KKR beat CSK in opener

Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Chennai Super Kings by three-wicket in the opening match of the sixth edition of the Champions League Twenty20. Earlier, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (35 not out off 20 balls) and Dwayne Bravo (28 not out off 28balls ) took their team to 157 for 4 from the allotted 20 overs. Chasing 158, the Kolkata-based team couldn’t get going in front of Ashish Nehra, who reduce them to 21 for 4 at one stage. The reigning IPL champions were tottering at 51/5 when Ryan ten Doeschate (51 not out) and Andre Russell (58) played out a responsible partnership which took KKR to win. Nehra was the star bowler picking up 4/21 from his four overs for the Super Kings while Mohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja picked up a wicket each.
Brief scores
Chennai Super Kings 157/4 in 20 overs (Mahendra Singh Dhoni 35 not out, Dwayne Bravo 28 not out, Suresh Raina 28; Piyush Chawla 2/26, Sunil Narine 1/9, Yusuf Pathan 1/16) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 159/7 in 19 overs (Andre Russel 58, Ryan ten Doeschate 51 not out, Suryakumar Yadav 19; Ashish Nehra 4/21, Ravindra Jadeja 1/25, Mohit Sharma 1/31).
Other Cricket news:-
Captain is confident
Captain Misbah-ul-Haq has said Pakistan can “once again rule the world” by winning the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year. The return of the tournament Down Under was a good omen for Pakistan, as that was where it won its only World Cup in 1992, when Imran Khan’s side beat England in the final. “As the event is returning to Australia and New Zealand, the level of expectation from us will be quite high,” Misbah said as he posed with the trophy in front of Badshahi Mosque and independence monument in Lahore. “The team’s victory in 1992 is still the most special sporting achievement in the minds of our cricketers and all cricket fans in Pakistan.The whole team is focused to face the most difficult challenge in world cricket, and with the determination of the players and the backing of the millions of Pakistani fans, we hope to once again rule the world.” The 40-year-old Misbah acknowledged the tournament starting in February could also be his international swansong. Pakistan’s opening match on Feb. 15 in Adelaide will be against archrival India, which it has never beaten in five previous World Cup matches. With so much history between them, Misbah said, “People will be looking at it as more than a final.”
Johnson given more time
Cricket Australia has withdrawn Mitchell Johnson from the start of the Champions League Twenty20 to allow the aggressive fast bowler to recover from a rib injury. Johnson plays for India’s Kings XI Punjab, and might be released to play in the latter stages of the tournament which starts this week and culminates in a final at Bangalore on Oct. 4. In a statement, Australia physio Alex Kountouris said Johnson had some rib pain during the recent one-day international tri-series in Zimbabwe. Kountouris said Johnson “has had a break from bowling since returning to Australia and having regular treatment to resolve the problem. He has not fully recovered as yet and will be reviewed over the next week.”
Source-www.crictoday.com

Criticism for Team India's capitulation

Sunil Gavaskar described India’s capitulation against England as traumatic, embarrassing and jelly-like, while Sourav Ganguly called for “harsh decisions” to be made on team selections. The former India captains were just two of the many harsh critics of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s test team after it was bundled out for 94 in the second innings at The Oval, losing the test by an innings and 244 runs and surrendering the five-match series 3-1. Players, analysts and the public questioned the team’s resolve after it lost consecutive tests inside three days. India led the series after winning the second test at Lord’s, but lost the third test by 266 runs and the fourth by an innings and 54 runs. “If we do well in the ODIs, the test series will be forgotten and that will be a tragedy,” Gavaskar told the NDTV news channel. “The tragedy of Indian cricket is that a lot of the defeats are swept under the carpet.” World Cup-winning captain Dhoni’s record crept up to 14 away test defeats. Batsmen Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara failed time and again. Ganguly urged selectors to take some tough decisions, saying the team had shown “no effort, no heart, no fight.”

“There have to be some harsh decisions,” Ganguly told the Headlines Today news channel. “The selectors’ outlook has to change — when you pick your players, when you identify talent, these are the things you have to look for: who gets runs for you in difficult circumstances, who gets runs for you when the chips are down, who gets runs for you when you are 50-5.” Former chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth wondered what India coach Duncan Fletcher had been doing. “Some of the strategies adopted, field placements and even the batting order for instance could have been handled better,” Srikkanth wrote in a column in The Times of India. “The coach definitely has a say in all these. Either he is not ready to question the authority of Dhoni, else he wants to collect his pay check till the World Cup before waving goodbye.” Indian newspapers ran banner headlines and television channels ran programs dissecting the defeat. “Team India uprooted” read the headline in The Times of India, which went on to give statistical details of India’s third biggest innings defeat as well as dwelled on Dhoni’s poor captaincy, lack of batsmen’s technique and shoddy slip catching among other things.

“Nightmare ends with a horror show” screamed the Hindustan Times headline. Social media, too, was abuzz with comments and tongue-in-cheek remarks as the Indian innings lasted just 29.2 overs. “There you are,” noted international commentator Harsha Bhogle posted on his twitter page after England completed a third consecutive test series win over India in quick time. “Our post game show was as long as the Indian innings.” England beat India 4-0 at home in 2011 and then came from behind to prevail 2-1 in a four-test test series in India the following year.
Source-https://www.crictoday.com

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All about Stuart Binny

Perhaps you missed it amidst the deafening trumpet of World Cup football bandwagon. Or, answer this question: Who holds the current Indian record for the best bowling figures in one day internationals (ODIs)? Hmm, Anil Kumble – six for 12 against West Indies in the Hero Cup final? Well, Kumble had held that record. Now, another man from Karnataka holds the record. His name is Stuart Binny.

Stuart Binny, that dibbly-dobbler who hurls the ball at a friendly pace? Yes, it is him. He took six wickets against Bangladesh, giving away just four runs at Dhaka the other day. The next time you read sports pages, don’t allow the larger-sized football to eclipse the tiny red cherry.

Chip of the old block
Stuart Binny is son of former Indian cricketer Roger Binny. If you have seen Binny senior in action in 1970s and 1980s, you could guess the relationship from Stuart’s bowling action. He could inspire a new scientific hypothesis that genes do carry the codes of bowling action. The similarity ends when the action stops. Binny senior was much quicker. But Stuart can truthfully claim that he is a better batsman, capable of hitting booming sixes and cheeky boundaries.
In India, having an influential parent is like holding a magic key that can open all the locks. It is true in politics and truer in Bollywood. But in Indian cricket, performing star sons are an exception rather than a norm –  Mohinder Amarnath is one notable exception, along with Sanjay Manjrekar and Ashok Mankad to some extent.

Stuart Binny’s is a case that proves the opposite can be true – that having a cricketer father has its own perils. In fact, Binny junior is a victim of the popular notion that papas always launch their sons’ careers.

Allegations of nepotism
Many so-called Indian cricket lovers are choosy in what they follow, what they see, and even what they know. Many of them ignore Ranji Trophy cricket, but follow the Indian Premier League (IPL) like a pack of hungry hyenas. Stuart Binny had a good IPL season with Rajasthan Royals in 2013, and that is why the franchisee bought him again in 2014. But in the 2014 season, he was well below his best. So, when he was chosen in the Indian team to tour England, for both test and ODIs, many brows were raised – primarily because Roger Binny was one of the selectors in the panel that chose the team.

Facebook walls and Twitter timelines emitted fury over the obvious case of nepotism. How can a one-season IPL wonder walks into the Indian test cricket team? Another 4-0 drubbing is on the cards. This happens only in India – thus went the reactions. They did not try to check his last season’s Ranji Trophy record. He played his part in Karnataka’s triumph in the Ranji Trophy, scoring handy lower-order runs and taking crucial wickets. That he had a celebrity wife, the pretty TV anchor Mayanti Langer, fuelled the allegations.

Roger Binny’s role
What is the procedure in the Board of Cricket Control in India’s (BCCI’s) selection panels if a selector’s son’s name comes up for discussion? There are clear-cut definitions and procedures to handle this obvious conflict of interest. The selector concerned must state this conflict of interest and abstain from the discussion over the player’s credentials and final decision-making.

Did Roger Binny follow this procedure when Stuart’s name came up for scrutiny? Not many people seemed to have checked this vital information. If they do, they will find out that Roger Binny did exactly as specified in the procedure. He stated his conflict of interest and stayed away from the proceedings.

Is that enough?
The questions do not stop by the mere absence of Roger Binny from the selection procedure? Isn’t it possible that he still influenced the decision by other means of lobbying with his colleagues? After all, in the long history of Indian cricket team selection, there were many instances of the you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours approach.

The truth about this allegation can never be verified. It is something that can neither be proved nor be refuted. Only Roger Binny and his colleagues know this. Sandeep Patil, Vikram Rathore, Rajinder Hans, Saba Karim and Roger Binny have been upright individuals who have never let any allegations taint their playing career or beyond. It is a subjective thing whether to respect their decision or not. But they have done well enough in their life and cricket to be eligible for a fair bit of benefit of doubt.

The proof of the pudding is in eating
In matters subject to speculation, it is always better to wait and watch. In just a couple of weeks after the selection controversy, Stuart Binny produced his best performance with the ball. He had been chosen for the Indian team that toured Bangladesh. Suresh Raina was the team captain. A number of regular stars had been rested. The tour that involved just three ODIs was so low profile that the BCCI found it difficult to find television sponsors. That the tour coincided with World Cup Football 2014 in Brazil did not help either.

There were only a few onlookers in the stands and some cricket tragics in front of television sets and cricket websites when the series got underway in Dhaka. Binny was not part of the rain-marred first match which Indian won by Duckworth–Lewis method. He got a chance to play in the second match, in which rain catalyzed a sensational Indian batting collapse. India were bowled for a paltry 105. It was then that Stuart Binny decided to offer his best pudding.

He produced an awesome spell of swing bowling and returned with six wickets while giving away just four runs. And Bangladesh were bowled out for 58 runs. The performance did not get the attention it deserved because Neymar and Messi were scoring all those goals in Brazil. Still, the performance was good enough to shut up a number of abusive mouths.

The third match was washed away due to rain, but not before he had made an unbeaten 25 in the India’s score of 119 for nine.
Controversies and setbacks are not new to Stuart Binny’s career. At the age of 30, he has only a few years’ cricket left in him. He is out there to make the most of it. He does not have much time to waste, as he has lost too much time getting caught on administrative cobwebs.

Stuart Binny’s fall and rise
As a son of an international cricketer, it was quite natural that Stuart had an early baptism with cricket. He managed to model his bowling action on his father’s, but never quite managed to capture his father’s speed and menace. He set out to make up for it with his batting skills. Soon, he gained some sort of reputation as a useful cricketer at college level. In 2004, he was selected to represent Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy.

He had a disastrous debut season. He appeared to have gone the way of many other cricketers’ sons who failed to do justice to their pedigree. However, the emergence of T-20 cricket changed his fortunes. He was terrific in shorter format, where his fearless hitting and clever bowling are of great value.

He was lured into the now banned Indian Cricket League (ICL), which was at that time considered an opponent of the IPL. He became one of the most valuable players in the ICL. The BCCI banned him and the other defectors for life. Unfortunately, the ICL failed to capture the public imagination and collapsed.

A couple of years later, the BCCI offered amnesty to the players who joined ICL. Among the few players who were drafted into the IPL from the rebel league was Stuart Binny. But unlike Ambati Rayudu, who shone in the very first season of the IPL after coming back from the ICL, Binny did not have a great debut. He was in Mumbai Indians in his first season. In the 2013 season, he joined Rajasthan Royals, where he had Rahul Dravid, who knows Binny’s game inside out, as the captain. Under Dravid’s stewardship, Binny’s game flourished. He became a fearsome and innovative hitter.

He also bowled his medium pacers with excellent control over line and length and clever variations. He was instrumental in Rajasthan Royals’ dream run to the play-offs. Good performance in the IPL elevated him to the Indian ODI team that toured New Zealand. But again he could not make use of the few opportunities he got in that tour.

A fruitful domestic season
He came back to the Karnataka Ranji trophy squad in the 2013-2014 season. He excelled with both bat and ball. He finished the season with 443 runs at an average of 43.22 and 14 wickets at an average of 32.64. More than once, he bailed the team out of difficult situations. The season culminated with Karnataka lifting the Ranji Trophy crown by beating Maharashtra in the final.

Flawed choice or inspired selection?
While his performance was good, not many expected him to make the cut to the Indian test team.  Still, it appears more of an inspired selection than a flawed choice. The English conditions will be favourable to swing bowling. Binny is someone who can swing the ball both ways. The matches are going to be played in the English summer. So, his effectiveness is somewhat doubtful. But if the English weather provides cloud cover and moisture, Binny can be lethal with his wicket-to-wicket line.

In addition, he can score quick runs. The Indian lower-middle order batsmen have had a history of doing well in overseas conditions, especially in England. Both Ajit Agarkar and Kumble have scored centuries in England. Binny is capable of continuing that tradition.

To sum up, when you get over the football hangover after the world cup and focus your attention on the India-England cricket series, don’t be surprised if Stuart Binny breaks a few more records.

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Cook retains captaincy

Alastair Cook was reconfirmed as captain for the third test against India despite England losing seven of its last nine tests. Even though England selector James Whitaker said it was "vital" the team arrived "refreshed and ready" for the test starting on Sunday at the Rose Bowl, only one enforced change was made to the 13-man squad, with the uncapped Jos Buttler in for injured wicketkeeper Matt Prior. Cook refused to step down as skipper after the embarrassing 95-run loss at Lord's, on a second-test pitch made to order for England. "I want to carry on," he said, though he conceded he was running out of time before the decision was taken out of his hands. Cook was averaging 23.6 in 27 innings since his last century 14 months ago, and his captaincy has been undermined by the lack of support on the pitch from his fellow veterans, particularly Prior and fast bowler Stuart Broad. "I haven't had any tougher times in my career than at the moment," Cook said. "But I don't think walking away from it would be the way to go. I'll stay until my position becomes untenable." While it was difficult to see Cook canned as captain in the middle of a series India was leading 1-0, his predecessors weren't uncertain. Former captains Michael Atherton, Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain, Ian Botham and Geoffrey Boycott all said it was time Cook gave up the captaincy and concentrated just on batting.

"The cruelest cut would also be the kindest cut, as it would be in this fine cricketer's best interests, so that he can find a way to score runs and enjoy his cricket game," Atherton, skipper for a record 54 tests to 2001, wrote in the London Times. Botham wrote in the Daily Mirror, "He's got to say, 'This is not working, it's running through the team now and I'm stepping down.' It is all well and good the captain standing there and saying, 'I'm trying very hard and giving it everything,' but when the brain is scrambled, it's scrambled.' It might just free him up, and it didn't do me any hard did it?" Prior announced he was taking an indefinite break from the game to resolve fitness issues, though it was regarded as the end of his 79-test career. Sloppy behind the wickets this summer, he said he has been struggling with Achilles, thigh and hand injuries.

England: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Sam Robson, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes.

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Cook retains captaincy

Alastair Cook was reconfirmed as captain for the third test against India despite England losing seven of its last nine tests. Even though England selector James Whitaker said it was "vital" the team arrived "refreshed and ready" for the test starting on Sunday at the Rose Bowl, only one enforced change was made to the 13-man squad, with the uncapped Jos Buttler in for injured wicketkeeper Matt Prior. Cook refused to step down as skipper after the embarrassing 95-run loss at Lord's, on a second-test pitch made to order for England. "I want to carry on," he said, though he conceded he was running out of time before the decision was taken out of his hands. Cook was averaging 23.6 in 27 innings since his last century 14 months ago, and his captaincy has been undermined by the lack of support on the pitch from his fellow veterans, particularly Prior and fast bowler Stuart Broad. "I haven't had any tougher times in my career than at the moment," Cook said. "But I don't think walking away from it would be the way to go. I'll stay until my position becomes untenable." While it was difficult to see Cook canned as captain in the middle of a series India was leading 1-0, his predecessors weren't uncertain. Former captains Michael Atherton, Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain, Ian Botham and Geoffrey Boycott all said it was time Cook gave up the captaincy and concentrated just on batting.

"The cruelest cut would also be the kindest cut, as it would be in this fine cricketer's best interests, so that he can find a way to score runs and enjoy his cricket game," Atherton, skipper for a record 54 tests to 2001, wrote in the London Times. Botham wrote in the Daily Mirror, "He's got to say, 'This is not working, it's running through the team now and I'm stepping down.' It is all well and good the captain standing there and saying, 'I'm trying very hard and giving it everything,' but when the brain is scrambled, it's scrambled.' It might just free him up, and it didn't do me any hard did it?" Prior announced he was taking an indefinite break from the game to resolve fitness issues, though it was regarded as the end of his 79-test career. Sloppy behind the wickets this summer, he said he has been struggling with Achilles, thigh and hand injuries.

England: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Sam Robson, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes.

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Historic feat for the lanky Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma, who was man of the match with figures of 7-74, is the first India player to take seven wickets in a test match in England. It is only India's second win in test cricket at Lord's but for England, Sharma's removal of Prior was particularly concerning. He had been repeatedly hooking and pulling short deliveries for singles and fours, so India adjusted its field and Sharma duly collected his wicket. His dismissal was predictable, not befitting of a player with 78 test appearances to his name. "It was a fantastic effort. He is our main strike bowler. He is tall, strong and can bowl long spells which helped him excel," Dhoni said at the post-match ceremony. "He did not want to bowl short initially but I told him to keep at it and keep attacking."

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Court orders new election

The Pakistan supreme court directed Najam Sethi to continue as the country's cricket board chief for one week before an acting Pakistan Cricket Board chairman can be appointed to oversee new elections. Pakistani cricket has been embroiled in administrative turmoil for more than a year with three chairmen taking the helm in the past seven months. A two-member bench of the supreme court heard the case for five hours in Lahore after which judges Saqib Nisar and Anwar Zaheer Jamali directed the government to appoint an interim PCB chairman within seven days. The temporary chief will also act as election commissioner. "The government will now follow the directions of the supreme court and will also implement the new constitution of the PCB," Irfanullah Khan, a government legal adviser said. Sethi told the court that he would not be contesting the elections but said he could be part of the new governing board, which will be announced later. The supreme court has also asked the government to implement a new cricket board constitution. Khan said the supreme court also set aside an Islamabad High Court order to reinstate Zaka Ashraf as PCB chairman. The power tussle at the top of the PCB started in May 2013 soon after Ashraf became the first elected chairman of the PCB.

Ashraf was suspended by the Islamabad High Court after a petition was filed by a former official of the Rawalpindi Cricket Association. The court described his election process as "polluted." The government appointed Sethi as interim PCB chairman before the IHC asked the country's election commission to conduct elections while overruling all the decisions taken by Sethi. But Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is also patron of the PCB, dissolved the governing board and appointed a five-member management committee that later elected Sethi as PCB chairman. But Ashraf continued to resist and he was twice reinstated by the IHC this year before being replaced by Sethi within days. Earlier this month, the government appointed a retired judge of the supreme court as interim PCB chairman, who will also act as election commissioner, but a day later the supreme court reinstated Sethi.

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India ends 28 years drought

England collapsed from 198-5 to 225 all out, with Ishant Sharma taking a seven-wicket haul as India won the second test at Lord's on the final day by 95 runs for a 1-0 lead in the five test series. Resuming after lunch on 173-5, Matt Prior made 12 before he was caught by Murali Vijay at deep midwicket off the bowling of Sharma. Ben Stokes followed for his third consecutive duck when he toe-ended Sharma to Cheteshwar Pujara, before Joe Root ended his brilliant 66 in indiscipline style, finding Stuart Binny at deep backward square leg, again off Sharma. All three dismissals came off short deliveries. Broad then gloved Sharma behind to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, before India completed the win when Ravindra Jadeja ran out James Anderson with a direct hit. Anderson ran for a single when one was never available, and it ended a farcical second session for England. Speaking before Prior's later withdrawal, England captain Alastair Cook backed his wicketkeeper but understood those who feel it is time for change.

"Matt has a serious amount of talent," Cook said. "I think he is the best wicketkeeper batsman in the country. When you lose games of cricket, there are always possibilities for people to come in and freshen things up. That's obviously the first thing you start looking at when you lose games. If the selectors feel we're playing the wrong team, they are meeting tomorrow to decide." For England, the scrutiny surrounding Cook's position as captain and other senior players' place in the side will only intensify. Ian Bell made 17 across two innings, and Cook has now gone 27 innings without a century. "The older guys aren't playing as well as their record suggests and that is hurting us. I've got to start scoring runs as well and that only happens with a lot of hard work," Cook admitted. "It has been tough for a while now. I've had some fantastic times as an England cricketer but now we are at the darkest times." Starting day five on 105-4, England had enjoyed a positive opening session, managing to stifle India's momentum until Moeen Ali was caught out on the final ball. Ali fended a fierce Sharma bouncer upwards off his glove, where Pujara took his first catch of the day at short leg, having made 39 runs. For England, it was a disastrous end to an otherwise ideal first session. Root reached his fifth test 50 in a knock that included three fours in one over off Sharma. He took 122 balls to bring up the milestone. It received an appreciative applause from the crowd, whose optimism was increasing as his defiant innings progressed. Ali and Root's fifth-wicket partnership, worth 101 runs, was ended by Sharma in his following over. And there is potential for more bad news to follow for England. Bowler Anderson will find out if he will be banned for four test matches after being charged with pushing Jadeja as the players went for lunch on day two of the drawn first test at Trent Bridge. The third test match starts Sunday in Southampton.

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