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Ganguly confident of rewriting history
Pacers’ fitness worries Kapil Pak batting is short on experience
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Cable operators threaten blackout of series Akram fined by Lahore court Dilshan’s ton puts Lanka on top
India beat Canada 6-4, qualify for Olympics
Mohun Bagan hold Mahindras Kali bags 7 wkts as PSEB win ER football champs Airlines in semis
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Ganguly confident of rewriting history
Kolkata, March 9 “We will change all that this time,” a confident Ganguly said here adding that it was a ‘good sign’ for Indian cricket that the team was going into the series as favourites. Ganguly, who was speaking at the end of the team’s three-day conditioning camp, said the camp had achieved its objectives. “The basic objective was to get the team together as the players had a four-week break after the Australian tour. We won’t get much time in Pakistan before the one-dayers. So, I think, that the camp has turned out pretty good for us,” he said. Wright went further to say that the Indians had the self-belief of winning abroad following overseas success in recent years. “We have won Tests overseas, reached the final of the ICC knock-out tournament and the World Cup. The side is starting to come together. There is a lot of self-belief in the team,” the New Zealander said. The 15-member Indian squad would leave for Pakistan from New Delhi tomorrow accompanied by a security team for its first full-fledged tour in 14 years during which it would play five one-dayers and three Tests. Ganguly said although the coming series was labelled a ‘goodwill tour’ there would be no let up in the intensity and aggressive approach on the field. To a query on whether Pakistan pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar could pose danger for the Indians, Ganguly pointed out that his side had played well against him, apparently referring to the World Cup match last year where the Indian batsmen derailed the Rawalpindi Express with their strokeplay. On the
contrary, Ganguly said, Akhtar would be under intense pressure as he would be leading a young Pakistan attack. “He is good. But earlier, he was under the shadow of greats like (Wasim) Akram and (Waqar) Younis. Now that he is the lead bowler, there will be a lot of pressure on him.” Asked if the absence of frontline spinners Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble had made the Indian attack weak compared to that of Pakistan, Ganguly shot back “it depends on how you gauge strengths and weaknesses.” “If you consider sheer pace as strength then we are weak. But if you take into account bowling to a line and length, containing batsmen and taking wickets, then that’s our strength,” he said. Emphasising that the tour provided a very good opportunity for bowlers like Murali Kartik and Ramesh Powar to prove themselves, Ganguly hoped that the duo would be able to come out with flying colours as Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan had done in the recent past. Wright also expressed satisfaction on the fitness front, particularly that of Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra who played in the Duleep Trophy tournament. “We cannot wait to go to Pakistan. It’s a great
opportunity for the boys to win there,” he said. Wright said the pressure would be on Pakistan, as they would be playing at home. “It’s an advantage for us playing away from home. We would like to see how they (Pakistan players) handle the pressure,” he said. Exuding confidence of performing well in the one-day series, Wright said “not for nothing have we been rated as the second best team in the world” and affirmed that a series of Defeats to Australia towards the end of the recent tour Down Under would have no bearing on the team. “There is no pressure on the boys. We have nothing to lose, but everything to gain,” he said. Ganguly said the tour posed new challenges for him since he would have to handle several young bowlers,
particularly the two spinners Murali Kartik and Ramesh Powar. Recalling that he had a very good batting record against Pakistan, the dashing southpaw said he hoped to maintain that on the coming tour and make ‘winning contributions for the side’.
— PTI |
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Kolkata, March 9 “I am concerned about their injuries. They should stay fit as that will be a big plus for them,” Kapil Dev told newspersons here. India’s pace spearhead Zaheer Khan missed out on two Tests and the entire tri-series in Australia due to a hamstring problem, while seamer Ashish Nehra has been known to be prone to injuries. “These players are in their twenties. They should take care of their food habits and lifestyle and not get carried away,” the former Indian captain said. “Twenty is a very dangerous age, at this age people feel they can conquer the world and climb the highest mountains. In doing so they overwork and hurt their fragile bodies.” Asked what could be in store for players in Pakistan, Kapil said “what I have tried to do is to make them aware of certain aspects. Nothing should surprise them, they are expected to play cricket there and they should play it with all their passion and might.” On the pressure involved in playing the high voltage series, the legendary all-rounder said the players should concentrate on the game and enjoy their cricket during the tour to overcome the problem. “They should go out and enjoy the game. Bowl with your chest out and everything else will be all right, there is no time for anything else if one focuses on cricket. They have to win and that is all that matters,” he said. Kapil also exhorted the players not to adopt a soft approach and curb their natural aggression during their Pakistan trip which is being hailed as a ‘goodwill tour’. “People who require to be good will be good, players need to win the series for themselves and the country. This is a matter of life and death for these boys,” he said. “It is a question of their career, they should give everything and win it for their country.” Asked about the advice that he had given to the leading bowlers as also the promising ones, Kapil said “I only want to pep them up and explain what I know. I am trying to build them up psychologically.” — PTI
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Pak batting is short on experience
If I had to pick a favourite for the one-day series between India and Pakistan, I would pick the former. Batsmen win one-day matches and India’s batting at this moment is far stronger than Pakistan’s. Looking at the Pakistan team chosen for the one-dayers, the weak link is clearly the batting. There are some players with potential like Imran Farhat and Yasir Hameed, but this line-up is clearly short on experience and this might be crucial because you need experience behind you to handle the pressure of an India-Pakistan series. I am also worried by the fact that there is one all-rounder too many in the squad. I’m a great believer in specialists, and have always felt that a team does not need more than one all-rounder. Moreover, my definition of an all-rounder is a player who can command a place in the side because of his calibre in one department, and these players are yet to do that. Among them is Shahid Afridi, who is a utility player sorely lacking in consistency. He has had a string of good scores in first-class cricket, but that is not much of a yardstick since domestic cricket in Pakistan is of a pretty low standard. Our trump card is certainly our bowling and the Shoaib-Sami-Shabbir trio makes for a pretty potent and well-rounded pace attack. There is also Abdul Razzaq to back the truly fast bowlers, so I think we have a high-calibre attack. My only worry is injury, since all the fast bowlers have an unhappy knack of breaking down mid-series, thanks largely to the workload that modern cricket calendars place on them. However, the selectors have got a couple of reserves as well to cover for injuries. If batting is Pakistan’s Achilles heel, bowling is the most under-prepared aspect of Indian cricket right now. Zaheer Khan has some experience behind him, but the rest of the attack is pretty raw and untried. To make matters worse for the Indians, Zaheer is coming back from injury, and even the best bowlers in the world take a couple of games to achieve full match fitness. India saw proof of this when they capitalised on Brett Lee’s lack of match practice during the Sydney Test. Lee went for 200 runs proving that there is just no substitute for time spent playing in the middle. As far as the batting goes, the Indians are pretty formidable, particularly after acquitting themselves so well during their tour to Australia. The Australians are the toughest team in world right now, and once you have played the best team, every other team seems easier to handle. The only preparation the Indian batsmen have to make is at the mental level. Pressure is going to be pretty intense right through the series, and their fans must be hoping that they don’t crumble at crucial times like they did during the one-day tri-series in Australia. While rivalry between the two sides is fierce, there are plenty of similarities between the two teams, particularly in the recent past. They can both play spectacular cricket when it is least expected, and then collapse when everybody expects them to do well. This is why I keep stressing that in an India-Pakistan series the team that handles pressure better, wins. When the Indians landed in Australia, the whole cricketing world was talking about a 4-0 win for the Australians. But the Indians batted superbly to outplay their hosts and almost won the Test series. However, just when everybody thought the Indians had it in them to challenge the world champions, they were steamrolled in the two finals just like they were a year ago in the World Cup finals. There were whispers of the side being fatigued by the amount of cricket they played in Australia, but to me, that’s a bit of a cop-out. The team knew that the games that mattered most came at the end of the series, and exhaustion is not a good enough excuse at this level. The Pakistanis had crumbled similarly in the World Cup final of 1999 and the tri-series finals in 2000, so they are no better at handling big games. Australia is one team in world cricket that really rises to the big occasion and both India and Pakistan should learn this art from the Australians.
— Gameplan |
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No birthday bash for Parthiv Kolkata, March 9 Patel, now busy in the conditioning camp at the Eden Gardens here in the lead up to the Pakistan tour, said he did not have the time to plan anything for his birthday. “We have a tough tour ahead. I am concentrating on my game now. My only target now is to put up a good performance for my team in Pakistan,” said Patel, the youngest wicketkeeper to play Test for India.
— PTI |
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Cable operators threaten blackout of series
New Delhi, March 9 At a press conference, various organisations of cable operators from all over the country today said the broadcaster had been insisting that it would give the signals only if the cable operator provided a greater connectivity base. Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) president Roop Sharma said the operators were prepared to pay a maximum of 5 to 10 per cent above the fixed rate only if the consumer agreed to bear this increase. Mrs Sharma, Mr Vicky Chaudhary of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, and Mr Rakesh Datta of the Cable Networks Association said the problem had been further confounded with the ‘clarification’ given by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India about the subscriber base. — UNI
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Akram fined by Lahore court ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan cricket captain Wasim Akram has been fined by a local court in Lahore after he failed to appear before it to defend charges of hurting religious sentiments by featuring in an advertisement of an Indian liquor company which also
manufactures sports goods. Civil court judge Musheer Rao gave ex-parte decision against Akram as he did not appear before the court despite being summoned through newspaper advertisement, local media quoted a court official as saying in Lahore. Akram, the legendary left-arm seamer who retired last year, was summoned by the court in September following a private petition charging that he hurt Muslim sentiments by posing in a liquor advertisement.
— PTI
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Dilshan’s ton puts Lanka on top
Galle, March 9 Thilan Samaraweera, batting with a runner because of a groin injury, was 21 not out at the close with Upul Chandana on 20. The 27-year-old Dilshan continued his fine return to international cricket with a fluent 104, including 12 fours and one straight six. He added 75 for the fourth wicket with Mahela Jayawardene (68) and 100 with his skipper Hashan Tillakaratne (33) for the fifth. Since returning to the national team against England in December after a two-and-a-half-year absence, Dilshan has scored 63, 100, 83 and 104. Warne, returning after his 12-month suspension, toiled away for figures of two for 103 from 32 overs, while seamer Michael Kasprowicz was the pick of the bowlers with two for 56 from 23 overs. In the morning, opener Marvan Atapattu scored 47, including seven boundaries, after Sri Lanka resumed on 81 for one. Kumar Sangakkara was tied down in the first half hour before driving a return catch to Kasprowicz for 22. Skipper Ricky Ponting rotated seam and spin throughout the morning with Kasprowicz and Jason Gillespie bowling tight spells. SCOREBOARD Australia (1st innings): 220 Sri Lanka (1st innings): Atapattu b Gillespie 47 Jayasuriya lbw b Warne 35 Sangakkara c and b 22
Jayawardene c Hayden b
Dilshan c Langer b
Tillakaratne lbw b Warne 33 Samaraweera not out 21 Chandana not out 20 Extras
(b-2) 2 Total (6 wkts, 115 352
Fall of wickets: 1-53, 2-92, 3-123, 4-198, 5-298, 6-323. Bowling:
Gillespie 21-5-52-1, Kasprowicz 23-3-56-2, Warne 32-5-103-2, Symonds 19-3-68-1, MacGill
18-3-62-0.
— Reuters |
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India beat Canada 6-4, qualify for Olympics
Madrid, March 9 The third success in five games carried India to the semifinals and also confirmed their qualification to the 2004 Athens Olympics.
A three-goal burst by Deepak Thakur (6th, 35th, 36th) featured India’s victory with Arjun Halappa (6th), Dilip Tirkey (19th) and Ignace Tirkey (69th) also figuring in the scorers’ list. The Canadians came up with a great fightback in the second half after being down 0-5. Sean Campbell (37th, 68th), Rob Short (55th, penalty stroke) and Paul Wettlaufer (59th) kept the Canadians in the game that the ndians nearly made a mess of with some disjointed second-half performance. The Indians finished their league engagements with 10 points and more
significantly, a goal difference of plus 4. When India pumped in four goals in the first-half and then went up 5-0 by the first minute of the second session, the game appeared to be heading towards a washout. But the Canadians displayed rare fighting qualities even as the Indians inexplicably turned wayward, gifting goal after goal. At 4-5, with two minutes left, the Canadians were very much in the match, but Ignace Tirkey came up with a delightful reverse flick to the net to close the match in India’s favour. India enjoyed a rollicking first-half when they did as they pleased. The Indian goal rarely came under threat and when it did, a confident goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan was on hand to Deny them. Pitted against a tottering Canadian defence, the Indian forwards thrived on wide open spaces which they put to good use, like Thakur did in the sixth minute. He snatched the ball from Ravinder Kahlon just inside the Canadian half and ran into the circle unchallenged before unleashing a reverse hit to the boards for the first goal. Two minutes lAter, another defensive lapse put Baljit Dhillon in possession and his attempt came off goalkeeper Jon MacKinnon, but Halappa rammed in the rebound for goal number two. Thereafter, the Indians had a few anxious moments. Chauhan reacted well to block a deflection by Michael Oliver and then Rob Short’s penalty corner drive came off the post. India then stepped up the pace to force their second penalty corner which Dilip Tirkey converted (3-0). Soon, the Canadians received two more penalty corners, the first of which was foiled by Ignace Tirkey who deflected a Rob Short attempt and then Chauhan blocked an indirect shot by the same Canadian forward. Almost at half-time, India went 4-0 up when a right-to-left transfer of the ball caught the Canadian defence on the wrong foot. Vikram Pillay sent a diagonal scoop from the right to Ignace Tirkey, who exchanged a 1-2 with Prabhjot Singh and centred for Thakur to deflect to the net. Immediately after re-start, Thakur scored his third goal of the match when he put home an Ignace Tirkey pass. At this juncture, the Canadians launched their fightback. Campbell cashed in on a pass from Oliver Michael that split the Indian defence for the first Canadian goal.
— PTI Belgium pip Malaysia Malaysian dreams of qualifying for the Athens Olympics crashed when Belgium beat them 2-1 in a pool B match today. Malaysia needed a draw to go through with five points but Belgium upstaged them winning 2-1 and going through with six points as the fourth team in pool B. Belgium will now play the classification and if they win they will play for 5th-6th places.— PTI
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Mohun Bagan hold
Mahindras Kolkata, March 9 Mohun Bagan, who have by now given up their chase for the NFL title as coach Alok Mukherjee himself admitted, did their bit snatching away two valuable points from Mahindra United and thereby consolidating their position as the sixth team in the NFL ladder. Mahindra United continued to remain at the third place.
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Kali bags 7 wkts as PSEB win Patiala, March 9 Earlier, the four-day meet was inaugurated by Mr Raman Bhalla, Administrative Member (AM), PSEB. Mr R.P Pandove, Director (Industrial Relations), who is also the Director of the tournament, welcomed the members of all the participating teams. Brief scores: AP Genco:
14 all out (Harikrishan Kali 7 for 9) PSEB: 15 for no loss (Sandeep Kohli 10 n.o) In another league match played at the Budha Dal cricket ground, Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) downed Tata Power Corporation by 124 runs. Scores : GEB: 257 for 7 in 25 over ( H.J Dabhi 78, D.B Pashupallu 48, A.R Odd 36, N.S Sanjaria 34, S.S Pai 2 for 29)
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ER football champs Kapurthala, March 9 Both the teams tried hard to score in the first half but failed. It was in the 78th minute that ER striker S. Biswas headed the ball to score the winning goal. Western Railway, Mumbai, secured the third position defeating South-East Central Railway, Bilaspur, 2-0.
— UNI |
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Airlines in semis Mumbai, March 9 In an hopelessly one-sided quarter-finals, Airlines quelled the lukewarm response of Central Railway, Mumbai, to cruise to a 4-1 win, while Army XI thrashed last year’s runners-up Indian Oil Corporation 5-0. Indian Airlines will face Punjab & Sind Bank in the semi-finals on Thursday.— UNI |
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