Sachin Tendulkar will once again be the cynosure of all eyes in the Asia Cup with the hope that he ends the wait for that elusive special hundred of hundreds, writes Dilip Vengsarkar in a column in The Times Of India. “Though he is batting as well as he has been doing for many years, the milestone has somewhat stayed way from him for long given his high standards. Unfortunately for the Little Master, anything less than a three-figure mark is neither accepted nor digested, such has been his career spanning for more than two decades,” writes Vengsarkar.
“Meanwhile, just like what Pakistan exhibited against Bangladesh, India too will need to bowl really well at the death. They haven’t done so and paid dearly in the recent games. They boast of a strong batting line-up, especially on sub-continental wickets, and with youngsters in the squad their out cricket should take care of itself. But the question mark is who will bowl effectively in the slog overs? India will do well to dwell on this before they take on the confident Sri Lankans in their opening clash on Tuesday. It was this difference that marked the two sides during their campaign in the just-concluded triangular series Down Under,” writes the former India captain.
In a column in Hindustan Times, Sourav Ganguly feels that Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan should be given a chance because Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma have got plenty of opportunities in Australia. “India should give Ashok Dinda a break because the young man has been in terrific form this season. For India, setting the right balance in their bowling could be the key to their success,” writes Ganguly.
Meanwhile, amidst all the hype and hoopla about the stars, there’s one player in the Pakistan team who gets his job done quietly. You will hardly count Mohammad Hafeez in your list of strong adversaries, but at the end of the day, he is very much an integral part of the Pakistan team that has looked good in recent times, writes The Times Of India.
He opens the batting, bowls decent off-spin and gets vital wickets as was the case against Bangladesh on Sunday. After scoring 89 at the top, he came back to remove Tamim Iqbal just when he was running away with the game and ended with figures of 2-40 that helped Pakistan manage a narrow win. “I had hit a rough patch in the One Dayers against England. This was a performance that I really needed to get back into the groove,” Man of the Match Hafeez said.
Other news (TOI, HT, Indian Express, The Hindu, The Tribune)
Aussies down India eves by 30 runs in first ODI: It was hard fought match with fortunes swinging every now and then but the Australian women had the last laugh as they beat the Indian team by 30 runs in the first ODI at the Motera stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday, reports Shweta Singh. With the win, the visitors take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series putting under pressure when they play the second ODI in Mumbai on Wednesday.
CSA CEO Majola likely to be fired:Cricket South Africa's CEO Gerald Majola is likely to face the sack, as the organisation meets in Johannesburg to take a decision on his future, and possible successors. According to press reports an emergency meeting was called hardly an hour after Judge Chris Nicholson announced his negative findings following a four-month inquiry into the alleged mismanagement by Majola. South Africa President Jacob Zuma is expected to be briefed on this issue by Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula on Monday.
DRS for NZ-SA Test: A threat to withdraw the Decision Review System from the final two Tests between New Zealand and South Africa was averted after the International Cricket Council gave the technology “100 per cent support”. “We have 100 % support for the level of accuracy and reliability. The way we use it is totally fit for purpose. We reassured Ian we still support the technology,” ICC general manager Dave Richardson said.
BCCI to hold Ranji captains-coaches conclave: The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) will hold a conclave for the captains and coaches of the Ranji Trophy teams on March 22 in Mumbai to chalk out the future course for domestic cricket. During the conclave, the views of the all the Ranji team captains and coaches as far as the senior domestic cricket is concerned will be taken into consideration, BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale informed.
Pak fined for slow over-rate: Pakistan have been fined for maintaining a slow overrate during their 21-run victory over Bangladesh in the inaugural match of the Asia Cup in Mirpur on Sunday. Match referee David Boon imposed the fines after Misbah-ul-Haq's side was ruled to be two overs short of their target when time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct, players are fined 10 % of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.
