Indian news round-up

"It was excellent, I hope my son will do much better and everything will be good," was precisely the reaction of Avtar Kaur, mother of Harbhajan Singh, who made history by becoming the first Indian to take a hat trick in the second Test against Australia at Kolkata on Sunday.

Speaking to Press Trust of India (PTI), Avtar confided "I know little about cricket, but I always had hope that my son will do something great in the game." Harbhajan's brother Kartar Singh said "We were all on our feet when we saw our family member taking one wicket after another."

Kartar Singh said "He (Harbhajan) missed an opportunity to take a hat-trick in the last match also and we knew he would do something good." and added "I can't express my happiness at this moment." Harbhajan Singh took the wickets of Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne in the space of three balls and ended the innings with figures of 7 for 123.

Press Trust of India reported on Sunday that the Eden Gardens on Sunday experienced a water scarcity thanks to the Cricket Association of Bengal's (CAB) ban on the entry of water bottles into the ground as a security measure to curb crowd violence.

PTI reported that even presspersons present at the ground had a tough time finding water. The report said that with the authorities putting a blanket ban on carrying any kind of bottles, including plastic bottles, reporters were denied supply of mineral water bottles.

The employees of the caterer engaged by the CAB pleaded helplessness and said that they were being prevented by the police from bringing drinking water to the press box. There was also no trace of the promised water pouches in the media box. Repeated requests from the scribes only elicited empty assurances from the organisers.

Press Trust of India reported on Monday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) pitches committee members Dhiraj Parsanna and G Kasturirangan inspected the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa and expressed satisfaction over the condition of the pitch.

Speaking to PTI, Goa Cricket Association (GCA) secretary, Vinod Phadke said that the two members spent about an hour yesterday at Nehru Stadium, the venue of the fifth ODI between India and Australia on April 6. He added "The two members will visit the other venues for the series to inspect the pitches, before returning here on April 3 for the final inspection."

PTI reported that both Parsana and Kasturirangan had a good look at the wicket and expressed happiness over the job done by local curators Shaikh Kader, Keshav N Patil and Chandrakant Naik. Kasturirangan said "There has been a lot of football here, still the pitch is not damaged and it looks full of runs."