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[Blwe_torch]

Harbhajan race row: Ganguly says India not upset  

Ashish Shukla

Sydney, Jan 5 (PTI) Australia's racial abuse complaint against Harbhajan Singh may have given a seemingly nasty turn to the ongoing Test series but Indian batsman Sourav Ganguly today rubbished suggestions that the issue has upset the visiting side.
"We walked out in the field normal. I don't think many of them were aware of what exactly had happened. So there was no such discussion within the team," Ganguly said after the fourth day's play in the second Test here today.

Applauding Harbhajan Singh's competitive streak despite being under pressure, Ganguly said the off-spinner has shown his class by not letting the incident affect his on-field performance.

"He's a competitor, he's got a lot of quality in him, quality players will always produce their best under pressure," Ganguly said.

Harbhajan picked up just one wicket but it was the prized scalp of Australian skipper Ricky Ponting. His celebration took everyone by surprise, running towards the pavilion, hand held high and then doing a couple of somersaults in front of the members' stand.

"Good that he stayed on the ground. For a second I thought he was going inside the dressing room!" said Ganguly to the utter merriment of the assembled media.

PTI

http://www.ptinews.com/pti/ptisite.nsf/$All/1CB76CEA9FAE23A0652573C7003D8A5B?OpenDocument

[Cover Point]

again ulti baat.

Infact he should have said we are EXTREMELY upset with the lies and manipulations. You gotta exaggerate to make some points .... he should throw in a couple of points about taking them to court for 'izzat hattak'.

[Cernunnos]

again ulti baat.

Infact he should have said we are EXTREMELY upset with the lies and manipulations. You gotta exaggerate to make some points .... he should throw in a couple of points about taking them to court for 'izzat hattak'.

Wrong. He is playing the mental game by proving that this orchestrated move fell flat. Good on him, as long as there is a move to make an all-out counterattack once the allegations are disproved.

[WicketView]

again ulti baat.

Infact he should have said we are EXTREMELY upset with the lies and manipulations. You gotta exaggerate to make some points .... he should throw in a couple of points about taking them to court for 'izzat hattak'.

Wrong. He is playing the mental game by proving that this orchestrated move fell flat. Good on him, as long as there is a move to make an all-out counterattack once the allegations are disproved.

Agree ... the attack should be your joke of an allegation is not affecting us ... see he still picked up your captain!

On the other hand, if they find HS guilty on the basis of what these two say ... just pack your bags and return.

[Blwe_torch]

Bhajji enjoys his day out

TNN / Sumit Mukherjee

SYDNEY, January 5: For a few crazy moments it appeared that Harbhajan Singh taken to rugby with his team-mates at the SCG on Saturday.

After Ricky Ponting popped up a simple catch to VVS Laxman at silly point off the first ball he faced from Harbhajan, the Indian spinner simply took off towards the dressing room with both arms raised and a finger pointing heavenward.

He eluded all his team-mates, who chased him round the park, before doing a couple of commando-type rolls. Then it was time for his team-mates to embrace the lion-hearted fella the Aussies have come to fear.

"At one point I feared that Harbhajan would run out of the ground," Sourav Ganguly said in jest at close of play on the fourth day.

On a more serious note Sourav said: "Harbhajan is a competitive guy. All men can't be same. It's not right for me to say that's the way he should be. That's the way he is and that's the way we are. We are all different. We react differently to different situations. And we as human beings will have to accept it."

Sourav claimed that he did not know about Harbhajan being charged till this morning. "I wasn't aware what had happened. I saw something happening on the field when they were batting. So I don't know exactly what happened," Sourav said.

As the SCG crowd lapped up Harbhajan's unique celebration, the humour was certainly not lost on Ponting at whose insistence the umpires had pressed charges of racial abuse against the Indian spinner on Friday following his on-field verbal duel with Andrew Symonds.

Bhajji, of course, maintains that did not abuse Symonds racially or otherwise and is surprised by the fuss being made over a minor incident. The Indian team management is confident that nothing will come out of the hearing which will now be held after the match ends on Sunday.

Matthew Hayden said that the Australians believe that they have a strong case, but the Indian team management is confident that nothing will come out of Sunday's hearing and Harbhajan will be let off for lack of evidence.

Skipper Anil Kumble, manager Chetan Chauhan, assistant manager MV Sridhar, senior pro Sachin Tendulkar and, of course, Harbhajan will attend the hearing from the Indian side, while Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds will testify against Harbhajan.

BCCI officials are already in touch with Cricket Australia on this issue which is threatening to sour the excellent relations between the two most powerful constituents of the ICC. No matter who wins this wretched battle, the game of cricket stands to be the biggest loser.

http://cricket.indiatimes.com/Team_India_rallies_behind_Harbhajan_Singh/articleshow/2677770.cms