Parties, travelling during IPL took a toll on fitness: Dhoni

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni refused to blame the IPL for the team’s Twenty20 World Cup debacle but conceded that after-match parties and hectic travelling during the glitzy league did take a toll on the players’ fitness.

“Most of the players were fit and fresh. Players also need to be smart, not only about cricket but about other things going around in the IPL. We have to respect your body and give some time for it to recover because there is more to it than playing matches. Attending parties and travelling takes a toll,” Dhoni said after India’s five-wicket loss against Sri Lanka yesterday that knocked them out of the event.

The defeat was also India’s third successive in the Super Eights stage, a disappointing low for the inaugural champions.

Dhoni said the six-week-long IPL was in itself not responsible for the debacle. “Our performance does not have anything to do with IPL,” said Dhoni.

“I wouldn’t say the IPL was a set back for our preparation. In fact, it has helped us in match preparation for the World Cup. It has thrown up players like (Suresh) Raina, Rohit (Sharma), (Ravindra) Jadeja, (Pragyan) Ohja and (Amit) Mishra. It has groomed a lot of talent.”

Dhoni rejected criticism of the team and said he is least affected by what is said about it.

“As Far as the sloganeering goes, I am not bothered about that. We try and do our best. We play for our country and we are more respectful to our country than those who do these sort of things. They can do whatever they want to,” fumed Dhoni.

He said Indian had done their best although the results have not been too good.

“Whenever we go out there we try to do well. But you won’t do well every time. We tried our best and did whatever we could have, but we still ended up being on the losing side,” said a despondent Dhoni.

The wicketkeeper-batsman commended the Sri Lankans for their all-round show yesterday.

“They batted really well in the end overs. Also, they bowled very well after the 13th over and made it difficult for us to score.

“They were looking to bowl yorkers and to keep the ball outside off stump. You can’t do much when someone bowls perfect yorkers. Me and Raina were out there in the middle. It was really tough. But we were looking to slog everything thing,” he said.

Dhoni said he did not regret batting first yesterday. “I don’t really regret batting first. If we had chased 150 batting second, it would not have been less than 10 runs an over which is tough. Defending 163 was difficult. We fell short by a few runs. Had we scored 180 or more, the target would have been 160-170 and that would have been a good target to defend,” said Dhoni.

Dhoni said this was the best Twenty20 side that India could field.

“We are not performing to our potential. I can’t say why. But at the end of the day this is the best T20 side we have. It gets tough without players like Virender (Sehwag), Zaheer Khan (he suffered a blow on the right thumb) and Praveen Kumar,” he said.

Asked if the Indians’ vulnerability to the rising ball proved to be their downfall, Dhoni said, “I can’t comment on that as you really can’t stretch a tournament for too long. It required a bit of adaptation as we have played in similar conditions quite often. I can’t say the wicket was such and we didn’t perform well.”

He said Indian batsmen had technical problem when it came to playing the short ball.

“Most of us have the problem of playing short pitched balls. So it is not just the youngsters who had problems. We can’t neglect it any more. But we don’t have bowlers who consistently at 145-50 kph and most of wickets in India don’t have that kind of bounce,” he said.

“But we should also remember we are good players of spin. So we shouldn’t be ashamed that we can’t play short-pitch bowling. We have to play even against short-pitch but we can’t be ducking and leaving all the time in Twenty20,” he added.

On whether he was feeling the pressure of captaincy, Dhoni said, “You are always under pressure when you play for India. It is part and parcel of the game. I have not played any game till now when there is no pressure.”

Notwithstanding the debacle in the World Cup, Dhoni said he had faith in his side.

“I have a side with lot of potential to do well, wherever we play. We had two or three poor tournaments. But other than that we have been consistent,” said Dhoni.

Lack of discipline resulted into defeats: Pak manager

A team manager's report on Pakistan's disastrous tour of Australia blames defensive captaincy by Mohammad Yousuf and discipline problems for the debacle.

Pakistan were whitewashed 3-0 in Tests and 5-0 in One-day matches before going down in the only Twenty20 match on their tour of Australia, which ended on February 5.

The defeats forced chief selector Iqbal Qasim to resign from his post, while the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) formed a six-man evaluation committee to ascertain the reasons for the defeats.

Coach Intikhab Alam and wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Akmal were also axed from the touring party for two Twenty20 matches against England in Dubai on February 19 and 20.

The committee discussed tour manager Abdul Raqeeb's report on Friday, a copy of which was acquired by AFP.

"Yousuf, a world class player, failed as captain because of his defensive approach," said the report, which also mentioned two separate incidents when Yousuf disputed his axing from the team.

On the first occasion, Yousuf was dropped from the team for the third One-day international against New Zealand – a series played in the UAE preceding the twin tours of New Zealand and Australia.

"Yousuf, finding his name missing from the playing eleven started arguing with coach Alam that on what grounds 'I have been dropped'. Alam replied that he has been dropped because of poor fielding."

Younus Khan led Pakistan in the UAE series before withdrawing from the New Zealand tour and Test series against Australia due to lack of form.

Yousuf replaced Younus for the tour of New Zealand and Australia.

The other incident occurred before the fifth and final One-dayer against Australia when Yousuf initially withdrew but wanted to play later.

The report also mentioned a heated argument between pacemen Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer during the second Test in Wellington, with both players being fined 1,00,000 rupees.

In another incident of ill-discipline, young batsman Umar Akmal was blamed for giving a media interview without permission before the Hobart Test when he was undergoing examination for an apparent back strain.

"The committee is requested to assess the entire situation and impose a heavy fine on Akmal so that he can become a lesson to others."

The report said the appointment of former paceman Waqar Younus had caused confusion among the players.

"He (Waqar) is an ex-world class cricketer but in my opinion his induction was unnecessary. Players got confused as to whom to follow. They got divided between the coach and the consultant."

Pakistan's poor fielding and batting was also highlighted.

"We dropped at least 30 simple catches during the six Test matches played on the two tours. Our players are not mentally tough, they succumb to the pressure easily and batsmen, including Yousuf, got out to reckless shots.

Tendulkar and Dravid make happy scoreboard

It is a duo that has weathered storms and painted pretty pictures.

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid’s shared theme of durability was displayed again at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium here on Monday. Tendulkar’s 45th ton, Rahul Dravid’s 29th century and their 222-run partnership for the third-wicket helped Dhoni’s men tighten their grip on the second Test against Bangladesh.

At close on the second day, India scored 459 for five and with an unfinished lead of 226 is set for another triumph while leading the series 1-0.

MISHAP

A day of batting riches was, however, marred when Dravid (111, 188b, 12x4) got retired-hurt after a Shahadat Hossain bouncer with the second new-ball, did not climb as expected and slammed into the batsman’s helmet visor. Later Tendulkar, Murali Vijay and Harbhajan Singh’s soft-dismissals had minimal effect as India marched ahead with captain M.S. Dhoni at the crease.

Tendulkar (143, 182b, 13x4, 1x6) and Dravid had their streaks of fortune as catches were dropped and a run-out was avoided while they remained equal to the task of coping with a sluggish pitch.

They also became the best pair for 100-run partnerships through their 17th successful alliance. The earlier record of 16 belonged to the pairs of Ricky Ponting-Matthew Hayden and Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes.

Shakib swirled in his left-arm spin with a negative line and a packed on-side. The pace trio of the two Hossains (Shahadat and Rubel) and Shafiul Islam, removed the slip cordon, kept two gullies and tempted the batsmen to slash. Later as reverse-swing surfaced, two short mid-wickets were placed to choke any mistimed shot off the incoming delivery.

UNFAZED

However, Tendulkar and Dravid remained unfazed. Initially Dravid used his feet and freed his arms while Tendulkar took some time to gauge the pace of the pitch. Tendulkar also enjoyed his share of reprieves on 27 and 53 while Raqibul Hasan dropped him twice at gully off Rubel and Shahadat.

Tendulkar soon drilled his shots through the in-field with a whip off Rubel being the pick. The maestro’s slog-sweeps and Dravid’s inside-out drives negated spin as the partnership gained depth. The on-drives and backfoot-punch were also employed as Dravid continued to flourish though a close run-out call, late in his innings, tested his patience.

Dravid reached his 100 while denting the cover-picket and along with Tendulkar added value to the earlier efforts of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

BOUNCED OUT

It was not Sabina Park and there were no Caribbean drawls of ‘give him the perfume ball’. But out there in the middle, three bouncers tweaked in a different sub-text during the first session. Sehwag and Gambhir succumbed while Dravid survived to add a touch of welcome drama.

Sehwag (56, 63b, 8x4) pummelled a few through the off-side but was surprised by Shahadat’s bouncer. On his toes and with the bat inches off his nose, Sehwag fatally fended to signal the end of a 103-run partnership with Gambhir.

The odd delivery kept low and the pitch began its share of surprises but Gambhir (68, 83b, 9x4), in the form of his life, reached his 50 to equal another record. The opener signed his name alongside Vivian Richards for scoring 11 consecutive Test fifties and the other fabulous record of Sir Don Bradman beckoned.

A sixth successive Test century seemed there for the taking but Shafiul, steaming in from around the wicket, cramped Gambhir with his angle and the bouncer had the intended effect. An ungainly Gambhir helped wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim exult again.

LUCKY ESCAPES

Dravid, meanwhile, enjoyed two slices of luck on nine and 28. A Gambhir drive had earlier narrowly missed Shafiul’s outstretched palm and crashed into the non-striker’s stumps with Dravid backing up too far.

A few overs later, Rubel’s bouncer caught Dravid off-guard, a diving Junaid Siddique ‘caught’ at slip and the man from Bangalore began his pavilion-bound walk before pausing on seeing Billy Bowden’s ‘no-ball’ call.

Kotla ODI was rightly called off: Gambhir

Contradicting his home association, star batsman Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday said Match Referee Alan Hurst did the right thing by abandoning the fifth and final India-Sri Lanka ODI because the Feroz shah Kotla track was not fit for an international game.

Even though Delhi and District Cricket Association claimed matches have been played on worse surface than at the Kotla and Hurst should have considered another track that was offered, Gambhir saw logic in Hurst's decision to call off the game.

"I think the Match Referee has done the right thing. He must have given it a serious thought. It was not an ideal wicket for a One-Day International match," Gambhir told reporters after he was signed as the brand ambassador of Seagram's Royal Stag Mega Cricket. (Read: Poor pitch leads to ODI abandonment)

India went into the fateful match with an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match ODI series and the game was abandoned after 23.3 overs because of the dangerous track where balls rose alarmingly.

Dismissing DDCA claims that the match could have carried on, Gambhir said, "The whole world now knows why the match was called off. Had the wicket been alright, there would have been a full match on Sunday.

"This is an embarrassing situation which doesn't happen often and someone has to stand up and take the responsibility," he said.

Gambhir's view was in stark contrast with DDCA vice president Chetan Chauhan's assertion that Sri Lanka actually "chickened out" of the match sensing a defeat and the match officials, including Hurst, did not make an honest effort to carry on with the match. (Read: Dhoni wanted Kotla ODI to continue, says Chauhan)

Following Hurst's negative report, the International Cricket Council has already sought an explanation from BCCI to be furnished in two weeks before it decides on the punishment for the venue, which may lead to a ban of upto two years. (Read: Does Kotla face an 18-month ban?)

Gambhir said but for the Kotla pitch playing spoilsport, India would have ended the year on a winning note.

"It was both embarrassing and disappointing. A 4-1 win would have looked more comprehensive. We wanted to end the year on a high with a win. It would have given us a momentum going into the tri-series in Bangladesh (starting on January 4)," he rued.

Delhi's Kotla will not host Test against South Africa

After the embarrassing pitch fiasco on Sunday, Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla ground has lost out on hosting a Test match between India and South Africa early next year.

The South Africa-India series will be held in February and March next year. Though the list of venues had not been announced yet, Kotla was in contention to host one of the two Test matches to be played during the series.

However, Ratnakar Shetty of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that it has been decided that the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) will not get to host this match after the fiasco.

Also Read:

Decision on Kotla ground in a month: ICC
Pitch important, not a fancy stadium: Pawar
Kotla pitched confused Gavaskar as well
Members of DDCA pitch committee resign

A two-member inquiry committee is also being set up to look into the Kotla pitch mess-up. (In Pics: Kotla ODI abandoned)

On Sunday, the nation watched stunned as the fifth One-Day International between Sri Lanka and India was abandoned after 23.3 overs had been bowled with the guests complaining that the pitch was dangerous. What made it worse was that this was the national capital. Irate spectators turned violent at the ground and the entire DDCA pitch committee resigned later in the day. (Read: Poor Kotla pitch leads to ODI abandonment)

International Cricket Council (ICC) vice president Sharad Pawar has also spoken out on the issue saying it's the ground and pitch that matter the most, not a fancy stadium.

After the ICC receives the match referee's full report on the incident, it will write to the BCCI within five days demanding an explanation for the incident.

The BCCI will have 14 days to respond to the ICC. If ICC decides the pitch was sub-standard, penalties can range from a warning to a fine or suspension.

Match Referee Alan Hurst had issued a statement after the match was abandoned on Sunday. He said:

"The decision to abandon the match was taken by myself, in consultation with the on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Shavir Tarapore, and both captains as it was clear that the pitch had extremely variable bounce and was too dangerous for further play.

"Before abandoning the match, consideration was given to shifting the match to a secondary pitch. However, it was deemed impractical as the secondary pitch was not adequately prepared," Hurst said in his statement.

However, the ICC's chief executive has said Feroz Shah Kotla can still retain hope of hosting the 2011 World Cup matches.