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New Zealand complete
historic 5-1 series win
Windies enter final
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Better batting got Powar Visually impaired
cricketers back from Pak Belgium hold listless India 1-1 India toy with Malaysia in opener Orissa, Chandigarh eves enter finals
Central Rly win
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New Zealand complete historic 5-1 series win Napier, March 2 Papps carried his bat through the New Zealand innings, for 201 minutes, hitting his 10th boundary from the last ball of the 46th over to take the home side past South Africa’s total of 186 for nine. New Zealand finished at 190 for five, capping its first series win over South Africa in Test or one-day versions of cricket with a dominating performance. New Zealand built its innings around Papps, who gave the chase a solid platform as the junior partner in a 58-run opening partnership with Fleming, who batted elegantly before being run out for 32. Papps’ remaining partnerships were moderate: five for the second wicket, 22 for the third, 30 for the fourth and 40 for the fifth but he hurried the winning runs along in a last, unbroken stand of 35 with Chris Harris. There were brief signs of weakness in the New Zealand middle-order, when Chris Cairns was bowled around his legs by Robin Peterson for 10 and when Scott Styris was caught behind for the same score. Styris was out in bizarre circumstances, charging down the wicket at Shaun Pollock and deflecting the ball off an inside edge to Mark Boucher behind the stumps. New Zealand realized it should not have faced such a demanding total. The South African innings was in ruins at 40-6 in the 14th over but New Zealand allowed the tourists, in two record partnerships, to rebuild. The unlikely hero for South Africa was tailender Makhaya Ntini, who made a career-best 42 not out and shared a record 10th-wicket partnership of 67 with Albie Morkel. He followed up with bowling figures of 1-44 from 10 overs. Ntini and Morkel’s unbroken stand followed a record seventh wicket partnership of 63 between Klusener and Ashwell Prince which began the South African recovery. Wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum took five catches as Daryl Tuffey, Michael Mason and Jacob Oram scythed through the South African top order, leaving the tourists’ 20-4, 29-5 and finally 40-6. Proteas skipper Graeme Smith made 9, Herschelle Gibbs 3, Jacques Kallis 0 and Shaun Pollock 87, all falling to catches behind the wicket. Scoreboard South Africa: Smith c McCullum b Tuffey 9 Gibbs c McCullum b Mason 3 Kallis c McCullum b Mason 0 Rudolph c Marshall b Tuffey 3 Prince c & b Oram 47 Boucher c Fleming b Tuffey 0 Pollock c McCullum b Oram 7 Klusener run out (Vettori) 35 Peterson c McCullum b Oram 5 Morkel not out 23 Ntini not out 42 Extras: (b-1 lb-3 w-7 nb-1) 12 Total: (for nine wickets, FoW: 1-8, 2-11, 3-15, 4-20, 5-29, 6-40, 7-103, 8-114, 9-119. Bowling: Tuffey 10-1-35-3, Mason 10-1-35-2, Oram 10-2-24-3, Cairns 7-0-33-0, Vettori 10-0-25-0, Harris 1-0-14-0, Styris 2-0-16-0. New Zealand: Papps not out 92 Fleming run out (Ntini) 32 Marshall b Morkel 3 Styris c Boucher b Pollock 10 Cairns b Peterson 10 Oram c Klusener b Ntini 6 Harris not out 22 Extras: (b-1 lb-5 w-4 nb-5) 15 Total: (for five wickets,
46 overs) 190 FoW: 1-58 2-63 3-85 4-115 5-155. Bowling: Pollock 7-0-37-1, Ntini 10-0-44-1, Klusener 7-2-27-0, Morkel 9-0-33-1, Kallis 4-0-15-0, Peterson 9-0-28-1.
— Reuters |
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Windies enter final
Dhaka, March 2 Riding on a sixth wicket partnership of 87 runs between captain Denish Ramdin (72) and Zamal Khan (60 not out), and Assad Fudadin’s 51, the West Indies were 249 for six, with Adam Harrison claiming three for 28. England were then bowled out for 155 runs in 39.1 overs. The West Indies will meet Pakistan in the final on Friday. Brief scores: West Indies 249-6 in 50 overs (Denesh Ramdin 72, Zamal Khan 60 not out, Assad Fudadin 51, Xavier Marshall 45, Adam Harrison 3-28). England 155 in
39.1 overs (Tim Bresnan 41, Alistair Cook 33, James Hildreth 27, Ravi
Rampaul 3-27, Lendl Simmons 2-18). — AFP |
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Kapil to help bowlers but not as coach New Delhi, March 62 “I am game if I am asked to help out boys and have never shied away from doing whatever I can for Indian cricket,” Kapil told PTI here today. “But to ascribe any official involvement in the camp is simply not true.” Reports from Kolkata yesterday said Kapil Dev had been appointed as a regular bowling coach of the Indian team ahead of the tour of Pakistan. It was reported he would be helping out the Indian boys in a three-day camp in Kolkata on March 7-9 prior to the team’s departure to Pakistan from New Delhi on March 10. “If you listen carefully to what Mr (Jagmohan) Dalmiya had to say on television, he used the word “input” to describe my association with the camp in Kolkata. At no stage he mentioned I am the bowling coach or consultant of the team,” said the former captain. India’s 1983 World Cup winning captain obviously does not want the word to gain ground that he has any official involvement with the BCCI. “There is nothing new which I would be doing in Kolkata. If you remember, I did the same thing in Bangalore when the team was having a preparatory camp ahead of the start of the season last year. I attended the camp and shared my cricketing experience with the boys,” said Kapil. “The same is true this time, nothing more or nothing less.” Kapil, the eternal optimist, is looking forward to the coming series like any other Indian fan and is hopeful Sourav Ganguly and his men would be as competitive as they were in Australia. “They were very competitive in Australia and did a very good job in Test series. If they keep their focus and fight hard, there is no reason why they can’t do well in Pakistan.” Kapil, who started his career in Pakistan in 1978-79, has visited the neighbouring country thrice.
— PTI |
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Better batting got Powar the nod Chandigarh, March 2 Ever since skipper Saurav Ganguly had mentioned the name of Kulamani Parida as a possible replacement for Harbhajan Singh recovering from an injury he sustained at the start of the recent Australian tour, the inclusion of the Railways off-spinner for the crucial series looked imminent. Parida, Sarandeep Singh and Sourasish Lahiri were the main contenders for the off-spinner’s berth in the squad. Sarandeep Singh, who claimed four wickets in the second innings for North Zone at Dharamsala paving the way for his team’s victory over West Zone and Lahiri’s five-wicket haul in East Zone’s victory over England A nearly spoiled Powar’s party. But the burly 25-year-old Mumbaikar pipped others for the berth on account of his obvious prowess with the willow as well as his superior fielding skills. Powar may not have the prodigious turn of Parida. “Doosra” generally credited to premier off-spinners like Saqlain Mushtaq and Harbhajan Singh may not be in his repertoire. He may not have the variety of any other seasoned craftsman of the trade either. But Powar is a fairly useful off-spinner and has been taking wickets regularly along with senior partner Sairaj Bahutule for Mumbai for a couple of years now. His four centuries and nine half centuries in first class with a decent average of a little less than 40 proves that he is no minnow with the bat. Powar, in fact, had a string of gritty performances with the bat at most crucial times which went a long way in Mumbai emerging Ranji Trophy champions. The stocky Powar is the type of batsman who is capable of giving the ball a whack hard enough to make it travel a long way. He scores at a brisk pace which could be very useful in one-day matches. Given that the Indian
tailenders have the notorious habit of caving in even without putting up a fight at the doorsteps of victory, Powar’s batting could be handy. His double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets means that he can well be a contender for the berth of an all rounder which has been lying vacant for a long time. “He (Powar) richly deserves a place in the national side. Any player who has been performing both with the bat and the ball consistently for the past two years in the first class matches deserves this honour,” said BCCI joint secretary Prof R S Shetty, while announcing his inclusion in the squad. With regular spinning duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh likely to be back in the squad after they are fully fit, Powar has a tough task at hand. Injuries to these two key spinners, in fact, is perhaps the best opportunity for Powar to serve notice of his capabilities as an all rounder and not just as an off-spinner. |
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Visually impaired
cricketers back from Pak Fatehgarh Sahib, March 2 On its way back to Delhi from Wagah border, the team halted at the Floating Restaurant, Sirhind. The Punjab Sports for Blind Association honoured the players. Mr Manvinder Singh, captain of the team, appreciated the hospitality, cooperation and security provided to the team. He said the Association Cricket for Blind (ACB), India, had paucity of funds and had to depend on sponsors, but not many parties came forward to support the visually impaired cricketers. He said the Pakistan Blind Association was affiliated with the PCA, whereas in India they had been demanding that their association should also be affiliated with the BCCI. |
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Belgium hold listless India 1-1 Madrid, March 2 India made heavy weather of what was expected to be an easy outing for them and failed to overcome the resurgent Belgians who made the Asian team pay dearly for some sloppy work in the middle. India frittered away a number of opportunities and missed as many as six penalty corners as Belgium held them to a 1-1 draw under lights. Len Aiyappa converted from sixth penalty corner to give India the lead in the 62nd minute before a 66th minute equaliser by Belgium dashed India’s hopes of bagging full points from the match played in biting cold conditions. Holland off to a flying start Olympic champions Holland recovered from a first-minute South African goal to register a 5-1 victory and begin their Olympic qualifying hockey tournament on a confident note at the Club de Campo here today. South Africa took a shocking 1-0 lead in the first minute when Emile Smith connected a free hit in the circle that beat Dutch goalkeeper Guus Vogels going the other way. For the next ten minutes or so, South Africa held sway riding on their opening goal. But Holland battled in to the match, got hold of the midfield and then equalised in the 21st minute when Taeke Taekema fired in from a penalty corner. At the break, both the teams were locked 1-1 and the second half promised a lot. Pakistan over-run Canada 4-2 Pakistan shrugged off a listless first-half performance to over-run Canada 4-2 in their opening Pool B match. Sohail Abbas made ample amends for his first-half penalty stroke miss and converted two of the five penalty corners in the 37th and 51st minutes to spearhead Pakistan’s victory charge. Kashif Jawad put home a Ghazanfar Ali pass in the 41st and then Shakeel Abbasi dribbled his way through for the fourth goal in the 58th. Enjoying a healthy lead, Pakistan turned complacent to allow Canada to score twice in the 68th and 69th minutes through Ken Pereira and Paul Wettlaufer, respectively. Spain trounce Japan 6-1 Hosts Spain left nothing to chance and hammered Japan 6-1 to begin their Pool A campain in style on the opening day. Striker Pol Amat starred in the Spanish success with a three-goal blitz (22nd, 34th, 67th) while Alex Fabregas (25th), Santiago Freixa (57th) and Xavier Ribas (65th) chipped in with one apiece. Ryuji Furusato (32nd) brought some cheer to the Japanse camp. Kiwis snatch 1-0 win A third-minute penalty corner goal by Phillip Burrows enabled New Zealand pull off a 1-0 win against Malaysia in their opening Pool B game. The Malaysians appeared unsettled after conceding the early goal and with their forwards wasting a couple of scoring chances, they were doomed to defeat. The Kiwis, overall, played decidedly better and the margin of victory did not accurately indicate their superiority and deservedly came away with three points. Poland upset Britain 2-1 Poland snatched a close but crucial 2-1 win against Great Britain in a Pool A match. After a score-less first-half, the Poles took the lead in the 45th minute when Tomasz Choczaj found the boards from a swift counter-attack. Britain, who had beaten Pakistan 3-2 in a practice game here last week, were expected to put in a better showing, but against a determined Poland, they just did not posses the firepower.
— PTI |
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India toy with Malaysia in opener New Delhi, March 2 The tone and tenor of the Test was set when the Indian boys, most of whom were members of the senior team for the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament at Kuala Lumpur recently, went all out with a no-holds-barred attack. However, the hosts got really cracking only after Malaysia forced a penalty corner in the third minute. Five minutes later, in a flashy counter attack, captain V S Vinay put India ahead (1-0). The lead was consolidated by Girish Pimpale in the 12th minute. Malaysia then pulled one back through Prabhakran P as India led 2-1 at half time. Seven minutes into the second half, Tushar Khandkar enhanced the lead while Girish Pimpale scored again, seven minutes before the final hooter, to complete the tally. Well begun is half done, and this handsome victory has given a big push to India’s preparation for the Junior Asia Cup Hockey Tournament to be held in Karachi (Pakistan). Indian coach Harender Singh was pleased with the outcome, as all the goals were field goals, and the Indian boys together put up a pretty picture. The hosts displayed speed, pleasing stick work, and fine dribbling skills. The Malaysian boys were forced to chase the shadows of the hosts as they were not given much leeway and ball possession. India put up a tight-knitted defence, and left little room for the visitors to manoeuvre. Malaysia’s chances were few and far between, and but for the two abortive penalty corners—one in
each half—and that stunning consolation goal by Prabhakaran, they had little to show off. India were well-served by skipper Vinay and Girish Pimpale in the midfield and Nitin Kumar, who often overlapped to have the Malaysian defence in tatters. Nitin played a major role in two of India’s goals, and Tushar Khandkar was outstanding on the flank, switching from left to right with fluid felicity. He was the livewire of the attack, and did the spadework for the opening goal. It was his cross from the left, which put the Malaysian defence in disarray. Though Hari Prasad failed to connect, the chance did not go waste as Vinay ran into the goal are from the middle, snatched the ball with the speed of an eagle, before smashing it into the goal. Four minutes later, Nitin Kumar worked his way up the right flank before sending a sharp cross into ‘dee’ from minus angle. The ball got deflected off a defender, and Girish Pimpale cashed in on the goal-mouth confusion to push the ball in (2-0). India made a few more close calls at the Malaysian goal, but in the process, they lowered their guard for a while, which proved costly as Prabhakaran dashed down the left, and executed an angular shot to breach the Indian citadel (1-2). India kept up their hostile tempo in the second half too, and widened the lead when Pimpale’s attempt was blocked, but Tushar Khandkar was at hand to deflect the ball home when it came off a defender. Pimpale himself did the scoring act a few minutes later when he latched onto a forward pass, and executed a straight drive to complete the tally (4-1). India also earned two penalty corners, one in each half, but failed to convert them. The second and third ‘Tests’ will also be played at the Shivaji Stadium here tomorrow and March 5 respectively while the fourth ‘Test’ will be played at Chandigarh on March 7. |
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Orissa, Chandigarh eves enter finals Chandigarh, March 2 As many as six finalists were decided in five events today. Hosts Chandigarh and Orissa women managed to enter the finals without exerting themselves too much. The standards in the women's events left much too be desired. As yesterday, most of the women's races were lop-sided, with winners romping home without having to stretch themselves. Orissa girls Pravasini Dwivedy and Mamata Jena entered the final in the doubles sculls while Mamata Jena teamed with Kabita Shyanti to enter the final in the coxless pairs. Pravasini Dwivedy also rowed into the final in the singles sculls. Chandigarh's Saroj Bala entered the finals in the women's singles sculls while the quartet of Gurpreet, Gurnoor, Sukhman and Saroj rowed into the final of the coxless fours after the trial as the event had only three participating teams. Gurnoor and Gurpreet also advanced in the doubles sculls as they left the West Bengal team way behind. Corps of Engineers quartet of Uday Bir Singh, Manjunathan, Gurinder Singh and Haridev Kadyan entered the final in the men's coxless fours event. Services team of Nb Sub Inderpal Singh, Hav Manoj Augustine, Hav Jagtar Singh and Spr Rajesh Kumar entered the semifinals of the same event. Punjab's Inderjeet Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Sukhjit Singh and Dharminder Singh finished a dismal third and failed to advance further. Punjab had better luck in the light men's doubles sculls with Narsultan Singh and Rajinder Singh finishing second to ensure a place in the semifinals while Haryana duo of Pardeep and Kamaljeet Singh were eliminated as they finished third and last. Sunil Kumar of Punjab also advanced in the singles sculls as Assam's Dipak Teron finished way behind. Nb Sub RK Pillai of Services and Naresh Kumar of Delhi also advanced in the same event. Spr Yousef R and SPR Shyju CM and Delhi's Gyanenerpal and Krishan Kumar entered the semifinal in the men's coxless pairs while Punjab's Chamkor Singh and Dharminder Singh were eliminated. |
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Doctors ready to test
rowers for doping
Chandigarh, March 2 After a spurt in positive dope tests recently, tests at all national championships and National Games has become a regular feature. Dr Ashok Ahuja, in charge sports medicine at NIS Patiala, will overlook the sampling. Selected rowers will be taken to the UT guest house where urine samples will be taken from them. The team will follow the guidelines set by the World Anti-doping Association(WADA), with whom they are constantly in touch. Two samples will be taken from the selected rowers, sealed in tamper-proof bags and sent to the Sports Authority of India lab in Delhi. The team intents to make the whole process as fool-proof as possible. "We had earlier conducted tests at the Senior National Cycling Championship at Ludhiana and also the Basketball National Championship." As many as 21 players tested positive at the National Games in Punjab while it increased to 22 at the National Games at Hyderabad. For the Afro-Asian Games, the SAI lab was given temporary accreditation. Chandigarh rower Lakshman Singh was among those who returned a positive test. The offending drug was methylamphetamine. The rowers will be tested for stimulants, steroids and peptide hormones as the International Olympic Committee has 168 banned drugs on it's list. City emerging as hub of rowing Chandigarh, March 2 “The four-lane course at the Sukhna Lake could be termed as one of the cleanest courses in the country,” said Mr
T.C. Gupta, president, Chandigarh Rowing Association. Mr Gupta, who is also the senior vice-president of the Rowing Federation of India, said for the ensuing senior nationals, the CRA had procured 16 rowing boats with four in each class. Mr Gupta said along with holding of the tournaments, the CRA had been conducting national camps and other activities assigned from time to time by the national federation. He said they were thankful to the UT Administration for their support in organising this meet. He said even the Army had provided them with motor boats in addition to rescue boats. A pontoon has been installed, which is a sort of bridge between the island and the Lake Club so as to allow the people to have access to the finishing point. On the doping tests, Mr Gupta said the medical team headed by Dr Ashok Ahuja from the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, had arrived and tomorrow, they would take samples of rowers who had reached the semi-final stage. He said another medical team was taking care of injuries and other health problems faced by the rowers. He said a subsidised rate of Rs 80 per head was being charged daily from the participants, including board and lodging, at the Sector 42 sports complex. On the annual elections of the RFI, due to be held on March 4, Mr Gupta said he expected the same team to be re-elected. He said the body headed by Brig KP Singh Deo was doing good work for the promotion of rowing in the country. On the plan to establish Chandigarh as a regional centre of excellence in rowing, he said the plan had been mooted two years ago and expressed hope that it would take off this year. He said the Senior Asian Rowing Championship, scheduled for 2005, had been allotted to India and either Chandigarh or Hyderabad would be the venue. The CRA would strive to host it in Chandigarh, he said.
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Central Rly win Kapurthala, March 2 Central Railway opened the account in the 25th minute through Arshad Ansari and at half time CR were leading by 1-0. After the break, CLW played an aggressive game and succeeded in equalising in the 50th minute. Afterwards CR fought back and scored three goals through Kasif Jamal in 70th minute and Adil Ansari who scored two consecutive goals in the 86th minute and 90th minutes and led the team to victory. In another league match, Northern Railway drew goalless with East Coast Railway. |
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