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Chopra, Ajit back at nets with team
Sachin hungry for big scores, says Saqlain
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Time for luck to favour Pakistan, says Inzamam
Tepid response to 1st Test Tests will be thrilling: Rashid Notes from Pakistan
Lanka fight back against Aussies
Karthick’s unbeaten ton rescues TN India set to dominate SAF Games Four share lead in Indian Open golf
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Chopra, Ajit back at nets with team Multan, March 26 The trio that had a fantastic show against Australia in the recent series Down Under are keen to carry on their strong showing to return home with “good memories”. Kumble has recovered from his shoulder injury and so has Agarkar from his shin injury. Along with Delhi’s Akash Chopra they are very optimistic about the series. “The one-day series was a very well-contested one and the fact that India won will help us ahead of the Test matches. It is good to be back in the team on a winning note,” they said in unison. The three, along with other team members, had a strenuous workout at the Multan Stadium. All of them (except Sachin Tendulkar) will be playing their first Test on Pakistani soil thanks to the 14-year hiatus in regular cricketing relations between the two countries. “It is the same for all of us, a great opportunity to be playing Pakistan in Pakistan,” they said. Asked about his 10-wicket haul in an innings against Pakistan in February 1999 in Delhi, Kumble said, “It is good to take that into a match as a positive factor, something that gives you a bit of a confidence boost, especially since we have not played Pakistan much in Tests. “Pitches in the subcontinent are generally similar and the pitch here looks to be a good one. In any case, most pitches tend to help spinners both here and in India, so that is something to look forward to,” he added. After 500-man Shane Warne, the world’s most successful legspinner currently in operation with 382 wickets in 81 matches, Kumble said Warne’s feat showed that he “had the character of a true champion in coming back from a year-long layoff and with such success against Sri Lanka.” The Indian camp was happy with the news that skipper Sourav Ganguly had not suffered any major injury. His arrival this morning from Lahore was a great morale booster for the team. Coach John Wright supervised the nets which lasted nearly four hours. The Indians will have another
strenuous work out tomorrow morning. “We are keeping our fingers crossed regarding Sourav’s fitness. We may even wait till the morning of the Test before taking a final decision regarding the composition of the XI for the match,” manager Ratnakar Shetty told reporters. “There is no use of speculating, you will be told the factual position tomorrow evening or on the morning of the match,” he added.
— UNI |
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Ganguly uncertain for
first Test Multan, March 26 Ganguly, who had stayed back in Lahore yesterday to undergo medical tests for his suspect lower back injury sustained during the last one-dayer on Wednesday, joined his team-mates here but did not attend the practice session. Team Manager Ratnakar Shetty said an MRI scan had revealed no injury but a “clearer picture” would emerge only tomorrow. “The good news is that the scan has come clean. There is no injury to the skipper. It is only a muscular pain and physio Andrew Leipus will have two more sessions with him,” Shetty told PTI. Asked about the captain’s availability for the first Test, he said, “it is too early to say anything at the moment. We will have to wait and see his progress,” he said. In case Ganguly is ruled out, Rahul Dravid will captain the side and left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh is likely to take the skipper’s place in the team.
— PTI |
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Sachin hungry for big scores, says Saqlain
Lahore, March 26 Watching Tendulkar bat in the one-day series, Saqlain said he saw the same hunger in him to make runs as he had seen five years back. “When I bowled to him in 1999 he was so hungry for runs. He had so much commitment in his batting. I have seen that same hunger and commitment in this one-day series also. Nothing has changed about his batting,” said the bowler who was a part of the one-day squad but not picked for any of the five matches. He has, however, been retained for the three-Test series beginning in Multan on Sunday. Saqlain, who took 24 wickets in the three Tests played in 1999, said Tendulkar appeared unstoppable at the moment, a local daily quoted him as saying today. “Only God can tell what the future holds for him. But on face value when I see him bat now I get this feeling he is still very hungry for big scores and runs. There is clearly lot of intensity and pride in his own performances and that of his team,” he said. Tendulkar has scored a total of 69 hundreds in scoring over 13000 runs in one-day cricket and 9265 Test runs. Saqlain said even his hunger to play for Pakistan again had not diminished. “I have played just one Test and a single one-dayer since the last World Cup. And the way I see it what better platform is there to make a comeback to the team than in the coming Test series against India,” he said. The office said he was working on some variations in his bowling in expectation of being selected for the Tests against India. “I would love the challenge of bowling to a quality batting side and Tendulkar again. I know to keep them guessing I have to introduce variation in my bowling.” Saqlain has taken 207 Test and 288 one-day wickets since his debut in 1995. — PTI
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Kumble ready for ‘challenge’ Multan, March 26 “It is good to be in Pakistan, it is my first trip here and I will try to take the positive factors from the Australian series going into the Test matches,” the seasoned leg-spinner told reporters here today. Kumble, who joined his teammates yesterday along with Ajit Agarkar and Aakash Chopra, also said not having played competitive cricket for some time would not hamper his performance as experienced international bowlers were expected to make the necessary adjustments. The leggie was not considered for selection in the Indian one-day squad because of a shoulder sprain but was picked for the Tests, beginning here on Sunday, after he proved his fitness. But the wily spinner, who had taken a record 10 Test wickets in an innings against Pakistan in the 1999 series, did not believe that the lay-off would affect his bowling. “At this level, you have got to make the adjustments. I hope I will be able to make the adjustments. It was not a serious injury, only a shoulder sprain. So I hope I don’t take much time to settle down,” he said. “I will take some confidence from the Australian tour. I have not played much against Pakistan, so it is a big challenge and I am looking forward to it,” Kumble said. He also felt that the win in the one-day series had given the Indians an edge in the Test series. “The result of the one-day series will certainly help us. So it is nice to be back in the squad having this advantage”. Asked whether he had devised any new strategies to counter in-form Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq in the series, Kumble said in a lighter vein “hopefully the fast bowlers would have done the job before I come in to bowl”. The 33-year-old spinner said he had not worked on any special delivery during the break from the game and was just concentrating on bowling with his usual rhythm and variation. “Variation is very important because
technology has improved so much. Nowadays everyone gets to watch the matches on television and knows what the bowler does, so you have to keep inventing new things.” Asked whether he will miss bowling in tandem with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, Kumble said, “It is always good when Bhajji (Harbhajan) is around. I will miss him but injuries are part of the game.” On the pitch at the new Multan Cricket Stadium, he said “it looks a good Test track. There will be something for the fast bowlers initially and will help the spinners later.” Kumble said he had always dreamt of playing in Pakistan and wanted to make an impact in the series. “It’s an education for any cricketer. When somebody makes his debut, he aspires to play in all the countries. So to play here is great”.
— PTI |
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Time for luck to favour Pakistan, says Inzamam Multan, March 26 The in-form captain, who proved to be the anchor of the team in the one-day series, has hit two centuries in his last two matches here and hoped that his good run would continue in the first Test against India starting on Sunday. He, however, admitted that after losing the one-day series there will be some pressure because it will be his first Test here as captain. “I’m disappointed with the way we lost the one-day series 2-3 to India after leading 2-1,” Inzamam said. “But I believe Test cricket is the real thing and the real test for both teams starts only now,” he added. He asserted that the main strength of his side was the strong bowling line-up and added that he wanted a wicket that would offer his pacemen some movement. “We have to give the bowlers a real chance of bowling out the strong Indian batting line-up twice in the match,” he said. Pakistan will go into the Test with three fast bowlers and only one specialist spinner, either leg-break bowler Danish Kaneria or off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq depending on the state of the pitch. “Playing in your home town always means more pressure but it can also be a big motivating factor to turn in a special performance,” Inzamam said.
— UNI
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Tepid response to 1st Test
Multan, March 26 The city boasts of one of the finest 40,000-capacity cricket stadiums in Pakistan but the organisers say they have not been able to sell more than 3,000 tickets so far. It is very hot here and it is going to be difficult to sustain the interest of the people for five days after the one-day series, said Chaudhary Zafar Gadazi, a prominent local leader and cricket fan. The fact that India start favourites after having beaten Pakistan 3-2 in the one-day series has also dampened the local interest. ‘’Nobody likes to watch their own team losing,’’ is the general view here ‘’especially against India’’. ‘’The Pakistanis (players) have disappointed the general public and I don’t think the result will be better than the one-day series,’’ Liaqat, a college student said while standing at the stadium. The organisers admit that it is going to be tough to motivate people to come to the stadium despite the fact that India is going to play a Test in Pakistan after 14 years. The Indians, however, are getting ready for what they think is the historic opening Test, with a psychological advantage after clinching the one-day series 3-2, the first time in six attempts.
— UNI |
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Tests will be thrilling: Rashid
Multan, March 26 “Though we lost the one-dayers, our team fought well. We did commit mistakes that led to our defeat but I am confident that those mistakes will not be repeated in the Test series,” he added. Rashid admitted that India will start with an advantage after having won the one- dayers but “I think the Test series is going to be different and in case Sourav Ganguly does not play in the first Test that also will put pressure on the Indians.” “Ganguly has been a very attacking and good captain, the whole (Indian) team is backing him, so if he is not able to play the first Test (due to injury), they will miss him,” the Pakistan manager said. Rashid was optimistic that his pace bowlers will give a good account of themselves in the Tests . He said the final eleven for the Test will be announced after “only we have seen the track. It is still getting ready, tomorrow we will know what sort of a pitch it is going to be and then only we decide whether to include a spinner or take an extra seamer.” — UNI
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Notes from Pakistan
Former Pakistan cricket chief Arif Ali Khan Abbasi has lost none of his wit as was evident when he hugged off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq at Lahore airport and then greeted him with: “I have heard you have come up with the “teesra” (the third one).” No, Abbasi, who ruled the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) with an iron hand in the mid-1990s, was not talking about Saqlain’s kids; he was just pulling his leg over his special delivery “doosra” (the other one), the mystery ball that he developed a couple of years ago. The bearded Saqlain just smiled, before Abbasi came up with another one-liner. He said probably Javed Miandad was coaching Saqlain these days, implying that that was the reason why he did not play any one-dayer in the just-concluded five-match series against India. Abbasi, whose sister lives in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, still clearly commands respect from the players who represented Pakistan during his time as current wicketkeeper Moin Khan referred to him as “sir” after the two tightly hugged each other. Abbasi had played a key role in winning the bid to stage the 1996 World Cup in the subcontinent, the second time the tournament was held in India and Pakistan within nine years. * The home city of Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq greeted visitors with two pleasant surprises: a plate full of “welcome” rabri and free Internet use. As the cricketing entourage comprising the Indian and Pakistani teams and the accompanying media from all over the world reached the sixth Pakistani city for the first of the three Tests, Multan welcomed its guests in style. The owners of an Internet cafes and a telephone booth gave early indications of what was in store in the next seven days in this small city when they offered welcome sweets and golgappas. When this writer politely declined golgappas, the Internet cafe owner took “sweet revenge” by refusing to charge for the 20-minute use of the Internet. “First you refused the golgappas and now you want to pay also for Internet use. How is that possible?” said young Usman Malik, who was listening to a popular Hindi film song on his computer and cyber chatting simultaneously. A few minutes later, the telephone booth owner downstairs welcomed scribes with a plateful of rabri, a milk-based, flavoured sweet dish in both countries. * On entering the Allama Iqbal International Airport at Lahore on way to Multan on Thursday, Abdul Rauf, one of the security men on duty, shook hands and smiled. “Remember, the other day I told you that India would win the Samsung Cup,” he said with a friendly smile about the trophy India clinched for winning the one-day series 3-2 Wednesday. Rauf had “predicted” that India would win the five-match series immediately after the second one-dayer. — IANS
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Lanka fight back against Aussies
Colombo, March 26 Left-armer Chaminda Vaas then broke through, trapping Matthew Hayden (28) lbw, to end a 40-run opening stand with Justin Langer. Australia closed the day on 80 for three from 23.2 overs with a 74-run lead, Langer finished on 29 not out. Scoreboard Australia (Ist innings): 401 Sri Lanka (Ist innings): (overnight 239-2) Atapattu b Kasprowicz 118 Jayasuriya c Gillespie b Lehmann 71 Sangakkara c Gilchrist b Lehmann 22 Jayawardene c Gilchrist b Gillespie 29 Dilshan b Gillespie 0 Tillakaratne not out 74 Samaraweera c Gilchrist b Gillespie 41 Vaas b Warne 24 Zoysa st Gilchrist b Lehmann 3 Herath c Martyn b Warne 3 Muralitharan c Warne b Kasprowicz 8 Extras:
14 Total: (all out, 127.1 overs) 407 FoW:
1-134, 2-175, 3-240, 4-240, 5-256, 6-327, 7-378, 8-381, 9-390. Bowling:
Gillespie 23-4-96-3, Kasprowicz 22.1-5-58-2, Williams 19-5-48-0, Warne 36-7-115-2, Lehmann 19-2-50-3, Katich 8-0-29-0. Australia (2nd innings): Langer not out 29 Hayden lbw b Vaas 28 Ponting c Samaraweera
Gillespie c Jayawardene
Extras: (nb-2) 2 Total:
(3 wkts, 23.2 overs) 80 FoW: 1-40, 2-79, 3-80 Bowling: Vaas 9-2-22-1, Zoysa 5-0-24-0 (1-nb) , Muralitharan 4.2-0-21-1, Herath 3-0-5-1, Samaraweera 2-0-8-0.
— Reuters |
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Wellington, March 26 Brendon McCullum also chipped in with 55 while Chris Cairns made an unbeaten 60 after the home team were put in to bat by South Africa skipper Graeme Smith. Sinclair, whose previous Test appearance was in Sri Lanka last May, was called into the side as a late replacement when Craig McMillan went down with food poisoning. The Kiwi middle-order batsman, who made 214 on this ground against West Indies in December 1999, struck several glorious cover drives and two sixes. New Zealand (1st innings): Richardson c Boucher
b Kallis 14 Papps lbw b Ntini 7 Fleming c Pollock b Boje 30 Sinclair lbw b Boje 74 Styris b Boje 1 McCullum lbw b Pollock 55 Cairns not out 60 Extras
(lb-1 b-1 nb-5) 7 Total (for six wickets) 248 Fall of wickets:
1-23, 2-23, 3-90, 4-97, 5-163, 6-248. Bowling: Pollock 22.5-1-62-1, Ntini 21-6-63-1, Kallis 7-5-4-1, Nel 20-7-56-0, Boje 19-2-61-3.
— Reuters
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Karthick’s unbeaten ton rescues TN
Chennai, March 26 Electing to bat, the hosts, who were keen to erase the bitter memories of the final against the same opponents last year, were staring down the barrel at 123 for five, before the young wicket-keeper helped them to recover a bit, despite running out of partners at the other end. Dinesh, who made a century on his debut match against Railways in the semifinal at the same venue last week, came up with a pugnacious display against some tight bowling by Nilesh Kulkarni and skipper and leg spinner Sairaj Bahutule, who finished the day with three for 74. Dinesh (120 b, 156 m, 14x4, 1x6), who was dropped at 45, and number 11 M.R. Srinivas (two not out) added invaluable 31 runs in eight overs for the unbroken last wicket. Earlier, Tamil Nadu batsmen failed to capitalise on the good toss and fell to indiscrete shots. Test discard Sadagoppan Ramesh (one) left early as he nicked Munaf Patel into the hands of wicket keeper Vinayak Samant. However, the innings was put on right track by Suresh (38, 76 b, 5x4) and in-form S. Sriram. The duo added 69 runs for the second wicket in 22.4 overs before Nilesh struck twice in the space of four balls without conceding a run to push the hosts on the backfoot. Suresh, who was dropped at 24 by Wasim Jaffer at second slip of medium pacer Avishkar Salvi, chased a wide delivery from Nilesh and edged to the lone slip Jaffer, who held the first of his five catches. S. Badrinath lasted a mere three balls before he was gobbled up by Manoj Joglekar at forward short leg leaving Tamil Nadu tottering 74 for three. Tamil Nadu (1st innings): Suresh c Jaffer
Ramesh c Samant b Patel 1 Sriram c Jaffer b Kulkarni 51 Badrinath c Joglekar
Badani c Jaffer b Kulkarni 27 Sharath c Jaffer b Bahutule 29 Karthick (batting) 102 Sivaramakrishnan c Jaffer
Ramkumar c Mane
Ganapathy c Jogelkar
Srinivas (batting) 2 Extras: (b-4, lb-2, nb-1) 7 Total:
for nine in 90 overs 269. Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-74, 3-74, 4-122, 5-123, 6-207, 7-219, 8-227, 9-238. Bowling:
Munaf Patel 17-3-47-1, Avishkar Salvi 13-1-52-0, Bhavin Thakkur 3-0- 8-0, Nilesh Kulkarni 31-5-82-5, Sairaj Bahutule 26-4-74-3.
— UNI
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India set to dominate SAF Games New Delhi, March 26 The games were introduced to cement the sporting bonds of the countries of the region as well as to develop the sporting infrastructure. The inaugural games were held in Kathmandu in September 1984. Khajan Singh's splash in the pool had made the games memorable for India. The biennial games had faced the peril of folding up when Pakistan failed to hold the games at Islamabad in 1997. The strained political ties between India and Pakistan made the games infructuous as Pakistan saw no point in holding the games, sans India. India and Pakistan having mended their sporting fence with the resumption of the cricketing ties, the stage is set for the ninth edition of the games at Islamabad from March 29 to April 9, after a gap of almost seven years. Islamabad had hosted the games once before, the fourth edition in 1989, while Chennai hosted the games in 1995. The timing of the ninth edition of the games looks a little incongruous as the on-going cricket series between India and Pakistan is sure to eclipse the 10-day multi-discipline sporting spectacle. India have preferred to field only their second string players, around 400 in number, in many of the 14 disciplines, including athletics, as the top guns are focussing on the Olympic Games at Athens. The Indian contingent will include 250 sportspersons and 150 officials. National Rifle Association of India secretary-general Baljit Singh Sethi has been named the Chef-de-Mission. The Amateur Athletics Association of India has named 64 athletes, including 26 women, mostly juniors. World championship long jump bronze medallist Anju Bobby George, high jumper Bobby Alloysious, middle distance runners KM Beenamol and Sunita Rani, throwers Bahadur Singh, Shakti Singh, Anil Kumar, Neelam Jaswant Singh and heptathlon record holder JJ Shobha do not figure in the list. The SAF Games will, however, afford yet another platform for the young Punjab cop Amritpal Singh to better his long jump record. Amritpal kicked up dust at 8.8 metres to obliterate the 30-year-old national long jump record of TC Yohannan, during the three-day Federation Cup Athletic Meet at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Yohannan had leapt to 8.7 metres to pluck the gold in the Asian Games at Teheran in 1974. The record stood untouched for 26 years till Sanjay Kumar equalled it in 2000. It was left to Amritpal, an ASI from Sangrur, to better Yohannan’s effort and qualify for the Athens Olympic Games. In swimming, India will field their strongest squad, which includes Rehan Poncha, Akbar Ali Mir, Amar Muralidharan (who has been reinstated after serving a doping ban), Shivarajini, Richa Mishra and Reshma Millet. In weightlifting and shooting, some lead players have been kept away as they are gearing up for Athens. Yet, India pack enough firepower in shooting with veterans like Jaspal Rana, Ronak Pandit, Ashok Pandit, Samresh Jung, Anwer Sultan and Zoravar Singh making up the 36-member squad. India will field teams in athletics, badminton, squash, weightlifting, table tennis, shooting, swimming, kabaddi, volleyball, wrestling, boxing, rowing, takewondo and football (U-23). |
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Four share lead in Indian Open golf New Delhi, March 26 Keith Horne, who carded a 9-under 63 yesterday, had a round of 72 today, for a total of 135 in the $ 300,000 prize money championship. He was joined at the top by Pablo Del Olmo of Mexico, Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand and Mardan Mamat of Singapore. Though Keith Horne, who equalled the course record yesterday, maintained his good work, with three birdies, to stay afloat at the top, it was the superb play of Pablo Del Olmo which caught the attention of the connoisseurs. Pablo, who had a 3-under 69 to be placed at the 12th position, had a round of 6-under par 66 today to join the leader. Thaworn Wiratchant, who had trailed Keith Horne by three strokes to be placed second on the first day when he carded 6-under 66, had a round of 3-under 69 today while Mardan Mamat of Singapore, who was lying at the sixth position yesterday with a card of 4-under 68, returned 5-under 67 today. He hit six birdies. but could not derive maximum benefit from his good show as he had a bogey in the seventh. Overall, the day produced exciting golf but the Indian stars went down the order with some none-too-assuring rounds. Amritinder Singh of Chandigarh, who had a fine round of 4-under 68 to finish sixth, slipped to the 15th position today with a round of 72, while Mukesh Kumar, who had a 5-under 67 to finish third, slipped to the seventh slot, with a round of 71 today. Mukesh, who became the first player on the Indian golf tour to touch Rs 1.7 million in earnings in 2001-2002, and hit a record-equalling 9-under 63 round, had been coming closer to the title, but failed to convert the top ten finishes into victories. Mukesh shares the seventh position with two others — David Gleeson of Australia and Greg Hanrahan of the USA. |
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In video: Indian and Pakistan teams arrive in
Multan.
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