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Tuesday,
March 19, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Tight security irks team South Africa end losing streak
ICC takes up Pak’s compensation issue |
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Sri Lanka to hold
Champions Trophy TV to aid umpiring decisions Kolkata, March 18 An absorbing contest is on the cards when East Zone take on Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy tie at the Eden Gardens here tomorrow. Chairman of selectors for Eastern Zone Ashok Malhotra, while talking to UNI here today, said, “There is no reason to take the Central team lightly. Sandeep Kirtane ousts Sridhar; Sunil loses India stun Ukraine, enter final Birla awards for Bindra, Humpy Vasco go down to East Bengal
Chandigarh, March 18 The 10th Air India Chandigarh Ladies Golf Championship will begin on March 19, with a ceremonial tee-off by the Air India Manager, Punjab Circle, Mrs A.K. Bhinder. Top-seeded Irina Brar, who is currently appearing for her Class XII Board exams, will play on home turf for the Grewal Salver (overall gross). Guneet Raikhy will also compete for the top honours. State
Bank of Patiala’s annual sports meet ends
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‘Pressure will be on Indians’
Guwahati, March 18 Despite being made to struggle by a relatively weaker side, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said the victory in the fourth game in Hyderabad had given the team the confidence to turn things around. “We have to play like we did in the last match. We were pretty aggressive right through, though there were some hiccups while batting in the initial stages,” Ganguly said after the team’s practice session here. The captain was hopeful that the team would finally be able to leave behind their string of defeats in final matches going back to more than two years. “I hope things will turn around tomorrow. It has to change some time or the other and we hope to do it this time,” he said. India were unlikely to make any changes in the winning combination though Ganguly did not rule out the possibility of including Vijay Bhardwaj, who was one of the three new players picked for the last two one-dayers, for tomorrow’s match. “It is likely to be the same team, may be just one change or none,” he said. Ganguly was happy with the performance of Mohd Kaif and Yuvraj Singh in Hyderabad but stressed on the need of having consistency in the team. “It is a pretty young side with many new players in the team. Apart from Rahul (Dravid) and myself, most of the other members are young. They have to be more consistent,” he said while dismissing suggestions that the team was missing the services of stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble. “They are injured, so we can’t do anything about it. At the same time, it gives the youngsters the opportunity to prove themselves.” Asked whether his continued backing to Yuvraj Singh had at last paid dividends in Hyderabad, Ganguly said, “As captain, I have backed all the players selected in the team. I believe that who ever is good, should get a chance to play for India. But again, the players have to be more consistent.” The toss could play a vital role as the ball was likely to swing a little bit in the morning though the chief curator of the ground and pitches committee G. Kasturirangan believed the pitch will play well right through the match. The wicket at the Nehru Stadium has traditionally helped the bowlers to some extent in the early hours of the match and then tended to get a little slow towards the later stages though it could behave differently this time since it is being held in warmer conditions. “It (the pitch) looks to be a good one-day track. It is hard and nice,” Ganguly said. Ganguly said the bowlers had also done a good job though there was some scope for improvement. “We bowled well for 32 overs but we could have bowled better for the remaining 18 overs,” he said about the fourth match. Zimbabwe on the other hand were brimming with confidence having performed much better than what was expected of them. Skipper Stuart Carlisle said the bowling needed to be a bit more better in tomorrow’s game. “We have played quite well. Our middle order batsmen have been getting the partnerships but our lower order batsmen should also contribute a little so that we get some 20 or 30 more runs. Our bowlers could also do a little better,” he said. “The tour has been good and I am happy with the way things have gone for us. It is a good learning process for our youngsters.” Carlisle said his team will try to keep things simple and stick to the basics. “We should keep things simple. Our bowlers should bowl wicket to wicket and not give too many loose balls. The pressure will then be on the Indians.” Zimbabwe paceman Pommie Mbangwa has a slight hamstring injury and Carlisle said if he did not get fit for tomorrow’s match then Gary Brent would replace him. “Otherwise we are likely to retain the same team,” he said. PTI
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Tight security irks team
Guwahati, March 18 “The Brahmaputra hotel has virtually turned into a fortress and the players are under a kind of house arrest which is not good”, team manager Sunil Khanna told PTI here. Terming as “very unfortunate” the scuffle involving ace spinner Harbhajan Singh and some policemen on duty in the hotel, Khanna said the “fans have come to see the players and not the police”. “Cricket is everybody’s game and the ultimate enjoyment is in the match but no one wants such kind of security”, the team manager said. The entire city had been put under a strict security cover with the police distributing it into five security zones in view of the threat on some players including skipper Saurav Ganguly. The hotel has been barred for any visitor and even the photographers and journalists were not allowed to enquire about the happenings in the team. Yesterday, a host of photographers, who thronged the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi airport when the players arrived were denied access to them. The lensmen were barred from taking photographs and the players were whisked to the bus to be driven straight to the hotel. The strict security was also evident today in the Nehru Stadium, where the players went for a practice session. Journalists and photographers covering the match were put at a safe distance even as some police officials were heard hurling abuses on the cricket fans who had gathered to see the players. The local media today had front-page stories on the alleged high-handedness of the police with one of them wondering “whether it was a cricket match or a police match”. PTI
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South Africa end losing streak
Durban, March 18 Mark Boucher, South Africa’s acting captain, clinched the win when he hit off-spinner Mark Waugh over midwicket for six. Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince were mainly responsible for taking South Africa to their highest winning fourth innings total in history, and the highest by any country against Australia, taking South Africa to within four runs of victory in a fifth wicket stand of 99. South Africa had been set to make 335 and the scores were level when Boucher made his winning hit to take the total to 340 for five. Kallis made 61 not out and Prince hit 48 before he was caught at slip off leg-spinner Shane Warne. Australia had already won the series, retaining their Test world championship, by winning the first two matches in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Australia won all three matches when the sides clashed in Australia earlier in the season. Although Australia might have been affected by the “dead rubber syndrome” that skipper Steve Waugh has worked hard to eradicate, it was a notable comeback by a South African team hit by injuries and controversy. South Africa played the series without injured Shaun Pollock and lost Allan Donald in the first Test. They were already without two leading fast bowlers in Mfuneko Ngam and Mornantau Hayward because of injury. They went into the second Test without experienced batsman Daryll Cullinan, who withdrew over a pay dispute. The side that played at Kingsmead included three players making their second Test appearance, while Prince was playing in his third Test. On an overcast morning, Kallis and Prince started cautiously against Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath, bowling with the second new ball, before Prince off-drove Lee for three in the fourth over. Kallis punched Lee through midwicket for another boundary and the scoring rate picked up when leg-spinner Shane Warne came on and was punished for nine runs in his first over by the left-handed Prince. Australia (1st innings): 315 South Africa (1st innings): 167 Australia (2nd innings): 186 South Africa (2nd innings): Gibbs c Martyn b M Waugh 104 Kirsten run out 64 Smith c Gilchrist b M Waugh 42 Kallis not out 61 McKenzie c Hayden b Warne 4 Prince c M Waugh b Warne 48 Boucher not out 8 Extras: (lb-2, nb-5, w-2) 9 Total (5 wkts, 104.5 overs) 340 FoW : 1-142, 2-216, 3-218, 4-232, 5-331. Bowling: McGrath 28-11-54-0, Lee 20-2-75-0, Gillespie 15-2-58-0, Warne 30-5-108-2, M Waugh 11.5-1-43-2. AFP
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Pollock returns
for one-dayers Cape Town, March 18 The all-rounder was today named in a squad of 13 but there was no place for Pollock’s long-time pace partner Allan Donald, who has not recovered from the thigh strain that forced him to retire from Test cricket three weeks ago. Five players have been discarded from the squad which won a triangular one-day series with Australia and New Zealand in Australia in February, Donald joined on the sidelines by Steve Elworthy, Charl Langeveldt, Justin Kemp and Justin Ontong. Roger Telemachus was recalled to the squad along with Jonty Rhodes and Lance Klusener.
Reuters |
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ICC takes up Pak’s compensation issue
Islamabad, March 18 Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Tauqir Zia said he was happy that the ICC had taken up Pakistan’s move for compensation seriously and sent it to the proper forum. “Our stand is very clear. We are asking the ICC members for compensation for the series against the West Indies and also for losses suffered before that,” The News, quoting Zia, said yesterday. Pakistan, he said, had suffered loss of revenues after West Indies insisted on playing the home series at Sharjah. Zia said Pakistan could have earned much more if the series had been held in full at home. ICC Communications Manager Mark Harrison said from Cape Town that Pakistan had raised the issue of compensation at a two-day meeting of the Executive Board. “However, I am not sure whether Pakistan wants compensation generally for the loss or revenues it has suffered since the September 11 incident or specifically for having to play its series against the West Indies at a neutral venue,” Harrison added. Harrison said the compensation issue had not been taken up in form of a resolution by the board members, but it had been referred to the concerned committee. “The Finance and Marketing Committee will now consider the issue as it is a matter of finances and give its feedback,” he added. The Finance Committee is headed by Ehsan Mani, who is Pakistan’s nominee for the post of ICC President for the next term and also the PCB’s permanent representative in the ICC. Zia disclosed that the Finance Committee would report back to the Executive Board which would take up the matter at its next meeting. “The board members have asked Pakistan to send the exact figure of the loss of revenues it has suffered to the Finance Committee so that it can take it up. They have also asked us that if we feel we are going to suffer loss of revenues because, we have to split the home series against Australia later this year, we should also send estimated figures and claim losses,” he added. UNI
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Sri Lanka to hold Champions Trophy Cape Town, March 18 The tournament will involve all the 10 Test playing nations plus Kenya and Holland. “The ICC is delighted that the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka has agreed to act as host country for this major event,” said chief executive officer Malcolm Speed. Teams will compete for a $ 1.15 million prize fund. There will be four pools of three teams in the new format. Each side will play two pool games before the
semifinals. Pool 1: Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand. Pool 2: England, India, Zimbabwe. Pool 3:
Kenya, South Africa, West Indies. Pool 4: Holland, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Reuters
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TV to aid umpiring decisions
Cape Town, March 18 Consultation will be optional but when a third umpire is contacted, he will be allowed only two replays before passing information to the on-field officials. The third umpire will not be able to intervene unless he is called upon by the on-field umpires. The move was also endorsed by former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, who is on the ICC sub-committee that wants to bring in the new technology. “ Umpires do a difficult job extremely well. They already make a very high degree of correct decisions, for which they receive too little credit.’’ Reuters
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Kiwis cautious Wellington, March 18 The talented left-arm spinner will undergo a fitness examination in the nets at training tomorrow. Coach Denis Aberhart said selectors were most likely to take a cautious approach with the injury-troubled spinner, who wants to play in the Test despite back trouble.
AFP
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East Zone set to take on seasoned Central
Kolkata, March 18 Chairman of selectors for Eastern Zone Ashok Malhotra, while talking to UNI here today, said, “There is no reason to take the Central team lightly. They have a few seasoned campaigners in their ranks. Having faced reverses against West Zone they will give all to win and don’t forget they have bagged the trophy twice in the last six years.” East Zone will go into the match with a positive frame of mind, but are not throwing caution to the wind either, he remarked. “Jyoti Yadav, Central Zone captain Gagan Khoda and J.P. Yadav can turn the tables any day. Besides, Narender Hirwani and K. Parida can be tough customers to steal runs from,” Mr Malhotra said. Both Gagan Khoda and J.P. Yadav are in good form. While the former notched up a 83 and 51 in their previous encounter with West, the latter got a 61 and an undefeated 120 in the same match. Jyoti Yadav at the top has looked as solid as ever. Though Central Zone may be a little worried with their middle that really did not click, they have quality players like T.P. Singh and Yere Gaud who could cut lose once given a chance. Malhotra was all praise for the offie K. Parida, Salabh Srivastav and Harvinder Singh, all of whom have come good in this season. However, Central Zone will depend on Narender Hirwani who is also the pick of the bowlers, scalping four wickets in the last outing. Hirwani has also expressed his desire to return with the best bowling figures in this season, which could well start worrying the opposition. Talking about East Zone, Mr Malhotra said: “This is a much balanced side with a right mixture of the old and the new. I hope the youngsters will live up to expectations. More importantly the team is eager to perform and being among games they are fit and in form.” “There is a new bunch of players who have been performing consistently like batsman Subhomoy Das, Sourashis Lahiri and Assam’s rookie pacemen Mark Ingty. So they have been given a chance. We also have the experience of Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Utpal Chatterjee in our bowling department,” Mr Malhotra said adding that Laxmi had looked a transformed bowler this season. “He has concentrated on his line and length and has also notched up his pace a bit more,” he added. The opening combination of S.S. Das and Deep Dasgupta can still be called the openers for the national team also, he said adding much will depend on the momentum the two give at the beginning of the innings. The chairman also praised Orissa batsman and captain of East Zone Sanjay Raul for his prime form and Rashmi Ranjan Parida, this season’s most prolific rungetter. “Parida had stocked up over 500 runs in the Ranji Trophy this season,” he added. The selectors had sprung a surprise leaving out seasoned campaigner and former Bengal captain Devang Gandhi and upcoming all rounder Sanjib Sanyal. “While Sanjib would be included if Deep is called to represent the national team, Devang had to make way for the youngsters,” Mr Malhotra said. Talking to UNI, Deep Dasgupta said: “Central Zone is a quality side and players like J.P. Yadav and Gagan could turn the match if they remained at the crease for two and half hours,” and added “Parida can turn the ball even on a cement surface. So we have to play cautiously.”
UNI |
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Sandeep Kirtane ousts
Sridhar; Sunil loses New Delhi, March 18 In another shocking upset, former national champion Sunil Kumar Sipaeya went down rather tamely to fifth seeded Dmitri Mazur of Uzbekistan 3-6, 0-6. Sunil Kumar simply could not match upto the aggressive court craft of the Uzbek player to cave in without offering much of a resistance. It was indeed a very bad day for Sunil Kumar, as he and Nitin Kirtane lost to fourth-seeded Indian pair, Rohan Bopanna and Vijan Kannan, at 7-6 (7-6), 6-2. Vinod Sridhar, on the other hand, put up a stiff fight in the second set to stretch Nitin to the limit, but the Pune-based Nitin played calculated tennis to outwit his rival, who did well to cover the courts, but his returns lacked punch. In the other two singles matches, qualifier Ti Chen upset the calculations of Alexander Jakupovic of Croatia, who has ranking of 814, with a 4-6,6-4,6-3 victory while second-seeded Lee Childs of Great Britain disposed of Tomer Suissa of Israel 6-4, 7-6. In the doubles, which witnessed seeds falling like nine pins, Indians had a satisfying outing as three pairs made it into the next round. Besides Bopanna and Kannan, others who scored victories were Ashutosh Singh and Gurmehar Singh, who beat Benjamin Balleret of France and Christophe Bosto of Monaco 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), and Prahlad Srinath and Vishal Uppal, who shocked the second-seeded pair of Anton Kokurin of Uzbekistan and Alexander Sikanov of Russia 7-5, 6-1. However, another Indian pair, Vijendra Laad and Manoj Mahadevan, were not that lucky as they lost to the Thai pair of Sanchai Tatiwatana and Sonchai Tatiwatana 4-6, 3-6. Meir Deri and Ehran Dooyev of Israel stunned the third-seeded pair of Mairan Leysek of Slovakia and Josef Nesticky of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3; Alexander Jakupovic and Dmitri Mazur beat Ran Xu and Shao Xuan Zeng of China 6-2,6-1 and Yu Wang and Ben-Qiang Zhu of China beat the top-seeded pair of Jonathan Marray and David Sherwood of Britain 5-7, 7-6 (8-7), 6-0.
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India stun Ukraine, enter final
Dubai, March 18 Ukraine paid heavily for their over confidence as India came from behind to register a 23-25 25-23 25-20 25-21 win. India’s victory, last night, set up a final showdown with Iran which overcame last year’s runners up Tunisia in the other semi-final also in four games. The final will be played tonight.
Ukraine took the keenly fought first game 25-23 with Viacheslav, Loshakov and Volodymyr in excellent form. Ukraine soon led 8-5 in the second but India came back strongly. Tightening their defence in the back and at the net India leveled the game at 21-21 with Rajesh, Joby Joseph and Selvarasu putting up a spirited performance. Ukraine edged up to 23-22 but India halted their advance again with superb defence and then made it one game-all pocketing the second game 25-23. A resurgent India soon had Ukraine on the backfoot and won the third game 25-20 with the help of some blistering smashes by Tom Joseph and Amir Singh. India continued their fine form in the fourth game too as the defending champions wilted under pressure. The combined effort of Subba Rao, Amir Singh, Joby and Ashish Arora saw India wrap up the match winning the fourth game 25-21 and the Indian supporters went up in joy. “We had a strategy and we stuck to it. Besides Ravi Kanth and Amir Singh combined well and that helped too,” India’s coach Chander Singh said. Setter Ravi Kanth Reddy and Amir Singh came in for special praise even from the Ukrainian coach who said there was no stopping the duo. The final would be close encounter as India and Iran had shared honours in their previous matches. Both teams will also have huge crowd support from the expatriate fans. Earlier in the first semi-final Iran beat Tunisia 22-25 29-27 25-23 25-22.
PTI
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Birla awards for Bindra, Humpy New Delhi, March 18 Air rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra, the 19-year-old from Chandigarh, who has carved out a special niche for himself in the shooting firmament, and 15-year-old Koneru Humpy have been selected for the Birla awards for their achievements in their chosen sports for the year 2000-2001. The K.K. Birla awards, instituted in 1991, has so far been given to 21 oustanding sportspersons of the country. Some of the prominent winners of the award in the past include Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, Vishwanathan Anand, Geet Sethi, P Gopichand, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Kunjarani Devi, Aparna Popat, Bahadur Singh, Shiny Wilson and Dhanraj Pillay. Abhinav Bindra, the Arjuna Award winner in shooting last year, caught international attention when he broke the junior world record in Munich when he shot 596 out of 600, and rewrote the record in the same competition last year with a score of 597/600. He has also created several other records, including a clutch of national records. Abhinav has also been sweeping medals in the European circuit, winning 12, including six gold, during the last season. His magnificent performances earned him a place in the Indian squad for the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, to become the youngest-ever shooter to represent the country in the Olympics. Koneru Humpy, from Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, had created waves in the chess circle when she won the Krishna District Chess Championship at the age of six, a year after she took to the 64-square game. In 2000, she won the Asian Junior Chess Championship held in Mumbai, followed by the British and Commonwealth championships titles. She also won the world (under-14) championship, and became the youngest woman’s grandmaster last year with four world titles. Abhinav Bindra and woman boxer Mangte today led 211 sportspersons and coaches who received a total sum of Rs 1.99 crore for medal winning performances in international events last year. Bindra, received Rs 8,62,500 while Mangte, a finalist in the first women’s world boxing championships in Scranton (USA) got Rs 9 lakh from Sports Minister Uma Bharti at a special function at Vigyan Bhawan here. But, the person to top the list with a whopping Rs 10 lakh was boxing coach Anoop Kumar who trained the Indian women’s team to three silver and one bronze at the senior Asian championships in Bangkok and guided Mangte to a silver in the World Championships in Scranton. |
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Vasco go down to East Bengal
Margao, March 18 East Bengal avenged the defeat they suffered in the first leg by 0-1. The all-important goal for East Bengal came in the 49th minute through Jose Carlos D’Silva, which ultimately turned out to be the match winner. After receiving a cross from Dipankar Roy, Jose dodged past three rival defenders and unleashed an angular shot, which found the net 1-0. The visitors could have romped home by much bigger margin had not Vasco Sports Club goalkeeper Rogerio Ramos brought off couple of clever saves beneath their bar, especially in the first half. With this win, the winners took their tally to 23 points but remained on the same eighth place while Vasco maintained the top position with 31 points. East Bengal played a sprited game with emphasised attack from the kick off, but missed at least three chances in the first half. They continued to do all the attacking. However, the goal eluded them. UNI
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Railways defeat Chandigarh Jalandhar, March 18 In the first match, Railways dominated from the start and earned as many as 11 penalty corners in the game. They struck their first goal in the seventh minute, when Pritam Siwach got a pass from Mamata Kharab near the goalpost, and hit the ball in. Chandigarh got a chance to equalise in the 12th minute but failed to convert a penalty corner. Railways missed six penalty corners in the first half and were leading 1-0 at the break. After four more unsuccessful penalty corners in the second half, Railways got their second goal once again through Siwach who scored through a fine solo effort. Meanwhile, Chandigarh got more opportunities to open their account in the 54th and 57th minutes but could not utilise them. Railways increased their lead in the 62nd minute when Suman Bala finally converted a penalty corner. In the second match, Jharkhand took the lead in the 10th minute through a penalty corner conversion by forward Anita Ekka, but Karnataka found the equaliser only five minutes later when V. Kumari scored a field goal. After wasting a penalty stroke in the 16th minure, Jharkhand scored through Pushpa Pradhan (18th) and Annarita Kerxetta (26th) to enjoy a 3-1 cushion at half-time. The second half saw a glut in goals with Jharkhand finding the target seven times. Parmila Ekka (37thand 67th), Jasmani Tiru (39th, 41st and 56th) and Kerxetta (50th and 60th) were the scorers. The wins gave Railways and Jharkhand three points each. Tomorrow, Mumbai will play Tamil Nadu in pool C, Haryana take on Madhya Pradesh in pool D while Punjab lock horns with Manipur in pool B.
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Ladies Golf
from March 19 Chandigarh, March 18 Twentyfour ladies will participate in various categories. Upcoming golfer Kanika Minocha is the youngest participant, while there are at least 10 senior ladies playing the 54-hole challenge. The three-day main tournament will be followed by family golf on March 22, in which men will also participate. |
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State Bank of Patiala’s annual sports meet ends Patiala, March 18 Other results: Men
(Carrom): Sushil Gagnani — 1, Sushil Marwah — 2. Badminton (Men-above 40 years): Mohinder Kumar — 1, Vikas — 2. Table Tennis (men-up to 40): Satish Thagela — 1, Bharat Bhushan — 2; (Women -up to 40): Manju Sharma — 1, Sadha Nehra — 2. 100 m (men-up to 40): Gurmail —1, Laxman Singh — 2; (Women-up to 40 years): Gobind Kaur — 1, Mamta — 2. Badminton (Women above 40 years): Manju Sharma — 1, Sudha Nehra — 2. Shot put (men): Kuswinder Singh — 1, Ajit Singh — 2. 800 m (men up to 40 years): Sat Narian — 1, Jagdish Kumar — 2. Long jump (up to 40 years): Ramesh Kumar — 1, Sunder Singh — 2. (above 40 years): Sher Singh — 1, Bal Krishan — 2. The meet which was organised by the Central Sports Committee of the SBOP was inaugurated by Mr Amitabha
Guha, Chief General Manager. The prizes were distributed by Mr A.K.
Purwar, Managing Director of the bank. |
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