India game is a mini-final - Tim Nielsen

	Australia coach Tim Nielsen says India will be the ones facing all the questions ahead of the quarter-final

Tim Nielsen, Australia's coach, has said his team were hoping to meet India in the final of the World Cup, and would be treating their quarter-final against the tournament co-hosts in Ahmedabad on Thursday as a "mini-grand final". He said he was aware the atmosphere at Motera would be electric, and his players were looking forward to that.

"The adrenaline will certainly be flowing and playing in front of their home crowd in Ahmedabad will be exciting and a challenge for us," Nielsen said. "We've got no fear now; we know we're in the knockout stage.

"It's exciting … a mini-grand final in itself. If you came here and thought, 'What would be the best result? It would be great to make the final against India'. Well, we've got our final against India in the next few days. I'm sure if we're on our game, they won't necessarily be looking forward to playing against us. That's something in our favour."

India have played Australia in 15 one-dayersSource at home in the last five years, and Australia have won nine of those matches. Both teams have lost a game each in the group stages of this World Cup, and though India will be hoping home advantage can buoy them to a victory, Nielsen warned it could also be a hindrance to them.

Nielsen said he remembered the pressure Australia faced when they played the World Cup at home in 1992, and said things would be no different for India. "It's [playing at home] a huge factor for them. There's some pressure there and if we can start the game well and maybe quieten the crowd that will play on the mind of the Indian team."

The attention on India will also help lessen the hype that usually surrounds any Australian team at a World Cup. This time around, the defending champions are not the out-and-out favourites to win the tournament, and the end of their unbeaten World Cup streak, against Pakistan in Colombo, has further lessened the aura of the side. Nielsen looks at that as an advantage, saying all the pressure was on India.

''The media and the public scrutiny will also be so great that you'd expect India to have most of the pressure on them. They will be answering all the questions; there'll be questions about the surface we play on, there'll be questions about their line-up. It would be nice to think we can sneak under the radar a bit and just go about our preparation over the next few days and be as ready to go as we can be."

India's formidable batting line-up has shown a weakness in their last two games. In both matches, the top order set a solid base, only for the middle and lower order to collapse spectacularly. Against South Africa, in Nagpur, India lost their last 9 for 29, and then against West Indies, in Chennai, the collapse was 7 for 50. However, Nielsen said Australia could not risk letting India get off to a good start in the hope that wickets would fall later on, and would need to try to get early wickets.

"The importance of a quarter-final and the stature of a match will mean they [India's batsmen] are switched on. But if we can make some early inroads into their batting - [Virender] Sehwag, [Sachin] Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and [Gautam] Gambhir have played really well for them - we'd like to think that would be a benefit for us.''

Australia's own batting has had a few chinks, with Ricky Ponting and Cameron White both struggling for form, and the team crashing to 176 all out against Pakistan. Nielsen was not too concerned about the form of individual players, and said that as long as one of the top four batsmen got a big score, the team could kick on from that.

''We need to get a platform for our batting to expand and score quickly. The grounds are huge, the outfields lightning fast. If you can get in, then when the ball is changed after 34 overs you've really got an opportunity to score quickly.''

Australia have an impressive record against India in World Cup matches, having beaten them in seven of the nine counters, and will hope to continue that run on March 24. 

 Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/current/story/507418.html

Immense Zaheer continues his Australian opera

Zaheer Khan is now a very different bowler to the one who ran in eight years ago in a World Cup final and was overwhelmed by the occasion. His skills are controlled by containment in the mind of what precisely has to be done.

The world may not have noticed it, but there's a tumultuous opera on between Zaheer Khan and Australia. The first time they met in an ICC event, the 2000 Champions Trophy in Nairobi, Zaheer kicked down the door, burst onto stage, got Adam Gilchrist, yorked Steve Waugh and said, 'hello, sunshines.' The next time the two protagonists met at an ICC bash, the Australians were waiting: in a World Cup group game in Centurion, Zaheer was targetted and could only send down four overs of his spell. Yet it was his 15-run first over in the World Cup final that knocked him and the Indians sideways and sent the Australians on their way to their second straight title.

They meet again on Thursday, in the quarter-final of the World Cup. Not merely in another group roundabout game, but a knockout. Between 2003 and 2011, the protagonists have had another minor scuffle, last May at the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, but let's get real, this is the big one.

For Thursday's game, Australia are somewhat differently displaced from the champions of 2003 - only Ricky Ponting and Brett Lee are still around - Zaheer himself is a very different bowler to the one who ran in for India eight years ago and was overwhelmed by the occasion and his desire to burst through the batting. He is now a bowler whose physical skills with the ball are controlled by containment in the mind of what precisely is needed to be done. To keep himself fit enough to bowl ten overs and spend three-and-a-half hours in the field, to rest and recover in time to play the next game, and the next game. Finally, after all the preparation, he has got to the game where the opera will reach its abrupt conclusion.

In the tottering-teetering four weeks of India's World Cup, if Yuvraj Singh has been fire fighter with the bat and the ball, Zaheer has been its game-breaker. The leader of a bowling union that has been pilloried for lacking express pace and incisive spin, Zaheer has kept it all together, now second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 15 from six games. The next Indian behind him is Yuvraj with a distant nine wickets. Zaheer appears to be carrying what by numbers alone appears to be almost double the load of the rest of the bowlers.

Zaheer is more than the bowler the commentators love to call the 'go-to' man. He is now India's make-it-happen bowler, the partnership breaker, the kind of performer who can produce a performance from what seems like sheer will and a glowering expression. But this cricketing Heathcliff has been born out of the monotony of long practice and hundreds of overs bowled.

Michael Hussey, who will be facing Zaheer on Thursday, said the key to Zaheer's success was a decade of experience, "and knowing your game well - that's a big part of success in international cricket." Zaheer's skills begin with the basic bonus of being a left-armer who comes at an essentially testing angle to right-hand batsmen, automatically opening them up if bowling over the wicket. The advantage is amplified, due to what Zaheer is able to do with his wrist and fingers, swinging the ball in or out, over or around the wicket, often keeping the ball hidden in his hands to disguise any grip that may give out clues. Javagal Srinath wrote this week, "I can say with conviction that I have not seen an Indian bowler show as much control as Zaheer has." And Srinath has seen several, some holy cows, others merely famous names.

In the World Cup, Zaheer's spells, particularly with the old ball with command over the reverse, have been Aerodymanics 101 dished out to the soundtrack of cacophony. It is left-arm bowling with the illusion of angle and change of pace, in which the fast may be fearful but the slow can be equally sinister; as if sending the ball down 22 yards to a brute with a bat has nothing to do with either earth or air, but is merely a sleight of hand.

"He's a very skilful bowler... with the new ball and the old, and can play a role throughout the whole bowling innings, rather than being a specialist death bowler," Hussey said. "It certainly gives a captain a lot of confidence to be able to go to someone like him."

Dhoni has gone to him, several times, to bring a batting team from fluency to a dead halt: two wickets in two deliveries against England turned their measured chase into mayhem. Against Ireland he struck early, against Netherlands, he stepped in and made a statement, against South Africa, he was the most parsimonious of bowlers. Against West Indies, his second spell changed the match towards India. If you want to understand what bowlers like Zaheer are to captains, maybe Sachin Tendulkar can explain. He described what it was leading a team that had Anil Kumble. "If something was happening, I would give the ball to Anil. If nothing was happening, I would give the ball to Anil. If you needed to contain runs, you give the ball to Anil. If you needed to attack, you give the ball to Anil." It is what Zaheer has become to the Indian team, in both Tests and ODIs.

At one time, he used to be one of India's earliest bad-boy cricketers of the 21st century, his name clubbed in with that of his mate Yuvraj, who ironically, is another of India's standout performers in this World Cup. Today, Zaheer is a pillar of his team's bowling, a seasoned performer, whose career could turn into a case study in India's National Cricket Academy curriculum as to how fast bowlers don't have to always fade away, they can just get smarter. VVS Laxman said of him, "People won't look at him for statistics, they will look at Zaheer for impact."

If he had to pick a moment of enormous impact, Motera on Thursday would be a pretty good choice. 

Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/current/story/507550.html

Pune Warriors register all 30 players, KKR lowest with 20

NEW DELHI: New entrants Sahara Pune Warriors registered all 30 players for the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League which will start from April 8 while Shah Rukh Khan co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders which failed to make it to the semifinals during the past three editions have only 20 on their roster.

According to a media release, defending champions and runners-up Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have got 24 and 23 players registered respectively.

The Delhi Daredevils registered 29 players, RCB has 25 players. Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals have named 27 players for the cash-rich league. Preity Zinta-Ness Wadia co-owned Kings XI Punjab have named 23 players for the coming edition.

While Rajasthan Royals who were penalised financially exhausted their full purse, Mumbai Indians had only $1739 of their $9 million purse remaining.

This is due to MI opting to retain four players --- Sachin Tendulkar, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh for $4.5 million.

Deccan Chargers had the maximum amount $1.49 million (left) after the buy-outs followed by KXIP who had $1.46 million (approx) left.

Various IPL team squads:

Chennai Super Kings (24): Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Subramanium Badrinath, Joginder Sharma, Sudeep Tyagi, Abhinav Mukund, Aniruddha Shrikant, Ganapathi Vignesh, K Vasudevdas, Shadb Jakati, Vijaykumar Yomahesh, (Foreign) Albie Morkel, Michael Hussey, Dwayne Bravo, Doug Bollinger, Scott Styris, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nuwan Kulasekera, Suraj Randiv, George Bailey, Faf du Plessis

Mumbai Indians (23): Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Aditya Tare, Ali Murtuza, Ambati Rayudu, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pawan Suyal, Rajagopal Sathish, Surul Kanwar, Surya Kumar Yadav, T Suman, Yazvendra Singh Chahal (Foreign) Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Andrew Symonds, Davy Jacobs, James FRanklin, Moises Henriques, Alden Blizzard, Dilhara Fernando

Kolkata Knight Riders (20): Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Jaidev Unadkat, Iqbal Abdulla, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manvinder Singh Bisla, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat Bhatia, Sarabjit Ladda, Shami Ahmed, Shreevats Goswami (Foreign) Jacques Kallis, Brad Haddin, Shakib Al Hassan, Brett Lee, Eoin Morgan, Ryan ten Doeschate, James Pattinson.

Sahara Pune Warriors (30): Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Ashish Nehra, Murali Kartik, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Bhuvenshwar Kumar, Dheeraj Jadhav, Ekalavya Dwivedi, Ganesh Gaikwad, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Harshad Khadiwale, Kamran Khan, Manish Pandey, Mithun Manhas, Mohnish MIshra, Rahul Sharma, Sachin Rana, Shrikant Wagh, Shrikant Mundhe, Imtiyaz Ahmed (Foreign) Graeme Smith, Tim Paine, Angelo Mathews, Nathan McCullum, Callum Ferguson, Wayne Parnell, Mitchell Marsh, Jerome Taylor, Alfonso Thomas, Jesse Ryder

Kochi Tuskers Kerala (27): VVS Laxman, S Sreesanth, RP Singh, Parthiv Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ramesh Powar, R Vinay Kumar, B Akhil, Chandan Madan, Deepak Chowghule, Kedar Jadhav, Raiphi Gomez, Sushant Marathe, Tanmay Srivastava, Y Gnanswara Rao, Yashpal Singh, Prashant Padmanabahan, (Foreign) Mahela Jayawardene, Brendon McCullum, Steven Smith, Muttiah Muralitharan, Brad Hodge, Thisara Perera, Steve O'Keefe, Owais Shah, Michael Klinger, John Hastings

Royal Challengers Bangalore (25): Virat Kohli, Zaheer Khan, Saurabh Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mohammed Kaif, Arun Karthik, CM Gautham, Abrar Kazi, Mayank Agarwal, Bharath Narayan, Raju Bhatkal, Sreenath Aravind, Ryan Ninan, Asad Khan Pathan, (Foreign) Tillekratne Dilshan, AB de Villiers, Daniel Vettori, Dirk Nannes, Charl Langeveldt, LUke Pomersbach, Johan van der Wath, Rilee Rossouw, Nuwan Pradeep, Jonathan Vandiar

Rajasthan Royals (27): Rahul Dravid, Pankaj Singh, Aakash Chopra, Abhishek Raut, Aditya Dole, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Paunikar, Ashok Menaria, Deepak Chahar, Dishant Yagnik, Faiz Fazal, Nayan Doshi, Pinal Shah, Samad Fallah, Siddharth Trivedi, Stuart Binny, Amit Singh, Dinesh Salunkhe, Swapnil Asnodkar, Sumit Narwal, Ankeet Chavan (Foreign) Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Ross Taylor, Johan BOtha, Paul Collingwood, Shaun Tait

Deccan Chargers (27): Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Manpreet Gony, Akash Bhandari, Anand Rajan, Ankit Nagendra, Arjun Yadav, Ashish Reddy, Bharat Chipli, DB Ravi Teja, Harmeet Singh Bansal, Ishank Jaggi, Ishan Malhotra, Jaydev Shah, Kedar Devdhar, Sunny Sohal (Foreign) Kevin Pietersen, Cameron White, Kumar Sangakkara, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn, Daniel Christian, Chris Lynn, Juan Theron, Michael Lumb

Kings XI Punjab (23): Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, Love Ablish, Mandeep Singh, Nitin Saini, Paras Dogra, Paul Valthaty, Shalabh Srivastava, Siddharth Chitnis, Sunny Singh, Vikramjeet Malik, Amit Yadav (Foreign) Adam Gilchrist, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Stuart Broad, Ryan Harris, Dimitri Masceranhas, Nathan Remington.

Delhi Daredevils (29): Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Naman Ojha, Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Umesh Yadav, Venugopal Rao, Aavishkar Salvi, Prashant Naik, Rajesh Pawar, Robin Bist, S Sriram, Tejashwi Yadav, Unmukt Chand, Varun Aaron, Vikash Mishra, Vivek Yadav, Yogesh Nagar, Shahbaz Nadeem (Foreign) David Warner, James Hopes, Morne Morkel, Aaron Finch, Mathew Wade, Roloef van der Merwe, Andrew McDonald, Travis Birt, Collin Ingram, Robert Frylinck. 

 

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/Pune-Warriors-register-all-30-players-KKR-lowest-with-20/iplarticleshow/7762816.cms

Ind vs Aus: Tendulkar, Ponting get ready for final World Cup duel

Sachin Tendulkar gestures during a training session at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera in Ahmedabad on March 22, 2011. (AFP Photo)

AHMEDABAD: The quarterfinal clash between Australia and India, on Thursday, is not only about who stays in the hunt for the title but also about two of game's modern day greats Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting squaring off in a World Cup game for what appears to be one last time.

The two ageing warriors would like to stamp their superiority and propel their side to the last four stage on March 24 at Motera's Sardar Patel Stadium.

Neither of the two is expected to be around in 2015 when the next edition is scheduled to be held Down Under.

In the previous meeting between the two sides in the World Cup, that took place in the summit clash of the 2003 edition in Johannesburg, Ponting came out trumps with his unbeaten century took the game away from India even before the Men In Blue came out to bat.

Ponting's blistering 140 not out, in only 121 balls with a staggering eight sixes and 4 fours, had propelled Australia to an imposing 359 for two.

Chasing the huge Australian total, Tendulkar could score only 4 and despite Virender Sehwag's run-a-ball 82, India fell well short of the target and Australia walked away with cricket's most coveted prize for the second edition running.

On Thursday, in front of a vociferous 50,000-strong crowd, the Indian master has the chance to make ample amends for what happened eight years ago and also step into the record books as the first batsman to have scored 100 centuries combined in both forms of cricket - Tests and ODIs.

Tendulkar has had a very good tournament individually, with superbly crafted tons against England and South Africa at the league stage, though both efforts could not power India to victories, with the first match tied and the second ending in a narrow defeat.

Ponting, on the other hand, has had a horrendous run with the bat. In six matches, he has mustered a miserly 102 runs with 36 being his best effort at a poor average of 20.40, less than half his 358-match career average.

Ponting's ODI average in India against the hosts is also an impressive 44.86 from 24 games, but the second and last of his two hundreds in this country was notched eight years ago in Bangalore.

The Tasmanian has looked a pale shadow of his domineering style and is under tremendous pressure to keep his captaincy though teammate Michael Hussey felt otherwise.

Hussey brushed aside reports in Australia that Ponting's captaincy was at stake, at a media conference here today and said the entire team was backing the struggling skipper.

"No worries at all. He has been fantastic, best man for the job and has been for a long time. He's certainly got the full support of all team members," Hussey said.

Ponting has also been lambasted in the media for losing temper on the field of play and off it too, as well as for not walking after clearly edging behind the stumps while Tendulkar did the exact opposite a day later and was hailed for his sportsmanship.

"He's been criticized over minor things. They have been blown out of proportions. He's been playing well and just like a champion rises to the occasion at the right time, on Thursday we will see the best of Ricky Ponting," Hussey said in his skipper's defence.

In five duels against Australia in World Cups, Tendulkar's best effort thus far has been a splendid innings of 90 in a league game at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium in 1996, and his average against them is a modest 28.20 spread over four World Cups.

Thursday's match provides both these stalwarts, among the all-time great batsmen in the game, a last chance to impose their stature in head-to-head battles in the premier ODI tournament. 

 

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Ind-vs-Aus-Tendulkar-Ponting-get-ready-for-final-World-Cup-duel/articleshow/7763183.cms

Ind vs WI: India beat West Indies by 80 runs, face Australia in quarters

CHENNAI: Yuvraj Singh scored his maiden World Cup century and took two wickets as India beat the West Indies by 80 runs on Sunday to set up a quarterfinal against defending champions Australia.

West Indies, set 269 to win, finished on 188 all out with seven overs left.

India's victory in the last match of the group phase means they will face Australia, bidding for a fourth straight World Cup title and fifth in total, in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

West Indies, whose run of one-day international defeats against leading nations was extended to 18 by this reverse, will face Pakistan in Bangladesh in their last eight clash on Wednesday.

While Devon Smith, doing his best to compensate for the absence of injured fellow left-handed opener Chris Gayle, was making 81 the West Indies were in the hunt.

But Smith's exit sparked a collapse that saw the last eight wickets lost for 34 runs as the Caribbean slumped from 154 for two.

When Zaheer Khan returned to the attack Smith looked uncomfortable and he was bowled by a fine ball from the left-arm quick that cut in a touch.

India's spinners then took over.

Big-hitting Kieron Pollard tried launching Harbhajan Singh only to find Yusuf Pathan at long-on.

West Indies, on the ground where just days earlier they had surrendered a winning position in an 18-run defeat by England, then saw Devon Thomas stumped by wicketkeeper and India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni off a well-flighted delivery from left-arm spinner Yuvraj, who took two for 18.

And West Indies captain Darren Sammy was then run out before Yuvraj dismissed Andre Russell for a duck.

Earlier, Yuvraj's 113 was the cornerstone of India's 268 but the host nation lost their last six wickets for just 36 runs.

Ravi Rampaul marked his World Cup debut with a career-best five for 51 including the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar.

That surpassed the fast bowler's 4-37 against India in Kingston in June 2009 -- the last time the West Indies beat a top nation in a one-dayer.

Yuvraj's innings revived a 38,000 capacity Chidambaram Stadium crowd stunned into silence by the early loss of Sachin Tendulkar for two.

Yuvraj and Virat Kohli (59) shared a third-wicket stand of 122 after India were reduced to 51-2 following an early double strike by Rampaul, in for Kemar Roach.

Yuvraj faced 123 balls and hit two sixes and 10 fours in an innings that ended when he was caught and bowled by Pollard.

India were already in the quarterfinals and many fans hoped to see Tendulkar score his 100th international century.

But Rampaul had Tendulkar, undone by a lifting delivery, caught behind off the last ball of the first over.

Australia umpire Steve Davis rejected Rampaul's appeal but Tendulkar walked off anyway. 

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Ind-vs-WI-India-beat-West-Indies-by-80-runs-face-Australia-in-quarters/articleshow/7747320.cms

Tendulkar forced to wait for 100th ton

Sachin Tendulkar walks back to the pavilion during the cricket world cup match between India and West Indies in Chennai on March 20, 2011. (AFP Photo)

CHENNAI: Sachin Tendulkar's hopes of scoring his 100th international hundred in Sunday's World Cup clash against the West Indies ended in disappointment when he was dismissed for just two.

Some 38,000 fans had packed into the Chidambaram Stadium in expectation of seeing the 'Little Master' add to his tally of record achievements.

But his innings lasted only four balls when he clipped fast bowler Ravi Rampaul to wicketkeeper Devon Thomas and Tendulkar walked off to a stunned silence from the crowd.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and batted in the Group B clash and there were raucous cheers from fans as it meant they would be guaranteed an early glimpse of Tendulkar.

A trademark clip off his legs for two off his first ball from Rampaul suggested Tendulkar, who moved to 99 hundreds (51 in Tests and 48 in one-day internationals) against South Africa last time out, remained in good form.

He then calmly dealt with the next two deliveries, neither resulting in a run for the batsman.

But then the fourth ball he faced leapt from just short of a length from outside off-stump and straightened a touch.

Tendulkar stabbed at the ball, taking his bottom hand of the bat handle, before it flew through to Thomas.

Rampaul and the West Indies let out frenzied appeals but Australian umpire Steve Davis was unmoved.

However, after a brief pause, Tendulkar walked off with India eight for one in the first over.

Tendulkar's next chance to score his 100th century will come in Thursday's quarter-final at Ahmedabad where India will face champions Australia.

 

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Tendulkar-forced-to-wait-for-100th-ton/articleshow/7747585.cms

Sachin Tendulkar does 'blind' training

Sachin Tendulkar during a training session at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. (TOI Photo)

CHENNAI: Sachin Tendulkar can get it right even with his eyes wide shut.

The Chennai heat was unbearable, most of the players had wrapped up the practice proceedings, but not Tendulkar. He put a couple of fielders within the net, asked bowling coach Eric Simons to give him throwdowns, and kept finding the gaps with his "eyes closed."

"He asked us to stand at short cover and short point and closed his eyes right at the moment of impact. We were supposed to say 'right' if the shot pierced the gap and 'wrong' if it didn't," one of the fielders who represented Tamil Nadu in the U-16 level and was fielding within the nets, told the TOI after the practice session. The player sounded really amazed when he said that Tendulkar kept getting it right, more often than not. "I don't know how he was doing it...But we couldn't believe our eyes as the ball went between us over and over again," the player added.

The pitch on which Tendulkar was batting was pretty similar to the Chepauk track, on which the match would be played on Sunday. "The ball was stopping and coming...The pace at which he asked the bowling coach to throw the balls, it appeared that he was getting ready to play Kemar Roach. And he is certain that there will be two fielders in short cover and short point to snap him up. That's why he was trying to play the shots along the ground and looked to find the gap with his eyes closed," the young player added.

When Tendulkar had started practising, some of the drives that he tried went into the air, which annoyed the Little Master. He had a talk with Simons and then asked the fielders to stand in those close in positions.

"It's an education watching him from so close. How on earth can a player get the shot right even with his eyes closed? Probably, it was a practice to ensure that he doesn't play a shot in the air on reflex on such tracks where the ball was stopping," the player added.

The 100th international century can very well come here, but the Little Master just doesn't want to talk about that milestone. The instruction was given strictly to all the practice bowlers that no one should ask him about the record for which the whole country is waiting. 

 

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Sachin-Tendulkar-does-blind-training/articleshow/7739777.cms