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| Friday, March 17, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Srinath’s
presence a big boost Why
did Borde shun media? Argentina
shock Pakistan 4-3 Pete
Sampras survives against Wayne Ferreira Beerala’s
ton helps Karnataka win |
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| 100 metres hurdles record
rewritten LUCKNOW, March 16 — Anuradha Biswal of Orissa created a new national record in the 100 metres hurdle for women on the second day of the Federation Cup athletic meet here today. 4,000 troops for Olympics Akram
in squad for Sharjah tourney Orissa-Haryana
tie drawn Santosh
Trophy to begin on March 19 Jr national carrom at Faridabad Birla Award for Pillay, Sikdar
PSEB win lawn tennis title Chandigarh tennis from March 24 Haryana hockey
meet from March 24
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Srinath’s presence a big boost BARODA, March 16 (PTI) — India’s hopes of wrapping up the limited overs series against South Africa inside the distance got a major boost with the availability of Javagal Srinath to spearhead the hosts’ pace attack in the fourth and penultimate clash to be played here tomorrow. Srinath, who was rested by the selectors on his own request for the first three ties of the series which India lead 2-1, would surely provide the home team with the cutting edge which seemed to be woefully absent from its new-ball attack at Kochi, Jamshedpur and Faridabad. The added sting which the Karnataka pace ace provides to the Indian attack would stand the home team in good stead against the Proteas’ batting line-up, especially the top-order who edged out India by a narrow two-wicket margin at Faridabad yesterday to stay in contention. South Africa were beaten at Kochi and Jamshedpur to be 0-2 down in the five-match series. The home team have so far had the better share of the skirmishes despite the failure of their champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar to come good with the willow though he has bewitched the visitors with his off and leg breaks. The hosts are, thus, praying for their master batsman to live up to his reputation tomorrow at this venue on which India have won both their previous two encounters — against New Zealand (by 7 wickets in 1994) and against Zimbabwe (by 13 runs in 1998). Tendulkar, who stepped down from captaincy after India’s humiliating loss in the second Test at Bangalore, has struggled to get going against the visitors’ bowling in the first three matches. But the Indian batting has clicked well in all three matches despite Tendulkar’s loss of form thanks mainly to new captain Saurav Ganguly’s forthright manner of taking the fight to the enemy camp and leading from the front like a true general in complete charge of his army. The successful run-chase at Kochi, where the Indians managed to put behind their tag of poor chasers by overhauling the daunting total of 301 for three raised by the visitors, has given the much-needed confidence boost to the hosts after the 0-2 loss in the Test series. The high level of confidence after the stupendous win at Kochi, where Ajay Jadeja came up with a gem of an innings to pilot the home team past the tourists’ total, showed in the way the Indian bowlers restricted South Africa to a modest 199 at Jamshedpur in the second one-dayer. The Indian bowlers stuck to a good line with Ajit Agarkar (3/34), who was mauled by Proteas’ openers Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten at Kochi, and left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi (4/38) reaping a rich harvest. Any hopes the Proteas had nurtured of defending the small total were torn to shreds by Ganguly’s blazing hundred. The Indian skipper looked to be in top form and seemed likely to bat the South Africans out of the tie yesterday before he was declared out which put the brakes on the Indian run-rate and ultimately paved the way for the South African win to keep the interest alive in the series. The addition of Srinath in place of the ordinary-looking T. Kumaran for the remainder of the series apart from the diffident way by which most of the South African batsmen play Joshi and leg spin ace Kumble, not to speak of Tendulkar, have certainly substantially boosted the home team’s hopes. To add to the woes of the visitors, whose pace attack has lost a bit of its sharpness in the absence of Allan Donald who returned home after the Test series, are stomach muscle injury to Mornantau Hayward and Henry Williams’ shoulder injury forcing both to miss the Faridabad tie. Lance Klusener, who has looked a pale shadow of the bowler who ripped through the Indian batting on a bouncy pitch at Calcutta in the second Test of the 1996 series in which he made his debut, has been playing more as a batsman on this current tour, especially as he has not fully recovered from the ankle strain suffered earlier. The key to the match would, perhaps, lie on how fast and effectively the Indians recover on the physical front with only one day’s gap between the third and fourth ties as Indians are clearly the underdogs in this aspect in comparison to the visitors. South African captain Hansie Cronje, who plays the spinning ball better than most of his team-mates, would be hoping for another big opening stand from Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten, the other two visiting batsmen who seem to have the right approach against the Indian spinners. Cronje would be hoping that Jacques Kallis, who batted resolutely in the Test series to keep at bay the Indian spin attack led by Anil Kumble, comes good at this venue which has traditionally been a high-scoring one. The teams: India (from): Saurav Ganguly (Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Mohd Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Sunil Joshi, Syed Saba Karim (wk), Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, Javagal Srinath, Mohd Kaif, Nikhil Chopra and S. Sriram. South Africa: Hansie Cronje (capt), Shaun Pollock (vice-capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Pieter Strydom, Dale Benkensten, Lance Klusener, Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Derek Crookes, Steve Elworthy, Henry Williams, Mornantau Hayward and Neil Mckenzie. Hours of play:
9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m; 1.15 p.m to 4.45 p.m. |
Why did Borde shun media? CHANDIGARH, March 16 — The meeting of the national selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which was held at the Nahar Singh Stadium at Faridabad last evening to select the Indian squad for the fourth and fifth one-dayers against the visiting South African team as also the three-nation tournament at Sharjah later this month, was not only lengthy — it lasted for nearly two hours — but also acrimonious at times. Why the meeting took so long just to change three players from the team which lost to the visitors yesterday at Faridabad was difficult to comprehend. And with the rules prohibiting both the skipper Saurav Ganguly and cricket manager Kapil Dev from speaking to the media most mediapersons could not get any reply to their questions. More important is the fact that the Chairman of the committee, Chandu Borde, and the Secretary of the BCCI, Mr J.Y. Lele, rushed out of the meeting without meeting the media as has been the practice for long. As per BCCI traditions it is the chairman of the selection committee who explains the inclusion of a particular player as also the exclusion of a player. He is assisted in this task by the Secretary of the board. What was the reason for Borde’s “disappearance” from the venue of the meeting was never explained to the large number of mediapersons who had waited patiently for over two hours to talk to the chairman of the selection committee. It was also explained by an insider that Mr Lele had to catch a flight from Palam airport and, therefore, he could not meet the media. “Mr Lele has to be present at Baroda at the earliest so that he can supervise the arrangements for the fourth one-dayer between India and South Africa to be played on Friday,” the insider said. But what were Borde’s compulsions? In fact both Borde and Mr Lele had a lot to explain to mediapersons on the composition of the Indian team. T. Kumaran once hailed as the future hope of Indian bowling has been shown the door and his place has gone to Javagal Srinath, whose return to the squad is logical as he himself had sought a break after the completion of the two-match Test series against South Africa. One thought that Kumaran could have continued till the end of the on-going one-day series and Srinath could have been accommodated in the team for Sharjah. Why this was not done only Borde could explain. The next question which arises is: why was Amit Bhandari dropped from the Indian squad without being given an opportunity to prove his worth. Such treatment meted out to youngsters will certainly not give their morale a boost nor will it instil confidence in the players. What the national selectors have done with Amit is what a number of state associations do with players in their Ranji Trophy squads. The acrimonious discussions which reportedly occurred at the meeting, attended both by Ganguly as well as Kapil Dev, was over the inclusion of wicketkeeper Saba Karim in place of Mumbai’s Sameer Dighe, who had the total confidence of the former skipper Sachin Tendulkar. That Saba Karim would return to favour was evident to many the moment Ganguly took over the mantle of leadership of the team. And more important Saba has been among the runs in the domestic tournaments, in which he has been playing regularly, making it easier for him to return to the national squad. And the fact that Sameer Dighe was not doing well in the matches played so far must have weighed heavily on the minds of the selectors. Also, Nayan Mongia, according to reports, has recovered from the injury he sustained in the Bangalore Test against South Africa. Was his name considered for the remaining one-dayers against South Africa and the Sharjah tournament? This question could only be answered by Borde. The reporter had an opportunity to ask Ganguly after the meeting whether he was able to get the team of his choice. His answer in the affirmative gave the obvious hint that Saba Karim, his team mate from Bengal, owes a lot to his state team captain for finding a place in the national squad. What is even more
intriguing is the inclusion of Tamil Nadu’s S.
Sriram in the team. The left-hander is in very good nick
in the Ranji Trophy and his double century against Uttar
Pradesh earlier this week only helped him to stake a
claim in the national squad. But will he really get a
chance to play or will he like Amit Bhandari only warm
the benches? |
Argentina shock Pakistan 4-3 OSAKA, March 16 (AFP) — Argentina upset former champions Pakistan 4-3 here today to bounce back into contention for a place in the Olympic hockey at Sydney later this year. The win gave Argentina third place in group B — above Malaysia on goal difference — and a place in Saturday’s play-offs for the fifth and sixth Olympic spots. Pakistan, who have already qualified for Sydney, finished second in the group behind Spain and now meet group ‘A’ champions South Korea in the semifinals of the 12-nation event. The Argentines, who would have been knocked out of the race had they lost, led 3-2 at half-time of a match played in heavy rain. Leading strikers Sohail Abbas and Jorge Lombi scored their 10th goal of the tournament to make it 1-1 by the 18th minute. Maximo Pellegrino and Santiago Capurro increased the margin for Argentina, before Mohammad Anis pulled one back for Pakistan just before half-time. Capurro scored his second goal to put Argentina 4-2 ahead in the 46th minute, but not even a goal by Mohammad Nadeem three minutes before the final whistle could save Pakistan. Pakistan were, however, angry that the umpires reversed their own decision to award a penalty stroke in the second half after a stinging shot by Abbas was blocked above the shoulder by Carlos Retegui. “It may have been a different match had that stroke being allowed, which it should have,” Pakistani manager Islahuddin Siddiqui said. “But I must concede that Argentina played better than us and deserved to win. “We could not control the ball because of the rain. I can’t blame the boys because they have never played in such conditions before,” he said. Argentina’s coach Alejandro Verga said he too would have protested if a stroke had been awarded to his team and then taken away. “Pakistan took it sportingly because they had already qualified for the Olympics. I don’t know what they would have done if something was at stake,” he said. It was Argentina’s first win over Pakistan since a 3-1 victory during the 1986 World Cup in England. Poland, meanwhile, banked on a missed penalty stroke by Ryan Archibald in first five minutes to overcome New Zealand. Krzysztof Wybieralski scored once in each half for Poland, while Archibald made amends for the earlier error with the lone goal for the Kiwis six minutes from the end. In the day’s last
match, Japan scored two goals in the last six minutes to
force a 3-3 draw on Belgium and finish third in group A.
It was the first point for Belgium after four successive
defeats. |
Pete Sampras survives against Wayne Ferreira INDIAN WELLS (USA), March 16 (DPA) — Pete Sampras bucked a tide of upsets sweating out a 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) second-round win over South African dangerman Wayne Ferreira at the $ 4.95-million Tennis Masters series. Second seed Sampras was glad to get off the court in just over two hours and out of the 32 centigrade heat as he lived to fight again on the desert hardcourts. “Wayne has obviously played me very tough over the years,” Sampras said of the fellow 28-year-old who came into the match level-pegging at 5-all in their series. “He’s a great shotmaker. I don’t think we played at a high level, but it was exciting tennis,” said Sampras, who made life difficult for himself as he dropped the opening set, then missed on a match-point in the 10th game of the third set. In the ensuing tie-breaker, Ferreira took a 4-2 lead only to see Sampras pull it back, clinching on his third victory chance when the South African volleyed wide. “It was hot but I thought I handled it pretty well,” said 1994 and 1995 title-holder. “We were both a bit tired at the end. I haven’t played many matches this year.” While Sampras advanced, seven other seeds crashed out at this newly completed desert tennis complex. Dutchman Sjeng Schalken accounted for streaky third seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 7-5, 6-2. The Russian was playing for the first time in a fortnight. German Tommy Haas sent Brazil’s fifth seed Gustavo Kuerten home early in a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1) decision. “It was tough for me to play,’’ said the off-form “Guga,” a former French Open Champion. “I was much more tired than him. I couldn’t run all the time and attack. I didn’t have enough power to play this match.” Argentine Mariano Zabaleta knocked out Chilean rival Marcelo Rios, the No 7 by 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Both Britons in contention made early exits. The 11th-seeded Tim Henman lost to Indian Wells debutant Sebastien Grosjean of France, going down 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 three days after losing the Scottsdale final to Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Max Mirnyi of Belarus out-served 15th seed Greg Rusedski 6-4, 6-4. Number 12 Mark Philippoussis, the holder, stopped Spaniard Francisco Clavet of Spain 7-5, 6-3, while 13th seed Patrick Rafter’s comeback from shoulder surgery stalled again, this time in a loss to Spain’s Alex Corretja 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-2. Red-hot teenager Lleyton Hewitt, a three-event winner so far this year, suffered an unexpected shock courtesy veteran Zimbabwe qualifier Byron Black, who handed the young Australian only his second defeat of the year, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). Hewitt led 5-0 in the second-set tie-breaker, but couldn’t hold on. “For sure I’m disappointed, it was a big opportunity,” said Hewitt, the tournament No 16. “I can take a lot of things out of today’s match. I’ll be better for it going into Miami (which begins next Thursday). I felt pretty good on court, but I had a tough match last night against (Carlos) Moya. I definitely wasn’t feeling at my best, but that’s no excuse.’’ Three other seeds joined Sampras in the third round. Number 8 Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador beat France’s Arnaud di Pasquale 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, while No 10 Thomas Enqvist won an all-Swedish showdown against Thomas Jonansson 6-1, 6-4. Spain’s No 14 Albert Costa ended the hopes of popular wild card Goran Ivanisevic with a 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3 win. Women completed their quarter-finals, with doubles partners Mary Pierce and Martina Hingis advancing into the final four. 1999 holder Serena Williams produced a pitiful 28 unforced errors on the way to a 2-6, 1-6 hammering at the hands of fifth seed Pierce. Third seed Williams looked far from championship form in the 57-minute rout. The American had 18 winners but never a break point chance. Pierce converted on five of 13 break opportunities and won 56 points to 31 for Williams. “Everything that she hit was either on the line or a winner,” said Florida teenager Williams. “I didn’t take the few opportunities that I had. She pounced on every ball, I’ve never seen her play so well and consistently.” Hingis scored her ninth victory against just two defeats in her series with Monica Seles, advancing 6-3, 6-1. “I just tried to make her run in the heat,” said Hingis. “I feel good right now and feel in shape. “The heat
didn’t bother me, but it’s better not to think
about it — just go out there, it’s the same for
both players.” |
Beerala’s ton helps Karnataka win BANGALORE, March 16 (PTI) — A maiden ton by Mithun Beerala helped defending champions Karnataka post eight-wicket victory over Delhi in the Ranji Trophy Super League match to move into the semi finals here today. Needing 175 to win after restricting Delhi to 191 runs in the second innings, the hosts reached the target in 40.3 overs losing only two wickets. Opener Beerala (101 - 123b, 15x4) batted throughout the innings adding 66 runs for the first wicket with the first innings centurion J. Arun Kumar (32) and 77 runs in the unbroken third-wicket stand with Test discard Vijay Bhardwaj (28 n.o.). Earlier, Karnataka skipper Venkatesh Prasad effected a bottom-order collapse claiming the remaining three Delhi wickets as the visitors’innings folded after adding just nine runs to their overnight total of 182 for seven. Prasad finished with 11 wickets conceding 96 runs, the second time he has taken 10 or more wickets in a match in Ranji Trophy. Karnataka had taken a slender 17-run first innings scoring 359 in reply to Delhi first innings total of 342. Karnataka is qualifying for the semifinals for the 25th time in Ranji Trophy history. They have entered the finals 11 times and have been crowned Ranji champions six times. SCOREBOARD Delhi (1st innings): 342 Karnataka (1st innings): 359 Delhi (2nd innings): Chopra b Vadayaraj 36, Dani c Arun Kumar b Vadayaraj 52, Gambhir c Vadayaraj b Vijay Bharadwaj 30, Malhotra c Naidu b S. Vadayaraj 20, Sehwag c B. Akhil b Vadayaraj 1, Minhas c Naidu b Prasad 17, Dahiya c Naidu b Prasad 2, Nehra c Akhil b Prasad 18, Choudhary b Prasad 10, Robin Singh Jr b Prasad 0, Rohit Mehra not out 0. Extras (lb-2, nb-3) 5. Total (all out in 63.3 overs) 191 Fall of wickets: 1-81, 2-94, 3-133, 4-134, 5-159, 6-161, 7-164, 8-190, 9-191 Bowling: Venkatesh Prasad 16.3-6-36-5, D. Ganesh 10-2-34-0, G.N. Umesh 5-0-17-0, S. Vadayaraj 25-5-73-4, A. Vijay 3-0-16-0, Vijay Bharadwaj 4-0-13-1. Karnataka (2nd innings): Arun Kumar c Sehwag b Choudhary 32, Beerala not out 101, Barrington run out 5, Bharadwaj not out 28. Extras lb-2, nb-7: 9 Total (for 2 wkts in 40.3 overs) 175. Fall of wkts: 1-66, 2-98 Bowling:
A. Nehra 3-0-19-0; Robin Singh Jr 0.4-0-8-0; A. Malhotra
0.2-0-9-0; Rohit Mehra 10.3-1-41-0; N. Choudhary
15-2-52-1; G. Gghambhir 2-0-6-0 and V. Sehwag 9-1-38-0. |
100 metres hurdles record rewritten LUCKNOW, March 16 (UNI) — Anuradha Biswal of Orissa created a new national record in the 100 metres hurdle for women on the second day of the Federation Cup athletic meet here today. Three new meet records, one each by Gurdev Singh (ASCB) in 20 km walk, Jagdish Vishwnoi (Punjab Police) in javelin throw and Anil Kumar (Telco) discus throw were also created today. Anuradha bettered her previous national record of 13.58 seconds created at Bhopal in October last. Today she clocked the 100 metre in 13.57 seconds. Debi Bose of West Bengal with 13.89 seconds was on the second spot and the third place went to Meera Rajan of Southern Railway (15.36 secs). The first meet record was created by Gurdev Singh of Army Services Control Board (ASCB) in 20 km walk (men). He took one hour 28 minutes and 49 seconds. Taking a time of one hour 29 minutes and three seconds Amrik Singh lifted the silver while bronze went to Vijay Gahlot of Uttar Pradesh (1:30.32). Jagdish Vishnoi (Punjab Police) threw the jaevelin to a distance of 78.85 metres for rewriting the new meet record. Satveer Singh also of Punjab Police threw 75.18 metres for silver medal while Mohammad Fazal of (SVC) claimed the bronze (73.38 m). The third meet record was created by Anil Kumar of Telco in the men’s discus throw. Anil threw the disc to a distance of 59.55 metres for rewriting new record. The earlier record was in the name of Shakti Singh of Haryana established in July 1998. Ajeet Kumar (Bihar) clinched the silver (55.93 mts) and the third place was won by Hridyanand of Uttar Pradesh (55.62 mts). In the women’s section the gold was lifted by Neelam J. Singh of Punjab (57.25 mts) while the silver and bronze went to Sugan Yadav (Haryana) and Harjeet Kaur (Punjab).
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4,000 troops for Olympics SYDNEY, March 16 (AFP) — The Australian Government today committed 4,000 troops to safeguard the Sydney Olympics from terrorist attacks. The Australian intelligence and security agencies have identified groups linked to international terrorist Osama bin Laden as posing the biggest potential threat to the games. The officials however stress that presently the threat is small. “At present, there is no specific threat of terrorism against the Sydney 2000 games,” said Attorney General Daryl Williams. “However, the Commonwealth and the New South Wales Governments want to ensure that the security operation for the games will be effective, friendly and unobtrusive, and that there are no disruptions.” The troop numbers earmarked for the event are on a par with the force initially deployed to bring peace to neighbouring East Timor and will cost the defence department $71 million (about Rs 190 crore). Defence Minister John Moore said the armed forces would be used for bomb searches and disposal as well as logistical and communications work. Mr Williams said two major counter-terrorism exercises had already shown the state and Commonwealth forces were ready. “From our experience of the last two exercises called Sky Ring and ‘Blue Ring’, I can tell you Australia stands ready to deal swiftly and efficiently with any threat against the games and national security,” he said. “The Australian defence force has enhanced its counter-terrorism capability to support national counter-terrorism efforts generally and the games in particular. Reports here have said soldiers of the special Air Service regiment will be on standby as will commandos and support units such as helicopters. They are trained to deal
with not just conventional terrorist threats but
chemical, biological and radiological attack. |
Akram in squad for Sharjah tourney KARACHI, March 16 (AFP) — Former Pakistani captain Wasim Akram was included in Pakistan’s 15-member squad for the Sharjah one-day tournament but his final inclusion will depend on his fitness levels. “We have given him 48 hours to justify his full fitness,” Pakistan Cricket Board secretary Wasim Bari said yesterday. The 33-year-old Akram missed the second and third Test against Sri Lanka due to a groin injury and was not in the preliminary squad of 18 players announced on Monday. Middle order batsman Ijaz Ahmed failed to get a place for the Sharjah tournament after failing in two innings in the Karachi Test, while former Pakistan captain Saeed Anwar did not get a place due to a sprained neck. Also dropped from the preliminary squad are pacers Shahid Nazir and Irfan Fazil. The tri-nation tournament will begin from March 22 and also involves South Africa and India. The Pakistan cricket team will leave here for Sharjah on March 21. Team: Moin Khan
(captain) Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice-captain), Shahid Afridi,
Mohammad Naveed, Wajhatullah Wasti, Younis Khan, Yousuf
Youhanna, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis,
Mohammad Akram, Abdur Razzak, Imran Nazir, Arshad Khan,
Shoaib Malik. |
Orissa-Haryana tie drawn PARADIP, March 16 (PTI) — Orissa fended off Haryana’s bid for an outright win and forced a draw on the fourth and last day of their Ranji Trophy super league match here today. Set a daunting victory target of 340 in less than a day, the hosts, propped up by a 81-run fourth wicket partnership between Rashmi Ranjan Parida (49) and Prabhanjan Mullick (39), managed to reach 210 for six at the close. Orissa gained three points while Haryana got five from the last group C encounter for teams, already out of reckoning for the next stage. Orissa’s points tally went up to 14 from four matches while Haryana finished with eight points. Commencing at the overnight score of 279 for eight, Haryana declared their innings closed after adding another 19 runs without losing any more wickets. Orissa began the chase poorly losing the wickets of openers Shiv Sundar Das (19) and Pradeep Das (17) to be 50 for two at one stage and appeared heading for defeat when dependable Sanjay Roul (4) was sent back by left arm spinner Pradeep Jain before the lunch recess. But Parida and Mullick stabilised the innings with their 94-minute stand. Both hit six fours each. Orissa lost three more wickets to be 166 for six soon after tea, but Yashpal Mohanty (not out 26) and Rashmi Ranjan Das (not out 11) were involved in an unbroken 46-run stand for the seventh wicket to ensure that the match ended in a draw. For Haryana, left arm
spinner Sonu Sharma, who claimed seven for 32 in the
first innings, returned with 2/66. Sanjay Dalal and
Pradeep Jain also took two wickets apiece conceding 30
and 31 runs respectively. |
Santosh Trophy to begin on March 19 THRISSUR, March 16 (PTI) — Defending champions Bengal, former winners Kerala and Goa besides Tamil Nadu have been seeded directly into the quarterfinal league of the 56th Santosh Trophy National Football Championship to be held from March 19 to April 23. Releasing the fixtures, Kerala Football Association (KFA) president K.M.I. Mathur, said preliminary matches would be played at Chalakudy and Ernakulam with matches from the quarterfinal league onwards to be played from April 9 at the Municipal Stadium here. The semifinals are slated for April 19 and 20. The loser’s finals will be held on April 22 with the final slated for April 23. Twentyeight teams will participate in the preliminary rounds and have been lodged in eight clusters. About 30 matches are scheduled to be played at Chalakkudy in six clusters while the other 10 matches in cluster v and vi will be played at Ernakulam. The pre-quarter final matches will be played on April 1, 7 and 8. This will be the 11th
time that Kerala are hosting the tournament. Mary Ann loses to Kasparov CALCUTTA, March 16 (PTI) — Asian under-10 champion, Mary Ann Gomes of India lost an interesting brevity against world champion Garry Kasparov in a 24-move tie which was part of a worldwide internet chess tournament against 30 youngsters. Gomes, a trainee at the
Goodricke National Chess Academy here, was the lone
Indian selected for this prestigious meet organised by
www.Kasparovchess.Com which is considered as the
‘’ultimate chess portal’’. |
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CALCUTTA, March 16 (UNI) — Mumbai today stormed into the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy crushing Bengal by 242 runs on the concluding day of their four-day Super League encounter at the Eden Gardens. With this outright victory Mumbai collected 32 points from four Super League group matches. Chasing a deficit of 380 runs in their second knock, the hosts were bundled out for 138 in 107 minutes. They resumed their innings with 67 for the loss of four wickets. Both the Mumbai spinners Ramesh Powar and Rajesh Pawar, who had an overnight tally of 3 for 15 and 1 for 28, equally shared the Bengal wickets conceding 46 and 60 runs, respectively. Scoreboard MUMBAI (Ist innings): 182 BENGAL (Ist innings): 117 MUMBAI (2nd innings): 315. BENGAL (2nd innings): Deep Dasgupta lbw b Ramesh Powar 06, Laxmiratan Shukla b Ramesh Powar 33, Devang Gandhi lbw b Ramesh Powar 14, Srikant Kalyani lbw b Rajesh Pawar 0, Syed Saba Karim b Ramesh Powar 26, Rohan Gavaskar c A. Muzumdar b Ramesh Powar 13, Nikhil Haldipur lbw b Rajesh Pawar 17, Vishal Yadav b Rajesh Pawar 15, Utpal Chatterjee st. b. Rajesh Pawar 06, Sourasish Lahir c Amit Dani b Rajesh Pawar 0, Abdul Masood not out 04. Extras (B-4): 04. Total all out 138 in 54.1 overs. Fall of wkts: 1/35, 2/52, 3/53, 4/53, 5/81, 6/102, 7/124, 8/129, 9/129, 10/138. Bowling:
Abey Kuruvilla 9-6-14-0, Santosh Saxena 1-0-10-0, Rajesh
Pawar 19.1-5-60-5, Ramesh Powar 23-9-46-5, Nilesh
Kulkarni 2-0-04-0. |
Suspended fine for Inzamam KARACHI, March 16 (Reuters) — Pakistan vice-captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was handed a 25 per cent match fee fine, suspended for six months, yesterday for criticising Sri Lankan players. “Inzamam-ul-Haq has also been severely reprimanded. As a penalty, he has been handed a suspended 25 per cent match fee fine applicable for six months,” match referee Brian Hastings said in a statement after Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the third and final Test by 222 runs. Haq told reporters after his match-winning 138 yesterday that the Sri Lankan fielders sledged him throughout his innings and disturbed his concentration. “There has to be a limit and I think they crossed it,” Haq said. Hastings said: “It’s unfortunate that I have to penalise him after a wonderful innings. But he has breached the International Cricket Council (ICC) players’ code of conduct by criticising the opposition.’’ He also imposed a 25 per
cent fine on all Pakistan players for a slow over-rate in
the first innings. |
Jr national carrom at
Faridabad CHANDIGARH, March 16 — The 28th Junior National and Inter-State Carrom championship will be held at DAV Public School, Sector 14, Faridabad from March 24 to 28. The championship will be conducted by the Faridabad District Carrom Association under the auspices of the Haryana State Carrom Association and the All-India Carrom Federation. Mr S.S. Prasad, president, Haryana State Carrom Association, said 25 state units, affiliated with the AICE had confirmed their participation. Mr Prasad said Faridabad had earlier hosted the Senior National and Inter-State Carrom Championships in 1992 and 1995. Competitions will be held in the following events: boys and girls team event, boys and girls singles and boys and girls doubles. The All-India Carrom
Federation will also be conducting the examination for
empanelment of umpires on the all-India panel during the
course of this championship. |
Birla Award for Pillay, Sikdar NEW DELHI, March 16 (PTI) — Mercurial striker Dhanraj Pillay, who led the Indian hockey team to the Asian Games gold after a 32 year gap in the 1998 Bangkok Games, and middle distance queen Jyotirmoyee Sikdar have been awarded the prestigious K.K. Birla Award for 1998-99. The awards, which carry a purse of Rs 75,000 each, are given in recognition of outstanding performance and achievements made by a sportsperson, a press note from the K.K. Birla Foundation said here today. Thirty-one-year old Pillay has represented the country since 1989 and is known world over for his flashy stickwork and ball control. He led India in the 1998 World Cup as well as the India-Pakistan Test series that were revived after a gap of 12 years. Sikdar became the toast
of the country by winning the 800-1500 m double at the
Bangkok Games. |
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