Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi beats world champion Magnus Carlsen in Aimchess Rapid tourney

Originally published at Pen 18

sourav ganguly: Outgoing BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly set to become CAB president again – The Economic Times Video

Outgoing BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly will return as the president of his state unit, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), the former India captain said on Saturday. Ganguly, who had to step down from the post of BCCI president as there is no precedent to continue at the top post for more than three years, was the CAB president for four years between 2015 and 2019 before joining the apex body.

Originally published at Pen 18

T20 World Cup: Bigger boundaries, true bounce and no dew make it a level playing field

If a T20 event turns out to be predictable, it is probably one of the most boring formats of all. And while it is an external factor that affects the result, it does poorly on tournaments. The same happened during last year’s T20 World Cup in Dubai and more recently in the Asia Cup, except in the final where Sri Lanka overcame all odds to beat Pakistan. In most cases, however, it was ‘win the toss, bowl first and win the match’. India suffered losses in both these tournaments and it is unfair for any team to be on the receiving end of a situation like this.

At the same time, Australia is likely to be separated. The toss, it may be expected, will not play a role or play a minor role in influencing the outcome of a match. Wickets are expected to be perfect at most places and with dew not being a factor, this T20 World Cup will be a level playing field in every sense. It will be about form and with outside factors having little impact on the performance of the team that day.

It is also important in Australia that all kinds of players – batsmen, fast bowlers and spin bowlers – will have a role. While the batsmen will get value for their shots and also have the option to rotate the strike in larger grounds, in most cases the fast bowlers will get the good carry first. From the evidence, there is bounce and carry at almost all places and the hit-the-deck bowlers should do well to take advantage of it. In India’s first warm-up match, the fast bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh picked up the pace early in the day and Hardik Pandya was able to bounce the ball quite early in the innings in the second.

The spinners are also expected to play a key role as Australia have huge grounds. When you play in smaller stadiums like Sharjah, spinners are often restricted to participants only.

Even mishits clear the boundary rope and slow bowlers often find themselves on the receiving end. This cannot happen in Australia. Someone with skills like Yuzvendra Chahal or Ravichandran Ashwin will have enough cushion to pick up wickets. For example, Rashid Khan has performed extremely well in Australia’s T20 competition, the Big Bash League.

In fact, Australia has the second lowest boundary percentage in T20 cricket in the last two years. According to ESPNcricinfo, only 54.1% of runs in Australia are scored in fours and sixes, the second lowest after South Africa (51.7%). In short, the conditions will not determine the outcome of the Games. Teams with versatility and balance will have an advantage and this is where the tournament can really live up to the bill of being an open competition that anyone can win.

Nothing could be better for India than playing the first match in Melbourne. The top order, unlike England or Australia, is more dependent on picking timely and early intervals than outright power hitting. For example, someone like Virat Kohli is a master at taking gaps and rotating the strike. If only Tim Davids of the world shines in the format, the skill becomes redundant. Skill over power will determine who does better in Melbourne. Maybe that’s why Jasprit Bumrah will be sorely missed. With the conditions not doing much towards the end of the innings, India will miss his unmatched ability to bowl in the death overs.

Plus, all the teams look to be standing reasonably well on paper, with no real favorites going into the competition. In a World Cup you want close matches all the time and that’s what Australia promises to provide. In a team sport, you don’t want a situation like Roland Garros. You don’t want a clown like Rafael Nadal, because it makes the tournament a bit boring

Originally published at Pen 18

Udhayveer Sidhu’s double gold sees India consolidate second place at ISSF World Championship

Cairo: India clinched three more gold medals, including two bronzes from Udayveer Sidhu, to consolidate its second position at the ISSF World Championships here on Saturday. Udayveer won both the junior men’s 25m and standard pistol titles, while Isha Singh won the junior women’s 25m pistol title as India ended the day with four gold and three bronze medals, with China’s eight gold and eight gold medals. There are 16 medals in total.

India also secured the Paris 2024 Olympic quota place after Rudraksh Balasaheb Patil stunned a high-quality field to become the world champion of 10 air rifle men on Friday.

Udayveer put up a combined score of 580 in the junior men’s sports pistol after accurate and rapid fire rounds, taking him to the top of the 23-strong field.

Italian Matteo Mastrovalerio was second while Liu Yangpan of China took the bronze with 577. In the standard pistol, he scored 568 in three stages to surpass Yangpan, who this time settled for silver with 567.

India’s Sameer also scored 567 but had to be content with a bronze medal in countback.

After finishing fourth in the qualification round with a score of 581, Isha finished second in her ranking match and made it to the final medal round. In eight series of five rapid fire shots in each final, Isha fired five and then four shots in each of the four rounds, emerging most consistent and winning the gold medal.

She eventually took 29 hits in the medal match to beat China’s Fang Cixuan, which ended with 25. Hungary’s Miriam Jako won the bronze medal. It was her first junior world title, after winning two silver medals at the Lima Junior World Championships last year.

India’s second bronze of the day came from Tejaswini in the junior women’s 25m standard pistol, when she shot 557 behind the Chinese athletes. Maanvi Jain stood fifth with 556 and Payal Khatri with 547 was ranked eighth.

In the day’s two Paris quota events, India’s Shiva Narwal finished eighth in the men’s 10m air pistol. He scored 583 to qualify for the ranking match in sixth place, but could not progress much after that, and was among the first to be eliminated on a score of 147.6.

Naveen missed out on a spot in the top eight after finishing ninth with 582. Two other shooters qualified on the same score but Naveen lost in a low internal 10. Vijayveer Sidhu finished 19th with 579 points.

India also missed out on the women’s 10m air pistol when Rhythm Sangwan finished 17th in the qualification with a score of 576. The final qualifying spot went to 580. Yuvika Tomar finished 25th with a score of 574 and Palak finished 50th with 568.

In other results, Sartaj Tiwana of India finished eighth in the ranking match with a score of 297.7 in the junior men’s 50m rifle three positions event. He had qualified seventh on Friday with a score of 580.

In the Junior Women’s 3P, none of the three contestants from India made it past the qualification stage, with Nischal being the best in 29th and Nikita Kundu finishing 30th. Both made a score of 576. Nupur Kumrawat was ranked 51st with 566. PTI AH AH ATK ATK

Originally published at Pen 18

Sourav Ganguly set to become president of Bengal Cricket Association, again

Outgoing BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly will return as the president of his state unit, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), the former India captain said on Saturday.

Ganguly, who had to step down as BCCI president as there is no precedent to continue in the top post for more than three years, was the CAB president for four years between 2015 and 2019 before joining the BCCI.

“Yes, I will contest the CAB election. I plan to file my nomination on October 22. I have been in the CAB for five years and as per the Lodha rules, I can continue for four more years,” Ganguly told PTI.

There was strong talk that Ganguly’s elder brother Snehashish would replace Avishek Dalmiya for the top post, but the former India player’s nomination changes a lot of equations.

Ganguly said, ‘I will finalize my panel on October 20. lets see.’

Originally published at Pen 18

Women’s Asia Cup 2022: India crush Sri Lanka by 8 wickets; win the title for 7th time – The Economic Times Video

India beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the Women’s Asia Cup here on Saturday. India were restricted to 65 for nine after asking Sri Lanka to bowl first and then chased down the target in 8.3 overs. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana scored an unbeaten 51. Earlier, Sri Lankan batsmen offered a track offer after their captain decided to bat.

Originally published at Pen 18

Women's Asia Cup final 2022: India to clash with Sri Lanka in the finals today

Originally published at Pen 18