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Real Madrid, Barcelona draw 1-1 in Copa semifinal

January 31, 2013

Real_Madrid

Madrid, Jan 31: Barcelona and Real Madrid played out a thrilling 1-1 draw in their Copa del Rey semifinal at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday. With Barcelona enjoying the majority of possession, the first-leg match grew in intensity with end-to-end play as both teams raced forward with fast-paced counterattacks.

As goalkeeper Iker Casillas was injured, Diego Lopez played in goal for Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo was captain. Lionel Messi intercepted a clearance, and passed to Cesc Fabregas, who opened the scoring in the 50th minute. "This is obviously a good result; we are in the Bernabeu, a very tough field, and we will have our own fans behind us for the return leg of the draw," Fabregas said.

The 19-year-old Raphael Varane sealed an excellent match, heading an equalizer in the 81st having saved three clear Barcelona chances earlier. "It's like a dream come true, incredible to score a goal like that against Barcelona at just 19," Varane said. "The second leg will be evenly matched and we're going to play a good match there to win."

The second leg will be at the Camp Nou on Feb. 27. The match ended Messi's prolific scoring streak in which he had found the back of the net in his previous 16 starts. Madrid began the match attacking, and Gerard Pique fouled a charging Ronaldo in the first minute to concede a free kick which the striker struck hard and head-high, but goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto saved. Barcelona had their first chance from a well-timed pass by Andres Iniesta that Jordi Alba ran onto, beating the offside trap, but he shot wide of the far post in the 13th.

Xavi Hernandez struck a free kick that hit the crossbar in the 21st. "These matches are always difficult and I had said that in all probability the semifinals would likely be decided in Barcelona and that's exactly what's going to happen," said Barcelona deputy coach Jordi Roura, who was in charge as Tito Vilanova was in the United States undergoing medical tests.

Defender Ricardo Carvalho nearly gifted Barcelona their first goal when he made a poor back-pass to Lopez which Fabregas intercepted and passed to Xavi Hernandez, who shot towards goal only to find that Varane had sprinted back to kick the ball out of the goalmouth in the 24th. The second half also began with Madrid attacking, but Karim Benzema shot high. Varane made his second vital interception to prevent Messi's pass reaching an advancing Fabregas in the 56th.

Madrid countered when Michael Essien crossed and Ronaldo reached forward to try and head the ball in, but he failed to make contact in the 61st. Madrid coach Jose Mourinho refreshed his midfield by bringing on Luka Modric for Jose Callejon and his attack with Gonzalo Higuain substituting Benzema three minutes later. "I'm new here but I saw a very united and strong dressing room. We're conscious this is a very tough rival, but we came out and showed our best side and displayed good ball control." said Lopez, who was signed on Jan. 26 to provide cover for Casillas.

Pique made an excellent tackle to divert a cross intended for Ronaldo from Essien three minutes later. With Barcelona dominating possession, Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez came close to scoring midway through the second half. Madrid's sustained pressure towards the end was thwarted when Dani Alves stopped Mesut Ozil's ball reaching Ronaldo in the 84th.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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News Network
January 22,2020

New Delhi, Jan 22: The pitches in New Zealand have become a lot more batting-friendly over the years, says iconic former batsman Sachin Tendulkar, insisting that India have the “ammunition” to trouble the sprightly hosts during the upcoming series.

Tendulkar, who has been on a record five New Zealand tours since 1990, feels that from seaming tracks during his early trips years, the tracks became high-scoring hard ones during his last tour back in 2009.

“Of late, the Tests in New Zealand have been high scoring and surfaces have changed,” Tendulkar told PTI during an exclusive interview.

India will play five T20 Internationals, three ODIs and two Tests during the tour starting with the shortest format on January 24.

From 2002, when India played ODIs and Tests on green tops, to 2009, when India won only their second Test series in 32 years, Tendulkar has seen it all in New Zealand.

“I remember when we played in 2009, the Hamilton pitch was different compared to other pitches. Other pitches got harder (Wellington and Napier) but not Hamilton. It remained soft.

“But Napier became hard with passage of time (where Gautam Gambhir scored an epic match-saving 12-hour hundred in 2009). So, from my first tour (in 1990 till 2009), I realised pitches got harder with passage of time,” Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar is confident that the Indian bowling attack, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, has the ammunition to put New Zealand in trouble.

“We have a good bowling attack with quality fast bowlers as well as spinners. I believe we have the ammunition to compete in New Zealand.”

However, in Wellington, Tendulkar wants the team to be well-prepared to counter the breeze factor.

“Wellington, I have played and it makes a huge difference if you are bowling with the wind or against the wind. The batsman needs to be judicious in the choice of which end he wants to attack, it is very important,” he said.

Tendulkar said he would prefer spinners to bowl against the breeze.

“...the seamers bowling against the strong breeze need to be smart. So I would prefer that if there is strong breeze, let the spinner bowl from that end and from the opposite end, the fast bowler bowls with the breeze behind him,” he said.

The maestro is confident that Rohit Sharma's white ball experience will hold him in good stead in the Tests as well, an assignment that has been kept for the last leg of the trip, which begins with five T20 Internationals from January 24.

“The challenge would be to go out and open in different conditions. I think Rohit had opened in New Zealand in ODIs and has been there quite a few times, he knows the conditions well. Eventually, Test cricket is Test cricket,” he said.

“But all depends on surfaces that they provide. If they provide green tops, then it's a challenge.”

There is no Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Deepak Chahar in limited-overs series but Tendulkar is not ready to press the panic button.

“Injuries are part and parcel of the game when you play and push your body to the limits.

“When you play for your country you need to give your best and while you give your best, you can get injured. That's okay,” he concluded.

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