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Selectors veer towards youth for ODI series
BCCI willing to play in Karachi
Aussies avoid follow-on on rain-hit day
Rabo Cup: India face tough opener
Isinbayeva wins gold, breaks world record
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Anand takes lead over Grischuk
Mainz, August 13 World rapid chess champion Viswanathan Anand stretched his lead to a whopping three points over Russian Grandmaster Alexander Grischuk, adding 1.5 points from the third and fourth games of the Grenkeleasing championship, the main event of the Mainz Chess Classic.
Nadal in semis
PSEB off to winning start
Budha Dal school
downs Civil Lines by 10 wickets
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Selectors veer towards youth for ODI series
Mumbai, August 13 The selection panel, headed by Kiran More, which met here today along with coach Greg Chappell and captain Sourav Ganguly, also omitted medium-pacers Laxmipathi Balaji and Zaheer Khan for the event, beginning on August 24. But all four players, who were members of the ODI squad to Sri Lanka recently, were included in the team for the two-Test series to follow from September 13 against Zimbabwe, along with Sachin Tendulkar, subject to his becoming fit by that time, wicketkeeper Dinesh Kaarthick and opener Gautam Gambhir. Laying emphasis on fit and young players, the selectors included Uttar Pradesh’s 19-year-old left-arm pace bowler Rudra Pratap Singh in the one-day squad, to take on New Zealand and hosts Zimbabwe, while retaining two other young batsmen who toured Lanka, Utter Pradesh’s Suresh Raina and Andhra Pradesh’s Venugopal Rao. Right-arm pacer Ajit Agarkar and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik were recalled to the one-day squad after missing the series in Lanka. Announcing the two teams, Board of Control for Cricket in Indian BCCI) Secretay S.K. Nair said Tendulkar, recuperating after undergoing an elbow surgery in May last at London, “is progressing well”. “Tendulkar is expected to be fit by the middle of September. His fitness will be assessed before the tri-series final and in case he is found not fit to play, a replacement will be named.” “The selectors discussed the performance of the Indian team in the Sri Lanka series before choosing the teams for Zimbabwe. They were apprised of the fitness status of all players, including Tendulkar, by Indian team physio John Gloster,” Nair said. “Tendulkar is progressing well. Gloster has met him and got the medical reports. The selectors are hoping that he will be fit for the Test series and have chosen him subject to his becoming fit by that time,” Nair said. The BCCI Secretary said Irfan Pathan, who suffered a shoulder injury in the tri-series final against Lanka on Tuesday, was undergoing treatment and, according to Gloster, should be fit in time for the event in Zimbabwe. Asked about Zaheer, he said, “Zaheer is fit. He is going to play in the three-match Asia XI versus Africa XI series, to be held between August 17 and 21.” The ODI team is scheduled to leave for Zimbabwe from Mumbai on August 22 and their first match in the series is slated on August 26 against New Zealand. “The team will play a warm-up tie on August 24,” Nair said. ODI squad:
Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid (vice-captain), Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohd Kaif, Suresh Raina, Venugopal Rao, M.S. Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh and J.P. Yadav. Test squad:
Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid (vice-captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar (subject to fitness), V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohd Kaif, Dinesh Kaarthick, Anil Kumble, Laxmipathi Balaji, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra. The players to return home after the tri-series are Suresh Raina, Venugopal Rao, M.S. Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, J.P. Yadav and Murali Kartik. “Sachin Tendulkar (if found fit), Laxman, Kaarthick, Kumble, Balaji, Zaheer and Gambhir will take their places for the Test series. They are expected to leave for Zimbabwe on September 4 or 5,” Nair said. What the selectors had done while naming the ODI team, in effect, was to bring down the average age of players, to improve the overall fielding, with an eye on the 2007 World Cup. The two experienced bowlers who were recalled — 27-year-old Agarkar and 28-year-old Kartik — both fit into this overall strategy of laying emphasis on fitter and younger players. Agarkar, whose omission from the Lanka squad caused a furore even in the Maharashtra Assembly, returned to the squad after playing his last match against Pakistan in Delhi in April. Agarkar, who was the fastest in the world in reaching 50 ODI wickets, had taken 206 wickets in 135 ODIs and had three half centuries to his credit in his overall run tally of 1075. Kartik had been in and out of the Indian squad and had played in 18 ODIs since making his debut against Zimbabwe at Hyderabad in 2001-02. His last ODI was against Pakistan at Ahmedabad — the fourth of the six-match series — in April.
— PTI |
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BCCI willing to play in Karachi
Karachi, August 13 A top Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said the BCCI had also asked for an additional three-day practice match in Karachi, after the proposed itinerary sent last week included only a Test and a one-dayer. Since 2000, when England beat Pakistan in near darkness, only Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had played Tests in Karachi while South Africa, India and England had stayed away from the turbulent and, at times, violent port city. West Indies and Australia refused to visit Pakistan and preferred to play off-shore in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in the USA States on September 11. “We at the PCB think it is a major development in restoring the image of Karachi as a major cricket centre. The BCCI has lived up to its commitment of playing a Test in Karachi in 2006,” the official, requesting anonymity, said. The PCB official added that the BCCI had forwarded the itinerary to its Foreign Office for formal approval. “The BCCI has accepted the proposed itinerary, but it requires Foreign Office approval before officially accepting it. Advice from the Foreign Office is a normal procedure followed by every country before embarking on any tour,” he said.
— PTI |
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Aussies avoid follow-on on rain-hit day
Manchester , August 13 Warne, resuming on 45, took his score to 67, his best against England, with a rash of boundaries off Ashley Giles before the rain returned after just eight overs' play. Jason Gillespie was seven not out at the other end. Most of the morning and afternoon session were washed out, forcing the players to take an early lunch, then an early tea. When play got underway, with 38 overs scheduled, Warne went on the offensive immediately. He reached his 70-ball 50 with a lofted single off Giles, then smashed a straight four just past Giles's fingertips. Next ball, on 55, he advanced and slogged only for Geraint Jones to miss a clear stumping chance. There was time for another cross-bat to the mid-wicket fence and straight down the ground, against England's left-arm spinner before the rain returned. The world champions have not been forced to follow on in a test since 1988. Australia's score on the resumption was increased from 210 to 214 for seven after it was realised one ball which went for four byes had not been correctly signalled on Friday. — Reuters
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Rabo Cup: India face tough opener against Spain
Amstelveen, August 13 India’s coach Rajinder Singh (Jr) will be looking to make a good impact in the match against the Champions Trophy holders, with the majority of his wards seasoned enough to face the rigours during the eight-day mega-event. However, it may not be that easy for the coach as he is faced with the dilemma regarding a specialist dragflicker. Didar Singh is being touted as the best in the business after Sandeep Singh, but the Namdhari player may not find a berth in the starting 11. The deep defence has skipper Dilip Tirkey in the company of the erratic Kanwalpreet, whose two-year ban was reduced considerably by the IHF, perhaps hastily, and Harpal Singh, with the back-up of Devesh Chauhan in goal. The four midfielders find a readymade slot, with Arjun Halappa, Viren Rasquinha, Bimal Lakra and Ignace Tirkey capable of blunting quality opposition attacks, with the hard-working Jaswinder also as a back-up. The attackline is spearheaded by 26-year-old sharpshooter Gagan Ajit Singh, with the support of three Indian Oil men, striker Deepak Thakur and wingers Prabhjot Singh and Rajpal Singh. However, they will need to find their rhythm and cohesion from day one to provide a vital winning start. With most goalkeepers having mastered the art of stopping set-piece penalty corners, as those executed by Tirkey and Kanwalpreet, the Indian coach will have to fine-tune new strategies, besides relying on various indirect combinations. Hopefully, he has done that at the Chandigarh camp. Meanwhile, Olympic champions Australia along with world champions Germany and hosts the Netherlands, appear to be title favourites for the tournament, to be played at the picturesque Wagner Stadium. The other squads in this top-flight tournament, billed as the biggest of the year, are Asian Games title holders South Korea, Pakistan and England. The teams have been divided into two pools. India, Spain, Germany and Pakistan are drawn in Pool A, while Australia, England, the Netherlands and South Korea form Pool B. Four teams — Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Pakistan — will arrive here on Monday morning after the Hamburg Masters tournament. Spain have been undoubtedly the most improved team in the last decade, having won silver medals at the Atlanta Olympics and the Utrecht World Cup. Their crowning glory came at the last Champions Trophy at Lahore in December, when they annexed their maiden title under their Dutch coach Maurits Hendriks. Hendriks is the man responsible for the restructuring of the Spanish league, reducing the first division teams to 10 from 12. He has also designed the playoff concept, with the top five teams fighting for the championship. The team is led by the 38-year-old university teacher from del San Vincente, Juan Escarre, the schemer who played for Chennai Veerans in the PHL in January. The familiar Victor Sojo, Santi Freixa, Xavier Ribas and Albert Sala, besides the Fabregas brothers, are also in the Spanish squad, as is youngster David Alegre, fresh from his outing in the Junior World Cup last month. The Aussies, like the Germans and the Dutch, will be hard to beat, but the men from Down Under can hold the edge with their lightning counter-attacking skills and turnovers. The victory at Kuala Lumpur at the last Azlan Shah Cup in June was a big boost after a long layoff for the Athens gold medallists. Most members of that Olympic team will be seen in action here. However, Michael Boyce and Nathan Eglington have dropped out due to ankle injuries and have been replaced by midfielders Matt Naylor and Ben Bishop. Coach Barry Dancer still has plenty of talent and bench strength, with defenders Dean Butler, Liam de Young, Bevan George and Mathew Wells, with Luke Doerner, the Azuma Vikings penalty corner hitman. Europe is represented by four teams that have little to choose between, at least, three of them, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. All these squads will be headed to the German city Leipzig for the European Nations Cup immediately after this tournament. Germany, who are the holders of the Rabo Trophy, having beaten the Netherlands here in June 2004, have a water-tight defence with goalkeeper Christian Schulte and 30-year-old Uhlenhorster Hamburg sweeperback, with 306 internationals, Philipp Crone. Roelant Oltmans is a bit tight-lipped about his team, the Netherlands. “Let us see how it goes,” he says. Back in the saddle after a brief 16-month spell with Pakistan, the man who guided his country to their first Olympic gold in 1996, is looking at penalty corner specialist Taeke Taekema for the big blows, with skipper Jeroen Delmee, veteran of 311 internationals, as playmaker. England, the fourth European team here, have the potential to put up dogged resistance to any fancied opposition. The Seoul Olympic winners, coached by Jason Lee, have the veteran former Klien Zwitzerland’s Brett Garrard as captain and Ben Hawes as the principal dragflicker. However, the main midfield group of Barry Middleton, Glenn Kirkham, Richard Alexander and Andrew West are the heartbeat of the team, and who, despite their youth, have shown impressive maturity. Pakistan, like India, have not causes ripples of late. They have not been able to come even close to filling the vaccum left by Sohail Abbas. The coaches have been grooming Imran Warsi and Mohd Imran with the dragflicks, but the desired results do not appear to be forthcoming. Coach Asif Bajwa will be hoping that his forwards Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Shabbir Hussain and Mudassar Ali Khan will get going here. Busan Asiad winners South Korea, under new coach Cho Myung Jun, are on course to develop a crack squad for the World Cup qualifiers in China next year. They play the tournament opener against England, followed by the India-Spain match, on day one. — PTI |
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Isinbayeva wins gold, breaks world record
Helsinki, August 13 The 23-year-old broke her own world record for the ninth time this year, vaulting 5.01 metres, as she effortlessly added the world crown to the Olympic one she won last year. Russia added a second walk title as Sergey Kirdyapkin led from virtually start to finish in the 50 km marathon to land his first senior title. The Russians also took second place through his training partner Aleksey Voyevodin. Olga Kuzenkova continued the Russian revival, adding the world hammer throw title to her Olympic crown, seeing off defending champion Yipsi Moreno of Cuba. However, the Russians did not have everything their own way as their women’s 4x100 m relay team came to grief on the final handover of their heat. Elsewhere, two other champions evoked nostalgic memories. France’s Ladji Doucoure won the men’s 110m hurdles, beating Olympic champion and joint world record holder Liu Xiang of China, and four-time world king Allen Johnson of the USA, to become France’s first global champion in the event since Guy Drut won Olympic gold in 1976. US Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner, coached by world record holder Michael Johnson’s former mentor Clyde Hart, coasted to victory in the 400 metres. The USA endured a miserable start to the evening when double sprint champion Justin Gatlin saw his hopes of emulating Maurice Greene’s three titles at a world championships shattered when his 4x100m relay team-mates dropped the baton in the heats. Gatlin was powerless to do anything about it. He was not running in the heat and Greene, winner of three titles in the 1999
championships, also saw his hopes of winning a medal in his only event here come crashing to the ground. While Isinbayeva said she had achieved her target of winning the title, she remained modest about her achievements. The praises were led instead by Ukrainian pole vault legend Sergei Bubka. “She proved she is a great athlete in the way she performed today and in the way she keeps breaking records,” said Bubka, whose 35 world records was being chased by the Russian phenomenon.
— AFP |
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Anand takes lead over Grischuk
Mainz, August 13 With 3.5 points in his kitty from just four games, Anand almost assured himself of a fifth straight victory on Mainz soil as he now required just one point out of four in the eight-game match. After winning the first two games, the Indian ace got a bit lucky in next two, drawing the third with white quite early while winning the fourth game from a difficult position. Anand did not quite find his magical touch on the second day. In the third game, the Indian faced stiff resistance from Grischuk, who had come well-armed against the English attack. The moves were the same as the second game for quite some time, but Grischuk had a better plan up his sleeve to counter the white pieces. Anand sensed some trouble in the middle game, when Grischuk went for a piece sacrifice, and opted for a safer approach, leading to a balanced endgame. The draw was agreed to in 24 moves. The fourth game was simply a disaster for the Russian, who apparently had a huge advantage, that he did not convert. Playing the white side of a Queen’s Indian, Grischuk did everything right to tighten the noose in the middle game, with emphatic
manoeuvring, but fumbled under time pressure to let the game slip from his grasp. It was in the middle game that Grischuk uncorked a fine attacking plan and got his rook penetrate into the heart of black’s position, but when the opportunity presented itself, the Russian crumbled once more, failing to find the right path to further strengthen his position. Once on top, Anand had little trouble romping home in 42 moves. “He conducted the attack quite well and I had an unpleasant position despite the extra pawn. Alexander just played better than me today,” Anand said in the post-game press conference. Asked about his big lead at the half-way stage, Anand added, “It is a great cushion, but it is better not to think about it”. Grischuk was quite annoyed with the way things had gone so far. “The press will write that Vishy was lucky, but I do not deserve any better with the level of my play.” Meanwhile, Levon Aronian of Armenia was the worthy winner of the Finet Chess 960 open tournament, scoring 10 points out of a possible 11. World junior champion P. Harikrishna had to be content with 32nd place with 7 points to his credit. In Chess 960, earlier called the Fischer random chess, the initial position of the pieces is randomly changed at the start of the game. In the Chess 960 World Championship match between Russian Peter Svidler and Hungarian Zoltan
Almasi, the former kept his full point lead, drawing both games on the second day. The score stood at 2.5-1.5 in favour of Svidler at this stage. — PTI |
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Atwal misses cut on PGA debut
Springfield, August 13 The Indian golfer, ended his second round with a seven-over 77 yesterday. He finished the two rounds before the cut at 11-over and crashed out. It was Atwal’s second Major, after the British Open in 2004, where also he failed to make the cut. The missed cut at the PGA Championships, where he became the first Indian to tee up, also meant his streak of cuts ended at 12. Before this event, Atwal had made 12 cuts in as many starts. Atwal started at the 10th and it was disastrous from the word go, as he double bogeyed and then dropped another shot at 12th to be three over after three holes. Two more bogeys on 15th and 17th, the 650-yard par-five hole, further ruined his chances, though birdies on 14th and 18th gave him an outside chance. On the front nine of the course, which was Atwal’s second nine, the Indian ace birdied the first and fifth. But in between, he double bogeyed the fourth. Then towards the end, he ended as miserably as he had begun, with four dropped shots in three holes, a double on seventh and bogeys on eighth and ninth. In two days, Atwal managed just 11 pars, but had nine birdies, 12 bogeys and four double bogeys, three of them on the second day, and that did him in. Even as the Indian was struggling, Tiger Woods clawed his way back with a birdie on the 18th to just make the cut at four over for the tournament. The field was led by Phil Mickelson, whose brilliant back nine of five-under saw him finish the day at five-under and eight-under for the first two rounds. He was three shots clear of second-placed Jerry Kelly, while Rory
Sabbatini, Lee Westwood and Davis Love III were tied third at four-under. Defending champion Vijay Singh was three under after a second round of
67. Atwal’s predicament of missed cut was shared by the likes of Padraig Harrington, Justin Leonard, Chris Di Marco, Brad
Faxon, Peter Lonard, Graeme McDowell, Billy Mayfair, Colin Montgomerie, Jonathan Kaye, Rod
Pampling, Shigeki Maruyama, Robert Allenby, Darren Clarke, Jeff Sluman and Darren Clarke, among others. The Asian flag was kept flying by Korean Yang
Yong-eun at the half-way stage of the PGA Championship. Yang, who plied his trade on the Asian Tour before venturing to Japan, shot an impressive three-under-par 67 to move up to tied 11th place on 138, six shots behind Mickelson. The Korean was in good form, shooting seven birdies, including five in his last eight holes, as he surged up the leaderboard in what was his PGA Championship
debut. Choi Kyung-ju, winner of the SK Telecom Open on the Asian Tour this season, was tied 30th after adding a 70 to his opening 71 for a
141 total. — PTI |
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Montreal, August 13 Nadal, who had not dropped serve all week, gave Puerta no opening, forcing him to take risks that did not pay off. He would meet Paul-Henri Mathieu in the semifinals. The Frenchman booked his berth with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 victory over Slovakia’s Karol Beck. STOCKHOLM: Former French Open champion Anastasia Myskina eliminated home favourite Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 7-5, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Nordic Light Open. Myskina would face Emilie Loit of France, who defeated Spain’s Arantxa Parra Santonja, 6-2, 7-5. Third-seeded Vera Douchevina of Russia and fifth-seeded Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia would square off in the other semifinal. Douchevina rallied to defeat sixth-seeded Martina Sucha of Slovakia 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, while Srebotnik also came from a set down, beating seventh-seeded Catalina Castano of Colombia 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
— AFP |
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PSEB off to winning start
Chandigarh, August 13 PSEB took the lead in the ninth minute when off a pass by Parminder, Dalip Kumar found the target and put his team ahead. The second goal for the Punjab powermen came midway into the second session when PSEB initiated a good move through half-back Parminder in the 76th minute. Without wasting a second, Parminder put Tajinder in possession, who bulged the net to make it 2-0. BSF did try to come back into the reckoning in the dying minutes and maintained control over the proceedings, but failed to reduce the margin. Yesterday, JCT Football Academy and Mahilpur FC played a goal-less draw to split points in the league’s inaugural match, played at Guru Nanak College, Phagwara. |
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Budha Dal school
downs Civil Lines by 10 wickets Patiala, August 13 Playway’s School: 72 all out (Haider 15, Vijay Kumar 5 for 10, Sandeep Kumar 2 for 7, Ravinder 2 for 10). In another match played at the Budha Dal School ground, SDSE School, downed Civil Lines School by 10 wickets. Brief scores: Civil Line School: 78 all out (Karanpal Singh 11, Dalwinder Singh 10, Ashish 3 for 7, Prabhjot Singh 2 for 15) SDSE School: 80 for no loss (Ashish Kumar 63 n.o, Ankit Kumar 8 n.o) In the last league match MES Cricket Club beat DAV Public School by 8 wickets. DAV School: 52 all out (Kunal Grover 11, Ujwal Sharma 3 for 1, Gaurav Joshi 2 for 5, Kunwar 2 for 8, Simant 1 for 1). MES cc: 53 for 2 (Shivin Goyal 15, Ujwal Sharma 13 n.o, Kunal Puri 1 for 22, Divjot Singh 1 for 1)
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