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Tuesday,
November 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Chetan Sharma writes |
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Ravneet strengthens Punjab position Unbeaten 233 by
Gautam Gambhir Serena downs Capriati
Vijayalakshmi wins silver in chess
PP Academy hold Air-India Punjab rural sports from November 13 Whatmore puts blame on batsmen
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Bangar may replace a spinner
Rajkot, November 11 Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, the most reliable bowlers of the team, have been totally ineffective in the first two matches at Jamshedpur and Nagpur which India lost to trail 0-2 in the seven-match series. Though there was no official confirmation as yet, there was a strong possibility of either of the two being dropped and replaced with the hard-working Bangar who was rewarded with a one-day berth after his consistent showing as a Test opener. Bowling is the main source of worry for the Indians who put up decent totals in both Jamshedpur and Nagpur after batting first but failed to defend. The two spinners went for 116 runs in 16 overs in the first match and 68 from 12 overs in the second. Their lone success came in Jamshedpur when Kumble dismissed Marlon Samuels. The fact that neither of the two have been given a full spell in either of the two matches is an indication of the problems they are facing.
West Indies, on the other hand, are on an upswing having effected a remarkable turnaround in their fortunes after the humiliating losses in the first two Test matches. “Its very nice to be 2-0 up. We would like to continue our winning run,” an upbeat West Indies coach Roger Harper said. But unseasonal rains have threatened to dampen the spirits of the two teams, neither of which is likely to have nets today due to wet ground conditions. It rained heavily in the morning and though the sun had come out brightly later in the day, the pitch and the ground had not dried up sufficiently. “I have told them (the team management) that we are doing everything possible to get the practice pitches ready in time but we do not know whether they would come,” Sourashtra Cricket Association secretary Niranjan Shah told PTI. “Understandably they don’t want to have an injury before an important game,” he said. The injury concerns that plagued Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag ahead of the second match seem to be over, a reassurance for the Indian team which is desperate to bounce back into the series. The batsmen have done reasonably well for the home team but Sehwag, who has not really fired in the first two matches, looks due for a big score tomorrow. Sehwag will also have a crucial role to play with the ball, chipping in with his gentle off-spin which has been pretty effective in this series. Bangar would be keen to cement his place in the one-day squad with a good performance tomorrow. He would be under watch for his bowling as the Indians desperately need support for Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar. The West Indies are unlikely to disturb their winning combination and with pacemen Pedro Collins and Cameron Cuffy having still not recovered from their respective injuries, they are not left with many options as well. Mervyn Dillon, Vasbert Drakes and Corey Collymore have been doing a pretty reasonable job and, along with spinners Mahendra Nagamootoo and Carl Hooper, have proved to be a better bowling unit than the Indians. However, it is the batsmen who have made all the difference to the team’s fortunes. Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul have all scored runs and all of a sudden West Indies are looking to possess a formidable batting line-up. The only one to have missed out is skipper Hooper who did not do well in the Test series either. Though Hooper has shrugged off his poor form saying till the team was winning he was not concerned about his own scores, he would certainly be trying to come up with a decent score tomorrow. Another man who hasn’t done well with the bat is wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs, who is quite a capable batsman. Like in Jamshedpur, the Indians once again play at a venue where they have a very unfavourable record. The home team has won just two of the four matches they have played at this ground. The West Indies have done better, winning one and losing the other of the two matches that they have played here. Teams (from): India: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, V V S Laxman, Dinesh Mongia, J P Yadav, Ajit Agarkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Parthiv Patel, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra. West Indies: Carl Hooper (captain), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Darren Ganga, Ridley Jacobs, Mervyn Dillon, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Ricardo Powell, Vasbert Drakes, Corey Collymore, Pedro Collins, Cameron Cuffy. Umpires: Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka) and A V Jayaprakash (India).
PTI Heavy rain at Rajkot INDIA'S chances to redeem themselves in the third one-dayer against West Indies received a setback from the most unexpected source as a heavy spell of unseasonal rain forced both the teams to stay indoors. It has also cast a shadow on play beginning on time tomorrow. West Indies have already taken a two-zero lead in the seven match series for the TVS Cup. The almost half an hour spell of heavy rain washed out the possibility of net practice for both India and West Indies, with the Indian team preferring to stay inside their hotel. The West Indian team arrived at the ground at around 11 a.m. but could not get into the field and were confined to a indoor workout session under the watchful eyes of their coach Roger Harper. |
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Chetan Sharma writes AFTER defeats in the first two one-dayers, Rajkot will be a big test for the Indian team as it is a must-win stage for them. If they lose another match, chances are they will not be able to catch up with West Indies in this series. But before the match begins, the Indians have to sort out a few things. Their bowling has been pedestrian in the two matches and if they continue to bowl like that tomorrow, you bet it will not be an easy day for the team. I don’t know why but the spinners have all of a sudden started bowling poorly. They don’t have control over their accuracy and given the West Indian batsmen a run feast. For all of us who had been thinking that India were a serious contender for the World Cup, the past two matches have been shocking. I guess we can’t go to the World Cup with this kind of bowling approach. Our spinners have to do well at least on the Indian wickets if they wish to pose challenge outside. I am also not in favour of too much of experimentation in the batting order. Ajit Agarkar may have done well in the first one-dayer as a pinch hitter but it should not be tried in every match. And where was the need to send Harbhajan Singh ahead of Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif in the batting? I don’t think he is a better hitter than Yuvraj or even Kaif. So, the best thing is to stick to the previous winning formula and not get over ambitious. The West Indian morale is high and they deserve every bit of it. They have played fantastic cricket in the two matches, chasing big totals each time. It is not easy for a team to bounce back after being hammered in the Test series but this West Indian team has proved everybody
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Kiwis settle pay dispute Auckland, November 11 The end to the dispute which could have left New Zealand without a top-class team to play India next month came when senior players, including captain Stephen Fleming, took over negotiations from representatives of a player union. “We can now put together a player contract system for a four-year period from 2002 to 2006,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden told a press conference today. Mr Snedden said New Zealand Cricket had agreed to increase by 100,000 New Zealand dollars (US $ 48,000) to NZ $ 5.1 million dollars (US $ 2.4 million) the payment pool from which player salaries are drawn. The offer followed New Zealand Cricket’s “final offer” tabled on November 1 which increased the pool to US $ 5 million. New Zealand Cricket agreed to minor changes, described as “tweaking,” to the way in which retainers are paid to international players. Previously, 20 international players were contracted by New Zealand Cricket each season and were paid between NZ $ 40,000 (US $18,000) and NZ $ 120,000 (US $ 55,000) based on rankings. New Zealand Cricket also accepted an increase from 10 to 11 in the number of players contracted each season by its six domestic first-class associations.
AP |
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Pakistan on top Harare, November 10 Pakistan (Ist innings): 285 Zimbabwe (Ist innings): 225 Pakistan (2nd innings): Elahi c Campbell b Olonga 0 Taufeeq c Taibu b Blignaut 111 Younis c Campbell b Olonga 8 Inzamam c G.Flower
Youhana c Taibu b Blignaut 0 Raza c Blignaut b Price 11 Kamran b Price 38 Saqlain not out 29 Waqar b Blignaut 0 Shoaib c Taibu b Olonga 16 Sami c G.Flower b Olonga 17 Extras (b-4 lb-3 nb-9 w-11) 27 Total 369 FoW: 1-10 2-25 3-205 4-207 5-238 6-292 7-318 8-318 9-339 Bowling: Blignaut 20-1-81-3, Olonga 17.5-1-93-5, Mahwire 14-4-60-0, Whittall 14-5-62-0, Price 24-5-66-2. Zimbabwe (2nd innings): 19 for 1.
Reuters |
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Ravneet strengthens Punjab position Chandigarh, November 11 The highlight of the day was a century by opening batsman Ravneet Ricky. Wicketkeeper batsman Pankaj Dharmani also batted well for his useful knock of 59 runs, while skipper Reetinder Sodhi chipped in with quickfire 42 as Punjab, resuming from the overnight score of 17 without loss, were 269 for the loss of six wickets at close of the day’s play. With 29-run first innings lead in the kitty, the hosts are now 298 runs ahead with one day’s play remaining in the match. Baroda left-arm spinner Valmik Buch also impressed with his controlled spell of bowling. Maintaining an impeccable line and length, the burly Buch mesmerised the batsmen. Keeping the batsmen on a tight leash and inducing errors from them, he claimed five wickets in a marathon spell of 33 overs to finish the day on a satisfying day. Punjab earlier made a cautious start to the day’s proceedings in the face of some tight pace bowling by new ball bowlers Rakesh Patel and Irfan Pathan (Jr) Both the speedsters made the batsmen struggle for runs. They bowled well though failed to be among the wickets. Openers Ricky and Samrat, on their part, eschewed all adventurism and concentrated on saving their wickets. Though they hit occasional boundaries runs were hard to come by as up to the lunch break the hosts could add 67 runs to the overnight score of 17 to the total in 150 minutes’ of play. Ankur Kakkar, who came in after the fall of Samrat’s wicket, further slackened the proceedings. Kakkar failed to do much, though he was at the wicket for quite some time. His stay at the wicket ended when he edged Buck behind the stumps after he contributed 11 runs to the total. He stayed at the wicket for 113 minutes. The arrival of Dharmani improved the run rate. He played an array of impressive strokes and in the company of Ricky added 61 runs for the third-wicket stand before Ricky’s impressive knock came to an end after he cut a Buch delivery into the hands of Ajit Bohite at point. This was Ricky’s fourth three-figure knock in his 24th innings of 39th Ranji match. Dharmani, the highest scorer from the side in the first innings, departed after adding 59 to the total before becoming another Buch victim. Skipper Reetinder Sodhi hit scintillating 42 off 54 balls which included five fours and a six to give much-needed boost to the innings, while Amit Uniyal hit a four and a six in his 14 as Punjab closed the day on 269 runs. Scoreboard Punjab (1st innings): 220 Baroda (1st innings): 191 Punjab (IInd innings): Ricky c Bohite b Buch 103, Samrat b Buch 33, Kakkar c Mongia b Buch 11, Dharmani c Patel b Buch 59, Sodhi c Parab b Bohite 42, Uniyal c Parab b Buch 14, Harminder batting 3, Mahajan batting 2. Extras ( lb 2) : 2 Total (for six wickets in 101 overs): 269 Fall of wickets: 1-66, 2-124, 3-185, 4-238, 5-261, 6-266 Bowling: Rakesh Patel 16-5-42-0, Irfan Pathan 21-3-51-0, Valmik Buch 33-9-66-5, Sekhar Joshi 14-4-44-0, Ajit Bohite 17-2-64-1 |
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Unbeaten 233 by Gautam Gambhir New Delhi, November 11 At close of play on the third day, Railways were placed at 90 for one in their second innings, still 212 runs behind Delhi’s first innings score of 507 for four declared. After losing Shreyas Khanolkar in the sixth over for 11, Railways were struggling to avoid the ignominy of a loss in their first match of the Ranji season and their chance of surviving the final day rests mainly on two not out batsmen Amit Pagnis and Tejinder Pal Singh who were batting on 37 and 39 respectively. Delhi’s two overnight batsmen Gambhir and Manhas continued their brilliant form today and sent the opposition bowlers on a leatherhunt. Manhas was out for 158 when he was clean bowled by Kulamani Parida but Gambhir remained unconquered on 233 which included 32 boundaries. Displaying tremendous character, Gambhir, who batted for 613 minutes and faced 411 balls, despatched the hapless bowlers all around the park on the way to his second double century in first class cricket. Gambhir’s first double ton (214) had also come against Railways, in the Ranji trophy pre-quarterfinal last year at the Karnail Singh stadium.
PTI |
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Assam take first innings lead Guwahati, November 11 When the stumps were drawn for the third day, Assam were 364 for seven in reply to Orissa’s first innings total of 346 all out. Tomorrow being the last day of the match, an outright result is a remote possibility and thus Assam are all set to gain a crucial five points from the match. Scoreboard Orissa (Ist Innings): 346 all out Assam (Ist innings): Parag Das c Gautam b Satpathy 39 M Jogelkar c Satpathy b Barik 103 Kiran Power c Gopal B Satpathy 111 SR Das lbw b A Barik 00 Zakaria Zuffri run out 31 Sunil Viswanathan b Barik 8 Sukhvinder not out 31 Mrigen c Gopal b Barik 00 Mark Ingti not out 06. Extras (lb-1,b-1,w-1, nb-22) 25 Total 346 for seven Fall of wickets 1-62, 2-269, 3-272, 4- 278, 5-324, 6-331, 7-331 Bowling Debasish Mohanty 22-6-87-0 Ajay Barik 25-6-72-4 P Mallik 04-6-24-0 SR Satpathy 23-7-41-1 Sanjay Raul 26-3-85-1 BBCC Mohapatra 01-0-05-0.
UNI |
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Bihar struggle
against J&K Jamshedpur, November 11 Resuming at 512 for eight, Jammu and Kashmir added 20 runs this morning in six overs before declaring their innings. Overnight batsman Ashwini Gupta, who was batting on 188 at stumps, reached his second double hundred in first class cricket and remained unbeaten on 203 after facing 368 deliveries in 508 minutes. He hit 18 fours. In reply, Bihar’s openers Nikhilesh Ranjan and Shabbir Hussain got off to a brilliant start to stich 76 runs when left-arm spinner Jagat Singh separated the pair. He had well-settled Nikhilesh Ranjan caught by Kanwaljit Singh for 47.
PTI |
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Serena downs Capriati
Los Angeles, November 11 But the now-familiar all-Williams final failed to materialise as world No. 2 Venus Williams, runner-up to her younger sister in three Grand Slams this season, retired with a lower leg strain while trailing Kim Clijsters 5-0 in the first set. “I just hope she’s doing OK,” Serena said of Venus. I was upset that she actually went out on court because she was injured.” Serena rallied from a set down to defeat Capriati 2-6 6-4 6-4. She posted her seventh victory over Capriati in 11 meetings, and has now won their last six meetings. Capriati put the pressure on early, making just four unforced errors in the opening set to Williams’ 14. But as the match progressed, Williams’ ability to hit winners and come up with big serves when she needed them began to override Capriati’s ability to cover the court and extend the rallies. Williams grabbed the early break in the second set, gave it back in the seventh game then broke again in the 10th to get back on even terms. Capriati, leading 3-1 in the third set thanks to a service break in the third game, was one point away from taking a 4-1 lead. But Williams saved the break point with a service winner and went on to hold and narrow the gap to 3-2. Williams then broke Capriati to level the set and broke her again in the final game to capture the match on her first match point. “Why, why, why? I don’t know, that’s just the way a tennis match is,” Capriati said of her inability to make more of her chances in the third. “It’s pretty good that I get the break points. I think she played tough on those points. It’s just a matter of a few points here and there.” Williams was equally unable to pinpoint a precise reason for her victory. “I don’t know, she just hit a ball out at the end, and that was it,” Williams said. Although she was disappointed with her number of errors in each of her last two matches here, Serena Williams takes an 18-match winning streak into the final. She hasn’t lost since a quarter-final dismissal by Chanda Rubin at Los Angeles in April.
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Vijayalakshmi wins silver in chess Bled, November 11 Woman Grandmaster Vijayalakshmi had to settle for a draw in the 14th and final round match against Masha Klinova of Israel but still won a silver for the second best performance on the top board. She tallied 9.5 points out of a possible 13 which was second only to Hoang Thann Trangs of Vietnam. Vijayalakshmi had also won a silver at the last edition of the Olympiad in Istanbul two years ago. However, there was some confusion about Vijayalakshmi’s achievement yesterday. Her room-mate Swati Ghate told PTI last night that Vijaylakshmi had won a bronze. It was only later that officials came up with the announcement that Vijyalakshmi had in fact won the silver. Both the men’s and women’s teams finished their campaign yesterday with defeats in 14th and the last round. The men’s team lost to Iceland 1.5-2.5 to finish 29th with 31 points. They were placed eighth in the last edition at Istanbul. The women finished at the 19th place with 23.5 points after suffering a 1-2 defeat to Israel yesterday. Russia won the gold in the men’s section with 38.5 points while the silver and bronze went to Hungary and Armenia respectively. In the women’s section, the gold was won by China with 29.5 points. Russia won the silver while Poland took bronze. The Indian men faltered at the final hurdle once again and failed to repeat their performance at Istanbul. Quite surprisingly, in-form Surya Shekhar Ganguly, who completed the requirements of his Grandmaster title here, did not come good despite his white pieces against Helgi Gretarsson and a blunder in the early middlegame cost him a pawn. The experienced Gretarsson made no mistakes after that and gave Iceland the lead with an easy victory on board two. Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran played a fine game to beat GM Hannes Stefansson from the black pieces. It was a consistent performance right till the end that helped Sasikiran convert a miniscule advantage into a full point. Stefansson could do nothing and bowed to the growing endgame prowess of the second highest rated Indian after Viswanathan Anand. On the third board, Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte drew with Helgi Olafsson. Playing the Queen’s Indian defence with black pieces, Kunte had little difficulty in equalising. The game was drawn through perpetual checks. Double GM norm holder R B Ramesh lost to Throstur Thorhallsson on the fourth board. Ramesh did not get much with his white pieces against the French defence and succumbed to a superior endgame play by his opponent.
PTI |
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PP Academy hold Air-India Jalandhar, November 11 IOC thrashed PSB Academy to further diminish their chances to be in the semifinals. IOC started the victory mission when Kamlesh Kumar scored two consecutive goals in the 8th and 9th minutes respectively. The lead was further improved to 3-0 when Inder Salaria converted a penalty stroke in the 11th minute. IOC’s Arvind Yadav easily dodged the rival defence to convert a shot corner in 24th minute. PSB Academy managed to open their account in the 27th minute when Harmanpreet Singh scored a field goal. During half time the tally stood at 5-1 as Rajpal Singh of IOC scored a field goal in the 33rd minute of the game. The second half witnessed some finer techniques of Kamlesh Kumar when he scored two goals in the 42nd and 57th minutes respectively 7-1. While PSB Academy struggled hard to match up, the
succeeded only in the 58th minute through a field goal by Harmanpreet Singh. In the opening match of the women’s section. SAI, Chandigarh easily brought down Western Railway (WR), Mumbai 3-2. Though both the teams stood goal-less in the first half the change came in 41st minute when Parkash of SAI scored a beautiful field goal. She further pumped in two goals in the 42nd and 53rd minutes,
respectively, making it the first hattrick of the tournament. WR opened their account through Anu S. who converted a penalty corner in the 59th minute and the lead was further reduced when. Manoharma G converted another penalty corner in the 66th minute. |
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Punjab rural sports from November 13 Sangrur, November 11 Giving this information at a Press conference, Mr Sarvjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner, said about 2400 players and 150 officials from all the districts of the state will participate in the competition. The competition will be conducted in 10 disciplines for boys and seven for girls. The games are athletics, archery, hockey, kabaddi, kho-kho, weightlifting, volleyball (for boys and girls) tug of war, wrestling and football (for boys only). Different committees have been formed to conduct the competition
successfully. War Hero’s Stadium is being given a facelift. Mr Kartar Singh, Director, Punjab Sports Department, has visited Sangrur many times to supervise the arrangements. Mr Jagmohan Singh Kang, Minister for Sports and Youth Services, will inaugurate the competition on November 13. Punjab teams for the National Rural Games, being held at Anandpur Sahib, will be selected on the basis of the performance in these games. |
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Whatmore puts blame on batsmen Johannesburg, November 11 “We had the best opportunity because we won the toss and should have put runs on the board,” said Jayasuriya. “Unfortunately the batsmen didn’t bat well and then the bowlers didn’t bowl well.” South Africa’s fast bowlers blitzed the Sri Lankan batsman on a fast, bouncy pitch which became difficult for batting as cracks in a dry surface started to open up. The tourists, trailing by 194 runs on the first innings, were bowled out for 130 in 41 overs. Coach Dav Whatmore said he took heart from the fact that Sri Lanka had bowled out South Africa for 384 despite the problems encountered by Perera and Fernando. “If we had scored a few more runs in the first innings, say 250 or 260, we could have put pressure on the opposition. It would have been very difficult for South Africa batting last on that pitch when we have Muttiah Muralitharan in our team.” South African captain Shaun Pollock praised a top-quality bowling performance.
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