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Rain plays spoilsport as
Test ends in a draw
BCCI erred in fixing match dates, say spectators
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Nehra replaces Pathan
Kumble wants to win series for India
Gibbs, Boje must tour India: coach
Pak aim to cash in on Murali’s absence
Sikkim, Railways enter
quarterfinal league
Karthikeyan creates history
Mahesh-Bjorkman lose in final
Controversy mars mountain bike meet
Indian men, women triumph in chess
HP to build more stadia
Jalandhar, Delhi schools in final
Punjab junior boxing results
Chandigarh school
post big win Junior chess
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Rain plays spoilsport as
Test ends in a draw
Chennai, October 18 After four days of see-saw battle had left the match poised on a razor's edge, it turned out to be a damp squib as cyclonic rains left puddles of water on the Chepauk ground prompting the two umpires to call off play at 1300 hours. The inclement weather began last night and continued right through the day to wash out the entire fifth day's play, enabling Australia to maintain their 1-0 lead in the four-match series. The rains relented and thinned to a drizzle in the afternoon but after a discussion with the groundsmen, umpires David Shepherd and Rudi Koertzen decided to call off play. Needing 229 runs for a series-levelling win, India had ended the fourth day at 19 for no loss and on a positive note with Virender Sehwag striking Glenn McGrath for three fours. With another 210 runs needed and 10 wickets in hand, the game was wide open and the result could have gone either way. With a full day's play left and the hosts required to bat on a wearing pitch, Australia were looking to Shane Warne to spin them to a victory. As it turned out, the intense heat and humidity that had led to energy sapping conditions over the past two days, gave way to a low depression, resulting in the washout. Australia, seeking to record their first series win on Indian soil since 1969, had won the first Test by 217 runs in Bangalore. The two teams will have a week's break before the third Test gets underway in Nagpur on October 26. The M A Chidambaram Stadium had proved to be lucky for the Indians in the past and the home team had successfully chased a target of 155 against the Australians in the last home series in 2001. The match will hold happy memories for spin wizard Shane Warne who broke his rival Muttiah Muralitharan's world record for highest Test wickets, a feat which he achieved on the second day of play by dismissing Irfan Pathan. The Test will also be remembered for the gesture the two teams showed with some of the batsmen from either side 'walking' without waiting for the umpire's verdict. The Test would also hold happy memories for Virender Sehwag who marked his return to form by scoring 155 in the first innings while Australia's Damien Martyn also proved his class with a fighting 104 in the second innings to lead a remarkable Australian fightback. The bounce at the Chidambaram track has always helped Anil Kumble and the veteran spinner proved that he had not lost his bite by finishing with a match haul of 13 for 181, an effort which propelled him to the seventh position in the list of highest Test wicket-takers. Kumble, who now has a tally of 415 wickets, overtook Pakistan's legend Wasim Akram (414) on the fourth day yesterday. Scoreboard Australia (1st innings): 235 India (1st innings): 376 Australia (2nd inning): 369 India (2nd innings): Yuvraj not out 7 Sehwag not out 12 Total (for no loss in 3 overs) 19 Bowling:
McGrath 2-0-18-0, Gillespie 1-0-1-0. Man of the match: Anil Kumble
—PTI |
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BCCI erred in fixing match dates, say spectators
Chennai, October 18 Most of the spectators were angry with the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) over fixing the dates for the second Test. Raghavan, a spectator, said,“The official date for the North-East monsoon to reach here is October 20. Knowing this why did the BCCI officials fixed the dates so close?” A young student,
Samar, questioned the rationale behind fixing of the dates and alleged, “It’s all about money. The BCCI knew that the match might be cancelled due to rain but were not bothered. They have got money through the sale of tickets and from advertisements.” Many of them, while returning home, demanded that the BCCI return the money to season ticket holders for the final day’s fiasco. However, all of them felt the way Virender Sehwag opened his second innings, he could have scored another century and steered India to victory over the world champions. For small-time peddlers, who were making hay while the sun shone, it was more of frustration. Sikander, who sells cellphone covers on the pavements here, earned a good sum painting the Tricolour on the faces of spectators. “Just before the match, I bought orange, white and green poster colours and a pair of brushes. I charged Rs 10 for each face and was painting almost 50 faces a day. Today, I expected to paint at least 100. But I didn’t get a single customer because of the rain.” Like
Sikander, at least 20 more men were earning by painting faces outside the stadium here. All their hopes were dashed. The vendors who sold binoculars and sun glasses were an unhappy lot, too. Chandran, a binoculars seller, said he was selling at least 25 a day and hoped to sell the double today. “I sold dark glasses ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 400 as the weather was sunny all these days. This morning, I knew I knew it would be a bad day for me,” said
Surlaimani. Those who sold peanuts and cigarettes were also unhappy. |
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Nehra replaces Pathan
Chennai, October 18 Sachin Tendulkar, who could not play in the Bangalore and Chennai Tests because of a tennis elbow, has also been included in the 15-member squad and is expected to play in the third Test in Nagpur as his physician has given him the green signal. The team: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Aakash Chopra, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Parthiv Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble and Murali Kartik. |
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Kumble wants to win series for India
Chennai, October 18 Kumble got seven wickets for 48 in the first innings and six in the second innings for 133 runs for a match haul of 13 for 181. He felt India could have beaten the world champions had play not been washed out. He said, “It was a very satisfactory performance but we are a little disappointed because we had a great chance of winning this match.” Kumble said, “The first three days we had the edge. Yesterday, Damien Martyn and Jason Gillespie defied us but we enjoyed the advantage later in the evening. We had a great chance.” However, Australian skipper Adam Gilchrist did not seem to agree with the ace Indian spinner and felt that the rain robbed both teams of a chance to win the second Test. He felt India only had a slight edge coming into the final day. Talking to reporters after the match was abandoned, he said, “It was anyone’s game. Both teams had reasons to be optimistic and the Test was shaping up to be classic.” He said, “India may have been slightly in front but to bat on a worn- out pitch on the last day would have been increasingly difficult. Both teams were in the hunt for a win. It is very frustrating to finish this way.” Gilchrist admitted that the Aussies batted poorly in the first innings but came back into the game with a positive attitude and scored over 220 runs on the fourth day. He said, “We are extremely disappointed with our first innings batting. We were totally swept away on day one to the extent that we could have been totally crushed. In the past, we may have been very intimidated by that collapse but the team fought back hard and had three productive days.” |
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Gibbs, Boje must tour India: coach
Durban, October 18 "My feeling is that there is an issue and the issue should be faced. There's no point in hiding away from it," Jennings said here. "Those two players are very experienced and we got to utilise our best talent to our advantage," said the former Test player who was appointed in place of Eric Simons by the United Cricket Board on Friday. Gibbs and Boje have already answered questionnaires forwarded to them by Delhi Police regarding the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal that was unearthed during South Africa's tour of India in 2000. But the Delhi police have not ruled out calling up the two players for further questioning when they visit for a two-Test series starting on November 20. Jennings said India was a tough place to tour and there was the need not only for the best talent but also a new set of values and principles. "No doubt it's going to be a daunting task to play in India. There's going to be a huge challenge," he said. "It's not only a challenging place but also since our return to international cricket, our team is playing very badly at the moment. "Hopefully we can go to India and put up a fight that the public can be proud of." Jennings said he was concerned that players were losing their focus on the game and were being distracted by endorsements and other non-cricketing matters. "I think the values and principles of players need to be tested," he said. "There needs to be honesty in the side and to make sure that players representing the country have the right kind of values to the public and the United Cricket Board and to the fellow players. "Hopefully they have respect for the system and from that the team will become energised. "I think every now and then it's necessary to get back to the basics, to keep our feet on the ground and to realise that it's a tremendous privilege and honour to represent the country. "If you don't tackle those kind of issues then obviously the players believe that they can't be touched." Jennings said one of the players he would like to have in his side for India is former Test batsman Darryl Cullinan, who was dropped from the side about two years ago after a disagreement with the UCB. "There's no doubt that we have tossed out players of the experience of Darryl Cullinan too quickly. What we need is a blend of experience and youth. "A guy like Cullinan has really played well and I think he has all the experience as a batsman. We must know that he will be available for us."
—PTI |
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Pak aim to cash in on Murali’s absence
Faisalabad, October 18 ''He is a great spinner and he has played a big part in their successful Test record in Pakistan. I think they will feel his absence on our pitches,'' Inzamam said today, looking ahead to Wednesday's first Test. Pakistan have lost five of their last seven home Tests to Sri Lanka, with Muralitharan, recovering from a shoulder injury, the scourge with 49 wickets. ''You can't find a replacement for a bowler of his calibre in Tests and we must exploit this situation,'' Inzamam added. Muralitharan's bowling was a key factor in series wins in 1995/96 and 1999/2000 and in Sri Lanka winning the Asian Test championship final in March 2002. Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu said it was a chance to show they can win without Muralitharan. ''We have a point to prove that we are a good team even outside Sri Lanka. That is a challenge we are looking forward to and hopefully we will do that,'' he
said. — Reuters |
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Sikkim, Railways enter
quarterfinal league
New Delhi, October 18 Railways, who were rolling nicely till now, hit a roadblock against Chandigarh, and had to settle for a goal-less draw in their third and last Cluster III match at the Nehru Stadium. The result, however, did not alter Railways’ fate as they had already ensured their passage into the quarterfinal league after beating Uttaranchal and Bihar by 3-0 margins in their earlier cluster matches. Railways will join last year’s runners-up Kerala and the Cluster II toppers in the Group C quarterfinal league. Cluster II is wide open as hosts Delhi, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have recorded one win each. That Sikkim possess enough firepower even without Baichung Bhutia was evident once again when they outwitted Pondicherry, after trailing 0-2, at the Chhatrasal Stadium today. Though Bhutia was present on the bench, he did not take the field for the second successive match. But he is in the team, and is expected to play in the quarterfinal league. For Pondichery, Murugan’s hat-trick went waste though he had done a fine job in foxing the Sikkim defence to score the first goal in the 17th minute and the second goal in the 26th minute. But the Pondichery defenders failed to protect the lead as Sikkim reduced the margin through Sisil Karthik in the 37th minute, and then pulled off the equaliser three minutes before the interval when Tashi Rupdan found the mark (2-2). Two minutes into the second session, Kamal Bagdass put Sikkim in the lead (3-2) while Murugan completed his hat-trick to level the score (3-3) in the 71st minute. But Sikkim still possessed a lot of ammunition and pulled off the match-winner through Ong Tsering Lapcha in the 88th minute. However, Sikkim’s key players Tseten Bhutia and Kamal Bagdass were shown the yellow card for rough play, and will have to tread cautiously in the quarterfinal league. Tamil Nadu blanked Nagaland 4-0 in a Cluster VIII match at the Chhatrasal Stadium. K. Kulothungan scored a brace (20th and 43rd minutes) while M. Jagan and P. Muthu accounted for the other two goals in the 68th and 75th minutes, respectively. Nagaland custodian Imliyanger was shown the red card in the first half, and the team played with a player less, which helped Tamil Nadu score at will. Bihar defeated Uttaranchal 3-2 in an inconsequential Cluster III match as Railways have topped the cluster to move into the quarterfinal league. Bir Singh gave Uttaranchal the lead in the 17th minute and also got their second goal in the 76th minute. But in between, Bihar struck through BN Yadav, Rakesh Prasad and Mohun Kumar to ensure victory. Former champions Bengal also put themselves in line for a berth in the quarterfinal league when they crushed Mizoram 5-1 in their opening Cluster I match at the Nehru Stadium. Bengal only need to draw against Andhra Pradesh on October 20 to top the three-team cluster. Andhra, who beat Mizoram by 2-0 in their opening cluster match, will have to beat Bengal to move up. Bengal took some time to get into their scoring mood, and took the lead in the 36th minute when Rahim Nabi found the mark. Mehtab Hussain added the second goal in the 58th and then struck two quick blows in the 74th and 77th minutes to account for three goals. But Dipan Biswan chipped in with the third goal in the 68th minute to deny Mehtab three goals in a sequence. Nalrua Tsanga scored the consolation goal for Mizoram in the 87th minute. Mizoram captain Lmaqizuala was sent out with a red card for rough play. Punjab, who are also assured of a quarterfinal berth after scoring two big wins, take on Meghalaya tomorrow in their last Cluster V match. |
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Karthikeyan creates history
Barcelona, October 18 The TATA RC Motorsport driver won the first race after his record lap and pole position in yesterday’s qualifying race. Narain held to his pole position throughout the race with pressure from Frenchman Jean Christophe Ravier who finished second. Both the race leaders went on a flying lap from the start and kept the pack at bay. Narain won the first race clocking 25’26. 267 and Jean Christophe Ravier was just 0.454 seconds behind him at the chequered flag. The first race had 18 laps covering a distance of 72 kms. Later, starting second on the grid with already a victory under his belt, Narain went on to finish second behind Tiago Monteiro adding a lot of valuable points to move him up in the order of the championship. The race saw some exciting moments with Narain pushing the race leader all the way to the chequered flag. He finished the race clocking 37:44.098, just 5.56 seconds behind the race leader. The second race with 26 laps and a distance of 117 kms, is akin to the Formula 1 style with a compulsory pit stop between laps 5 and 18. A very happy Narain, while speaking to the media after his victory said, “It was a hard race, which I won under a lot of pressure to retain my pole throughout the race. I am very happy for my sponsors and all those who believed in me and my ability.” Race 1: 1 Narain Karthikeyan Ind 25’26.267; 2 Jean Christophe Ravier Fra 25’26.721; 3 Tiago Monteiro Por 25’42.679; 4 Oliver Pla Fra 25’55.608 ; 5 Santo Porteiro Spa 25’59.885 Race 2: 1 Tiago Monteiro Por 37:38.522; 2 Narain Karthikeyan Ind 37:44.098; ; 3 Felix Porteiro Spa 37:45.119; 4 Jean Christophe Ravier Fra 37:45.777; 5 Heikki Kovalainen Fin 37:52.259.
— UNI |
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Mahesh-Bjorkman lose in final
New Delhi, October 18 Inspired by the presence
of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, local favourite Davydenko
teamed up with Andreev to register a 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 win against the
Bhupathi-Bjorkman duo to clinch the title, according to information
received here on Monday. Nikolay, who beat Briton Greg Rusedski 3-6,
6-3, 7-5 to win the singles title as well, became the first player to
win both titles here. On centre court, Bhupathi and Bjorkman, however,
started well winning the first set in half an hour. The Russian pair
then staged a brilliant comeback and won the next two sets to complete
the victory in one hour and 41 minutes. — UNI |
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Controversy mars mountain bike meet
Patiala, October 18 In their complaint filed with the Anandpur Sahib police station, the organisers have alleged that the manager of the Chandigarh Cycling Association (CCA), an affiliate of the CFI, provoked some parents of competitors to hurl abuses at them and the federation secretary Mr J.S. Grewal when the events were being conducted in the morning. The manager, Mr Rakesh Mohindru, could be seen openly provoking parents to indulge in hooliganism which proved to be an impediment in the smooth success of the events on the concluding day today. Mr Rajeev Kakkar, father of a participant Rohan Kakkar who stood second in one lap point to point cross country time trial event (u-16), went to Mr Grewal and started to shower the choicest Punjabi expletives on him. He was being egged on by Mr Mohindru whose intention, it seemed, was to stop the day’s proceedings. An enraged Mr Grewal then asked the officials to submit a written complaint to the police. However, even as the police were dilly-dallying on whether to register a FIR on basis of the complaint, a compromise was reached. This unsavoury incident left a bad taste in the mouths of the spectators, organisers and the parents. Mr Grewal later said that he would seek the disaffiliation of the CCA from the CFI at the next general house meeting of the federation. If this was not enough yet another unsavoury incident occurred when a Chandigarh cyclist, who apparently fell while negotiating a sharp bend near the starting line, claimed that he was pulled down by a Punjab rider. Officials accompanying the Punjab contingent alleged that a Chandigarh rider Karan Claire had deliberately positioned himself on the course and was trying to trip Punjab cyclists. The organisers got hold of him and he was promptly handed over to the local police on the directions of the secretary of the CFI. However, the Chandigarh squad were quick to wash their hands off the incident by claiming that Karan Claire had already been disqualified by their manager, Mr Ravinder Singh. Meanwhile, Jagdeep Singh of Punjab gave a good performance to be placed first in the time trial cross country event for boys (u-16). He was given a tough fight by Chandigarh’s Rohan Kakkar and the champ was separated from the challenger once after he drove with tremendous conviction in the home stretch. Results: 1 lap time trial cross country (girls, u-16): Arshi (Haryana)-1, Mahita Mohan (Kerala)- 2, Radhika Bisht (Chandigarh)-3. (Boys): Jagdeep Singh (Punjab)-1, Rohan Kakkar (Chandigarh)-2, Rahul Anand (Chandigarh)-3. 4 lap mass start , girls, u-16: Mahantesh Kaparati (Karnataka)-1, Kamal Preet Sharma (Punjab)-2, Mahesh Mane (Maharashtra)-3. Team championship: men: Chandigarh; women: Punjab. |
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Indian men, women triumph in chess
Mallorca, October 18 The win took Indian men’s tally to nine points from three outings in the competition, which is being led by Ukraine who came up with yet another fine performance to trounce the Czech Republic 4-0. It turned out to be a good day for Kunte who scored a valuable point with black pieces for his team against International Master Emmanuel Senador. Playing the Berlin defence, the Indian was pleasantly surprised when his opponent went for the closed set-up and duly punished a rather sluggish attack later in the middle game. Seeing that complexities did not work much in his favour, Senador went for the queen and minor piece endgame with one pawn less but found Kunte’s technical handling perfect too. The game lasted 46 moves. Ganguly, who was highly successful in the previous edition of the Olympiad at Bled, Slovenia, scored over Grand Master-in-waiting Mark Paragua in a Sicilian Nazdorf game. Playing white, Ganguly, who had beaten Paragua in their last three meetings, too, calculated perfectly in a dangerous looking endgame and his efforts payed off well. With Viswanathan Anand opting out for the second time in three days, Sasikiran took charge of the top board and had a better position to boast off against veteran Eugene Torre from a Nimzo Indian defence game where the latter played black. Going for the kill a little too early, Sasikiran erred with a pawn advance in the centre and it was Torre in fact who took charge of the proceedings for a brief moment. However, resourceful play by Sasikiran ensured that complexities remained and Torre settled forced a draw after opting for an opposite colour Bishops Endgame. Harikrishna, like Kunte, went for the Berlin variation against Rogelio Antonio and also faced the closed set-up and the latter played solidly to maintain the balance right till the very end. The peace was signed in just 26 moves. Meanwhile, putting up yet another fine show, the Indian women’s team downed Bulgaria 2-1 for its third straight victory in the 36th Chess Olympiad here at Gran Casino. Silver medallist in the last two Olympiads, S. Vijayalakshmi, provided the winner for Indians after both Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika drew their games in the third round of the competition yesterday. Top seed and defending champions China crushed overnight joint leader Latvia to join Germany at the top of the tables on 8.5 points after the third round. Having conceded half a point in the first round itself, the Chinese women recorded their second 3-0 triumph in the event.
— PTI |
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HP to build more stadia
Shimla, October 18 The Chief Minister said that eight indoor stadiums, two sports hostels, three outdoor stadiums, one swimming pool, one shooting range and one ice skating rink were already under construction at a cost of Rs 14 crore. He said that every district would be provided with one stadium having facilities for indoor and outdoor games. He said that one sports academy would also be opened at Bilaspur at a cost of Rs 10 crore. Special emphasis was being laid on creation of infrastructure for promotion of sports at the village level to help rural youth to exhibit their talent. He said that 30 sports complexes had been constructed while work on 16 others was in progress in the state. The Chief Minister said the Rs 4.13 crore were being spent on promotion of sports activities in the state during current financial year. Mr Virbhadra Singh said the state government was providing three per cent reservation to the outstanding sportspersons in government jobs. |
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Jalandhar, Delhi schools in final
Jalandhar, October 18 Earlier, Lyallpur Khalsa School edged out Government Model Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar 4-2 while Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, New Delhi, defeated Luxmi Bai Senior Secondary School, Kurukshetra 6-4 to enter the finals. In the first semi-final, New Delhi boys, despite of best efforts, failed to convert any of five penalty corners awarded to their team in the first half. Though Kurukshetra team made some hostile attempts on rivals box to open their account, but to no avail. Both the teams remained goalless till the lemon break. In the second half, New Delhi lads struck in the 42nd minute, when Amit Bhargav after receiving a pass from his teammate penetrated through rivals defence to hit the box (1-0). But, New Delhi boys failed to maintain supremacy for a longer period as Kurukshetra team scored an equaliser through a field goal by Amrit Raj in the 50th minute (1-1). The match was later decided through liebreaker. While New Delhi’s Davendera Chand, Amrit Bhargav, Satish Lamba, Yudhvir and Mohit successfully hit the target, Kurukshetra’s Jagwant, Dalbir and Vikas converted the penalty strokes (6-4). In another semi-final, both the teams — Lyallpur Khalsa School, Jalandhar and Government Model Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar — remained goalless in the first half. Lyallpur boys could not convert any of penalty corners awarded to it in the 13th , 14th ,15th and the 16th minutes of the first half whereas Government School boys too failed to capitalise on penalty corner opportunities in the Ist, 8th and 23th minutes. In the second half of the match, both the teams made some hostile attempts to move the scoreboard, but they did not meet with success. The match was later decided through tiebreaker. Lyallpur Khalsa School won the match 4-2 on penalties. |
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Punjab junior boxing results
Sangrur, October 18 The following are the results (All Finals): 48 Kg. 1. Mohit Nanda (Jal),2 Nitin Mittal (Ldh) 51 Kg. 1. Surinder Singh (Mastuana), 2 Narinder (Ldh) 54 Kg. 1. Mewa Singh (Sang) 2 Ekbir Singh (Kpt) 57 Kg. 1. Inder Pal Singh (Fzr) 2 Jagwinder Singh (Pta) 62 Kg 1. Parminder Singh (Sang) 2 Harcharan Singh (Ldh) 69 Kg 1. Gurjaswinder Singh (Mastuana), 2 Satinder Singh (Sang) 75 Kg. 1. I. Bipin Bir Singh (Pta) 2 Jagroo P Singh (Asr) 81 Kg 1. Parminder Singh (Pta) 2 Manpreet Singh (Pta) 91 Kg. 1 Davinderjit Singh (Ldh) 2 Bharat Pal Singh (Pta) Above 91 Kg. 1. Amarjit Singh (Mastuana); 2. Manvinder Singh (Sang). |
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Chandigarh
school post big win New Delhi, October 18 In other matches, Government Boys School, Chhattisgarh, drew with Ashok Public School 0-0, Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai, drew with GV Raja Sports School, Thiruvanathapuram, 1-1 and Ganga School, Delhi, defeated Behala Parnasree Bidya Mandir, Kolkata, 3-0.
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Junior chess
New Delhi, October 18 Madanasri caused the biggest upset when she shocked the higher-ranked J. Mohanapriya of Tamil Nadu in the second board. Lakshmi Sahiti played her way to a comfortable victory on the top board over Pranali M. Patil of Maharashtra. In the boys section, players from Goa surprised established stars, occupying the top board after the halfway
stage.— OSR
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