Indian Grand Prix: Sebastian Vettel wins again, Alonso finishes second

October 29, 2012


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Greater Noida, October 29: Defending world champion Sebastian Vettel cruised to his fourth consecutive win and extended his lead in this year's title race to 13 points when he steered his Red Bull car to victory in Sunday's Indian Grand Prix.

The 25-year-old German led from pole to the chequered flag to come home ahead of nearest championship rival Fernando Alonso of Ferrari.

Vettel's Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber finished third, the Australian fending off a strong late challenge from Lewis Hamilton of McLaren who finished fourth ahead of his team-mate and fellow Briton Jenson Button.

Felipe Massa came home sixth in the second Ferrari ahead of Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus, Nico Hulkenberg of Force India, Romain Grosjean in the second Lotus and 10th placed Bruno Senna of Williams.

It was Vettel's 26th win and he revelled in his familiar trick of adding the fastest lap of the race in the final lap and then standing atop of his car to milk the applause from the crowd.

After an exultant celebration on the victory podium, in front of many of the 65,000 crowd, he added: "It has been incredible. To come here both years, get the pole and win the race is fantastic. It is a very special Grand Prix and I really like this circuit."

Alonso said: "It is not easy to fight Red Bull but we will never give up. Well done Red Bull and Sebastian but we want to be happy in Brazil, not only here. I am sure we will do it."

On another dry, hot day, accompanied by heavy smog, at the Buddh International Circuit, with the air temperature touching 30 degrees Celsius and the track temperature nudging 39 degrees, Vettel looked the coolest man on the grid at the start and, when the lights went out, he demonstrated his total concentration with a perfect getaway from his 35th pole position.

Webber followed him and as the two Red Bulls took an immediate grip on the race at the front of the field there was a fierce battle for third behind them on the opening lap.

The two McLaren men scrapped from the start and were passed on the straight by Alonso, but re-passed him in a dramatic scrap.

Alonso's Ferrari clearly had a superior top speed performance, thanks to a long top gear and an effective Drag Reduction System (DRS), and it was no surprise when he surged into third in his bid to tail the Red Bulls on lap four.

By then, however, the two leaders were pulling clear of the rest and building up a lead which was close to four seconds by lap ten.

Having recovered from his unspectacular start in which he fell to fourth and then fifth, Hamilton passed team-mate Button on lap six to regain fourth.

Michael Schumacher, approaching the end of his career, suffered the misfortune of collecting a right rear puncture at the start and then the ignominy of being lapped by compatriot Vettel on lap eight.

To make matters worse, as he struggled among the tail-enders, the seven-time champion was reprimanded by the stewards for failing to obey blue flags, when waved to indicate a driver is about to be passed by the leaders.

Button was the first driver into the pits, on lap 26. His move triggered the usual flurry of pit-lane activity which included a remarkable stop by Hamilton six laps later when the McLaren crew changed all of his tyres and his steering wheel in 3.3 seconds.

Grosjean, running like Hamilton on a one-stop strategy, rose through the field and was the last of the leading group to come in and rejoined in ninth place as Vettel stretched his lead to 12.5 seconds.

By lap 40, he was cruising ahead of Webber who was fending off the close attention of Alonso, attacking from third, with Hamilton closing fast in fourth ahead of Button and Massa.

Alonso, with superior straight line speed, finally passed Webber on lap 48 to move into second and set up a late chase after the leader.

Vettel appeared to have a problem with his car with six laps remaining when the floor of his Red Bull scraped along the surface of the circuit at times, producing sparks and fears that he may face an investigation for a technical infringement.

But he was able to stay in front to the finish as behind him Hamilton attacked to within two seconds of Webber without avail, producing just the drama that the passionate Indian crowd anticipated and enjoyed.


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Agencies
June 7,2020

New Delhi, Jun 7: Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria on Sunday said that Sourav Ganguly would be fit to lead the International Cricket Council (ICC), and added there is no reason for respective cricket boards to not support Ganguly if he wants to hold the post.

In an interaction with media, the former spinner said Ganguly has all the qualities of leading the ICC as he has been a reputed cricketer and knows what a player goes through in his life.

"I also think that it would be really helpful if Sourav Ganguly goes on to lead ICC, it will help cricket and the players as a reputed cricketer will hold such a big post, he has played professional cricket, he has led the Indian side and he has also held an administrative post in the Cricket Association of Bengal," Kaneria told media.

"It depends on all of the boards whether they want to support Ganguly or not, if other boards support Ganguly and PCB doesn't, then also Ganguly would have the maximum number of votes, as a cricketer Ganguly is fit to lead the ICC, he had led the Indian side so well and he has earned a name for himself, so I don't see any reason for boards not supporting Ganguly," he added.

Ganguly had become the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last year, but speculation continued to rise over the former skipper heading the ICC.

"He is currently the president of the BCCI, he knows in and out of everything, he knows what players have to deal with and he is aware of what cricket needs, he knows what support needs to be given to associate nations, players would be able to put forward their point in front of Ganguly," Kaneria said.

In May this year, Cricket South Africa's (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith had backed Ganguly to lead the ICC looking at the current scenario.

"Now it is even more important to have someone in a role who can provide leadership who understands and can navigate the challenges in the game today. I think post-COVID with the things that are going to come our way, to have strong leadership is important. I feel that someone like Sourav Ganguly is best positioned for that at the moment," sport24.co.za had quoted Smith as saying.

"I know him well, I played against him a number of times and worked with him as an administrator and in television. I feel that he has got the credibility, the leadership skills, and is someone that can really take the game forward and I think that, more than anything, that is needed right now at an ICC level," he added.

ICC's elections are slated to be held in July this year and current chairperson Shashank Manohar has already clarified that he is not seeking a tenure extension.

Ganguly was exceptional in making India play its first day-night Test last year.

India had played its inaugural day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens last year.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said he doesn't think Mahendra Singh Dhoni will play for India again, adding to the guessing game over the future of the superstar former captain.

Dhoni, 38, has not appeared for club or country since last year's 50-over World Cup and India's coronavirus lockdown could threaten his chances of getting back into the national team.

The Indian Premier League, the main platform before this year's scheduled T20 World Cup, is likely to be truncated or cancelled because of the pandemic.

Harbhajan, who plays with Dhoni at IPL side Chennai Super Kings, said international retirement was on the cards for Dhoni and that he was increasingly being asked about his teammate.

"It's up to him. You need to know whether he wants to play for India again," Harbhajan said in an online forum.

"As far as I know him, he won't want to wear India's blue jersey again. IPL he will play, but for India I think he had decided the (2019) World Cup was his last."

Dhoni, who gave up Test cricket in 2014, started training for the Super Kings in March but has not commented on his international future.

Dhoni led India to win the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007. He hit a six to seal the 2011 World Cup final victory and, along with it, his status as a national hero. He has amassed 10,773 runs from 350 ODIs.

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News Network
January 13,2020

Mumbai, Jan 13: India captain Virat Kohli indicated at dropping himself down the batting order to accommodate both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in the playing XI against Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series starting Tuesday.

With vice-captain Rohit Sharma an automatic pick, the team management is left with tough choice of selecting either Dhawan or Rahul in the XI. But the skipper sees no reason why both can't play together.

"Look, a guy in form is always good for the team. ...You obviously want to have the best players available and then chose from what the combination should be for the team. There might be a possibility that all three (Rohit, Shikhar and Rahul) might play. It will be interesting to see what balance we want to take in on the field," Kohli said on the eve of the match.

Asked if he would he be happy to bat lower down the order, Virat said,"Yeah, big possibility. I would be very happy to do so. Look I am not possessive about where I play. I am not insecure about where I bat," said the skipper.

For Kohli, it is more important as to what kind of leadership legacy he leaves behind rather than chase personal glory.

"Being the captain of the team, it is my job to make sure that the next lot is also ready. A lot of the other people might not look at it that way, but your job as a captain is not only to look after the team right now, but also to prepare a team that you leave behind when you eventually pass it onto someone else," he added.

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