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England’s honeymoon ends in Pakistan
Day two washed out
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Kanpur may still host Test
Dalmiya resigns as ACC chief
Bhowmick in judicial custody till December 9
Rastogi in final
Jeev tied 15th
Mukesh rallies to win golf title
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England’s honeymoon ends in Pakistan
Lahore, December 3 England, trailing by 348 runs on the first innings after Pakistan amassed 636-8, were bowled out for 248 in their second innings on the fifth and final day to lose the series 2-0. It was their first-ever Test series loss in two and a half years under Michael Vaughan’s captaincy and was a rude awakening for a side who triumphed earlier this year over the mighty Australians in the Ashes. Shoaib finished with 5-71 for his 12th haul of five or more wickets in a Test innings and Kaneria with 4-52 as Pakistan clinched their maiden Test series in two years. Pakistan won the opening Test by 22 runs at Multan before England salvaged a draw in the second at Faisalabad. There was no hint of a dramatic collapse in the morning session as a resolute Ian Bell (92) and Paul Collingwood (80) denied Pakistan success to raise England’s hopes of saving the match with a century stand for the third wicket. Resuming at 121-2, England were comfortably placed at 201-2 at lunch before the wickets came tumbling down. Kaneria turned the match upside down in five deliveries after the lunch break, removing allrounder Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen (1) and Andrew Flintoff for a duck. Scoreboard
England (1st innings) 288 Pakistan (1st innings) 636 for 8 England (2nd innings) Trescothick lbw Shoaib 0 Vaughan c and b Shoaib 13 Bell lbw Shoaib 92 Collingwood c Raza b Kaneria 80 Pietersen c Raza b Kaneria 1 Flintoff b Kaneria 0 Jones lbw Shoaib 5 Udal c Butt b Sami 25 Plunkett lbw Shoaib 0 Hoggard b Kaneria 0 Harmison not out 0 Extras (b-13, lb-9, nb-9, w-1) 32 Total (all out, 77.1 overs) 248 Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-30, 3-205, 4-212, 5-212, 6-212, 7-227, 8-227, 9-248. Bowling:
Shoaib 19-3-71-5, Naved 16-3-55-0, Sami 16-4-39-1, Malik 4-2-9-0, Kaneria 22.1-8-52-4.
— AFP, Reuters |
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Day two washed out
Chennai, December 3 Despite no rain since morning — barring a drizzle that lasted barely a couple of minutes in the afternoon — and a mild sunshine, play could not begin. Umpires Daryl Harper of Australia and Mark Benson of England inspected the M. A. Chidambaram ground at 1 pm before deciding to abandon the second day’s play. Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, accompanied by coach Greg Chappell, also did a round of the stadium, only to return disappointed. The rain, being caused by Cyclone Baaz in the Bay of Bengal, have effectively ruined chances of the game going full throttle with no let-up in wet weather conditions predicted for the next couple of days as well. However, if the rain gods do relent, play in the next three days would begin at 9 am with a minimum of 97 overs to be bowled each day to make up for the time lost. No play was possible on the first day as well due to heavy downpour. This is the second time in two weeks that rain ha disrupted an international fixture following the November 22 washout of the one-dayer between India and South Africa. The current Test match is the fourth successive international contest here to be affected by rain since 2003, when the India-New Zealand one-dayer failed to produce a result. Last year, the final day of a Test match featuring India and Australia was rained off with India neatly poised for a victory. For the cricket-crazy Chennai crowd, it has been a very disappointing few days. With their claims of ticket refund for the India-South Africa one-dayer still entangled in legalities, they face a similar fate again. That apart, their wait to see their star reach a historic milestone is also getting prolonged as Sachin Tendulkar is just one ton short of a world record 35th Test century. The match has also assumed added importance in the wake of a possible return to the field by dethroned captain Sourav Ganguly who was ignored for the one-day series against Sri Lanka and South Africa. Both teams have not yet announced their playing elevens.
— PTI |
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Kanpur may still host Test
Mumbai, December 3 The BCCI’s Tours, Programmes and Fixtures Committee, which met here today, decided to give the UPCA some more time after it received a letter from association president Rajiv Shukla that the UPCA was trying to get the ground released from the government at the earliest. Ahmedabad has been kept as a standby venue in case Kanpur is unable to host the match to be held from December 18 to 22, chairman of the committee Shashank Manohar told reporters here today. Manohar said the BCCI’s Working Committee would take a final decision on whether Kanpur would host the match depending on the situation. “The matter is on hold now. We have received a letter from the UPCA and it is for the Working Committee to take a decision”, he said. Manohar also said in case Ahmedabad holds the Test match against Sri Lanka, Mohali will be allotted a Test match against England next year. As per the schedule, Ahmedabad was one of the venues for the Test series against England. The committee also decided to change the venues of the warm-up matches against England. Baroda and Cricket Club of India (Mumbai) will stage the matches instead of Jamshedpur and Agartala. Ground inspected
Kanpur: Daljeet Singh, a member of the BCCI’s Pitches Committee, on Saturday inspected the ground at the Green Park Stadium. Daljeet said he had been directed by BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah to inspect the pitch conditions and send his assessment to the board immediately. He did not disclose his findings to the Press, saying that he was supposed to report the matter to the board. The BCCI had earlier decided to shift the match out of Kanpur after Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association director Jyoti Bajpai said the inability of the state authorities to release the ground in time had made it difficult for the UPCA to conduct the match. But, in a press conference on Friday, Bajpai said the UPCA was ready to host the Test match as all the preliminary work at the ground was complete. Lucknow: Blaming the UPCA for the uncertainity over holding the India-Sri Lanka Test at Green Park, the state government on Saturday said it was ready to host the match on its own. “It is the fight for supremacy among office-bearers of the UPCA that has put the organisation of the match in doubt. If the UPCA cannot organise it, we are ready to host the match on our own,” UP minister for Sports and Youth Welfare R K Chowdhary said here.
— PTI, UNI |
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Lee powers Aussies to big win
Wellington, December 3 Chasing 253 for victory after Australia made 252 for eight, New Zealand’s chase virtually ended inside the first 12 overs. Lee bullied the top order by consistently bowling at speeds exceeding 150 kmph in an opening six-over spell in which he took three wickets for five runs with four maidens. Lee was assisted by left-arm swing bowler Nathan Bracken, whose nagging line and length produced two early wickets. New Zealand slumped to 28 for five before eventually being bowled out for 105 in 27.4 overs. Scoreboard
Australia Gilchrist c Astle b Franklin 3 Katich c Vettori b Styris 54 Ponting lbw Vettori 63 Hodge b Styris 13 Symonds b Vettori 44 Clarke c Franklin b Cairns 31 Hussey not out 21 Lee b Cairns 0 Hogg c Vettori b Mills 4 Bracken not out 1 Extras (lb-6, w-9, nb-3) 18 Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 252 Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-121, 3-136, 4-148, 5-207, 6-230, 7-231, 8-249. Bowling: Mills 10-1-35-1, Franklin 4-0-29-1, Cairns 9-0-54-2, Oram 7-0-54-0, Styris 10-0-45-2, Vettori 10-1-29-2. New Zealand Vincent b Bracken 4 Astle c Clarke b Clark 14 H. Marshall b Lee 5 Styris c Clarke b Bracken 1 J. Marshall lbw b Lee 1 McMillan c Hussey b Lee 0 Cairns not out 37 Oram b Clark 23 McCullum c White b Clark 2 Vettori c Ponting b Symonds 8 Franklin c Gilchrist b Symonds 0 Extras (b-4, lb-1, w-5) 10 Total
(all out, 27.4 overs) 105 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-16, 3-19, 4-20, 5-28, 6-33, 7-74, 8-82, 9-105. Bowling:
Lee 6-4-5-3, Bracken 8-0-40-2, Clark 7-1-19-3, Symonds 5.4-1-32-2, White 1-0-4-0.
— AFP |
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Dalmiya resigns as ACC chief
Kolkata, December 3 In a letter to BCCI President Sharad Pawar late last evening, Dalmiya said, “I had the privilege of being the President of the Asian Cricket Council from 2001-02 and the President of the Afro-Asian Cricket Cooperation from 2004-05. “In view of the recent changes in the Board of Control for Cricket in India, however, I feel that it is only appropriate that I tender my resignation with immediate effect from both the positions. “Nonetheless, I can assure you of my full support and cooperation as and when required on any matter concerning Indian or international cricket,” the letter, a copy of which was released to the press here, said.
— PTI |
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Rawat, Rana put Haryana on top
Mohali, December 3 Rawat, who needs a run to complete his maiden century in the Ranji Trophy, enabled his team to reach a total of 332 for 8 in 108 overs. He stayed at the crease for 276 minutes today and hammered 12 fours and one six in his unbeaten knock. Resuming at 38 for 2, Haryana slumped to 116 for 6 before lunch as Punjab seamers put up a brilliant display. Gagandeep got Bagheshwar Bisht (29) leg before wicket. Sidharth Verma made 20 before giving a simple catch to Dinesh Mongia at first slip off Gagan. Displaying good batting skills after his fine bowling spell (5 for 84) in the first innings, Joginder Sharma steadied the ship with a knock of 43 before being caught by Dharmani off Rajesh. Rana was the second highest scorer with 62. He struck six boundaries during his 132-minute stay on the crease. Gagan was the highest wicket-taker as he claimed 5 for 109. Malhotra, Rajesh and Mongia took one wicket each. Scoreboard: Haryana (1st innings): 232; Punjab (1st innings): 224; Haryana (2nd innings): Chetan Sharma lbw Gagandeep 0, Bagheshwar Bisht lbw Gagandeep 29, Sunny Singh c Munish b Mongia 15, Siddharath Verma c Mongia b Gagandeep 20, Shafiq Khan c Gaurav Gupta b Ishan Malhotra 20, Joginder Sharma c Pankaj Dharmani b Rajesh Sharma 43, Pardeep Sahu lbw Gagandeep 8, Mahesh Rawat batting 99, Sachin Rana c Ishan Malhotra b Gagandeep 62, Amit Mishra batting 28; Extras (nb-4, w-2, lb-2) 8; Total (8 wickets, 108 overs) 332; Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-34, 3-57, 4-68, 5-100, 6-116, 7-170, 8-281; Bowling: Gagandeep 36-8-109-5, Ishan Malhotra 25-5-88-1, Rajesh Sharma 14-1-70-1, Dinesh Mongia 14-1-20-1, Reetinder Sodhi 5-2-10-0, Navdeep Singh 11-4-20-0, Ravneet Ricky 3-0-13-0. |
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Bhowmick in judicial custody till December 9
Kolkata, December 3 Bhowmick, charged with Rule VII of the Anti-Corruption Act, was produced before a Special Bench of Alipore District and Sessions Court by CBI officials this morning. Bhowmick, also working as a Superintendent in the Central Excise office, was questioned till late last night at the CBI headquarters at Nizam Palace following which he was sent to the Central lock-up at Lalbazar. Meanwhile, the CBI, which conducted raids at the three residences of Bhowmick since last evening, found proof that the coach’s wife owned a restaurant in the city along with a partner, a top official in the investigating agency said. The sleuths unearthed assets worth Rs 9 lakh from his Alipur residence which did not take in account the investments, with valuation (of investments) still remaining incomplete. “We found Rs 30,000 in cash, one bank locker with gold jewellery worth 870 grams valued at Rs 6.88 lakh and other inventory worth Rs 2 lakh,” the official said. “The Bolpur house is estimated at Rs 25-30 lakh and built over 24 kottahs of land,” he said.
— UNI, PTI |
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Rastogi in final
New Delhi, December 3 Bopanna, who fought back from a 3-5 deficit in the first set to defeat Divij Sharan 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinal in the morning, found Karan Rastogi too good. Nineteen-year-old Karan was devastating with his searing returns and court coverage. Bopanna committed far too many unforced errors, besides struggling with his serves. Bopanna was broken in the first and third games with his returns going astray, and Karan playing power tennis. When the Delhi boy led 4-0, there was brief hold up to clean up the court of dust, as the deco-court surface was getting slippery. Though Bopanna returned to hold serve once, he was broken again and offered the game and set on a platter to Karan. Karan maintained the momentum in the second set too, breaking Bopanna in the second and fourth games, to notch up a rewarding victory. In the quarterfinals, Karan disposed of Vivek Shokeen 6-0, 7-6 (7-3) while Harsh Mankad got the better of Jeevan Nedunchezian 6-1, 6-7 (1-7), 6-2. Vishal Uppal beat national hard court champion Sunil Kumar Sipaeya 7-5, 6-1. In the morning, Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania Mirza, Richard Krajicek and Shikha Oberoi held a tennis clinic to teach the kids the nuances of the game. |
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Jeev tied 15th Hong Kong, December 3 Jeev, who has been having trouble with his driving, found his touch in time in the third round and his three-day tally of six-under placed him in tied 15th, keeping the Indian hopes alive at the Hong Kong Golf Club. The third day, often referred to as the moving day, was a good one for scoring with very little breeze. Also, with the forecast indicating cold and damp weather on the final day, players wanted to get in a good score on the third day. But it was not to be so for Randhawa who was 11th overnight. The Indian’s fortunes took a huge dip as his two-over round saw him plummet from four-under to just two-under in tied 39 th place. Gaurav Ghei took advantage of good scoring conditions to come in with a three-under 67 that pushed him up from 47th to tied 32nd. — PTI
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Mukesh rallies to win golf title
Kolkata, December 3 The seventh event of the Amby Valley PGAI Tour saw finishing four-under 284 with a one-under 71 today. But then he had young Malik from Meerut to contend with in a playoff. Malik nearly sank a putt from about 30 feet on the 18th, the playoff hole but Mukesh kept a cool head and eventually finished on top to claim the winner’s cheque of Rs 1,89,840. Local lad Sankar Das almost pushed his way into the play-off, too, but a bogey on the 18th left him at three-under 285.
— UNI |
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Bengal crush Delhi
New Delhi, December 3 After their drawn match against Maharashtra, Bengal gained five points from this match, while hosts Delhi, who had managed to draw their last match against Mumbai, remain without points. The pitch at the Jamia Milia ground turned out to be a bowlers’ delight. While Shib Shankar Paul’s six-wicket haul broke Delhi’s back in the first innings, Chetanya Nanda’s identical feat brought Delhi back in the contest but Lahiri today ran through the Delhi order to dash the hosts’ hopes of a successful
comeback. — UNI |
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Talwar re-elected handball body Vice-President
Chandigarh, December 3
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Bayern in final
Kolkata, December 3 Bayern will clash with Ever Ready Association in the final on Sunday.
— PTI |
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