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Depleted India keen to keep Zimbabwe down
Lee was destroyed by Indians EDITORIAL: Taming of the best Katich to replace Hayden for Sydney tie Gayle, Sarwan save day for Windies |
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Dream honeymoon
for SA’s Nel
East Zone beat North Rajinder will be back, says Gill
Punjab cops, BSF joint winners Bhiwani runners grab title
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Depleted India keen to keep Zimbabwe down Brisbane, January 19 The visitors are down to their last fit man but Zimbabwe do not hold any terror to them in tomorrow’s floodlit match at the Gabba. Though Tendulkar has been ruled out of the match due to an ankle injury, the Indians were unlikely to risk either Virender Sehwag or Ajit Agarkar against the Zimbabweans as all three are under physio Andrew Leipus’ attention and in various stages of mend. It leaves captain Saurav Ganguly with narrow choices and forces his hand on Sanjay Bangar or Parthiv Patel, the two players who figure last in his scheme of things in the present series. The Indians were in the second position on the table with 12 points from three outings and will be keen to garner the maximum six points to catch up with Australia who have 18 points from four matches. Zimbabwe were yet to open their account having lost all the three matches by huge margins. Bangar appears more withdrawn in his shell after the disaster at Melbourne in the series opener when he ran out his captain and contributed little with either bat or ball. Patel is a specialist wicketkeeper and a batsman who gave glimpses of flowering in the productive Test series but he takes a man out for Ganguly since Rahul Dravid juggles with the two jobs competently. Ganguly is also unlikely to disturb the bowling combination which stood up to the heat against Australia yesterday, which means left-arm spinner Murali Kartik and Amit Bhandari may not get a look-in. Irfan Pathan, Laxmipathy Balaji and Ashish Nehra gelled well against Australia yesterday and get their captain’s vote. Anil Kumble has made the spinner’s slot all for himself because of his riches in the Tests. Bangar and Patel add up to the 14 who are up for selection and Ganguly, despite his reluctance, will have to make his choice between them. There is another issue of openers to sort out and Ganguly admits he has not made up his mind on his partner for tomorrow’s match. “I sure will be opening, but we will have to wait and see who comes out as my partner,” Ganguly said. Laxman’s reluctance to open is well known and so is Dravid’s and the lot could fall on the young shoulders of Yuvraj Singh or Hemang Badani. The challenge presents both Yuvraj and Badani an opportunity to show that there is more to them than a few slogs in the lower order. Batting up the order, both could have a chance to build their innings rather than run helter-skelter or heave a few big hits to the outfield. Rohan Gavaskar might have got his first chance due to a late entry in the injury dossier, in this case Virender Sehwag, but by the evidence of yesterday, starts as an automatic choice against Zimbabwe. The young man with the famous surname showed a cool head in everything he was required to do, whether with the bat, ball or in the field. He plucked two catches, both eye-catching when he caught Andrew Symonds in his follow through and then when he held on to a good hit from Ian Harvey at the square-leg fence. His throwing and the common sense he displayed in the three balls he faced has prepared everyone to have a longer look at him. Zimbabwe is relying too heavily on Heath Streak for a decent batting and bowling performance, but the skipper doing all the job is unlikely to happen everytime. So vast is the gulf between the two teams in terms of batting might that even a deficient India is capable of either setting up a huge total or chasing one themselves under the lights.
— PTI |
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Coach leaves decision to Sachin Brisbane, January 19 “Tendulkar is being given ice treatment and other required attention by (physio) Andrew Leipus. We don’t expect him to be away from middle for long,” team manager Shivlal Yadav said today. “We don’t want to risk him and aggravate his injury so we would look to give him rest,” said Yadav. “The same is true with Virender Sehwag and Ajit Agarkar — the other two injured cricketers.” Tendulkar sprained his ankle during the day-night cricket tri-series game against Australia here yesterday but defied pain to score a valuable 86 runs. India went on to win the match by 19 runs. Even though the general consensus was Tendulkar should not play tomorrow’s match, coach John Wright got it probably right when he said the decision has to be left to the little genius himself. “If Tendulkar wants to play it will be difficult for anyone to stop him from doing so,” said Wright. Tendulkar started his tour disastrously but has not looked back since the last Test in Sydney at the start of this month, his successive scores reading 241 not out, 60 not out, 63, 44 and 86. In other words, he has scored over 500 runs in the last fortnight in both forms of international cricket. The year has started brilliantly for him but the injury has come at a wrong time, disappointing to none more than the little master himself. Meanwhile, the Indians did come out to practice at the Gabba this afternoon but most of the seniors were missing, except for captain Sourav Ganguly. The notable feature of the session was Wright’s insistence on Rohan Gavaskar bowling more of his left-arm spinners at the nets. Gavaskar junior was impressive in his debut game yesterday and his bowling was a welcome option for the fifth bowler’s slot.
— PTI |
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Lee was destroyed by Indians It was great to catch up with vibrant Indian players, who are growing in strength. The experience was completely different to what I had during my playing days. The pensive moods before the game and the happy and ecstatic atmosphere after the win give the dressing room various colours. For the first time (not as a player) I could see the players growing in the tense moments of the game. The concentration levels slowly build up on the eve of the match, as most of players prefer a quiet night, avoiding visitors and friends. At the breakfast table next morning, pleasantries are exchanged even as each players minds delves deep into his own game plan. Runs came in abundance as the Indian willows swung well enough to score the highest total at the Gabba. For the last couple of years Sachin Tendulkar has played the sheet anchor role while letting others like Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly dominate. The same formula was used as Sourav led the charge, while Sachin stayed and settled down. Although Sachin twisted an ankle, he has always showed a peculiar instinct to carry on the innings ignoring pain. This is one quality, which the youngsters in the team should emulate from the little master. Man-of-the-match Laxman’s desire for runs remains unabated as he powered to his third one-day century. The Hyderabadi’s impeccable placing pierced the Australian fielding from every angle. His successful partner, Rahul Dravid, came in to give the required momentum and put a healthy score on board. Brett Lee came into this game with a recent benediction by none other than the guru of fast bowling, Dennis Lillie, but it had no effect. Lee, scrambling for line and length, was destroyed by the Indian batsmen. The Australian innings started off with equal brutality. The man-mountain Mathew Hayden was all-powerful once again, disdainfully attacking the Indian bowlers. His hundred signalled danger for the tourists. Young Pathan bowled with ferocious resolve and stoic determination to claim the important wicket of Hayden and the dangerous looking Clarke. The turning points of the match were these two dismissals, which sealed the fate of the hosts. Balaji and Nehra chipped in well, especially the former’s performance must have done a world of difference to his confidence. Debutant Rohan Gavaskar had everything to smile about in this match. With his quickish left-arm spinners with low trajectory, Rohan came up with a great return catch of Symonds to induce the much-needed confidence at international level. The magnificent Gabba did bring back memories of my Test debut way back in 1991. In Australia, it is not only cricket that has graduated with time but also the cricket grounds. Most of the grounds have been upgraded into highly developed arenas. Since the ground in Brisbane is used for Australian football during winters and cricket during summers, it generates enormous amount of revenue which has been rightly sowed back into the development of overall sporting infrastructure. The corporate boxes, the media centres, the players dressing rooms and the seating arrangements for the 37,000 spectators along with the fantastic lights facilities all around the ground have made it one of the most modernised cricket field in the world. |
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Katich to replace Hayden for Sydney tie Sydney, January 19 Hayden, who scored a century against the Indians in yesterday’s clash at Brisbane, has been left out of Thursday’s match in order to help him recover from a series of injuries that were a result of wear and tear, Cricket Australia said in a statement here today. “The selectors believe that this short lay-off should help Matthew (Hayden) as he prepares for the remainder of the VB Series and all other cricket that lies ahead,” Trevor Hohns, Chairman of National Selection Panel, said. “It gives him the chance to manage a range of minor injuries that he has endured, including knee soreness which is a common problem amongst top-order batsmen,” Hohns added. Hayden would remain in Brisbane before rejoining the squad in the lead-up to Australia’s match against Zimbabwe in Adelaide on January 26. A delighted Katich said, “it was a nice surprise to get the call up and I am absolutely thrilled to get this opportunity.
— PTI |
Gayle, Sarwan save day for Windies Centurion, January 19 The West Indies, who followed on 303 runs behind, were 263 for three when bad light ended play 17 overs early on a day that also was blighted by rain in the morning. Scoreboard South Africa (1st innings):
604-6 dec West Indies (1st innings): 301 West Indies (2nd innings): Gayle not out 106 Ganga b Ntini 0 Sarwan not out 107 Lara lbw b Nel 6 Chanderpaul c Gibbs b Kallis 27 Extras:
(b-4 lb-4 w-7 nb-2) 17 Total: (3 wkts, 80 overs) 263 Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-32, 3-99 Bowling:
Pollock 19-8-31-0, Ntini 16-0-63-1, Nel 14-2-60-1, Kallis 16-4-49-1, Hall 0.2-0-4-0, Smith 8.4-1-24-0, Rudolph 6-0-24-0.
— Reuters |
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Dream honeymoon for SA’s Nel Centurion, January 19 Nel got married on Saturday evening an hour after the close of the second day in the fourth test with the West Indies. But major celebrations were put on ice as Nel returned to the cricket ground for the third day’s play yesterday. The dedication paid off when he had Lara caught behind for 34 in the first innings and then trapped him leg before for six when West Indies were forced to follow on. Nel, 26, said: “Getting married is a special feeling, a bit like getting your first five wickets in an innings. But getting Brian Lara out twice in a day is also a special feeling.’’ Nel has dismissed master batsman Lara five times in the West Indian’s eight innings in the series in which South Africa already hold an unbeatable 2-0 lead. “I’m really determined to get him out each time I bowl to him,’’ said Nel, now a firm fixture in the South African attack. The paceman queried West Indies’ commitment after the tourists struggled again in the face the home side’s daunting 604 for six declared. “Sometimes I don’t know if they show enough pride to play for their country,’’ said Nel, who took three for 64 from 18 overs in the first innings.
— Reuters |
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Henin-Hardenne, Roddick win
Melbourne, January 19 Facing 15-year-old wild card Olivia Lukaszewicz, Henin-Hardenne didn’t drop a game and spent only 45 minutes on court as temperatures steadily rose. “It can be a long two weeks, so ... it’s good not stay out there in the sun,” said Henin-Hardenne, winner of last year’s French and US Opens. Roddick beat Fernando Gonzalez 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) benefiting from a controversial line call in the second set. Roddick moved into the second round against Bohdan Ulihrach. Eleven seeded players lost — seven men and four women. No 6 Rainer Schuettler of Germany, last year’s runner-up, took the first two sets and went up break point at 5-5 in the third before losing to Swedish teen Robin Soderling 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. Schuettler has not won a match in three tournaments this month. Morocco’s Younes El Aynaoui, who withdrew from a warm-up tournament last week with an ankle injury, quit while trailing 4-1 in the first set against Spain’s Galo Blanco. Seventh-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain did not hit a ball, withdrawing after trying to practice on an ankle injured in the finals of a warmup tournament Saturday. His first-round opponent, American James Blake, got short notice he had to instead play Peru’s Ivan Miranda, a “lucky loser” ranked 126th. Blake won 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Todd Martin reinforced his title as tennis’ five-set man. The 33-year-old American beat Antony Dupuis of France 4-6, 4-6, 7-6, (7-5), 7-6, (7-4), 6-3, raising his career record in five-setters to 22-15. While Roddick won in straight sets, he was pushed by Gonzalez, who reached the fourth round here last year. Gonzalez had more winners, 33-16, but also led in unforced errors 42-28. Hard-serving Roddick led in aces 20-10. Serving at 5-6 in the second set, Gonzalez thought he hit a winner, but it was called out. TV replays appeared to show the ball hit the sideline. Roddick went on to break Gonzalez to take the set. Henin-Hardenne had 13 winners to only two for Lukaszewicz, an Australian playing in her first WTA event. Henin-Hardenne, who beat Amelie Mauresmo in Sydney on Saturday to collect her first title of 2004, saved four break points in the fourth game and two in the sixth game of the second set. She double-faulted on her first match point but won on her next when Lukaszewicz’s backhand went long. The women’s draw, hit by the pre-draw withdrawals of defending champion Serena Williams and three other former titlists, saw four seeds lose, including Russians Elena Dementieva, the seventh seed, and No. 10 Nadia Petrova. Jelena Jankovic upset Dementieva 6-1, 6-4 and Petrova lost to Hungary’s Aniko Kapros 6-3, 6-3. Big-serving American Laura Granville, who had lost in the first round of two warm-up tournaments, beat 31st-seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand 6-2, 6-3. Fifth-seeded Lindsay Davenport showed no sign of her strained muscle in beating Ruxandra Dragomir Ilie, Romania, 6-2, 6-3. Second-seeded Kim Clijsters of Belgium got an extra day for an ankle injury to heal. Frenchman Arnaud Clement was the first of the five men’s seeded players to exit. Clement, the 2001 runner-up who was seeded 27th, made 39 of his 61 unforced errors in the last three sets and fell 6-7 (6-8), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 to Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko. Thomas Enqvist of Sweden upset 29th-seeded Vincent Spadea of the USA 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6, (8-6). Nicolas Massu (12th), Mardy Fish (21st) and Tommy Robredo (20th) were among the seven seeded men to lose in the first round.
— AP |
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East Zone beat North Paradeep (Orissa), January 19 While North Zone managed to score 225 for seven in 50 overs, in reply East Zone made 227 for two in 38 overs. Earlier, North Zone won the toss and elected to bat. Mithun Manhas was the top scorer for the North Zone with 72 runs off 108 balls. He hit six boundaries followed by Ritinder Singh Sodhi’s 68. Scoreboard North Zone: A. Chopra c&b Sanyal 2, G. Gambhir c Banerjee b Sanyal 1, D. Mongia c Dasgupta b Shukla 31, M. Manhas c Dasgupta b Sanyal 72, V. Dahiya b Shukla 1, R. Sodhi run out 68, A. Unniyal b Sanyal 2, A. Ratra not out 11, S. Singh not out 22. Extras: 15. Total: (7 wkts, 50 overs) 225. FoW: 1/3, 2/25, 3/49, 4/53, 5/187, 6/192, 7/198. Bowling: Shib Shankar Pal 10-1-49-0, Sanjib Sanyal 10-0-48-4, Laxmi Ratan Shukla 5-0-15-2, Sourasish Lahiri 10-0-41-0, R Satish 2-0-11-0, Anirban Chatterjee 8-0-30-0, Kiran Pawar 5-0-28-0. East Zone: N. Haldipur c Manhas b Gill 26, M. Dhoni b Gill 40, D. Gandhi not out 75, K. Pawar not out 79. Extras:
(nb-4, w-3) 7. Total: (2 wkts in 38 overs) 227 FoW: 1/67, 2/67.
Bowling: Sanjay Gill 10-0-62-2, Amit Unniyal 5-0-48-0, Amit Mishra 8-0-39-0, Sarandeep Singh 10-0-50-0, Dinesh Mongia 5-0-28-0.
— PTI |
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Rajinder will be back, says Gill Ludhiana, January 19 Mr Gill informed that keeping in mind the upcoming Junior Asia Cup, slated to be held in April, the federation had sent a number of junior players and coach Harinder Singh to participate in the Azlan Shah Cup so that they could get exposure at the international level. The players will be picked up for the Olympic qualifying round tournament on coach Rajinder Singh’s recommendation since he accompanied the team to Kuala Lumpur as an observer. Rajinder would be the in charge during that meet, Mr Gill said. Mr Gill observed that learning from the Jugraj experience, the team had now two or three good players for each position to cover injured as well as out-of-form players.
Irrespective of their seniority and performance in the previous tournaments, only those players would be selected for the Olympics who exhibit the proficiency, he said. He praised full back Harpal Singh Namdhari and Sandeep Singh for their excellent performance and compared their game with that of Jugraj Singh. Replying to a question about Jugraj’s condition, Mr Gill expressed hope that the ace defender would be fit by the Athens Olympics as he was recovering fast. The Indian hockey is returning to its glory if the interest of the sponsors is any indication. After Sahara, the famous Tata group has also decided to become official sponsors for the Indian hockey team, Mr Gill disclosed. Three-match Test series with Holland scheduled to be held from
February 5 to 8 in Hyderabad will be sponsored by the Tata group. |
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Punjab cops, BSF joint winners Chandigarh, January 19 In the college category, Khalsa College, Mahilpur, and DAV College, Hoshiarpur, displayed good ball control. Sukhjit of DAV Hoshiarpur beat one defender and sent a pass to Surjit who made no mistake in shooting into the net in the 15th minute. After this setback, Khalsa College, Mahilpur, launched several attacks. Right back Avtar of Mahilpur initiated a move and sent a pass to Ranbir who pushed it to Amarjit but his shot was deflected off a defender resulting in a self goal by Mandip in the 27th minute. In the second half, DAV Hoshiarpur were in full control. Surjit of DAV College made a close call but a defender of Mahilpur saved the ball on the goal-line. Then the Mahilpur boys initiated a move and earned a corner. Amarjit took the flag kick and Manpreet headed the ball into the net to score the match winner in the 80th minute (2-1). In the club category final, BSF started the game on furious pace. BSF’s Harbinder Singh passed the ball to Boy Singh who sent a cross to Dharminder. The latter made no mistake in shooting the ball home. Punjab Police scored the equaliser in the 15th minute. In the second half the fight was even Punjab Police right half Sher Singh initiated a good move but Harjinder shot wide. Again Atwal of BSF aimed a shot from 30 yards but the goalkeeper punched the ball away. Then Atwal dodged two defenders and sent a pass to Dharminder who missed an easy chance. Eventually, both teams were declared joint winners . By the toss of the coin, Punjab Police earned the right to keep the trophy for the first six months. |
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Bhiwani runners grab title Chandigarh, January 19 Runners up trophy was claimed by Rohtak with 44 points while Haryana Police took the 3rd place with 64 points. In 6 km and 8 km women races title was bagged by Renu Joon of
Sonepat. She clocked 8 km in 38:06.01 to win gold and in 6 km, 23:19.05 time to clinch the title. Her younger sister Geeta and elder sister Rajesh (employee of HAP) finished 2nd and 3rd with the timings of 38:21.02 and 38:39.0, respectively. In men section, Sonu of Bhiwani emerged the winner in 8 km with the time of 29:22.23. Kanwaljeet of Kurukshetra followed the winner closely with 29:22.80 and Arvind Kumar Yadav of Panchkula finished 3rd with 30:00.0 time. Earlier, Mr Abhay Singh Chautala, president, Haryana Olympic Association, inaugurated the championship. Addressing to the participants, he said that he would request government to lay synthetic tracks at all district Headquarter to promote athletics in the state. The results:
Junior Boys U-20 (8 km): — 1 Sonu (29:22.33) Bhiwani, 2 Kanwaljeet (29:22.80) Kurukshetra, 3 Arvind Kumar Yadav (30:00.0) Panchkula, 4 Ramesh Kumar (30:19.0) Kurukshetra, 5 Pardeep (30:24.0) Sonipat, 6 Sunder Pahal (30:36.0) Sonipat. Senior men 12 km:
1 Sanjay (42:10.0) Ambala, 2 Ram Mehar (43:25.0) Jind, 3 Khub Ram (44:10.05) Sonipat, 4 Satish (44:16.00) Panipat, 5 Rajinder (44:22.00) Panchkula, 6 Davinder (44:29.00) Karnal. Junior men 4 km:
1 Sunil (12:39.98) Hisar, 2 Hawa Singh (13:05.26) Bhiwani, 3 Anil Kumar (13:16.58) Rohtak, 4 Sunil (13:17.70) Ambala, 5 Mukesh (13:26.56) Nidani, 6 Ranbir (14:10.27) Rohtak. Senior group of women 8 km:
1 Renu John (38:06.09) Sonipat, 2 Geeta (38:21.02) Sonipat, 3 Rajesh (39:39.0) Sonipat, 4 Sarla (38:45.0) Panchkula, 5 Munish Jhakhar (39:05.81) Jhajjar, 6 Yogita (30:17.28) Jhajjar. Junior group of women U-20 years (6 km):
1 Renu Joon (23:19.05) Sonipat, 2 Neelam Preet (23:44.21) Sirsa, 3 Suman (23:46.36) Sirsa, 4 Neha Joon (23:52.12) Sonipat, 5 Beant Kaur (24:38.72) Sirsa, 6 Preet Pal Kaur (24:39.56) Sirsa. Girls 4 km: 1 Balvinder Kaur (16:09.00) Ambala, 2 Sharda Chandel (16:41.00) Panchkula, 3 Tejinder Kaur (16:58.00) Panchkula, 4 Poonam Bhardwaj (17:09.00) Yamunanagar, 5 Anuradha (17:22.00) Ambala, 6 Neena (17:27.00) Ambala. |
National tennis tourney
begins Ropar, January 19 In the four-day tournament, 80 players in men’s and women’s sections are participating. Results:
Nishant Kumar of Chandigarh b Lakshay Mittal of Punjab (8-5), Abhairaj Singh of Chandigarh b Jaivardhan Gupta of Chandigarh (8-2), Vijay Bhardwaj of UP b Amrinder Mann of Jammu (8-7), Harpreet Singh of Punjab b Aneesh of Rajasthan (8-2), Abhjeet Sandhu of Chandigarh b Agand Chail of Chandigarh (8-1), Avesh Singh Kang of Chandigarh b Munish Bhumbak of Chandigarh (8-3), Anantvir Singh of Chandigarh b Archit of Haryana (8-2) and Ujjwal of Punjab b Arvinder Pal Singh of Chandigarh (8-5). |
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Sydney, January 19
Centurion, January 19
MELBOURNE:
Former Australian Test player and Victorian state
cricket coach David Hookes died in hospital on Monday after being
assaulted outside a Melbourne pub late on Sunday night. Hookes was revived
by ambulance paramedics after the assault outside a hotel in the Melbourne
bayside suburb of St Kilda. He had serious head injuries and never
regained consciousness. His death was announced by his brother, Terry
Cranagh. The police has charged a 22-year-old man who was believed to have
been working as a security guard at the hotel when the attack took place.
In April 2002, Hookes was named coach of the Victorian team. — AP
