 |
|
|
Ponting, Gilchrist blast Pak attack
Gilly a 'once-in-a-lifetime player,'
Kaneria wants to be the best leggie
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
S. Africa build 387-run lead
Sachin pulls out of
BCCI turns down Kiwi offer
Murali warns against unfair aid distribution
USA make winning start
in Hopman Cup
ONGC to pump in Rs 7 crore for NFL
Ramesh suffers shock defeat
PAP Zone win three gold
Two Punjab players for football camp
|
|
Ponting, Gilchrist blast Pak attack
Sydney, January 4 Ponting belted 207 and Gilchrist piled on 113 to help the world champions amass a first innings total of 568 in reply to Pakistan’s 304, a lead of 264. Wrist spinner Danish Kaneria took seven wickets. Pakistan then reduced the deficit to 197 by stumps, reaching 67 for one in their second innings, but lost the wicket of first innings century maker Salman Butt for 21, caught at slip by Shane Warne off leg-spinner Stuart MacGill. Australia, already 2-0 up in the series, started the third day at 340 for four with Ponting on 155 and Gilchrist 17 and finished the day eyeing the prospect of another lop-sided victory inside four days. Today’s first session was washed out by rain, but the Australians quickly made up for lost time, smashing 169 for the loss of just one wicket between lunch and tea and then adding another 59 in the final session. Gilchrist was particularly savage, pounding 14 fours and five sixes to post his 13th Test hundred in a spectacular display of hitting to pass 4,000 career runs. He reached his half century off 62 balls in 73 minutes and was even more ruthless with his second 50, which took just 56 minutes and 47 balls. He spanked two sixes in a row off debutant paceman Mohammad Asif to go from 82 to 94 and then dispatched Shahid Afridi over the fence twice in four balls to go past three figures. His natural instinct ultimately cost him his wicket, dismissed with the total on 471 when he danced down the pitch to Pakistan’s fiery young spinner Kaneria, only to be beaten by the turn and stumped by Kamran Akmal. Ponting had been content to let Gilchrist take centrestage during their fifth-wicket partnership of 153 in just 139 minutes, but resumed the lead role once his deputy departed, driving Naved to the boundary rope to reach his double-century after tea off 311 deliveries in 461 minutes. Ponting’s double hundred was his fourth in Test cricket, joining an exclusive club of 13 players worldwide to achieve the feat. The only other Australians to have made at least four double centuries were Don Bradman and Greg Chappell. His innings, which spanned 491 minutes and 332 balls and featured 30 fours in all, ended when he dragged a ball from Naved back on to his stumps, triggering a late collapse that saw the last five wickets fall for 39. Naved also trapped Jason Gillespie lbw for a duck to collect his third wicket, but Kaneria mopped up the rest to finish with seven for 188, passing 100 wickets in his 23rd Test. Scoreboard
Pakistan (first innings): 304 Australia (first innings): Langer b Naved 13 Hayden b Kaneria 26 Ponting b Naved 207 Martyn st Akmal b Kaneria 67 Clarke st Akmal b Kaneria 35 Gilchrist st Akmal b Kaneria 113 Watson c Asif b Kaneria 31 Warne c Younis b Kaneria 16 Gillespie lbw b Naved 0 McGrath c Youhana b Kaneria 9 MacGill not out 9 Extras:
(b-6 lb-13 w-3 nb-20) 42 Total: (all out, 133.3 overs) 568 Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-83, 3-257, 4-318, 5-471, 6-529, 7-535, 8-537, 9-556, 10-568. Bowling: Shoaib 15-2-69-0, Naved 26-3-107-3, Asif 16-3-72-0, Kaneria 49.3-7-188-7, Afridi 27-3-113-0. Pakistan (second innings): Butt c Warne b MacGill 21 Hameed not out 40 Younis not out 5 Extras:
(nb-1) 1 Total: (1 wkt, 14.4 overs) 67 Fall of wicket: 1-21 Bowling:
McGrath 4-0-25-0, Gillespie 4-1-16-0, Warne 3.4-0-12-0, MacGill 3-0-14-1.
— Reuters |
|
Gilly a 'once-in-a-lifetime player,' praises Ponting
Sydney, January 4 The 33-year-old cricket free spirit lashed an exhilarating 113 off 120 balls with 14 boundaries and five sixes to condemn Pakistan to another heavy defeat, most likely on the fourth day. Gilchrist almost brought up his memorable century with three consecutive booming sixes off paceman Mohammad Asif, only for his last hit to bounce just inside the boundary ropes. He perished going for another extravagant shot, stumped off leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, ending a 153-run fifth-wicket stand with Ponting of which he contributed the lion's share of 113. "You've just got to let him (Gilchrist) go, sit back, enjoy it and let him keep going," Ponting said. "The way he struck the ball today and the way he changed the course of the game was absolutely outstanding... he's a once-in-a-lifetime sort of player, 13 centuries in Tests is unbelievable for a wicketkeeper." Gilchrist has scored centuries against all the other nine Test-playing nations, with the exception of Bangladesh. The sweet-hitting left-hander has amassed 4,109 runs at a Test average of 52.67. But Gilchrist, the consummate team man, played down his pulsating knock, which accelerated the game and set up Australia's fourth-day push for victory through leg-spinners Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill on a spin-friendly Sydney Cricket Ground pitch. "It's nice to get to the hundred today after having several innings of 40 or 50 because you feel in good touch and you'd like to go on, but it's all in relation to the game," Gilchrist said. "As far as hundreds are concerned it's not always necessarily the barometer by which you judge yourself, it's often what the team is requiring at that time." Gilchrist said he felt scratchy early in his innings but found a batting rhythm after a misjudged hook shot off pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar. "I hit some nice ones towards the end, I got lucky with a couple of edges early on either side of the slips cordon, but from that hook shot that I attempted off Shoaib where I got lucky again I think that switched me on and got me focused." He said he was not drawn by the urging crowd to go for the three sixes which almost brought up his 100.
— AFP |
|
Kaneria wants to be the best leggie
Sydney, January 4 While many young spinners have been overawed by Warne's achievements, Kaneria says his records have become a source of inspiration. The 23-year-old has impressed the Australians with his performances in the three-Test series, capped off by his seven wickets for 188 runs in the final Test in Sydney today. ''I am still learning and playing against this side has taught me a lot,'' Kaneria, Pakistan's leading wicket-taker in the series, said. ''I have gained more confidence in myself and I will become a better bowler. I want to make my name as the world's greatest leg spinner, that's my aim.'' Australia vice-captain Adam Gilchrist said Kaneria had been outstanding. ''He's got a lot wickets and he's very effective. But more importantly he's got a lot of courage, he tempts guys and takes them on.'' Kaneria said he was taught at a young age never to be scared when bowling, no matter the circumstances. ''My coach told me you should not be frightened. If you are not frightened of your own bowling being hit all over the ground, then you will be normal,'' he said. Australians admire Kaneria's wholehearted approach to the game even if he sometimes strays from the rule book. He was fined and reprimanded after swearing at Australian batsmen Michael Clarke when he dismissed him on Monday but says it is all just part of the game. ''I'm very sorry for that,'' he said. ''But you see, when the bowler is trying hard and doing his best ... me and Clarke were biting and we were saying things to each other. ''He said something to me and hit me for six and then I got him out and I was excited. In excitement, you never know what you're saying or not saying. I didn't mean to say it, because he's a very good guy and a friend. I didn't mean it but it was just the excitement in my mind.''
— Reuters |
Cape Town, January 4 South Africa were 109 for three in their second innings at tea on the third day, a huge lead of 387, with Jacques Kallis 34 not out. England had crashed to 163 all out in the morning session in reply to South Africa's first innings of 441 before Graeme Smith opted against enforcing the follow-on. Debutant Langeveldt, who bowled with his fractured left hand in a compression bandage, took five for 46 from 16 overs. Langeveldt sustained his injury while batting yesterday and is expected to miss the remaining two matches in the series. Ntini ended with four for 50 from 19 overs. England had resumed on 95 for four, and lost their fifth wicket in the seventh over of the day when nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard, who scored one, edged Ntini to Smith at first slip. In his next over all rounder Andrew Flintoff lazily cut straight to Herschelle Gibbs at backward point to go for 12. England were soon 128 for seven when wicketkeeper Geraint Jones steered a ball from Langeveldt to Smith at first slip. Scoreboard
SA (1st innings) 441 England
(1st innings): Trescothick c Gibbs b Ntini 28 Strauss b Ntini 45 Key c De Villiers b Pollock 0 Vaughan c De Villiers Thorpe c Rudolph Hoggard c Smith b Ntini 1 Flintoff c Gibbs b Ntini 12 Jones c Smith b Langeveldt 13 Giles not out 31 Jones b Langeveldt 0 Harmison c Smith Extras (b4, lb6) 10 Total (all out in 58 overs) 163 FoW: 1-52, 2-55, 3-70, 4-95, 5-97. 6-109, 7-128, 8-141, 9-149. Bowling: Pollock 17-5-36-1, Ntini 19-6-50-4, Langeveldt 16-4-46-5, Boje 4-1-15-0, Kallis 2-1-6-0. SA (IInd innings): Smith lbw b Hoggard 2 Gibbs c G.Jones b Flintoff 24 Rudolph c Key b S.Jones 23 Kallis not out 34 Dippenaar not out 3 Extras:
(b-6 lb-8 w-6 nb-3) 23 Total: (3 wickets, 27 overs) 109 Fall of wickets: 1-2 2-62 3-101 Bowling: Hoggard 6-0-31-1, Harmison 6-0-22-0, Flintoff 5-0-11-1, Giles 5-1-21-0, S.Jones 5-2-10-1.
— Reuters
|
|
Sachin pulls out of Melbourne tie
Mumbai, January 4 Sachin, however, said that he would be present at the charity game between an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) XI and a World Xi. “I am still going for the charity match,’’ he told reporters here today. “I feel I should be there and be a part of it. Even if I can not play the match, it’s important to go there and be a part of the occasion. It is important to do as much as we can for the people affected by the tsunami,’’ he said. “The doctors have recommended a month’s rest during which they have advised me not to play a single ball and to rest the arm as much as possible,’’ Tendulkar explained to reporters at the Guru Nanak Hospital and Research Centre here where he had come to inaugurate a Diabetic Foot Clinic. Speaking about the tsunami tragedy, he said it was important for every person to do his bit to help the victims’ families and the survivors. The batting maestro also said he had made no goals for the year 2005. “No goals for 2005. I am just going to go out there and play my game,’’ he said.
— UNI |
|
BCCI turns down Kiwi offer
New Delhi, January 4 ''We did receive an invitation from New Zealand Cricket (NZC) requesting us to fill the gap after Sri Lanka pulled out. But it was not possible for us,'' BCCI secretary S K Nair told UNI over phone. Earlier, after the Lankans had pulled out, NZC Chief Executive Martin Snedden said he was optimistic of bringing in either India or a World XI to play a three-match one-day series to compensate for the abandoned Sri Lankan tour. Subsequently, the NZC sent an official invitation to the BCCI inviting the Team India to play towards the later half of this month. ''We regret that we can't make it to New Zealand for the tour,'' Mr Nair added. With India refusing to tour the country, the NZC would now host a Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA) World XI, comprising players spared of national duty at the moment. Meanwhile, the BCCI was yet to take a decision on appointing an ICC-approved biomechanic for spinner Harbhajan Singh, Mr Nair said.
— UNI |
|
Murali warns against unfair aid distribution
Trincomalee, January 4 Muralitharan, who has been closely involved in the relief operation, personally securing vehicles to send WFP food to disaster victims, is worried that much-needed aid can be siphoned off for personal gain by corrupt administrators if precautions are not taken. “I am very concerned about corruption,” Muralitharan said. “The food aid will not last for long and it is vital that what we have been given is used responsibly and fairly”, he said. The 32-year-old cricketer, a Tamilian who is a national icon to both Tamilians and Sinhalese, is also concerned about political favouritism after visiting three emergency camps in the east coast district of Trincomalee with fellow cricketers Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. The trio left Colombo on Sunday night, leading a 10-truck convoy of food aid carrying 100 tonnes of sugar, rice and lentils. Yesterday they oversaw the aid’s distribution and talked with the victims of the tragedy. More than 30,000 people were killed in Sri Lanka by last week’s tsunami, triggered by a huge underwater quake hundreds of miles away, off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. “I have come here as an WFP ambassador to try and understand what is happening on the ground,” said Muralitharan. “Like me, all the cricketers in this country are totally committed to helping our people during this sad time,” he said. “My concern at the moment, apart from possible corruption, is that distrust between different ethnic and religious communities is hampering the distribution of the aid, which is now in the stores,” he said. “There seem to be some problems in getting the aid from the government stores to some of the people. The WFP and the government need to sit and talk and work out solutions. Using WFP volunteers to monitor distribution might be a good idea,” he said. “It is absolutely essential that everyone in Sri Lanka now unites over this crisis. If we can’t reunite now, what hope is there of ever rebuilding this country,” he said. The cricketers, accompanied by Sri Lanka Cricket Board’s Melbourne-based surgeon Dr David Young, who is helping to organise medical supplies for hospitals, brought smiles to the faces of hundreds of children as they toured the camps. After a terrible week of heartache, the cricketers lightened the mood of the survivors, who bombarded Muralitharan with questions about his shoulder injury and insisted upon grabbing their heroes’ autographs on whatever scrap paper they could find. Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand was postponed last week so the players could return home as some of them were personally affected by the tragedy. Star batsman Sanath Jayasuriya’s hometown, the southern fishing hamlet of Matara, was one of the worst hit and his mother was among the injured. The cricketers depart on Tuesday for Batticaloa, one of the worst hit towns on the east coast, where they will visit more camps and also meet victims in the town hospital.
— Reuters |
|
Moya defeats qualifier;
Indian challenge ends
Chennai, January 4 Moya won 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to make it to the pre-quarter finals. The Indian interest in singles competition of the ATP Tour Chennai Open came to an end on the second day but not before Davis Cupper Harsh Mankad came tantalisingly close to an upset win against eight seeded Kevin Kim in a first round match here. While wild card entrant Karan Rastogi lost to fourth seeded Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden 4-6, 0-6, qualifier Mankad raised visions of creating history as he produced scintillating tennis to come back from a set down to take the match to the
decider. Mankad finally went down 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the marathon two-hour
encounter. Mankad, who became only the second Indian qualifier to enter the main draw since Sandeep Kirtane in 1996, showed a positive approach throughout the match. Down by a set and trailing 1-2 in the second, the 25-year-old Indian staged a memorable fightback to take the match to the decider. After taking a 3-1 lead, Mankad showed urgency but erred to lose crucial points.
— PTI |
||
|
USA make winning start
in Hopman Cup
Perth, January 4 Blake, who missed much of 2004 through a combination of injury, illness and the death of his father, looked close to his best beating Peter Wessels 6-1, 7-6. Meghann Shaughnessy earlier beat Michaella Krajicek 7-5, 6-4 and, though she and Blake were beaten 7-5, 7-5 by Wessels and Krajicek in the mixed doubles, the USA ran out 2-1 winners in their Group B clash. The 25-year-old Blake produced a typically athletic performance, breaking back when Wessels served for the second set at 5-3 and winning the tie-breaker 7-4. ‘’I really did not know what to expect coming back,’’ Blake said. ‘’I think I played some of my best tennis in the first set, and when it was tight in the second set, I still managed to come back well,’’ he said. Blake broke a vertebra in his neck when practising at the Rome Masters last May and his father Tom died in July from cancer. Blake’s ranking dropped to 97 at the end of the season, but the American said he had not set himself any specific goals for 2005. ‘’A few things last year helped me put things in perspective. I am just glad to be playing again,’’ he said. ‘’I love doing what I do for a living and I love playing here.’’ he said. Earlier, Shaughnessy, who received a late calls up to the team after an injury to Lindsay Davenport, survived a tough test from 15-year-old Krajicek to put the Americans ahead.
— Reuters |
|
ONGC to pump in Rs 7 crore for NFL
New Delhi, January 4 Mr Dasmunshi said 72 hours after the conclusion of the NFL, a Super Cup match will be played between the top two teams of the NFL First Division, and the winners of this cup will be given an additional cash prize of Rs 10 lakh. Till last year, such a match was played between the NFL champions and the Federation Cup winners, but often the winners of the NFL title and the Federation Cup turned out to be the same, and hence it has been decided to introduce the Super Cup for the ONGC Cup. The AIFF president also announced that Rs 15 lakh will be donated to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for the Tsunami affected people. He said the cheque for the said amount will be handed over to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the day of the opening match of the NFL between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in Kolkatta on January 12. Mr Dasmunshi said the Federation Internationale Football Association (FIFA) has been requested to send a world team to play in a charity match in India to raise funds for the seaquake victims, and the response from the FIFA has been "very positive". The AIFF president said Doordarshan will telecast 60 of the NLF First Division matches live. Goa will hold the maximum number of NFL matches--35--while Kolkatta will host 15, Mumbai seven, Punjab five and Kerala three. The NFL will conclude on March 2. Twelve teams each will participate in the First and Second Division of the NFL. The teams participating in the First Division are: East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Tollygunge Agragami (all from Kolkatta), Dempo, Salgaocar, Churchill Brothers, Sporting Clube de Goa, Vasco and Fransa Pax Club (all from Goa), State Bank of Travancore (Kerala), JCT Pahgwara (Punjab) and Mahindra United (Mumbai). AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco said each team will be allowed to take a doctor and a physiotherapist and the expenses will be borne by the AIFF. He said upto three foreign players will be allowed to play for each team in the First Division while no foreigner will be allowed in the Second Division. Mr Colaco said random dope-testing will be held during the NFL and the AIFF will provide insurance cover to the players. This step has been taken after the on-field tragedy involving Brazilian player Junior in the Federation Cup final in Bangalore a few weeks ago. He said a Junior Benefit Fund will be created to give relief to the dead player's family. The winners of the NFL First Division will be given a cash prize of Rs 40 lakh plus a match-winning fee of Rs 30,000. An award will also be instituted to the highest goal-scorer of the league,though no decision has been taken about instituting awards for the man of the match and the Man of the Series. |
|
|
Ramesh suffers shock defeat
New Delhi, January 4 Seeded players Sasikiran, Kunte, D Barua, Pilipov and Enamul Hossain scored quiet victories to take their points tally to two each. Ramesh found himself in trouble early, and though the Bangladesh player was more intent on a draw, Ramesh pressed hard but slipped and blundered to concede defeat to Mohammed Javed. With the arrival of six Afghanistan players, the total number of participants has gone upto to 283. Results: Sasikiran b Chaitanya Vaidya, Abhijit Kunte b Khamparia Akshat, D Barua b Ranveer Singh Bhatti, Vinod Kumar drew with Alexander Fominyh and Anton Flippov of Uzbek b V Hari Balu. |
|
PAP Zone win three gold
Jalandhar, January 4 Manwar Singh bagged gold medal in 56 kg category while Baljinder Singh also from PAP Zone and Raj Singh of Jalandhar Zone secured silver and bronze medals, respectively. Another gold medal came for PAP Zone in 69 kg category through Gurcharan Singh, who topped the tally with 28 points. Mangat Ram of Ferozepur Zone with 25 points secured silver medal. In 94 kg category, Laljit Singh of PAP Zone secured 28 points to lift gold medal while Rakesh Kumar of PAP Zone won silver medal with 25 points. In 62 kg category, Ajit Singh won the first position with 28 points. Sandeep of Ferozepore Zone (28 points) won gold medal in 77 kg category while Harpreet Singh of PAP Zone (25 points) and Surjit Singh of PAP Zone (23 points) won silver and bronze, respectively. In 85 kg category, Balwinder Kumar of Jalandhar Zone won first position, followed by Gursharan Singh and Govind Singh, both of them of PAP Zone, who secured second and third position, respectively. Meanwhile, in hockey, Patiala Zone and Jalandhar Zone settled for a goalless draw. In other matches, Ferozepore Zone defeated Combined Zone 8-1 while PAP Zone easily registered a victory over Patiala Zone 2-0. |
|
Two Punjab players for football camp
Ludhiana, January 4 The names of 40 probables are: Manpreet Kaur and Amanjeet Kaur (Punjab), Swapna Guria and Tuli Goon (West Bengal), Kabita Jamala, Gulti Choudhary and Amita Roy (Tripura), Alvina Karaw, Srimoti Kudada and Neelam Kalco (Jharkhand), Sasmita Malik, Sangeeta Patra, Suprabha Sasmal, Alochna ASenapati, Sradhanjali Sahoo, Jyotsma Rani Das and Ahalya Munda (Orissa), J Rani Prasanna, R Suganya, M Thamarai Selvi, K Gomathi, R Valarathi and P Usha Rani (Tamil Nadu), N C Bala Devi, M Roma Devi, Lalvennoi Humar, T K Rengitha Devi, R Romi Devi, C H Sanathoi Chanu, M Bembem Devi and W Thabal Devi (Manipur), Kanchan Sharma, Pallavi Raj Sharma and Sonal Saini (Uttar Pradesh), Rejini Hershey N (Kerala), Manisa Jadhav (WIFA), Harancha Kauragra (Chandigarh), Manpreet Kaur and Arshy (Haryana), Pooja Rautela (Uttaranchal). |
|
Delhi Veterans down UK team
New Delhi, January 4 |
|
Delhi ball badminton team
New Delhi, January 4 The team: P Krishna Kumar (captain), B Ravi Chandran, Manoj Bartwal, KS Srinivas, Sanjay Yadav, Rajan, Deepak Kumar, Amit Kumar and B Chandrashekar. VS Prakash Rao will be the coach and SV Subrahmanyam the manager. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
