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Dhoni shines as India crush Sri Lanka
India retain winning combination
We are ready for SA: Dravid
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Ganguly fails with bat, shines with ball
Vaughan hopes to be fit before second Test
Pak awaits India’s nod
to itinerary
Windies struggle against Victoria
Rathore suggests lotteries for raising funds
Atwal, Randhawa struggle
National Games put off to next year
India beat Pakistan to lift trophy
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Dhoni shines as India crush Sri Lanka
Vadodara, November 12 Chasing a target of 245 for victory, Dhoni unleashed an array of breathtaking shots to score a 73-ball 80 and steer the team home with 10.3 overs to spare in what turned out to be yet another lop-sided encounter. The Indians again outplayed the hapless visitors in all departments of the game to bag the series with one of the biggest victory margins in recent times, staging a dramatic turnaround in their fortunes after a prolonged period of indifferent outings in one-dayers. The hosts relied on fine bowling performances by Rudra Pratap Singh (3/33) and local hero Irfan Pathan (3/38) to restrict Sri lanka to 244 for nine and then rattled up the required runs without much sweat at the IPCL Sports Complex to end the series on a rousing note. Skipper Rahul Dravid brought the victory with a delectable boundary off Chaminda Vaas, sending the capacity crowd at the stadium into a frenzy. It also marked Dravid’s first series win as a captain. The Indian run chase began with a flourish as Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar attacked the Sri Lankan bowlers from the word go. The pair put on 53 runs in quick time before Sehwag perished for a 25-ball 35, once again failing to make most of a good start. Sehwag clobbered six boundaries and appeared to be in a very good touch before edging a Dilhara Fernando delivery to Kumar Sangakkara behind the stumps. Irfan Pathan, promoted to the number three slot for the second time in the series, clicked once again, scoring a quick-fire 35 studded with four fours and two sixes. He was declared the man of the match. It was the turn of Dhoni, declared man of the series, to take centrestage. Batting at number four, he notched up a half century to complete a great match for the younger lot in the home team. The Ranchi youngster, who scored a record 183 not out at Jaipur earlier in the series, came up with another cruncher of a knock in only 72 balls that included eight fours and three sixes. In a growing sign of maturity he went for the big shots only after he got his eye in. Not to miss out on the party, Tendulkar (39) and Dravid (unbeaten 31) did their bit in ensuring that the Lankans did not return home with a consolation win at the fag end of a miserable outing before their scheduled return to India for the three-Test rubber in December. The victory was India’s 47th against the islanders in 89 outings and their 23rd in 33 ODI clashes on home soil. Earlier, a sixth wicket record 133-run partnership between captain Marvan Atapattu and all rounder Russel Arnold, both of whom scored half-centuries, rescued the Lankan innings and gave it some respectability after they won the toss and elected to bat. The duo, who erased the decade-old 132-run stand between former captain Arjuna Ranatunga and Ruwan Kalpage made in Hyderabad against India, joined hands when the tourists were struggling at 85 for 5 and pulled the innings out of the rut. Lanka were sent scampering for cover mainly by Rudra Pratap who grabbed three wickets for 33 in his 10-over spell after Ajit Agarkar and Pathan had sent back the openers with only 20 on board. The 19-year-old Lucknow left-arm bowler used the juice in the pitch by sticking to the ideal line and length to pick up the wickets of Kumar Sangakkara (32), Mahela Jayawardene (20) and in-form batsman Tilekaratne Dilshan (4) as Lanka slid from 77 for 2 to 85 for 5 in a short time. When India batted, Sehwag went hammer and tongs from the first ball, with two off drives against Lanka”s most experienced paceman Chaminda Vaas being the stand-out shots, as India raced to 35 in the first 5 overs and then to 50 in only 35 balls. Pathan regaled the home crowd with some big hitting. With the more sedate Tendulkar for company at the other end, the left hander went after the Lankan bowling with gusto before being caught brilliantly by Mahela Jayawardene who ran 25 yards at long on to latch on to the swirling descending ball. India left out S Sreesanth, Gautam Gambhir and Jai Prakash Yadav and made Suresh Raina the super sub. Sri Lanka omitted Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Farveez Maharoof, making Nuwan Zoysa as the super sub. Scoreboard Sri Lanka Samaraveera c Harbhajan Tharanga c Dravid b Pathan 6 Sangakkara c Yuvraj Jayawardene c Kartik Atapattu c Harbhajan Dilshan c Dhoni b R P Singh 4 Arnold c Harbhajan b Pathan 68 Lokuhettige b Agarkar 5 Vaas c Yuvraj b Kartik 11 Chandana not out 4 Extras
(lb-4, w-23, nb-2) 29 Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 244 Fall of wickets:
1-11, 2-20, 3-77, 4-80, 5-85, 6-218, 7-218, 8-227, 9-244. Bowling:
Pathan 10-1-38-3, Agarkar 10-1-47-2, R P Singh 10-2-33-3, Harbhajan 10-1-45-0, Kartik 7-0-53-1, Sehwag 3-0-24-0. India Sehwag c Sangakkara Tendulkar c and b Zoysa 39 Pathan c Jayawardene Dhoni c Samaraweera Kaif b Lokuhettige 13 Dravid not out 31 Yuvraj not out 0 Extras
(lb3, w1, nb8) 12 Total (5 wkts, 39.3 overs) 245 Fall of wickets:
1-53, 2-109, 3-115, 4-157, 5-240. Bowling: Vaas 9.3-1-51-0, Fernando 10-1-72-1, Zoysa 7-0-47-2, Lokuhettige 5-0-29-1, Chandana 6-0-32-1, Dilshan 2-0-11-0.
— PTI The 6-1 one-day series triumph against world number two Sri Lanka brought a windfall for the Indian cricket team today. The Cricket Board announced a special cash award of Rs 50 lakh for Rahul Dravid’s men for their stupendous show in the seven-match series. The team wrapped up the final match in quick time after winning the first four matches to bag the series by a record margin. This was also the first series win for the team under the guidance of coach Greg Chappell.
— PTI |
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India retain winning combination
Vadodara, November 12 The Selection Committee, which met here after India won the seventh and final one-dayer against Sri Lanka to bag the series 6-1, retained the same squad for the matches against South Africa. “The team has done well. We did not want to change the winning combination,” Kiran More, Chairman of selectors, said. Incidentally, the news came on the same day when Ganguly was dismissed for a duck while playing for East Zone against West Zone on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final in Ahmedabad. Ganguly was dismissed by paceman Zaheer Khan who too finds himself out of the national team. Squad: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohd Kaif, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, JP Yadav, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, S Sreesanth, Murali Kartik and Ajit
Agarkar.
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We are ready for SA: Dravid
Vadodara, November 12 “We are looking forward to the series against South Africa. They are on a roll. But we have had a good series ... we would like to have a crack at them. They are number two in rankings, hopefully we can continue with our giant-killing act,” an ecstatic Dravid said after India’s thumping five wicket win over the Lankans here. The victory at the IPCL Ground helped the hosts round off a spectacular series with a 6-1 margin. The South Africans arrived in the early hours today in Mumbai to play a five-match ODI series. The Proteas, who recently drubbed New Zealand 4-0 at home, play the first match at Hyderabad on November 16. Dravid said he did not expect to beat the Sri Lankans so easily. “Well, we had a lot of confidence going into the series. Sri Lanka are a good team, they have always done well against us. I did not think it would be this easy,” he said. “We tried to be positive and backed ourselves. Everyone contributed. It is easy to be given the opportunity but every member of the team delivered. Credit to the guys,” he said. “It was a great team contribution. We remained a happy bunch throughout the tour,” Dravid said. He said it was not difficult to motivate the team for the last match of a series that was already wrapped up. “We have been focussing on the process. We played good cricket throughout, and it showed on the field today,” he said. Coach Greg Chappell said he was “very happy” with the performance of the youngsters who played according to his expectations. “I am very happy with the performance of the youngsters, they played according to my expectations,” he said. “What was expected of the players at the start of the series was fulfilled. But they would have to continue to work hard,” he said, apparently referring to the upcoming one-day series against South Africa. Man of the series Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who received a purse of Rs 50,000, said it was not an easy track to bat on but the good start provided by Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar helped. “We have been playing on flat wickets in this series but today it was tough. Thankfully, we had a good start from Sehwag and Sachin and we were able to capitalise on that,” he said. “I don’t think the conditions were good for batting. The pitch was not behaving flat. The balls were not always coming on to the bat.” The 24-year-old from Jharkhand, said he had shown in the series that he had improved as a wicketkeeper as well. “There has been considerable improvement in my keeping since we toured Sri Lanka. (But) of course, there is lot of scope to improve,” Dhoni said.
— PTI |
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We are very confident: Smith
Mumbai, November 12 “We see our India visit as a massive opportunity. We have come here on a good run,” Smith said with reference to South Africa’s 4-0 whitewash of New Zealand at home recently. When asked if the winning streak would continue even against India, Smith said, “I would love to see that happen.” The Proteas arrived in the city in the wee hours this morning. They were to play five one-day international starting with the first game at Hyderabad on Nov 16. Asked if the team would miss Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje who had pulled out of the series apprehending arrests by Indian police for alleged match-fixing in 2000, Smith said, “We have got to adopt. We have got some young players in the team who are raring to go out and perform.”
— PTI |
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Ganguly fails with bat, shines with ball
Ahmedabad, November 12 West trailed by 89 runs at stumps on the first day, with five wickets remaining in the first innings. Earlier, East lost their top four batsmen with the score reading 54. Opener Arindam Das (54 off 139 balls) waged a grim battle and got some support from wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta (24) and Rohan Gavaskar (29) as East crawled to 150. Munaf Patel and Sairaj Bahutule got three wickets each while Zaheer and Rakesh Patel claimed two each. — UNI
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Harmison, Flintoff restrict Pakistan
Multan, November 12 Pakistan were comfortably placed at 161-1 before a determined display from the England pace duo and some tight spin bowling reduced the hosts to 244-6 when bad light stopped play with 2.2 overs remaining.
Flintoff finished the day with 2-49, while Harmison grabbed both of his wickets in his first over after tea.
Pakistan’s hopes of regaining the initiative rest on captain Inzamam-ul Haq, the last specialist batsman. Inzamam, playing on his home ground, was not out on 41 with tail-ender Mohammad Sami on one at stumps. England, playing their first Test series after defeating Australia at home in September to regain the Ashes after 18 years, could be satisfied with their day’s work in challenging conditions. The pitch had neither pace nor bounce for their pacemen. It did turn, but too slowly to really trouble Pakistan’s batsmen. Pakistan started well with left-handed opener Salman Butt cracking an impressive 74 for his second Test half-century to raise hopes of a big first-innings total. Butt put on 80 for the first wicket with Shoaib Malik (39) and 81 for the second with vice-captain Younis Khan (39) after his team had elected to bat. However, England’s 36-year-old debutant off-spinner Shaun Udal struck a crucial breakthrough when he removed Butt in just his seventh over of Test cricket. Butt struck 11 fours before being caught by a diving Geraint Jones. The wicket-keeper reacted swiftly to hold the ball after it popped through stand-in captain Marcus Trescothick’s hands at slip and then off his head. Trescothick led in the absence of Michael Vaughan, who was ruled out of the opening match of the three-Test series due to a knee injury. Pakistan suffered another blow when Ashes hero Flintoff yorked Mohammad Yousuf for his second victim. Scoreboard Pakistan (1st innings) Malik lbw Flintoff 39 Butt c Jones b Udal 74 Younis lbw Harmison 39 Yousuf b Flintoff 5 Inzamam batting 41 Raza b Harmison 0 Akmal c Trescothick Sami batting 1 Extras (lb-7, nb-10) 17 Total
(6 wkts, 87.4 overs) 244 Fall of wickets: 1-80, 2-161, 3-166,4 -181, 5-183, 6-238. Bowling:
Hoggard 17-3-45-1, Harmison 16-5-37-2, Flintoff 17.4-5-49-2, Collingwood 4-1-15-0, Giles 16-3-44-0, Udal 17-3-47-1.
— AFP |
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Vaughan hopes to be fit before second Test
Multan, November 12 “If not, I will have to disappear, but I am going to give it my best try next week,” he added. The second Test would be played at Faisalabad from November 20. “I hope that Marcus Trescothick will handle the team well,” Vaughan said. Vaughan twisted his right knee on Monday during a three-day warm-up game against Pakistan A in Lahore after he sprinted for a run and fell at the non-striker’s end.
It was the same injury that had kept him out of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s last year.
— AP |
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Pak awaits India’s nod
to itinerary
Multan, November 12 India were scheduled to play three Tests and five one-day internationals immediately after the England tour. Pakistan had scheduled a Test and a one-dayer in Karachi, a venue where only Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had played Tests since the terrorist attacks on the USA in 2001. “They have told us that they have no objection to the proposed itinerary. But they have sent it to the government for final approval,” Director Abbas Zaidi said. “We are keen to get a final nod so that we can go ahead with out preparations for the tour,” he added. India had resumed cricket ties with Pakistan in March-April last year by playing three Tests and five one-dayers in Pakistan. But they had refused to play a Test in Karachi on security grounds. — Reuters |
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Windies struggle against Victoria
Sydney, November 12 West Indian captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul was not out on 15 and Dwayne Smith on 12 when play ended early because of bad weather at Melbourne’s Junction Oval. The West Indies were left with no alternative other than to use the match as batting practice for the second Test, starting in Hobart on Thursday, when Victoria piled on 571 in their first innings after resuming on 441 for 4. David Hussey, younger brother of new Australian Test opener Mike Hussey, finished with 104 after starting the day on 91 while Cameron White took his overnight score of 29 to 63. Brad Hodge made 177 the previous day to celebrate his inclusion in the Australian side. Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Smith captured three wickets each for the West Indies. Dwayne Bravo grabbed two wickets, but none of the West Indian fast bowlers took a single wicket. The visitors gave away 56 extras, including 29 no-balls and 12
wides. |
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Rathore suggests lotteries for raising funds New Delhi, November 12 Chairing a panel discussion on the concluding day of the three-day National Congress on Sports Medicine here today, Rathore said the cash crunch in sports could be solved without dipping into the government kitty by introducing state lotteries. He said this could be done with the enactment of a parliamentary legislation after deliberating on the ethical aspect of it. Rathore said introduction of lottery could fetch Rs 10,000 crore per month without burdening the government. He said cash crunch was the main reason why Indian sports was not developing the way it should be. He said many European countries had introduced lotteries to raise funds for sports. The constant refrain at the panel discussion was the lack of awareness about sports medicine among Indian sportspersons and the severe cash crunch affecting sports associations and sportsmen in the country. Rathore said a top sportsperson, eyeing bigger laurels, needed the help and support of a psychologist, a dietician and a fitness expert, but in the Indian context, these were considered as luxuries. Dwelling on his training methods, he said visualisation was an important aspect of his training programme. He said concentration in sports had to do with interest in the chosen game. He said he would allow distraction while practising so that he would not be unsettled by any kind of distraction during actual competitions. Rathore said if India wanted to win medals at the top level, it could, but there was no such desire. Many speakers felt that patriotism was a grandiose concept in India as success could be achieved only if sportspersons motivated themselves and played for themselves.
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Atwal, Randhawa struggle
Shanghai, November 12 After the third day, which is traditionally the movers’ day, Atwal was placed tied 21st while Randhawa was further down at tied 45th after shooting one-over 73 and 75 respectively. Yet, there was one man out there — Tiger Woods — who virtually willed himself to play the kind of golf that is a dream for most others to come within a shot of the lead. Atwal ran into an error-filled stretch of three bogeys on back nine from 11th to 13th and then closed with another one. Two birdies on 14th and 15th averted a complete disaster as he finished with five-under 211 after three rounds. Randhawa, overnight 33rd, had just two birdies but three bogeys on front nine and another two on back nine meant he ended up with one-over 217 for three days. But up ahead, when the dust finally settled down, Tiger Woods allowed himself the liberty of a smile and was just one shot shy of the sole leader David Howell, who barring the bogey on the testing eighth hole, had five birdies for a 68 that kept him at 16-under 200. Nick O’Hern was the one of the only two among the top 10 to have an error-free round of 67 that gave him a share of second place with Woods. Keeping the Asian flag flying was Thaworn Wiratchant (69), who exploded on the final three holes with three birdies that brought him to 12-under 204 in sole fourth. Atwal, who has been playing well in patches, admitted he was miserable on the course today.
— PTI |
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National Games put off to next year
Guwahati, November 12 The games were tentatively scheduled between October 12 and 21, he said. He expressed satisfaction over the progress and quality of the infrastructure. “This is one of the best infrastructure we have seen, much better then any of the previous games. I think it is at a par with any Asian Games venue,” he said. He said the National Games should be a perfect platform for a final test of the Doha-bound Asian Games contingent.
“If we hold the games in a hurry for the sake of the game, the purpose will not be served,” he said.
According to him, the games would be held in a much better manner if held next year. He announced that the next National Games at Ranchi would be held in 2007.
— UNI
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India beat Pakistan to lift trophy
Bangalore, November 12
With this win, India avenged the defeat they had suffered at the hands of Pakistan in Lahore last year. Though the scoreline showed India’s supremacy, it was not an easy victory as each match was closely fought.
After Amer Mahmood gave Pakistan a 1-0 lead by an upset victory over Asian Games gold medallist Amit Luthra, Ankur Prakash thrashed Sardar M. Khan.
— PTI |
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