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South Africa maintain unbeaten run
Sourav will return, says BCCI chief
No information on ECB officials’ visit: BCCI
Kaneria, Shoaib bowl Pakistan to victory
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Karnataka beat Tamil Nadu
Athletes bag 6 gold medals
Tennis chiefs to review schedule
Narain to announce his future soon
Kerala in semifinals
Bihar, Pondicherry win
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South Africa maintain unbeaten run
Hyderabad, November 16 The hosts recovered from a precarious 35 for five to post a competitive 249 for nine, riding on Yuvraj’s 122-ball 103, but the South Africans kept their nerves to overhaul the target with seven balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. South Africa relied on the experienced Jacques Kallis (68 not out) to steer the team home in what turned out to be a close contest while Graeme Smith, Ashwell Prince and Justine Kemp were the other notable contributors. The Proteas had the game under control right through the run chase, although they did lose a couple of quick wickets in the middle stages. The Indians could not capitalise on the breakthroughs. Kallis slammed paceman Ajit Agarkar, who was the most successful Indian bowler with 2 for 55, to the boundary to bring about the victory in style. South Africa scored 252 for five in 48.5 overs. The South Africans were now just two matches away from breaking Australia’s record of winning 21 matches on the trot. They were now unbeaten in 20 matches (17 wins, two no-results and a tie). The Indians, coming into the series on the back of a splendid 6-1 series triumph over Sri Lanka, found the going tough right from the word go when they were put in to bat on a juicy track, that offered considerable assistance to fast bowlers early on. But the wicket eased out as the day progressed and the South African batsmen took advantage of the conditions. Needing to score at nearly five runs an overs, South Africa were off to a flier, with Smith leading the charge with some aggressive batting. He slammed nine fours in his quickfire knock to rattle the Indians and provide a good platform to his team. Irfan Pathan, who made 46 and shared a valuable 75-run partnership with Yuvraj, found himself at the receiving end and conceded 37 runs from his first four overs, forcing skipper Rahul Dravid to pull him out of the attack. It was R.P. Singh who got rid of Smith, the South African captain dragging one on to his stumps. With the Indians a bowler short as they had substituted Murali Kartik with Gautam Gambhir, Dravid used seven bowlers, including Sachin Tendulkar, who took the wicket of Mark Boucher in the 35th over. But then it was hardly enough. The highlight of the South African innings was the sedate knock by Kallis, who concentrated on building partnerships without taking too many risks. Kallis first put on an 89-run partnership with Prince after the team was rocked by the dismissal of Smith and Justine Ontong off consecutive deliveries. Prince struck five fours in his 74-ball knock before he was caught by Virender Sehwag in the 34th over off Harbhajan Singh, who had contributed with the bat as well, scoring a cameo 37 off just 17 balls with four fours and two sixes. South Africa lost their fifth wicket six balls later, Tendulkar sending back Boucher. Kemp and Kallis ensured no further setbacks and took the team to a comfortable win. Earlier, the Indian batting was left in tatters and was gasping at 35 for five in the face of some aggressive fast bowling when Yuvraj took upon himself the task to steady the rocking boat and helped the team put up a score which at one stage looked highly improbable. Yuvraj, whose knock contained 10 fours and three sixes, put on 75 valuable runs for the sixth wicket with Pathan and held fort at one end stoutly. He was run out in the 48th over while going for a quick second run by Kallis. Earlier, India were off to a disastrous start, with Sehwag being dismissed off the first ball of the second over by Mkhaya Ntini. Mohd Kaif, promoted to the experimental number three spot this time, followed Sehwag back to the pavilion soon after, trapped leg before wicket by Shaun Pollock, who emerged as the most impressive bowler. A bigger blow was in store for India as Tendulkar was dismissed for two, adjudged caught behind off Pollock, the scoreboard reading three for five. Dravid (8) tried to stem the rot, but in vain as he was clean bowled by Andre Nel, who also picked two wickets, to leave India in a shambles at 34 for four. Gautam Gambhir, brought on as a super sub in place of Kartik, also failed to click. Gambhir was caught behind, India losing their fifth wicket with the addition of just one run to the total. Yuvraj then took the fight to the rival camp and showed great application in building a partnership with Pathan. But just when things were starting to go right for India, the hosts lost the wicket of Pathan to debutant off-spinner Johan Botha. The tweaker, introduced into the attack in as late as the 23rd over, scalped his first victim when Pathan played on to his stumps. But Yuvraj stood rock-solid at one end and put on crucial partnerships with the tailenders, mixing aggression and patience in right measure. Some lusty hitting by Harbhajan and Yuvraj saw India score more than 50 runs in the last five overs. Scoreboard India Sehwag c Prince b Ntini 1 Tendulkar c Boucher b Pollock 2 Kaif lbw b Pollock 1 Dravid b Nel 8 Yuvraj run out 103 Gambhir c Boucher b Ntini 1 Pathan b Botha 46 Dhoni run out 17 Agarkar c Kemp b Nel 21 Harbhajan not out 37 R.P. Singh not out 1 Extras
(b-1, lb-3, w-4, nb-3) 11 Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 249 Fall of wickets:
1-1, 2-4, 3-5, 4-34, 5-35, 6-110, 7-159, 8-198, 9-227. Bowling:
Pollock 10-1-37-2, Ntini 10-1-62-2, Nel 10-2-45-2, Langeveldt 8-0-34-0, Botha 6-0-31-1, Kallis 6-0-36-0. South Africa Smith b R.P. Singh 48 De Villiers lbw b Agarkar 7 Ontong c Dravid b Agarkar 11 Kallis not out 68 Prince c Sehwag b Harbhajan 46 Boucher c Dravid b Tendulkar 2 Kemp not out 46 Extras
(lb-5, nb-6, w-13) 24 Total (5 wkts, 48.5 overs) 252 Fall of wickets:
1-32, 2-76, 3-76, 4-165, 5-168. Bowling: Pathan 6-0-51-0, Agarkar 9.5-1-55-2, R.P. Singh 7-1-18-1, Harbhajan 10-0-35-1, Sehwag 3-0-18-0, Tendulkar 8-0-43-1, Yuvraj 5-0-27-0. — PTI |
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Harbhajan fined Hyderabad, November 16
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Sourav will return, says BCCI chief
New Delhi, November 16 Mahendra was optimistic about Sourav’s return to international cricket. Replying to a question in an interview to Aaj Tak about Sourav’s possible return to the Indian team, Mahendra said, “At present, nobody wants to disturb the winning combination. I do not think there is any problem in Sourav’s return to the team.” The BCCI President described Sourav as a great player and a great captain. “We are proud of him and he will definitely make a comeback into the team,” he said. Mahendra said the selectors had not ruled out Sourav’s return to the Indian team. “In my view, even the selectors have not taken any negative view on Sourav’s comeback,” he remarked. Mahendra discounted the possibility of ruling out Sourav for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. “Who has ruled him out? Nobody has. This is the handiwork of gossip mongers who believe in sensationalism,” the BCCI chief said. Dwelling on the reasons for dropping Sourav for the one-day series against Sri Lanka and the first three ODIs of the series against South Africa, Mahendra said it was due to the problem with the former captain’s tennis elbow injury. The BCCI President, praising Sourav’s performances in Zimbabwe and in the Duleep Trophy, said nobody wanted him out. “I do not think that anybody believes that Sourav does not deserve to be back in the team. He was dropped due to pain in his hand and that was why he was not picked for the one-day squad,” he stated. The BCCI chief was confident that Sourav would stage a comeback. “I think that he will definitely make a comeback into the one-day team,” he added. |
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No change of venues for English tour, says BCCI
Kolkata, November 16 '' We give venues to our different affiliated bodies by rotation and we cannot discard it, '' he said. ECB Director (Operations) John Carr when asked about the venue said they were not going to talk in this matter and all communications would be made by the BCCI. The BCCI officials held a meeting with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) representatives to settle the logistics of England's tour to India in March, 2006. BCCI sources told UNI that the meeting was attended by Mr Dasgupta, former Board President Jagmohan Dalmiya, Mr Carr and Chief Executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association Richard Bevan. The sources said the hour-long meeting, which was held in Mr Dalmiya's office, discussed among other things planning of the venues, the logistics related to it and also matters pertaining to
security. — UNI
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No information on ECB officials’ visit: BCCI
Mumbai, November 16 ECB Director of Operations John Carr and Chief Executive of the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) Richard Bevan were expected to meet Indian cricket board officials in Kolkata to get a good deal for England’s tour of India. BCCI Executive Secretary in-charge Ratnakar Shetty said here today that as far as he knew, there was no information about the proposed visit of the ECB officials.
“We have received no information till now about the proposed visit,” he added.
— UNI |
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Kaneria, Shoaib bowl Pakistan to victory
Multan, November 16 England, needing 198 for victory, were bowled out for 175 midway into the second session on the last day as Kaneria routed England’s top order with four for 62 and Shoaib finished off the tail with three for 49. England got a formidable first-innings lead of 144 runs after they made 418 in reply to Pakistan’s 274. Pakistan were bowled out for 341 in their second innings yesterday, leaving England needing 198 runs for victory. Wicketkeeper-batsman Geraint Jones was the top-scorer for England with 33. He added 49 runs for the eighth wicket with Shaun Udal (18) to give England a glimmer of hope after the visitors slumped to 117 for seven. However, once Jones dragged Shoaib’s delivery back on to his stumps after lunch, Kaneria knocked back Udal’s middle-stump to make it 166 for nine. Number 11 batsman Steve Harmison hit two fours before Shoaib finished off the match when Younis Khan grabbed a two-handed diving catch in front of him in first slip. England, needing 174 runs on the last day, hobbled to 138 for seven by lunch, with their Ashes heroes Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen departing cheaply. Overnight batsmen Ian Bell (31) and Andrew Strauss (23) saw off the three-over spell of Shoaib after England resumed at the overnight score of 24 for 1. They added 40 more runs before Kaneria spun his magic and removed both batsmen in his third over of the day. Bell got a big edge to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal while three balls later, Strauss offered a simple catch in the slips. Sami pushed England further back when he had Paul Collingwood trapped leg before to make it 67 for
4. Flintoff (11) tried to release the pressure with two boundaries before Kaneria lured him to play an expansive stroke and gave an easy catch to Younis at deep
mid-wicket. Pietersen’s run of poor scores on the tour continued when Sami found a thin edge of his bat behind the wickets, with England still needing 97 runs for
victory. Shoaib changed ends for his second spell and uprooted Ashley Giles’ (14) middle and leg stumps, with England slipping to 117 for 7. Scoreboard Pakistan (1st innings) 274 England (1st innings) 418 Pakistan (2nd innings) 341 England (2nd
innings) Trescothick b Shabbir 5 Strauss c Raza b Kaneria 23 Bell c Akmal b Kaneria
31 Collingwood lbw Sami 3 Pietersen c Akmal b Sami 19 Flintoff c Younis b Kaneria 11 Jones b Shoaib 33 Giles b Shoaib
14 Udal b Kaneria 18 Hoggard not out 0 Harmison c Younis b Shoaib 9 Extras
(b-6, lb-1, nb-2) 9 Total (all out, 52.4 overs) 175 Fall of wickets:
1-7, 2-64, 3-67, 4-67, 5-93, 6-101, 7-117, 8-166, 9-166. Bowling:
Shoaib 12.4-1-49-3, Shabbir 10-0-25-1,
Kaneria |
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Australia include Hodge, Symonds
Sydney, November 16 Australian captain Ricky Ponting said he would not finalise his starting 11 until just before the toss, but confirmed that both Hodge and Symonds would play.
Hodge was called into the squad when middle-order batsman Simon Katich was dropped after Australia’s 379-run win in the first Test in Brisbane.
The 30-year-old Hodge had been a prolific scorer in first-class cricket for a decade and had celebrated his promotion by scoring 177 against the West Indies in a tour game last weekend. Symonds was recalled for just his third Test after Shane Watson dislocated his shoulder in Brisbane, ruling him out for the rest of the summer. Symonds was better known as a one-day specialist, but had forced his way into the side with a mountain of runs in the Australian domestic
competition. Australia’s decision to include Hodge and Symonds in the side meant that either leg-spinner Stuart MacGill or left-arm paceman Nathan Bracken would serve as 12th man. MacGill had carried the drinks in Brisbane, but with the Bellerive Oval pitch likely to turn and the West Indians struggling against quality slow bowling, Ponting was considering playing two spinners. “We just want a bit more of a think about it and probably a sleep on it tonight with Bracken and MacGill. One of those two guys will play and one will not,” Ponting said at a press conference today. The West Indies also delayed naming their team until the morning of the match, but changes were expected after their thrashing in Brisbane. Injured opener Wavell Hinds had begun batting again in the nets after breaking a finger in the opening tour game against Queensland while allrounders Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith had pushed their selection chances with strong performances in this week’s clash against Victoria. West Indies’ coach Bennett King said he was hoping for an improved performance from his batsmen to keep the series alive before the final Test in Adelaide next week. “They are starting their innings well and that is an encouraging sign. “In the short history that I have been involved, we have had a lot of big scores and a lot of no scores. “Now we are getting a lot of starts and I am sure that the big scores are just round the corner for a lot of individuals,” he said. King gave support to under-pressure captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, saying he had complete confidence in his leadership despite the team’s run of losses. “From my perspective, he has recouped very well and rallied the guys well. “We have had a couple of good training sessions that he has done a lot
of work in and he is growing into the role quite well and getting support,”
King said. Chanderpaul admitted that his team had not played well in Brisbane, but said the tourists were determined to rectify things in Hobart. “Losing is not an easy thing, but the guys are working really hard right now to get us winning again. “Given the position as captain, nobody is here forever, you are just hoping you can do your best out there and go out there and do whatever you can do,” Chanderpaul said.
— Reuters |
Karnataka beat Tamil Nadu
Kochi, November 16 Even as no forward could connect a measured pass from the right by Rajendra Prasad of Karnataka, Jegan made a mess of it by dragging the ball into the net while attempting a clearance. The match, otherwise, was even with Karnataka mounting attack in the initial stages. A couple of brilliant saves by Tamil Nadu custodian Dougls Ponraj denied Karnataka chance to forge ahead. On the other hand, K. Kulothungan and James Singh attacked relentlessly on both the flanks, but the goal eluded them. Their valiant attempts to restore parity against the well-drilled Karnataka defence proved futile. With the win, Karnataka has brightened their chances fora semi-final berth with four points (a win and a draw) in the group while the next match between Punjab and Tamil Nadu will decide the group leader. |
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Athletes bag 6 gold medals
Bangkok, November 16 While the athletes fetched all six gold, India got two silver and three bronze as well to finish fifth in the medal tally with more events to follow. Jaisa had a fabulous outing as the 22-year-old athlete won the gold in women’s 1500m and 300m. The Indian quartet of Mandeep Kaur, I.S. Anthony Lawrence, Pinki Pramanik and S. Chanti won the women’s 4 X 400m Relay while Chanti got her second gold when she won the 800m event. Ghamanda Ram (800m) and Navpreet Singh (Shot Put) fetched the two other gold for India. Meanwhile, Varun Kumar Barnwal finished second to win a silver in Wai-Khru Light Weight (58-61 Kg), while swimmer Arjun Muralidharan won the other silver in 200m butterfly. Shikha Tandon won the 100m backstroke bronze while Sinimole Paulose also bagged the bronze in women 1500m. The third bronze came through Kamal Singh Thakur who finished third in Wai-Khru bantamweight (51-54 Kg).
— UNI |
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Tennis chiefs to review schedule
Shanghai, November 16 Tournament director Brad Drewett called for a vigorous debate on scheduling after Spanish star Rafael Nadal and US veteran Andre Agassi withdrew within minutes of each other, leaving one top-five player in the eight-man draw. Drewett said the ATP would examining whether either player should be penalised for their late withdrawals. Argentina’s Mariano Puerta and Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez were called up as replacements. He denied that the crowded calendar was solely to blame, pointing out that injuries could happen any time. “I do not think that it is as simple as saying if the season was shorter, if the guys played less, that these injuries would not occur. “I think that it is a natural fact of playing professional tennis. The nature of the sport, one-on-one battle; it is very physical, there are going to be injuries. “I think that we need to continually, or very quickly at least in the medium term, look at addressing some of the issues in terms of schedule,” he said.
— AFP |
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Narain to announce his future soon
New Delhi, November 16 “I am having a discussion with a few teams and I will make an announcement regarding my F1 future next year soon,” said the first Indian driver to make it to the Formula One circuit. Midland had discarded the Indian and confirmed Dutchman Christian Albers for the next season while Karthikeyan’s former Portugese team-mate Tiago Monteiro claimed that he was retained for the second driver’s slot. Looking back at his stint with Jordan, Karthikeyan said, “My stay there with Jordan was a very good opportunity for me and I have learnt a lot from them.” The 28-year-old Indian had been signed up as a pay-driver by the UK-based Jordan team, which was taken over mid-season by Russia-born Canadian billionaire Alex Shnaider and renamed Midland for this season. Asked where he saw himself in the next season, Karthikeyan said, “As you know, I am trying to get a new team and discussions are on. I think you will have an announcement shortly.”
— UNI |
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Kerala in semifinals
Kochi, November 16 In their last match, Kerala, who needed a draw to qualify, crushed Delhi 3-0 in a one-sided affair. Medio Ajayan drew the first blood for Kerala in the 43rd minute, striker Abdul Hakkim increased it in the 53rd minute, and Pradeep completed the tally in the 67th. Delhi bows out of the tourney losing both matches. Earlier, it was Kerala who dominated a major part of the first session with Delhi failing to have a clear look at the rival goal mouth. The Delhi defenders had a trying time as the famed Kerala frontmen, Abdul Hakkim and Mohammed Rafi, raided the area rather easily. Kerala were enterprising with their short passes and sudden forays into the Delhi goal area and Kerala attacked the rival goal mouth often, but their strikers showed poor finishing as they drove in haste over the horizontal or yielded possession to their rival defenders. The hosts could have won the match with a much bigger margin but for Delhi goalkeeper Vinay Singh's fine performance.
— PTI
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Bihar, Pondicherry win
Dhanbad, November 16 At Rajgunj High School ground, after getting a cross from the right flank, Bihar’s star player
Ranjita scored the only goal of the match in the 15th minute. Ranjita is the highest goal scorer (11) of the tournament so far in four matches. In another match at Sindri Welfare Centre ground, Pondicherry pipped
Andhra Pradesh 1-0. The all important goal was netted by Suryakala in 42nd minute.
— PTI |
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