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CRICKET |
DOES TEAM INDIA HAVE THE ABILITY TO SPRING SURPRISES?...
Team India must forget about grace and style...go for creativity and power
play...The Cricket World Cup 2007 will be a different ball game altogether. The
wickets will certainly take a lot of swing to suit the West Indies fast bowlers
and their counterparts. For team India the batting and bowling must come
out trumps and have a stabilizing effect. There is no place for poor fielders
and haphazard running between the wickets.
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 Q. What do you
think about the composition of Team India?
A. After the one-dayers against the West Indies and Sri
Lanka, the selectors have done a reasonably good job. Now it is
for the players to display their abilities and put their best
foot forward. Q. Which teams
are likely to qualify for the semi finals?
A. The four teams likely to qualify for the semi finals are:
(1) Australia -they are the current holders and a team which can
beat most teams in the championships. (2) South Africa -a team
which can cause an upset on any day with players like Shaun
Pollock, Justin Kemp, Jacques Kallis, Andrew Hall, Makhaya Ntini
and Herschelle Gibbs, but at the same time luck and fortune will
play a big hand. (3) West Indies -they are the home side and
should be able to win with crowd support. (4) Pakistan
-unpredictable as ever but with the current showing should be
difficult to beat. |
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Q. Who do you
think will lift the Cup?
A. My guess is that it can be South Africa but at the same
time upsets can take place and form of the team members can play a
huge part. |
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Q. Getting down
to the local level - tell us something about the Irani Trophy
which started in the late 50's.
A The Irani Trophy was initially started after the 1959-1960
Ranji season with Bombay (now Mumbai) taking on the Rest of India.
Famous players like Lala Amarnath were present in the Rest of
India team. Bombay was at its best and won on the first innings.
The Irani Trophy was donated by M/s. Spencer & Co. Limited that
year and has been played for on a regular basis between Ranji
Trophy champions and the Rest of India side. |
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Q. As you have
been actively involved in the Kanga Library which is located at
the Wankhede stadium, please share your thoughts and views on
this.
A. Dr. H. D. Kanga Memorial Library is the only sports
library-the biggest in India and maybe Asia. It has about 12000
books to-date-a greater number of them approximately 8500 on
cricket alone, followed by Bridge and Chess about 1600 each and
Hockey, Football, Athletics, swimming and miscellaneous books on
cycling, music and tennis. Books are available in English, Hindi,
Marathi and Gujarati. Some chess books are written by the authors
themselves who were world class players. The membership is open to
public and membership fees are only “Life Membership” worth
Rs.500/-. No ordinary membership is open. Corporate membership is
possible in case of “Business Houses”. Details of corporate
membership can be had from the Secretary of the Library on any
working day between 5 pm and 7 pm. |
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Q. After a long
time one witnessed cricketing stars in the Ranji Trophy finals.
How do you look at this scenario?
A. It became a lot more interesting. Mumbai who had imposed a
formidable total in the first innings capitalized on the
situation. Even though Bengal made a fight back through Ganguly
and some of their star batsmen, the more experienced bowlers of
Mumbai,Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar turned the tables. However, it
was inspiring to see the crowds come back as some of Team India's
players were seen in action. I was pleased that Mumbai lifted the
Trophy for the 37th time. |
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Looking Ahead & Beyond
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Manchester United maintain 6-point lead & by mid-March could
annexe the title since 2003
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The English Premier Football has fascinated football fans not
only in England but also around the world. It still continues to
lead the football leagues played in various countries like
France, Spain, Germany and Holland and of course Italy which
will see some of their league matches taking place without
spectators and to the dislike of the newly elected European
Football President Michel Platini. Manchester United looks all
set to lift the premiership title with an unassailable lead
ahead of their nearest rival Chelsea. The league matches were
closely fought out encounters. Manchester United regained their
lost form and was unshaken in their performances right from the
start. In the last couple of years, Arsenal and Chelsea
completely dominated the EPL. Apparently when top notch teams
keep changing hands for the title, there must be a competitive
edge to all that is happening and quite obviously other teams
like Everton, Liverpool, Bolton and Portsmouth are not far
behind. The remaining matches in the near future look exciting.
Finally - it is indeed heartening to learn that top sports
personalities have been rewarded and sponsored for their total
commitment and consistent performance in their field of sports.
The best of tennis, football and golf got together on a
different pitch. Not surprisingly, Roger Federer, Thiery Henry
and Tiger Woods, famous for creaming their rivals, made short
work of the task at hand, overwhelming a stubble just as easily
as their opponents while promoting a shaving product company
Gillette in Dubai. All three in their respective sports appear
to be in sublime form during the current season and have played
some elegant drives and shots.
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