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Saturday,
May 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Bangar may replace Das Draw in Antigua haunts
Kumble
Expert comments — Michael Holding Sri Lanka declare on 555 for eight
No surprises in Aussie
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Mishra runs through Sri Lanka ‘A’ Last World Cup hurrah for record-breaking Paolo Maldini 1,000 British fans banned from Japan No-alcohol flights
Air-India, Punjab
cops in final Punjab retain
boys title Sania, Ankita post creditable wins 150 athletes to vie for
honours
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Bangar may replace Das Kingston (Jamaica), May 17 The anxiously awaited showdown between Tendulkar and Lara failed to take-off in the first four Tests and the captains of both the teams were hoping the big occasion would spur the two master batsmen to produce their best. After a good start with scores of 79 and 117 in his first two knocks of the series, Tendulkar has managed only eight runs from his next four innings, having been dismissed for nought three times. On the other hand Lara began with a zero, then compiled scores of 52, 47 and 55 before falling to Anil Kumble for four in the fourth Test. However, the two captains seemed least concerned with the below-expectation performances of their star players and felt the series could still live up to the hype if the two geniuses fired in this hour of need for their teams. “He is a legend, a class act,” said Ganguly about Tendulkar. “He has failed but that’s human and I believe a three-figure knock from him is due in the next innings.” Similarly, Hooper too was quite positive about Lara’s chances in this Test. “We haven’t seen the best of Brian or, for that matter, Tendulkar but I am confident he would fire in Sabina Park,” Hooper said. If Brian and Sachin fire, it’s going to be a fitting finale to a well-contested series.” “Lara is a big match player and he would certainly do something special here,” Hooper said. “We have done well in batting but without Lara, I believe, we are yet to fire on all four cylinders.” Despite the absence of any special knock from these two greats, batting seems to be the least of the worries for either of the teams with V V S Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Ganguly doing a fine job for India and Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul completely dominating the show for the West Indies. While Hooper and Chanderpaul have struck three centuries each and are the top run-getters in this series, Laxman is the highest scorer so far for India with an aggregate of 386 runs with a century and three half-centuries and is closely followed by Dravid with 369 runs. Ganguly also had a few good knocks and has so far scored 258 runs. There has been good news for both teams in the opening department also with Wasim Jaffer and Wavel Hinds coming up with attractive knocks in the fourth Test. There was speculation that India may rest opener Shiv Sunder Das, who has had a miserable series so far, and bring in Sanjay Bangar in his place but there was no confirmation available from the team management. The fast bowling department was causing a bit of concern in both camps. With each team batting for more than two days in the fourth Test, the bowlers have been overworked and feeling the strain. Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra have so far sent down 164, 132 and 144.1 overs, respectively, and all three had bowled more than 40 overs each in the fourth Test where the West Indies piled up 629 for nine declared in reply to India’s 513 for nine declared. Ganguly was expecting his fast bowlers able to overcome the fatigue in this all-important battle even though the scorching heat at Kingston is likely to test the fittest over the next five days. Physio Andrew Leipus was spending extra time with the three Indian pacemen and said they were responding well to the work schedule. With Anil Kumble having returned home for an operation on his jaw fracture, which was successfully completed yesterday in Bangalore, Harbhajan Singh will be back in action in this Test. The young off-spinner is just one wicket short of completing 100-wickets in Test cricket and he would be looking to produce an impressive performance here to end an otherwise laclustre series for him. The West Indian bowlers are in comparatively better shape since they had an extra three-day rest during the fourth Test. India have never won at Sabina Park, losing four of the seven matches they have played at this venue while drawing the other three.
PTI |
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Draw in Antigua haunts Kumble Bangalore, May 17 Going by the sentiments expressed by the bowler today, minutes before his discharge from a private hospital, where he was operated upon yesterday, it seems the pain of Antigua Test ending in a draw is haunting Kumble more than the pain in his jaw. Kumble was modesty personified saying, “If we have 500 plus runs on board, it is a challenging one. If I had stayed on and was able to get more wickets, India would have got the result.” Kumble demonstrated his grit and determination in ignoring his injury and taking to field, bowling 14 overs, his face wrapped up in bandage. Kumble got the prized wicket of Brian Lara but was unlucky not to have dismissed Carl Hooper who was caught off a no-ball. Kumble, who looked cheerful, despite the nagging pain of the surgery, performed at a private hospital yesterday, said he would start his practice sessions after a week. He said the doctors had advised him to continue on semi- solid food for some more time to facilitate healing of surgery wounds. Kumble, who was hit by a rising delivery from Mervyn Dillon during the fourth cricket Test against the West Indies in Antigua, had to return home for treatment. Kumble, who reached the city on May 14, was immediately admitted to a private hospital and eminent Maxillo-facial surgeon, Dr Kishore Nayak performed a 45-minute surgery on him yesterday using ‘rigid internal fixation’. Two titanium mini plates, which are bio-compatible, have been fixed to Kumble’s broken lower jaw. “I am feeling much better now. The doctors here gave me best of the treatment,” Kumble said. The leggie was full of praise for Indian team’s physio Andrew Leipus. “He did a good job in bandaging the injured jaw to ensure that no further damage was caused”, Kumble said. Asked whether he would have preferred to continue bowling at the Antigua Test, Kumble said he would have ‘considered it’. Kumble was all humility while recounting that several cricketers in the past including M.A.K. Pataudi, B.S. Chandrashekar, Venkatapathy Raju, V.V.S. Laxman, Rahul Dravid and others had played with broken bones and saved matches for India. “I don’t think that I have done anything of that sort. As an international sporting man, you have to perform better”, Kumble said. He said last month has been a tough one for him and recalled the support he got from his wife, Chetana, which gave him the strength to overcome the odds. On being asked how felt on being nominated for the Wisden India Cricketer of the Century award, Kumble said: “It is very nice to recognised”. Kumble, who is among the pioneers of the Indian cricketers to sign contract agreement with the BCCI, in reply to a query on whether the cricket control board would pay him for his injury period, said: “I think, they are looking at it”. He said the BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya telephoned him soon after he was injured and assured him that his medical expenses will be taken care of.
PTI |
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Expert comments — Michael Holding Many arguments have been put forward to justify the reluctance of governing bodies all over the cricketing world, to stage five-Test series on a regular basis, one being that they can be one-sided and lacking in interest by half way through the series. I would be the first to admit that there is a great deal of truth to that sentiment on occasions but this five-Test series between India and the West Indies has been well scripted. Surely, the fourth Test just completed in Antigua, was for the most part unentertaining but that draw has left the series tied 1-1, with one Test to go. The pitch for the Antigua Test was the most docile prepared for a Test there for years. But that should not be the case here in Jamaica. Having lived here all my life, played on the Sabina Park pitch both as a schoolboy and an international cricketer, I thought I knew what to expect when I turned up this morning to have a look at the Test strip. From my initial vantage point in the press box at the northern end of the ground, I looked out and saw the usual brown, grassless strip being rolled amongst the other pitches on the square that had a fair covering of grass. It was what I had come to expect and grown up to accept as the norm in the Caribbean, even in my hometown here in Jamaica, where it could not be unreasonable to assume, that the local boy, being a fast bowler, could have expected a bit of bias in his favour. It wasn’t until I was on my way out to the middle to have a closer look that I was made aware that the Test wasn’t being played on the brown strip but on the one next to it that was heavily covered with grass. I hadn’t even focused on that strip, I had become so accustomed to, as my good friend Andy Roberts put it in Antigua, “the desert surrounded by the oasis”, that I actually had to touch it to believe it. Indeed that grassy strip was under preparation and the one I had seen the roller on, was the strip being prepared for the one-day Internationals, scheduled for a few days after the Test. In all my years of playing and watching cricket here at Sabina Park, I have never and I mean never, seen a pitch with as much grass as this one has. Not that pitches here at Sabina have never favoured bowlers, as it has had it’s occasions where the really fast men have relished the pace and bounce on offer but this time there will be pace, bounce and seam, so batsmen beware. As is the custom, both teams got to practice before the Test. The West Indies had first use of the practice pitches in the morning and while there might have been a bit of speculation before the previous matches as to the compilation of the team, it’s a foregone conclusion that Ramnarine, the only specialist spinner in the West Indies squad, will be resigned to the drinks trolley yet again. It may be a different situation with India. It is obvious that in recent years the bowling attack has shifted from it’s heavy spin bias to rely a lot more on the faster men but it’s almost inconceivable to think of India going into a Test match without a specialist spinner. Harbhajan Singh, has not lived up to the reputation earned against Australia in the recent home series when he was dubbed “The Turbanator”, but with Kumble unavailable, he should be in the starting line up come Saturday. A more pressing matter for skipper Saurav Ganguly will be the toss of the coin. Four times out of four, he has called wrongly, he surely cannot afford to make it five of five considering the state of the pitch. He said before the third Test in Barbados, that the poor history of Indian teams on the Kensington Oval pitch, would not be a factor in their approach to the game but watching the performance of the batsmen on day one, gave you the impression that mentally they were not prepared for the battle. Losing a wicket the first ball of the Test, probably did nothing for their mindset either. He himself, seemed unaffected and was the lone resistor to the fast bowling quartet and losing the toss here in Jamaica, being asked to again bat first, could find the situation being repeated. It could be argued that batting second would be just delaying the inevitable but India have in Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, men capable of also exploiting the seemingly bowler friendly pitch. If they do bowl at the West Indies first and bowl them out cheaply, firstly, it should be a great morale booster for the entire team that should surely be transmitted into their batting and secondly, it should be a bit easier batting on the pitch, later rather than earlier. Barring inclement weather, this is set up to be a fascinating finale.
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Sri Lanka declare on 555 for eight
London, May 17 Sri Lanka, ranked third in the world and seeking a 10th Test win in a row, stuttered from 492 for four to 505 for seven and then crawled their way to the declaration, leaving their bowlers with a chance to attack England’s top order before the close. It was the eighth time in their last 10 Tests that Sri Lanka have passed 500 in their first innings. England now face a long battle to avoid defeat, although a fine batting strip and the absence of Sri Lanka’s injured off- spinner Muttiah Muralitharan suggest they could yet force a stalemate in the first match of the three-Test series. Atapattu, 133 overnight out of a total of 314 for three, added 52 more runs before, hurried by swing bowler Dominic Cork, he hooked the ball straight to Marcus Trescothick at fine leg to make it 407 for four just before lunch. He fell just short of a sixth Test double century after eight-and-a-quarter hours at the crease, during which he faced 351 balls and hit 96 in fours. Atapattu, who put on 206 with the scintillating Mahela Jayawardene for the third wicket on Thursday, added 146 for the fourth with Aravinda de Silva. England, however, had themselves to blame as Andrew Flintoff spilled Atapattu on 163 off Matthew Hoggard as he dived across his captain from second slip before missing a head-high chance in the same position from de Silva, then on 43, off Andy Caddick. Sri Lanka (first innings): Atapattu c Trescothick b Cork 185 Jayasuriya run out 18 Sangakkara c Flintoff
b Hoggard 10 Jayawardene c Trescothick b Flintoff 107 De Silva c Stewart b Cork 88 Arnold c Trescothick
b Hoggard 50 Tillakaratne not out 17 Vaas c Trescothick b Cork 6 Zoysa s Stewart b Flintoff 28 Fernando not out 6 Extras (b-1 lb-13 w-1 nb-25) 40 Total (8 wickets declared, 169 overs) 555 Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-55, 3-261, 4-407 , 5-492, 6-492, 7-505, 8-540. Bowling: Caddick 38.3-6-135-0, Hoggard 39-4-160-2, Cork 35.3-11-93-3, Flintoff 39-8-101-2, Butcher 3-0-17-0, Vaughan 14-2-35-0. England
(Ist inning) Trescothick c Jayasuriya
Vaughan not out 2 Extras (w 1, nb 1) 2 Total
(1 wicket, 3.4 overs) 17 Fall of wickets: 1-17. Bowling: Vaas 2-1-4-0, Zoysa 1.4-0-13-1.
Reuters
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No surprises in Aussie squad Sydney, May 17 There were no surprises in the squad with Ricky Ponting named captain and Adam Gilchrist his deputy. The selectors stuck with the same players who featured in Australia’s 5-1 series win over South Africa earlier this year although all-rounder Ian Harvey and off-spinner Nathan Hauritz were cut from the 15-man squad that toured South Africa because the Pakistan series is only three matches. Pakistan are expected to name their squad later this month. Australian squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Andrew Bichel, Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Shane Watson.
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Mishra runs through Sri Lanka ‘A’ Colombo, May 17 The 19-year-old Haryana leggie overshadowed the more experienced Sairaj Bahutule as he ran through the hosts’ late order and reduced them from 152 for four to 200 all out, in reply to India’s first innings score of 315. Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 249 for five, India lost all-rounder Jai Prakash Yadav for 69, bowled by Pulasti Gunaratne, who finished with impressive figures of five for 57. Yadav’s 69 contained six boundaries and a six. However, left-hander Parthiv Patel carried on to be the last man out for a well-made 74. Patel and Yadav put on 86 for the sixth wicket. Bahutule and L Balaji were out cheaply, but a 49-run partnership for the ninth wicket between Patel and Mishra aided India cross the 300-run mark. Patel’s 185-ball innings contained seven hits to the fence. For Lanka, all-rounder Dulip Liyanage returned figures of four for 43. Sri Lanka got off to a shaky start, with hard-hitting left-hander Avishka Gunawardena surviving three lbw appeals in the very first over from Balaji. However, he settled down to score early boundaries off the medium pacers, especially left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan and added 48 runs for the opening wicket with Ian Daniel, who was dismissed by Jai Yadav for 15. One down batsman Navid Nawaz followed suit as Sri Lanka were reduced to 55 for two.
PTI |
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Last World Cup hurrah for record-breaking Paolo Maldini Rome, May 17 Twice Maldini has come within a whisker of glory in the blue shirt of Italy that he has tasted so frequently in the red and black stripes of his club side. In 1994 he was a member of Arrigo Sacchi’s side that lost the World Cup final on penalties to Brazil while six years later the side, now coached by Dino Zoff, led into injury-time in the Euro 2000 decider before France’s Sylvain Wiltord equalised and David Trezeguet bagged a golden goal. Maldini, who last year broke Zoff’s record tally of 112 caps in a World Cup qualifier with Romania — appropriately at his home ground, the San Siro, will call it a day after the World Cup, his fourth for the ‘Azzurri’. Speaking on Monday at Italy’s pre-World Cup training camp at Coverciano near Florence, Maldini was optimistic that he could end the hoodoo. “I think this is the right time,” said the 33-year-old. “This team, believe me, is a good one. Along with France, Brazil and Argentina we must be favourites.” He confirmed it was his last hurrah, saying: “It’s my last chance to win something with the blue shirt. I really hope to succeed.” Son of former AC Milan player Cesare, who assisted head coach Enzo Bearzot in the 1982 World Cup-winning side and then coached Italy to a quarterfinal defeat on penalties to France in 1998, Maldini was born with ‘Rossonero’ (red and black) blood in his veins. One of six children he came through the youth team at Milan and credits former England international Ray Wilkins for helping his development when he was still at junior level. “Wilkins was a fine person,” said Maldini last year. “He used to stay behind and help the kids after training. Star footballers don’t often do that.” He made his debut for his then struggling club at the age of 16 and his emergence coincided with the arrival as president of a media tycoon called Silvio Berlusconi, who is now Italy’s Prime Minister. Berlusconi’s cash and astute appointment of a then unknown Sacchi began a period of glory where AC Milan would achieve successes that would make it more successful than any other European club except Real Madrid of Spain. The ‘Grande Milan’ would even eclipse the achievements of the AC Milan team featuring Cesare Maldini and Giovanni Trapattoni that won two European Cups in the 1960s. Between 1986 and 1999 Berlusconi and Maldini would win six Scudetti, three European Cups and two Intercontinental Cups as well as other lesser prizes. Maldini took his place on the left flank of Sacchi’s 4-4-2 system although he often nowadays plays central defence at club level. He was only 19 when he made his debut for the ‘Azzurri’ in a 1-1 friendly draw with Yugoslavia at Spalato and played in every match in the 1990 World Cup on home soil where Italy again went close, exiting on penalties to Diego Maradona’s Argentina in Naples in the semifinals. Widely regarded as the best defender in the world for much of the 1990s, Maldini continued to star for his country and was also an ever-present in the 1994 and 1998 tournaments. World governing body FIFA does not consider a team that has lost on penalties to have been defeated so going into this summer’s World Cup Maldini has only lost one of 21 matches in World Cup final tournaments, a 0-1 reverse at the hands of the Republic of Ireland in Yankee Stadium in 1994. Going into the World Cup, Maldini’s tally of caps stands at 121 but has indicated he will quit after the tournament. Hopes to carry on playing for AC Milan for two more seasons but has already ruled out emulating father Cesare and becoming a coach. Married to glamorous wife Adriana, Maldini is the father of two sons and turns 34 on June 26.
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1,000 British fans banned from Japan London, May 17 Bryan Drew from Britain’s National Criminal Intelligence Service told a news conference today that 1,072 fans had been banned from travelling to Japan under the Football (Disorder) Act 2000. “This is 10-fold increase from the figures which existed when we had the same process for Euro 2000,” he said. England meet Sweden, Argentina and Nigeria in group F in the opening round of tournament, which is being co-hosted by South Korea and Japan and starts on May 31.
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No-alcohol flights Tokyo, May 17 The move, aimed at keeping passengers sober, will be in effect on flights to and from nine airports two days before and after matches.
Reuters |
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Ball
girls Tokyo
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Air-India, Punjab cops in final Mumbai, May 17 Local outfit Air-India drew first blood in the 33rd minute when centre half Ravi Barji scored off a defender Tarcius Kulu push following the first penalty corner. ONGC equalised in the 60th minute when their skipper Anurag Raghuvanshi converted their third penalty corner. Even after 15 minutes extra time the teams were locked one-all forcing the tie-break. In the tie-break forwards Surinder Kundu, Kishore Kumar and Kulu scored for the winners while ONGC’s centre half R. K. Mishra, forwards S. Nadeem and Amit Kumar’s attempts were saved by Air-India goalkeeper Edgar Mascarnhes. In the second semi-final, Punjab Police took the lead in the sixth minute when centre half Jasbir Singh sounded the board off defender Balwant Singh pass. With eight minutes to go for the break airmen’s forward Virender Singh equalised off defender Suresh Kumar pass. However, the match winner was scored by Jaskaran off a Balwant Singh pass in the 83rd minute.
PTI
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Punjab retain
boys title
Panaji, May 17 The boys finals was a closely contested affair, with Punjab brushing aside the challenge of Rajasthan 74-70. In the final quarter both the teams were tied with 29-29, at half time it was 41 all. However, the Punjab boys played with vigour in the final quarter and tilted the game in their favour. Amit Prashar with 20, Pawan Kumar 17 and Bakwinder with 13 points excelled for Punjab, while Navnit Singh 24, Ramsare Yadav and Om Prakash with 11 points each played well for Rajasthan.
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Sania, Ankita post creditable wins
Hyderabad, May 17 India is the only team that has marched into the semi-finals with a 12-0 record, without having lost a single match in the four ties they have played so far in this tournament against the Philippines, Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Thailand. Ankita Bhambri defeated Nudnida Luangnum, the number 2 player of Thailand 6-2, 6-4 and India’s top junior, Sania Mirza kept her unbeaten record in this tournament intact with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over the Thai number 1 Pichittra Thongdach. Sania and Ankita, the reigning national women’s doubles champions, then beat Luangnam and Prim Buakleee 6-1, 6-4 to assert their superiority. Sania Mirza, now in brilliant form and who has not lost a set in this tournament, thus stretched her unbeaten run to eight
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150 athletes to vie for honours Hyderabad, May 17 The golden girl from Sri Lanka K.V. Damayanti, a gold medallist at the last Asian Games and India’s K. Mathew Beenamol, a semifinalist at the Sydney Olympics, are expected to provide a keen finish in the 400 metre. The 27-year-old Lankan athlete holds the Asian Meet record of 51.05 seconds. India’s sprint queen from West Bengal Saraswati Saha, a silver medallist at the Asian Track and Field Games 2000 (11.40 secs) will have to put her best foot forward to beat her counterpart Poonam Tomar (11.50 secs) and Viktoria Koviyreva of Kazakhstan (11.65). In the men’s 400 metre, Thilakratne of Sri Lanka, who was also the gold medallist at the 1998 Asian Games held at Jakarta, will have on his tail countryman Rohan Pradip Kumar. In the discus throw (women), India’s Neelam J. Singh, a gold medallist at the Asian Track and Field event-2000 is expected to clinch the top honours followed by China’s Shuli. A total of 15 field and track events (nine for men and six for women) would be conducted. The athletes representing the country are Shakti Singh and Bahadur Singh Sagoo in (shot put-men) and K.M. Binu and P.S. Primesh in 800 m. In the women’s events, K. Mathew Beenamol (400 m), C. Latha and Madhuri A Singh (800 m), Anju B George (long jump), Neelam J. Singh and Seema Antil (discus throw) will represent the country. UNI |
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