Azhar's plea
"It is not a disaster," shot back skipper Mohammed Azharuddin in reply to an obvious question after the 143-run thrashing against Pakistan in the Pepsi tri-series. "Please don't use such strong words. You are destroying Indian cricket by saying such things," added the disappointed Indian skipper after his side's biggest defeat against their neighbours in terms of the run-margin.

Fitness lacking
Indian cricketers lacked basic speed which was the reason they look sluggish compared players from teams like South Africa and Australia, according to the team's foreign physical trainer Andrew Kokinos. Defending the Indian cricketers by saying they were working hard on their fitness, Kokinos said that genetics and heredity also played a vital role in shaping the physical prowess of a person.

Anand's mixed bag
Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand extended his lead to a full one point in the rapid section but slipped to sixth overall after he was held to a draw by Joel Lautier of France in the seventh round of the eighth Amber Rapid and Blindfold chess championship in Monte Carlo last night.