India's Historic Win - International Media Reports Roundup

[suraj]

10 crores Holy **** and the selectors don't get a salary but they get a 1 crore reward- I should be in the business of cricket dudes

[maaki]

Well it would be better if we can parade the team around australia in a open top bus with Bhajji at the front.. I wonder what affect that will have on Symmo..

[fineleg]

Pawar congratulated MS Dhoni [images] and his men for their victory while announcing the award. He also announced a cash reward of Rs 1 crore for the selectors of the Indian team while lauding the selection. BLING BLING BLINGGG :D

Selectors also get bling bling. Cricket and crores are synonyms now. Cricketicz - why arent you playing yet? :)

[Laaloo]

lmao y cant they spend it on new stadiums and pitches when will they learn

[fineleg]

lmao y cant they spend it on new stadiums and pitches when will they learn

:two_thumbs_up: But they dont spend on these :((

[Lurker]

Great thread Prudent! Savd me a lot of searches :D Please keep adding, remember the more the merrier

[suraj]

Sachin: Probably biggest moment in my career LOKENDRA PRATAP SAHI Brisbane: If captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a picture of calm even after a terrific tri-series win, senior-most pro (and his idol) Sachin Tendulkar was overjoyed. “I’m feeling so proud… It’s probably the biggest moment in my career,†Sachin told The Telegraph at the team hotel, the Sofitel. Despite being hampered by a groin problem, Sachin raised the level of his game, as only he can, in the two finals. “That’s class… I don’t think Sachin was as focused in the qualifying matches, but he really turned it on in the finals,†lauded former Australia captain Mark Taylor. As for Dhoni, without naming the Sanjay Manjrekars, he slammed the Sachin-baiters: “People may call him a sitting elephant or whatever, but he’s the best and people should be careful about what they write…†Later, speaking exclusively, a somewhat exhausted Dhoni said he’d learnt two things during the past five weeks as the ODI and Twenty20 captain in Australia. “First, I’ve learnt sledging… More seriously, I’ve learnt to handle pressure better…†Dhoni, though, chose not to compare last September’s World Twenty20 Championship success (under his captaincy) with the humbling of the limited overs world champions at home. “That was a world event with different pressures… Obviously, I was very happy then and am very happy now… It’s all a part of learning,†he signed off. Bottomline, of course, is that Dhoni’s getting excellent marks. Footnote: While India shared the TVS Cup with South Africa (in Bangladesh) in April 2003, the last outright success had been way back in July 2002 when we won the NatWest Trophy under Sourav Ganguly.

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Drought looms on Australia's reign INDIA'S stunning tri-series victory has proved the day is arriving when Australia will no longer be the best team in the world. More... Drought looms on Australia's reign By Robert Craddock March 05, 2008 INDIA'S stunning tri-series victory has proved the day is arriving when Australia will no longer be the best team in the world. The gap between Australia and the rest has closed to the point where the national selectors must be getting sweaty palms. The India team which trumped Australia last night contains just one player - Sachin Tendulkar - over 30. Australia, by contrast, had just three players - James Hopes, Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson - under 30. Earlier this week, India stormed to victory in the under-19 World Cup. They are a nation on the rise. Australia are not tumbling into any sort of abyss but they are in slight decline. Given the quality of their retiring stars, it simply had to happen even given the continued excellence of Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey and Clarke and the emergence of late-blooming Hopes. For much of the tri-series Australia had little spark. They were something short of the rampant, hostile beasts we are used to. Victory has gone to the younger, more desperate side. Earlier in the series India selectors were strongly criticised for choosing an experimental team. But they have struck gold and have options everywhere. One of the key problems facing Australia is that the pressure of a turbulent summer has ground captain Ricky Ponting's head in. Over the next few days Ponting would do well to tear up his contract with the Indian Premier League and book some time at his favourite Sydney golf club. The last thing Ponting needs is more cricket. The contract fee of $400,000 he would have to surrender would be worth it for the peace of mind he cannot get at the moment. Twice in three days he has made bad errors in judgment. Australia also has a spin bowling problem that no one has a strong idea how to solve. Brad Hogg is gone forever, Stuart MacGill is close to the end and the decent options are few.

[Zakhmi]

Selectors also get bling bling. Cricket and crores are synonyms now. Cricketicz - why arent you playing yet? :)

well said and well meant. reps added.

[Zakhmi]

Hero No 1

Sachin Tendulkar carries the winner's trophy as he celebrates his team's victory over Australia.

[fineleg]

“First, I’ve learnt sledging… More seriously, I’ve learnt to handle pressure better…” .

:haha:

Footnote: While India shared the TVS Cup with South Africa (in Bangladesh) in April 2003, the last outright success had been way back in July 2002 when we won the NatWest Trophy under Sourav Ganguly.

~6 years!!! No wonder it took a while for me to create 'positive' threadz :P

[Zakhmi]

Well it would be better if we can parade the team around australia in a open top bus with Bhajji at the front.. I wonder what affect that will have on Symmo..

Well said maaki. India deserves this procession, specially around the hometowns of Symonds, Hayden and Ponting. This victory is far far more than the victory in a tri-series. It is a victory against the prevailing cricket champions/critics/racists/media, etc.

[fineleg]

Off course. T20 WC win is NOTHING over this one. I say get those open roof bus on the streets :D

OH NO!!!! Not again! :eyedance: :D

[Zakhmi]

Dhoni: It Doesn`t Get Much Better "This was a very important win because I believe it is a building stage for this team," said Dhoni. "We left a few senior players out and have played one of the best teams in the world with a young team. "The way we improved our batting throughout the series was very important, as was the way Sachin played in the two final games. "It is one of the best tours I have been on - it doesn't get much better than this. Beating Australia in the two finals and playing well in every department is a great feeling." more...

[anbuchelvan]

Manjrekar is a boot licker to Greg.

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India create history against all Oz The tri-series, despite being shrouded in controversies all through ends with a party for the Indian side, writes A Mukhopadhyay. More... March 05, 2008 Atreyo Mukhopadhyay, Hindustan Times Brisbane, March 05, 2008 First Published: 03:45 IST(5/3/2008) Last Updated: 18:29 IST(5/3/2008) They started the tri-series amid controversy over Harbhajan Singh's alleged misdemeneanours, and the dropping of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. They have no hope, the doubters said — not without the seniors, not against Australia and Sri Lanka. So, after the victory lap and champagne celebrations were done, it was Mahendra Singh Dhoni's turn to give some of it back. He kept the focus largely on the Australian media, and to their Harbhajan Singh fixation. "It was getting a bit too much…," Dhoni said. "Every day, there was something new in the papers (about Harbhajan). It didn't matter when some player, even Australians, did something good. It was all about Harbhajan, as if he was Michael Jackson. Who'll they write about once we leave?... Maybe when I go back to India I will surf the net to find what they are doing in the absence of Harbhajan." The six-wicket drubbing in Sydney on Sunday and the loss in Brisbane on Tuesday ensured Australia haven't won the CB Series trophy for two consecutive years now. The tri-series — for long an integral part of the Oz experience — is now over forever, and India, with their first major tournament victory here since 1985, will be the permanent holders. When he spoke, Dhoni held little back — but was as firm and as calm as ever. To the rest of the world, he sounded a warning: "There are youngsters in this team who are aggressive. You have to be careful while dealing with them. If you are harsh with them, you'll get it back." Dhoni's men are going back with answers to many of the questions troubling Indian cricket for some time now. The toughest battlefield has produced a bunch of warriors who will hopefully inspire dreams, not wistful thoughts of past glory and opportunities lost

[fineleg]

Good job MSD: Dhoni gives a lashing to the Aussie media! Dhoni lashes out at Australian media PTI | March 04, 2008 | 19:57 IST Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lashed out at the Australian media for their unrelenting attempt to pin down Harbhajan Singh all summer after his side had won their first-ever tri-series title�in Brisbane on Tuesday. "Tomorrow we would be gone. They now need someone to replace him (to keep themselves occupied)," said a calm Indian captain. "Sometimes it wasn't clear if it was only Harbhajan or Michael Jackson (they were covering)," Dhoni said after India beat the Australians by nine runs to win the best-of-three finals by a 2-0 margin. Dhoni commended Harbhajan for standing up to the pressure and gave a backhanded compliment to the Australian cricketers and media for keeping him stirred. "As a captain it helped me. More controversies and he became more determined. He is an aggressive, expressive player - someone who fights hard and wins the game. "The backlash worked for us. After sometime we got used to it. We knew everyday we open the newspaper there would be something. "The best thing about human beings is that they get used to it. Maybe now in India, I would search the net for what is going on in Australia (now that we wouldn't be here)," he said. :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: Images Dhoni made a few path-breaking decisions on this tour by way of encouraging youngsters as well as playing five specialist bowlers most of the times. "At certain times, you need to decide whether an extra batsman or an extra bowler would work in your favour. If a batting side is not doing well, you try to keep them down by playing specialist bowlers." Dhoni refused to take any credit for his side's triumph and had an interesting theory to explain why he retained his calm in moments of extreme crisis during the second finals at Gabba. "Everyone is under pressure. If bowlers are trying to do well then even batsmen are trying to finish off the job. By delaying things and taking your time, you are putting extra pressure on them. "Captain ka role nahin hota (It's not captain alone). It's ultimately how your players react under pressure (that matters)." Dhoni chose the moment to assert that this would be the core side of an Indian team in coming months. "This is the core side. We may have more spinners at home and a few new faces might come in but this would be the core." Dhoni also explained the reason for including Piyush Chawla in the two finals as well as his opinion on Robin Uthappa as an opener. "We wanted to surprise Australia with Piyush Chawla in the finals. He mixes it well, he varies his pace and has a googly which turns on any wicket. He is also very consistent with his line and length. He would become a better bowler with exposure. "As for Robin, he can do more damage at number six or seven. If he settles down as an opener, he would buy a few more games for himself." As for himself, Dhoni was happy to get a few extra days break for himself and openly expressed his worry about the amount of cricket being played. "I haven't driven a bike for a long time. If the series had gone to the last game, we would've boarded the flight on March 9 and hardly got time for ourself as there is a meeting on March 17 or 18. "We need some rest, either you take a break or god gives you the break. "After all everybody is human and constant cricket can exhaust you in the end. You need time to recover, rest isimportant. As they say, Rest is Best for Test."

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Ishant was the standout player: Ponting Australian captain Ricky Ponting said the young Indian speedster produced "some of the better bowling I have faced in Test cricket." More... Ishant was the standout player: Ponting March 05, 2008 14:33 IST Australian captain Ricky Ponting [images] on Wednesday gave a thumbs up to young paceman Ishant Sharma, saying the Indian speedster produced "some of the better bowling I have faced in Test cricket." "Ishant has been the standout young player in the Indian set up though the tour. Everybody has spoken about him. At different times he has bowled very good spells. The spell he bowled to me in Perth on the last day was some of the better bowling I have faced in Test cricket," Ponting said. The Aussie skipper said it would be interesting to watch how the towering Delhi pacer and other youngsters in the Indian team develop over the next few years. "He's [ishant] someone who's going to be around for a while and play a lot of cricket. It's something I have always said about the Indian team: they always seem to produce good young players. Let's see how they develop over the next few years," he told television channel NDTV. Ponting lamented that the controversies during the tour showed him and his leadership in poor light. "Probably yes. I think a few Australian players and me too [were shown in bad light]. I think a lot of it from me was really unavoidable. I was not involved in any of those stuff that happened. I was supposed to do captaining my side but with the Harbhajan incident somehow it came out looking badly," he said. "A lot of things have been said about me but I really was not involved in any of those stuff... I don't think I could handle things any differently or any better," he added. Ponting, however, denied that his team's performance was affected due to the off-field incidents or that Harbhajan Singh [images] was spurred to do better. "I don't think so it happened. If things get tough, you genuinely play a lot more better cricket and I think he [Harbhajan] tried to play exactly the same way [he performs usually]. "Australians also played in the same fashion like [Andrew] Symonds played in the same way whenever he had those pack of volleys, he genuinely played well. Matt Hayden was the same. They love being into such intense battle... Overall, I think we also played pretty well," he said. Ponting, however, admitted that Harbhajan had a difficult tour Down Under would be relieved at the end of it. "It's been a hard summer for him. As to say how many wickets he has ended up taking on this tour, I imagine he had a magnificent tour. He had a good tour and he has got wickets at the end... He got two big wickets in Sydney of Symonds and Hayden. "He has got crucial breakthroughs and this is what you expect from a spinner. In cricket, you need a good quality spinner in ODIs who can come out in the middle and can break a partnership and that's what he has done through all this series. "He had a fair share of his dues ever since he has been in Australia as he was among quite a few of those players. "I think he must be relieved going back home and getting out of Australia and when you win a match, it becomes easier," he said.

[Desi Cartman]

Pathan warns of subcontinent backlash A sobering warning from Indian allrounder Irfan Pathan ensured Australia have not heard the last of a tense summer Down Under. A controversial campaign finally concluded when India completed a tri-series one day finals whitewash over Australia with a nine-run win in game two at the Gabba. Despite their disappointment over the tri-series loss, the Australian team appeared relieved to put a summer marred by the Harbhajan Singh racial row behind them at long last. :omg: But Pathan made it abundantly clear that the fallout over a summer of discontent would be felt on the subcontinent when Australia tours in October. Asked what Australia could expect in India, Pathan said: "what goes around comes around, mate." :two_thumbs_up::two_thumbs_up: India continued the mind games by claiming they could legitimately claim to be the world one day champions after downing Australia on their home turf. "Of course (we could claim No.1 status). Obviously from the way we played, beating Australia in Australia 2-0 is amazing," said Pathan who left the country with the Indian team on Wednesday. Veteran batsman Virender Sehwag backed Pathan's call. "We beat the world champions so at the moment we are on top," he said. Australia technically remained No.1 on the official one day team rankings by the narrowest of margins ahead of South Africa. India officially moved one spot to be equal third with New Zealand. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni rated their tri-series victory higher than their famous World Twenty20 win. But Dhoni was reluctant to rank his rising one-day team - yet. India raised eyebrows when the likes of veterans Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman were axed for the tri-series tournament Down Under. However, their youth policy paid big dividends. "This is a greater victory than the World Twenty20," Dhoni said. Dhoni retained his Midas touch with the Indian reins, following up his success at last year's inaugural World Twenty20 tournament with their first tri-series one day title in Australia. But Dhoni said he had no interest in assessing his one-day team's standing despite knocking off the world champions on their own turf. "I don't believe in rankings - individual or team rankings," he said. "When you are on the field, you have to perform no matter what they say about you.

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Sachin pats youngsters, reminds them of seniors Sachin, whose unbeaten 117 and 91 was the key to victories, cautioned against getting too euphoric. More... Sachin pats youngsters, reminds them of seniors Agencies Posted online: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 at 1550 hrs IST Brisbane, March 5:: Sachin Tendulkar has hailed the ‘fantastic job’ done by India's young players in ensuring the team's triumph in the tri-series against Australia, but has underlined the contributions of players who have been around for 7 or 8 years. The master batsman, whose unbeaten 117 and 91 in the two finals against Australia was the key to the victories, also cautioned against getting too euphoric about the triumph, saying the team has to take gradual steps towards becoming the world's best side. "It's important we take gradual steps. So far the youngsters have done a fantastic job," he said after the thrilling nine-run win over Australia that gave India their maiden tri-series win Down Under. "This young team has done very well but if you look at cricketers who have been around for 7-8 years, they have contributed in a big manner as well," he added. Tendulkar also downplayed his individual contribution to the team's win and said the triumph was a collective effort. "I don't want to speak about my performance but my feeling is everyone has done an excellent job," he said. Tendulkar termed the win as the second biggest for Indian cricket after the World Cup. "Other than the World Cup, for me this is the greatest win. Everyone in the team, including the coaching and support staff, need to be complimented for having done an excellent job," he said. Although busy celebrating, a few other members of the team also spoke about the nerve-wracking final that went right down to the wire. All-rounder Irfan Pathan talked at length about the final over which he was asked to deliver. "Mahi (Mahendra Singh Dhoni), after the first two balls, told me not to worry: you are not as bad a bowler that you would be hit for three fours in as many balls," he said. "That gave me the confidence. I had gone for cheap runs in the game but it wasn't for bad bowling. Some were overthrows, some streaky boundaries and all that, but my rhythm was good and I was able to swing the deliveries," he added. Opener on the day, Robin Uthappa was over the moon and claimed that the coming few years are going to be the best for Indian cricket. "I was watching the game at home and heard Ricky Ponting say that they would wallop India by 4-0 and that Australia would have a cakewalk in ODIs. Well, they didn't," he quipped. "It got me going. It's been a good young side which has shown a lot of energy in the field," he added. Uthappa himself played a part in India's solid foundation in both the finals where he put on 50 and 94 runs for the first wicket with the irrepressible Tendulkar.