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| Thursday, February 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Australia leave out
Martyn, Gillespie Tendulkar best
batsman: Warne
Shoaib raring to take on Kiwis Muralitharan to play in first Test Paes moves into last eight |
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Vijay confident of success Pioline out in first round Hockey title for
Chandigarh Mahindras stun Churchill Mohun Bagan meet Salgaocar today FC Kochin win against SBT Union Club in football final Cricketers, film stars to raise funds
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Australia leave out
Martyn, Gillespie Mumbai, February 21 Australians, who according to their coach, had a disappointing opening match against the India ‘A’ side in Nagpur would be looking for a much improved performance here going into the first Test beginning at the Wankhede Stadium here from February 27. The Australians can, however, take heart from the fact that their batting came good in the second innings of the Nagpur match and they can take that form into this match and forward to the Test. The wicket for tomorrow’s match is likely to be a spinners paradise and the Mumbai coach Ashok Mankad has said his team would go in with three spinners. The Aussie skipper Steve Waugh, agreeing in principle with the Mumbai coach, said, “We had to work out whether we were playing to win this game or to prepare for the Test match. And we probably have to prepare for the Test match, where the wicket looks a lot harder than the one here.” The teams: Australia: Steve Waugh, Michael Slater, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Colin Miller, Damien Fleming, Glenn McGrath. Coach: John Buchannan. Mumbai:
(from) Samir Dighe, Wasim Jaffer, Robin Morris, Vinayak Mane, Jatin Paranjpe, Amol Muzumdar, Vinod Kambli, Sairaj Bahutule, Paras Mhambrey, Sriram Kannan, Rajesh Pawar, Ramesh Powar, Kunal More, Nilesh
Kulkarni. UNI |
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Tendulkar best
batsman: Warne New Delhi, February 21 “Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman in the world. Bowling to Sachin in India is the toughest thing for any bowler,” Warne said. “There is nothing you can compare it (bowling to Sachin) to. Sachin just plays shots that make you wonder how he did it. If you get him out you know you’ve bowled really well. “I feel I’ve always got a chance with Lara. He might whack you sometimes but he’s not as tight or as ruthless as Sachin,” Warne said in an interview to website
Indya.com. Warne said Australia stood a good chance of winning the series in India. “I think we are in a good position because India don’t have (Navjot) Sidhu who was a key player last time. They are a bit unsettled at the top. In the middle they’ve got three world class players in Tendulkar, (Rahul) Dravid and (Saurav) Ganguly. But there’s no Azharuddin and no Kumble with the ball. “I think its going to be a completely different series. We’ve got (Glenn) McGrath who didn’t play last time. Same with (Jason) Gillespie,” he
said. Warne, who is the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket for his country, was happy with the way he was bowling but said bowling to Indian batsmen was not easy.
“India in India is the toughest assignment you can get,” he said. PTI
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Shoaib raring to take on Kiwis Wellington, February 21 But the Pakistan team manager, Fakir Aizazuddin was more cautious than the confident Akhtar, saying it was not certain whether Akhtar would be playing. The tearaway fast bowler hobbled off McLean Park in Napier last night after bowling just 1.3 overs during Pakistan’s six wicket loss which squared the five-match series 1-1. “I’m up for tomorrow,” Akhtar said at practise today. “I feel great and the medical people agree with me, so I’ll be there.” Aizazuddin said: “We’ll find out this evening or tomorrow morning whether he is fit enough to play. I hope he is but he has just come back from injury and we want to be sure of his fitness.”
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Muralitharan to play in first Test Galle, February 21 There was tremendous concern over Muralitharan’s fitness after he suffered a groin injury on his right side while playing in the 5th one-day international in New Zealand. Muralitharan’s recovery meant that Sri Lanka can play seven batsmen, which includes the in-form Tillekeratne Dilshan who has reeled off two consecutive centuries against the English tourists this month during practice matches. Supporting Muralitharan will be Kumar Dharmasena who bowls fast off-breaks, leaving the new ball in the hands of Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa. The lanky Zoysa is fighting to get fit after a bout of influenza which has struck him down for the past four days. If he fails to pull through, young Dilhara Fernando will be preferred. “Muralitharan is the best bowler we have, has been for many years now and he will be a key man in this series. He has to play and the support bowlers have to back him up well,” said Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya. “We have to really look after Murali during this series. We cannot lose him because he is the match winning bowler for us,” he told AFP. Turning his attention on the Test series, Jayasuriya said: “We are confident, but you cannot take any series lightly. England have improved, they have come with a plan and we will have to play some really tough cricket.” “We want to make sure that we play as a team and I need the full support of all the players.” “To win out here would be a great achievement. We have already seen how talented they are. I am not looking at the end result, that is miles away. We can’t look far ahead,” said Hussain. “We are confident, having won three series on the trot, but we are also realistic. We know what is ahead of us. There is no kidding each other. I will make it crystal clear at the team meeting that it is going to be very difficult.” Teams: Sri Lanka (from): Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Muttiah ,uralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena, Dilhara Fernando, Dinuk Hettiarachchi. England (from): Nasser Hussain (captain), Michael Atherton, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe, Alec Stewart, Graeme Hick, Michael Vaughan, Craig White, Ashley Giles, Robert Croft, Darren Gough, Andy Caddick. Umpires:
Peter Manuel (Sri Lanka) and A V Jayaprakash, (India). AFP
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Paes moves into last eight Chandigarh, February 21 Earlier today, India’s Davis cupper and wild card holder Syed Fazaluddin was out of contention as he was sent packing by Sweden’s Per Thornadtsonn in 63 minutes with scores being 6-3, 6-2. Syed was broken in the third game after he managed to save two break points. In the fifth game again Fazal failed to keep his serve. Fazal’s famed power serves were evident in the seventh game as at 30-30 he unleashed two aces to keep his service game. Down 2-5, he seemed to be on a comeback trail as he broke Swede in the eighth game but he lost the ninth game to go one set down. Fazal’s slice backhands deserted him and he lot of points on this particular slot. In the second set, Fazal was broken in the fourth and eighth games. In the Paes- Stepanek tie, local crowds thronged the centre court stadium to see for themselves as their only hope left here for this big event. Leander began in style with his crafty drop shots and was up 4-1 and then 5-2 in first set. At this moment, his concentration let him down and the Czech player down with 2-5 at this juncture managed to level at 5-5. In the 12th game, Paes hit a wonderful backhand down the line passing shot to break Stepanek and wrapped the first set amidst cheers from the fans at 7-5. In second set, Paes was broken in first game but broke in the second. Finally he lead at 5-3, then serving for the match, he survived two break points before finishing the same. The two-set match lasted 106 minutes. Both committed six double faults. The scores remained 7-5, 6-3. Another Indian Mustafa Ghouse and lucky loser Donavan September of Republic of South Africa, had played an unfinished match yesterday. Today it 12 minutes for Donavan to finish the match at 6-2. The final score was 0-6, 7-5, 6-2. Results: men’s singles (pre-quarerfinals): Dennis Van scheppingen (Ned) b Gerald Mandl (Aut) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Ota Fukarek (Cze) b Artem Derepasko (Rus) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; Frantisek Cermak (Cze) b Giorgio Galimberti (Ita) 7-695), 6-3; Leadner Paes b Radek Stepanek (Cze) 7-5, 6-3. First round: P Thornadtsson (Swe) b Syed Fazaluddin (Ind) 6-3, 6-2; Donavan September (RSA) b Mustafa Ghouse (Ind) 0-6, 7-5, 6-2. Doubles:
first round: G. Galimberti (Ita) and N Welgreen (Isr) b N Kirtane and S Fazaluddin (Ind) 6-0, 6-3. S Galvani and I. Kuniticin (Rus) b O Fukarek (Cze) and B. Sekac (Svk) 6-4, 6-2.B hawk (USA) and Todd Perry (Aus) b B Borgula and L svarc (Svk) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
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Vijay confident of success Singapore, February 21 The Fijian star played 29 holes of golf on Sunday in the rain affected Carlsberg Malaysian Open before beating Irishman Padraig Harrington on the third extra hole. It was a marathon day of golf but a result that the flying Fijian feels he can add to when the Caltex Singapore Masters begins tomorrow at Singapore Island Country Club. “I am looking to win here. Every time I enter a golf tournament I expect to win — if your expectations are high you are going to do well. I have played the golf course and I liked what I saw — if I play decent enough I should be ok,” said Singh. “Every time I have won, the following week I have played well so you know I am excited about this week and think I am going to do well. I feel like I am playing well, driving well, putting well, everything is positive right now, I cannot see a negative in my game,” he added. Singh, who celebrates his 38th birthday tomorrow, defends his US Masters title in April and after a winning start to the year he has predicted greater things lie ahead. He said, “I feel this year is going to be a big season for me if not this, the next — I am quite comfortable and relaxed and ready to go. Everybody is talking about the Masters. I would like to put on the jacket myself this time if I can. That is my goal.” The last time Singh played in Singapore was in the 1993 Johnnie Walker Classic, which was also played over the Bukit Course at Singapore Island Country Club. He finished joint ninth that year just behind this week’s other big name Colin Montgomerie of Scotland.
Montgomerie, who won the Ericsson Masters last week in Australia, finished second in the Classic, behind England’s Nick
Faldo, and still has vivid memories of the event. “I just walked by and saw the last hole and I remember it well when I lost to Faldo by a shot. This is the first time I’ve been back. I’m looking forward to playing the course again,” said
Montgomerie, whose victory in Australia came after a long 10-week lay-off. When asked if he was surprised to have started the year with a win he said, “I suppose so. I did it in 1996 in Dubai and again this year. I don’t know why it should happen that way. I haven’t been practicing. People say he must have been doing something but I really don’t practice. I had a couple of days in Australia to work things out. It is amazing how fresh one can be and that is what it is about.” The Caltex Singapore Masters, which is being joint-sanctioned by the Davidoff Tour and European Tour, is one of the biggest golf tournaments to come to Singapore in many years. In order to help promote the event banners of Montgomerie and Singh can be seen hanging from many of the lamp-posts throughout the city.
PTI
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Pioline out in first round Rotterdam, February 21 But second seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov steered a safe course into the second round with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 win over Czech Slava Dosedel. Kafelnikov next faces either Nicolas Kiefer or Jiri Novak. Pioline, who defeated Britain’s Tim Henman in last year’s final, has suffered a depressing slump in form recently and was defending his title unseeded. Vinciguerra, by contrast, is in top form. The Swede, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Monday, reached the final in Copenhagen last week and is being touted as one of the most promising newcomers on the ATP circuit. Another Frenchman, Arnaud Clement, earlier edged into the second round with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Switzerland’s Marc Rosset. Fifth-seeded Clement, a finalist at the Australian Open last month, will meet Andrei Pavel for a place in the quarterfinals. Rosset’s big serve and hefty forehand always make him dangerous indoors, but Clement’s lightning speed and miraculous retrieving powers of eventually frustrated the tall Swiss. The Frenchman always looked likely to maintain control of the match, despite lapses in concentration during the second set. Clement’s career has taken a sharp upward curve since he teamed up with coach Philippe Rosant in July, a move which paid immediate dividends including a straight sets win over Andre Agassi at last year’s US Open.
Pierce through DUBAI: Mary Pierce survived a first set tie-break against hard-serving Uzbek Iroda Tulyaganova before reaching the quarterfinals of the Dubai Women’s Open on Tuesday. Pierce, who was knocked out in the second round of last week’s Qatar Open, went on to win 7-6, 6-4. The second-seeded Frenchwoman, given a bye in the first round, struggled initially to cope with Tulyaganova’s powerful serve, which recorded speeds of almost 180 km per hour, but recovered her poise as the game went on. Tulyaganova, ranked 67 in the world, broke the tentative Pierce in the fifth game. But the No 2 seed capitalised on the big points to level the score at 5-5. Both players then exchanged one service game each to force the set into a tie-break and Pierce finally showed her experience to race into a 6-1 lead before taking the tiebreak 7-4. Pierce, mixing aggression with caution, gave Tulyaganova few chances to fight back and won the second set 6-4 with a break in the ninth game. Fifth seed Sandrine Testud had a fairly easy outing against fellow Frenchwoman Sarah Pitkowski winning 6-3, 6-2. Austria’s Barbara Schett packed enough power into her game to chalk up a routine 6-4, 6-1 victory over Moroccan wildcard Bahia Mouthassine. The sixth seed, who took an hour to complete the job, got off to a fine start, racing to a 4-0 lead before Mouthassine recovered to break Schett’s serve in the fifth game. Earlier, Germany’s Marlene Weingartner scored an easy victory over Asa Carlsson of Sweden, winning 6-2, 6-3.
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Hockey title for Chandigarh
Chennai, February 21 In a keenly contested affair, Chandigarh defeated last year's runners-up Mumbai 3-2 after both the teams were locked 2-2 at theend of regulation time. It was indeed a dream come true for Chandigarh boys, who received a fine ovation from the goodly crowd at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium after Munda slotted the goal off a pass from Mandeep Singh, who twice put Chandigarh ahead in each half only to see Mumbai fight back to draw level to stretch thematch to extra time. It was Chandigarh who forged ahead in the very fifth minute when Munda, after a fine solo effort, relayed the ball to Mandeep near the 25-yard line. Mandeep drew two defenders and the goalkeeper Sairam Bishnoi out, side-stepped him and slotted the ball home. Mumbai, who were taken aback by the reverse, pressed hard and nearly scored in the 13th minute, but medio Junaid Jada’s, belated but well-directed shot, was saved by Chandigarh custodian Maninder Singh. However, Mumbai, who were not not as nippy as they were against Punjab in the semifinals yesterday, did not not take long in finding the equaliser, which came two minutes later after a bout of passing between Prem Kumar Singh and the lanky Vijay Alphonso. Both managed to misdirect Maninder, went close to the touchline before Alphonso tapped the ball home into the open goal. Into the second session, Chandigarh wrested the lead in the 43rd minute mainly due to a defensive lapse by Joseph Mathew, who had all the time in the world to effect a clearance from near the goal mouth. Mandeep Singh in possession after being put through by Cyril Ekka, dodged past the goalkeeper and fell flat on the ground. Joseph Mathew, effected a feeble clearance, before Mandeep Singh recovered and managed to get his stick to the ball, which went in. Mumbai equalised again through an impeccably executed penalty corner in the 52nd minute. In the earlier minute, full back Sunil Singh’s shot off a corner was saved by Maninder. In the next minute,Mumbai adopted different tactics and succeeded.Sunil, instead of taking a shot, switched it to Alphonso, who executed it superbly. Chandigarh mounted pressure in the closing stages and forced three penalty corners in the last three minutes, including two in the last minute and they nearly scored with only 20 seconds remaining for the hooter. But Vikram Pillai was quick to rush out of the goal to stop Bharat Kumar’s shot of a corner. In the extra time, Munda emerged as the hero after Mandeep passed the ball to him off a penalty corner to clinch the match and the trophy. UNI CHANDIGARH (TNS): Mr Yash Vohra, secretary of the Chandigarh Hockey Association, and Mr Rajinder Gandhi, international hockey umpire, today lauded the Chandigarh team’s victory in the junior nationals. In a statement issued here, they said it was a team effort.
Mumbai, February 21 Both the goals come in the second half. Mahindra made some excellent moves in the first half but could not score. On the other hand Churchill never ever got any chance to reach near
Mahindras goal. Churchill also missed an easy chance when their star player and Brazilian recruit Edson Jaden missed a header in the 52nd minute on a corner kick from another foreign recruit Andre Requena. But Mahindra held their nerves and managed to give first blow in the 53rd minute when Iranian recruit Davoud Husseini hit a beautiful shot into the goal after he ball deflected from a Churchill defender’s legs on pass from Christopher. Churchill’s woes increased when Jaden was shown red card by referee Rizwan-ul-Haq in the 58th minute for dangerously knocking down a Mahindra defender. Mahindra succeeded in scoring the second goal in the 63rd minute when Raman Vijayan diverted the ball into the goal on a perfect cross pass from substitute Abhay Kumar. Mahindra could have taken an early lead but in the 10th minute, both their key strikers Manjit Singh and Raman Vijayan, who were well-placed near the goal post, missed scoring opportunity on a cross pass from Shamsy Raza. Raman again missed in the 45th minute when he fell to deflect Venkatesh’s cross pass into the goal. Churchill again had a chance to reduce the margin in the 89th minute when striker Francis Silveira, who was totally off-colour today, hit a header only to miss it by inches after the ball deflected from Mahindra defender’s legs on a shot from Rajesh Meetei. With this win, Mahindra United added three more points to their kitty while Churchill have to go back without adding any point. While Mahindras’ points increased to 11 from eight matches, the Goan outfit’s point position remained unchanged with having eight outfit’s point position remained unchanged with having eight points from as many matches.
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Mohun Bagan meet Salgaocar today Margao, February 21 Mohun Bagan have been relegated to the sixth position with 14 points from seven matches. East Bengal and F C Kochi top the table with 18 points each from eight outings. Bagan and Salgaocar have played each other thrice. Salgaocar beat Bagan in the Pondicherry Millennium Cup (1-0) while in the Rover’s and Durand Cup, both drew each other. Mohun Bagan, whose morale is low after their first defeat at home at the hands of arch-rivals East Bengal (0-1), have recruited Brazilian Flavio Lopez who will play his first match tomorrow as striker in place of Joao Santos who will return to Brazil after an ankle injury. Rest of the team will be the same that played the last match. Lopez, who has played for Porto, will play as left striker along with another Brazilian Jose Remerios Baretto, the team’s playmaker. Salgaocar, who beat ITI 1-0, will be missing their two foreign recruits, medio Cristian and Bgenga Lawal, who are nursing injuries. Defender Roque nursing a groin injury, is also a doubtful starter. Keeper Abu Ali Baker, who has recovered in time from his ankle injury and was seen during the practice session this morning, will replace Juje Siddi who was slapped a red card in the last match against ITI. Salgaocar success will largely depend on the way their midfield functions. Denis Cabral, Jules Alberto, Climax Lawerence and Dharamjit Singh will have to give their best and counter the strong rival midfield comprising James Singh, Renedy Singh, Basudev Mundal and R P Singh. With both the teams having a sound defence, the team which dominates the midfield will emerge the winner. Salgaocar coach Marcus Pachecho, who is upset after referee K. Shankar issued yellow cards to four of his players against ITI including a red card to his keeper Juje Siddi, said “It has demoralised the spirits of our players just before our crucial match against Mohun Bagan.” “It is a tough as Bagan have a good set of players, including the foreigners and also a good bench strength. We have to depend on the limited resources. Hope our boys play to their potential and with crowd backing us we hope to win.” Bagan coach Subrata Bhattarcharya said his boys’ morale was not high after their loss against East Bengal and the absence of Santos has been felt in the upfront but hopes the new comer Lopes fills the gap. It will be a close fight as Salgaocar was a good side and play an organised game, he said.
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FC Kochin win against SBT Thiruvananthapuram, February 21 FC Kochin gained a total of 18 points from eight matches while SBT have four from their eight outings. SBT started well and dominated the proceedings and went ahead in the 10th minute when Shabir Ali netted after a good pass from the midfield from Ianatius. But the bankmen failed to maintain the tempo as FC Kochin came back strong in the 17th minute and T.S. Anoj scored the equaliser through a header. At the lemon break the teams were levelled at 1-1. In the 54th minute striker Aaron I . Cole netted again for FC Kochin from a midfield pass from I.M. Vijyan. FC’s Sunday Seah, who was the custodian in the first half and played as striker after break, scored two more goals minutes before the long whistle. FC Kochin will meet Tollygunge Agragami in Kolkata on February 26 and SBT will take on Salgaocar in Margao the same day. The collection from yesterday’s match would be donated to Gujarat earthquake relief fund, according to tournament committee officials.
ITI held Mumbai: Air-India finally managed to score a goal when they held Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) to a 1-1 draw at Cooperage, here on Tuesday.
Playing under tremendous pressure, the airmen did everything as they desperately needed to win the encounter.
However, it was ITI who took lead in the 33rd minute through Yusuf Mohammed and then took control of the game.
But Air-India, who lost their previous two matches and were playing fourth consecutive match at home, gave a tough fight in the second and succeeded in scoring goal in the 61st minute.
Captain Khalid Jamil was goal scorer, with Air-India forward line again to deliver good.
With this draw, both Air-India and ITI earned one point each. PTI
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Union Club in football final Nahan, February 21 Union Club will meet 14 Gorkha Training Centre, in the final tomorrow. The Gorkhas beat D.F.A. Sirmaur by five goals to three in tie-breaker after sharing two goals in regulation period. For the Ambala team Vijay Jha netted the winning goal in the 40th minute with a skilful placement from inside the area. For the remaining part of the match, the Punjab Police team dominated the exchanges and carried out attack after attack but failed to score the equaliser. The pressure in the last 15 minutes of the game was extremely intense but Union Club just managed to cling on to the narrow advantage. For thousands of fans at the Chaugan Stadium there were more thrilling moments in the second semifinal. The first half was goal-less. Two good attempts by Rahul failed to help Sirmaur team. Late in second half, Gorkha Centre took the lead through Bharat Thapa but within five minutes Mankotia headed in the equaliser and the match went in to the tie-breaker. For Gorkha Centre Bharat Thapa, Deepas, Bikas Gurung and Bhutia Thapa were the scorers and for Sirmaur Ashish, Jamal were the goal-getters. Tomorrow before the final and exhibition women’s match between teams from Chandigarh and Patiala will also be played.
UNI
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Cricketers, film stars to raise funds Mumbai ,February 21 The colourful match is to be played on Sunday at Bombay Cricket Club of India. Participants in the match include among others, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, batting giant Sachin Tendulkar’s and India’s cricket captain Sourav Ganguly. The game will also see in action dozens of other actors and cricketers. Among them will be some members of the visiting Australian team which is to begin its first Test series on February 27. The limited five overs match is due to begin at 6.39 p.m., dividing the players in to four teams to play three matches, one of the organisers, Mr Sachin Bajaj, told a news conference on Tuesday.
“Each boundary four will consist of eight runs and a sixer would be 12”, he said.
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