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After
handing out a massive drubbing to Sri Lanka
in the just concluded series India has moved
to second spot from third in ICC rankings.
While earlier India were on 112 points,
now the win has added three points that
will take its tally to 115. India have thereby
displaced giant killers England who had
decimated the world champions Australia
in the Ashes. However, they lost 2-0 in
the Test series in Pakistan recently. For
the sub-continental islanders this series
has been nothing short of a disaster. It
has cost them five points, but they will
not move from the current seventh spot.
Coach Tom Moody was a revelation for their
ODI squad very early in his tenure but he
has not been able to do anything for the
Test performance. Even in ODIs India handed
them a 6-1 beating.
Courtesy:
The Indian Express, December 22, 2005
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Attitude Unlimited. The
big, bold letters in red glittered across
her T-shirt as Sania Mirza basked in the
after-glow of a torturous first round victory
in the Wimbledon Tennis Championships here
on a hot Monday afternoon. Sania Mirza needed
both - loads of 'attitude' and 'unlimited'
fighting spirit - to overcome a resilient
Akiko Moragami 6-3, 3-6, 8-6 in the backwaters
of Court 17. Yet, it could so easily have
been one of the main courts if you consider
the number of spectators, screaming Indians
really, watching this 90-minute battle.
The match itself was a mixture of great
shots, heart-breaking misses and unforced
errors; in the end, the one with the better
nerves and a sweeter smile was left standing.
Sania, looking fitter and more agile, shot
off the blocks and raced away to a commanding
5-1 lead. Her lethal forehand and hustling
saw Akiko wilt under the cannon-ball pressure
to warm the hearts of her admirers. The
18-year-old did everything right: her backhand
was equally sharp and even her serve, for
once, behaved itself. The real match, however,
started in the second set. Akiko, almost
magically woke up and discovered strength
in her arms, speed in her legs and accuracy
in her shots. She forced Sania to play off
her backhand and suddenly the little Indian's
shots started hitting the wrong side of
the lines. "It was a match that could've
gone either way. Just because...
Courtesy:
The Times of India, June 21, 2005
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