 |
Wednesday,
May 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
Mumbai make amends for earlier lapses
Waugh sees promise in Windies team |
|
|
Lara unfazed by defeats Azad slams BCCI’s
offer to Pakistan
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Foreign football players in India stir debate
Khushboo lifts gold Minor Districts take lead Poor
display by Ludhiana batsmen Kangra win
|
|
Mumbai make amends for earlier lapses
Mumbai, May 6 Mumbai finished a satisfying day three at 228 for four in their second innings after restricting Tamil Nadu’s first innings advantage to a mere 11 runs. Shetty struck exactly 100 runs off 133 balls, putting on 188 for the second wicket with opener Wasim Jaffer as Mumbai made amends for their first innings batting lapses. Jaffer missed his century by just two runs, his 98 coming off 173 balls. Earlier in the morning, Tamil Nadu resumed at their overnight 223 for four and were dismissed for 271, only 11 runs ahead of Mumbai’s first innings score of 260. Ajit Agarkar, who finished with four wickets for 57, and captain Paras Mhambrey (2-36) were the leading wicket-takers for Mumbai. Mumbai batsmen then benefitted from poor fielding by Tamil Nadu to place their team in a strong position. Tamil Nadu, who had floored three catches in the first innings, have already dropped four in the second. Shetty benefitted the most as he was dropped thrice, the first time when had scored just four runs. Jaffer also had a slice of luck, being dropped in the slips when on 90. M.R. Srinivas struck thrice towards the end of the day’s play to send back both Jaffer and Shetty and also Vinayak Samant for six, but Mumbai were still very comfortably placed. Jaffer and Shetty came together after Mumbai lost opener Vinayak Mane for two in the seventh over to get off to another poor start. Mane, who had scored 13 in the first innings, was trapped leg before wicket by L. Balaji while attempting a drive on a full-pitched delivery. Jaffer and Shetty then batted for more than 45 overs together to string a fine partnership. The 30-year-old Shetty went for his shots, even playing a few lofted drives on either side of the wicket. He hit left-arm spinner S. Sriram for the only six of the innings so far. From the other end, Jaffer played some delectable flicks and attractive cover drives against both Balaji and Srinivas. Shetty, who reached his hundred with an uppish drive against Srinivas, was out the very next ball when he holed out to Suresh in the point region. His innings included 13 fours apart from a six. Jaffer, who was on 96 when Shetty was dismissed, fell leg before wicket in Srinivas’ next over. He hit 15 boundaries during his 253-minute stay at the crease. Srinivas also sent back night watchman Samant who was caught by S. Badrinath at the mid-wicket. Samant’s dismissal brought the end of day’s play with Amol Mazumdar batting on four. SCOREBOARD Mumbai (Ist innings): 260 Tamil Nadu Ist (innings): Suresh c Sawant b Ramesh c Mazumdar Sriram c Samant Badrinath c Mane Badani lbw b Agarkar 56 Sharath c Jaffer b Agarkar 15 Srinivas c Samant Gokhulakrishnan lbw Raaju c Samant b Salvi 5 Balaji b Mhambrey 8 Dandapani not out 0 Extras (b-3, lb-6, nb-7): 16 Total (all out in 115.3
overs): 271 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-72, 3-131, 4-202, 5-228, 6-239, 7-239, 8-251, 9-271. Bowling: A Agarkar 29-8-57-4, A Salvi 25-9-50-1, P Mhambrey 16.3-1-36-2, R Powar 24-5-60-0, S Bahutule 21-4-59-3. Mumbai (2nd innings): Mane lbw b Balaji 2 Jaffer lbw b Srinivas 98 Shetty c Suresh b Srinivas 100 Samant c Badrinath b Srinivas 6 Mazumdar batting 4 Extras (b-5, lb-9, nb-3, w-1):
18 Total (4 wkts, 58.2 overs): 228 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-210, 3-271, 4-228. Bowling: L Balaji 15-3-39-1, M R Srinivas 11.2-1-39-3, J Gokhulakrishnan 11-1-39-0, S Suresh 9-3-36-0, S Sriram 4-0-25-0, D Dandapani 8-1-36-0.
PTI |
|
New Zealand gain slender lead
Kandy, May 6 The left-hander, who hit 144 in the drawn first Test at Colombo last week, scored 93 as Sri Lanka made 298 in reply to New Zealand’s 305 before being all out after tea on the fourth day. The Kiwis extended the seven-run lead to 99, closing the day at 92 for 1 in their second knock as the rain-hit final Test of the short series headed towards a draw. Mark Richardson followed his 55 in the first innings with 51 not out, while skipper Stephen Fleming was unbeaten on 10. Securing the first innings lead was the only point of interest left in the game after the entire first day’s play and two sessions of the second day were cancelled due to the slushy outfield at the rain-ravaged Asgiriya Stadium. Tillakaratne, who took over the captaincy before this series after Sanath Jayasuriya resigned to concentrate on his game, anchored his team’s innings for five-and-a-half hours. He looked set for a 12th Test ton when he was last out, bowled by off-spinner Paul Wiseman who finished with four wickets at a cost of 104 runs on the run-laden track. New Zealand’s attack was weakened by the absence of left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, who was injured yesterday during an on-field collision with Sri Lanka’s Marvan Atapattu. Atapattu made a brief
appearance at the crease just before tea, batted for 10 minutes to make two, but did not return after the break as he found himself unfit to bat. The duo, who both hurt their ankles, escaped serious injury and are expected to be fully fit for the one-day tri-series starting on May 10. SCOREBOARD New Zealand (Ist innings): 305 Sri Lanka (Ist innings): Sangakkara c Hart b Tuffey 10 Jayasuriya c Fleming b Jayawardene c Hart b Oram 15 Tillakaratne b Wiseman 93 Kaluwitharana c Tuffey b Dharmasena c Fleming b Lokuarachchi c Tuffey b Vaas b Oram 22 Atapattu retired hurt 2 Nissanka b Wiseman 6 Muralitharan not out 2 Extras (b-6, lb-11, nb-4):
21 Total (all out, 97.3 overs): 298. Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-69, 3-126, 4-169, 5-189, 6-234, 7-264, 8-285, 9-298. Bowling: Tuffey 20-6-45-1, Bond 25-6-78-1, Oram 20-2-54-3, Wiseman 32.3-4-104-4 New Zealand (2nd innings): Richardson not out 51 Horne c Tillakaratne b
Muralitharan 27 Fleming not out 10 Extras (lb-4):
4 Total (for one wicket, 30.5 overs): 92. Fall of wicket: 1-65 Bowling: Vaas 4-2-15-0, Nissanka 5-2-10-0, Dharmasena 4-0-16-0, Lokuarachchi 7-1-15-0, Muralitharan 7.5-1-19-1, Jayasuriya 3-0-13-0.
Reuters |
|
Waugh sees promise in Windies team Bridgetown, May 6 Australia have won their last eight tests against the West Indies, having handed them a 5-0 whitewash in 2001 in Australia. Despite this, Waugh sees promise. “I think they’re one of the few sides in the world who are on the way up, I think they’ve shown a lot of improvement since we beat them in Australia,” he said. “You need to give the guys time because there’s a good deal of talent in the side.” Waugh’s words will lend moral support to West Indies captain Brian Lara and the team selectors, who are under increasing pressure in the region to bring back more experienced players. West Indies fielded two debutants, Barbadian fast bowler Tino Best and Anguillan off-spinner Omari Banks, in the third test in a team with an average age of 25. Lara has stood by his team, saying that more experienced players had come up short in the past. Waugh remembered when he began his record-breaking test career, West Indies were the dominant force.
Reuters |
|
|
Lara unfazed by defeats
Bridgetown, May 6 West Indies, with an average age of around 25, suffered three consecutive home defeats for the first time on Monday and could also suffer their first home whitewash if they lose the fourth and final test in Antigua, starting on Friday. “The records are not really my main worry. That’s of little importance,’’ Lara said, adding that better days lay ahead. “We have got some very good players here and they are on the verge of making the breakthrough in Test cricket. “I’m quite happy with the look of the team, I want us to play cricket the way we are playing. We are not to going to play Australia every day of the week. It’s all about character building and that is what is happening.’’ He added: “The experienced players have been tried and tested, a lot of them have come up short and I don’t see any need to go back to them”. “In the batting department, we have done pretty well. The batting is going to take care of itself.’’ Lara, who raised eyebrows when he won the toss and asked Australia to bat first on a docile pitch, admitted he had miscalculated after the tourists made a match-winning 605 for nine declared. “The pitch came up short,’’ he said. “It was not the greatest Test track and I couldn’t tell it was going to deteriorate so much, so it was unfortunate I chose to bowl.’’ Lara praised the performance of 20-year-old debutant off-spinner Omari Banks from the tiny island of Anguilla. “Omari bowled well, there are areas he has to improve to play Test cricket,’’ said Lara. “When you play first-class games, you get away with things but not in Test cricket.’’ Australia captain Steve Waugh joined in Lara’s criticism of the pitch. Waugh said before the match that he had special plans for getting Lara out but said they were not put into action because of the pitch. “They were not applicable on this wicket. They couldn’t be put into action in this test, so it was back to plan B,’’ he said. “We are not overcritical of the pitch but it was different to what you expect in the West Indies. “The pitches here have been flat and we don’t want pitches worldwide to become too similar. I’d hate to think they will all become like one-day wickets.’’ Reuters
|
|
Jacobs in squad for fourth Test St. John’s, May 6 Jacobs missed the last two Tests against Australia because of a groin strain and was replaced by Carlton Baugh. The West Indies selectors have also named fast bowler Mervyn Dillon and batsman Marlon Samuels, who were both left out from the final 11 for the Bridgetown Test, in the squad. Squad: Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh
Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Ridley Jacobs, Devon Smith, Daren Ganga, Shivnarine
Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Mervyn Dillon, Omari Banks, Carlton Baugh, Vasbert Drakes, Jermaine Lawson, Tino Best.
Reuters |
|
|
Azad slams BCCI’s offer to Pakistan
New Delhi, May 6 “We cannot possibly play cricket with Pakistan when thousands of innocent lives are being massacred in Kashmir. The relations between the two countries must first stabilise before we take the field together,’’ Azad told UNI here while inaugurating an exhibition of World Cup 2003 photographs by Kamal Sharma, yesterday. In a stance that might give the top cricket Board honchos sleepless nights, Azad, who is also a BJP MP, said,’’ We had good sporting relations with our neighbours from 1978-1999. But what have we got in return?’’ India and Pakistan along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and two qualifiers - Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates - are scheduled to participate in the Asia Cup in March-April 2004. This was decided after the cricket board chiefs of the two countries had consultations in the Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) meeting in Dubai last weekend. Continuing his verbal tirade, the former India batsman said: “We cannot disassociate politics from cricket. Cricket is a religion. And when the two countries play it is like war. Whatever happens in the field has wide repurcussions.’’ UNI
|
|
Vaughan one-day captain London, May 6 The Yorkshire batsman takes over from Test skipper Nasser Hussain, who resigned from his one-day responsibilities after England failed to progress beyond the first round of this year’s World Cup in southern Africa. The 28-year-old opener, who made his one-day international debut against Sri Lanka in 2001, will lead the team in 10 one-day matches at home later this year. Vaughan, who skippered an England A tour to South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1998-99, was given the captaincy ahead of rival candidates Adam Hollioake and Marcus Trescothick. Hollioake has already had one spell as one-day skipper, leading England to victory at the 1997 Champions Trophy tournament in Sharjah before losing the job two years later. Vaughan was one of the few success stories for England in their 4-1 Ashes series defeat to Australia at the turn of the year, with his three centuries earning him the player-of-the-series award. It followed a successful 2002 English season when he scored four Test hundreds. He heads the PricewaterhouseCooper Test batting ratings and is the first Englishman since Graham Gooch 10 years ago to top the rankings. Meanwhile, Rodney Marsh, the former Australian wicketkeeper who has been running the ECB academy, has been appointed as an England selector.
Reuters |
|
Yuvraj
to play for Yorkshire
Chandigarh, May 6 Sachin Tendulkar was the first overseas star to be selected by Yorkshire in 1992. "Batting
on English tracks is going to be a challenge." My seniors have
told me so. Overall, the conditions should be good for cricket,"
the 21-year-old said, sounding excited about the prospect.
PTI
|
|
|
Foreign football players in India stir debate New Delhi, May 6 Of the top nine goal scorers in the 12-team tournament, eight were foreign players, with Churchill Brothers’ Yakubu Yusif, a Ghanian, topping with 21 strikes. Nigerian Mike Okoro, who turned out for champions East Bengal, was the second-best with 17 goals. Just these two served to underline the growing reliance of Indian clubs on foreign players, especially forwards. While there are many who favour continuing with foreign players as they add “glamour” to the NFL, there is a conservative school of thought that maintains that their presence is stifling the growth of local players. “It works both ways — the dominance by foreigners is good as well as bad for Indian football,” said an expert. “It is the duty of the clubs to encourage local players, who, on the other hand, only learn and improve by playing with foreigners.” According to the rules of the All-India Football Federation (AIFF), each Indian club can take in four foreign players but can include only a maximum of three in the playing eleven. “The standard of Indian football has gone up slightly over the past seven years, since the launch of the NFL,” argued an AIFF official. However, there are others who feel that the “foreign invasion” is not helping the national cause. “Foreigners are not good for Indian football, as they hamper the development of local players,” said an expert. The foreigners have not only come to dominate the scene, but are also better paid. Mohun Bagan striker Jose Barretto, a Brazilian, is reportedly the highest paid player at Rs 5.5 million, while India’s Baichung Bhutia is said to be netting only Rs 4 million. The expert contended that local players could also deliver if they were given proper opportunities. “Take for instance the case of JCT Phagwara. They always encourage home players and the team has not done badly,” he said of the team that finished fourth this season. “Moreover, these foreigners are less skilful and instead bank on their stamina, physique and height.” The AIFF itself seems to be increasingly relying on foreigners. Former England player Stephen Constantine is the national coach of a team that is currently ranked 126th by FIFA, the game’s governing body. Constantine was hired despite considerable opposition. The AIFF has also hired foreign sports management firm Strata to market the game. This was done with assistance from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in the hope that it would help bring in sponsors. Although things have improved slightly this season, the indifferent attitude of AIFF officials towards the game in general and the lack of sponsors remains a worry, say observers. The telecast of NFL and other matches, through which the AIFF could earn attractive revenue, is also not handled in a professional manner. State broadcaster Doordarshan, which had the television rights for the NFL, disappointed millions by its haphazard telecast of the league, AIFF officials said. “Most often it comes out with some lame technical excuse for not telecasting matches — even from established football centres like Goa,” said an AIFF official. Doordarshan had reportedly promised the AIFF Rs 60 to 70 million in the season which just concluded. How much Doordarshan will eventually pay is the big question. “This season, Strata had worked an arrangement with the Sharjah-based Ten Sports channel, which showed highlights of important NFL matches,” said an AIFF official. The official hoped the next season could be a more profitable one for AIFF, provided more matches were telecast live. “These days, almost all big companies invest in cricket,” rued the official. “All the business houses that we have approached have disappointed us. They say they have no budget to sponsor football.” One school of thought is that unless India starts winning international titles, sponsors will not show interest. The non-availability of playing fields and the gradual decline in interest among football fans are other areas the game’s administrators need to look into. Despite these shortcomings, the AIFF is planning to start a third division national league, comprising state champions and runners-up teams, from the 2003-04 season. The AFC has promised some help, but it is basically the responsibility of the AIFF to run the game professionally and effectively, the two areas where it falters badly. In this gloomy scenario, East Bengal’s clean sweep of five important titles comes as a breath of fresh air. East Bengal, which earned 49 points to leave behind second-placed Salgaocar Sports Club of Goa by five points in NFL, earlier wrested the Independence Cup, the Kolkata Super Division, Indian Football Association Shield and the Durand Cup.
IANS |
|
Agassi loses No 1 ranking Rome, May 6 As a result of yesterday’s defeat, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia will replace Agassi at the top when the rankings are published next week. Ferrer’s 0-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 victory came in Agassi’s first match as the oldest player to hold the top spot in the rankings. Despite an easy first set, Agassi failed to maintain control of the match as the 60th-ranked Spaniard began holding serve in the second set and slowly gained confidence. In the decisive third set, Ferrer forced Agassi to hit into the net on break point to go up 5-4. Agassi then produced four unforced errors as Ferrer served out the match. “He didn’t play his best,” Ferrer said. “I think I played the match of my life. In the first set I was very nervous. But then I just told myself: ‘Stay calm, relax, enjoy,’ and I started playing better. “In the third set I wasn’t nervous, I thought ‘if you win great, if you lose, you’ve done everything you could to win,’” he said. Agassi’s brief day-long foray on the Foro Italico courts was very different from last year’s performance, when he stormed to the final and beat Tommy Haas of Germany in straight sets. Just over a week ago, Agassi fought back to defeat fellow American Andy Roddick in the final of the US Men’s Claycourt Championships. The win gave him the No. 1 ranking for the first time since September 10, 2000, when he was replaced by Pete Sampras. Hewitt and Sampras have both withdrawn from the tournament, but the Australian is still set to regain the top ranking as he had much fewer points to defend in Rome. A disappointed Agassi complimented his opponent, praising Ferrer’s speed and backhand consistency. “To get to No. 1 at my age was already an accomplishment, and it’s a long year so we’ll be going back and forth,” Agassi said.
AP |
|
Khushboo lifts gold Faridabad, May 6 According to report reaching here, Saini, who is captain of the Haryana team beat Varsha from Karnataka to win gold in the event. Varsha had beaten her in the 5-km road race. Vihangi from Madhya Pradesh won the bronze. Khushboo, a student of DAV Public School here has been the national champion in speed racing. In other event Haryana boys (senior) beat Delhi by 7-0 in the preliminary round of the roller hockey event. |
|
Minor Districts take lead Patiala, May 6 Brief scores: Patiala (1st innings) : 290 all out ( Sonu Mandora 49, Ravinder 48, Rahul Sharma 42, Gajinder Singh 23, Tarun Kapoor 21, Ravinder Rinku 22, Sandeep Sharma 22, Gurmeet Sahni 18 n.o, Rahul Kumar 3 for 84, Rahul Gandhi 4 for 73, Varun Sharma 2 for 40) Minor Districts XI-1st innings: 306 all out ( Varun Sharma 68, Pardeep Kumar 59, Himanshu Sharma 38, Vivek Bawa 28, Rahul Kumar 29, Digvijay 16, Parikshat Virdi 3 for 71, Sandeep Kumar 2 for 36, Gurmeet Singh 2 for 48). Patiala (2nd innings): 3 for no loss. |
|
Poor display by Ludhiana batsmen Amritsar, May 6 Ludhiana were all out for 156. Top wicket takers for Amritsar were Harman Singh Bajwa and Charanjit Singh who managed to scalp three wickets each. Earlier, Ludhiana resumed their innings at the last day’s score 19 for one. In the second innings again the rival batsmen again lost wickets quick succession and were at 90 for eight. The top scorer for Ludhiana was Rattan Bricher at 23. For Amritsar Tarun, Sohit Kapoor and Manish Bhatia brought got two wickets each. Scores: Amritsar
(Ist innings): 328 all out Ludhiana (Ist innings): 156 all out Ludhiana (II innings): 90 for eight. |
|
Kangra win Chamba, May 6 Kangra won the toss and elected to bat. Kangra did not do well in the beginning and lost three quick wickets but it was Aditya who saved the collapse and scored 60 runs. Sushil got 3 for 18 and Rajinder 4 for 22. In reply, Mandi were all out 100. Scores: Kangra: 160 all out (Aditya 60, Rajinder 17, Paras Dogra 13, Amit 15. Bowling: Sushil 3 for 18, Rajinder 4 for 22). Mandi: 100 all out (Mayour 25, Ajay 12. Bowling: Sunil 2 for 31, Neeraj 2 for 16, Paras 2 for 25, Amit 2 for 15. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
