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Kaif is back in Indian team
India need to test youngsters before World Cup: Chappell
Sachin undergoes medical check-up
India took flexibility theory to
Tight security for sixth ODI
Indians improve their ODI rankings |
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South Africa down New Zealand
Centurion, November 7 Andrew Hall took a career-best four for 23 as South Africa beat New Zealand by five wickets in a rain-shortened fifth and final one-day international yesterday. A heavy thunderstorm interrupted the Proteas' pursuit of New Zealand's 215 at Centurion Park, and the hosts reached its revised target of 140-5 with 11 balls to spare to win the series 4-0.
Pakistan hopes to improve image
Watson likely to be out for
Warne heads Test bowling rankings
Arthur fined for swearing at umpire
Gujarat hold Jharkhand, Goa thrash Tripura 15-0
Sania
Mirza ranked 31st Koreans dominate
Kapur 17th on Asian Order of Merit Amanpreet wins 800m race
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Ahmedabad, November 7 Uncapped allrounder V.R.V. Singh (21) was called up in the only other change to the squad. Middle-order batsman Y. Venugopala Rao and allrounder J.P. Yadav were dropped. “We are making two changes. V.R.V. Singh and Mohammad Kaif are coming in place of Y. Venugopala Rao and J.P. Yadav,” said Board of Control for Cricket in India Secretary S.K. Nair here last night. The last two one-day internationals would be played at Rajkot on Wednesday and Baroda on and Saturday. The former world champions would return to play three Tests next month. Coach Tom Moody was determined to regain form for the forthcoming matches. “We have put the four games we have lost behind us. It is nice to get off to a win. We have a Test series to play, so its good for the team’s confidence,” Moody said.
— ANI |
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India need to test youngsters before World Cup: Chappell
Ahmedabad, November 7 Chappell saw the five-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in the fifth one-day international here yesterday in a positive light. “We need to balance between winning and experimenting. Had we won with this young side, the benefit for Indian cricket in the next between 12 and 18 months would have been huge,” Chappell said. Having clinched the seven-match series by winning the first four matches, India rested Sachin Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh. “You cannot get that experience unless you let the youngsters make mistakes. We must be prepared to take that risk, so that we give ourselves a chance of winning World Cup 2007. “We have no choice. It is not a matter of whether will we or will we not, we have to do it. Otherwise we will wake up one day and find ourselves surrounded by players with injuries and worn-out
cricketers. “The energy the guys showed on the field — I do not know if there had been a better fielding effort from the Indian team before,” he said. Chappell had a word of praise for Virender
Sehwag for his captaincy when Rahul Dravid was off the field receiving treatment for cramps and a hamstring strain during
the most part of Lankan innings. “Sehwag did well in the circumstances. He attacked when he had to attack and defended when he had to. We knew that we needed over 300 runs to put them under pressure, but the team did well to push them to the extent they did,” he said. Dravid said it was not often that a team got three inconsequential matches to try out the youngsters. “It was a chance to look at the younger players we have. We had won the series already. Now that we have them, we have to make use of them. It will strengthen the squad in the long term,” he said.
Dravid said his going off the field was a precautionary measure and there was no major injury worry. |
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Sachin undergoes medical check-up
Ahmedabad, November 7 Tendulkar underwent a detailed but routine check-up at the radiology and MRI department of the hospital and was with experts for nearly two hours, the sources said. “Sachin visited the hospital in the morning. He was at the radiology and MRI department and was examined by the hospital’s physiotherapist and radiologist,” the sources said. They did not reveal if the tests were conducted in connection with any complaints that he had with his tennis elbow injury.
— PTI |
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India took flexibility theory to dangerous terrain
Three key men did not play for India. Sachin Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh have been half of the team in this series. It took the flexibility theory to dangerous terrain.
To aim for 11 faceless men in team is alright, but it was akin to pushing an automobile onto the road without gas. To us it appeared that they were cocky. On paper, India can defend these changes. Gautam Gambhir had a terrific century, Rudra Pratap Singh kicked up bounce on a docile surface with his high-arm action and S. Sreesanth was naturally accurate. But how do you measure psychology in sport? I believe that the Indians went into the game thinking that only a 300-plus total could save them. They were aware that this was their lightest bowling attack in years and batsmen needed to cover up for them. It led to a mad scramble in the final overs. Batsmen were rushed and they lost out on between 20 and 25 extra runs. As for Sri Lanka, they have now seen an opening. Barring Sanath Jayasuriya, batsmen have found their feet. It can have a critical bearing when they return for Tests. They surely want to go with a 3-4 scoreline. It is possible since India, I believe, will not abandon their experiments. If they do, they will look confused and weak. What do you tell these young men for resting them in the next match? Gambhir just cannot be put on the bench. When ushered into the party, he made sure he did not go unnoticed. He is explosive, but that is besides the point. He knew that the selectors could drop him to include Mohammad Kaif for the final two games. He saw the booty and made a fistful of it. He will now get to play in the last two games. Maybe Virender Sehwag can handle his one-day blues from the sidelines. India were still better than Sri Lanka in one respect and it was because of these youngsters. I have never seen a better Indian fielding side than the one in Ahmedabad. Just count the number of times your boys hit the stumps. Suresh Raina was just not swooping on the ball for effect, he was also gathering it clean and throwing precise. I know the difference for I have seen some average Indian fielding sides. For sometime you had Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja and then
Robin Singh. In the last few years, Yuvraj Singh and Kaif have spanned the entire spectrum of your fielding prowess. Now you have this Generation Next. I have never seen a more disciplined Indian bowling attack than the one seen in this series. If Ajit Agarkar, with a
reputation of being profligate, can be precise, you need to doff your hat. Sreesanth and R.P. Singh gave nothing away. They did not experiment and bowled on one side of the wicket. They tried to exert pressure from both ends. That is what bowling combinations should always strive for in this wonderful game. Cricket can be simple in its nuances, but like all things simple, it does not come easy. It is also time we start speaking for Rahul Dravid for the genial Indian skipper is modest to a fault. He gets less attention than, say a Kevin Pieterson or a Brian Lara, only because in the eye of the media, he is less flamboyant. His has been a shining presence in the game and we need to acknowledge it every time he scores a hundred. Such men are remarkable, who after a decade of cricket, do not lose their passion. He has a devotion to his craft, but nearly always, approaches it with humility. He has to be an inspiration in the dressing room, as he must be to thousands who flock Indian ‘maidans’. Sri Lanka now need Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas and Muthiah Muralitharan to leave an impact on the Indians. It will come handy in Tests next month. They are world-class competitors and their countless fans back home are hoping that their prayers are answered. It will also restore the imbalance between the two sides. India have let the cat out of the bag and I suspect that it has not been a very bright move. It sure is going to provide a stirring finish to the series.
— PTI |
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Rajkot, November 7 At least 1,000 policemen will be deployed and at least 100 personnel will watch viewers’ activities during the
match. CCTV cameras have been placed at different places at the stadium and sniffer dogs and bomb disposal experts have been kept ready. The authorities have decided not to allow carrying of any bottle or container in the stadium, but have permitted carrying of mobile phones.
— PTI |
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Indians improve their ODI rankings
Dubai, November 7 Though the Indian team remains in the seventh position, the players, with some sparkling shows, are enjoying individual success at the expense of Sri Lanka in their ongoing series which still has two matches to run. New captain Dravid is close to his career-best ranking and is up 17 places to seventh in the latest batting list. Back with a bang from his elbow surgery, Tendulkar is not far behind, at number nine. India's new found star Mahendra Singh Dhoni is up 30 places to 24th in the batting list while, among India’s bowlers, Harbhajan Singh has climbed 10 places to 11th and Ajit Agarkar is up nine spots to 16th. India, however, don't have any entry in the top 10 bowlers list which has Irfan Pathan at 13th. The series has, so far, been largely a bad news story for Sri Lanka as they trail 4-1. Those defeats have seen them drop from second to fourth place in the LG ICC ODI Championship table and most of their players have headed down the rankings. An exception to that downward progress has been Kumar Sangakkara who has continued his fine form, shown for the ICC World XI in the Johnnie Walker Super Series by moving up three places to sixth spot in the batting list. — UNI
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Centurion, November 7 Captain Graeme Smith (66 off 65 balls) was particularly severe on fast bowler Kyle Mills during South Africa's innings. The pair clashed verbally on a number of occasions, with umpire Steve Bucknor and New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming intervening. In New Zealand's innings, South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher equaled a national record by claiming five dismissals in his 200th one-day international. Scoreboard New Zealand 215 South Africa Smith b Franklin 66 De Villiers c Fleming b Mills 11 Kallis c Fleming b Vettori 15 Prince st McCullum b Vettori 9 Morkel c Astle b Styris 5 Boucher not out 22 Kemp not out 1 Extras
(lb-3, w-7, nb-1) 11 Total (5 wickets, 28.1 overs) 140 Fall of wickets:
1-61, 2-103, 3-106, 4-113, 5-131. Bowling: Mills 8-0-45-1, Bond 5-0-27-0, Franklin 4-1-19-1, Styris 6-0-27-1, Vettori 5-0-18-2, Astle 0.1-0-1-0.
— AFP. |
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Pakistan A need 245 for victory
Lahore, November 7 England made 256 with an improved batting performance after being dismissed for 126 in their first innings.
A third-wicket stand of 113 between Paul Collingwood (61) and Andrew Strauss (56) lifted England after Marcus Trescothick (1) and Kevin Pietersen (0) were dismissed to make it 10 for two. The partnership was broken when Shahid Nazir had Strauss caught behind. In the next over, Mansoor Amjad took his first wicket when Collingwood mistimed a heave through mid-wicket to be caught by Nazir. Andrew Flintoff showed glimpses of his strokeplay when he smashed two sixes and four boundaries in 28 from 19 balls before he was caught by Nazir off Amjad. Ashley Giles chipped in with 49, including nine fours, and put on 58 runs with Jones before the wicketkeeper was dismissed by Amjad for 30. Amjad also picked up the wickets of Shaun Udal and Hoggard to finish with figures of five for 97. Pace bowler Mohammad Asif took 3 for 44 to end with match figures of 10 for 106. Vaughan has scan on knee
Michael Vaughan underwent a scan here today to find out if an old knee injury would keep him out of the first Test against Pakistan. The 31-year-old Vaughan faced just one ball before retiring hurt in England’s second innings against Pakistan A. Vaughan was taken to former Pakistani captain Imran Khan’s Shaukat Khanum Hospital by England team doctor Paul Gregory. A local official with the England team said Vaughan was struggling with an injury similar to the one which had kept him out of a Test against New Zealand last year.
— Reuters |
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Pakistan hopes to improve image
Lahore, November 7 “I think the series against England is important for our safe image because England are the first side other than sides from the subcontinent to play in Pakistan for five years,” Shaharyar said. England were the last non-South Asian side to play in Karachi and Peshawar in 2000 before the attacks in the USA in 2001 sparked security fears in and around Pakistan. Australia and the West Indies had refused to tour Pakistan, citing players’ safety concerns and the series were played on neutral venues in 2002. New Zealand, who postponed their tour of Pakistan a week after the 2001 incidents, had to cut short their revised series after a bomb blast in front of their team hotel in Karachi killed 14 persons in 2002. South Africa and India had refused to play a Test in Karachi, where bomb blasts and ethnic violence had killed scores in the past five years. England had refused to play a Test in Karachi over security fears and agreed to play a one-day international in the southern port city on the current tour. “England still have security concerns, but I think that, after providing them security assurances and taking good care of them, we hope our image will improve as a safe country,” Shaharyar said. He said the Pakistani team could improve their Test image with the series against England. “England are on a roll after their Ashes win and if Pakistan beat them, they too can get a place among the top teams,” Shaharyar said. |
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Watson likely to be out for 2 months
Sydney, November 7 Watson (24) had been ruled out of the second Test, starting in Hobart on November 17. An MRI scan today revealed that he had partially dislocated his left shoulder and would undergo arthroscopic surgery on the injury tomorrow. Doctors would use the surgery to assess the extent of the damage and Cricket Australia said it could then offer a better estimation of his recovery time. “At this stage, it looks to be at least two months. The positive aspect is that Watson is a right-handed bowler, which will significantly reduce the amount of his time out of the game,” it said in a press note. Watson sustained the injury during fielding yesterday. After diving onto an on-drive from Ramnaresh Sarwan, he lay on the ground clutching his left shoulder and grimacing in pain. “It is gone,” he told team-mate Glenn McGrath. He did not bowl in the first innings, but took the important wicket of Chris Gayle in the second innings. Watson’s injury tempered Australia’s celebrations at their 379-run win against the West Indies at the Gabba in the first of the three-Test series. Watson had scored 81 runs and taken two wickets in his three Tests for Australia.
— AFP |
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Warne heads Test bowling rankings
Dubai, November 7 The Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker had claimed five wickets for 49 runs in the 379-run demolition of the Caribbeans, which helped him leapfrog team-mate and pace bowler Glenn McGrath to cap his best year in Test cricket for a decade. Warne had last topped the Test bowling rankings in December 1995 after a man-of-the-series performance against Pakistan. Among batsmen, the Indian duo of Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag gained a spot each to reach numbers three and four, respectively, in the latest ICC rankings. Jacques Kallis stayed atop the batting charts, ahead of Ricky Ponting, who had scored a century in each innings of the Brisbane Test. The West Indian batting collapse against Australia meant that both Brian Lara and captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul lost three spots to be placed fifth and 10th, respectively. Marcus Trescothick, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Andrew Strauss and Adam Gilchrist were the other batsmen who moved up in the rankings. Irfan Pathan was the highest-ranked Indian bowler at number 10. Apart from Warne overtaking McGrath on the top of the charts, there was no other change in the bowling rankings. |
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Arthur fined for swearing at umpire
Durban, November 7 Arthur was unhappy when a second rain interruption came after 19 overs of South Africa’s innings, one over short of the 20 required to constitute an innings in yesterday’s ODI. South Africa, who went on to win by five wickets, were ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis victory target at the time. A Cricket South Africa press note said Arthur was found to have breached the International Cricket Council’s code of conduct by confronting an umpire as he was coming off the field. “It was out of character, his first offence, but swearing at an umpire should not be tolerated,” the press note quoted match referee Chris Broad as saying. South Africa fast bowler Charl Langeveldt was fined 75 per cent of his match fee for failing to turn towards the umpire quickly enough when he appealed for the wicket of Hamish Marshall, who was caught behind for three. It was the second time in 12 months that Langeveldt had been found guilty of the level one offence, a fact that resulted in such a hefty fine this time.
He had done it in the Test series against the West Indies.
New Zealand’s Scott Styris was found guilty of swearing at an umpire’s decision and fined 25 per cent of his match fee. |
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Gujarat hold Jharkhand, Goa thrash Tripura 15-0
Thiruvananthapuram, November 7 In the second half, Jharkhand had the better of the exchanges and scored in the 48th minute through striker Vimal
Pariyar.
Jharkhand went ahead in the 85th minute when Pariyar struck again off a pass from Prakash Khachap. Gujarat levelled the score in the next minute when Rana netted a fine corss from Radhanandan, catching the goalkeeper off guard. At Kozhikode, Goa thrashed Tripura 15-0 in cluster VII. The victors, who were 9-0 ahead at half-time, rode on striker Freddy Mascarenhas’ double hat-trick and a hat-trick from Nicholas Rodrigues. Clifford Miranda gave them the lead when he neatly hit a free-kick into the net in the eighth minute. Anthony Pereira connected a pass from Mascarenhas in the 17th minute before the latter came up with a long-range goal a minute later. From then on, it was all Mascarenhas, who scored in the 22nd and 28th minutes. Tripura’s Rajib Ghosh was shown a red card for fouling Mahesh Gawli. Even as Nichlau Borges came up with a brace in the 35th and 38th minutes, both collected from right-wing crosses from the mercurial Climax Lawrence, Mascarenhas took over once again to register another hat-trick. He scored in the 39th, 42nd and 54th minutes, the last one coming from a square pass in front of the goal box. A minute later, Pereira completed a double when he stunned Tripura goalkeeper Sujat Ali. Rodrigues scored in the 63rd, 69th and 83rd minutes, the first one being a solo effort. Substitute Alvito Rodrigues scored in the last minute to complete Tripura’s agony.
— PTI |
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Sania Mirza ranked 31st
New Delhi, November 7 Sania benefitted as last week’s higher-ranked players Pen Shuai of China and Vera Zvonareva of Russia moved down in the leaderboard while Italian Silvia Farina Elia retired from the circuit, according to information received here. Shikha Uberoi moved up three places to finish at 139th while Rushmi Chakravarthi slipped to 371st place.
Ankita Bhambri slipped two places to finish at 394th and her sister Sanaa moved down 14 places to end up at 448th.
— UNI |
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Koreans dominate
New Delhi, November 7 In the men's team recurve too, Koreans were the leaders with 4041 points. Chinese Taipei were second with 3932 points, closely followed by Indian men with 3921 points. Sung Hyun Park (1388), Min Jin Yun (1379) and Ok Hee Yun (1362) spelt the Korean class by staying put at the top three places in women's individual recurve. In men's individual recurve, India's Jayant Talukdar (1309), Tarundeep Rai (1308) and Rahul Banerjee (1304) played marginally better than yesterday to be placed 7th, 8th and 9th, respectively. Dola Banerjee (1314), Reena Kumari (1310) and Chekrovolu Swuro (1294) of India were at 10th, 11th and 12th spots, respectively in women's individual recurve. In compound events, it was a bright day for India as Jahnu Hansda (1361) displayed some world class performance in individual section to go past compatriot Sakro Besra (1336) and snatch the top place. Jhanu's 343 points in 50 m and 357 points in 30 m were figures any archer would be proud of. India's Bansar Lin Dhar (1318) was at third place. — PTI
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Kapur 17th on Asian Order of Merit
New Delhi, November 7 It was for the second successive week that an Indian had finished second on the Asian Tour after Gaurav Ghei at the Hero Honda Indian Open. Kapur is the third-highest-ranked Indian on the Asian Order of Merit after Jyoti Randhawa (third) and Jeev Milkha Singh (15th). Five Indians — Randhawa, Jeev, Kapur, Ghei (43rd) and Harmeet Kahlon (44th) — are in the top 60 and assured of a berth in the year-ending Volvo Masters of Asia in Bangkok in December. A couple of other Indians — Amandeep Johl (62nd), Ashok Kumar (70th) and Rahil Gangjee (85th) — are in with a chance of making it. Kapur squandered a chance to take the title at Andrews Hill Golf Club yesterday when he lost in the playoff to 17-year-old Thai amateur Chinarat Phadsungil.
— PTI |
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Amanpreet
wins 800m race Patiala, November 7 Amanpreet was followed by Simarpreet Singh and Barinder Singh in that order. The prizes were distributed by hockey olympian S.S Gill. Results: 400m (u-17): Amanpreet Singh-1, Amanvir Singh-2, Barinder Singh-3. (u-14): Jagdeep Singh-1, Satnam Singh-2, Nripjit Singh-3. 200m (u-17): Amanpartap Singh-1, Amritpal Singh-2, Rupinder Singh. 200m (u-17, girls): Satinder Kaur-1, Shruti-2, Parneet Kaur-3. 200m (boys): Gurinder Singh-1, Jagdeep Singh-2, Nripjit Singh-3. 200m (u-14, girls): Chanpreet Kaur-1, Navneet Kaur-2, Harvir Kaur-3. 100m (boys, u-17): Amrit Singh-1, Rupinder Singh-2, Harkanwal Singh-3. (girls, u-17): Manvir Kaur-1, Satinder Kaur-2, Shruti-3. 100m (boys, u-14): Jaspreet Singh-1, Bhagwant Singh-2, Akaljot Singh-3. (100m, u-14): Gurmandeep Kaur-1, Navdeep Kaur-2, Harwinder Kaur-3. Shot put (u-17, boys): Gurdeepak Singh-1, Brinder Singh-2, Arshdeep Singh-3. Shot put (girls, u-17): Manvir Kaur-1, Rajwinder Kaur-2, Satinder Kaur-3. High jump: (boys, u-17): Simarpreet Singh-1, Harkanwal Singh-2, Harpreet Singh-3. Pre-primary section: 3 legged race: Jasjeet Singh-1, Sukhwinder Singh-2, Manjot Singh-3. Odd man out: Avtar Singh-1, Amanpreet Singh-2, Tejpartap Singh-3. Get ready event: Davinderpal Singh-1, Jashandeep Singh-2, Manpreet Kaur-3.
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