Ganguly’s form cause for concern
Abhijit Chatterjee
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 30
Although the Indians have taken an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the six-match one-day series against the visiting Englishmen, what must be causing concern not only to the team management but also to the national selectors at the current juncture is the miserable form of skipper Saurav Ganguly.

The Indian skipper’s touch with the bat has totally deserted him. His bad form with the bat, which started with the Test series against South Africa in South Africa and continued in the three-Test series against England late last year, has dogged him in the one-dayers as well.

Prior to the commencement of the current series, the Indian skipper had gone on record to say that he hoped to regain his form in the one-dayers and in this context he referred to his form in the one-day series in South Africa where he had a total of 380 runs at an average of 63.33 with two centuries and one fifty. But now it seems that the Indian skipper has to traverse a long way before he can regain his form which made him one of the most exciting batsmen in contemporary cricket.

That the national selectors were worried with the form of the Indian skipper was apparent when chairman Chandu Borde had said that Saurav had been selected captain for the entire series against England —— thereby implying that if the skipper had to be changed then the change would come not midway through the series against England but when the Zimbabwe squad comes to India next month. That the selectors have taken the courage to axe V.V.S. Laxman from the team after a string of miserable scores must have driven the message home that nobody should think that his place in the squad is secure.

It was in the first one-dayer at Kolkata that the Indian skipper could score 42 runs but even during that innings did Saurav seem comfortable? Time and again he played and missed, waited for the swing that was not there and was all at sea to any delivery which left him. At Cuttack he could get just 14 and after missing the Chennai tie due to a muscle injury he had 26 against his name (batting down the order after he pulled a muscle while bowling) in the Kanpur tie which India won by a handsome eight-wicket margin.

But while the Indian skipper was unable to come to terms with his batting his bowling did help India time and again and his haul of two for 17 at Kanpur did help the hosts to swing the match their way. But then can India afford to have a skipper who from a batsman-bowler has suddenly turned to a bowler who can also bat?

And now the Indian skipper has said that tomorrow, when India clash with England in the fifth match of the series at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here, he will open the Indian innings with Sachin Tendulkar thereby, pushing local hero Virender Sehwag down the order. Sehwag, who has very successfully opened the innings twice in the current series, had put up two century stands of 107 and 134 at the victorious contests at Chennai and Kanpur. Now how successful Ganguly will be will be known only tomorrow.

While there is no denying the fact that Ganguly and Tendulkar form the most successful opening pair in the game at the current juncture, the Indian skipper could have helped the team’s cause by taking the place vacated by Ajay Jadeja or Robin Singh and allowing Sehwag to open with his alter ego Sachin. Such a move could have helped India bolster its middle order specially since the likes of Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman are not in the squad.

But then in a home series it is the national selectors who have a final say in the composition of the team. And the five “wise men” were yet to assemble in the national Capital till the evening and therefore the Indian team will be finalised just before the match.

Teams:

India (from): Saurav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Hemang Badani, Mohammed Kaif, Ajay Ratra, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Sarandeep Singh, Sanjay Bangar and Zaheer Khan.

England (from): Nasser Hussain (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Nick Knight, Graham Thorpe, Michael Vaughan, Paul Collingwood, Craig White, Andrew Flintoff, James Foster, Jeremy Shape, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Andy Caddick, Matthew Hoggard and Owais Shah.

Umpires: Alok Bhattacharya and Subroto Porel

Third Umpire: B.K. Sadashiv

Match Referee: Dennis Lindsay (South Africa).

Saurav to open with Sachin
M.S. Unnikishnan

New Delhi, January 30
Virender Sehwag’s blistering knock of 82 in the fourth one-dayer at Kanpur two days ago does not seem to have made much impression on skipper Saurav Ganguly, who asserted here today, on the eve of the fifth one-day international against England, that “I will open the innings”.

It was widely expected that “local boy” Virender Sehwag would open the innings with Sachin Tendulkar after their highly fruitful opening partnerships in the third and fourth one-dayers at Chennai and Kanpur respectively.

But the Indian skipper has no plans to retain Sehwag in the opener’s slot, and made his own intention of returning to the opening slot in Delhi, after batting down the order in Kanpur, as he had not fully recovered from a hamstring injury.

Saurav scotched all rumours of his batting down the order as he asserted that “I will open the innings with (Sachin) Tendulkar as I have fully recovered from the hamstring injury and ready to give hundred per cent as opener”.The skipper revealed his mind when newspersons persisted with their query that ‘who would open’ after the Indian team went through a hectic ‘net’ session at the far away Palam ground in the morning. Sachin and Sehwag had hoisted century partnerships at Chennai and Kanpur with Sehwag scoring blistering half centuries in both the matches. But the Sachin-Saurav opening partnerships have been much more enduring as they have earned the reputation of being the most successful opening pair in the history of one-day game with a record 15 century partnerships.

Sehwag has scored just one century and two half centuries in his career as an opener, to make him a strong claimant to the opener’s slot. But the skipper seemed to be in no mood to give up his privileged opener’s slot to Sehwag. Saurav’s reasoning is that the “series is not yet decided, and we cannot be complacent and allow England to come back and level the series. We don’t want that to happen”. Though Ganguly’s best in the current series was 42 in Kolkata, the skipper pointed out that he had scored close to 400 runs in South Africa last year, and there was no reason why “I cannot be back among the runs”.

Craig White not to play
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 30
Yorkshire allrounder Craig White, who was rushed to India to reinforce the England squad, said he would not play the remaining two one-dayers against New Delhi and Mumbai as he had not fully recovered from his knee operation. “I will not play tomorrow. I joined the squad here because I was very much in the team which is scheduled to fly to New Zealand directly from Mumbai after the last one-dayer,” White said after light nets at the Ferozeshah Kotla here today.

White, who had flown back to London after the three-Test series against India for a knee operation, joined the English team yesterday.

“Obviously, the practice sessions before the two important games will help me gain my rhythm back for the New Zealand tour,” he added. Earlier in Kanpur, English team media manager Andrew Walpole had said that white would be available for the remaining two one-day matches. White played in England’s 1-0 defeat in a three-Test series in India which ended last month.

Aussies thrash England in U-19 World Cup

Christchurch, January 30
England’s chances of qualifying for the semifinals of the ICC (under-19) World Cup took a nosedive when tournament favourites Australia crushed them by 116 runs here today.

Another near perfect performance from Australia saw England totally outplayed at Hagley Oval, and they must now beat South Africa on Friday, and hope New Zealand lose to Australia, in order to qualify for the last four.

England must beat South Africa comprehensively and pick up a bonus point to edge ahead of their rivals into second spot as their run rate is the poorest in the group.

However, England scarcely deserve a place in the semifinals after losing yet again to a Test playing nation, and the fact their only wins in this competition have come against Nepal and Papua New Guinea gives a clear indication of their form.

A sloppy performance in the field, which saw three catches spilled, allowed Australia to post a commanding 281 for five from their 50 overs with 71 runs added in a disastrous final five overs for England.

George Bailey swiped 69 runs off 55 balls and Craig Simmons made 67 as Australia posted the highest score so far in Christchurch.

England needed to get off to a good start to stand any hope of victory but they lost opener Kadeer Ali with 28 on the board, and after his dismissal they lost wickets at regular intervals with only captain Nicky Peng (57) offering some resistance.

Left-arm spinner Beau Casson finished with 4-33 and Jarrad Burke 3-13 for Australia as England succumbed for 165.

England manager James Whittaker was clearly angered by his side’s performance, but still held out some hope his side could make the semifinals.

“If we beat South Africa we stand a chance but to do that we will have to raise our game considerably,” he said. “South Africa are a reasonable side and we will have to improve in several areas.

“We knew this would be a tough game but I expected a little more resilience from us.

“We dropped three catches and I would have liked to have seen a little more fight in our middle order. We will have to think quite hard about the personnel in the team and decide who deserves to play on Friday.” Also today, New Zealand squandered the opportunity to seal their spot in the next round when they lost to South Africa by 24 runs. AFP

West Indies face spin threat

Sharjah, January 30
Pakistan and the West Indies are unlikely to feel the difference when they clash tomorrow in Test cricket’s first bilateral series on neutral ground.

The West Indians, whose refusal to play in Pakistan forced the series to be shifted to this desert venue, will continue to be haunted by spin in the absence of the injured Brian Lara.

Pakistan, an integral part of Sharjah’s limited-overs tournaments since 1984, will not only feel at home in a familiar environment but also have the luxury of a tailor-made wicket prepared by Lahore-based grounds man Mohammad Bashir.

The two teams may as well have been playing in Pakistan.

“I am disappointed the series had to be shifted out, but this place is like a second home for us,” Pakistani captain Waqar Younis said ahead of the first of two Tests at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

“My main worry is the wicket. It has never been prepared before to last five days.”

Waqar, however, had bad news for Carl Hooper’s West Indians, who were mesmerised by champion off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan during their 0-3 rout in the preceding series in Sri Lanka.

“Spin will play a major role here because the wicket may not last the distance,” Waqar said.

If Muralitharan unnerved the West Indians single-handedly, Pakistan have three slow bowlers — versatile off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq along with leggies Danish Kaneria and Shahid Afridi — to tighten the noose.

Add to that, the pace of Shoaib Akhtar and Waqar himself — veteran Wasim Akram is nursing a hamstring injury — and it is evident the West Indies face a formidable challenge in the absence of their batting genius Lara.

The left-hander, who countered Muralitharan with an amazing aggregate of 688 runs in three Tests in Sri Lanka, dislocated his left elbow in a freak collusion with fielder Marvan Atapattu in a subsequent one-dayer. AFP

Umpires for Ranji quarterfinals

Mumbai, January 30
Vijay Chopra of Delhi and Sudhir Asnani of Indore will officiate as umpires in the Baroda versus Hyderabad Ranji Trophy quarter-final cricket match to be held at Baroda from February 5 to 9.

Umesh Kumar of Punjab and Devendra Sharma of Delhi would officiate the Tamil Nadu-Railways tie to be held at Delhi while Arvind Mahaandale of Maharashtra would be the referee and third quarter-final match between Gujarat and Bengal to be held at Kolkata from February 5 to 9 would be umpired by S Dandapani of Kerala and S V Ramani of Tamil Nadu while S M Sharma of Punjab will be the referee, Diwadkar added. PTI

Mixed luck for Indians in ITF junior meet
Arvind Katyal

Chandigarh, January 30
There was mixed luck for Indian tennis players on the third day of the ITF Junior World Ranking Tennis Tournament in progress here at the tennis stadium, Sector 10, when all the entrants in the boys singles semifinals were Indians, while in the girls section, none of the Indian eves could make it to the last four. The cheers were reserved for Chhatwinder Singh and Saurabh Singh both localities who barged into the semifinals while the top seed in the girls section, Megha Vakharia of India went down fighting to a Chinese Taipei girl in three sets.

Another upset was noticed in the girls section, as third seed Maya Rossa of Indonesia was eliminated by Chinese Sun Chen Nan in straight sets. Saurabh Singh who had won the ITF Delhi title, had a tough time in his singles tie with Saurav Kohli in three thrilling sets. Later Saurabh and Amanjot to sail into the doubles semifinals when they pipped Indonesia’s strong pair of Imanuel Prakaso and Imanuel Probobo.

Tomorrow’s boys’ semifinal line-up is: Chhatwinder versus Nihal Advani, Saurabh versus second seed Jaco T Mathew. In the girls semifinal, Wen Shin of Taipei will vie with Rui Duo of China while Sun Chen of China will cross swords with Ching Chen of China in the other semifinal.

Results (all quarterfinals): Singles: boys — Chhatwinder Singh (Ind) b Abhay Prakash (Ind) 6-3, 6-2; N.Advani (Ind) b Wertheimer Dor (Isr) 6-7(6), 6-0, 6-1; Saurabh Singh (Ind) b S. Kohli (Ind) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1; Jaco T Mathew (Ind) b S Verman (Ind) 6-4,6-0.

Girls — Wen Shin (Tpe) b Megha Vakharia (Ind) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Rui Du (Chi) b Parul Goswami (Ind) 6-1,6-2; Sun Chen (Chi) b Maya Rossa (Ina) 6-2,6-0; Chong Chen (Chi) b A. Elina (Uzb) 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles — boys : Saurabh and Amanjot (Ind) b I.Prakoso and Probobo (Ina) 7-6 (6), 6-1; Al Imron (Ina) and Natapong (Thi) b Harris (Ina) and Edward (Uzb) 6-3, 6-1; Jaco Mathew and S. Verman (Ind) b A Inbar (Isr) and Chen (Isr) 7-6(5), 6-3; S.Kohli (Ind) and Prantap C (Ind) b Chhatwinder and Vikram (Ind) 2-6,7-5,6-1.

Girls: Isha and Megha (Ind) b Hsuan (Tpe) and Jan Chan (Chn) 7-6 (3), 7-5; A Elina (Uzb) and Krushmi (Ind) b Swetha D and Reenu J (Ind) 6-1, 6-0; Dhi Rui and Sun Sheng Nan (Chn) b M Rossa (Ina) and Sanna Bhambri (Ind) 6-4, 6-2; Ching Chen Yan (Chn) and Wen Shin (Tpe) b Shrenya P. and Nivedita (Ind) 6-1, 6-0.

Paes-Bhupathi duo in semis

Bangalore, January 30
Indian ace pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi stormed into the semifinals with a hard-fought victory over Mark Knowles (Bahamas) and Brian Macphie (USA) in the TouchTel ATP World Doubles Challenge Cup here tonight.

In the Bharati group, the Indian duo won 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 6-3 in 127 minutes to notch up their second successive victory.

Earlier, top seeds Don Johnson and Jared Palmer of the USA took the appointed place with a straight set 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win over the Bryan twins — Bob and Mike — of the USA for their second straight win in TouchTel Group. UNI

Pala, Vizner keep hopes alive

Bangalore, January 30
Fourth seeded Peter Pala and Pavel Vizner of the Czech Republic today drubbed John-Laffnie de Jager and Robbie Koenig of South Africa to record their first win in Bharti group to keep their semi-final chances alive in the ATP World Doubles Challenge Cup here today.

The Czech duo, who won 6-3, 6-2, have an unenviable task as they take on Indian pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in the last league engagement tomorrow. Pala and Vizner needed just 57 minutes to defeat the South Africans who are virtually out of the tournament having suffered their second successive defeat. UNI

Hockey title for Jalandhar lads
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, January 30
Government Model Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar edged out SGPS Academy, Sri Bhaini Sahib, 3-2 to lift the 30th Nehru-Nestle Junior Hockey Tournament title at the Shivaji Stadium here today. The Jalandhar school were awarded a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000 while Bhaini Sahib took home Rs 60,000. Coach of the Jalandhar team, J S Mann, was given a cash award of Rs 8,000 for fashioning the winning team.

In a tantalisingly close match, the Jalandhar school, after taking a comfortable 3-1 lead, let thigs slip to make it a tight contest in the end.

But it was no smooth-sailing for the Jalandhar boys to start with as they had to fight very hard to penetrate the tight Bhaini Sahib defence and their first goal came only after many a slip between the cup and the lip when Joga Singh hit home a beautiful field goal in the 31st minute.

Eighteen minutes after resumption, the Jalandhar school added one more goal when Major Singh blasted the ball in. But before the din could die down, Bhaini Sahib reduced the margin through Sher Singh in a counter attack, two minutes later. Though Gurpreet Singh made it 3-1 for Jalandhar in the 57th minute, Gurcharan Singh scored the second goal just two minutes before the final hooter, to give the score line a close look (2-3).

Earlier, in the fight for the third position, Army Boys Sports Company, BRC Danapur, too had to wage a determined battle to subdue Birsamunda Vidyapitha, Rourkela 3-2. Amol Kindo, Sashi Topno and Ajay Lakra were Danapur’s marksmen while Saran Lakra and Pawal Lakra got the goals for Rourkela.

Gurdarshan Singh and Ajmer Singh of Bhaini Sahib, Roshan Minz of Rourkela and Joga Singh of Jalandhar were adjudged the ‘best players’ and were awarded Rs 2,000 each.

NFL: Salgaocar hold Bagan

Kolkata, January 30
Favourites Mohun Bagan were held goal-less by strong contenders Salgaocar of Goa in the crucial tenth round tie of the 6th National Football League here today.

The barren encounter obviously helped the Goan outfit in the away match because the Kolkata giants would have to play the second leg of the match at Margao, the home ground of Salgaocar.

Bagan were looking rudderless because of the absence of Brazilian striker Jose Ramirez Barreto, suspended for a match because of two yellow cards.

On the other hand, former Kolkata custodian Kalyan Chowbey, who also served for green-maroon club, manned the bar magnificently to save Salgaocar on several occasions. Because of his superb keeping the Goanese returned with a point.

With today’s result, Bagan now have 19 points from 10 matches - five wins, four draws, one defeat. The Kolkata giants scored 10 goals and conceded five. Bagan have the same number of points as Mahindra United in the lague table.

Salgaocar, on the other hand, remained in the fourth place collecting 16 points from 10 matches - four wins, as many draws, two defeats. The team scored 13 goals and conceded five. They were now behind ITI.

Before today’s encounter Salgaocar had humiliated reigning champions East Bengal by four goals in Margao and were defensive in the first half. Bagan, however, could not penetrate the rival fort due to the solid defence by Franky Barreto and Roberto Fernandez.

In the seventh minute Nigerian Seriki had a measured nod but Chowbey stood like a rock to fist out for a corner.

The second half saw some erratic shooting by the forwards and some superb savings by Chowbey. Bagan had a scoring chance in the 50th minute but the Nigerian blundered the opportunity shooting over the post. UNI

Phagwara, Banga teams win
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 30
Guru Nanak College, Phagwara, defeated Khalsa College, Garshankar 3-0 on the third day of the 40th Principal Harbhajan Singh Memorial Football Tournament currently under way at Mahilpur today.

The Phagwara boys started on a fast pace and scored the first goal in the second minute through Gurpreet Singh. They struck again in the 30th minute through Sarbjit Singh and the third goal was scored by Sarbjit Singh again in the second half.

In the second quarterfinal, Sikh National College, Banga, edged out DAV College, Hoshiarpur, by a solitary goal scored by striker Sukhjinder Singh in the 16th minute. In the second half DAV College were awarded a penalty kick but the goalkeeper of Banga college saved the spot kick and took his team into the semifinals.

In the third match of the club category, RCF Kapurthala prevailed over Star Club 4-2 via the tie-breaker and reached the semifinals. In the last match, PSEB faced stiff resistance from NIS Patiala before emerging triumphant by 5-3 in the club category. The scorers for PSEB were Sukhbir Singh (two) Kuldeep Singh, Daleep Kumar and Sarabjit Singh while for NIS Patiala, the scorers were Baljit Singh (two) and Kushu Kumar.

Exhibition basketball matches
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 30
An International men’s basketball exhibition match between a Canadian outfit and Punjab XI will be played here on February 2. According to Mr R.S. Gill, president, Punjab Basketball Association. The visitors will play two matches on February 1 and 2 at Jalandhar and Ludhiana respectively. Punjab Police cagers will play against the guests at Jalandhar.

According to the PBA, general secretary, Mr Teja Singh Dhaliwal, a dozen cagers of international fame would be seen in action.

The members of Indo-Canadian team are Raghbir Singh Bindra, Tejinderjit Singh, (coach), Satinder Singh Brar, Rakhinder Singh Brar, Avtar Singh Heer, Navi Singh Sekhon, Pasha K. Singh Bains, Paul Singh Bring, Jagjit Singh Bhogal, Amandip Singh Heran, Gurjit Singh Johal (manager), Manjit Singh Dhillon (GM), Kirpal Singh Bains (Association) and Joginder Singh Johal (Associate).

The members of the Punjab basketball team are Parminder Singh (captain), Gagnesh Kumar, Parminder Singh (Junior), Gursharan Jit Singh, Harmanderjit Singh, Singh Shivraj, Pritpal Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, Swaranjit Singh, Jasjit Singh, Damandeep Singh, Maninder Singh, Dr S. Subramanium (coach), Paramjit Singh Teja (manager).

SAI’s nod for w’lifting camps
Our Sports Reporter

Patiala, January 30
The Sports Authority of India has finally accorded sanction to the junior national weightlifting camp (men) and the junior and senior camps for women at the NIS here.

Prominent among those who are expected to reach the NIS within the next couple of days are Kunjarani Devi, who was banned following a positive dope test. P. Selja, who won a gold in the 31st National Games, besides Krishna Kumari, Pratima Devi and Sydney Olympian Sanamacha Channu. Although the IWF has named Sydney Olympic bronze medallist Karnam Malleswari in the list of probables, yet there has been no word from K.Malleswari.

Six more wrestlers for camp
Our Sports Reporter

Patiala, January 30
The Wrestling Federation of India has included six more matmen in the camp here.

The camp is being held in preparation for the prestigious Takhti Cup scheduled to be held at Tehran from February 20 to 22.

The wrestlers are Manoj Kumar of Railways and Dharampal of Haryana (55 kg), Pawan Kumar of Railways in (66 kg), Pawan Kumar of Punjab (74 kg), Amandeep Sondhi of Punjab (84 kg), and Yudhvir Singh of Delhi (130 kg).

Trophy for Irina

Mumbai, January 30
India’s number one woman golfer Irina Brar of Chandigarh on Wednesday annexed the Billoo Sethi Trophy in the All- India Women’s Golf Tournament here at the BPGC, firing a two-over 72. Irina, plus one handicapper, improved on her first day’s score 78 with two birdies and an eagle on back nine, which took her past Vandana Agarwal of Kolkata. The latter could muster only 79 to come second. She was followed by Urvashi Sodhi (157-Delhi). UNI

SPORTS BRIEFS

MARADONA'S LIFE SET FOR NEW HIGH
BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona, Argentina’s most famous and controversial footballing figure, has been offered a job in the Argentine government. Daniel Scioli, the Argentine Sports and Tourism Minister, told Argentine television station Todo Noticias: “Maradona would represent an important factor in the situation facing our country (the financial crisis which has seen unemployment rise to 20 per cent and the country default on its foreign debt). “He has expressed his wish to help in the aid programmes for children in need.” Interviewed on a trip to Washington Scioli added: I found him very enthusiastic and we will continue our talks when I return to Buenos Aires.” AFP

A model of Athens' Olympic sports complex designed by famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava is presented on Wednesday. Calatrava presented a $188 million revamp of Olympic stadium sports complex, the major venue where the Athens 2004 Olympic games will be hosted. "We are taking advantage of the 2004 Games to leave an architectural monument in Athens," Greek Culture Minister Venizelos added during a joint new conference with the architect. — Reuters