THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
S P O R T S

Hayden, Ponting put Aussies on topAustralian pace bowler Brad Williams exults as he gets the wicket of Anil Kumble (back to the camera) on the second day of the third Test match at the MCG on Saturday.
Melbourne, December 27
India first meekly surrendered six wickets for a mere 16 runs and then allowed Australia to rattle up an imposing 317 for three to leave the home side on top at the end of second day’s play in the third cricket Test here today.


Australian pace bowler Brad Williams exults as he gets the wicket of Anil Kumble (back to the camera) on the second day of the third Test match at the MCG on Saturday. — PTI
photo

In video: Tendulkar in the worst of form. (28k, 56k)

South Africa's Jacques Kallis gets his shot away for four during the second day of the second Test match against the West Indies Gibbs puts SA on top with century
Durban, December 27
Herschelle Gibbs stroked a magnificent century as South Africa moved into a strong position on the second day of the second cricket Test against the West Indies at Kingsmead today.

South Africa's Jacques Kallis gets his shot away for four during the second day of the second Test match against the West Indies at Kingsmead in Durban on Saturday. — Reuters photo

Steve WaughAmong the best of team efforts
A
fter 18 years of international cricket, I rate our performance on the second day of this Test match as one of the best team efforts I have ever been involved in.


India’s Ajit Agarkar celebrates dismissing Australia’s Justin Langer for 14 runs during the second day of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.
India’s Ajit Agarkar celebrates dismissing Australia’s Justin Langer for 14 runs during the second day of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday. — Reuters

EARLIER STORIES
 

Oram engineers New Zealand recovery
Wellington, December 27
Jacob Oram and Mark Richardson engineered a strong recovery by New Zealand as they took the ascendancy over Pakistan on the second day of the second and final cricket Test here today.

Pakistani batsman N. Latif hits the ball to the boundary while notching up an impressive 50 against Sri LankaPakistan ‘A’ beat Lankans
Kolkata, December 27
Pakistan ‘A’ remained in the hunt for the final berth after defeating Sri Lanka ‘A’ by 48 runs in the Kenstar Asian ‘A’ Teams Cricket Tournament here today. Set to score 245 for victory, Sri Lanka were cruising at 106 for three, when the complexion of the match changed as the batsmen from the emerald Islands got out to a series of poor shots and were involved in terrible mix-ups resulting in three inexplicable runouts to fold up for 196 in 44.5 overs.

Pakistani batsman N. Latif hits the ball to the boundary while notching up an impressive 50 against Sri Lanka in the 'A' teams tournament at Eden Gardens on Saturday.  — PTI photo

Mumbai seamer Swapnil Hazare bowls to Punjab wicketkeeper Chandan Madan on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy match at the PCA Stadium at Mohali on Saturday. Hazare claimed three wickets.Mumbai seamers wreck Punjab
Chandigarh, December 27
Punjab's chances of making it to the Ranji Trophy semifinals are as good as over. Barring a miracle, the current match against Mumbai at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium at Mohali should be the last match of the season.

Mumbai seamer Swapnil Hazare bowls to Punjab wicketkeeper Chandan Madan on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy match at the PCA Stadium at Mohali on Saturday. Hazare claimed three wickets. — Tribune photo by Parvesh Chauhan

UP-Kerala tie set for close finish
Palakkad, December 27
Despite losing their last seven wickets in a span of just 74 runs, Uttar Pradesh set hosts Kerala a fairly challenging target of 223 in their Elite Group A Ranji Trophy match here today.

  • Railways struggling

BSF, Punjab cops in last 8
Nabha, December 27
Punjab Police, playing without Baljit Singh Dhillon and Gagan Ajit Singh, managed to pack enough punch and power to easily prevail over Amritsar XI 4-0 while last years' runners-up BSF Jalandhar had to take the tie-breaker route to down RCF, Kapurthala, 5-3 in the pre-quarterfinal matches of the 28th All-India Liberals Hockey Tournament played at the Ripudaman College ground here today.

Vishal of Himachal Pradesh displays his skill in the Roman rings event in the 44th Senior National Gymnastics Championship which began at Mohali on Saturday.Gymnastics meet inaugurated
Chandigarh, December 27
The 44th Senior National Gymnastics Championship at the Indoor hall of the Shivalik Public School, Mohali, today. The five-day meet, has attracted more than 400 gymnasts and 100 officials from the 24 states and Union Territories.

Vishal of Himachal Pradesh displays his skill in the Roman rings event in the 44th Senior National Gymnastics Championship which began at Mohali on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

NFL: Dempo shock East Bengal
Marago, December 27
Despite down by one man in the second half, Dempo continued their unbeaten run as they rallied from an early two-goal deficit to hand out East Bengal a 3-2 defeat to remain on top of the table in the National Football League at Nehru stadium here today.

Sangrur, Ludhiana in final
Sangrur, December 27
Holders Sangrur and Ludhiana entered the finals in the boys and girls sections, respectively, in the Punjab State Junior Volleyball Championship, which is in progress at Mastuana Sahib.

 

Video
A golden year for Indian sport.
(28k, 56k)

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Hayden, Ponting put Aussies on top

Melbourne, December 27
India first meekly surrendered six wickets for a mere 16 runs and then allowed Australia to rattle up an imposing 317 for three to leave the home side on top at the end of second day’s play in the third cricket Test here today.

Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting blazed away to individual centuries as their powerful batting side was only 49 runs behind India’s total of 366, which represented a slump from the overnight score of 329 for four.

Left-hand opener Hayden struck a powerful 136 and Ponting was still posing an ominous threat to the visitors remaining unbeaten on 120 with batsmen like Steve Waugh and Simon Katich still to come in.

In a pathetic display after their Adelaide heroics, India were bowled out in about an hour’s batting this morning and then their bowlers could not rein in the Australian batting although Justin Langer (14) and Adam Gilchrist (14) fell cheaply. In two days, a total of 683 runs have been made by the two teams which points to a decisive result in the match with three days left and with today’s showing, the Indians were on the backfoot.

At stumps, Damien Martyn was giving company to Ponting on seven.

After bowling out India in just 13 overs this morning, Australia were off to a cautious start. When Justin Langer (14) was caught at point swishing at widish half volley from Ajit Agarkar, India’s stranglehold on the world champions appeared to continue. But their grip quickly slackened and soon the Australians were running away with Ponting and Hayden determined to make amends for the Adelaide show. Smarting under the criticism that their sheer arrogance led to their batting downfall in the second innings at Adelaide, the home batsmen put their head down and batted with a determination not seen in the series before.

(India Ist innings): (overnight 329-4):

Chopra c Katich b Mac Gill 48

Sehwag c Bracken b Katich 195

Dravid c Martyn b Waugh 49

Tendulkar c Gilchrist b Lee 0

Ganguly c Langer b Lee 37

Laxman c Hayden b MacGill 19

Patel c Gilchrist b Bracken 0

Agarkar run out 0

Kumble c Langer b Williams 3

Nehra c Gilchrist b MacGill 0

Khan not out 0

Extras (lb-3 w-1 nb-11) 15

Total (all out in 103 overs) 366

FoW: 1/141, 2/278, 3/286, 4/311, 5/350, 6/353, 7/353, 8/366, 9/366.

Bowling: Brett Lee 27-7-103-2 Nathan Bracken 28-6-71-1 Brad Williams 20-6-66-1 Stuart MacGill 15-3-70-3 Simon Katich 4-0-18-1 Steve Waugh 9-0-35-1

Australia (Ist innings):

Langer c Tendulkar b Agarkar 14

Hayden lbw b Kumble 136

Ponting batting 120

Gilchrist c Nehra b Kumble 14

Martyn batting 7

Extras (lb-7 w-5nb-9 pr 5) 26

Total (3 wkts in 75 overs) 317

FoW: 1/30, 2/264, 3/295.

Bowling: Ajit Agarkar 17-0-72-1 Zaheer Khan 17-2-75-0 Ashish Nehra 13-3-34-0 Anil Kumble 24-2-102-2 Sachin Tendulkar 4-0-22-0 — PTI
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Pak tour: Ganguly scoffs at rumours

Melbourne, December 27
Concerns over their safety appear to be weighing on the minds of some of India's top cricketers ahead of the tour of Pakistan, but skipper Saurav Ganguly maintained tonight that there was no truth in such rumours doing the rounds here.

In the backdrop of assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf in recent days, at least three senior members of the Indian team currently here are said to be worried about security when the side goes to Pakistan in about two months. Unconfirmed reports said that there was a move by the Indian team to write a letter to the cricket board voicing security concerns.

Ganguly, however, denied that there was any talk of players pulling out of the scheduled tour of Pakistan.

"I have also heard such rumours. There is no truth in it," Ganguly told PTI.

The Indian captain said the team was more concerned of doing well in the ongoing third Test against Australia than think about the tour, which is more than two months away.

"Right now we are busy with the Test. We have not even thought about the issue or the security matter, which is said to concern us."

A word spread into the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) this afternoon that Indian players were not keen to tour Pakistan on account of recent bomb blasts in the country.

It was also mentioned that the players had discussed the matter inside the dressing room. — PTI
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Gibbs puts SA on top with century

Durban, December 27
Herschelle Gibbs stroked a magnificent century as South Africa moved into a strong position on the second day of the second cricket Test against the West Indies at Kingsmead today.

Opening batsman Gibbs thrashed 142 as South Africa reached 303 for three at the close, 39 ahead of the West Indies first innings total of 264.

Gibbs and Jacques Kallis (74 not out) punished the West Indies bowlers during a third wicket stand of 168 off 208 balls after posting a century partnership in 82 minutes off only 115 balls.

West Indies captain Brian Lara was reduced to setting defensive fields, with as many as five men on the boundary.

It was the first innings played by Gibbs since he had to retire hurt with a broken nose after missing a hook against Vasbert Drakes in the second innings of the first Test in Johannesburg 12 days ago. He had to have an operation to reset a nasal bone.

"It was the first time I got seriously hurt so it was at the back of my mind," Gibbs admitted.

"But I had two good nets before the match and you just need to face one or two bouncers in the middle to put it behind you."

Gibbs showed no signs of anxiety or hesitation in his strokeplay and included some meaty pulls as well as exquisitely timed cover drives.

Gibbs reached his 11th Test century off 130 balls when he pulled Drakes to the midwicket boundary shortly before tea.

He was out after hitting 17 fours in a 175-ball innings when he was bowled off an inside edge trying to pull Adam Sanford.

It was Gibbs’ first Test century against the West Indies, although he previously hit six half-centuries in 10 matches against them. He described it as one of his best innings.

Scoreboard

West Indies (first innings overnight 232-8):

Hinds c Boucher b Pollock 0

Ganga c Pollock b Ntini 6

Sarwan c Kallis b Pollock 4

Lara c Pollock b Ntini 72

Chanderpaul c Hall b Ntini 0

Baugh c Kallis b Nel 21

Jacobs lbw b Nel 58

Drakes c Boucher b Nel 67

Dillon b Ntini 6

Sanford c Hall b Ntini 15

Edwards not out 1

Extras: (lb-6 nb-8) 14

Total: (all out, 77.5 overs) 264

Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-4 3-15 4-17 5-50 6-148 7-172 8-191 9-261

Bowling: Pollock 23-3-59-2, Ntini 25.5-8-66-5, Hall 10-2-51-0, Nel 13-4-43-3, Kallis 4-0-30-0, Rudolph 2-0-9-0

South Africa (first innings):

Smith c Sarwan b Edwards 14

Gibbs b Sanford 142

Rudolph c Ganga b Sanford 36

Kallis not out 74

Kirsten not out 16

Extras: (lb-5 nb-13 w-3) 21

Total: (3 wkts, 74 overs) 303

Fall of wickets: 1-38 2-99 3-267

Bowling: Dillon 16-4-66-0, Edwards 13-1-61-1, Sanford 19-3-74-2, Sarwan 2-0-5-0, Drakes 16-1-62-0, Hinds 8-1-30-0. — Reuters
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Among the best of team efforts
Steve Waugh

After 18 years of international cricket I rate our performance on the second day of this Test match as one of the best team efforts I have ever been involved in. Sitting down prior to play, each player in our locker room knew just how important the day ahead was, and that it was going to take commitment, courage and belief to wrestle back the ascendency from the Indians who certainly took the points on day one.

To stem the flow of the Indian batting by taking 6 for 16 in the first session of the day, then for our own batsman to stake a genuine claim for this all-important match, typified just how amazing the past two series between ourselves and India have been.

This match, like the 2001 series in India, has fluctuated in fortunes with both sides possessing the balance of power at different stages. Each of these contests has certainly added to the growing cricket rivalry between the two nations and heightened the aura surrounding the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

It has been an intriguing battle and we certainly have a lot of work ahead of us if we are going to win this Test match and level the series ahead of Sydney at one win apiece. To be just 49 runs down heading into day three is a situation we probably didn't anticipate, but the men who have put us in the frame are without doubt Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting. When we sit back and scroll through the cricket archives in years to come, we are going to be hard pressed to find many more players who have enjoyed such a remarkable period in the game.

From a captain's perspective I have been blessed to have the two of them at my disposal, and as a cricket lover, fortunate to have played in an era when they have both been so dominant on the international scene. Both are up there with Brian Lara and Graeme Smith in the race to score the most Test runs for the calendar year, but knowing the team players that they both are, the pursuit of an individual milestone will be pushed aside to seek victory in this series.

Their innings today will hopefully provide us with the momentum to come away victors, just as Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman did for India in Adelaide. As a side we always talk about taking on a challenge. As far as this series goes we certainly have one in front us. — Gameplan
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Oram engineers New Zealand recovery

Wellington, December 27
Jacob Oram and Mark Richardson engineered a strong recovery by New Zealand as they took the ascendancy over Pakistan on the second day of the second and final cricket Test here today.

Scoreboard

New Zealand (1st innings):

Richardson c Youhana b Shabbir 82

Vincent b Shoaib 0

Fleming lbw b Shoaib 0

Jones b Razzaq 16

Styris c Moin b Shoaib 36

McMillan lbw Shabir 26

Hart c Imran b Shoaib 19

Oram c Moin b Shabbir 97

Vettori c Yasir b Sami 44

Tuffey not out 9

Butler c Moin b Shoaib 4

Extras (5-b, 14-lb, 3-w, 11-nb) 33

Total (all out, 142.3 overs) 366

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-1, 3-41, 4-94, 5-145, 6-171, 7-247, 8-327, 9-361.

Bowling: Akhtar 20.3-5-48-5, Sami 30-12-64-1, Shabbir Ahmed 37-8-87-3, Danish Kaneria 32-5-86-0, Razzaq 23-6-62-1.

Pakistan (1st innings):

Umar batting 13

Farhat c Hart b Oram 20

Hameed b Butler 3

Youhana batting 11

Extras (4-nb, 1-lb) 5

Total (2 wkts in 32 overs) 52

Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-30.

Bowling: Tuffey 11-5-15-0, Butler 8-3-11-1, Oram 7-1-16-1, Vettori 6-2-9-0. — AFP
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Pakistan ‘A’ beat Lankans

Kolkata, December 27
Pakistan ‘A’ remained in the hunt for the final berth after defeating Sri Lanka ‘A’ by 48 runs in the Kenstar Asian ‘A’ Teams Cricket Tournament here today.

Set to score 245 for victory, Sri Lanka were cruising at 106 for three, when the complexion of the match changed as the batsmen from the emerald Islands got out to a series of poor shots and were involved in terrible mix-ups resulting in three inexplicable runouts to fold up for 196 in 44.5 overs.

Earlier, put into bat by Lankan skipper Russel Arnold, Pakistan reached 244 in 48.3 overs in difficult conditions at the Eden Gardens, thanks to useful knocks from Faisal Iqbal (57) and man-of-the-match Naveed Latif (50).

All eyes will now be focused on tomorrow’s last league match between India and Pakistan which is a must-win for the latter for a place in the December 30 title clash.

While India are already through to the final, Pakistan moved to seven points, including a bonus from today’s game. Sri Lanka have wrapped up their group league engagements on 10 points.

Sri Lanka lost opener S. Jayantha (15) in the eighth over before S. Kalavitigoda (38) and Jehan Mubarrak (15) blended caution with aggression to take the score to 75.

Kalavitigoda then needlessly threw away his wicket, trying to lift Bilal Asad and succeeded only in giving a skier to substitute fielder Junaid Zia at mid on.

Scoreboard

Pakistan A:

S Butt c Arnold b Herath 40, Md Hafeez c Jayawardane b Zoysa 0, S B Nasir c Hearth b Arnold 35, F Iqbal c Kulasekara b Maharoof 57, S Afridi c Jayawardane b Herath 1, N Latif lbw b Maharoof 50, B Asad c Nawaz b Maharoof 24, A Rehman c Arnold b Maharoof 1; M Amjad b Kulasekara 17, Md Khalil run out 2, Md Irshad not out 0.

Extras (lb-4, nb-5, w-8) 17.

Total (all out in 48.3 overs) 244.

FoW: 1/2, 2/72, 3/111, 4/113, 5/198, 6/212, 7/214, 8/232, 9/244.

Bowling: N Zoysa 9-2-25-1, P Maharoof 10-0-53-4, N

Kulasekara 4.3-0-41-1, S Jayantha 10-0-35-0, R Arnold 5-0-32-1, R Herath 10-0-54-2.

Sri Lanka A:

S Kalavitigoda c (sub) Z Zia b Asad 38, S Jayantha c A Rehman b Khalil 15, J Mubarrak run out 15, P Jayawardane c Hafeez b Amjad 16, R Arnold lbw b Hafeez 9, N Nawaz b Afridi 47, T Kandamby c and b Hafeez 10, P Maharaoof run out 0, N Zoysa lbw b Hafeez 2, R Herath run out 0, N Kulasekara not out 9. Extras (b-4, lb-8, nb-7, w-16) 35. Total (all out, 44.5 overs) 196. Fall of wickets: 1/36, 2/75, 3/83, 4/106, 5/127, 6/143, 7/149, 8/155, 9/157. Bowling: M Irshad 7-0-50-0, Md Khalil 10-3-30-1, B Asad 4-0-19-1, M Amjad 10-1-37-1, M Hafeez 10-0-29-3, S Afridi 2.5-0-15-1, N Latif 1-0-4-0. — PTI 
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Mumbai seamers wreck Punjab
Gopal Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 27
Punjab's chances of making it to the Ranji Trophy semifinals are as good as over. Barring a miracle, the current match against Mumbai at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium at Mohali should be the last match of the season.

After the defending champions Mumbai extended their first innings to 224, thanks to gritty knock of 81 by allrounder Robin Morris, the hosts batting collapsed against spirited rival seam bowling attack. At close on the penultimate day, top five Punjab batsmen were back in the pavilion as the hosts were tottering at 70 for 5. With Samrat Sharma, the last of the recognised batsmen and wicketkeeper Chandan Madan at the crease, the hosts' hopes of entering the semifinal are as good as over.

In fact, Mumbai proved during the match why they have won the championship so many times. They adapted well to the conditions totally alien to them. Even if they were assured of the semifinals berth with their points tally way ahead of others, the champion side showed no complacency. Batting, which had been the strong point of Punjab in the league matches so far, came unstuck in the crucial contest.

That the chase would not be easy for Punjab was evident after Mumbai had put 224 on board on the pitch and the conditions which were not ideal for batting. The task became tougher as the hosts did not get off to a reasonable start in the face of disciplined and accurate seam bowling attack of the visitors.

Punjab lost the first wicket in the fourth over, when Ravneet Ricky was castled by an Usman Malvi delivery which looked innocuous but beat the batsman all ends up. Malvi struck again in his next over trapping Ankur Kakkar lbw.

Swapnil Hazare, the second seamer who was bowling well from the other end, then hastened the batting collapse. Opener Munish Sharma could not capitalise on the reprieve he got when Vinayak Mane stationed at first slip was not agile enough to latch on to a sharp chances off Hazare. He was soon dismissed having been deceived by the same bowler into giving a return catch. The batsman made a paltry 18.

Hazare then sent back Reetinder Sodhi and skipper Pankaj Dharmani as Punjab were reduced to 52 for 5. Sodhi lasted only two balls, while a circumspect Dharmani contributed 15.

Punjab seamer Gagandeep Singh completed a well-deserved five-wicket haul.

Scoreboard

Mumbai (1st innings):
Vinayak Mane lbw Gagandeep 19, Wasim Jaffer c Ricky b Vineet 1, Bhavin Thakkar c Madan b Vineet 0, Amol Mazumdar c sub ( Sawal) b Gagandeep 55, Vinod Kambli lbw Uniyal 17, Ramesh Powar c Madan b Gagandeep 0, Robin Morris c Madan b Sodhi 81, Nilesh Kulkarni c Madan b Uniyal 2, Vinayak Samant b Gagandeep 0, Usman Malvi b Gagandeep 25, Swapnil Hazare not out 1.

Extras ( b 2, lb 15, nb 6): 23

Total ( all out in 75.5 overs): 224

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-16, 3-36, 4-67, 5-70, 6-149, 7-160, 8-161, 9-218

Bowling: Gagandeep Singh 31.5-13-68-5, Vineet Sharma 9-4-24-2, Amit Uniyal 24-4-92-2, Reetinder Sodhi 11-4-23-1.

Punjab (1st innings): Ricky b Usman 7, Munish c & b Hazare 18, Kakkar lbw Usman 4, Dharmani c Samant b Hazare 15, Sodhi c Jaffer b Hazare 0, Samrat batting 11, Madan batting 12.

Extras (lb 2, nb 1): 3

Total ( for 5 wickets in 32 overs): 70

Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-23, 3-45, 4-45, 5-52

Bowling: Usman Malvi 13-6-28-2, Swapnil Hazare 11-3-27-3, Robin Morris 7-1-13-0, Ramesh Powar 1-1-0-0.
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UP-Kerala tie set for close finish

Palakkad, December 27
Despite losing their last seven wickets in a span of just 74 runs, Uttar Pradesh set hosts Kerala a fairly challenging target of 223 in their Elite Group A Ranji Trophy match here today.

Scoreboard

Uttar Pradesh (1st innings) 214

Kerala (1st innings): 247

Uttar Pradesh (2nd innings):

R. Prakash lbw b S. Nair 79, J. Yadav c H Kumar b A’padmanabhan 19, S. Raina c S Oasis b P. Chandran 39, R. Elahi not out 74, R. Samshad c S. Somasunder b S. Kumar 9, G. Pandey c V. Lal c S. Kumar 0, P. Malawiya c H Kumar b S. Nair 4, N. Chopra c C.M. Deepak b P. Chandran 1, R. Mishra c C.M. Deepak b P. Chandran 1, A.W. Zaidi c S. Oasis b S. Nair 7, A. Verma run-out 4.

Extras (B 6, LB 6, NB 6) 18.

Total in 96.3 overs 255

FoW: 1-53, 2-133, 3-181, 4-213, 5-213, 6-222, 7-229, 8-233, 9-246.

Bowling P. Chandran 15-3-45-3, S. Cheruvathoor 1-0-6-0, S. Nair 39.3-15-69-3, S. Kumar 15-4-43-2, A’padmanabhan 21-2-68-1, S. Oasis 5-0-12-0.

Kerala (2nd innings): C.M. Deepak not out 11, S. Somasundar b G. Pandey 20, V. Lal not out 1.

Extras 0. Total for 1 wicket in 10 overs 32 FoW: 1/29

Bowling: A.W. Zaidi 3-0-10-0, R. Mishra 1-0-4-0, N. Chopra 4-3-11-0, G. Pandey 2-0-7-1.

Railways struggling

VADODARA: The Elite A group Ranji Trophy match between Baroda and Railways is poised for an interesting finish after the hosts managed to avoid the follow-on and made their opposition bat again on the third day of the encounter at the IPCL ground here today.

Railways were tottering at 84 for eight wickets when the stumps were drawn and have taken an overall lead of 220 runs.

Earlier, resuming at their overnight total of 73 for 5 wickets, Nayan Mongia and Tushar Arothe could not survive for long and lost the former when the team’s total was 79. — UNI/PTI
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BSF, Punjab cops in last 8
Our Sports Reporter

Nabha, December 27
Punjab Police, playing without Baljit Singh Dhillon and Gagan Ajit Singh, managed to pack enough punch and power to easily prevail over Amritsar XI 4-0 while last years' runners-up BSF Jalandhar had to take the tie-breaker route to down RCF, Kapurthala, 5-3 in the pre-quarterfinal matches of the 28th All-India Liberals Hockey Tournament played at the Ripudaman College ground here today.

The other teams to roll into the last eight were Indian Oversees Bank (IOB) who trounced Corps of Signals 4-1 and Vajra Corps, Jalandhar, who played a scrappy game but managed to subdue CRPF 2-1.

BSF and RCF dished out a dull and drab brand of hockey.

For BSF, who like Punjab Police were without some of their top players, circumspection was the key word. Combined moves were at a premium and the Jalandhar outfit played like a disjointed unit often going on the defensive. Strikers Christopher Ekka and M.Topno did come up with some good moves but they were thwarted in their designs by RCF custodian Preet Singh.

Seconds before half time BSF struck gold when Ekka fed M. Tirkey with a lovely pass on the left flank and the latter’s hard angular shot deflected off M. Topno’s stick to find the netting. The second half too was played at a slow pace with BSF more intend on clinging on to the one goal lead. However, towards the fag end of the match, RCF managed to equalize through C.Shekhar who scored off a goalmouth melee sending the contest into the tie breaker which was won by BSF with a 5-3 margin.

Punjab Police started on a brisk note and were three goals up in the first 20 minutes. This initial assault was enough to knock the fight out of the Amritsar XI team and the fourth goal scored by Punjab Police only added to their misery.

In other matches IOB played a fluent game to knock out a listless Corps of Signals by a wide 4-1 margin while Vajra Corps notched up an unimpressive 2-1 against CRPF to book a place in the quarter finals.
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Gymnastics meet inaugurated
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, December 27
The 44th Senior National Gymnastics Championship at the Indoor hall of the Shivalik Public School, Mohali, today. The five-day meet, has attracted more than 400 gymnasts and 100 officials from the 24 states and Union Territories.

Justice O.P. Verma, Governor of Punjab, who inaugurated the tournament, regretted that in Chandigarh there was no hall for gymnastics.

I Ibocha Singh of Chandigarh took the oath while Mr D.S. Bedi, Director-Principal of the host school proposed a vote of thanks. The meet is being organised by the Chandigarh Gymnastics Association (CGA) under the aegis of Gymnastics Federation of India.

According to Mr J.S. Kandhari, President of the CGA, each participant and official was given a sweater and kit bag on arrival. He said since they had been allotted the Sub-junior National Aerobics Championship for 2004, they had made a written plea to the UT Administration to allot land for the construction of a gymnastics hall. The CGA also asked the GFI to provide latest imported equipment .

The silver medallist of the Asian Gymnastics Championship, Mayank Srivastava of Uttar Pradesh is also in the fray. Others in contention are Vikas Pandey of UP and Tumpa Debnath of Railways.

Today the qualifying rounds of the men's artistic event were held. These included pommelled horse, Roman rings, horizontal bar, parallel bar, vaulting horse and floor exercises. Tomorrow morning, women's rythmic events will be held while artistic women's event will be held in the afternoon.

The teams taking part are Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Railways, Services, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttranchal, Pondicherry and the hosts Chandigarh.
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NFL: Dempo shock East Bengal

Marago, December 27
Despite down by one man in the second half, Dempo continued their unbeaten run as they rallied from an early two-goal deficit to hand out East Bengal a 3-2 defeat to remain on top of the table in the National Football League at Nehru stadium here today.

Dempo’s Stanley Colaco (2) and Sunday Seah (25) neturalised East Bengal Cristiano Junior (1st) and Baichung Bhutia’s early strike in the first half. Dempo’s Nacimento Silveira scored the winner in the 75th minute with a header off R.C. Prakash to seal East Bengal’s fate.

The Bengal giants, who had more of the exchanges and scoring opportunities were themselves to be blamed as Bhutia, and Junior Debjit Ghosh failed to cash on the chances that came their way.

Luck also did not favour them as Bhutia and Ghosh shot into the woodwork as they pressed hard to find the equaliser in the last quarter of the match. Keeper Abhijit Mondal also gave good performance under the bar to deny East Bengal victory.

Dempo are leading the table with 16 points from six matches while East Bengal who lost their second match are on eight points from as many matches.

Earlier, Dempo were reduced to 10 men in the 72nd minute when referee Walter Pereira gave marching orders to substitute defender Bolaji for a dangerous foul on Junior.

The referee showed yellow cards to Dempo’s Valerian Rebello, Clifford Miranda and East Bengal’s Mahesh Gawli, Cristiano Junior and Baichung Bhutia.

CHENNAI: Indian Bank’s poor run continued as they went down 0-2 to Mahindra United in the National Football League match here today.

This is the fifth successive home match that Indian Bank have lost. With the win, Mahindra added three points to their tally.

For a change, Indian Bank fought tooth and nail, giving the visitors, comprising six international players and two foreign recruits, a hard time.

Mahindra went into the lead five minutes before the break with star-striker Venkatesh putting them in the lead. Promising youngster, Abhishek Yadav then showed lot of opportunism in increasing the lead in the dying seconds.

At least on all three occasions, Venkatesh (20th, 21st and 25th) showed his class with superb burst of speed but missed the target narrowly. His second try was thwarted by goal keeper Edward Felix and the third following a long volley by Ateven Dias sailed slightly over the post.

In the 40th minute, Coven Lawrence worked his way to the left and his long volley was taken by Venkatesh who controlled the ball well before booting it in. The bankmen had a chance of scoring in the 58th but were thwarted by international Chaubey.

Following a Syed Sabir Pasha’s cross, Fazlur Rahman took a powerful right footer but Chaubey displayed excellent anticipation in moving to his right to palm it away.

Then on, the bankmen saw more of the ball but its defence could not stop Yadav, who latched on to a rebound of Ateven Dias’s shot, which came off Edward Felix. — PTI 
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Sangrur, Ludhiana in final
Our Sports Reporter

Sangrur, December 27
Holders Sangrur and Ludhiana entered the finals in the boys and girls sections, respectively, in the Punjab State Junior Volleyball Championship, which is in progress at Mastuana Sahib.

In the first boy semifinal Sangrur defeated Patiala 25-14, 25-19, 25-15 in three games. Sangrur dominated the proceedings throughout. Most of the players who belong to SAI Academy played like a unit. In the second semifinal Jalandhar defeated Amritsar 25-16, 25-16, 25-21 in a closely fought match which lasted about an hour.

Holders Ludhiana moved into the finals defeating Gurdaspur 25-20, 25-13 in the girls section. The first game was a closely fought affair with both the teams fighting for every point. But in the second game Ludhiana girls played like champions and outclassed Gurdaspur in all departments. The second semifinal between Sangrur and Amritsar was a thrilling affair with both the teams trying to dominate. 
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Rural soccer

CHANDIGARH: Panjaura and Mazara Dingrian will clash in the final of 23rd Punjab Rural Football Tournament at Nangal Khilarian, 20 km from Hoshiarpur, tomorrow. In the semifinals today, Panjaura defeated Chak Mallan 7-6 via tie breaker while Mazara Dingrian beat Kaindhowal 2-1 through the golden goal after being locked 1-1. — TNS
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Vineet Marwaha Vineet Marwaha is Mr Himachal
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, December 27
Vineet Marwaha of Una district is Mr Himachal. He got this title at the 10th HP State Bodybuilding Championship, which ended here today. Prem Chand Degra, former Mr Universe, was the chief guest on this occasion. Degra also gave away prizes to the winners.

Vineet Marwaha of Una, who was declared Mr Himachal during the 10th Annual HP State Body Bulding Championship at Hamirpur on Saturday. — Photo by Chander Shekhar Sharma


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 BRIEFLY

Ronaldo wants Olympic gold
Rio De Janeiro:
Real Madrid’s Brazilian superstar Ronaldo has admitted his new year will not be complete without having the chance to win the Olympic gold medal in Athens next summer.

Ronaldo, who was the hero for Brazil in last year’s World Cup finals in Asia where he scored two goals in the final over Germany, said he wants to make himself available for selection to Olympic team coach Ricardo Gomes. — AFP

George Best held
London:
George Best, the star Manchester United footballer of 30 years ago, was arrested south of London in the early hours of last morning and held for 10 hours, police said today.

Best, (57), was arrested in relation to an allegation of assault in Reigate, Surrey, south of London and released without charge at midday yesterday.

Police said no accusations were being pursued by “any party’’. — DPA

Dist skating
SANGRUR:
The following are the results of the 5th district skating championships which started here on Saturday. Results: Girls. Under-6: 1. Ramandeep Kaushik, 2. Kaminder Pal Kaur, 3. Sukhwant Kaur, Under-8 1. Navroop Kaur, 2. Sikander Pal Kaur, 3. Suganveer Kaur. Under-10: 1. Rubina Goyal, 2. Pooja Goyal. Under-12 1. Karanbir Kaur 2. Anupriya, 3. Rashwinder Kaur. Boys: Under-6: 1. Abhinash, 2. Ravnoor, 3. Harsh Kalia, Under-8: 1. Harshdeep Singh, 2. Manish Gupta, 3. Harinder Singh. — OSR
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