Zimbabwe Holds Off Hong Kong: Afghanistan Downs Scotland

SPORT
20 |
HYDERABAD
THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016
Zimbabwe holds off Hong Kong
Pakistan
wants venue
shifted from
Dharamshala
A. JOSEPH ANTONY
NAGPUR: Hong Kongs pursuit
NEW DELHI: Pakistan is
pressing for a shift of venue

for the ICC World
Twenty20 match against
India at Dharamshala on
March 19.
According to sources, the
Pakistan Cricket Board had
indicated its reluctance to
the International Cricket
Council (ICC) despite the
assurances on security
given by the Indian
authorities. In a related
development, the Pakistan
teams departure too has
been delayed by a day.
The Board of Control for
Cricket in India was,
however, confident that the
match would be played at
the same venue. A change
would create logistics
issues for the organisers
and inconvenience to the
fans who have planned their
visit to Dharamshala.
Special Correspondent
Telecast schedule
Irani Cup : STAR Sports 4 & HD
4, 9.30 a.m.
South Africa vs Australia : 3rd
T20, TEN Cricket & TEN HD,
9.30 p.m.
of Zimbabwes 158 for eight

spluttered to a halt 14 short of
the target in their ICC World
Twenty 20 championship
qualifying round match here
on Tuesday.
Holding their nerve in the
contests closing stages, Zimbabwes bowlers bottled up
the islanders, Tendai Chatara
even verging on a hat-trick in
the run-up to victory.
On the run-chase, Hong
Kong lost fewer wickets but
frequently fell short in the
scoring rate.
Past the half-way stage, it
stepped on the gas, Jamie Atkinsons (53, 4x4, 2x6) huge
sixes perking up the pace.
Following in his footsteps,
the middle-order heaved at
everything that came its way,
which brought in the boundaries but cost it dear in the
outfield.
Revival
Earlier, reeling at 62 for
four, a 51-ball 61-run fifthwicket stand between Vusi
Sibanda (59, 5x4, 2x6) and
Malcolm Waller revived Zimbabwe.
Elton Chigumburas unbeaten cameo lower down the order, adorned with three
boundary clearing blows, saw

respectability restored for the
African side.
When the tournament got
under way, Hamilton Masakadza was quick on the draw,
three boundaries and a six
lighting up his short stay.
An attempted single proved
ill-fated for the Zimbabwe
skipper as he failed to ground
his bat. Undeterred, Sibanda
cut loose, his drives taking off
like tracer fire towards the
ropes.
A six brought up his halfcentury en route to his highest
score in the shortened format.
Hong Kong made quick inroads early in the game, having Richard Mutmbami caught
short of the sightscreen ropes
off Tanwir.
Sean Williams sought to
smear the rival skipper all
over the place but chopped
onto his stumps.
Sikandar Razas run out vindicated Hong Kongs decision
to bowl first, its dominant attack backed by fine fielding.
The scores: Zimbabwe 158 for
eight (Vusi Sibanda 59, Malcolm
Waller 26, Elton Chigumbura 30 n.o.,
Tanwir Afzal two for 19, Aizaz Khan
two for 33) bt Hong Kong 144 for six
(Jamie Atkinson 53, Tanwir Afzal 31
n.o., Donald Tiripano two for 27,
Tendai Chatara two for 28). Man-ofthe-match: Vusi Sibanda.
NAGPUR: Afghanistan stretched
its 5-0 record against Scotland

in the games shortest version
to half a dozen, clinching the
Group B qualifying match of
the ICC World Twenty20
championship at the Vidarbha
Cricket Association stadium
here on Tuesday night.
After being well on its way at
84 for one, Scotland stumbled.
The target of 171 set by Afghanistan proved beyond its batting
prowess, the chase by the Scots
running out of steam.
The Scots seemed well and
truly launched, openers George
Munsey (41, 9x4) and Kyle
Coetzer (40, 4x4, 1x6) providing the perfect platform to
overhaul the rival total. The introduction of leg spin from both
ends through Rashid Khan and
Samiullah Shenwari slammed
the brakes on Scotlands
ambitions.
At first it halted Munsey and
Coetzer in their tracks, the lefthander trapped leg before and
the latter caught in the deep.
HARD HITTING: Mohd. Shahzads 39-ball 61 helped Afghanistan put

up a challenging total which finally proved beyond Scotland's
reach. PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK
Amir Hamza returned to ply his

slow left-arm fare and Mohammad Nabi sustained the stranglehold with his off-breaks.
Sure enough, the boundaries
came down to a trickle, the
Scots taking recourse to
singles.
Earlier, Scotlands spin startup through southpaw Mark

Watt didnt really pay off, the
spoils landed instead through
Alistair Evans medium-fast assault. Afghanistans aggressive
approach
wasnt
curbed
though, as Asghar Stanikzai
The 11th hour syndrome,

and why there is no Plan B
SURESH MENON
ST(R)UCK: Hong Kong batsman Ryan Campbell misses a pull and the ball lodges in his helmets visor
in the match against Zimbabwe on Tuesday. PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK
Afghanistan downs Scotland

A. JOSEPH ANTONY
BETWEEN WICKETS
heaved Josh Davey over the

mid-wicket hoardings soon after, its scoring rate crossing six
in the first quarter itself.
Scotlands return to spin
from Watt and Matt Machan
proved an expensive experiment, Mohammad Shahzad
carting the offie over the ropes
off successive deliveries. Halfway through, Afghanistan reached 79 for the lone loss of Noor
Ali, the Scots quite unequal to
the task of containing the batsmen, indulging themselves
with reverse sweeps and
Dilscoops.
Shahzads 39-ball, stroke-filled 61 (5x4, 2x6), his 10th halfcentury so far and the highest
tally by a player from an associate nation, ended when Calum
McLeod held his lofted straight
drive off Watt.
Unbeaten at the end was
skipper Stanikzai on 55.
The scores: Afghanistan 170 for
five (Mohammad Shahzad 61, Asghar
Stanikzai 55 not out) beat Scotland
156 for five (Kyle Coetzer 40, George
Munsey 41, Matt Machan 36; Rashid
Khan two for 28).
Acclimatisation a
major challenge
for Bangladesh
Y.B. SARANGI
DHARAMSHALA: Travelling more
than 2000km from the hot and
humid conditions of Dhaka at
the sea level to the cooler Dharamshala at high altitude to
play two matches within four
days, Bangladesh will have to
go through a breathless experience in its switch from the Asia
Cup to the World T20.
After playing the Asia Cup
final on Sunday, Bangladesh,
the only Test-playing nation in
Group A, reached here the following day to play its first
World T20 qualifier against
the Netherlands at the HPCA
Stadium on Wednesday.
We took the flight yesterday morning and reached at 6
in the evening. We didnt have
much time to practise and adjust, said Bangladesh captain
Mashrafe Mortaza.
India is generally similar
(to Bangladesh), but here conditions are different. You need
to adjust to the breathing here.
It is cold in the night and we
have to play two night
matches.
Short on time
Considering that several of
the Bangladeshi players have
no experience of playing in
such conditions, it will be a real
challenge for the side to acclimatise in practically one day
and get back to business.
However, Mortaza said this
could not be an excuse for the
team, comprising some experienced batsmen such as Tamim
Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Sabbir
Rahman, all-rounder Shakib Al
Hasan and a good attack consisting of Mortaza and Taskin

Ahmed.
Good build-up
Having spent 10 days in Bengaluru and Mohali, the Netherlands has had a good build-up
to the event. Being joint champion of the qualifying tournament and with some seasoned
players in its ranks, such as
captain Peter Borren and Roelf
van der Merwe, the team
consisting of several New
Zealand and South Africa-born
players expects to repeat its
2014 performance of making it
to the main event.
The evening fixture will be
between Ireland and the lesser
known Oman. Both sides have
spent enough time in India and
are serious in their approach.
Ireland, which made it to the
second round in 2009, has
some players with the exposure of playing in English
counties. With experienced
cricketers in captain William
Porterfield, Test player Boyd
Rankin, the O'Brien brothers,
Andy Poynter and George
Dockrell in the side, Ireland,
which aspires to make the Test
grade, will love to start off with
a win.
Oman, comprising Indian
and Pakistani expatriates, has
made some rapid progress under the guidance of Sri Lankan
great Duleep Mendis.
It will depend on players like
captain Sultan Ahmed, Jatinder Singh and Mehran Khan to
achieve its aim of toppling
some bigger sides and making
an impact.
ndia, as someone once said, is a country that

lives in the eleventh hour. Sporting India even
more so. The World T20 cricket began on Tuesday, with the business end of the tournament (the
Super 10) set to commence in a week. Yet, as I
write this, there is no assurance that matches
scheduled for Delhi will go ahead, or that Dharamshala will host
the India-Pakistan tie on March 19, or indeed if the womens
team from Pakistan are arriving at all. Tickets for the matches
went on sale late enough to discourage many tourists from
outside Asia.
The last-minute syndrome is typical. In the end, everything
somehow falls into place, and handicaps that seemed insurmountable disappear. Perhaps we need the uncertainty to spur
us on. Perhaps we work best in the face of doubt and ambiguity.
In 1982, as a fresh sportswriter, I reported the Asian Games in
Delhi. The start of construction of stadiums had been delayed,
there were doubts about things being ready on time, farmers
were agitating and threatening to ruin the Games, measuring
equipment was found to be faulty and so on. Yet, the Games
were a success; you could set your watch by the event that was
taking place, such was the precision and punctuality. Nearly
three decades later, the Commonwealth Games began with the
same uncertainty and finished with the same cheer. The eleventh hour had triumphed
again.
Cricket usually escaped the
curse of uncertainty for one
very good reason: No government wanted to be seen as opposing the peoples sport. For
the same reason, brinkmanship was the political game. In
the 1980s, the Congress government hinted that an England team might not be
welcome in India because two
of the players, Geoff Boycott
and Geoff Cook had played in
apartheid South Africa. Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi then found reasons to forgive these
players, and announced the tour would take place. A nation was
grateful.
If in the 1980s, it was politics, in the 90s, it was commerce, with
uncertainty over television rights and who would get to watch
what on which channel. When the Board of Control for Cricket
in India challenged the antiquated Indian Telegraph Act of 1885,
it was called anti-national. Once that battle was won (in the
courts), the next battlefield presented itself: Pakistan.
In 2004, the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee first
considered a feel good factor if India toured Pakistan and won,
then considered the opposite effect if they lost this in the
build-up to the elections. Then on Valentines Day, as Indian
fans played will-we-wont-we, Vajpayee abruptly announced
the tour would go ahead. Again, a nation was grateful.
Eleventh hour is
not yet upon us.
There is time
enough for
confusion and
consolidation,
retraction and
reiteration before
sport takes over.
Normal build-up
Clearly nothing has changed. Now Virbhadra Singh, the Chief
Minister of Himachal Pradesh has said that as a mark of respect
to the families of those killed in the Pathankot attack, he will not
be providing security at the match. In Pakistan, Imran Khan has
advised against the team travelling to India. A group calling itself
the Anti-Terrorist Front has threatened to dig up the wicket.
The ex-Servicemens League in the state would be unhappy if the
match is held, but they will decide formally later. Just the normal
build-up to an India-Pakistan match, you might say.
The Chief Ministers late awakening notwithstanding, he is
using a familiar technique. The binary system. On the one hand
is the Indian army and all that it evokes: duty, patriotism, nationalism, bravery, sacrifice. Then there is the other: Pakistan,
dissenting students, anyone who disagrees with the official
viewpoint, certain minorities.
Put that way, it would be anti-national to even suggest that
the Dharamshala match be shifted to say, Bangalore or Chennai.
But if Pakistan are unwelcome, that should have been made
clear in January soon after the Pathankot attacks.
Now we have the sight of the security experts from Pakistan
checking out the system in India. Thats irony for you.
The BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur has said that there is no
Plan B. Where Pakistan hosting or touring India is concerned,
it is usually prudent to have a Plan B.
On the other hand, he might be speaking with the confidence
that, as in the past, everything will be sorted out at the eleventh
hour. Cricket-wise Pakistan need India more than India need
Pakistan, so threats of a pullout may not work in their favour. On
the other hand, television and sponsorship deals might have to
be renegotiated if Pakistan withdraw.
That there will be trouble at home if we play Pakistan (only
in cricket, though) tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Those who feel strongly that there will be trouble are the ones
who instigate it. It doesnt take too many people or too much
effort. If history is any guide, then there is time left. Eleventh
hour is not yet upon us. There is time enough for confusion and
consolidation, retraction and reiteration before sport takes
over. Soon we will be wondering what the fuss was all about. Till
the next time, that is.
VARIETY
THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11645
1
10
11
12
13
16
14
17
20
15
18
19
21
22
25
26
28
29
Across
9 Well-informed about pressure

behind difficult duel at centre
court (5-2)
10 Come through evil... (7)
11 ...boor's power, energy and
Satan's designs (7)
12 Meet was organised by actress
(3,4)
13 Criticises model pupil, perhaps
CM
YK
Afterdark
23
24
27
having erratic sense (9)

15 Yankee leaves circle of grind
(5)
16 Songs written by everyone in
substandard school (7)
19 Supreme Court perhaps helps
stupid people (7)
20 Cinematic technique displayed
by Ang Lee (5)
21 Old and loud female's
consummation is annoying
(9)
25 Humbled the peeper, say
going back in agreement (7)
26 Cocktail procured from
Fabmart in India (7)
28 Actor's fault to get irregular
cast and artists (7)
29 Psychopath with a jerk tails a
Roman Goddess (7)
Down
1 Son manages to get rooms (6)

2 Country to stand by King and
upper class leadership (6)
3 Plan to have idli, dosa for
starters followed by timeless
tea (4)
4 Irritates police officer by
contaminating site (6)
5 Carbon causes diffusion,
perhaps in Galaxies (8)
6 Encourage England as well, to
follow rest about giving up
energy (10)
7 Overdue? Hold premier bank
to reverse Euro deposit as
ransom (8)
8 Survives wife and others
without love,
but constant acting within (8)

14 Legitimate circumstances to
acquire English asset (4,6)
16 Display of liquor cut short at
hotel; is restricted (8)
17 Tissue provided by wise men
coming home during fast (8)
18 Immobilise arrogant despot
now (4,4)
22 Ladylike fellow's weak, upset
with sweetheart (6)
23 Fools use jargons, time to
replace many (6)
24 Girl's love and longing is a
mishap (6)
27 Harass, evict Tom and collect
lease (4)
Solution to puzzle 11644

A C C O
S
A
D
P E T R O
O
C
U
O T H E R
N
I
S E N I O
G
R
A C
A
A
H
C A R P E
U
R
S
T R O U T
E W R
E S T A
M P
L
L E
A
S
E
R
V
R E
R
N T
I
C
A
B L
A N I M E N T
U
O
E
A
UM V I A L S
E
E
R
I
C R AMB L E D
A
E
Y
E
L A N D
S
T
C
A S S I S T
F
V
A
E R
P A I R S
U
R
L
T
R I T I C I S E
T
A
A
D
I S HM E N T
FAITH
SU | DO | KU
Recipient of a
rare privilege
A devotee looks at the world with eyes that are not attracted
by the glitter in it, unlike the majority of human beings who
easily fall for these attractions. So the path of the devout is
arduous and more so for the women saints who have had to
reconcile the challenges and criticism from domestic and
socio-cultural angles as well, pointed out Dr. Sudha
Seshaiyan in a discourse.
Saint Karaikal Ammaiyar had to contend with this conflict.
She was by nature a devout woman and though a devoted
wife, her married life came to an end when her husband left
her without informing her of his plans for his future. She
waited for him faithfully for seven long years and was
disappointed when she came to know that he had taken a
second wife. She then opted to shed her physical frame and
live with the skeletal form. Karaikal Ammaiyar saw the
physical body as a distraction to her devotion and so gave up
this form for that of a ghoul. It is held that she walked up to
Sivas abode Kailasa on her hands and that Siva and Parvati
were so moved by her devotion. Siva addressed her as His
mother, a rare privilege for her exceptional devotion.
Physical beauty or other individual faculties and talents are
to be regarded with care and used appropriately without
showing any sense of ownership. It is easy to be affected by
the praise or criticism these are likely to elicit from the
people around. The chaste Ahalya fell because for a moment
she was filled with pride about the fact that her beauty had
caught Indras eyes. Gautamas curse deprived her of this
beautiful form and she continued to live in the hermitage
without a form until Rama relieved her of this curse.
A mind game and a

puzzle that you solve
with reasoning and
logic. Fill in the grid with
digits in such a manner
that every row, every
column and every 3x3
box accommodates the
digits 1 to 9, without
repeating any. The
solution to yesterdays
puzzle is at left.
HY-HY

Zimbabwe Holds Off Hong Kong: Afghanistan Downs Scotland

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Zimbabwe Holds Off Hong Kong: Afghanistan Downs Scotland

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Zimbabwe Holds Off Hong Kong: Afghanistan Downs Scotland

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SPORT

THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Zimbabwe holds off Hong Kong

NEW DELHI: Pakistan is

pressing for a shift of venue

of Zimbabwes 158 for eight

boundary clearing blows, saw

NAGPUR: Afghanistan stretched

its 5-0 record against Scotland

HARD HITTING: Mohd. Shahzads 39-ball 61 helped Afghanistan put

Amir Hamza returned to ply his

Earlier, Scotlands spin startup through southpaw Mark

The 11th hour syndrome,

Afghanistan downs Scotland

heaved Josh Davey over the

Hasan and a good attack consisting of Mortaza and Taskin

ndia, as someone once said, is a country that

9 Well-informed about pressure

having erratic sense (9)

1 Son manages to get rooms (6)

but constant acting within (8)

Solution to puzzle 11644

A mind game and a

You might also like