Dhoni wants easy ride against Dutch

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni wants to have an easy game against the Netherlands on Wednesday after surviving some anxious moments at the World Cup. The Indians cantered to an 87-run victory against Bangladesh followed by a high-scoring tie with England and a tense five-wicket victory over upstarts Ireland.

"It has been a good start for us so far," Dhoni told reporters Tuesday ahead of the clash against the Dutch at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. "We saw a tight game, a close game and a good one. We are now looking forward to an easy game against the Netherlands. "We want to make the most of this game and especially in the departments where we want to see an improvement. We should not really be thinking about the result but the process, what are the things we want to get out of it." Dhoni accepted that the bowling had not been up to the mark but backed his under-fire attack to come good as the tournament progressed.

"We would like to improve a bit in our bowling especially when a batsman sets in, how to put pressure on that particular batsman and push him into playing a big shot and get him out. "I don't mind who is taking the wickets as long as the team is winning. To target a particular bowler is difficult. Bowlers are also under pressure as there has been a lot of talk about it. "But they are showing signs of improvement and I am hopeful they will peak at the right time." Dhoni said all-rounder Yuvraj Singh's form with the ball was a bonus for the side as that afforded the luxury to play an extra batsman. "I am a big fan of Yuvraj. He bats at number four or five.

He can play aggressively or be defensive if the situations so demands. "He is a big asset to the team. He also has to fill in the job of the fifth bowler which he has done brilliantly till now." The burly left-hander excelled as a part-time spinner, taking 5-31 against Ireland before making an unbeaten 50 under pressure to become the first player to achieve the double feat in the World Cup. Dhoni replied cheekily when asked about the controversial umpire decision review system. "Many times we have just taken the DRS for the heck of it before the 50 overs run out to see what happens. We don't mind using them instead of taking it back unused to the dressing room."

Source: http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/37883/Dhoni-wants-easy-ride-against-Dutch

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Ireland refuse to give up on Cup dream

Irish skipper William Porterfield still believes his team can qualify for the World Cup quarter-finals despite their five-wicket defeat to India. Ireland, who have won just one of their three matches in Group B, still have to face the West Indies, South Africa and the Netherlands in their remaining games.

"We've got three games left and there's no reason we can't beat any of the three teams we're playing," said Porterfield. Ireland are fifth in Group B with two points, two behind South Africa and West Indies with the top four teams in each pool going into the last eight.

Indian star Yuvraj Singh, who was named man of the match in Sunday's game for his brilliant all-round performance (5-31 and 50 not out), was all praise for Ireland, saying they could surprise any big team in the tournament. "At the last World Cup in the Caribbean, they beat Pakistan and in this tournament they successfully chased 327 (against England). They have been doing really well," said Yuvraj. "Their fielding was outstanding and the stand (113 runs between Porterfield and Niall O'Brien) was very good.

They can put big teams under pressure. They should be playing a lot of international cricket." Porterfield added that his team's never-say-die attitude will always make them a handful. "I am happy with the way my team fought and the way the boys fielded and bowled," Porterfield said after his side succeeded in keeping pressure on the home side in the day-night match on Sunday. Porterfield rallied Ireland with an impressive 75, steadying the innings with a 113-run stand with Niall O'Brien (46) after his side had lost two wickets for nine runs.

Ireland, who upset England by three wickets last week, bowled and fielded superbly while defending a modest total of 207 as they reduced India to 100-4 before Yuvraj guided his side home with an unbeaten 50. "Losing two wickets in three overs is not good for any team. We did well from there, but we kept losing wickets after that," Porterfield said, adding his dismissal came at the wrong time. The Irish captain fell just when his side looked set for the final onslaught after reaching 160-5 in 37 overs, caught in the covers by Harbhajan Singh off Yuvraj. "We should have kicked on from there, but we lost wickets and that set us back a bit. But we did well to keep the Indians under pressure, especially defending a small total like that," he said. "We did well.

We're fighting well and we fought right until the end. An extra 40 runs could have been interesting." Left-arm spinner George Dockrell put India in a spot when he removed batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar (38) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (34) after paceman Trent Johnston had rocked India with two early wickets.

Source: http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/37774/ireland-refuse-to-give-up-on-cup-dream

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Cup force with us now, says ton-up Strauss

England captain Andrew Strauss said his side's sensational tie with India proved they were a World Cup force to be reckoned with after his superb century so nearly saw the visitors to victory. England, chasing what would have been a new World Cup winning total batting second of 339, finished on 338 for eight in reply to co-hosts India's 338 all out at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, with Strauss making 158.

His was the first World Cup hundred by an England captain and the highest World Cup score by any England batsman, surpassing Dennis Amiss's 137 against India at Lord's in the competition's inaugural fixture back in 1975. England's performance was an improvement upon their lacklustre six-wicket opening win over the Netherlands, where Strauss made 88. "Coming into this game after the Holland performance, it was a great bounce-back and showed everyone around the tournament that we're going to be a force to be reckoned with," said Strauss. When Ian Bell (69) and Strauss, who put on 170 for the third wicket, fell in successive balls to left-arm quick Zaheer Khan, the match swung back the way of India, who'd earlier seen cricket great Sachin Tendulkar become the first player to score five World Cup hundreds.

England had a poor batting powerplay towards the finish, losing four wickets for 25 runs in five overs. And it needed tailenders Graeme Swann and Ajmal Shazhad to secure only the fourth tie in World Cup history, as 13 runs came off the final over. This was the match a World Cup full of lopsided early encounters desperately needed and Strauss said: "We've got to celebrate the fact it was an unbelievable game of cricket -- probably the best advert for the 50-over format you could possibly get." Strauss has now scored five of his six ODI hundreds in the past two years. But he was in no doubt Sunday's innings was the best of the lot. "Given the importance of the game, against India in India in the World Cup, it was obviously crucial one of our players went on and got a big score.

"It was an innings I'm very proud of. It would have been great to have been not out at the end and seen the boys home. "It was my best one-day knock." Asked what he told his players during the interval between innings, Strauss replied: "I said 'Lads, that is an unbelievably flat wicket -- we can chase this." However, he was left lamenting England's poor powerplay performance, saying: "We got ourselves in a position at 41 or 42 overs where we just needed to have a good powerplay, and we were there. "But these powerplays can affect you both ways -- and unfortunately, it affected us in the negative way. "Then in the end, we did pretty well to scramble a tie out of it. "There were some great performances on both sides. "When we take stock of this game we'll probably both say: 'Look, we've got a point' -- which is an important point -- and go on and play better as the tournament goes on."

Source: http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/37255/cup-force-with-us-now-says-ton-up-strauss

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Bangalore: James Anderson might have returned the worst bowling figures by an Englishman in the World Cup but skipper Andrew Strauss remains confident about the pacer rediscovering his form in the coming matches of the mega event.

Andreson's 1/91 in 9.5 overs against India on Sunday was the worst bowling performance by an English bowler in World Cup, overtaking Derek Pringle's none for 83 against the West Indies in 1987.

India posted a mammoth 338 in the match and England managed to tie the game riding on Strauss' brilliant 158-run knock.

Strauss said it would be unfair to write off Anderson just yet.

"Opening the bowling out here is hard work, and bowling most of your overs in powerplay is not easy," Strauss said of Anderson.

"Jimmy's got a lot of skills. Anyone who writes a guy of that quality off is pretty naive."

Anderson has been struggling for form, going wicket-less for 72 runs in his 10 overs against the Netherlands in the opening match.

Source: http://cricketnext.in.com/news/strauss-comes-to-andersons-defence/54807-13.html

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ICC CWC: Tour Diary from Nagpur

The Pride Hotel in Nagpur is playing host to every team that will play its match at the Jamtha Stadium.
By Faisal Kamal in Nagpur

Pride and hospitality:
Visiting teams in Nagpur have always had a pleasant stay at the Pride Hotel. Since being built 14 years ago, the splendid hotel has hosted each and every team that has visited this vibrant and bustling city. It's not surprising.

Situated in the heart of the city - 6 km from main Birdi market and 12 km drive to Jamtha - the 5-star hotel is the obvious choice for every team. Front office manager Amit Pathak revealed that the hotel is the number one choice for all sides touring Nagpur.

"Teams prefer our hospitality. Though there have been many 5-star hotels that have been built in the recent past, the teams continue to give us the honour of hosting them," said Pathak.

I recently visited the spa and the health club and guess what? There was England skipper Andrew Strauss having his hair cropped at the salon!
Pathak also recalled the time when Anil Kumble last captained the India side in a Test match against South Africa while staying in the hotel.

"Kumble and the India team stayed in our hotel. It was always fun and games when the day's play got over. Contrary to popular belief, Kumble is very relaxed and jovial when the spotlight is not on him. He always treated the staff with lot of respect," Pathak added.

Pathak also said that the staff had thrown a surprise birthday bash for Netherlands team manager Ed van Nierop, a couple of days back.

"We take special care of our players. Their personal food preferences and tastes are all taken care off. We do thorough research for each player who is going to be hosted by us," Pathak said.

So players may come and teams may go, but Pride lives on forever.

Bat for Nagpur:
While driving back from Jamtha to the city, I chanced upon cricket bats lined up at the roadside. On asking, I discovered that the bats are made for tennis-ball cricket, which is very popular in Nagpur. There are families who specialise in this art.

Known as Thoris, the artisans hail from Gujarat and cater to the cricket-playing youth of the Orange City. The bats are made from a special kind of wood called 'Sewan', timber which is imported from the Nandyal district of Gujarat.

On meeting one of the Thoris, I also got to know that the local shopkeepers buy these bats from these roadside vendors, adorn them with fancy stickers and then sell them at a higher price.

"We sell these bats for 150 or 200 bucks, but we also sell them on a mass basis to the local shopkeepers, who in turn sell these bats by hiking the price tag. But that's the way it is. This is our ancestral work and we love it," said bat-maker Govind Thori.

So the next time you are in Nagpur, either catch a game at Jamtha Stadium or buy a bat at the roadside. Either way, you will be sure to enjoy the flavor of cricket in Orangeland.

Source: http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/icc-cricket-world-cup/news/detail/item586352/ICC-CWC:-Tour-Diary-from-Nagpur/

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