Sachin points to lost opportunities

CENTURION: Sachin Tendulkar will return home a disappointed man. However, that won’t happen only after he gives a few members of his team a piece of his mind.

On Thursday, after Mumbai Indians suffered another loss, which brought the curtains down on a frustrating sojourn, Tendulkar just fell short of picking a few names who he thought were responsible for the team’s early exit. Or so it seemed.

He was specific in what he meant when he said "except for two losses - one against Bangalore Royal Challengers when they chased the target with nine wickets to spare and the second, today, when Team Delhi chased 165 easily - the rest were tight games. If you lose a match after needing six runs from nine balls and with four wickets in hand, then I don’t know what to say," he said.

After that began a barrage of post-series analysis in which the Mumbai Indians skipper talked the talk of a disjointed individual. Other than thanking the team owners for their support and saying that the IPL had once again proved to be a huge hit among fans, the rest of his sentences were coated with anger, sadness and a tinge of sarcasm.

"We lost matches from winning positions, games that could’ve been easily won," he said.

In one of the matches, Abhishek Nayar scored 35 runs in 17 balls but got out with just four runs left for victory. In another game, in which Rohit Sharma took a hat-trick for Hyderabad, Nayar strode out and hurled his bat across to a straight delivery and got bowled. He was required to be patient because JP Duminy, at the other end, was batting well. That was another case of snatching a defeat from the jaws of victory.

Tendulkar didn’t take Nayar’s name but it was evident where his anger was directed. He also added that middle-order batsmen Shikhar Dhawan and Sourabh Tiwary leaving the tournament mid-way because of injuries spoilt Mumbai’s plans.

However, sources inform that Dhawan and Tiwary were both asked to return home by the team management despite the fact that they could’ve been fit in a few days had they been in South Africa. It is to be seen if Tendulkar took the decision or the management decided to send these players back.

http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/News/News/Sachin-points-to-lost-opportunities/articleshow/4561893.cms

Bravo, spinners lead Mumbai to easy win

Bravo, spinners lead Mumbai to easy win

Centurion, May 12 (PTI) Dwayne Bravo's sparkling unbeaten knock of 70 runs coupled with their spinners' magical bowling kept Mumbai Indians in the race for a semifinal spot as they humbled Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in their Indian Premier League match here today.
Mumbai spin trio of Harbhajan Singh (1/9), J P Duminy (2/15) and Ajinkya Rahane (1/5) wreaked havoc with their splendid spells and set the stage for the revenge win as they restricted Punjab to a paltry 119 for nine.

Sunny Sohal with his fearless 43-run knock was the top scorer for Punjab after Yuvraj Singh chose to bat at the Supersport park.

Mumbai's chase began on shaky note with the failure of Sanath Jayasuriya (4) but Bravo, cashing in on a dropped chance, steered Mumbai to a comfortable win with his 59-ball knock, bejewelled with seven fours and three sixes.

With this win, Mumbai returned to the top-half of the points table.

Bravo, who was dropped on nought by Irfan Pathan on his own bowling in the second over of the innings, hit S Sreesanth for two huge sixes and two fours to begin the firework and then lofted Yuvraj for a massive six over the sight screen.

The West Indies batsman shared an unbeaten 82-run stand for the third wicket skipper Sachin Tendulkar, who provided good support to him with his unconquered 29-ball 41.

Punjab had beaten Mumbai early in the event. PTI

New book on Tendulkar released on his 36th birthday

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New book on Tendulkar released on his 36th birthday

Mumbai, Apr 24 (PTI) A new book on champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who celebrates his 36th birthday today in South Africa where he is leading Mumbai Indians in the IPL, was released here to mark the occasion.

The book, titled 'If Cricket Is a Religion, Sachin is God', authored by two graduates of IIM (Ahmedabad), Vijay Santhanam and Shyam Balasubramaniam, was unveiled by billiards ace Geet Sethi and former India Test skipper Nari Contractor today.

Green baize master Sethi paid glorious tributes to Tendulkar and questioned the title of the book itself.

"No need to ask, cricket is a religion in our country and Tendulkar is the epitome of it. There's a huge visibility to Sachin, but I look beyond visibility. I look at his character and hunger (for the game)", Sethi said.

"He's one of the greatest sportspersons of our times and surely the finest cricketer of our times," the cue ace said.

Sethi said what was most remarkable about Tendulkar was the way he has handled himself and his fame right from his early teens.

"A guy like (Swedish tennis legend) Bjorn Borg quit the game at the age of 24, unable to handle the fame and money. PTI

India's T20 team doesn't need me, says Tendulkar

CAPE TOWN: A lazy Sunday morning, the first hurdle crossed, and Sachin Tendulkar was in the mood. He had come down to for a commercial event in the team hotel and with a handful of media persons around, Tendulkar seemed to be opening his heart out.

Going back to his childhood days when he used to pick his own fantasy team with Sunil Gavaskar and Viv Richards as certainties, to why he is not playing international T20 cricket, Tendulkar was ready to play every ball.

After so many years of international cricket, is there a special feeling after showing the world, along with Rahul Dravid, that T20 cricket can also be played in a different vein? Sachin agreed, but only to a certain extent.

"This was probably my most satisfying T20 innings. But neither me, nor Rahul, have anything more to prove to the world.

We play just for the love of it," Tendulkar said with a smile hanging on his lips.

"All my life, I have played according to the situation. Yesterday, on a difficult wicket, the team wanted me to buckle down and bat through and I did just that," Tendulkar said, talking about his unbeaten 59 that won Mumbai Indians the opener against Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Team Chennai.

Probably, his son Arjun was more excited about the innings than the man himself. "Arjun was saying quite a few things...he was actually excited," Sachin joked.

Had he been 25, Tendulkar would surely have liked to play international T20 cricket, but not now, not anymore.

"I backed out of 2007 T20 World Cup because my body was not 100 per cent. I just didn’t want to be a burden on the team," he said.

But now that he is in such great form, why is he so adamant about not playing the T20 World Cup? "No point. This Indian team has gelled quite beautifully as a unit and there’s no need why I should be playing T20 cricket," Tendulkar added.

Not that Tendulkar dislikes the T20 format, but there’s something about it which can’t make him take it too seriously. Not that he would say it in as many words, but Tendulkar made it clear that technique doesn’t really matter too much in T20 cricket.

"If you play some of the T20 shots in Test cricket, you’ll be sitting there in the dressing-room for the next two days. But here you get runs for the same shot."

Source: TOI

India's T20 team doesn't need me, says Tendulkar

CAPE TOWN: A lazy Sunday morning, the first hurdle crossed, and Sachin Tendulkar was in the mood. He had come down to for a commercial event in the
team hotel and with a handful of mediapersons around, Tendulkar seemed to be opening his heart out.

Going back to his childhood days when he used to pick his own fantasy team with Sunil Gavaskar and Viv Richards as certainties, to why he is not playing international T20 cricket, Tendulkar was ready to play every ball.

After so many years of international cricket, is there a special feeling after showing the world, along with Rahul Dravid, that T20 cricket can also be played in a different vein? Sachin agreed, but only to a certain extent.

"This was probably my most satisfying T20 innings. But neither me, nor Rahul, have anything more to prove to the world.

We play just for the love of it," Tendulkar said with a smile hanging on his lips.

"All my life, I have played according to the situation. Yesterday, on a difficult wicket, the team wanted me to buckle down and bat through and I did just that," Tendulkar said, talking about his unbeaten 59 that won Mumbai Indians the opener against Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Team Chennai.

Probably, his son Arjun was more excited about the innings than the man himself. "Arjun was saying quite a few things...he was actually excited," Sachin joked.

Had he been 25, Tendulkar would surely have liked to play international T20 cricket, but not now, not anymore.

"I backed out of 2007 T20 World Cup because my body was not 100 per cent. I just didn’t want to be a burden on the team," he said.

But now that he is in such great form, why is he so adamant about not playing the T20 World Cup? "No point. This Indian team has gelled quite beautifully as a unit and there’s no need why I should be playing T20 cricket," Tendulkar added.

Not that Tendulkar dislikes the T20 format, but there’s something about it which can’t make him take it too seriously. Not that he would say it in as many words, but Tendulkar made it clear that technique doesn’t really matter too much in T20 cricket.

"If you play some of the T20 shots in Test cricket, you’ll be sitting there in the dressing-room for the next two days. But here you get runs for the same shot."

Source: http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4422377.cms

India withdraw Sachin from T20 Masters tie

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India withdraw Sachin from T20 Masters tie

Wellington: Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik have been withdrawn from an exhibition Twenty20 match by the Indian team management as New Zealander Hamish Marshall, who plays in the rebel Indian Cricket League, is part of the show.

Both Tendulkar and Karthik were to play in the Masters game between former Australian and New Zealand Internationals before the second Twenty20 match against New Zealand on Friday night.

Tendulkar was to play for New Zealand Cricket Players' Association team and Karthik for the Australian Cricketers' Association.

The Indian officials in New Zealand had permitted Tendulkar and Karthik to play in the exhibition match, but the Indian board told them to withdraw because of Marshall's ICL links.

Marshall played for the Royal Bengal Tigers in the ICL last year but has since quit the rebel league.

The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India banned all those playing in the ICL from playing any official form of cricket and all other boards have followed suit. Some boards, however, allowed the ICL players to play domestic cricket.

The Indian board last year had asked Test star VVS Laxman not to play for Nottinghamshire in the English County Championship as the team had ICL players in their ranks.

New Zealand Players Association chief executive Heath Mills said the Indian board's decision was regrettable and saw the issue as a bit silly.

"Hamish is no longer a contracted ICL player and the alternative of barring him from the game was not seriously considered," Mills said.

http://sify.com/sports/cricket/fullstory.php?id=14863106&cid=13275685

'I can't think like I've already arrived'

MUMBAI: Sachin Tendulkar, Shaun Pollock and Zaheer Khan were on a conference call with Team Mumbai owner Nita Ambani when they mutually decided to bid for South African Jean-Paul Duminy. "Get him at any cost" was the message.

Back in South Africa, JP had no clue about this. Ahead of this year's auction, he was trying to figure out a price for himself when his agent asked him to settle for a 'modest' sum of $300,000. "$950,000! It took me a moment to digest that," he said, giggling, once the hammer came down and the big day had passed. "I'm looking forward to being in Mumbai," he emphatically announced.

JP, Jean-Paul, Duminy - he's okay with whatever name they've been using to praise his recent performances. The 24-year-old is fine as long as accolades are flowing in. In fact, given a full stint in IPL this year, the batsman is quite sure that his fame will reach newer heights.

"Patience is my virtue, my strength. I wait for the right opportunity," he told TOI, pointing out how the 166 against Australia at Melbourne came just at a time when the IPL beckoned.

"Any player would be lying if he says he wasn't looking forward to the auction. Money is a huge incentive," the attractive batsman says.

"It is the thrill of playing alongside Tendulkar and Jayasuriya, against the likes of Chris Gayle, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Albie Morkel, that Duminy's waiting for. "It's dream cricket and that's the biggest thrill of the IPL," he says.

Duminy wasn't always like this, so confident of his approach, mentally battle-hardened and wanting to rub shoulders with the best in business.

Until a couple of years ago, in fact, he had been so low on confidence that he consulted Jeremy Snape, former cricketer-turned-sports psychologist to help him clear his mind.

"Snape took on the mental aspect of my game and changed it for the better. That stint with him allowed me to mature, soothe my trigger points. I wasn't able to grab a regular place in the team, specifically in Tests. Things gradually improved," says Duminy.

Finding those trigger points, enabling yourself to understand where your strengths and weaknesses lie is, in Duminy's opinion, the sole important factor of any sportsman's career.

"Today, I'd say my greatest strength is that I can identify the right situation, tell myself what I need to do and when that can benefit the team," he says.

It's not like Duminy comes across as an individual who thinks he's already figured out everything. "I can't think something like 'I've already arrived'. At the end of it all, contemporary cricket means daily struggle and it gets tougher as you go ahead.

"When I come to Mumbai for the IPL, I'll have to do enough to be accepted by my team, prove myself first," he says. Duminy only wants to get it across that he's got an eye for variety.

"And I'm grateful that the IPL saw that in me," he says. Batting aside, Duminy can also roll his arm over and is touted as a fielder in the class of Jonty Rhodes, which speaks a lot about this talented South African.

http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I-cant-think-like-Ive-already-arrived/articleshow/4133480.cms

Shahrukh bowls googly in cola deal

MUMBAI: After making Shahrukh Khan croon "Yehi hai right choice baby" for the last ten years, Pepsi decided to let go of the Bollywood superstar recently.

However, while doing so, they did announce that the company would like to be associated with Khan's IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders.

The actor, however, seems to have other plans. KKR has now gone ahead and tied up with Coca Cola - brand Sprite to be specific - for the coming two years.

TOI has reliably learnt that Sprite will now be one of the team sponsors, which seems to be a clear case of Pepsi's loss being Coke's gain. The Coke spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

The deal is expected to involve sponsorship of merchandise, aligning with the team as a beverage partner and serving beverages in home stadiums.

In fact, Coke has also signed up with the Delhi Daredevils and leading India cricketer Gautam Gambhir.

However, the association between Coke, the team and the player isn't brand-specific as yet.

Reacting to Pepsi's disassociation after almost a decade, Khan told TOI that he is "now perhaps too old for Pepsi."

Recently, Mumbai-based market research firm AC Neilsen had revealed that Sprite has gone past Pepsi as the number two soft drink in India behind market leader Thums Up.

"They have thrown me out and I'm jobless," Khan had said after Pepsi dropped him as the brand ambassador when the contract ended in 2008. The actor did admit that he was looking forward to a renewed deal. He underwent a surgery at a Mumbai hospital on Monday and was unavailable for further comment.

Recently, Pepsi had also dropped Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly as brand ambassadors. Ganguly, incidentally, is also the captain of the team owned by Khan.

Sources suggest that these men do not fit Pepsi's bill as the company is now targeting the younger generation.

http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4146425.cms

Injury puts Tendulkar out of Bangladesh series

Sachin Tendulkar is ruled out of the upcoming cricket tri-series in Bangladesh, and subsequent Asia Cup, because of a niggling groin injury.

Tendulkar, who missed the first seven matches of the Indian Premier because of the injury, was declared unfit by Mumbai Indians' physiotherapist, Nitin Patel, for the June 8 to 14 tri-series, also involving Pakistan.

"Tendulkar is not available for the tri-series as well as the Asia Cup on the advice of Mumbai Indians physiotherapist Nitin Patel. He has not recovered sufficiently from his groin injury," BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah informed in Mumbai on Thursday.

Tendulkar will also skip the Asia Cup, to be held in Pakistan from June 24 to July 6, he added.

Source: http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2008/may/29ten.htm

Sanath ton guides Mumbai to emphatic win

Sachin Tendulkar’s return dominated most of the pre-match buzz but it was the eruption from Sanath Jayasuriya that Mumbai toasted at the end of a comfortable nine-wicket win, their fourth in a row, at the Wankhede Stadium. Chennai appeared to have cobbled together a fighting total, in conditions that assisted swing bowling, but Jayasuriya’s sizzler, the second-fastest IPL hundred that was punctuated with 11 sixes, put an emphatic end to the contest.

Mumbai’s bowlers set-up this win with a fine new-ball exhibition that knocked off the top order. Shaun Pollock wasn’t leading Mumbai today but his immaculate early spell (4-1-9-1) led an impressive effort that justified their decision to field first. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and S Badrinath stitched together a 95-run stand but 156 was never going to be challenging if even once batsman got going.

It was inevitable. Jayasuriya, who had made a short trip home during Mumbai’s extended break, was yet to explode in the IPL and there was nothing Chennai could do once sixes began to drip off his bat. Nonchalant short-arm jabs sailed over the midwicket fence and a few powerful slashes soared over third man. The bowlers were rattled - they leaked wides and drifted on the pads too often - and fed Jayasuriya in his favourite areas. The fact that 102 off his 114 runs came in fours, told a story.

It was an innings reminiscent of the mid-90s, a time when Jayasuriya filled bowlers with a sense of fear. In fact it was at the same ground when he hammered an unforgettable 151 not out in the Independence Cup in 1997, an innings that was appreciated in hushed silence. This, though, was a celebration in power-hitting, with the crowd getting fully behind Jayasuriya in his fiery mission. One can only imagine the possibilities if Tendulkar had decided to bat first, allowing Jayasuriya a full 20 overs.

The manner in which he treated his fellow Sri Lankan bowlers was interesting - he attempted a couple of audacious reverse-paddles against Muttiah Muralitharan before blistering Chamara Kapudegera for 26 runs in five balls. He rushed to his hundred with two pulled sixes off Kapugedera - celebrating like a schoolboy who reached his maiden ton - and capped it off with one more that landed on the roof of the Wankhede. It was an unforgettable innings and Mumbai’s response to what Adam Gilchrist did to them a few weeks back.

The bowlers deserve an honourable mention. It was a slew of medium-pacers who propelled Mumbai to an upset win over the Rajasthan Royals in the previous game and they utilised bowler-friendly conditions here too. The ball swung around through the innings and six medium-pacers shaped the ball either way to make life difficult for the batsmen.
Pollock turned in a typically miserly spell, including a maiden to finish off against a relatively new Dhoni. Dhoni, who said he would have fielded first had he won the toss, watched his side slump to 46 for 4 with the top order struggling against the accurate medium-pacers.

Pollock should have had Stephen Fleming in the first ball of the second over - when an edge fell just short of first slip - or even in the third - when Jayasuriya muffed a skier at point - but he had to settle for S Vidyut’s wicket two balls later when Rohan Raje clung on to another skier at mid-off. Suresh Raina fell poking to an away-swinger from Dwayne Bravo before Chamara Kapugedera, the right-hander, did exactly the same to Dhawal Kulkarni’s nippy away-cutter.
Dhoni and Badrinath redressed the balance somewhat. The pair improvised when the opportunity presented but it was Dhoni’s fierce hitting that gave the bowlers no chance - even if he wasn’t in position the power behind the shots was always going to take it to the boundary ropes. Badrinath, who repertoire ranges from the square drive on the back foot to the paddle over short fine leg, brought up his second successive fifty. It appeared as if it could be a defendable total but Jayasuriya’s blitz sunk them in a trice.

Source: http://premierleaguecricket.in/news/sanath-ton-guides-mumbai-to-emphatic-win/