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Rahul Dravid unfazed by lively track
We are under pressure, says Inzamam
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Pak pacers need to recover from scars
Fans finally make it
to Lahore PCB cuts ticket prices
Notes from Pakistan
England complete
historic win
Indian shuttlers, shooters dominate Jugraj expects to be fit The penalty corner specialist Jugraj Singh, who received multiple fractures in a road accident in September last, is back on the ground and is hopeful of joining the Indian hockey squad for Olympics, scheduled to be held in August at Athens. “I have already joined practice on the group and hope that very soon I will be fit to re-join Indian hockey team well before the Olympics to be held at Athens in August,” Jugraj said. Stokes for more synthetic turfs Gaganjeet lifts golf title
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Rahul Dravid unfazed by lively track
Lahore, April 4 The pitch at the Gaddafi Stadium, venue for the second Test beginning here tomorrow, held no fear for the stylish right-handed batsman who said the wicket would be the same for both the teams and “both can take advantage by bowling in the right areas”. “Our effort will be to play good cricket. The pitch looks firm and will have some carry. If the conditions suit their fast bowlers, our bowlers can also capitalise,” Dravid told reporters here today. Just one win away from a first-ever Test series triumph on Pakistani soil, Dravid also asserted that history would not weigh on the minds of his players when they take the field tomorrow. “We are not tensed. We are not looking five days ahead and have not started making castles in the air. We will go session by session and if we stick to the basics and play good cricket, we can make history,” said a confident sounding Dravid, standing in for an unfit regular skipper Sourav Ganguly. Dravid said his team will look to make a good start and put pressure on the home team, trailing the three-match series 1-0. “It is very important to start the match well. A couple of good sessions on the first day will put the opposition under considerable pressure as they are trailing in the series. We have to carry on from where we left in Multan. “We just have to concentrate on playing good cricket. We are happy with the way we played in Multan. But this is a new game, a new start... I hope we can continue to play good cricket,” he said. Asked whether the team’s record of past three years of taking lead in the Test series and then conceding it was a worrying factor, Dravid said “it is not on our minds (but) we are all aware of it. We want to get better at it and we will take this opportunity to improve our record”. Dravid also cautioned his team-mates not to take Pakistan lightly and lower their guard in the crucial match. “We have to maintain the performance. We can only win if we play good cricket over a period of five days. They will come at us hard after losing in Multan”. While admitting that the team will miss the services of paceman Zaheer Khan, who has been ruled out because of a muscle strain, Dravid said the team had a number of good back-up bowlers. “Nehra is back in the squad. Agarkar is also a quality bowler and has been working hard in the nets. We did not play him in the last match because we thought he had not bowled enough hours after coming back after an injury, so we are not worried. “It is important to put the ball in the right areas. What is needed is to make the batsman play by bowling a good line and length consistently. If you make the batsman play, he is bound to make some mistake.” When reminded that he had not scored runs in the two Test matches that he captained, Dravid said: “I like to score runs, captain or not. But it will be nice to score runs as a captain”. Dravid said the playing eleven would be decided only after having another close look at the track tomorrow morning. The Indians have shortlisted 13 players for the match, leaving out off spinner Ramesh Powar and middle order batsman Mohammad Kaif for the outing. — PTI
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We are under pressure, says Inzamam Lahore, April 4 “We are under pressure. I don’t think we have any alternative but to go for a win,” he told reporters on the eve of the second cricket Test against India here. “There are a lot of expectations from the people, we have so far not performed well but now is the chance to fight and come back in the series,” the Pakistan skipper added. He minced no words while saying that his bowlers have not bowled as per their reputation or potential but hoped that “now that they will get a sporting wicket here (Gaddafi Stadium) they will have no complaints or excuses.” Inzamam also praised the Indians saying “they have played very well so far. It is going to be very difficult for us in the next two Tests.” Asked about the performance of the team at Multan, he said: “I have maintained and I repeat again that we did not perform well there, there are no excuses, the rivals played well and they won.” The skipper said he never criticised his bowlers. “All I said was that the present set of pace bowlers have some distance to travel before they become really world class bowlers like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram or Waqar
Younis. They (the present lot) have all the potential, they just need one or two good sessions and we will be back,” he said. Inzamam said he is not worried about his
captaincy. “At the moment, my thoughts are focussed for the next two Tests. What happens to my
captaincy does not bother me.” To a query as to how important it will be to win the toss on this wicket, the Pakistan skipper said. “Well the toss is important but it is not going to be all that important factor. The pitch is lively, fast and sporting and any team who performs well will win.” He replied in the affirmative when asked if his team has planned any specific strategy to contain Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. “Yes”, was his crisp answer. Inzamam said he hoped his players have learnt from the mistakes they committed in the Multan test. “We can’t afford to drop catches of batsman of that level (Sehwag and Tendulkar) because they won’t give another chance.” The Pakistan skipper said he and his bowlers always wanted fast wickets. “We asked for it here also and let us see what my bowlers can achieve,” he said. He said wicketkeeper Moin Khan has
suffered a groin injury and is not fit for the second Test. “Kamran Akmal has been included in his place. He is a very promising wicketkeeper. But we are keeping Moin Khan in the squad and hope he will recover for the third Test.” Inzamam stoutly defended fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar saying “I still maintain that he is a match-winning bowler. He is our main striker. Unfortunately, he is going through a lean patch but I am sure he will overcome that. One good session and you will see what Shoaib Akhtar is.”
— UNI |
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Lahore, April 4 Moin is suffering from a groin injury and would be replaced by Kamran Akmal, Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq told reporters here today. “Moin is not fit and Akmal will play in his place in the Test,” he said. The 22-year-old Akmal has played just four Tests and tomorrow’s match would be the first on home soil for the youngster. Moin, a former captain and veteran of 68 Tests and 205 ODIs, had not taken part in the nets yesterday and Akmal was called to keep wickets. — PTI
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Shoaib was unwilling to play Lahore Test Lahore, April 4 Team sources were quoted as saying in a local daily that Shoaib had told captain Inzamam-ul Haq and coach Javed Miandad that he was not keen to play the second Test as he was totally disappointed with his own form and had let the team down. The bowler, however, agreed to continue when he was advised that instead of feeling depressed, he should just concentrate on making amends in the second Test starting here tomorrow. “Shoaib offered to step down in the larger interest of the team saying he was not enjoying peak form at the moment against India,” said a report in ‘The News’. The “Rawalpindi Express” went wicket-less in the first Test defeat to India in Multan while conceding 119 runs from 32 overs, the first time he failed to take any wicket in a Test match at home.
— PTI |
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Pak pacers need to recover from scars All reports coming out of the Gaddafi Stadium testify that this time round, the pitch on which the Test will be played is green. The hosts had no choice but to prepare such a pitch, especially after they got it so terribly wrong in Multan. Now that the Pakistan pace bowlers have got a wicket that suits them, they will need to recover from the scars of Multan quickly if they want to square the series. Multan’s wickets normally help pacemen because if there is grass on the pitch, the moisture and temperatures ensure that it remains green for the better part of three days. Lahore on the other hand is experiencing an unusually hot April, so the grass that is on the wicket right now, will last for a maximum of a day-and-a-half. After that, the pitch will ease out considerably. From the start of the series I had always backed the fast bowling as Pakistan’s trump card. I expect them to do much better in Lahore than they did at Multan because they must have learnt from their mistakes. I had a word with Shoaib, Sami and Shabbir immediately after first Test. We basically discussed the areas in which the trio went wrong. I explained the dangers of giving Virender Sehwag too much room outside the off-stump, and we also discussed Shabbir’s tendency of running onto the wicket. The boys seemed as dejected as any of us and they all looked determined to do better in the next two Tests. If Pakistan have a problem right now, it’s in the batting department. They have only two in-form batsmen, Inzamam-ul Haq and Yassir Hamid. Youhana scored a century in Multan, but it remains to be seen whether he will be able to sustain that form in the rest of the series. The Indian bowlers will be confident after claiming 20 wickets on a dead wicket, and will surely Test the hosts. From India’s point of view, they will be trying to maintain the psychological advantage that they have gained right from their win in the fourth one-day international. There have been occasions in the recent past when they have frittered away a 1-0 lead in a Test series. It happened in Australian recently, so the Indians must be aware of the need to keep the intensity going. Champion teams never let go of the momentum, and this was demonstrated by the Australians in their tour of Sri Lanka. In each of the three Tests, the Lankans were in a winning position, but every time the Australians came from behind to win the game. This Test will prove whether the Indians have the capacity and stamina to hold on to a winning advantage. However, it is the Pakistan team that will have to do all the hard work from hereon. The real battle is going to be a psychological one, and the team management will have to work on the minds of the bowlers rather than on their skills in order to pep them up before the game. The Indians will know that even the greenest of wickets cannot be bowler-friendly for more than four sessions in the subcontinent. They have the batsmen to last out for that long, so while conditions look good for the hosts right now, it remains to be seen if they can translate advantageous conditions into a win.
— Gameplan |
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Fans finally make it
to Lahore Wagah, April 4 According to information available here, without clear instructions from the Ministry of External Affairs people with valid visas were not allowed to travel by road. Yesterday, a large number of fans had to cool their heels at Wagah. However, the MEA sent a communication here today to clear valid visa holders to travel by road. Meanwhile, due to late arrival of the instructions, only 112 cricket fans went to Lahore as a number of them had returned. |
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PCB cuts ticket prices LAHORE: Alarmed at the poor turn-out during the Multan Test, Pakistan Cricket Board has slashed the prices of tickets substantially for the second Test between India and Pakistan, starting here tomorrow. To attract fans, the prices of tickets for various enclosures were slashed by 50 per cent and they were put on sale from yesterday for public, according to Arif Rahim, Chief Coordination Security and Protocol of the PCB. Rahim said the reason for low turn-out during the first Test at Multan was high-priced tickets as well as the heat. “The decision has been taken by Chairman PCB, Shaharyar Khan to facilitate the public and to ensure a large gathering during the Test,” he was quoted as saying by ‘The News’. The chief coordinator also said top security would be maintained during the Test match. “No compromise will be made on security and spectators would go through the security procedure,” he said. India won the first Test by an innings and 52 runs to lead the three-match series 1-0.
— PTI
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Ganguly better KOLKATA: Team India skipper Sourav Ganguly has set a target of Wednesday for his return to Pakistan after making significant progress in the treatment of his injured lower back in the last three odd days. Ganguly told reporters here: ‘’I am setting a target of Wednesday for my return to Pakistan. My back is improving and I feel quietly confident.’’ In that case the regular skipper would lead the side as expected in the Rawail pindi Test against Pakistan commencing on April 13. Renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr Kalyan Mukherjee told UNI that ‘’Sourav is making progress in the treatment. We expect him to be 90 to 95 per cent fit by Wednesday.’’ ‘’When he joins the team the remaining five per cent can be fine tuned by teams physio Andrew Leipus. He is a great guy and knows his job. I am sure under his supervision Sourav will be match fit before the Test, But for now lets keep the fingers crossed,’’ he added.
— UNI
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Notes from Pakistan Tension or no tension, businessmen from India and Pakistan trading in carved wooden artifacts have maintained a stable partnership over the years.
A shop owner in the famous Anarkali market said articles like table coasters and other miniature showcase objects that he and others sell in Pakistan are actually made in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. “Items that have intricate wood carving are made in Saharanpur in your country,” said the shop owner rather proudly of the Indian artifacts. “We have always been in touch with each other, whatever the political relations.” “Our import never stops,” said the businessman. “Even when the governments had stopped import-export during the Kargil conflict, we kept getting the consignments. The only difference was that they were routed through Dubai.” *
Apartment living has still not caught up in Pakistan with people in cities and villages still preferring to live in independent homes. Lately, however, real estate developed have started constructing ‘towns’ and ‘safari villages’ in suburban Lahore and the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Bahria Town complexes just outside Lahore and Rawalpindi are perhaps one of most eye catching, plush suburban towns that are coming up in Pakistan. *
Lahore police is widely considered to be the most effective in Pakistan, but they are perhaps the most polite as well. When a vehicle jumps the traffic signal or commits some other traffic offence, the constable first greets the offender with “As-salaam-Alaikum”. Some even ask if the offender would like to have water or tea. The policeman then brings out the challan book to slap penalty for the rule violation. Being polite does not mean that these policemen let offenders go scot-free. A driver would not be allowed to leave the spot unless he pays the penalty for violating traffic rules. A resident of Lahore said these policemen do not even spare politicians if they are found breaching traffic rules.
— IANS
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England
complete historic win Bridgetown, April 4 Scoreboard West Indies (1st Innings): 224 England (1st Innings): 226 West Indies (2nd Innings): Gayle b Harmison 15 Ganga c Thorpe b
Lara c Vaughan
Sarwan c Giles
Chanderpaul lbw
Hinds c Flintoff
Jacobs c Butcher
Best c Trescothick
Collins run out 1 Collymore not out 6 Edwards c Hussain
Extras: (lb-5, nb-3) 8 Total:
(all out,42.1 overs) 94 FoW: 1-19, 2-34, 3-45, 4-45, 5-45, 6-48, 7-80, 8-81, 9-85. Bowling:
Hoggard 14-4-35-4, Harmison 15.1-5-34-3, Flintoff 13-4-20-2. England (2nd innings): Trescothick c Jacobs
Vaughan c Jacobs
Butcher not out 13 Hussain not out 0 Extras
(lb-3, w-1, nb-2) 6 Total (2 wkts, 20 overs) 93 FoW:
1-57, 2-91. Bowling: Edwards 6-0-32-0, Best 3-0-18-0, Collymore 7-2-24-2, Collins 4-0-16-0.
— AFP |
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Indian shuttlers, shooters dominate
Islamabad, April 4 Almost all the semifinal matches turned out to one-sided affairs with the Indians winning their matches in straight sets. While top seed Abhinn Shyam Gupta will now meet Chetan Anand in the men’s singles, women singles will see BR Meenakshi taking on Trupti Murgunde tomorrow. In the semifinals this morning, Abhinn beat UDRP Kumara of Sri Lanka 15-3, 15-7 and Chetan beat Wajid Ali Chowdhury of Pakistan 15-10, 15-4. In the women’s singles, Meenakshi beat Renu Chandrika of Sri Lanka 11-8, 11-2 while Trupti defeated Pamisha Dishanti, also from the island nation 11-0, 11-1. In the men’s doubles, India’s Rupesh Kumar-Marcos Bristow pair defeated the Duminda-Jayakody of Sri Lanka 15-10, 15-6. The other men’s doubles semifinal saw the Indian duo of Jaseel Ismail and J B S Bidyadhar beating Omar Zeeshan and Rizwan Rana of Pakistan 15-11, 15-2. In the women’s doubles semifinal, Gutta P Jawla and Shruti S Kurian of India registered a facile 15-3, 15-1 victory over Asima Butt and uzma Butt of Pakistan. In the other semifinal, Fatheema N Nazneen and Manjusha Kanwar drubbed the Lankan duo of Renu Chandrika and Pamisha Dishanti 15-3, 15-4. The only semi-final where the Indians were stretched to three sets was the mixed doubles where Marcos and Manjusha had to struggle a little more to baet Tushara Edirisinghe and Renu Chandrika 15-5, 15-17, 15-10. The other mixed doubles semi-final was an easy outing for India’s Jaseel P Ismail and Gutta P Jawla who defeated Mirza Ali Yar Beg and Saima Manzoor of Pakistan 15-4, 15-2.
2 gold in taekwondo India took their gold medal tally to three in taekwondo with Rupa Kumari Sgangdan and Surendra Bhandari winning the titles in the women fin weight and men fly weight categories, respectively. In the finals of the women fin weight, Rupa Kumari defeated Tshering Shangden of Bhutan. Prakriti from India and Chandrani Nilatnthi Kumari from Sri Lanka, both losing semifinalists, were awarded the bronze. In the title clash for the men fly weight, India’s Surendra Bhandari got the better of Faheem Fawad Butt of Pakistan. R Bhandra of Sri Lanka and Devendrayan Mahato were awarded the brozen in this cagegory.
Father-son duo shares podium It was a special moment for veteran Indian shooter Ashok Pandit when he shared the victory stand with his son Ronak. Meanwhile, the Indian shooters made a complete sweep at the event bagging all four gold medals. In the individual position for centre fire pistol, Olympian and star marksman Jaspal Rana scored a total of 582 to clinch the gold. Ashok Pandit finished second with 578 points while his son Ronak came third, tallying 574. Earlier, Ashok and Ronak joined Jaspal to win the team gold for India in the centre fire pistol with a tally of 1734 points. Pakistan came second with 1691 points while Sri Lanka took the bronze with 1643. In the women’s 50m sports rifle prone position the Indian trio of Rajkumari, Meena and Sindhu totalled 1751 points to win the gold. Pakistan came second with 17,38 points while Sri Lanka finished third with 1709.
— UNI |
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Jugraj expects to be fit for Athens Jalandhar, April 4 “I have already joined practice on the group and hope that very soon I will be fit to re-join Indian hockey team well before the Olympics to be held at Athens in August,” Jugraj, who was doing physical exercises under the guidance of Olympian Ramandeep Singh said. “I am able to go for jogging. I will soon go to Batra Hospital in Delhi for my medical fitness check-up where I was operated for the multiple fractures, before going to America for the final check-up,” he said adding that there was no pain while jogging. He thanked the Indian Hockey Federation and the government for extending help to him in recovering from the injury.
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Stokes for more synthetic turfs Chandigarh, April 4 Ms Stokes said stress was being laid on physical conditioning of the team. The players need to work hard to improve their speed, endurance and strength, she felt. She said the federation had approached the Sports Authority of India for a regular doctor with the team during camps. When asked if the women’s hockey team could get sponsors like the men’s team, she said the National Highways Authority of India had approached her for the sponsorship but nothing had been finalised yet. After the Test series, the team would participate in the Four-Nations Tournament to be held in Japan from May 13. Then the players will attend coaching camps for the 2006 Doha Asian Games, 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the World Cup. The camp will continue till the departure of the team for Australia. At the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, another camp for players who could not make to the final team was being held. It was to provide players with practice , she said.
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Gaganjeet lifts
golf title Jalandhar, April 4 Bhullar played a final round with a six under par in his kitty while birding fifth, eighth, 11th, 13th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes with only one bogey on the 4th hole. Playing scintillating golf, he had total score of 10 under par. Deepinder Kular of the DVGC, who dominated proceedings of the first day, lost control over the ball on several occasions. Suman Puri of PAP Jalandhar and Balwinder Singh Mattu followed each other closely and ended up with the same score of 138. Puri, who had six birdies in his favour, was adjudged second, while Mattu was unlucky on the 13th hole with a double bogey and secured a third position. In senior gross category, Baldev Raj Sharma was declared winner followed by Charanjit Singh Bawa and G.S. Jaspal. In the net category, Narinder Singh Walia won the first position while B.S. Bal and Capt J.S. Sahi secured second and third positions, respectively. |
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