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No undue pressure in
crucial tie: Ganguly
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MSK Prasad to Andhra’s rescue
Gambhir slams 147 against UP Ricky, Mongia slam centuries
Punjab beat Haryana Jeev in lead Signature Club golf today Signals crush Croatian club Pawandeep wins in judo meet Uday, K. Shamini emerge champs in
TT
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No undue pressure in crucial tie: Ganguly
Kolkata, November 7 “We have our job cut out. We must win the remaining matches to reach the final,” Ganguly said. “It will be a do-or-die situation. But you are always under pressure when you are playing,” the stylish left hander said adding he would try his best to deliver the goods for the side which was now level on points with the Kiwis. Ganguly, who was called on by Indian team physio Andrew Leipus this afternoon, had a two-hour training session at the Pankaj Gupta indoor coaching centre of the Cricket Association of Bengal. He was accompanied by Leipus and two members of the medical board set up for the treatment of a painful abscess on his left thigh. On the Cuttack match which India lost to New Zealand by four wickets, Ganguly said the absence of a fifth bowler like him or Virender Sehwag made things difficult for the team. Ganguly maintained that he preferred Rahul Dravid to double up as the wicketkeeper in the remaining engagements “as he has done in the last match”. Ganguly said he was 85 per cent fit but was “feeling much better and improving every day”. On Dravid’s captaincy, Ganguly said “he did what he thought was the best for the team”. The dashing southpaw, who went to the gymnasium before practising at the net, gave all credit to the doctors for his early recovery. Leipus, who had visited Ganguly on his way to Cuttack earlier too, said he expected Ganguly as also the injured Sehwag to be fit in time for the November 12 match at Bangalore. Ganguly, he said, should have no problem in passing a fitness test on November 10 in Bangalore. Dr Mrinoy Nandi, who accompanied Ganguly during the training session, said the last stitch on Ganguly’s left thigh was cut today and the anti-biotic course had been discontinued. Ganguly had undergone surgical procedures twice in five days for the abscess and missed the second and last Test against New Zealand at Mohali last month besides the first four matches of India in the triseries. He underwent the first surgical procedure at Mohali on October 14 to remove the abscess and was again put under the surgeon’s scalpel on October 18 at a private nursing home here for cleansing and trimming the wound before being discharged on October 26. — PTI
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Badani stood tall amid ruins When Sourav Ganguly rejoins the Indian squad in Bangalore, the first person to welcome him will be Rahul Dravid. They may be best buddies, but more than that, Dravid will be delighted to return the oversized crown, which he has been balancing on his head for quite some time now. In fact, Thursday was yet another instance where Dravid was a picture of absolute mess as he helplessly watched Craig McMillan walk away with the match. The team management got the composition just about right, including three spinners in the playing XI. I feel that is basically because of lack of choice rather than a change in mindset. Sehwag was sorely missed as a fifth change bowler. Dravid won a crucial toss in the afternoon, but our batsmen failed to make optimum use of it. Laxman flattered to deceive in his knock of 31 while Tendulkar was unlucky to be adjudged out lbw to a ball that would have missed the leg stump. Talking of umpiring standards, it was disappointing to see A.V. Jayaprakash and Neil Mallender having a bad day at office. It took the punch out of an interesting and absorbing duel between the two teams under lights. Seeing Kaif walk in as no. 3 was pleasing; it had been a long since he was given the liberty of settling down at the crease. But Kaif took this liberty to extreme limits and consumed far too many balls, even by the standards of a man under pressure to sustain his place in the team. Kaif’s half-century might have done wonders to revive his confidence, but it painfully deviated from India’s course for a challenging total. When Yuvraj followed Dravid to the dressing room in quick succession, getting out to an inexplicable chip shot for a blob, Badani had the responsibility of rescuing his team from dire straits, not to talk about salvaging his own ODI career, which came on track after nearly two years. But Badani manly took on both assignments and in what could be described as a perfect innings at the latter stages; the Tamil Nadu left-hander played some stand-up shots to worry the Kiwis. He has staked his claim in the team with a superb effort and Wright now has some decisions to make. A problem of plenty, but the coach should not be complaining too much about it. Zaheer redeemed his poor show with the ball so far with a cameo 33, which administered a shot in the arm for the Indian team. 246 is a good total to defend, but on this Barabati track, where the ball kept low and turned in the later part of the match, the same is a huge target for the chasing team. Zaheer was an improved version on Thursday, but still committed the mistake of bowling wrong length to Stephen Fleming and Chris Nevin. The bowlers failed to put any kind of influence on the batsmen and the 44/3 situation is largely attributed to some disappointing decisions, both on part of the batsmen and the officiating dignitaries at the crease. Precisely why, Craig McMillan and Scott Styris did not get bothered too much while rebuilding the innings. The spinners could not pounce with delight on the turn the wicket afforded and spent most of the time drying the ball with the towel rather than imparting revolutions on it. Cannot really blame the spinners though, the wet conditions make it really difficult for them, but that has been a part of international cricket for good long time now. McMillan played a thoroughly responsible innings and it has been a nice comeback tour for him. Dropped out of favour in recent cricket, McMillan has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and proved the potential and talent he is loaded with. Positive signs for the Kiwis, who now look refreshed and revitalised in the series, with a fair chance of playing the Eden Garden finals. From the Indian point of view, the pleasing news came from Lahore, where the Indian u-19 team won the Asian Championships. I hope the selectors have taken note of the boys’ performance and it will be good to see some of them brushing shoulders with the seniors shortly.
— Dronacharya Sports Promoters Association |
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A team effort, says Robin Singh Wagah (Amritsar), November 7 Describing the victory in Pakistan as a big achievement, Robin Singh said though it was a team effort, the main architect of India’s victory was left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan of Baroda, who performed spectacularly well. He said by participating in such international tourneys, young players were getting more exposure, developing a taste for competition and learning to play under pressure. He said this success would boost the morale of the young cricketers. |
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Chittagong, November 7 Bangladesh Sarkar c Read b Flintoff 30 Iqbal c Trescothick b Anderson 9 Bashar c Read b Flintoff 10 Saleh c Clarke b Giles 2 Kapali lbw b Giles 0 Mahmud c Read b Flintoff 0 Rahman c & b Giles 0 Islam run out 18 Mashud c Vaughan b Clarke 13 Ahmed not out 18 Baisya c & b Flintoff 14 Extras (b-4 lb-14 w-8 nb-3) 29 Total (all out, 44.4 overs) 143 Fall of wickets: 1-16 2-50 3-65 4-65 5-65 6-65 7-66 8-100 9-107. Bowling: Anderson 10-2-33-1, Johnson 8-2-23-0, Flintoff 9.4-4-14-4, Giles 10-1-29-3, Clarke 6-0-24-1, Blackwell 1-0-2-0. England Trescothick c Sarkar b Rahman 28 Solanki c Jamaluddin b Rahman 10 Vaughan st Mashud b Manjural 9 Collingwood not out 36 Flintoff not out 55 Extras (b-1 lb-5 nb-1 w-1) 8 Total (3 wickets, 25.3 overs) 146 Fall of wickets: 1-39 2-39 3-55 Bowling: Tapash Baisya 5-0-29-0, Mushfiqur Rahman 6-1-34-2, Manjural Islam 8-0-34-1, Jamaluddin Ahmed 4-1-28-0, Alok Kapali 2.3-1-15-0. — Reuters
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MSK Prasad to
Andhra’s rescue New Delhi, November 7 Andhra Pradesh started disastrously when they lost three wickets cheaply to totter at 3 for 21. But Prasad dug his feet deep on an amiable wicket to cart the Railway bowlers all over the ground to bring back stability to the Andhra innings. He was involved in two fruitful partnerships which saw Andhra wriggle out of a tight-spot. Prasad and opener M. Suresh hoisted 63 runs for the fourth wicket, and after the departure of Suresh, Prasad hit it off well with Syed Shahabuddin to put on 62 runs for the fifth wicket. When Prasad’s wicket fell, Andhra were 165 for 6. The valuable 53-run seventh-wicket partnership between
Y.V. Rao and RVCH Prasad powered Andhra to a respectable position, which was further consolidated by G Shankar Rao, who remained unbeaten on 35, studded with seven boundaries off 57 balls, at the draw of stumps. |
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Gambhir slams 147 against UP Kanpur, November 7 Jadeja, who was forced to miss the action for his alleged involvement in the match fixing scandal in 2000, made a return to competitive cricket following a High Court order. Though the flamboyant player did not get the chance to bat today, he is next in the order after Gambhir and Salil Oberoi (80) placed Delhi in a commanding position at 267 for two at stumps. Flaying the opposition bowlers at the Green Park stadium, the two put on 231 runs for the opening wicket to lay the foundation for a huge total. At close, Pradeep Chawla (19) and Mithun Manhas (15) were at the crease. Gambhir’s 147 came with the help of 17 boundaries and one six off 203 balls while Oberoi’s 216-ball knock contained 10 hits to the fence.
— PTI |
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Ricky, Mongia slam centuries Palakkad, November 7 Ricky made a magnificent 125 while Mongia remained unbeaten on 115 at stumps on the opening day. Kerala’s vice-captain Sreekumar nair claimed both wickets. Punjab: First Innings:
305 for two (Ravneet Ricky 125, Dinesh Mongia batting 115, Samrat Sharma 38).
PTI |
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Punjab beat Haryana Patiala, November 7 Brief scores: Haryana: 1st innings: 85 all out;
Punjab: 1st innings: 190 all out (Pawan Sarangal 53, Guriqbal Singh 37, Bharti Malhotra 31, Pawan Kumar 5 for 36, Gaurav Shaukeen 3 for 40); Haryana: 2nd innings: 166 all out (Nitin Saini 54, Munish Dhillon 48, Sumit Kundu 35, Bharti Malhotra 4 for 45, Guriqbal Singh 3 for 28); Punjab: 2nd innings: 62 for 1 (Simrat Bawa 32 not out). |
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Jeev in lead New Delhi, November 7 Arjun
Atwal shot a round of one-under 71 and was tied for the fifth place,
along with Jaiveer Virk of India and Anthony Kang of Korea at
four-under 140. Asia’s No 1 golfer in 2002, Jyoti Randhawa, Sanya
Open winner Marcus Both and multiple winner of Asian PGA Tour Gerry
Norquist of USA were among the four tied for the eighth position at
three under 141.
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Signature Club golf today Chandigarh, November 7 Noida Golf Club, Chandigarh Golf Club, Rambagh Golf Club, Lucknow Golf Club and the Aravalli Golf Club will select their team on November 8, while the Delhi Golf Club, Classic Golf Resort and Jaypee Greens Golf Resort team selection is scheduled for November 15. Teams from the eight clubs are set to clash on November 16 at the Classic Golf Resort for the northern region title and a berth in the all-India finals. The championship has a unique format under which the players that qualify to represent the club at the regional and national level of the championship are selected from the intra-club leg of the three-tiered championship. The intra-club leg has three handicap categories 0-8, 9-16 and 17-24. The winner and runner-up from each category forms the six-member club team. North, east and south zone regional contests are scheduled over the next two months in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, respectively. Willingdon Sports Club, Mumbai has already booked a place in the finals after it triumphed over Bombay Presidency Golf Club, Poona Golf Club and United Services Club at the Willingdon Sports Club course in Mumbai on November 2. The all-India final will be held on December 20 at Jaypee Greens Golf Resort, Greater Noida. Last year, the all-India finals of the inaugural McDowell’s Signature Golf Championship was won by Classic Golf Resort. |
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Signals crush Croatian club Jalandhar, November 7 In a keenly contested game, Indian Hockey Club settled for a draw with EME 2-2. The Canadian boys got the early lead in the sixth minute when captain Bindi Singh netted the ball after dodging the goalkeeper with reverse flick. The lead was further consolidated in the 24th minute when V. Singh scored a field goal after receiving a pass from Sukhamritpal Singh. The score was 2-0 at half-time. The engineers landed in the ground with offensive pastures in the second half and dominated the proceedings, much to the frustration of the foreigners, who were trying hard to score a victory. EME men made a strong comeback in the game as Solemn reduced the lead with a field goal from the right flank. The equaliser came in the shape of an impressive field goal by Jeron, who faced no resistance from rivals’ defence and easily shot the ball straight into the box in the 42nd minute. With the match drawn, both teams secured one point each. Later, in an one-sided affair, Corps of Signals scored a crushing defeat on Concordia Hockey Club to further dampen their spirit. In the first half, the foreigners played tactically to counter the onslaught of Signals even as the latter opened their account through penalty conversion by G. Das in the 16th minute. In the 24th minute, Croatia’s fullback Rajinder Kumar made no mistake in converting a penalty corner to score an equaliser. The Signals went ahead towards their victory mission as captain Paramjit Singh netted the ball in the 30th minute. In the second half, the Signals boys continued to dominate the game as they scored five goals in a row to lock the fate of their opponents. While the captain scored two field goals in the 45th and 49th minutes, S.K. Tigga, D.N. Kushwaha and G. Das scored a goal each. |
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Pawandeep wins in judo meet Patiala, November 7 In the men’s section, Sanjay Singh of Manipur University came first in the 90-kg class while Manish Kumar of Delhi University was placed second. Anil Kumar of Chowdhury Charan Singh University, Hisar, and Chetan S. Yarlekar of Nagaland University were declared joint third. In the 81-kg category, Dagant Yashwant of Pune University reigned supreme while Ragoonwala Yusuf of Mumbai University came second. The third place was jointly bagged by Sandeep of Devi Lal University and Satwinder Singh of GND University, Amritsar. |
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Uday,
K. Shamini emerge champs in TT Patiala, November
7 After winning the first three sets, Uday ran into problems and lost the next two before he managed to subdue a fighting Jignesh in the last set. Uday Attray emerged triumphant with a 11-6, 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 9-11,11-9 win to lift the title for the first time. On the distaff side, K.Shamini of Indian Bank beat former champion S.Presanna of Dena Bank 11-8, 11-5, 10-12, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7 to win the title. In the women’s doubles final, the pair of N. Arul Selvi and K.Shamini of Indian Bank downed B.M Ashwini and Suchitra Narkar of Union Bank of India 11-3, 11-8, 11-6 in a ones-sided final. The table tennis meet was organised by Dena Bank in association with the NIS Table Tennis Department. In hockey, holders Punjab and Sind Bank won the title by comprehensively beating Indian Overseas Bank 5-1. The PSB rested some of their key players in the title match. Canara Bank too had a easy time when they smothered the feeble challenge of Punjab National Bank 5-1 to be placed third. On the penultimate day of the Banks’ Olympiad, Indian Bank lead the points table with a tally of 42 medals, — 17 gold, an equal number of silver and eight bronze medals. There was a neck and neck race for the second spot with Allahabad Bank and Union Bank of India both having 27 medals each to their credit. However, the former have 15 golds in their kitty, while UBI secured nine. Hosts, State Bank of Patiala bagged five medals. In the football final, State Bank of Travancore played superb football to down Allahabad Bank 4-0. In chess team championship, Indian Bank won the title by garnering 21 points, while Union Bank of India were placed second with 20 points. State Bank of Patiala rode on a fine showing by veteran Moti Ram and
R.B. Singh to finish a creditable fourth. The Patiala bankmen finished their engagements with 18 points. In individual championships,
K.V. Shantaram of Indian Bank stood first with 6.5 points. G.B. Parkash made it a one-two for Indian Bank by finishing second, while grandmaster Parvin Thipsay of Union Bank of India failed to live up to his reputation and managed to finish third. State Bank of Patiala’s Moti Ram gave an impressive show in the last two rounds to be placed fourth. P. Mokal and grandmaster Sharad Tilak, both of Union Bank of India, too gave rusty performances throughout the tourney and finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Mr
S.K.Panda, General Manager, State Bank of Patiala, distributed the prizes to the chess players.
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Tiger Woods
in lead Isha in final Inaugurated Gurdit best boxer |
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In video: Kiwi captain Stephen Fleming expresses happiness after first win in
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