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India on verge of resounding victory Zimbabwe’s Heath Streak reacts
Sachin out of Super Series
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Uncertainty looms over
I was shot at during India tour: Flintoff
Watson aims to become new Flintoff
Bangladesh face innings defeat
ONGC defeat RCA
India keen to put Sweden on the mat
Sania crashes out
8-ball pool meet from Oct 14
BSF prevail over PSEB
Gurdaspur gymnasts excel
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India on verge of resounding victory
Harare, September 21 The left-handed Pathan and Zaheer Khan made amends for India’s unimpressive batting show by scything through the hosts’ top order to take their team within sniffing distance of their first overseas series win in 18 years. After conceding a huge first innings lead of 205, the hosts were gasping at 39 for four at stumps on the second day, which saw the visitors take control of the game. Earlier, Heath Streak dried up the runs and took wickets as India plodded to 366 all out. India’s batsmen floundered against the bowling of Streak and Blessing Mahwire. Streak’s probing efforts with the second new ball, taken 50 minutes after the lunch break, finally brought reward when Yuvraj Singh could not handle a yorker and was bowled for 25. Zimbabwe enjoyed more success two balls later when Mahwire bowled Rahul Dravid for 98. Scoreboard Zimbabwe (1st innings) 161 India (1st innings) Gambhir c Taibu b Mahwire 97 Sehwag c Taibu b Streak 44 Dravid b Mahwire 98 Laxman lbw Streak 8 Ganguly c Taibu
b Mwayanenga 16 Yuvraj b Streak 25 Kaarthick b Streak 1 Pathan c Coventry b Streak 32 Kumble c Ebrahim b Streak 8 Harbhajan not out 14 Zaheer c Taibu b Blignaut 2 Extras
(b-2, lb-11, nb-8) 21 Total (all out, 107.4 overs) 366 Fall of wickets:
1-75, 2-198, 3-219, 4-245, 5-306, 6-306, 7-318, 8-342, 9-361. Bowling:
Streak 32-10-73-6, Mahwire 26-5-86-2, Blignaut 19.4-1-80-1, Mwayenga 21-6-79-1, Dabengwa 9-1-35-0. Zimbabwe (2nd innings) Taylor lbw b Pathan 4 Duffin c Dravid b Pathan 10 Ebrahim c Yuvraj b Zaheer 3 Masakadza batting 11 Taibu c Kumble b Zaheer 1 Streak batting 6 Extras
(b-1, lb-2, w-1) 4 Total (four wkts, 17 overs) 39 Fall of wickets:
1-13, 2-18, 3-18, 4-21.India on verge of resounding victory Bowling:
Pathan 8-1-25-2, Zaheer 8-3-9-2, Harbhajan
1-0-2-0. — Reuters, PTI |
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Sachin out of Super Series
Mumbai, September 21 “Dr Anant Joshi, who has been supervising the rehabilitation programme for Sachin Tendulkar’s elbow has advised that Sachin should participate in at least one domestic game to evaluate his recovery before participating in competitive cricket. “Therefore, Tendulkar has opted out of the Super Series,” a media release from the BCCI’s Executive Secretary in-charge R. S. Shetty said here today.
— PTI
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Uncertainty looms over BCCI poll
Kolkata, September 21 Despite a verbal offensive against the ruling group, the dissidents seem to be keeping their cards close to the chest, with political heavyweight Sharad Pawar yet to spell out whether he would be in fray for the president’s post. Mumbai Cricket Association president Pawar has remained noncommital so far and even postponed his arrival to the city yesterday saying he would decide on throwing his hat into the ring once court cases against the Cricket Board were settled. However, as per the BCCI constitution, candidatures can be announced even on the floor of the AGM. The opposition lobby, led by two former BCCI chiefs I.S. Bindra and Raj Singh Dungarpur, was planning to raise a number of issues pertaining to the vexed television rights, the expenditure incurred by the Board on legal matters as also the recent spat between Indian coach Greg Chappell and skipper Sourav Ganguly
in Zimbabwe. The ruling combine, which would field incumbent Ranbir Singh Mahendra in the presidential elections, has been busy holding a series of group meetings to canvass support at a five-star hotel in south Kolkata where the Board’s AGM is being held for the fourth time in succession. Meanwhile, five cases have been filed at courts in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan (2) on disputes about representations
at the AGM. Dalmiya said he was confused about whether elections would take place at all at the AGM in view of the cases lying before the courts. “I am totally confused. Press reports say that elections are on. But the elections depend on the outcome of the cases,” he said. Dungarpur, on the other hand, slammed the Board for the Ganguly-Chappel spat. “What
happened in Zimbabwe is unparalleled (in the history of Indian cricket). It reveals the failure of the ruling group in handling situations both on and off the ground. “But these things, though unfortunate, are going to help us,” in case there was an election for the president’s post,
he said. — PTI |
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I was shot at during India tour: Flintoff
London, September 21 “I felt something hit me and, looking down, saw pellets on the ground,” Flintoff wrote in his book ‘Being Freddie’, extracts of which were published in ‘The Times’ here today. “You expect to have plastic bottles thrown at you when you are playing on the sub-continent, but you don’t expect to be shot.” It was the famous ‘Flintoff rip-off’ series when Nasser Hussain’s England came from 1-3 behind to level the six-match series 3-3. The match in question was the fifth one-dayer at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground on January 31, 2002. Flintoff cracked three sixes and a four for his 39-ball 52 and then picked one for 41 in seven overs as England clinched a narrow two-run victory over the Indians. Flintoff had later take off his jersey in football-style celebration in the sixth and final one-dayer at the Wankhede in Mumbai after England’s series levelling win. That aggressive gesture had seem out of line then and even sparked a retaliatory performance by Indian captain Sourav Ganguly who bared his chest on the Lord’s balcony after overhauling England’s target of 326 in the NatWest series final. But in the light of Flintoff’s revelation, it could be accepted as a rattled mind trying to shake off the haunting memories of the Kotla incident. Flintoff said he was upset that he was asked to play down the incident by the team management.
— PTI
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Watson aims to become new Flintoff
Sydney, September 21 Watson said today he had been inspired by Flintoff’s man-of-the-series performance in England’s 2-1 Ashes victory over Australia and hoped to face him in next month’s Super Series six-day Test in Sydney. The 24-year-old, currently on tour with Australia A in Pakistan, said he wanted to become Australia’s version of
Flintoff. “Freddy’s performances showed what a great genuine allrounder does for the side,” he told Australian national news service AAP from
Rawalpindi. “Obviously it gives the team a lot more options. I am definitely working really hard and hoping that I get up to
Freddy’s standard.” “I definitely feel that I have got what it takes. I am only 24 as well and I am improving all the time. So hopefully I will be that person and that player for Australian cricket.” Flintoff, 27, had scored 402 runs from 10 innings in the Ashes series and had taken 24 wickets at an average of 27.29, winning comparisons with England’s last great allrounder
Botham.
— AFP |
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Bangladesh face innings defeat
Colombo, September 21 Sri Lanka, who had earlier declared on 457-9, enforced the follow on after bowling out Bangladesh for 191 in 45.4 overs and quickly claimed the second innings wickets of Javed Omar (nine), Habibul Bashar (10) and Nafees Iqbal (30). Shariar Nafees (51) held up Sri Lanka’s progress with a maiden Test fifty, sharing a 75-run stand for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Ashraful before being caught at slip off Muttiah Muralitharan. Fast bowler Dilhara Fernando, making a return to the Test team after a long injury layoff, was the chief wicket-taker, claiming 5-60 in the first innings and 2-25 in the second innings. Fernando troubled Bangladesh’s top order with his sharp pace, nagging length and subtle variations, including a well-disguised slower ball, during important spells before and after lunch. Ashraful offered the only substantial first innings resistance with an entertaining 41-ball 42 that included five fours and two sixes before being deceived by a Fernando slow ball and being caught at mid on. The 21-year-old right-hander, who smashed 21 runs in a single Fernando over immediately after the lunch break, also resisted in the second innings, finishing the day on 21 not out. Earlier, Bangladesh fast bowler Shahadat Hossain bowled Muralitharan for 24 to finish with a career-best 4-108. Left-armer Syed Rasel bowled Vaas for 65 to finish with 4-129, also a personal best. Sri Lanka won the first Test by an innings and 96 runs. Scoreboard
Sri Lanka (1st innings) 457 Bangladesh (1st innings) Omar b Fernando 18 Nafees c Sangakkara b Malinga 5 Bashar c Vaas b Fernando 18 Iqbal c Sangakkara b Fernando 5 Ashraful c Atapattu b Fernando 42 Ahmed c Sangakkara b Fernando 23 Mashud st Sangakkara
b Muralitharan 26 Rafique c Dilshan b Muralitharan 6 Rasel c Vaas b Muralitharan 5 Hossain c Sangakkara b Malinga 7 Haque not out 2 Extras
(b-8, lb-9, nb-16, w-1) 34 Total (all out, 45.4 overs) 191 Fall of wickets:
1-16, 2-46, 3-52, 4-72, 5-115, 6-135, 7-143, 8-157, 9-166. Bowling:
Vaas 10-0-31-0, Malinga 9-1-32-2, Fernando 11-2-60-5, Muralitharan 14.4-2-47-3, Herath 1-0-4-0. Bangladesh (2nd innings) Iqbal c Sangakkara b Fernando 30 Omar c Atapattu b Vaas 9 Bashar c Muralitharan
b Fernando 10 Nafees c Samaraweera b Muralitharan 51 Ashraful batting 21 Hossain batting 0 Extras
(b-4, lb-1, nb-5) 10 Total (for 4 wkts, 34 overs) 131 Fall of wickets:
1-22, 2-44, 3-56, 4-131. Bowling: Vaas 7-0-24-1, Malinga 7-0-31-0, Fernando 5-0-25-2, Herath 7-3-19-0, Muralitharan 7-2-22-1, Dilshan 1-0-5-0.
— Reuters |
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Australian colts win by six wickets
Mohali, September 21 Putting up a good batting performance,
Skenner, who seemed to be in a mood to punish the bowlers, made a blistering 64 off 45 balls, hammering four sixes and seven boundaries. Tom Copper, who shared an opening stand of 118 runs in 85 balls with
Skenner, made 62 with two sixes and eight fours, to put Australia in a strong position. Earlier, after winning the toss, Australia, led by A. Finch, put India in to bat. C. Thompson struck in the third over of the innings by having Ali Murtaza (1) caught by Aaron Finch at first slip when the total was seven. After that, the other opener, Anirudh Srikant (34), and Rohit Sharma (16) steadied the ship before Rohit was caught and bowled by P. Darwen in the 11th over. Both players put on 56 runs in 55 deliveries. Skipper Ravi Kanth made a valuable 33 before being trapped leg before wicket by McNamara Piyush Chawla, the top-scorer for India with 55 runs, guided the team to a respectable 209. The tailenders could not do much in the dying overs as the team was bundled out for 230 with two overs to spare. The most successful bowler for Australia was Jackson Bird, who claimed three wickets for 30 runs, while M. Henriques and Darwen took two wickets each. Chasing the target of 231, the Australian openers took full advantage of India’s weak fielding as well as bowling attack and put on 118 runs for the first wicket. The Indian fielders dropped four catches in the match, which cost them dearly. The breakthrough for India came in the 14th over as Piyush Chawla, the most successful bowler of his side with two wickets, caught and bowled
Skenner. The other major contributor was Moises Henriques, who made 42 runs in 41 deliveries. David Warner, who remained unbeaten on 34, anchored Australia’s total to 231 for four in just 34.3 overs, with a sparkling four as the winning shot. The other wicket-takers for India were
Y.O. Mahesh and P. Ojha, who claimed one wicket each. Aridaman Ghosh played as super sub for Anand Rajan while Jack McNamara was replaced by Thompson under the new ICC rules. Blaming the poor overall performance of his players, Venkatesh Prasad, the coach of the team, said, “There was need to work on the improvement of all the departments of the game as our batting, bowling and fielding were not up to the mark”. Brian
Mcfyden, the coach of the Australian team, expressed satisfaction over the performance of his team. Scoreboard India
Under-19 Srikanth c Bird b Henriques 34 Murtaza c Finch b
Thompson 1 Sharma c and b Darwen 16 Shukla st Gledhill
b McNamara 33 Pradeep c Gledhill b Henriques
2 Ghosh lbw Skenner 33 Chawla c and b Darwen 55 Shah c Cooper b Bird 18 Mahesh c and b Bird 1 Ahmed not out 9 Ojha c Gledhill b Bird 1 Extras:
27 Total: (all out, 48 overs 230 Fall of wickets:
1-7, 2-63, 3-80, 4-86, 5-115, 6-178, 7-209, 8-218, 9-218. Bowling:
Thompson 4-0-23-1, Bird 6.3-0-30-3, Khwaja 1-0-12-0, Darwen 10-0-36-2, Henriques 5-0-39-2, Finch 9-0-29-0, McNamara 6-0-22-1, Warner 2-0-14-0, Skenner 5-0-20-1. Australia
Under-19 Skenner c and b Chawla 64 Cooper c Mahesh b Chawla 62 Finch c Murtaza b Rohit 4 Warner not out
34 Henriques c Ghosh b Mahesh 42 Khwaja not out 12 Extras: 13 Total:
(4 wickets, 34.3 overs) 231 Fall of wickets: 1-118, 2-139, 3-139, 4-205 Bowling:
Ahmed 5-1-39-0, Mahesh 4.3-0-42-1, Murtaza 6-0-41-0, Ojha 5-1-34-0, Chawla 7-0-37-2, Rohit 7-0-35-1. |
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ONGC defeat RCA
Chandigarh, September 21 The ONGC won the toss and elected to bat and were restricted to 223 for 7 in 50 overs. The main scorers for the ONGC were Mithun Minhas (45), Amit Sharma (45), Sarandeep (36), Ajay Ratra (32 not out) and Radhayshyam (25). Pankaj Singh (3 for 33) and Shamsher (3 for 40) were the main wicket takers for the RCA. The RCA were bowled out for 221 in 49.1 overs. For the RCA Nikhil Doru (65) and Rahul Kanwat (48) were the top scorers. With this win the ONGC got 5 points while the RCA got 1 point for denying the bonus point to the ONGC. In the 2nd match held at DAV School, Sector 8, the MP Cricket Association (MPCA) defeated Jharkhand Cricket Association (JCA) by 146 runs. The MPCA scrored 281 after they won the toss and elected to bat. Sachin Dolepure smashed 83 while Rahul Bakshi scored 72 as they put on 134 runs for the 3rd wicket. Jharkhand skipper C.M. Jha took 5 wickets for 46 runs in 8 overs. Jharkhand in reply folded up for 135 in 30.2 overs. Jatinder Likhar (4 for 33) and T. Sudhendra (3 for 46) were the main wicket takers for the MPCA. With this win the MPCA got 6 points, including a bonus. In the 3rd match played at DAV College, Sector 10, Bishnoi Cricket Club (BCC), Delhi, defeated PCA Colts by 5 wickets taking their tally to 15 points to become the first team to reach the quarterfinals. PCA Colts were put into bat and at one stage were tottering at 59 for 7 in 19.9 overs. But skipper Sandeep Sawal (56 not out) salvaged some pride for PCA Colts who were eventually bowled out for 161 in 43.2 overs. Parveen (4 for 35) and Sohail (2 for 25) were the main wicket takers for the BCC. The BCC notched up the winning runs in just 33.5 overs. Shikhar Dhawan (71) and Yashpal (47) were the top scorers.
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India keen to put Sweden on the mat
New Delhi, September 21 The Indian team firmed up their practice sessions by shedding gallons of sweat in extreme humid and heat conditions today at the National Sports Club of India courts. The rain last week might turn out to be a divine blessing for the hosts as the heat and humidity that followed the rain was getting on the nerves and stamina of the Swedes, not used to this kind of extreme humidity. Sweden’s non-playing captain Mats Wilander and top player Johannson conceded as much when they said, “We are not used to this kind of weather”. But the visitors had the talent to choose from, unlike India, who banked on Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Prakash Amritraj to do the miracle. The fate of the tie would depend on how India would fare on the opening day’s singles. India had a dismal record against Sweden in the Davis Cup, with the Swedes making a clean sweep everytime, except once. This time too, Swedes had superior firepower to subdue the hosts, but the centre court at the R.K. Khanna Stadium inside the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association complex had always been a happy hunting ground for the hosts. Leander would have to shoulder the burden of playing the singles and doubles, as ever since Bhupathi stopped playing singles, India had to struggle to find a proper replacement. Prakash had been shaping up remarkably, after he won his first major title at the DLTA hard courts a couple of years ago, but the second slot was still vacant. Prakash’s all-round game suited grass court tennis perfectly, and he had strived hard to iron out the grey areas. But Rohan Boppanna, with a booming serve, and Harsh Mankad had not really impressed skipper Leander. The thrust at the training sessions at the National Sports Club of India courts here today was to the keep a keen eye on the display of Rohan and Harsh, as Leander would have to make up his mind about the fourth player by tomorrow morning, before the draw at the official residence of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at Race Course Road. India had been knocking at the doors of the elite World Group since 2000, but all their four attempts had met with failure. |
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Kolkata, September 21 Czink relied on her powerful forehand to stage a remarkable comeback after being completely outplayed in the first set to finish off with a 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 win and book a berth in the quarterfinals. The partisan crowd at the Netaji Indoor Stadium had a whale of a time in the first set, cheering every aggressive shot by the 34th-ranked Mirza, who looked unstoppable. But the complexion of the match changed soon as Sania’s serve deserted her and she lapsed into frequent unforced errors, losing her confidence in the process. In contrast, the 122nd-ranked Hungarian grew in confidence as the match progressed and sent down delightful winners to close the match in a little less than two hours.
— PTI
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8-ball pool meet from Oct 14
Chandigarh, September 21 The championship is being held under the aegis of the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) and the players to represent India in all international events next year as well as for the selection camp for the Asian Games to be held at Doha in 2006 will be chosen from this championship. Bains said in a move aimed at enhancing the popularity of the game, the restriction on the number of entries per state had been removed. The total prize money for the championship was over Rs 1.5 lakh, with separate prizes for men and women. The National 8-Ball Pool Championship will be held from October 14 to 18 at the Grand Lilly Resorts, Jalandhar, and will be played on six imported tables on a league-cum-knockout basis. The PBSA had earlier hosted the National 9-Ball Pool Championship at Ludhiana in November 2004. According to Alok Kumar, General Secretary of the PBSA, 8-ball pool is a game that requires skill, mental dexterity and strategic planning. Unlike 9-ball pool, the element of luck is reduced. Though the table and other playing equipment is the same as 9-ball pool, the total number of balls in 8-ball is 16 whereas in 9-ball pool there are only 10 balls, including the white ball, which is the striker. About 150 players from over 15 states are expected to participate in the championship. |
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BSF prevail over PSEB
Chandigarh, September 21 A self goal by BSF’s deep defender off a flag kick by PSEB’s Parminder Singh in the 12th minute put the security men in arrears. However, BSF fought back and in the 23rd minute a cross by Santosh saw striker Gurjit Atwal shooting home from close range to make it 1-1. A few minutes before the breather, a similar move initiated by Santosh and Atwal fizzled out as the latter’s header was off the mark. In the second half, PSEB’s Gurpreet Singh missed a good chance as he shot wide from an enviable position. A counter-attack by BSF’s Dharminder Singh in the 80th minute also failed as his powerful shot struck the pole. The match winner came a minute before the end when the veteran Gurjit Atwal capitalised on a cross by Prasanto and slotted the ball in to give his team full points. The concluding match of the league would be played between JCT MIlls and BSF at Phagwara on September 23 at 4 pm.
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Gurdaspur gymnasts excel
Mansa, September 21 In badminton, Patiala stood first, Jalandhar second, while Sangrur and Amritsar shared the third position. Arvinda of Jalandhar got gold in 100 metres hurdles, winning in 15.03 seconds. Sukhmanpreet of Sangrur with 16.09 seconds and Paramjeet Kaur, also of Sangrur, with 16.91 seconds clinched the next two positions. In basketball quarterfinals, Gurdaspur defeated Hoshiarpur 58-57 in a nail-biting finish, Kapurthala defeated Sangrur 32-18, Ludhiana defeated Amritsar 55-39, and Jalandhar defeated Mansa 51-23. Results of athletics are as follows — long jump — Kulwinder Kaur (Jalandhar), Paramjeet Kaur (Sangrur) and Manpreet Kaur (Gurdaspur). Shot put- Manjeet Kaur (Ropar), Narinder Kaur (Jalandhar), Manpreet Kaur (Fatehgarh Sahib). In
volleyball quarterfinals, Jalandhar defeated Hoshiarpur, Muktsar defeated Amritsar, Ludhiana defeated Mansa, and Bathinda defeated Ropar to make it to the semifinals. In handball’s quarterfinals, Ropar defeated Hoshiarpur 15-7, Amritsar defeated Sangrur 12-4, Ludhiana defeated Patiala 15-8, and Jalandhar defeated Ferozepore 13-5. In hockey, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Amritsar made it to the semifinals. In kabaddi, Ludhiana, Moga, and Jalandhar made it to semifinals. |
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Irfan Pathan continued to torment a hapless Zimbabwe with a fine exhibition of swing bowling as India put themselves on the threshhold of a crushing victory in the second and final Test here today.
The left-handed Pathan and Zaheer Khan made amends for India’s
unimpressive batting show by scything through the hosts’ top order to
take their team within sniffing distance of their first overseas series
win in 18 years.
