Tendulkar felt numb, salutes security men

New Delhi: Sachin Tendulkar, a resident of Mumbai, said he was unable to sleep when terrorists struck his city.

Like all Indians a disturbed Tendulkar traced all developments on the television right after India won the fifth One-Dayer in Cuttack.

He said he was saddened to see his countrymen being targeted and felt numb as the horrific images kept playing in his head. Tendulkar also saluted the security personnel who risked their lives to save the people of Mumbai.

Sachin set to return; Rohit, Raina on edge

Bangalore: With batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar all set to come back for the remaining four One-Dayers against England, the Indian selectors are likely to face a ‘problem of plenty’ especially with border-line players Yousuf Pathan and Suresh Raina doing quite well in the first two matches so far.

Former Indian stumper and chief selector Kiran More said the problem of plenty was bound to arise to accommodate a player of Sachin's caliber and it will be a tricky situation for chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth and company when they sit down at Kanpur on November 20 to pick the side for the remaining four matches in the seven-match One-Day series.

"A player of Sachin's caliber has to be accommodated, what come may. But I feel sorry for players like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina or even Yousuf Pathan because one of them has to make way for the highest scorer in One-Day cricket (Tendulkar) to come in to the playing eleven. It will be a tricky situation for the selectors indeed," More told Cricketnext.com on Tuesday.

"Though this situation (problem of plenty) is a welcome sign for the team, the borderline players are the ones to be hit hard under the circumstances.

"Yousuf’s blistering unbeaten half century at Indore has only made matters worse for the selectors as the only way now to accommodate Sachin is by dropping Rohit Sharma, who has been a live wire on the field but has not done much with the bat so far while Raina played an important knock at Rajkot," More added.

"if Ishant, who is said to be nursing an injury, is also fit for the last four ties than things get really complicated even though Rudra Prathap Singh will be the first choice discard and Munaf Patel’s place will always be shaky in a One-Day match as the Indians tend to prefer just two seamers hoping that the spinners, including the part-timers, do the job for the team," More pointed out.

Another former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Chandrakant Pandit agreed with More even though he felt that the Indians can take the risk of dropping a bowler at this stage of the series.

"Personally I feel Zaheer (Khan) and Ishant Sharma (if fit) should be our pace aces as the spinners will have a bigger role to play in this series at least. With Viru (Virender Sehwag) and Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) picking up bag full of wickets, the selectors may consider playing just three specialist bowlers (Zaheer, Ishant and Harbhajan Singh)," Pandit said.

"Sachin is one player who can walk into any team in the world and it is unfortunate that one of the talented youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina or Yousuf Pathan will have to be sacrificed if the team think-tank decides to play four bowlers.

"Anyway it is a welcome sign for the skipper and the team management as they will have quality players waiting in the wings. It is always better to have more than nothing at all," he added.
"This situation will also make the opposition wary and keep them guessing most of the time as they will be well aware that the replacement (for a senior player) will be as good and that they just cannot afford to relax one bit.

"However, the selectors’ job gets that much more complicated as they will be the ones to face the public wrath if something goes wrong or the preferred player fails miserably," Pandit observed.

Yuvi's fitness only concern for confident India

With their confidence on a high after the landslide win in the opening ODI, in-form batsman Yuvraj Singh's back injury is India's only concern as they prepare to take on a battered England in the second one-dayer of the seven-match cricket series on Monday.

After drubbing the visitors by a massive 158 runs, the Indians are hoping that Yuvraj, who pummelled the English attack with an unbeaten 138, would be fit to take the field on Monday.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni says a final call on the attacking left-hander, who required a runner for most part of his innings in the Rajkot ODI, would taken just before the match.Pace spearhead Ishant Sharma, meanwhile, is all but out of the match after Dhoni admitted that his ankle sprain needs more time to heal.

England, on the other hand, have to battle low morale after the pasting they received at the hands of the marauding Yuvraj. Skipper Kevin Pietersen says his team would bounce back and come hard at India in the second clash.

But that looks easier said than done against an in-form Indian line-up, which did not show any sign of missing a stalwart in Sachin Tendulkar, who has been rested for the first three matches.It was Tendulkar's masterly batting that enabled India to tame Australia in the latter's lair in the triangular ODI series Down Under at the beginning of the year and his absence was surprisingly not even felt at Rajkot's Madhavrao Scindia ground.

The array of stroke-players that India possess in the batting line-up, starting with the potent opening combine of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir followed by Suresh Raina, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma and Dhoni, must be causing not only envy but also awe among among the visiting team.

The Indian new ball bowlers Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel in particular extracted life even in the afternoon on what was a perfect belter in Rajkot while their England counterparts --led by the redoubtable Andrew Flintoff -- looked quite innocuous and failed to take advantage of whatever juice it possessed in the morning.

Pietersen's decision to ask India to take first strike must have been prompted by the array of pace bowlers at his disposal, but to his chagrin all of them were taken to the cleaners by the Indian batsmen.It is unlikely the South Africa-born batsman, who top-scored in England's reply with a confident and attractive 63 before he was run out, will repeat the same mistake henceforth."It's definitely disappointing to lose.

But there are six games left in the series and we intend to bounce back and hit India hard on Monday. We would give them a good run for the money", the England captain said after his team's humiliating defeat in the first ODI.

However, to achieve this he said the team has to improve in all aspects of the game.India, on the other hand, could not have asked for a better start to the seven-match series that concludes on December 2 at the Ferozshah Kotla ground in Delhi.

The mandatory new ball after 34 overs and the new Power Play rule, taken by India from 34th to 38th overs, also is a big advantage for big hitters.At the end of the 34th over, India were 216 for two giving a run-rate of 6.35 and the team added 171 runs in the last 16 overs at a whopping 10.6 per over, a clear indicator of the difference these two rules made to the overall picture.

Yusuf Pathan, who lasted just two balls after the electric start provided by the openers, could give way for left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha if the think tank feels that more variety is required in the spin department which had three off-spinners to fall back on at Rajkot.

England, meanwhile, are grappling with their problems of how to forge a potent bowling attack to take advantage of the wicket and weather conditions here.Samit Patel, who was set upon by Sehwag and Gambhir as soon as he was introduced to bowl, took two wickets but conceded 78 runs. With Monty Panesar not a part of the ODI fold, visitors' spin options are limited.

They are also missing the swing bowling of Ryan Sidebottom, who could have caused some problems with his movement as the other four -- Flintoff, Steve Harmison, James Anderson and Stuart Broad -- rely on pace and bounce more than movement in the air to get wickets.

Sidebottom has not played since suffering a heel injury during the Stanford Super Series of matches in the West Indies and even if passed fit, it is difficult to see him getting in without bowling extensively at the nets after having had such a long break.

The odds, thus, seem to be in India's favour ahead of the second ODI, but the home team needs to guard against complacency more than anything else.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Virendra Sehwag (Vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, R P Singh, Munaf Patel, Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay.

England: Kevin Pieternsen (Captain), Ian Bell, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Andy Flintoff, Samit Patel Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Steve Harmison, Luke Wright and Ryan Sidebottom.

I will miss Sachin, others: Ganguly

Kolkata, Nov 11 (IANS) Having retired from international cricket, former captain Sourav Ganguly Tuesday said he would miss his colleagues like Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian team, but would root for them whenever he watched them on television.

'I will watch them on television. I will root for them,' Ganguly told reporters at his residence, when asked how he would be in touch with other players in the team, particularly those he had groomed for the big league.

Asked about Tendulkar, with whom he formed one of the all-time best opening combinations in one-day cricket, Ganguly replied: 'Sachin was very close to me. Lot of other boys in the team were also close. I will miss their company.'

Ganguly rated his debut Test, the experience of captaining India for the first time and his last Test at Nagpur, which ended Monday, as the three best moments of his glittering career.

Ganguly said he was now looking forward to some rest before deciding his future. 'I have to wait and see how things unfold. Haven't decided yet. There are lot of opportunities before me. I have to look forward,' he said at the media meet, a couple of hours after returning to his city following his retirement.

He appeared pragmatic when asked if it felt bad to be called a former cricketer. 'This day was bound to come one day. Maradona, Pelle, Gavaskar, they all had to retire. One day, Tendulkar will also retire. This is part of sports.'

On the celebrations Monday after the series win against Australia at Nagpur, he said: 'Oh! It was geat fun. It was fantastic. It was a night to remember for all of us.'
Ganguly said the retirement of the seniors would provide an opportunity for the youngsters to take Indian cricket forward.

Earlier, hundreds of fans mobbed Ganguly when he returned to the city.

Bouquets in hand, the cricket buffs shouted slogans eulogising the former Indian captain and constantly cheered 'Dada', 'Dada' - as Ganguly is lovingly known.

They held aloft the tricolour, Ganguly's photographs and waved posters thanking him for his contribution to the game, the country and West Bengal.

Ganguly, who arrived at the N.S.C. Bose International Airport in the evening, was received by Municipal Affairs Minister Ashok Bhattacharya and Cricket Association of Bengal joint secretaries Biswarup Dey and Arun Mitra
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Hadlee foresees Dhoni's India becoming no.1 in all formats

Australia may continue to enjoy their numero uno status in world cricket for some more time but bowling great Richard Hadlee believes the Indian team under Mahendra Singh Dhoni would eventually topple them and rule all three formats of the game.

Here as the brand ambassador of Sunday's Airtel Half Marathon, Hadlee is highly impressed by what he saw of Dhoni and believes under him, India would emerge as the number one team in Test, One-day International and Twenty20 as well.

"It may not happen right now, but I think in a few years, India may go on to become the number one team and dominate all three formats of the game," Hadlee said.

The legendary Kiwi pacer was effusive in his praise for Dhoni and said, "I really like him. I've seen him in One-dayers and he's very proactive, and not just a merely reactive captain.

"He is quite refreshing and very talented as well. It's very important for a captain to remain calm and have a good understanding of the game. Dhoni is like that."

Another Indian who drew rich praise from the Kiwi great was Sachin Tendulkar even though Hadlee insisted Don Bradman would always remain the best cricketer, and not merely the best batsman, ever.

"I still remember playing against Sachin when he toured New Zealand in 1990. He was just 16-17 then and scored good 80 runs. Of course we could not foresee him making 12,000 Test runs but all could see the touch of class around him. He has been absolutely a magic for world cricket.

"Sachin, (Brian) Lara or (Ricky) Ponting are fantastic players in their own rights but history of the game suggests Don Bradman is the greatest player, and not merely just a batsman, ever," Hadlee said.

"Among his peers, Sachin is statistically superior to all and technically also, he's the better. I think he comes close (to Bradman)," he added.

Dragged into the debate on when players like Tendulkar need to call it quits so that they leave the team with their dignity intact, Hadlee said age should not be the criterion.

"I myself retired at 39. I mean the player knows himself better and should decide when to move on. When you are in your mid-30s and form is not so good, you may get pushed by the selectors...

"But Sachin is batting well and scoring too. He has been a role model for the young generation of players and I hope he would be able to decide when is the time to go," said the Kiwi legend.

Hadlee was pained by the empty galleries in Test matches and said ODI and Twenty20 might be the money-spinner but authorities need to strike a balance and protect the longer version of the game as well.

"It's difficult to understand why people cannot buy one day's ticket in Nagpur," Hadlee said, referring to the ongoing India-Australia Test there.

"I hope someone explains that to me. I mean Test cricket is the ultimate challenge, there is lot of subtle variations over five days.

"We all are realistic that One-day cricket and Twenty20 keep the game going but I hate to think that it would compromise Test cricket. We need to find a balance soon," said a concerned Hadlee.
Talking about cricket in New Zealand, Hadlee said the rebel Indian Cricket League, which lured away most of the key players, had hit the Kiwis hurt and newcomers would have to live upto the expectations if they are to regain their old glory.

"I mean Bangladesh too lost many players but I think New Zealand was hit the hardest. Quality players like Shane Bond gave up international cricket. You cannot blame them but their absence has left a big hole and so we are struggling in Test cricket.

"But at the same time, it throws up opportunity for the youngsters and New Zealand can become a force again in another couple of years," he said.

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Rising son Vijay makes parents proud

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar might have stolen the show on the first day of the Nagpur Test, but one man who made a quiet yet noticeable debut was Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay.

M. Vijay, who was included in the side in place of Gautam Gambhir, gave a good start with Virender Sehwag. He was dismissed for 33 in his first Test innings but he showed that he was definitely a talent that cannot be ignored. Understandably the parents of the 24-year-old were a proud couple.

Vijay's parents back in Chennai said they were proud to see their boy become one of the men in blue in the city of oranges, Nagpur.

"We are proud. We believed he would make it but didn't expect it to happen this soon," said Murali, M Vijay's Father.

Though it was a late start for Vijay in cricket at the age of 17, his rise from a place in the Ranji squad to the coveted opener's position in Team India has been phenomenal.

He started playing Ranji Trophy two years back. An average of nearly 50 runs in the first-class cricket ensured the selectors could never ignore Vijay.

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No immediate plans to retire: Tendulkar

Two of his celebrated peers, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly have decided to walk into the sunset after glorious careers but Sachin Tendulkar says his body is "doing fine" and he has no plans to retire in the immediate future.

"My body is doing fine and at the moment I am not thinking of any plans to retire. Normally I prefer to think of the present, not of what I am going to do in the next four, five of six years of my life," he said.

"If I think it is time to hang up I will let everybody know. There is nothing to hide in it. I know it will make news but that I don't think it is a negative news that I have to hide from everyone," he added.

Tendulkar was non-committal when asked if he was thinking of playing in the 2011 World Cup which will be held in the sub-continent.

"I normally prefer to think of which match I am going to play next and what sort of planning I should do and which bowling attack would be used on me.

"Even if I have to play in 2011 World Cup it is 700 days to go. For now my focus is on the next four days c," he told a news channel.

Tendulkar, who hit his 40th Test hundred in Nagpur, said he will miss Sourav Ganguly with whom he shared a special understanding on the filed while batting.

I will definitely miss him. It happened many a times with Sourav that when we were on the wicket and between the overs we used to know looking at each other's face that there is a lot of stress and the situation is important or whether it is necessary to relax.

"When you go to play the next ball then it is important to have 100 per cent concentration. But when you do not need 100 per cent concentration it is important to relax. So at that time I use to try to speak to him in Bengali whether it was correct or not. So the atmosphere gets relaxed and we play our natural game," he said of his 12-year association with Ganguly.

Talking about the captains under whom he has played in the 19 years of his international career, Tendulkar said Rahul Dravid was different from a Ganguly or a Krishnamachari Srikkanth in that he was a serious sort who wants to maintain peace in the dressing room.

"Rahul is a serious sort of a player. He is focussed and he likes to maintain peace in the dressing room. So he was a different captain. There is a Srikkanth who used to crack jokes and laugh and there is Rahul who is focussed and serious.

"Srikkanth used to joke with me then (when I first played under him) and also when I became 35-year-old. When there is tension in the dressing room he would crack some jokes to try to make a relaxed atmosphere and prepare everyone for the game. He used to prepare in a different way.

"Like Srikkanth, Sourav also used to entertain teammates. He used to crack different jokes and try to ease off pressure."

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Sachin's ton take India to 311/5 at stumps

Genius batsman Sachin Tendulkar's steady century took India to 311 runs for the loss of five wickets at the close of first day's play in Nagpur.Unstoppable Tendulkar, riding on his luck, slammed 40th hundred of his Test career.

He got two lives when he was dropped by Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee off debutant Jason Krejza. He made most of the opportunities and got to the three-digit mark. With this ton, he has 82 international centuries (40 in Tests, 42 in ODIs) to his name. This was also his 10th Test hundred against Australia. Johnson, however, made up for the fielding lapse as he caught him plumb for 109 runs.

Tendulkar came to the crease after Dravid went without scoring and India were tottering at 99 for 2. He along with VVS Laxman added 146 runs for the fourth wicket and steadied the innings. He also added 41 runs with Sourav Ganguly (27*), who is playing his last Test, for the fifth wicket.

Australian off-spinner Krejza made an impressive Test debut as he picked three crucial Indian wickets. After dismissing Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag in the first session, he removed VVS Laxman for 64 runs. Laxman, who became eighth Indian cricketer to play 100 Tests, slammed 37th Test fifty before Haddin caught him behind the wicket.Dravid's dry run continued as he was done in by the extra bounce.

Krejza pitched it just outside the off-stump, the ball came back in and Dravid punched it to Simon Katich at short leg for a zilch.Sehwag, raised 16th Test fifty, his 6th against the world champions, in no time. He hit nine 4s and one 6 to make 66 runs before Krejza struck again. The ball turned in from outside the off-stump and clipped the bails before taking an inside edge of Sehwag's bat.

Earlier after electing to bat, Indian openers Sehwag and M. Vijay exploited the conditions well and added 98 runs for the first wicket when the latter nicked a short delivery from Shane Watson and was caught behind for 33 runs.MS Dhoni-led India are leading the series 1-0. A win will clinch them the series, while a draw would mean that Australia retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the third consecutive time.
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Tendulkar gets threat from JeM, security tightened

Jaish-e-Mohammad, a terrorist organisation active in Jammu and Kashmir, has reportedly threatened to kidnap Sachin Tendulkar.
Following the threat Tendulkar's security has been tightened.
Tendulkar is currently in Nagpur with the Indian team for the fourth and final Test match against Australia.
The Nagpur Test begins on November 6. India already lead the series 1-0 winning the second Test by 320 runs at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali.
"There is information of threat to Sachin from Jaish-e-Mohammad. We will, provode extra security now. He also faces threat of kidnapping from the terror outfit," Nagpur Commissioner Naveen Dixit said.
Nagpur Joint Commissioner of Police BJ Kangale assured special security for Tendulkar.
"There is no new threat on Sachin's life. We are taking all precautionary measures," Kangale said.
Security has also been beefed up at the old stadium of the Vidarbha Cricket Association at Civil Lines, where the two teams will have net sessions for the next two days.
The match will be played at the new stadium in Jamtha, about 16 kms from Nagpur.

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