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| Wednesday, February
21, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Mongia, Harbhajan recalled for first
Test Efforts on to defuse PCA issue CAPTAIN’S COMMENTS Kiwis win, level series with
Pak |
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Frustrating draw for
JCT East Bengal drub
Vasco Sports Club Beijing ready for IOC
team Leander survives a
scare Sonal, Arthi, Geeta
advance Punjab lose to
Mumbai in semis
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Mongia, Harbhajan recalled for first Test Mumbai February 20 The national selectors, at their meeting here today, stuck to expected lines as they also recalled young Punjab off spinner Harbhajan Singh while ignoring the claims of the tried and trusted new ball partner of Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad. It was quite apparent the selectors had taken note of the mighty Aussies’ vulnerability against spin and prefered to pack the team with three spinners while leaving it to young left-arm pace bowler Zaheer Khan to share the new ball with Srinath. Of the team that played India’s last Test, against Zimbabwe at Nagpur on November 26 last year, wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya, off spinner Sharandeep Singh and the now-in-now-out left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi from the playing 11 and batsman Mohammad Kaif and another left-arm spinner Murali Kartik from the reserves have been dropped. Stylish batsman VVS Laxman, 12th man in that Test and having a fine run on the domestic circuit, too finds a place in the list of 14 for the Mumbai Test. The squad: Sourav Ganguly (capt), S. Ramesh, S.S. Das, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Hemang Badani, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Nayan Mongia (wk), Narendra Hirwani, Harbhajan Singh, Rahul Sanghvi and Zaheer Khan. Announcing the team here, BCCI secretary and selection committee convenor Jaywant Lele and Chairman Chandu Borde said Hirwani was selected on the basis of his performance in the domestic circuit, including Duleep Trophy. Hirwani last played for the country in 1995 while Mongia was included after the CBI found no evidence against him in the betting and match-fixing scandal and the BCCI exonerated him after that. Delhi left-arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi, who claimed five wickets playing for India ‘A’ at Nagpur in the Aussie tour opener, was also picked in the squad of 14. Harbhajan Singh will also make a comeback to the team after being sidelined for two seasons on disciplinary grounds. Asked why Mongia was preferred over Dahiya, Borde said “he is the best wicketkeeper at present and has also performed well with the bat in the Duleep Trophy”. About recalling Hirwani after six years, the chief selector said he was bowling well. “We (the selectors) have watched him (Hirwani) in Duleep Trophy matches and coach John Wright has also spoken highly about him”. About Hirwani’s fitness, Borde said: “He is okay and we hope he will deliver the goods”. On whether any other spinner’s name was discussed, the selection committee chairman said: “Yes, we also discussed the names of two other leggies W.D. Balaji Rao of Tamil Nadu and Sairaj Bahutule of Mumbai but preferred Hirwani as we thought he is more accurate and also experienced”. Borde said the name of Punjab off-spinner Sarandeep Singh was also discussed but the selectors opted for Harbhajan as he has got more bounce. Asked why three spinners were selected, Borde said: “The Australians looked vulnerable at Nagpur and so we decided to have three spinners,” and added that it was upto the team management whether they would include all the three in the playing eleven, depending on the pitch conditions. Asked whether Mongia’s selection was unanimous, Borde said Delhi stumper Vijay Dahiya was also discussed but the selectors decided in favour of experience and chose Mongia. “Coach John Wright and skipper Sourav Ganguly wanted Mongia in the side,” he added. To a question whether Laxman will be asked to open the innings, Borde said he was selected in the team not as an opening batsman but as middle order batsman. “Shiv Sunder Das and Sadagoppan Ramesh will open the innings,” he added. On the inclusion of Badani, who was previously considered as one-day player, the former Indian captain said “he (Badani) is a good batsman besides being an outstanding fielder”. Regarding fitness of Sachin Tendulkar and Ajit Agarkar, who have opted out of the Mumbai team for the three-day match against the visitors at Brabourne Stadium here from February 22, Borde said: “As far as my knowledge goes both of them are fit and I don’t know why they opted out of Mumbai team as I was in Nagpur”. About the playing eleven, Borde said: “We have given the best team but who will play in the final eleven will depend on the condition of the wicket”. Mr Lele said the team for the second Test in Kolkata would be announced during the three-day match between Board President’s XI and the Australians starting in New Delhi on March 6. He said the team would gather in Mumbai on February 23 and will have nets till the Test match begins. PTI |
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Efforts on to defuse PCA issue Chandigarh, February 20 Only two “heavyweights” in the board, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, a former secretary of the BCCI and now Chairman of the Asian Cricket Federation, and Mr P.M. Rungta. a one-time Treasurer of the board, are adamant that “drastic and harsh” punishment be handed to the PCA and its President for ‘‘bringing disrepute to the board’’. In fact, the issue of the PCA and Mr Bindra would have been settled in the last meeting of the BCCI working committee itself but for the insistence of these two persons. While Mr Dalmiya attended the meeting as a representative of the Cricket Association of Bengal, Mr Rungta was present as a representative of the Rajasthan Cricket Association. But, according to reports, there are other senior members of the BCCI who are of the view that enough time has been wasted on the issue and the chapter should be closed as quickly as possible. Heading this list of members is the BCCI President, Dr A.C. Muthiah, who tried his hardest to close the issue at the working committee meeting itself. But he was unable to do so as he was unable to convince both Mr Dalmiya and Mr Rungta. It is expected that at Chennai, Dr Muthiah, who will chair the meeting, will try to work out a consensus so that no harsh action is taken against the PCA as well as Mr Bindra. His persuasive skills will have to come to the fore if he is to move the house to decide that PCA and Mr Bindra should get off with a stern warning. But if he is unable to make the house agree to his suggestion there is every likelihood of a voting in the house. The BCCI has 30 members with the President also having a vote. The President also has a casting vote in case of any tie in the voting, which in most cases is done by secret ballot. But there is some confusion regarding the voting. In an amendment carried out last September at the annual general body meeting of the board any move against any association has to be carried out by three-fourths majority . Previously, any decision against any association needed a two-thirds majority. Also, previously, the board could take action only against an association but under the amendment action can also be taken against an individual, be it a player or a former office-bearers of the board. The question which is being asked here is: what majority will be needed to take action both either against the PCA or against Mr Bindra. The notice to the PCA was given on July 19, 2000, months before the amendment was carried out. Can the BCCI take action against any association with retrospective effect? Experts of law and there are quite a few who will attend the meeting of the board including the Union law Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, will have to give a deep thought to this aspect. Ever since the issue flared up Mr Bindra has been maintaining that the points he made was done so in his individual capacity and the Punjab Cricket Association had nothing to do with it. Also, the PCA has said that whatever statement Mr Bindra had made was not the view of the PCA as the association had no knowledge of the things mentioned by Mr Bindra. The Chennai meeting besides having a discussion on the PCA issue is also scheduled to discuss certain amendments to be made in the constitution of the BCCI. But it is quite possible that no discussions can be held on the constitution amendments as the proposed amendments have not been circulated to all the affiliated associations. |
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CAPTAIN’S COMMENTS THE
Gavaskar Border Trophy will be under way in a week’s time at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Aussies have just finished playing a game against India-A at Nagpur. It was a good opportunity for the boys to prove their mettle against a strong side and there were some good performances from them. A lot has been spoken about the series and it is going to be very keenly watched. This is expected as the Aussies have come here as a world champion side winning 15 Tests on the trot, which is a commendable achievement. They look to be a side in form and a side which is combining very well. They have some world class players and players who have performed under all situations. The Aussies also look very keen to come here and perform and win as they have not won in India for 31 years and Steve Waugh and his company has one part of the world unconquered. For us it will also be a special series for playing a good team has always been a challenge. The boys had a good break for a month after Zimbabwe and they are all fresh and raring to go. That was quite evident in the camp which we underwent in Chennai. It was good preparation for the series. This was probably one of the best camps that I have attended. We really worked hard in tough conditions in Chennai and fielding was one aspect, which was the main focus. Regarding this, special mention has to be made of John Wright. I was absolutely amazed at the man’s commitment. He was probably as keen to win as I am. I was very happy to see the condition of the boys. Special mention has to be made of Ajit Agarkar. He is looking fit and strong and bowling as good as I have seen him. Srinath and Zaheer look to be in good shape as well. I was very pleased with the form of Ramesh and Laxman. The runs they scored in Nagpur is going to help them immensely and they will be confident when they walk out to bat in the first Test in Mumbai. We have chosen the team for the first test and have included two experienced campaigners like Nayan Mongia for keeping wickets and Narendra Hirwani to strengthen the spin department. The batting has been strengthened with the inclusion of Laxman and Hemang Badani. This is the best possible team and I am happy with the composition. The whole team is looking forward to this series. As a captain I personally believe it’s going to be a good series. We have to be tough in the mind to overcome the Aussies and play really good cricket. We will really miss Anil Kumble who also will be unfortunate to miss the series. In the end I wish both the teams all the very best and may the best team win.
(Gameplan) |
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Kiwis win, level series with Pak
NAPIER (New Zealand), February 20 New Zealand’s Daryl Tuffey won the man-of-the-match award by taking four for 24, while Harris broke Hadlee’s New Zealand one-day international record of 158 wickets when he had Shahid Afridi caught by Nathan Astle at point. Pakistan were all out for 135 on the last ball of their 50th over and New Zealand surpassed them on the third ball of the 31st over when their total reached 136 for four. New Zealand had a bad start, losing Adam Parore in Wasim Akram’s first over. Scoreboard Pakistan: Anwar b Tuffey 0 Farhat c and b Tuffey 4 Razzaq c Harris b Martin 50 Haq run out 6 Youhana c Fleming b Vettori 9 Afridi c Astle b Harris 10 Khan c Fleming b Tuffey 1 Akram c Franklin b Vettori 8 Saqlain run out 10 Waqar not out 22 Shoaib b Tuffey 3 Extras (lb-6, nb-3, w-3) 12 Total: (all out in 50 overs) 135 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-14, 3-21, 4-47, 5-60, 6-63, 7-79, 8-96, 9-121. Bowling: Tuffey 10-0-24-2, Martin 10-1-37-1, Franklin 10-1-27-0, Vettori 10-1-29-2, Harris 10-2-12-1. New Zealand: Parore c Farhat b Akram 0 Astle c Inzamam b Akram 20 Fleming c Youhana b Waqar 28 Twose c Moin b Razzaq 5 McMillan not out 31 Vincent not out 33 Extras (b-4, lb-7, nb-5, w-3) 19 Total (for 4 wkts off 30.2 overs) 136 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-51, 3-59, 4-74. Bowling: Akram 9-0-24-2, Waqar 7-0-27-1, Shoaib 1.3-0-12-0, Razzaq 6.3-1-27-1, Saqlain 5-0-23-0, Farhat 1.2-0-12-0.
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Irina returns with Ujjawal
Trophy Chandigarh, February 20 In the Billoo Sethi
strokeplay, Irina did not return the best card. But her consistent play got her the trophy. She returned three-over cards on both days for a total of 150. Another Chandigarh girl, Parnita
Garewal, played a bad 84 on the opening day, but then she struck a bright patch on the second day returning a card of 69 to finish second with 153. Vandana had scores of 74 and 82 for a total of 156. In the all-India event played over four days, Irina defeated Indumati on the 14th hole. But she had to put in her best to get the better of Shruti Khanna, whom she defeated on the 17th hole. She overcame another Chandigarh girl, Guneet
Raikhy, on the 14th hole. She also got the better of the local
giantkiller, Priyanka Das, defeating her on the 31st hole. Her victory at Calcutta was just the right thing to happen. It broke the jinx. She had finished fifth in the Asia Pacific in May last and third in the West Bengal Ladies Open. Her mother Madhu Brar and another lady golfer, Mrs
Sahi, were all along with Irina at the course. And now Irina will go all out for studies. The annual exams are round the corner. And while we talked we were joined by a badminton celebrity, Kanwal Thakar Singh. A former national badminton champion and an Arjuna
Awardee, wished Irina all the best. The exams over, it will be golf again for this Plue II Vivek School student. From March 18 it will be a round of conditioning camps. Then follows the Sri Lanka Open. And finally it will be the Queen Sirikit Cup to be played in Hong Kong from April 10 to 13. The India team will comprise Irina Brar, Parnita Garewal and Vandana Irina has a commanding 100 points from a maximum possible of 105 in the ladies circuit. She is followed by Parnita with a points tally of 62. |
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Frustrating draw for
JCT Ludhiana, February 20 Today’s result, nevertheless, did not add to the disappointment of the respective coaches. Both Tollygunge coach Amal Dutta and JCT’s Sukhwinder Singh expressed satisfaction over the outcome. “What more could we achieve with our key players out of action? remarked Dutta after the tie.” Our main striker Abdulateef Seriki,skipper Parthasarthi Dey and regular goalie Prashanta Dora could not take the field today. Hence I am not disappointed with the draw,”
he said.JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh also expressed similar views. “The string of injuries to our key players, including playmaker Hardip
Saini, defenders Prabhjot Singh and Kuldip Singh, Jaswinder, and Hardip Sangha have adversely affected our campaign,”
he said while adding that he did not want his players to be under undue pressure. In fact, JCT could have carried the day had they not missed some of the easy chances. The mill men were more on the
attack, especially in the first half and in the opening minute itself,
the Tolygunge goal had a narrow escape when striker Hardip Gill’s well directed long ranger was followed up by Sukhjit’s weak header. Again, a flag kick by Harinder, though well taken, saw the ball travelling out of danger zone after skipper Ram Pal missed its flight. Hardip
Sangha, who recently played for India in the Millennium Cup, playing with a heavily strapped thigh, also initiated a fine move but Gill moving in tandem failed to provide the finishing touches. He was subsequently replaced by Jaswant Singh. Medio Harinder, in a bid to bolster the attack, tried to utilise the right wing and a long pass along the sideline for Hardip Gill saw the ball crossing the goal-line although Gill did make a brave attempt to get to it. A few minutes before lemon break, JCT had another good chance but Ram Pal failed to head the ball and Sukhjit only managed to shoot over the bar. On changing ends, Tollygunge Agragami survived a couple of more close calls before falling back to defend their citadel with all their might. In the 48th minute, JCT’s Hardip Gill managed to cut through and with the entire defence beaten, he only had goalkeeper Hemanta Dora at his mercy. However, Dora, former India goalkeeper who also played for Mohun Bagan, kept his nerve and all that Gill could do was to despatch a feeble shot into his hands. Gill had another chance but instead of attempting a direct kick, he preferred to pass the ball to newcomer Jagjit Randhawa, who found himself bottled up. Thereafter, Tollygunge adopted a defensive strategy and almost all the players fell back to keep the marauding JCT players in check. They also carried out occasional forays and on one occasion, playmaker Sasthi Duley raced in before attempting a long ranger but was wide off the mark. Again Kaibang Temjen raced into the box to connect a pass from the left but failed. JCT will now meet Air-India here while Tollygunge will travel back home for a match with FC Kochin in the ninth round next week. |
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East Bengal drub Vasco Sports Club Kolkata, February 20 The red and yellow brigade who led 1-0 at half time scored their goals through striker Dipankar Roy, Omolaja and defender Suley Musah. After Dipankar Roy opened the account for East Bengal capitalising on a Bijen Singh pass following a move initiated by veteran medio Tushar Rakshit in the 40th minute, Nigerian Omolaja buttressed the lead around midway through the second half when a stingy shot by medio Sur Kumar Singh rebound off Vasco keeper Rogerio Ramos. Ghanian defender Sulehy Musah completed the tally heading home off a flag kick taken by his countrymate Isiaka four minutes before the long whistle. East Bengal thus further increased their point margin with their nearest rivals FC Kochin and lead the league table with 19 points from eight matches. East Bengal are followed by FC Kochin with 15 points after seven outings while last year’s champions and strong contender Mohun Bagan are at the third spot with 13 points after eight plays. Fresh from their morale-boosting victory against arch-rivals Mohun Bagan, East Bengal today moved like a well-oiled machine. Inspite of absence of their regular medio Chandan Das, who had to sit out after being shown two successive yellow cards, they combined well to force a series of raids resulting in three goals.
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Beijing ready for IOC team Beijing, February 20 IOC delegation chief Hein Verbruggen said his group was “absolutely overwhelmed” by the reception. “Next time, I promise you, we won’t come at six in the morning,” he joked. Beijing has worked round-the-clock to prepare for the 17-member IOC delegation, which will inspect the city from tomorrow to Saturday in a survey that will help the IOC choose among five candidates in a vote in Moscow on July 13. China, making its second bid after just losing out to Sydney for the 2000 games, believes its status as the world’s most populous nation and the intensity of state and popular backing give it an edge over Osaka, Toronto, Paris and Istanbul. Hosting the Olympics is “not only the aspiration of Beijingers, but also that of China’s 1.3 billion people”, the official China Daily declared in an editorial. State media have highlighted an opinion poll showing 94.9 per cent of the Beijing population want the games. Even people whose homes will vanish to make way for plush Olympic facilities cheerfully tell foreign reporters they want their city to be host at last. Vice-Mayor Liu Jingmin told a news conference on Tuesday that opponents of the Olympic bid argued the money should be spent on welfare or doubted the city’s infrastructure was good enough. He said there was no question that the IOC inspection team would be kept away off from such dissidents in the capital of the last major Communist country. “We will try our utmost to create opportunities for contact with people with divergent views and not work to obstruct such communication,” Liu Jingmin said. However, China has struggled to keep the focus on what it sees as its natural turn to stage the games and off its human rights record, one of the reasons Beijing lost the 2000 games. Mayor Liu, President of Beijing’s bid committee, issued a strong plea on Sunday for the IOC and for media to judge Beijing only its sporting credentials and organisational skills. China was “firmly opposed to any attempts to foil Beijing’s bid on the excuse of human rights,” he said. But Beijing’s bid, always shadowed by the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy protesters, is contending with a steady flow of images of police kicking and punching protesting members of the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement on Tiananmen Square. Fallout from China’s 19-month-long crackdown against the spiritual movement is mounting, with most weeks bringing new reports by overseas human rights groups alleging deaths from beatings, torture and abuse of pyschiatric medicine. Some IOC members and groups of lawmakers in Britain and the USA oppose Beijing’s bid on human rights grounds.
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Leander survives a
scare Chandigarh, February 20 The second day of this mega event also saw an upset when seventh seed Slovakia’s Ladslav Svarc bowed down to unseeded Ota Fukarek of Czech Republic in a three-set thriller. Slovak played some of the fine shots before succumbing to Czech Republic player. Paes watched by his father Dr Vece Paes said after the match that he was a little exhausted after playing matches at China, Japan and Mumbai challenger where he reached the last four. Paes will face Radek Stepanek of Czech, Republic an unseeded player, who today sailed into second round by beating qualifier Sergui Podznev of Russia in straight sets. Leander complimented the new generation of players like Sunil Kumar, and Amanjot Singh of Chandigarh. Leander who is advised by his father for all his tour programme said that now the competition was very tough all over the world but our players were getting good exposure. Wild card holder Mustafa Ghose of India and lucky loser Donavan September of the USA were pitted with each other and in third set when the match was nearing result, rain interrepted the same. At that time, Mustafa was trailing at 6-0, 5-7, 1-5. The match will be completed tomorrow. Earlier in the morning, all eyes were set on Prakash Michael Amritraj son of legendary Vijay Amritraj who was playing top seed Dennis van scheppingen, ranked 204 on the ATP. The 17-year-old tall and lanky, Prakash made the Dutchman run all round the court and gave him harrowing moments before going down at 3-6, 4-6. The third match of the day, played between Nitin Kirtane and N Okun of Israel. Kirtane, who was replaced due to injury of P. Srinath played valiantly first set in tie breaker at 7-6(4) in 48 minutes. But second and third were a tame affair for Okun who raced to 6-1, 6-0 win. Results: Dennis Van Scheppingen (Ned) b Prakash Amritraj (Ind) 6-3,6-4; Noam Okun (Isr) b Nitin Kirtane (Ind) 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-0; Gerald Mandl (Aut) b Dmitri Tomaschech (Uzb) 6-4, 7-5; Ota Fukarek (Cze) b Ladislav Svarc (Svk) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Frantisek Cermak (Cze) b Stefano Galvani (Ita) 4-6,6-4,6-2; Radek Stepanek (Cze) b Sergui Podznev (Rus) 6-1, 6-4; Leander Paes b Nir Welgreen (Isr) 7-5, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (1); Martin Spotti (Aut) b Brandon Hawk (USA) 6-2,7-6(8). |
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Sonal, Arthi, Geeta advance Bangalore, February 20 Fourth seed Arthi Venkataraman, fifth seed Geeta Manohar and seventh seed Sheetal Goutham, all from India, recorded victories without much efforts in the first round. Nina Wennerstrom of Sweden, Jordanna Seymour of Australia and Radhika Mandke of India also recorded straight set victories while Marutha Devi of India was taken full Distance by Preeti Rao. Eighteen year-old Sonal, the finalist in the first round at Chennai, needed just 45 minutes to knock out Sharanya 6-2, 6-0. Seasoned Arthi rallied back brilliantly to beat promising local girl Tara Kanbargimath 7-5, 6-4, while Sheetal Goutham made shortwork of Nandini Perumal at 6-3, 6-0. Geeta was on the court for 70 before packing off Alice Joy 6-2, 6-4. In other matches, Nina Wennerstrom toyed with Kamini Murugabhoopathy at 6-0, 6-3, Jordanna outgunned Shivani Oberoi of Canada 6-2, 6-0 and Radhika Mandke defeated Medini Sharma 6-1, 6-1.
UNI Punjab lose to
Mumbai in semis Chennai, February 20 Mumbai, who nearly paid the penalty for being complacent in the closing stages of the match, found their hero in—goalkeeper Sairam Bishnoi, who saved the shot of Avtar Singh in the sudden death to guide his team to the summit clash with Chandigarh on the morrow. After Punjab made it 2-2, thanks to two superb penalty corner conversions by Jugraj Singh, the 15 minutes of extra time failed to resolve the deadlock and the contest spilled over to the tie-breaker where both the teams converted four of the five shots. For Mumbai Vikram Pillai, Sunil Singh, Satish Kumar and goalie Sairam Bishnoi scored, while Vijay Alphonso hit out. For Punjab Jugraj Singh, Gabbar Singh, Bikramjit Singh and Avtar Singh converted while Jaswant Singh shot wide.
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