Indian team almost went out to play on empty stomach against Pakistan

Friday April 01, 2011 08:27:33 PM, IANS

Mumbai: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni revealed Friday that his players had almost missed their meal during Wednesday's semifinal against Pakistan in Mohali.

Dhoni said that the staff at the Taj Hotel in Chandigarh could not serve them food on time and the players had to leave for the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium on an empty stomach. They finally had lunch just before the toss prior to the high-voltage semifinal.

"I did not want to say this. But, before the semifinal, the first meal the team had was at a quarter to two because the food was not served at the hotel. They said it would take over an hour. So we turned up at the ground and there was not enough food for everyone," Dhoni told reporters on the eve of the World Cup final against
Sri Lanka.

"So we had an early warm-up at the ground and said okay, the meal would be after the warm-up. We went into the field and did the warm-up and the meal we had was before the toss," he added.

Dhoni downplayed the incident saying that it was not a "distraction".

"These are the things which can distract you to some extent, but what is important is that what you can do about it. Because you may scream but you would not get the food. What is important is to use the time in the best possible manner. I don't think that should be a big concern or a distraction at all," he said.

"The situation was different over there because there are not many big hotels in Mohali. Here you have plenty of big hotels and I have quite a few friends who'd be ready to bring food in half-an-hour's time," Dhoni said.

                                           Home | Top of the Page

Top Stories

India's population is 1.21 billion, gender imbalance worsens

India's population has risen to 1.21 billion - an increase of over 181 million in the last decade - but the gender imbalance is the worst since independence, indicating a persisting »

 Thane most populous district of India

Census 2011: 0-6 age group population declines by five million

  Most Read

Thousands take to streets in Syria

Thousands of people took to streets to stage anti-government protests Friday in various cities of Syria. Protests erupted following Muslims' Friday prayers in the cities of Damascus, Daraa and Banias, where thous  »

45 percent decline in militancy in Kashmir

There has been a 45 percent drop in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir in January to March compared to the corresponding period last year, state police chief Kuldeep Khoda said Friday. "We have stepped up our operations and several top terrorist commanders have been killed while the number of civilian and security casualties have  »

  News Pick

UN Yearbook released for first time as ebook

The UN's annual yearbook was released Thursday for the first time in a fully-searchable digital format as an ebook. The newest edition available is for 2007 and is available through major electronic publishers, including Kindle  »

In national interest, official can be sacked without probe: Court

The Supreme Court has held that the government need not communicate the charges against an official sacked for delinquency or hold an enquiry if doing so would jeopardise the interests  »

Sunil Joshi murder case: MP puts spanner in NIA probe

Madhya Pradesh Government has put a spanner in the efforts of Union Home Ministry to have a combined investigation of all cases related to Hindu terror groups  »

Kanpur blasts case may be transferred to NIA

The stars who should make an impact at Wankhede

Both India and Sri Lanka will be eying glory and their second World Cup crown when they clash in the final at the Wankhede Stadium here Saturday. India   »

World Cup musings - another time, another place

The making of Al-Qaeda member

This is the story of my nephew who is alleged to be a member of al-Qaeda. If that is true, I accuse the Americans of pushing him toward al-Qaeda. How? My nephew, Ala’ Abdu Raoof Tawfeeq Khader, who is carrying a Jordanian passport, left Jordan to Iraq on the 20th of Jan   »

Picture of the Day

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousuf Raza Gilani watching the Indo-Pak World Cup semi-final, at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium, in Mohali on March 30, 2011. Also seen are UPA Chairperson Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Mrs Meira Kumar.