Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Coaching World champs India a challenge for Fletcher: Eric Simons

India's bowling coach Eric Simons is keenly looking forward to working with Duncan Fletcher and says that for the former Zimbabwe captain, coaching the World champions will be a big challenge for him.

The 49-year-old South African, whose contract was extended by the Indian board on Wednesday, said that he expected Fletcher to bring in fresh ideas like the way he did when he was in charge of the England team. Fletcher coached England for eight years (1999-2007) and also led them to an Ashes victory after 15 years in 2005.



Eric will now be in charge of the Indian team for next month's tour of the West Indies as the 62-year-old Fletcher, now a British citizen, will join the team only after the series due to prior commitments.



"I have never worked with Duncan, so I am looking forward to working with him. I am sure he will bring in some fresh ideas to the team like he did during his English stint. But I think coaching the No.1 team in the world will be a real challenge for Fletcher," said Simons, who was appointed the bowling coach in January 2010.

Simons and his compatriot Gary Kirsten, the former India coach, forged a successful partnership that saw India becoming the No.1 Test team and winning the 2011 World Cup after 28 years. Simmons also played a key role in India's success in South Africa, where they drew the Test series for the first time.

On his extension, Simons said: "I had agreed in principle to continue as the bowling coach. Now that they have accept to give me an extension, I have to sit down with them and discuss the nature of the contract and the tenure."

Simons admitted that looking at India's stature in world cricket, his job will only get tougher.

"These are exciting and tough times for me. The last one year has been great for me and now the job has become tougher. The challenge will be to keep the team on top. The expectations are always high from World champions and living up to them will be a challenge for this Indian team," said Simons, who coached the South African team for two years (2002-04).

Simons, however, is concerned about the form of the fast bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of a hectic international calendar that also involves a tour to England for four Test matches in July-August.

"Conditions are tough for Indian bowlers on pitches which heavily favour batsman. I think we have to ensure that we have enough bench strength ahead of the two series so that we can rotate our bowlers. In the modern era, you always need a group of bowlers since you can't always rely on your main bowlers to be fit," said Simmons.

Asked if his bowlers need to cut down on the amount of cricket they play to stay fit, Simons said: "That is a personal choice, I can't say much about it. My job is to give them confidence. When you're confident you can run in and bowl quickly in good areas, they can play as much as they want."

Sunday, April 10, 2011

India beat Sri Lanka to won ICC World Cup 2011

An inspired India on Saturday night achieved the coveted World Cup after 28 years as they suppressed Sri Lankawith a six-wicket victory in a nerve-wrecking final to script a glorious newchapter in their cricketing history.

Chasing 275 for a historic win, theIndians held their nerves as they rode on Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir's 97 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's unbeaten 91 to overhaul the target with 10 balls to spare and send the cricket-crazy nation into a frenzy.

The vociferous, jam-packed crowd at the Wankhede stadium erupted in wild celebrations as Dhoni hit the winning six runs to give India their biggest cricketing moment and crown themselves the ODI world champions, in addition to being the number one Test team.

The World Cup title triumph, coming as it did after more than two decades, was doubly special for Sachin Tendulkar since it was the only silverware missing from his collection.

It was also a fitting farewell to coach Gary Kirsten, for whom it was the last day in office as the Indian team coach.

It was a momentous Saturday night marked by highemotion and poignant scenes as India, for long the game's financial power,stamped their supremacy on the field as well, eight years after Sourav Ganguly's team had made an abortive attempt to scale the pinnacle.



The players, many of them with tears in their eyes, rushed to the ground to hug each other as Dhoni finished it off in style by hitting a six, as fire crackers lit up the evening sky to mark the moment.

The highlight of the Lankan innings was Mahela Jayawardene's rollicking 103 as Sri Lanka capitalised on the batting powerplay to post a decent 274 for six.
Electing to bat after winning the toss, Jayawardene used his vast experience to good effect and supported the Lankan innings together.

The islanders, desperate toregain the coveted cup after nearly 15 years, lost wickets at regular intervals against the Indians, who were spurred on by a vociferous jam-packed crowd.

The Indian bowlers were disciplined in the first half of the innings but conceded as many as 63 runs in the batting powerplay to undo all the goodwork.

Apart from Jayawardene's 88-ball knock, captain KumarSangakkara (48) Tillakaratne Dilshan (33) and Nuwan Kulasekara (32) were theother notable performers.