Sachin Tendulkar has rated his risk-free 138 against Sri Lanka in the final of the Compaq Cup as one of his best innings. His 44th one-day hundred propelled India to 319, which proved 46 runs too many for Sri Lanka.
"This is one of my best innings. I will rate this up considering the conditions and the ground, the humidity," Tendulkar said. His superbly paced innings fetched him his 59th Man-of-the-Match award besides helping him to yet another Man-of-the-Series award. It capped a successful return for Tendulkar, who had to miss the one-day series against West Indies earlier this year due to a finger injury.
Tendulkar said India's success was due to the current team having more match-winners than before. "I think in this lot we have got match-winners and more big hitters as such and you know the guys have delivered at the crunch moment. It could be with bat or ball. But they have been delivering pretty consistently and you know they are all talented guys. You need match-winners to win consistently. That is what this team is about."
Tendulkar said this team was among the top ones he had played for since debuting in 1989. "There have been so many great names. I would not want to run anyone down by making comparisons about teams. I would like to respect the fact that I was fortunate to be part of various generations. This is definitely one of the top teams I have been part of. We have always tried to win but we have been able to produce results in the last couple of years or so. We have been able to perform pretty consistently. There are going to be upsets in between but if you look at the larger picture, we have had better days."
India's victory was only their fourth in ODI finals in 21 attempts since 2000, and their first trophy in Sri Lanka since 1998. MS Dhoni played his part in setting up the win with a brisk 56 after promoting himself to No. 3. "The victory is special," Dhoni said, "It feels great to win a trophy in Sri Lanka after such a long time. Being the second-placed team in world rankings we have to keep performing well to sustain the quality."
Despite the big total, India had to endure some anxious moments as Sri Lanka's batsmen battled hard till the end (Tendulkar said he had "no nails left" after the match see-sawed its way to the finish). The home side were helped by some tardy Indian fielding; two catches were grassed and several run-out chances were missed. The fast bowlers were also off the boil early on, wilting in the face of an onslaught from the Sri Lankan openers. "We have got to learn from our mistakes," Dhoni said. "We did lack a bit in the fielding and bowling departments and both are very crucial. Thankfully, we ended on the winning side today."
Dhoni dedicated the win to the former BCCI president, Raj Singh Dungarpur, who died on Saturday. "He was the manager during our tour to Pakistan [in 2005-06]. He was a great man. We dedicate the victory to him."
India's next assignment is the Champions Trophy, which kicks off on September 22 in South Africa.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Lee has a ball and makes his point
As Brett Lee made his way into the Lord's museum for his press conference, the ball he had used to claim a series-clinching 5 for 49 was already on display behind one of the glass cabinets. No doubt Lee would trade this five-wicket haul for one two months ago during Australia's first Test defeat on the ground for 75 years, but he could barely wipe the smile off his face as he contentedly reflected on a point made in no uncertain terms.
Lee was still suffering from his side injury when the Lord's Test came around, but remains adamant that he was ready to play in the final two Ashes matches. The selectors thought differently and Lee was left to stew on the sidelines. Now England's batsmen are being made to suffer the consequences.
"I was disappointed not to play in the Ashes to say the least, but that's behind me now. I can only perform the best I can when given the opportunity, and that's this one-day series," he said. "I don't think it makes up for what's happened in the Test series, it's a completely different series, but it certainly brings a smile to my face, put it that way. To take a five-for at Lord's is something that is a very, very special part of my cricketing life so far."
He has, in fact, taken one before at Lord's when he claimed 5 for 41 in the 2005 NatWest Series final and is the first bowler to take two in ODIs at the ground. At that stage, though, he was secure of his place in the team whereas now he is having to prove his worth all over again. After four matches, it seems incredible that worth was ever in doubt.
Throughout this series Lee's pace has been consistently quick, often entire overs have been above the 90mph mark. The yorker to remove Adil Rashid was clocked at 95.8mph, and he hopes this performance will help fight off the talk that age is catching up with him after a year on the sidelines with a series of injuries. He even has designs on pushing past the 100mph-mark, a level he once nudged against New Zealand, as he vies for the tag of fastest bowler in the world along with the likes of Dale Steyn and Shoaib Akhtar.
"I know I'm in the team to try and bowl fast, there's always talk about your age but I'm feeling really fit, probably the fittest I've ever felt. I'm only 32 and I want to keep bowling in excess of 90mph for a long time yet, but we'll wait and see what happens with the body.
"We all know from a medical and technical point of view that you don't reach your best speeds until you've played about two months of solid cricket. I want to keep increasing my speed as I have during this series. There's no reason I can't go faster, but at the end of the day if you bowl 98mph and spray them everywhere it's not very effective. There's a happy medium, but I'd like to see my pace keep increasing and pushing 100mph."
Andrew Strauss, while trying to explain another limp performance from his team, praised the performance of Lee for being too good. "If a guy's bowling 95mph yorkers, it's hard work, especially when you're looking to score in the Powerplays. I think you've got to give credit where it's due. I thought it was a sensational spell of bowling."
After the performances of Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus during the Ashes, along with the presence of Mitchell Johnson, Lee is facing a challenge to resume his Test career but it's one he relishes. "I've left the Ashes behind me now, I have dealt with that and moved on," he said. "I'm hoping to get the chance to play some Test cricket this Australian summer. The only thing I can try and do is take wickets in one-day matches to prove I can play Test cricket again.
"I've actually felt good throughout the whole series. I've been very lucky the body has been pulling up very well, and you have these days in your life when things just click. Today was one of those days, the yorker was landing where I wanted it to land, I felt pretty strong at the crease and walking away with a five-for is a special feeling."
When it was put to Lee that there may be a chance for him to take a rest now the series is sewn up - with the Champions Trophy to come before a tour of India - he almost had to stop himself laughing. "I've had about four months rest…I'm feeling good and ready to go," he said.
Lee, though, still wants his ball back. "I don't play for that factor of the game but when they asked for it straight away to be put on loan for 12 months, I said 'well if I can get it back after 12 months definitely'."
Lee was still suffering from his side injury when the Lord's Test came around, but remains adamant that he was ready to play in the final two Ashes matches. The selectors thought differently and Lee was left to stew on the sidelines. Now England's batsmen are being made to suffer the consequences.
"I was disappointed not to play in the Ashes to say the least, but that's behind me now. I can only perform the best I can when given the opportunity, and that's this one-day series," he said. "I don't think it makes up for what's happened in the Test series, it's a completely different series, but it certainly brings a smile to my face, put it that way. To take a five-for at Lord's is something that is a very, very special part of my cricketing life so far."
He has, in fact, taken one before at Lord's when he claimed 5 for 41 in the 2005 NatWest Series final and is the first bowler to take two in ODIs at the ground. At that stage, though, he was secure of his place in the team whereas now he is having to prove his worth all over again. After four matches, it seems incredible that worth was ever in doubt.
Throughout this series Lee's pace has been consistently quick, often entire overs have been above the 90mph mark. The yorker to remove Adil Rashid was clocked at 95.8mph, and he hopes this performance will help fight off the talk that age is catching up with him after a year on the sidelines with a series of injuries. He even has designs on pushing past the 100mph-mark, a level he once nudged against New Zealand, as he vies for the tag of fastest bowler in the world along with the likes of Dale Steyn and Shoaib Akhtar.
"I know I'm in the team to try and bowl fast, there's always talk about your age but I'm feeling really fit, probably the fittest I've ever felt. I'm only 32 and I want to keep bowling in excess of 90mph for a long time yet, but we'll wait and see what happens with the body.
"We all know from a medical and technical point of view that you don't reach your best speeds until you've played about two months of solid cricket. I want to keep increasing my speed as I have during this series. There's no reason I can't go faster, but at the end of the day if you bowl 98mph and spray them everywhere it's not very effective. There's a happy medium, but I'd like to see my pace keep increasing and pushing 100mph."
Andrew Strauss, while trying to explain another limp performance from his team, praised the performance of Lee for being too good. "If a guy's bowling 95mph yorkers, it's hard work, especially when you're looking to score in the Powerplays. I think you've got to give credit where it's due. I thought it was a sensational spell of bowling."
After the performances of Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus during the Ashes, along with the presence of Mitchell Johnson, Lee is facing a challenge to resume his Test career but it's one he relishes. "I've left the Ashes behind me now, I have dealt with that and moved on," he said. "I'm hoping to get the chance to play some Test cricket this Australian summer. The only thing I can try and do is take wickets in one-day matches to prove I can play Test cricket again.
"I've actually felt good throughout the whole series. I've been very lucky the body has been pulling up very well, and you have these days in your life when things just click. Today was one of those days, the yorker was landing where I wanted it to land, I felt pretty strong at the crease and walking away with a five-for is a special feeling."
When it was put to Lee that there may be a chance for him to take a rest now the series is sewn up - with the Champions Trophy to come before a tour of India - he almost had to stop himself laughing. "I've had about four months rest…I'm feeling good and ready to go," he said.
Lee, though, still wants his ball back. "I don't play for that factor of the game but when they asked for it straight away to be put on loan for 12 months, I said 'well if I can get it back after 12 months definitely'."
Flintoff mulls Twenty20 freelance role
Andrew Flintoff is giving serious consideration to becoming a freelancer cricketer according to his manager, Andrew Chandler, in a Sunday newspaper. Flintoff has already received a number of offers, but his recent knee surgery means he will be sidelined for at least six months. On Friday he was awarded an incremental contract by the ECB, but the option of lucrative Twenty20 deals will be very tempting.
Flintoff 's freelancing would have followed the route expected to be taken by Australian allrounder, Andrew Symonds, who is also eyeing several Twenty20 opportunities around the world after his national career stalled due to disciplinary issues.
"He'll play for Chennai [Super Kings in the IPL], he might play for an Australian team, a South African team, maybe one in the West Indies," Chandler told the Observer. "If he hadn't have been injured he would have probably played in December-January in Australia. And then at the end of January, early February in South Africa. I was already negotiating with them. We were negotiating with South Australia and the Durban team, the Nashua Dolphins. And there's been an offer from Northern Transvaal [Northerns] as well."
Flintoff is heading to Dubai for a three-month spell to aid his rehabilitation from a right knee surgery after was operated on a day after helping England regain the Ashes, his farewell Test series. He has targeted a return to full fitness before England's one-day leg on their tour of Bangladesh next February.
The ECB awarded an incremental contract to Flintoff as they hope will be key part of England's limited-over sides when fit and has stated he wants to play until the 2015 World Cup. But England coach Andy Flower had said his players could take part in only three weeks of the 45-day IPL next year if they toured Bangladesh. That means Flintoff, the joint highest-paid player in the IPL along with Kevin Pietersen, could stand to lose about half of his US$1.55m fee by going to Bangladesh.
Chandler said there was no clause in Flintoff's central contract preventing the allrounder from playing all IPL matches. "I'm not saying he's not going to play for England because he probably will do," Chandler said. "But he's definitely going to play for different teams during the year. The England contract does not state anything about not being able to play IPL or anything like that."
When the contract list was announced, Flower had warned that players' workload needs to be managed and that participation in lucrative leagues like the IPL will continue to be an issue over the next few years. The amount of time England players were available for the 2009 IPL season had been a major sticking point between the ECB and the Indian board earlier this year before a compromise was reached.
Flintoff 's freelancing would have followed the route expected to be taken by Australian allrounder, Andrew Symonds, who is also eyeing several Twenty20 opportunities around the world after his national career stalled due to disciplinary issues.
"He'll play for Chennai [Super Kings in the IPL], he might play for an Australian team, a South African team, maybe one in the West Indies," Chandler told the Observer. "If he hadn't have been injured he would have probably played in December-January in Australia. And then at the end of January, early February in South Africa. I was already negotiating with them. We were negotiating with South Australia and the Durban team, the Nashua Dolphins. And there's been an offer from Northern Transvaal [Northerns] as well."
Flintoff is heading to Dubai for a three-month spell to aid his rehabilitation from a right knee surgery after was operated on a day after helping England regain the Ashes, his farewell Test series. He has targeted a return to full fitness before England's one-day leg on their tour of Bangladesh next February.
The ECB awarded an incremental contract to Flintoff as they hope will be key part of England's limited-over sides when fit and has stated he wants to play until the 2015 World Cup. But England coach Andy Flower had said his players could take part in only three weeks of the 45-day IPL next year if they toured Bangladesh. That means Flintoff, the joint highest-paid player in the IPL along with Kevin Pietersen, could stand to lose about half of his US$1.55m fee by going to Bangladesh.
Chandler said there was no clause in Flintoff's central contract preventing the allrounder from playing all IPL matches. "I'm not saying he's not going to play for England because he probably will do," Chandler said. "But he's definitely going to play for different teams during the year. The England contract does not state anything about not being able to play IPL or anything like that."
When the contract list was announced, Flower had warned that players' workload needs to be managed and that participation in lucrative leagues like the IPL will continue to be an issue over the next few years. The amount of time England players were available for the 2009 IPL season had been a major sticking point between the ECB and the Indian board earlier this year before a compromise was reached.
Chastened India seek quick turnaround
After seeing off New Zealand's timorous challenge, Sri Lanka and India will contest bragging rights in the Compaq Cup final. Sri Lanka hold the edge in the clash between two sides who generally don't do dull finals. The winners will go into the Champions Trophy in positive mood, leaving the loser to put salve on their injured pride.
While Kumar Sangakkara said a decision on Muttiah Muraliatharan's availability would be taken on Sunday evening, the bowler is fit and Sri Lanka should be fielding their strongest side - Thilan Samaraweera remains a doubt - and an Indian team missing the experience of three big-match players will have its work cut out to be competitive. Sri Lanka trounced India in the dress rehearsal on Saturday and again proved that once they have a score on the board at the Premadasa, they defend it resolutely.
Sri Lanka have all the weapons they need in two brisk new-ball operators, a vicious slinger, and two spinners with an assortment of tricks. Each of those bowlers is capable, more so under lights, of denying batsmen the space and time to score. The support cast is no less impressive, with the ever-improving Angelo Mathews and India would do well to be wary of Sanath Jayasuriya, who sorted out a couple of New Zealand batsmen with his variations last week. On Monday, India could face the world's most potent spin attack, with Murali and Ajantha Mendis possibly back in tandem. There will be a few flashes of the Asia Cup final last year.
India's concern is the batting, particularly at the top. Dinesh Karthik may have just played his way out of the XI, despite MS Dhoni having twice spoken of how wary he is to stick young Virat Kohli in as opener. Sachin Tendulkar has got starts on two occasions, but most worrying is the form of Yuvraj Singh, who has struggled to start against pace and spin. He scratched around dreadfully in both matches. India's fielding was also rather shabby in the previous game.
India's only real hope is to put up a big total and then pressure Sri Lanka's batsmen into committing errors. Chasing against the likes of Murali, Mendis and Lasith Malinga is a difficult task at the best of times, and as India found out yesterday, the anaconda grip gets you eventually.
While Kumar Sangakkara said a decision on Muttiah Muraliatharan's availability would be taken on Sunday evening, the bowler is fit and Sri Lanka should be fielding their strongest side - Thilan Samaraweera remains a doubt - and an Indian team missing the experience of three big-match players will have its work cut out to be competitive. Sri Lanka trounced India in the dress rehearsal on Saturday and again proved that once they have a score on the board at the Premadasa, they defend it resolutely.
Sri Lanka have all the weapons they need in two brisk new-ball operators, a vicious slinger, and two spinners with an assortment of tricks. Each of those bowlers is capable, more so under lights, of denying batsmen the space and time to score. The support cast is no less impressive, with the ever-improving Angelo Mathews and India would do well to be wary of Sanath Jayasuriya, who sorted out a couple of New Zealand batsmen with his variations last week. On Monday, India could face the world's most potent spin attack, with Murali and Ajantha Mendis possibly back in tandem. There will be a few flashes of the Asia Cup final last year.
India's concern is the batting, particularly at the top. Dinesh Karthik may have just played his way out of the XI, despite MS Dhoni having twice spoken of how wary he is to stick young Virat Kohli in as opener. Sachin Tendulkar has got starts on two occasions, but most worrying is the form of Yuvraj Singh, who has struggled to start against pace and spin. He scratched around dreadfully in both matches. India's fielding was also rather shabby in the previous game.
India's only real hope is to put up a big total and then pressure Sri Lanka's batsmen into committing errors. Chasing against the likes of Murali, Mendis and Lasith Malinga is a difficult task at the best of times, and as India found out yesterday, the anaconda grip gets you eventually.
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