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Morung SPORTS P 12 The C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K Edited by Along Longkumer, Published and Printed by Aküm Longchari on behalf of Morung for Indigenous Affairs and JustPeace from House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur at Themba Printers and Morung Publications, Padum Pukhuri Village, Dimapur, Nagaland. Email : [email protected], [email protected]. RNI No : NAGENG /2005/15430. House No.4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur 797112, Nagaland. Phone: Dimapur -(03862) News Desk- 281043, Admin -236871, Fax: (03862) 235194, Kohima - (0370) 2291952 For advertisements and circulation, please contact: (03862) 236871, Fax-235194 or email : [email protected] ENG vs NED Tue | 22 Feb | 02:30 PM Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur TODAYS MATCH MIRPUR, FEBRUARY 21 (AGENCIES): It was India's shoddy fielding, rather than S Sreesanth's wayward bowling in their opening World Cup match against Bangladesh that is a major concern for the team management. It is not uncommon for a bowl- er to take a pounding in the odd match in limited- overs cricket. Even by his inconsistent standards, Sreesanth had a nightmare outing on Saturday. Having given away 53 runs in his first five overs, Bangladesh may have even won the game had not India skip- per MS Dhoni taken him off the firing line for good. Fortunately, Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel did the job for India along with senior pro Zaheer Khan, who improved significant- ly after an ordinary first spell. True, they had the luxury of a 370-run cush- ion, but at least the bowlers did the job. The same can- not be said about Indian fielders. There were far too many fumbles in the out- field early in Bangladesh's run chase to give them the benefit of the 'dew'. Youthful Bangladesh batsmen not only stole singles, but also converted ones into twos as India's ageing warriors struggled to keep pace with them. Let's not forget that Suresh Raina substituted for a tired/injured Virender Se- hwag when India took the field. Raina, who was left out of the playing XI against Bangladesh on Saturday, remains India's best fielder with an uncanny ability to hit the stumps from any po- Despite B'desh win, India's fielding needs a big push Sachin Tendulkar undergoes MRI scan AHMEDABAD, FEBRU- ARY 21 (REUTERS): In- dia's key opening batsman Sachin Tendulkar has un- dergone an MRI scan on his left knee but he should be fit for their next World Cup game, the team's man- ager said on Monday. Ten- dulkar, the biggest scorer in the history of the game, stayed behind in Mum- bai for the scan on Sunday when the rest of the squad flew to Bangalore for their game with England next Sunday (February 27). The 37-year old batsman un- derwent an MRI scan on Sunday night at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital after he felt pain in his left knee. "It's an old injury. It was just a niggle. It's noth- ing to worry about. The (MRI) report is all clear," Indian team manager Ran- jib Biswal said. The master batsman will join the rest of the Indian squad in Ban- galore on Monday. Three more one-day hundreds in the World Cup climaxing in his native Mumbai on April 2 would make him the only batsman to total 100 centu- ries in both Tests and ODIs. India won their first match in Dhaka on Saturday, beat- ing Bangladesh by 87 runs. Tendulkar was run out for 28. Tendulkar became the most capped one-day player in cricket in Saturday's win with his 445th appearance but a mix-up with match- winner Virender Sehwag lost him the chance to join the run feast on a placid track against a weak attack. India eventually made 370 for four. He is the leading scoring one-day and test batsman and ranked by most experts among the top players of any era. sition inside the 30-yard cir- cle. Ironically, Yusuf Pathan, who has usurped Raina's place in the XI, had a poor out- ing, allround — failing with the bat and ball and generally struggling in the field where he grassed two chances. He is batting too low down the order to contrib- ute substantially with the bat and as a bowler he lacks the guile of Yuvraj. He is best suited as a shock weapon against big teams in a coun- ter-attacking role. Bangla- desh, in contrast, fielded quite brilliantly. In spite of Sehwag's lethal strokeplay, the Bangladesh fielding didn't wilt even towards the end. It was largely be- cause of the Tigers' superb athleticism that prevented India from posting a 400- plus total. No wonder Dho- ni, who himself was not at his best behind the stumps, expressed concern about his team's poor fielding. "We need to improve (in the fielding depart- ment). We need to save at least 10 runs on the field (in every game)," Dhoni said at the post-match presenta- tion. Let alone saving runs on the field, with not more than four good fielders in their 15-member squad, India are easily one of the worst fielding sides in the ongoing World Cup. Coach Gary Kirsten can do little about it at this juncture but pray that the Indian team would at least hold on to the catches that come their way to give the bowlers a leg up. The big positive from the opening game was the early form displayed by the top-order and the matu- rity by young Virat Kohli. Not once during their 145- ball third-wicket stand of 203 runs did Sehwag and Kohli indulge in slogging. The effortless ease with which they kept finding the boundaries meant the duo didn't even need to give Bangladesh bowlers the charge in the death overs. It is the depth and quality of India's batting line-up that makes Dhoni's boys the favourites to win the World Cup. All the big guns need not boom together. Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor is clean bowled by Australia's Shaun Tait, in their opening game of cricket's World Cup at Ahmadabad on February 21. (AP Photo) AHMEDABAD, FEBRU- ARY 21 (PTI):ShaneWatson and Michael Clarke struck half centuries but holders Australia struggled for the most part against a spin-ori- ented Zimbabwe attack be- fore finishing at 262 for six in their opening Group A World Cup match here on Mon- day. Watson, continuing his good form that enabled him to score over 800 runs in the 2010-11 season, started on a cautious note before opening up to score a well-crafted 79 off 92 balls, after Ricky Pon- ting opted to bat first at the Sardar Patel Stadium. He was also involved in two half-century stands, of 61 with fellow-opener Brad Haddin (29), and 79 off 75 balls with Ponting (28). But his dismissal in the 32nd over, followed by that of his captain almost immediately, some- what spoilt Australia`s plan. The pair was dismissed in the space of nine balls and it was then left to Michael Clarke, who made an unbeaten 58 in 55 balls, and the lower order batsmen to give the Austra- lian innings a boost. Vice cap- tain Clarke, who struck four fours, and Cameron White (22), who was dropped on 15, set about the task after the de- parture of Watson and Pon- ting. They raised 63 runs in 73 balls, including 32 during the batting powerplay taken between 41st and 45th over. Their fourth-wicket stand yielded 63 runs off 73 balls. Openers Watson and Brad Haddin seemed con- tent to play the waiting game against the pace- spin opening duo of Chris Mpofu and Ray Price, the left arm slow bowler. It was spin from both ends, when WC 2011: Australia beat Zimbabwe by 91 runs Zimbabwe skipper El- ton Chigumbara replaced Mpofu, who conceded just 13 runs in his first five overs, with off spinner Prosper Utseya. The Australian opening pair struggled to score freely against the two spinners, and Haddin was even lucky to have got a re- prieve on 16. An Utseya de- livery struck the bottom of the middle stump but the bails were not disturbed. The run rate improved when Mpofu came on for his second spell, with the Australian pair hitting the medium pacer for two boundaries each. At the end of the batting powerplay, Australia were 53 without loss. Watson Ponting then went about rebuilding the innings with a stand of 79 before DRS again helped the African nation after the original decision of umpire Richard Kettleborough helped the beefy opener.
