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Bengal crush Railways, enter semis
Whatmore not going to India: BCB
Shoaib misses tie due to illness
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Smith leads strong SA reply
Crucial Test for New Zealand
Churchill beat Tollygunge 4-2
Hockey coach to be named next week
Chanda, Humpy, Kunte win in Dubai Open chess
Basketball association honours players
Arvind Bhat falters in final
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Indian eves lose by 98 runs
Durban, April 10 After Australia posted a challenging 215 for 4 after electing to bat, the Indians were never in the hunt losing wickets at regular intervals to be skittled out for 117 in 46 overs at the Supersport Park. The eves suffered the similar fate as their male compatriots who had lost to Australia in the men’s World Cup final in almost the same fashion in South Africa two years ago. This was Australia’s fifth World Cup title, having missed the previous one in 2000 losing narrowly against New Zealand in the final. India’s run chase was marred by as many as four run outs even though the Australians, particularly their strike bowlers, reined in the batswomen with some tight bowling. Anju Jain top scored with a 52-ball 29 and the next best score came from tail-ender Amita Sharma who made 22. Earlier, Karen Rolton, declared player of the series as well as the match, cracked an unbeaten century as Australia posted a challenging total. Rolton hit a rousing 107 not out off 128 balls with 11 fours to pull the Australian eves out of early trouble when they were reduced to 31 for two after electing to bat. Rolton, who was dropped on 62, was well supported by India-born New South Wales batswoman Lisa Sthalekar who hit a 75-ball 55 with two fours. Rolton became only the second woman ever to make a century in a World Cup final. England’s Enid Bakewell who achieved the feat in the inaugural edition in 1973. Scoreboard Australia Belinda Clark c Anju Jain Lisa Keightley c Rumali Karen Rolton not out 107 Mel Jones lbw b Neetu 17 Lisa Sthalekar c & b Rumali 55 Alex Blackwell not out 4 Extras
(lb-2, w-2, nb-4) 8 Total (4 wickets, 50 overs) 215 Fall of wickets:
1-24, 2-31, 3-71, 4-210. Bowling: Jhulan Goswami 9-2-45-1, Amita Sharma 10-2-39-1, Rumali Dhar 6-0-22-0, Nooshin Al Khadeer 10-1-35-0, Neetu David 10-1-39-1, Deepa Marathe 5-0-21-0. India Anju Jain c Sthalekar Jaya Sharma run out 5 Anjum Chopra run out 10 Mithali Raj lbw Nitschke 6 Rumali Dhar run out 6 Hemalata Kala run out 3 Amita Sharma lbw Sthalekar 22 Jhulan Goswami c sub Deepa Marathe not out 7 Neetu David b Fitzpatrick 0 Nooshin b Nitschke 0 Extras
(b-2, lb-3, w-5, nb-1) 11 Total (all out, 46 overs) 117 Fall of wickets:
1-14, 2-39, 3-54, 4-59, 5-63, 6-64, 7-93, 8-115, 9-116. Bowling:
Cathryn Fitzpatrick 8-0-23-2, Clea Smith 10-4-20-1, Julie Hayes 10-1-28-0, Shelley Nitschke 9-2-14-2, Kevin Rolton 5-1-9-0, Lisa Sthalekar 4-1-18-1. —
PTI, UNI |
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Bengal crush Railways, enter semis
Mumbai, April 10 Bose picked up four wickets for 33 runs to help Bengal skittle the newly crowned Ranji Trophy champions for a modest 214 in 48.2 overs at the Brabourne Stadium. Bengal, given a sound start by opener Sanjib Sanyal (66 with eight fours and a six in 91 balls) and one-down Gandhi who put on 98 runs for the second wicket. After the departure of Sanyal — who also bagged two wickets — Gandhi, whose 117-ball knock contained nine fours and three sixes, and Gavaskar put Bengal firmly on the saddle with a stand of 62 runs for the third wicket. Earlier, opener Shankar Rao struck a breezy 50 off only 43 balls with 10 fours after Railways were put in to bat by Bengal. Jai Prakash Yadav made 46 while Railways skipper Sanjay Bangar and Raja Ali reached the 30s and fell. Railways lost wickets at regular intervals before folding up with eight balls remaining. Bengal, who had finished runners-up to Mumbai last season in the tournament which earned them a bye into the quarterfinal, would meet Tamil Nadu, winners by 30 runs over Baroda in another quarter-final, in the semifinal on April 12. TN down Baroda
Tamil Nadu staved off a late fightback by Baroda to carve out a comfortable 30-run victory and enter the semifinals of the Inter State One-Day All India knock out tournament at the Wankhede Stadium here today. Tamil Nadu, choosing to bat first after winning the toss, posted a healthy-looking 274 for 8 in 50 overs, thanks mainly to an anchoring 68-run effort by S Badrinath who hit only 2 fours in his 101-ball innings. The southerners scored most of their runs in singles and twos, with only 90 runs coming via boundary hits. In reply, Baroda lost two wickets in the very first over before recovering to 48 through Yusuf Pathan's belligerent 19-ball 34 with six fours and a six. But the dismissal of Yusuf and opener Satyajit Parab in quick succession put the brakes on Baroda who then recovered to 122 before another slump saw them tottering at 138 for 6 at the half way stage. Ajit Bhoite kept Baroda in the hunt with a fine knock of 62 off 75 balls before being last out. But once his seventh wicket stand of 53 with Himanshu Jadhav was broken, the fate of his team was sealed. Tamil Nadu will meet Bengal, conquerors of the Railways by seven wickets in another quarterfinal at the Brabourne stadium today, in semifinals on April 12.
— PTI |
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Whatmore not going to India: BCB
Dhaka, April 10 The Daily Star here quoted a Bangladesh Cricket Board
(BCB) official as saying that they were close to finalise a new two-year contract with
Whatmore. ''We are very close to signing another two-year contract. We have discussed about the renewal of the contract and in principle both sides agreed to the terms and conditions of the draft proposal,'' Mahbub
Anam, BCB advisor and chairman of the cricket operations committee was quoted as saying. Australian Whatmore's contract with Bangladesh team expires this month and media reports quoted him expressing his wish to coach Team India following John Wright's decision to vacate the post. ''We will sign it as soon as possible and of course by this month,'' the BCB official said. Indicating that the Bangladesh Cricket Board would hike the pay package for
Whatmore, Mr Anam said, ''It is very natural that after ending a tenure you have to increase the money.'' Bangladesh tour England for their first full-fledged tour there in May.
— UNI |
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Shoaib misses tie due to illness
Karachi, April 10 Shoaib Akhtar, who has not played any competitive match since early January, was expected to play in Lahore today for Khan Research Laboratory against National Bank of Pakistan that was to be watched by chairman of selectors Wasim Bari. “Shoaib Akhtar is sick and didn’t play the match. He had to first regain match fitness before we could consider him for selection,” Wasim Bari told PTI from Lahore. Shoaib, on Wednesday, took four for 22 in seven overs and later reiterated that he was fit to join the team in India, adding that the final decision of his selection would be taken by his trainer Grant Compton and selectors. Shoaib and Shabbir Ahmed were expected to join the team for the Kanpur and New Delhi one-dayers scheduled for April 15 and 17. Shabbir, who has not played any international cricket since August last year, was last week ruled out of the tour as he lacked match fitness. “The team management has also not asked for any replacements. If there is no request from India, I don’t think we will send anyone,” Bari said. Bari replied in the positive when asked if he was hoping the two to be fit for June’s tour of West Indies.
— PTI |
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Smith leads strong SA reply
Port-of-Spain, April 10 South Africa added only 83 in the final session yesterday to close at 182 for three, trailing by 165 runs. Allrounder Dwayne Bravo wrecked an even better position for the visitors by claiming the world’s No. 1 batsman, Jacques Kallis, in the final over. Smith lashed 10 fours off 196 balls in 4 hours, 45 minutes. Bravo led the West Indies attack with two for 39, while Reon King grabbed 1-21. Earlier, Lara was dismissed four runs short of a double century as the West Indies, resuming from 281-6, was bowled out just before lunch for 347. Pacer Makhaya Ntini claimed 6-95 and was supported by Andre Nel, who earned 3-71. Smith then gave South Africa’s reply a solid foundation in an opening stand of 70 with AB de Villiers. The West Indies’ fast bowlers wasted the new ball as South Africa took the initiative after lunch. But King and Bravo hit back toward the end of the second session. De Villiers stroked four fours in 33 before he miscued an off-drive low to West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul at short extra cover. South Africa slipped to 86-2 when Bravo made his first strike to remove an unconvincing Jacques Rudolph who spent 45 minutes for 8, feathered a catch to wicketkeeper Courtney Browne as he prodded on the front foot. Smith, strong through the leg side, and Kallis guided South Africa to 99-2 at tea, and dominated the final session. Kallis, following a century in the drawn first Test, survived a couple of chances as South Africa began to assert their authority. Lara had an opportunity to run him out at 27 but his throw from square leg was wide of the target with Kallis yards out of his ground. Kallis was 33 when Ramnaresh Sarwan at first slip fluffed a chance off Chris Gayle’s offspin. Those misses kept a crowd of 10,000 subdued, and Smith and Kallis played with level-headed certainty despite the pitch continuing to display inconsistent bounce. But just as South Africa seemed set to close with the advantage, Bravo sent the fans into raptures with the crucial scalp of Kallis. He was leg before to an inswinger as he played around his front pad. Kallis compiled 39 off 131 balls in just under three hours. Monde Zondeki survived as nightwatchman to be unbeaten on 1. Earlier, South Africa wrapped up the West Indies first innings by taking four wickets for the addition of 66 runs. Lara, 159 overnight, was last man out just as his eighth double century beckoned. Nel cut the Trinidadian short with a magnificent delivery that cut away sharply to clip the off bail, as it beat Lara’s defensive back foot stroke. Lara’s 196 spanned 286 balls and 441 minutes, and was spiced with 25 boundaries. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings) 347 South Africa (1st innings) Smith not out 90 De Villiers c Chanderpaul Rudolph c Browne b Bravo 8 Kallis lbw b Bravo 39 Zondeki not out 1 Extras:
(1-lb, 10-nb) 11 Total: (3 wickets, 67 overs) 182 Fall of wickets:
1-70, 2-86, 3-181. Bowling: Collins 13-2-40-0, Powell 12-2-58-0, King 12-3-21-1, Bravo 14-3-39-2, Gayle 17-6-23-0.
— AP |
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Crucial Test for New Zealand
Wellington, April 10 The Basin Reserve wicket has been a batsman’s paradise this summer, although there is the suggestion of a little moisture to give the bowlers early encouragement. “If there’s some moisture in the wicket it’s going to suit us,” New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said. “The way Sri Lanka played in the last game their techniques are better suited for lower, flatter wickets. If it does bounce and do a bit sideways then it may give us a chance.” This is a crucial Test for New Zealand who haven’t won an international against a major opponent since March last year against South Africa in Auckland. In a torrid summer they have been flogged by Australia at home and away, and suffered the now familiar second innings collapse on a flat surface in the first Test against Sri Lanka last week. Adding to their angst will be their recent form at Wellington’s Basin Reserve, their most successful Test ground with 11 wins, where rain saved them from certain defeat against Australia last month, after losses to Pakistan and South Africa last summer. In the first Test against Sri Lanka, Malinga was the chief destroyer as New Zealand fell to 148 for seven in the second innings before Fleming and Lou Vincent averted a potential fatal collapse. Malinga took five for 80 in the second innings and nine wickets for the match on a surface where the bat dominated the ball. He tormented the batsmen with his mix of yorkers and bouncers, and his round-arm slinging action forced Fleming to request the umpires change to light coloured slacks to help the batsmen better see the ball. But this was turned down.
—AFP |
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Churchill beat Tollygunge 4-2
Kolkata, April 10 With both the rivals hovering round in the relegation zone, the victory gave Churchill vital three points that promoted the Goans to the joint eighth spot with Mohun Bagan in the league standing with 17 points from 16 matches. Tollygunge, on the other hand, slipped a step behind from the ninth spot as they remained with 15 points from 16 games. Yakubu struck as early as the seventh minute and scored again in the last minute before the break from a penalty awarded by referee P Bhaskar. Marcos made the issue safer in the 54th minute before Dey led a Tollygunge resurgence converting a free-kick and making the scoreline 1-3 barely three minutes later. Tollygunge further narrowed the margin through youngster Tarif Ahmed in the 83rd minute, but Marcos sealed their fate striking it rich in the fag end of the thrilling encounter. Dempo beat SBT
Kozhikode: A last-minute goal by Valeriano Rebello helped Federation Cup champions Dempo Sports Club, Goa, beat State Bank of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram, 2-1 to lead the points table in the National Football League for the ONGC Cup here today. With this win, the Goan team edged past defending champions East Bengal (33) and Sporting Club (32) to emerge the sole leader in the league with 34 points after 16 rounds. Dempo resorted to a defensive game in the first half and allowed SBT to go on the attack. But their custodian Satish Kumar, who was adjudged the man of the match, came up with a superb performance to deny scoring opportunities to the rivals. It was Ranti Martins who netted the first goal for the visitors in the 34th minute, even as an out-of-form SBT goalkeeper, Jean Christian, failed to collect the ball neatly. Desperately needing a win to move up the points table, SBT again went on the attack in the second half. Substitute Mohammed Rafi, coming in for Paul Antony, connected a free kick from Abdul Naushad for the equaliser in the 74th minute. As the match was in the dying moments with a 1-1 draw on the cards, Rebello shot home a long ranger to give his team the all-important goal. SBT continue to remain at the bottom of the table with 10 points and will now take on Vasco, Goa, in their next outing here on April 13.
— PTI |
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Hockey coach to be named next week
Chennai, April 10 The Indian hockey team is without a coach since German Gerhard Rach resigned from the job in January. "IHF President K P S Gill is seized of the matter of nominating the coach for our senior team. He is likely to announce the name next week," IHF Secretary K Jothikumaran told PTI today. With the Federation eyeing a medal in the Champions Trophy to be held at Chennai in December this year, the IHF has already zeroed in on the probable players for the event and would appoint a permanent coach sometime next week, he said. "The probables were announced at the end of the Hyderabad nationals and an Indian coach will be named sometime next week." The IHF secretary, however, did not discount the possibility of seeking the assistance of a foreigner in the future but said they would most likely be engaged in the capacity of consultants. "The IHF, at present, is not thinking along those lines (appointing a foreign coach). Even if his services were engaged, it would only be as a consultant, giving more of technical advise," he added. The Indian team is so far scheduled to play in two international events -- Azlan Shah Cup at Kuala Lumpur from May 26 to June 5 and an eight-nation event at Amstelveen in the Netherlands from August 14- 21 -- ahead of the Champions Trophy and Jothikumaran said they were also hoping to conduct a four or six nation tournament in the country in the run-up to the mega event. Jothikumaran said the team for the Azlan Shah Cup would be announced well in advance but added that the IHF was attaching much more importance to the eight nation event since all the top teams would be playing at Amstelveen. "We also plan to hold a four or six nation tournament before the Champions Trophy unfolds here. This will be possible, provided the Tamil Nadu Government extends financial help. The IHF has already written to the government and we are awaiting a favourable response from them," he said, adding a good performance in these events would boost India's chances in the Champions Trophy.
— PTI |
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Chanda, Humpy, Kunte win in Dubai Open chess
Dubai, April 10 After six rounds in the nine-round tournament, the Grandmaster trio of Anastasian Ashot, Merab Gagunashvili and Giorgi Kacheishvili share the top spot with five points each. Pitted against Czech Grandmaster Navara, Kunte (4) put up a gritty show and denied his rival a win. Kolkata Grandmaster Sandipan Chanda (4) was also in good form against Women International Master Qian Huang and had little problem in taming the Chinese player. Koneru Humpy too took her tally to four with a facile win against compatriot G Balaji (3). In two other all-Indian affairs, Delhi boy Parimarjan Negi (3.5) beat N Srinath (2.5) while Omkar Patwardhan (3.5) edged past Rahul Shetty (2.5). R B Ramesh (3.5), who had a poor start to the tournament, seems back in form as the Indian Grandmaster outwitted Liberian Ahmed Lajjar to record his second successive win. In other matches, veteran Lanka Ravi (4) beat Armenian Grandmaster Artashes Minasian and G Rohit (4) humbled Grandmaster Sarunas Silskis, Abhijit Gupta (4) shocked GM Dmitry Svetushkin while Sundararajan Kidambi (4) outplayed P Doostkam. Women International Master Eeasha Karavade (3), however, was defeated in her match by Grandmaster Dragan Solak, while Nadige Kruttika(2.5) went down to Basheer Al Qudaimi.
— UNI |
Augusta, April 10 With Augusta National in pristine condition in glorious early morning sunshine, the three-times champion moved to 13 under for the tournament as he overhauled overnight leader Chris DiMarco. American Woods, chasing his first major victory since the 2002 US Open, started the day four strokes adrift of his compatriot but drew level after setting up birdies on 10 and 11 with approach shots to just seven feet. Ryder Cup player DiMarco, who has produced three top-12 finishes at Augusta since making his debut there in 2001, meanwhile, slipped back with a double-bogey six at the 10th. He then watched from the tee at the par-three 12th as Woods took the lead for the first time, calmly holing out from five feet for his eighth birdie of the round. Although Woods failed to reach the green in two at the par-five 13th, he chipped six feet past the pin before holing the return putt to equal Steve Pate’s Masters record of seven consecutive birdies in the third round of the 1999 tournament. The eight-times major winner pumped his fist in celebration before walking to the 14th tee with a two-stroke lead. While Woods dominated the top of the leaderboard, defending champion Phil Mickelson also made an early move. Ten strokes off the overnight lead at three under par, the left-handed American birdied the 12th, his first hole of the day, the 13th and the 15th to climb into fourth place at six under. DiMarco, after 13 holes, was alone in second at 11 under with Denmark's Thomas Bjorn a further three shots back in third,also after 13. South Africa’s Trevor Immelman held the clubhouse lead, a seven-under-par 65 leaving him at five-under 211. — Reuters
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Zhang Ning clinches Japan Open
Tokyo, April 10 The veteran top seed, who surrendered her world number one ranking to Xie this week, used effective drops to Xie’s backhand front to chalk up an 11-7, 11-8 victory. The 29-year-old Zhang, who is also the world champion, moved Xie from the baseline to the front with an array of soft-touched shots combined with smashes and disguised overhead drops. Her successful drop gave Zhang a 5-4 lead in the opening game. She slowly streatched the lead to 10-7 before hitting an unstoppable round-the-head smash to take the game. Everything went well in the second game for Zhang, who jumped ahead to 5-1 and never looked back. Although Zhang’s under-hand shot landed in the net on her first match point at 10-7, she comfortably finished the 37-minute match when Xie hit a smash wide on a high serve off Zhang. Zhang said she started to feel she really enjoys playing badminton after winning the Olympics, and she looks forward to taking part in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. “But I’m older than other teammates and I feel it’s tough to train. But I like playing badminton very much,” said Zhang. “Other players retired after winning a big event but I want to continue as long as my body allows me to do,” she added. It was Zhang’s first title since winning the Singapore Open in November and she collected the winner’s check of $ 12,420. She also achieved a 6-5 win-loss record against Xie, avenging her loss in the All-England final last month. Xie had previously won six straight Grand Prix series victories including the most prestigious All-England last month, and 34 straight matches. She received the runner-up’s prize of $ 5,940. Earlier in the day, the top-seeded Danish duo of Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen won the men’s doubles title — beating Indonesia’s Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto 15-10, 15-3.
— AFP |
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Basketball association honours players
Ludhiana, April 10 They include former and current stars of different
disciplines like basketball, hockey, wrestling, kabaddi, swimming, volleyball, boxing, athletics and weightlifting. Those who were honoured on this occasion include members of the Punjab basketball men’s team which finished runner up in the 55th senior national championship in Ludhiana early this year; Punjab junior men’s team which emerged champion in the national meet at Chittor; Punjab junior women’s team that secured second place in Chittor; Punjab youth men’s team which earned second spot in the 21st Youth National Basketball Championship in Gottana, Rajasthan and Punjab sub-junior team that finished third in the 31st National meet at Tiruvanthpuram. Besides, Ranbir Chopra, Ajmer Singh, Sajjan Singh Cheema, Suman Sharma, Parminder Singh Sr. (basketball), Baljit Singh Dhillon and Rupa Saini (hockey), Kaur Singh (boxing), Devi Dyal (kabaddi) and Tara Singh (weithlifting) were among others who were honoured for their contributions in the field of sports. |
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Arvind Bhat falters in final
New Delhi, April 10 Bhat, who had accounted for second seed Joachim Persson of Denmark on his way to the summit clash, failed to maintain the momentum and went down 15-8 15-7 in a 45-minute encounter of this Grade A event. The 93rd-ranked shuttler, who won the Scottish Open last year, had shown tremendous grit and stamina to win three matches in a day yesterday but his opponent today proved too hard a nut to crack. In fact, Wacha was the man who ended the run of even the other two Indian shuttlers in the fray. In the semi-final, Wacha brought an end to Thomas Kurien’s dream run when he defeated the 216-ranked Indian 15-4 15-7 in just 27 minutes.
— PTI |
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