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Team India returns to hero's welcome

         New Delhi: The victorious Indian cricket team returned here tonight to a tumultuous welcome at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. As soon as the team members walked out of the terminal, fans and well-wishers, waiting patiently for hours, garlanded the stars and danced in joy to the drum beats. Among the crowd was Abid Ali, a relative of teenage fast bowling sensation Irfan Pathan. Ali has come all the way from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, to greet his cousin and the rest of the team. "We are very proud of Pathan. He has made the entire country happy with his superb performance," Ali said. India created history by beating their arch-rivals both in the one-dayers and Tests in their own backyard, feats which no other Indian team had achieved in the last five decades.

           Led by Sourav Ganguly, the triumphant cricketers enjoyed every moment of the reception as more and more people continued to pour in and join the frenzied celebration. BJP supporters and personnel of team sponsors Sahara and tournament sponsors Samsung were also present in large numbers to welcome the heroes. There was considerable excitement for Delhi's own hero Virender Sehwag. Amidst high decibel Bhangra beats, BJP supporters waved saffron flags and chanted the names of Sehwag and Union Minister Sahib Singh Verma. Meanwhile Prime Minister A B. Vajpayee thanked Pakistan on arranging the wonderful cricket series that had let the two teams to play in front of each other after fifteen years on Pakistani soil. Vajpayee also congratulated its spectators and players who "displayed unique warmth and sportsmanship in all the matches, which made the series truly historic and memorable."

India fourth in ICC Test rankings after win against Pak (Go To Top)

          London: India's 2-1 Test series win in Pakistan has boosted it to fourth in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Championship table, the highest it has ever been in the official table, an ICC press release said Friday. According to The News, India's rating has risen from 100 to 102 as a result of beating its close rival. Now India is ahead of Pakistan for the first time since August 2003 with the home side's rating falling from 102 to 99. The paper said that India has steadily climbed the official Test table over recent months. Earlier this year, its rating improved from 95 to 100 due to a strong showing in the drawn series against Australia. India has never had a rating above 100 since the new system of calculation was introduced in July 2003 and has never been as high as fourth in the official table dating back to its introduction in May 2001. Prior to the historic Test series, India also overtook Pakistan in the ICC One-Day International Championship by virtue of a 3-2 win in the ODI series.

          The ICC ratings are as follows: 1 Australia 127 2 South Africa 112 3 England 103 4 India 102 5 New Zealand 101 6 Pakistan 99 7 Sri Lanka 94 8 West Indies 89 9 Zimbabwe 55 10 Bangladesh 1

I will quit if changes are made: Miandad (Go To Top)

          Rawalpindi: After the Test series loss to India here Friday, a disillusioned Pakistan cricket coach and former skipper Javed Miandad said that he would step down if the PCB made changes to the present team, as far as hiring of new coaches is concerned. "If they want to appoint a bowling coach, a fielding coach or anyone else .......... I have no problems with that. It's their decision if they want me to go I have no problems with that also," The News quoted Miandad as saying. It may be noted that PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan had on Friday said that there would be some changes in the Pakistan team set- up, but not drastic ones. "Don't expect any radical changes or steps to be taken because we have lost the series to India. But, yes, we have pinpointed some areas of weaknesses where more expertise is required and we will be making some changes," Khan reportedly said.

           Nailing his critics, Miandad said that judgements should not be made merely after one or two losses. "You can't just look at the results of one match or series and start criticizing the players. I have always maintained that these same set of players have won us matches in the recent past and have done well. Overall, despite injury problems, we fought well but it was only in the final Test that we really let everyone down, including ourselves," he added. He said that as the coach he was satisfied and that he was doing everything he could to get the best out of the team and make the players more professional. "We know we have problems. We know we have shortcomings, but we are looking into those areas and will come up with the solutions." But, the Pakistani coach also admitted that if one factor had led to Pakistan's defeat and India's victory it was the failure of the bowlers to be more effective.

If Akhtar has called Rashid, he will face the music: Inzy (Go To Top)

          Rawalpindi: Annoyed at fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar's behaviour during the final Test match, Pakistan skipper Inzamam- ul-Haq has said that action would be taken against him if it was confirmed that he had called up former captain Rashid Latif and made complaints to him about the captaincy and team. It may be recalled that Rashid had mentioned in a TV interview aired recently that Akhtar had called him up and complained about several things concerning the Pakistani team. "We also heard on television Rashid saying that Shoaib had called up him up and told him that I was not giving him (Shoaib) the field placing he wanted and that he was not happy with this. We are looking into this, but obviously when something like this is said on national television it can't be wrong," The News quoted Inzamam as saying. "Such things are not good for the team spirit. About that, there is no doubt. If he has done, it he will face some action," he added.

Inzy bays for Akhtar's blood (Go To Top)

          Rawalpindi: Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has squarely blamed his fast bowlers, particularly Shoaib Akhtar, for the Test series loss. A very upset Inzimam said that he would be speaking to the PCB to take action against all those players who had caused a dent to the team's spirit in the series. He further said that those players who didn't perform didn't deserve to play or be in the team. "We depended on our bowlers particularly Shoaib a lot because he is the fastest bowler in the world. But he has let us down with his performance and attitude," The News quoted Inzamam as saying here on Friday. "The injuries before this Test didn't help at all. It left us with limited choices in the bowling department, and since the match was so crucial, we could not take a chance with uncapped bowlers like Rao Iftikhar or Abdul Rauf," he added. "We performed very poorly in this Test match. In fact our performance has been inconsistent throughout the series. When your top bowlers can't take more than seven wickets in three matches, than it is always going to be hard on the team," the Pakistan captain added. "The spate of injuries to our key players after the first Test also didn't allow us to field a settled bowling combination in the last two matches. We didn't have much of a choice as we could not take chances with uncapped bowlers in such a crucial match."