PTI, New Delhi, 3 April : Cricket World Cup-winning legends Imran Khan, Allan Border and Vivian Richards today said that India deserved to taste World Cup glory as the team has been the team to beat in the last few years.Imran, who led Pakistan to 1992 World Cup triumph, said India's triumph after a gap of 28 years was a no fluke.
"It is not that India suddenly came up to win the World Cup. There is a reason why they won it. They have been on the rise in the last few years. They have the all-round depth. India's World Cup victory was a no fluke," said Imran.
He said India's semifinal win over arch-rivals Pakistan had done a world of good to the confidence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men.
"They went through a high pressure game against Pakistan. Yesterday, there did not show any pressure. န Photos : Getty Images
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We had set our eyes on World Cup a few years ago : Dhoni
"We have achieved something great. A couple of years back, about one and a half years ago, we had set our eyes on the World Cup. (Despite) whatever we were doing on the field, we (always) had a long-time goal to do well in the World Cup.
We wanted to keep the individuals fit," Dhoni said at the post-match press conference.
"We wanted our best players in form and did not want to lose our best players to injury. It was a big challenge. We were able to give more than 100 per cent on the field. We peaked at the right time and carried that momentum into the final. န Photo : AP
"We wanted our best players in form and did not want to lose our best players to injury. It was a big challenge. We were able to give more than 100 per cent on the field. We peaked at the right time and carried that momentum into the final. န Photo : AP
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River banks around Dhaka city to get pillars from 12 April
Dhaka, 3 April : Bangladesh government will start setting up boundary pillars along the river banks around Dhaka on 12 April to protect the rivers from encroachment.
The construction work will start on the bank of the Balu in Tongi and would gradually cover the other river banks around the capital, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan said yesterday.
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North Bengal constituencies gets ready for 18/4's poll battle
Siliguri, 3 April : A total of 401 nominations have been filed for the 54 assembly constituencies in five north Bengal districts going to the first phase polls on 18 April. 
Among the strong contenders are Urban Development Minister Ashok Bhattacharjee (CPI-M) from Siliguri, PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami (RSP) from Alipurduar, slain All India Gorkha League chief Madan Tamang's widow Bharati Tamang and former Andhra Pradesh chief secretary and GJM candidate Trilok Dewan from Darjeeling.
Among the strong contenders are Urban Development Minister Ashok Bhattacharjee (CPI-M) from Siliguri, PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami (RSP) from Alipurduar, slain All India Gorkha League chief Madan Tamang's widow Bharati Tamang and former Andhra Pradesh chief secretary and GJM candidate Trilok Dewan from Darjeeling. The battle lines will be drawn after 4 April, the last date of withdrawal of nominations. Scrutiny will take place today. With barely a fortnight remaining, campaigning has reached fever pitch.
Trinamool Congress' Dr Rudranath Bhattacharjee, a new entrant in politics, is pitted against Ashok Bhattacharjee.
Kshiti Goswami, who had been fighting from the Dhakuria seat in South Kolkata but had to shift following delimitation, will take on Trinamool Congress' D P Roy.
Incidentally, Goswami's party colleague Nirmal Das, the MLA from Alipurduar who did not get a ticket this time, has been venting his ire publicly. He recently destroyed the party office in Alipurduar.
In all, 524 companies of para-military forces would be deployed in the poll-bound areas. Of these the maximum number of 125 would be posted in Jalpaiguri district. Darjeeling would get 70 companies, official sources said. န Photos : AFP
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