advising that health and safety are top priorities. Besides that we have to keep in mind two other things, one is the guidelines issued by the Home Ministry, second, is the guidelines issued by the administrations of the respective localities or states. So, these are to be taken into account," he said.

"But we have clearly stated that sports complexes and stadiums are open, other than that there should not be any activities till the lockdown is there or we come up with a renewed kind of advice."

Asked about the prospect of the Tokyo Games that were scheduled for this year but were postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic, the Sports Minister said he is hopeful of the quadrennial event taking place on the revised dates.

"Olympics is still far away and we have full confidence in the Japanese government and IOC and every country will support that the conduct of Tokyo 2021 will not be postponed. There are too many stakes in Olympics, so it is difficult to even foresee that the Olympics can be postponed," he said.

"As far as India's preparation goes, we are at the best stage of our preparation of any Olympics so far in history. This is going to be India's biggest contingent so far and have medal-winning prospects. But I am not saying we are so prepared to finish in the top 10 or 5 but our long term target is that India will be in the top 10 in 2028.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has said that wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is the biggest superstar in cricket and is one of the easiest guys to interact with.

Bravo was doing an Instagram live chat with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa and it was then that the all-rounder was asked to talk about his stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

"I think a lot of credit for CSK's success has to be given to Dhoni and Fleming, obviously the owners, they trust both Fleming and Dhoni, so there is no outside interference when it comes to decision making, both are very big students of the game, players love MS and it's an environment and franchise that allows you to be you," Bravo told Mbangwa during the chat.

"MS Dhoni is the biggest superstar in cricket and in our team. He was one of the easiest people to interact with, outside of the cricket field, he is like playing video games, his door is open at all times, whenever you talk about the biggest superstar and then you think a person like Dhoni is the most humble of them all. CSK is a special team and we have the most loyal fans," he added.

Bravo has been with the CSK since 2011. He has played a total of 104 matches for the franchise, picking up 121 wickets.

The all-rounder has also managed to win the Purple Cap (most wickets in IPL) two times (2013 and 2015).

CSK has won the IPL thrice (2010, 2011 and 2018) and all the titles have come under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches in the high-profile game.

This year, Dhoni did not find a place for himself in the BCCI's centrally contracted players list.

The board had released the list of central contract list of players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020.

Dhoni is the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).

Under his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket.

He would have been leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29.

However, the tournament has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand), Feb 11: KL Rahul struck a combative 112 but New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of India by winning the third ODI by five wickets, here on Tuesday.

Rahul helped India recover from a shaky start to post a challenging 296 for 7 but the Kiwis overhauled the target with 17 balls to spare.

This is the first whitewash that India has suffered in an ODI series in more than a decade.

Sent in to bat, India were down 62 for 3 in the 13th over after the dismissals of Mayank Agarwal (1), captain Virat Kohli (9) and Prithvi Shaw (40) but Rahul got a useful ally in in-form Shreyas Iyer (62) to take India to a competitive total.

Rahul, who hit nine fours and two sixes during his 113-ball innings, and Iyer stitched exactly 100 runs from 18.2 overs for the fourth wicket to revive the Indian innings.

After the end of the promising innings of Iyer, Rahul shared another 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Manish Pandey (42).

The Kiwis were off to a confident start in their chase with Martin Guptill (66) and Henry Nicholls (80) and putting on a 106-run stand. However, wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets to bring India back in the game.

Colin de Grandhomme (58) and Tom Latham (32), though, took their side past the finish line with an unbeaten 80-run partnership.

Brief Scores:

India: 296 for 7 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 112, Shreyas Iyer 62; Hamish Bennett 4/64).

New Zealand: 300 for 5 in 47.1 overs. (H Nicholls 80, M Guptill 66; Y Chahal 3/47).

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