Ganguly denied entry at Eden Gardens

Kolkata: Bengal's iconic Sourav Ganguly could have never expected this at his home ground. The former India skipper was denied entry into the Eden Gardens by International Cricket Council's (ICC) Anti Corruption Unit officer Dharamveer Singh Jadav, prior to the start of the fifth and final India-England ODI in Kolkata on Tuesday.

When two captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Alastair Cook were in the middle for the toss, Ganguly was required inside the ground for his expert comments for the official broadcaster. The Bengal southpaw was seen using the common passage -- just connecting the two dressing rooms -- to enter the ground, but was asked by Yadav to use some other entry as according to ICC rules, only players and team officials were allowed in that region.

According to witnesses, Yadav showed Ganguly the pictures (on the wall) of those who could be allowed in that area and Ganguly's picture didn't figure in that list. "You may be Sourav Ganguly, but I'm sorry I cannot allow you to use this passage as your picture is not there," Yadav was heard telling Ganguly.

The former India captain then, without stretching the matter any long, used another entry to the ground. Ganguly, when asked, played down the incident and said: "I have no comments on this issue." But Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and former national selector Sambaran Banerjee lambasted the ICC for their bureaucratic attitude.

"ICC cannot stop Pakistan cricketers fixing matches -- which has to be revealed by under-cover agents of the media -- and now they are acting stupid by denying entry to one of the greats of Indian cricket. It's a shame and shows how legendary cricketers are treated by the world's governing body," an agitated Banerjee told MiD DAY on Tuesday.

CAB secretary Biswarup Dey also termed this incident unfortunate. "We were not there at that time, but what has happened is very unfortunate," Dey said. Yadav refused to comment. "I cannot comment as I have some commitments," he said.

It is learnt that this same officer once stopped Kolkata Knight Riders' co-owner Shah Rukh Khan from entering the Feroze Shah Kotla in New Delhi during a KKR-Delhi Daredevils match in the last Indian Premier League.

Channel 9 : Hot Spot will be implemented in India-Australia series

Melbourne: The Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) will not be used when India clash with Australia in the upcoming Test series but Channel 9, the official broadcaster, has decided to stick to technologies such as Hot Spot and Eagle Eye for the sake of TV viewers.

The Indian cricket board has ruled out using the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) in Australia as it feels that the ball-tracking tool is not accurate enough.

Under the rules, the DRS system needs the approval of both teams in a bilateral series.

However, Channel 9 said despite India's reservation for the technology, they will use it for the millions of cricket viewers this summer.

"India have got something against the DRS and that goes back a long way. But Hot Spot and Eagle Eye are part of what we do for viewers. If India don't agree to use them for decision making it is no skin off our nose, it doesn't affect us. We will push on," Nine director of sport Steve Crawley told 'Courier Mail'.

"The technology is improving every year. Eagle Eye now has a lot more frames per second and that technology is better than it has ever been," he added.

Channel 9 is planning to use Hot Spot, Eagle Eye and other ball-tracking devices during the four-Test series which gets underway from October 26, the Boxing Day, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

India's last tour of Australia in 2007-08 was marred by some contentious umpiring decisions at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) Test. India have been at the receiving end of the UDRS many times, the recent being during their tour of England in August-September when they faced several incorrect decisions.

India sweeps series 5-0

Kolkata:
England chose a particularly humiliating route to their second 5-0 whitewash in consecutive ODI tours of India, as they allowed their resolve to collapse twice in one match - first with the ball, as MS Dhoni walloped 75 not out from 69 balls to take his series tally to 212 runs without loss - and then with the bat, as they squandered a 20-over scoreline of 129 for 0 to lose all ten of their wickets for 47 runs in exactly 100 balls.
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India's stars with the ball, as in the first match of the series in Hyderabad, were once again the spinners, Ravindra Jadeja, who claimed 4 for 33 in eight overs, and R Ashwin, 3 for 28 in nine. They joined forces with the part-timers Manoj Tiwary and Suresh Raina, to choke England's innings in a sea of slogs and dot-balls. Of England's last nine batsmen, only Samit Patel (18) and Graeme Swann (10 not out) reached double figures. The rout was sealed with 13 overs to spare when Steven Finn top-edged an Ashwin carrom ball to the keeper and triumphant captain, Dhoni.

For the first two-fifths of the innings, England's progress could hardly have been more serene. Alastair Cook and Craig Kieswetter saved their best performances of the series for the very last gasp. Kieswetter brought up his half-century from 49 balls - and England's 100 with it - with a savage carve through the covers off Varun Aaron, and Cook was scarcely any tardier, reaching his own milestone from 51. For the majority of their stand, England were consistently 20 runs ahead of the required rate, without having needed to take any risks whatsoever.

The innings, however, was derailed by the extra pace of Aaron, who came round the wicket to extract Cook's off stump for 60 from 61 balls - the exact same score he had managed in the first match at Hyderabad. Eight balls later, Kieswetter followed suit for a run-a-ball 63, as Jadeja pinned him lbw on the front foot, and suddenly the innings was wide open.

Bell, playing in his first match of the series after Kevin Pietersen had been ruled out with a chipped bone in his thumb, scratched around for 2 from six balls before snicking Ashwin to the keeper, and three balls later, all hope had been truly lost when Jonathan Trott, England's likeliest middle-order ballast, pushed loosely at Jadeja and edged a simple chance to slip for 5.

In Jadeja's next over, England's innings went even further off-track, as the overawed Jonny Bairstow tried to hit his way out of trouble but instead skidded a thick outside edge to Ajinkya Rahane at backward point. Ravi Bopara squandered the chance to be a hero when he was bowled round his legs for a 16-ball 4 by Ashwin, and Tim Bresnan - so often England's most combative tailender - confirmed the general air of surrender when he chipped a loose drive off Tiwary for a fourth-ball duck.

Long before the final indignity, England had already blown their best chance to salvage some pride in the series thanks to another scruffy fielding performance which undermined another superb display of fast bowling from England's only shining light of the series, Finn. From a comfortable 71 for 0 after 15 overs, India slumped to 81 for 3 in subsequent bowling Powerplay, with Finn sparking the loss of three wickets for no runs in ten balls with a brilliant double-wicket maiden.

First to go was Gautam Gambhir for 38, in near-identical fashion to his dismissal by Finn at Mumbai, as a lifting delivery outside off nipped off the inside edge and into the stumps. Then, after welcoming Virat Kohli with a series of excellent deliveries in the channel outside off, he bowled him with a final-ball beauty that zipped off the seam and crashed into off stump as the batsman offered no stroke.

Four balls and no runs later, and Tim Bresnan was into the act as well, as Kieswetter atoned for an earlier drop with a soaring leap to his right to cling on to a flying edge. A second consecutive maiden for Finn was then followed by an equally frugal first over from Bopara, and India's collapse should have been four wickets for one run in 25 balls when Swann at second slip dropped an absolute dolly off Suresh Raina.

India needed no further invitation to make England pay. Raina was eventually run out for 38 from 46 balls when his bat bounced in the crease as a direct hit came in from square leg, but it was the crunching hitting of the irrepressible Dhoni that left England's prospects in the dust. He saved his most savage assault for the new boy, Meaker, whom he battered for a massive six over wide long-on in a penultimate over that went for 21. Patel fared scarcely any better in the 50th of the innings, in which a further 18 runs were scalped.

By the end of it all, Dhoni had added 330 ODI runs since England last dismissed him at The Oval in September, and his personal dominance was a perfect reflection of a series in which the tables of the summer had been emphatically turned.

What goes around comes around: Yuvraj

Mumbai: Dashing middle order batsman Yuvraj singh on Friday took a dig at the English players and the media for their utterances during India's disastrous tour of England, saying they should be careful of what they speak as "what goes around comes around".

" The English media and the players have spoken too much. So what goes around comes around. The players should be careful with what the say". the 30-year old left-hander said on the sidelines of promotional event in Mumbai.


He was referring to India's victory in the ongoing ODI series against England soon after its 3-0 whitewash in the Test rubber, besides defeats in limited overs series and the lone T20 to the same opposition in their backyard during the July-September tour.

He had words of praise for the youngsters in the squad, especially top-order batsman Virat Kohli, for their contribution to India's resurgence. "The Youngsters have performed really well. They have taken the responsibilities.

"Virat is a very natural and exciting cricketer. He is not only handy with bat, but also with the ball. His contribution in the field is also tremendous. he has shown a lot of promise," he added.

You don't always want a friendly series : Dhoni

Mohali: MS Dhoni reckons England might need to change their strategy of verbal intimidation considering it has not actually worked in their favour in the ongoing series in which India have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead. On the eve of the Mohali one-dayer the England pair of and had stressed on the importance of unsettling their opponents with "a little bit of a word or a look or a stare". Players from both teams have been involved in a few verbal confrontations and Dhoni said he did not mind a little bit of chit-chat as long as  his players did not step over the line or make personal remarks.

"A bit of chit-chat is fine because it makes things interesting. You don't always want a friendly series. But I think they should change their strategy for the next two games," Dhoni said after five-wicket victory in Mohali.

He also didn't want to get carried away and term this series victory as "revenge" for the disastrous summer India had endured in England, where they lost the test and one day series and the solitary Twenty20 match. "I don't think the word revenge should be used. On the one hand we talk about the spirit of game, and on the other hand there's this talk of revenge, which I don't think is right."