Shamik Das


Saturday, May 31, 2008

T5? Five out of five!

"Come fly with me..."

HAVING experienced Terminal 5 for the first time today, I can honestly say it was a fantastic experience.

No problems, no delays, no missing baggage.

As they say in Holland, from where I flew, onberispelijk!

Heathrow Airport
British Airways

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Bayern make history in Bengal as Kahn calls it a day

Auf wiedersehen Herr Kahn: A poster advertising Oliver Kahn's farewell match

GERMAN GIANTS Bayern Munich became the first major European club to play in India last night, beating Mohun Bagan 3-0 in what was also legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn's last game.

The venue was the 120,000-capacity Salt Lake Stadium on the outskirts of Kolkata, the second largest stadium in the world and home to Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting.

The cavernous bowl, jam-packed to the rafters, and its dusty, bustling, noisy, typically Bengali surrounds must have seemed a world away from the spacious boulevards and quiet streets of Munich for Kahn and his teammates, but one they embraced.

The game itself went the way of the form book, Bayern in charge from start to finish, winning through Jan Schlaudraff's double and a Zé Roberto free-kick, though the ending was far from expected, Bagan's Branco and Bayern’s Breno receiving red cards for fisticuffs five minutes from time.

It is not, however, on the strength of last night's performance that Indian football will be judged, it is on whether the authorities can harness the passion and enthusiasm of the 120,000 spectators who turned out yesterday as well as the millions more watching on TV.

They face a tough task.

Before: Kahn says goodbye to the media at his final pre-match press conference  During: Kahn flies through the air in his last game of football  After: An emotional Kahn soaks up the applause at the end of the match

The record of India's national football team makes grim reading. They have never appeared in the World Cup, though they did qualify for the 1950 tournament in Brazil, but refused to take part because of a FIFA edict that all players should wear boots.

Indeed, they were knocked-out of qualifying for South Africa 2010 in October last year, losing 6-3 on aggregate to Lebanon a month before England were eliminated from Euro 2008 and three years before the finals themselves.

Their current world ranking is 151, while Pakistan are 161st, Sri Lanka 162nd and Bangladesh 180th; India's women, however, offer some cause for celebration, ranked nearly 100 places higher than their male counterparts at 55.

It has always been a mystery to British Asians not only why their national teams are so poor but also why there are so few brown faces in the Premiership – only one name springs to mind, Michael Chopra of Sunderland – in spite of the undoubted love for and knowledge of the game.

The contrast with cricket could not be greater, with the likes of Ravi Bopara, Vikram Solanki, Owais Shah, Sajid Mahmood and Adil Rashid all in and around the England squad, with Nasser Hussain only recently the captain.

And with the advent of the Indian Premier League, the All India Football Federation's task could become harder before it gets easier, as spectators are hooked in by the fast-paced, high-octane nature of twenty20 cricket, a fad that surely cannot last.

Salt Lake Stadium: With a capacity of 120,000, the second biggest stadium in the world

The views of these two youngsters at the game will give the AIFF some heart. "If Bayern Munich can come down here why can football not compete with cricket?" Ramjit told the BBC.

"It is just a slow ongoing process. There are kids who like watching football, they prefer it to cricket as cricket is getting boring."

His friend Sanjoy agreed: "It [football] is not as big as it once was. Every sport in this country is secondary to cricket.

"But it is again picking up and with Bayern Munich coming to India and Kolkata on a regular basis, it is making an impact."

If those kids are right and the Bhangra Boys ever do make it big, British Asians, having failed the cricket test, may well have to answer the football test: England or India?

FC Bayern München
Mohun Bagan AC

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Van der Sar the star as Utd crowned Tsars of Europe

Once, twice, three times a champion: Manchester United add the Luzhniki Stadium 2008 to their European roll call of honour, alongside Wembley 1968 and Camp Nou 1999

SO, how was it for you? The thrills, the spills, the tears, the beers, the suicidal impulse when Terry stepped up to take his kick, the greatest feeling in your life when Van der Sar saved Anelka's penalty.

Never before have so many undergone so pronounced a shift in emotions. We should have known it wouldn't be easy after the sizzzling end to the Bayern final.

Back then Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær were the heroes, now it was the time for Edwin Van der Sar to join the pantheon of Old Trafford legends.

Call it fate, call it karma, call it what you will, Terry's slip was divine intervention from the football Gods. Half a century on from the Munich disaster, United's name was on the cup, and nothing, nothing at all would stop them winning.

And how great that Terry, Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba should be the fall guys? Especially Terry, the ultimate exponent of anti-football, a violent bully and England's worst captain in history.

Didi really do that: Drogba is sent-off for a pathetic little bitch-slap on Vidic    Terry's all-cold: The Chelsea captain falls to the ground as the rain beats down, having fluffed his lines at match point

The sight of this muppet with his head in his hands, contemplating his error, was a sight to behold! He'll replay it in his mind for the rest of his days. If only Frank Lampard had screwed up as well; now that really would have been the icing on the cake.

Chelsea's scumminess and approach to football was summed up by the fact that, while United ascended the steps to collect their trophy led by Sir Bobby Charlton, none other than their vile cheif executive Peter Kenyon led the losers up the stairs, through a guard of honour formed by the men in red.

Could you imagine Chelsea doing the same if they had won? Not likely.

For Roman Abramovich, crestfallen in his own courtyard, the lesson was clear: There are some things in life money just can't buy - respect, class, decency, honour, history...

As for Dr Death, the man who promised his paymaster he'd win him the quadruple, the message is crystal: Dos vidana, Avram!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Roman in ruins as flying Dutchman rescues Ronaldo

Van der Tsar: The moment United won the European Cup, as Edwin van der Sar flies to his right to save Nicolas Anelka's penalty

Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, European Cup Final:
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (After extra time)
Manchester United win 6-5 on penalties



FIFTY years since the Munich disaster, 40 years on from their first European win and nine years after the treble triumph Manchester United won another thrilling Champions League final.

Deadlocked at half-time, full-time and at the end of extra-time, it took penalties to seperate the two best teams in Europe, United's sudden-death success condemning Chelsea to their first trophy-less season in four years.

After the first four penalties were scored Cristiano Ronaldo, the man no one expected to miss, saw his weak kick saved by Petr Cech following a stuttering run-up.

The next four all went in and so it was left to Mr Chelsea, John Terry, captain, cockney and the only member of their squad to have risen through the ranks.

He stepped up, shaped to go left - sending Edwin van der Sar the wrong way - and then, just as he was about to roll the ball into the net, he slipped, and watched, helpless, as his shot struck the outside of the post, writhing on the ground in agony.

Four-all: Sudden death. Anderson, Salomon Kalou and Ryan Giggs all score. Attention turns to Nicolas Anelka, a Champions League winner with Real Madrid eight years ago, needing to score to keep Chelsea in the final.

He shoots, Van der Sar dives full-stretch to his right and saves.

Double delight: Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs hold aloft the Champions League trophy

Victory for United. Joy unconfined. The best team in England and now the best in Europe.

"The first penalty shoot-out I've ever won in a big game," said United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. "I think there was a bit of fate about it.

"We were fantastic in the first half and could have been three up but then they scored a lucky goal. They were better in the second half.

"I'm delighted for everyone. It's an amazing achievement.

"We deserve it."

Hours earlier, Ronaldo had put United ahead midway through the first-half, out-jumping Michael Essien and heading in Wes Brown's teasing cross following good work by Paul Scholes.

1-0: Cristiano Ronaldo powers the league champions ahead    1-1: Frank Lampard equalises for the Londoners

Then, after United missed chance after chance, Frank Lampard took advantage of a series of slips and deflections to draw Chelsea level on the stroke of half-time with a trademark scrappy goal, the England midfielder once again in the right place at the right time.

Lampard and Didier Drogba hit post and bar late on, with Drogba sent off in the 118th minute for slapping the imperious Nemanja Vidic, having run the length of the field to needlessly get involved in a 19-man brawl.

Giggs also had a chance to win it in extra-time, poking the ball goalwards and enabling Terry to clear off the line when, with the goal gaping and Cech out of the picture, he should have driven Patrice Evra's excellent pull-back into the net.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant was left dumbfounded by the night's events. "What can I say? In the beginning we dominated the game," he said.

"We hit the post twice and then lost on penalties. JT is the main reason we're here. We had difficult times. I'm very proud of the team. It's not the last time for Chelsea in the final."

And so, at gone two o'clock local time, the United players picked up their medals and parited on the Luzhniki pitch, while their opposite numbers cried long into the night.

As they say in Russia: ФУТБОЛ, Без перевода!

Star Man: Van der Sar (United); Entertainment: *****
Attendance: 69,552

Monday, May 19, 2008

Oram hits century after McCullum scare

Jacob's Centuries: Fit for Lords

Lord's, first Test, fifth day: New Zealand 269/6 (Oram 101,
How 68) and 277 drew with England 319



JACOB ORAM survived five chances to hit his fifth Test century and lead New Zealand to safety as England drew their fifth Lord's Test in a row.

Oram came to the crease when first innings hero Brendon McCullum was struck on the elbow by Stuart Broad and forced off. New Zealand were effectively 78 for 5 with 65 overs remaining, and England scented blood.

The 6' 6" Manawatu all-rounder didn't take long to get going, though, launching Monty Panesar into the Warner stand early in his innings and continuing in the same carefree vein throughout.

England only had themselves to blame for failing to force home their advantage, James Anderson twice and Michael Vaughan fluffing run out chances and Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell failing to hold on to difficult catches.

By the time Oram eventually fell, bowled by Ryan Sidebottom with the second new ball, he and debutant Daniel Flynn had added 132 runs, taking New Zealand's lead to 210 with five wickets in hand and only 30 overs left. Job done.

In all Oram faced 121 balls, dominating the strike - Flynn only faced 89 balls in their partnership - and hit 15 fours and two sixes, the second a straight drive off Kevin Pietersen high into the Compton stand.

There was further good news for the tourists as McCullum strode out to the middle as Oram left to the applause of the few thousand spectators who made it to Lord's, back from hospital with nothing more than a bruised elbow.

He cracked three more boundaries to show there were no ill effects before Anderson caught the outside edge as he tried one too many; four balls later the umpires offered Flynn and Daniel Vettori the light and that was that.

Confident: A Jacob Oram cover-drive in the evening session  Giant strike: Oram slaps a Kevin Pietersen delivery into the pavillion  Relieved: Oram reaches his century  At last: Daniel Flynn helps Oram celebrate his first Lord's century

"It's the proudest moment of my career, and it surpasses anything I've done before," said Oram. "I rode my luck a bit, and there were only small periods of my innings where I felt in real control.

"Even scattered between the boundaries, there were some balls which snuck up on me, but I've battled through the tough times, and I've made some strides towards where I want to be in my game."

It was a richly deserved century for Oram, who spoke glowingly of his desire for Test success and not Twenty20 money on the eve of the match. "This is the tour you want to be on," he told Cricinfo magazine.

"The tradition, the heritage, everything about it. And to get on the honours board anywhere in the world, but especially at Lord's, is something you'll remember for the rest of your life.

"If you had a five-wicket haul or a hundred and had to retire the next day you'd probably still be fairly happy because you have achieved a very significant milestone."

For Vaughan, though, the weather ruined any chance of a result. "It's always difficult to force a result in Test match cricket when you lose 150 overs," he bemoaned.

"We bowled very well today and created opportunities, but the ball either went wide [of the fielders] or went fast, and we did drop a couple.

"To win on the day we were going to have to take all our chances and something special was going to have to happen, and we just didn't do that."

Complete first Test scorecard
Second Test: Friday 23rd - Tuesday 27th May (Old Trafford)

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Captains fantastic shine after the showers

Michael Vaughan    Daniel Vettori

Lord's, first Test, fourth day: New Zealand 40/0 and 277 trail England 319 (Vaughan 106, Strauss 63, Cook 61; Vettori 5-69) by two runs


MICHAEL VAUGHAN equalled Graham Gooch's record of six centuries at Lord's and Daniel Vettori recorded his best figures against England as the inclement weather held up to allow a full day's play.

Vaughan's innings took a while to get going, as he played himself in following his recent poor form, hitting only one boundary in his first 81 balls.

From then on, he slowly accelerated away, switching roles from anchor to stroke-maker once Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell were dismissed, taking just 79 balls to reach his second fifty compared to 125 for his first.

Pietersen's wicket was Vettori's first, trapped leg before despite a huge stride forward. Then, after Bell was caught behind off Chris Martin, Paul Collingwood nicked one to Ross Taylor off Vettori who then dismissed Tim Ambrose first ball plumb in front - the England wicket-keeper offering no stroke.

Ninth man out Monty Panesar was Vettori's next victim, caught by Daniel Flynn at short-leg second ball, before Vaughan holed out on the deep midwicket boundary going for a six, James Marshall's catch giving his captain his 250th Test wicket.

Michael Vaughan: Another elegant stroke en route to his sixth century at Lord's    Golden strike: Daniel Vettori makes a successful appeal to dismiss Tim Ambrose first ball

"When you come to Lord's and you've had so much success here it's always a nice place to be coming back to when you need a score," said Vaughan.

"The practice facilities are always excellent, the wicket here suits my style of play, I know the angles of the ground, the slope and everything about it; I just fancied that this week could be a hundred for me."

Vettori, having made the honours board at the fifth time of asking, knows that a draw is the best New Zealand can hope for: "It's going to take something special to force a victory, but last-day cricket can spring all kinds of funny things.

"I'd like to see the ball swing, but Monty bowled beautifully so could have a big part to play. We'll have to get wickets in little clusters to get them under pressure, but we've certainly got the attack to cause a few problems tomorrow."

With the scores all but level, twenty wickets remaining and only 98 overs to play, the odds are that these evenly matched teams will be all square going to Old Trafford on Friday, the series very much alive.

Live text commentary of day five on Cricinfo
Live audio commentary on Test Match Special

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Cook hits fifty in the gloom

Trouble ahead: Dark skies over Lord's as play eventually gets underway to the delight of a packed Grandstand

Lord's, first Test, third day: England 89/0 (Cook 53*) trail
New Zealand 277 by 188 runs



ONLY 42 minutes play was possible on a gloomy, wet Saturday as the opening Test of the summer stuttered towards a draw.

In the 53 balls the tourists managed to bowl, the England openers added 21 runs, with Alastair Cook recording his tenth half-century and his 17th score over 50 in only his 27th Test.

Play up, Pompey, and play the game: As rain washes out the afternoon and evening sessions at Lord's thoughts turned to Wembley where Portsmouth beat Cardiff 1-0 to win the FA Cup

For the hardy souls who braved it out, at least there was the consolation of the FA Cup Final to watch, beamed onto the giant replay screen at the back of the Edrich stand.

And with a maximum 196 overs to be played over the next two days England will be praying for clear skies as they look for their first Lord's win since beating Bangladesh in May 2005.

Live text commentary of day four on Cricinfo
Live audio commentary on Test Match Special

Friday, May 16, 2008

Sidebottom cleans up the tail

Clean strike: Daniel Vettori cuts fiercely during his innings of 48    Back in business: Ryan Sidebottom is congratulated by Kevin Pietersen after cleaning up the New Zealand tail

Lord's, first Test, second day: England 68/0 (Cook 43*) trail
New Zealand 277 (Vettori 48; Sidebottom 4-55) by 209 runs



RYAN SIDEBOTTOM skittled out the New Zealand lower order, claiming the last four wickets for only five runs during a
stop-start day.


The Nottinghamshire seamer had Jacob Oram caught at slip and then clean bowled Kyle Mills, Tim Southee and Daniel Vettori to recapture his form after a wicketless first day at Lord's.

Only Vettori offered any real resistance, hitting 43 of his team's 69 runs, and, helped by several delays because of bad light, helped stretch play well into the afternoon session.

Schwing, schwing: Tim Southee is clean bowled by a Ryan Sidebottom inswinger after swinging his bat across the line    Jogging along: Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss cross mid-pitch

It wasn't until ten to three that Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss strode out to the middle, though more bad weather restricted them to only 21.3 overs play, to the relief of the New Zealanders.

"We've got to make improvements or we're going to be wiped off the park," said Oram.

"We didn't enter the game hoping for a draw and we're not playing for the draw at the moment, but they [England] were probably as demanding as they were in New Zealand in the final two Tests there."

Live text commentary of day three on Cricinfo
Live audio commentary on Test Match Special

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Brilliant Brendon lights up Lord's

So near yet so far: Brendan McCullum leans on his bat after being bowled by Monty Panesar just three runs short of a century

Lord's, first Test, first day: New Zealand 208/6 (McCullum 97; Anderson 3-42) v England


BRENDON McCULLUM fell agonisingly short of a deserved century today, bowled by Monty Panesar just before the close after rescuing New Zealand with a run-a-ball 97 full of attacking strokeplay.

It was the second time he had narrowly missed out on etching his name on the Lord's honours board, having scored 96 on New Zealand's last Test here four years ago.

McCullum came to the crease with the tourists foundering on 41 for 3 and guided them to 203 for 5 when a straight ball from Panesar ended his 99-run partnership with Jacob Oram - 23 not out overnight.

"I'm very, very disappointed not to have got the hundred but there's a long way to go in this game and hopefully I'll get another opportunity," he said.

"208 for 6 is not a bad result for us in terms of the day's set-up. It's hard to get too excited, but in the context of where we were, it is a pretty good fight.

"We've kept ourselves in the game, because if we'd been all out for 150, only one team could have won."

Fierce: McCullum opens his shoulders to smash a six down the ground    Unorthodox: New Zealand's top-scorer swivels to hit Stuart Broad down leg

New Zealand's wicket-keeper appeared to carry on where he left off in the Indian Premier League, hitting two straight sixes - in the space of four balls - and 13 fours, to follow his incredible 73-ball 158 not out for Kolkata last month.

"You do have to reign yourself in a touch, not because of the Twenty20 stuff, but because of my natural aggressiveness," added McCullum.

"It's not so much the technical change, it's the mental shift. Confidence-wise, when you're in a good vein of form, regardless of the format you are playing, it's just nice to have the bat in your hand.

"It was a huge change from the Twenty20s in India to the pure form of the game in a Test match at Lord's, but that's the nature of how it is in this day and age.

"You have to keep strong in your own mind and know your objective when you get out there, but it's easy to get up for a Test match at Lord's, it's the pinnacle of the game."

For England, James Anderson was the pick of the bowlers, claiming three cheap wickets, while Stuart Broad marked his home debut with two.

Live text commentary of day two on Cricinfo
Live audio commentary on Test Match Special

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Championé, championé, olé olé olé!

Perfect ten: Ryan Giggs holds aloft the Premier League trophy - his, and manager Sir Alex Ferguson's, tenth title, and Manchester United's 17th league championship; only Liverpool, with 18 titles, have won more

MORE points. More goals. More class.

Next stop Moscow.

I would luv it, just luv it if we beat Chelski in Abramovich's back yard!!!

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Ding gong!

Carry on smiling: Leslie Phillips is a picture of delight after collecting his CBE at Buckingham Palace yesterday afternoon

WELL, hellooooo!!!

Leslie Samuel Phillips, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, we salute you.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Is this the only way to stop Ronnie?

"Snooker loopy nuts are we, me and him and them and me, we'll show you what we can do, with a load of balls and a snooker cue; Pot the reds then, screw back, for the yellow green brown blue pink and black, snooker loopy nuts are we, we're all snooker loopy!"

NO, this isn't a picture of new London mayor Boris Johnson's council of advisers, nor is it a meeting of the pointy-heads who told Gordon Brown that scrapping the 10p tax rate would be the best thing since sliced bread.

11-5 up and needing only seven more frames to win, on fire and looking unbeatable - having not lost a single session all fortnight - the question must be asked: Will Ronnie O'Sullivan ever lose again?

Ali, it's over to you...

Watch the final live on the BBC Sport website
Pictures of those crazy pooches playing poker