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FLASHBACK
2005: cricket
Sehwag, Sourav asked to play Ranji matches Symonds puts Aussies in command
Hari draws with Zviad |
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Vadodara trounce Punjab
Andhra crush Haryana
Pak veterans level series
Sri Lanka win in Asia Cup opener
Anjali, Suma dropped from air rifle team
Shelja, Monica win three gold medals
Praveen, Jaswant shine
IA, Namdhari XI enter semis
Sultans to meet Warriors in PHL opener
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Dravid, Chappell revive India’s fortunes
K. Kumaraswamy
New Delhi, December 28 Greg Chappell’s feud with Sourav Ganguly and the latter’s ensuing ouster as captain and player, combined with the end of Jagmohan Dalmiya as kingmaker in the intriguing world of the BCCI, overshadowed what was otherwise a memorable year. Guided by Chappell’s mantra of ‘Commitment to Excellence’, the Indian team recorded stunning victories in the latter part of 2005 to rise to number two in Test rankings and retain its fifth place on the ODI ladder. Dravid proved himself to be an astute captain within a short time of taking over the reins, Sachin Tendulkar recovered from a career threatening elbow injury to record his 35th Test century, Anil Kumble wheeled his way to 100th Test, Irfan Pathan answered India’s search for an all-rounder, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni emerged as the new Master Blaster. But, instead of robust optimism it is with a sense of anxiety that the team and the fans will anticipate 2006. The spat between Ganguly and Chappell was the first major crisis to rock Indian cricket since the match fixing scandal five years ago. The board’s subsequent handling of the issue and the national selectors’ flip-flop on Ganguly’s selection only aggravated the matter. 2005 would be the worst chapter in Ganguly’s career book. First he was banned for six matches, later reduced to four, for the team’s slow over-rate against Pakistan, and then was involved in an ugly spat with Chappell by saying in public that the coach wanted him to step down as captain. That revelation came as a bombshell on the tour of Zimbabwe and marred the 2-0 series win, the team’s first outside the subcontinent since 1986. His laborious century from six hours at the crease against a club-level bowling attack was of no help to his cause and his citing symptoms of tennis elbow to skip the Challenger Series provided the selectors with an excuse to omit him from the one-day side. Ganguly, riding on a couple of centuries in domestic cricket, retained his place in the Test side against Sri Lanka, but after playing valuable knocks in the second match was dropped from the team for the third Test. And when everyone thought it was curtains down on his chequered career, the Prince of Kolkata was included in the squad for the Pakistan tour. That decision to reinstate him had more to do with the politicisation of the BCCI rather than a change of heart from the selectors. That politics had taken over the board was referred to by none other than Jagmohan Dalmiya himself. His statement came a few days after his nominee and incumbent Ranbir Singh Mahendra lost the President’s post to Union Agriculture Minister and Mumbai Cricket Association Chief Sharad Pawar. Though Pawar did not contest the elections, the defeat was very much seen as Dalmiya’s, as he made all the moves from behind. It marked the end of an era which saw India become the power centre of world cricket and the prime source of finance to run the game. Chappell on the other hand could be credited with getting the team back to its winning ways after the acrimonious Zimbabwe tour. A 6-1 thumping in the one-dayers followed by a 2-0 drubbing saw India extend their home domination over Sri Lanka. In between, the team held a resurgent South Africa 2-2 in a five-match ODI series. The 57-year-old former Australian captain put team success ahead of individual milestones and the strict fitness regime introduced by his support staff paid dividends shortly. Chappell considered players who bring multiple values and who have the flexibility to perform different roles as assets to the team. So, while Ganguly, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan were left out despite their past record, those like Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh were given a long rope even though their current form was in a downward curve. Yuvraj repaid the coach’s faith soon but the player to take wings under Chappell’s guidance was Irfan Pathan. The Baroda player soared a few notches and that too with his batting skills. His demolition act in the first one-dayer at Nagpur set the tone for India’s domination of Sri Lanka and he rounded off the year with scores of 93 and 82 in the Test series. Mahendra Singh Dhoni confirmed his talent with a belligerent 183 in the third one-dayer against Lanka. So overwhelming was his performance that the selectors had no hesitation in inducting him into the Test team as well. Tendulkar overcame a traumatic five-month injury layoff to surpass former captain and compatriot Sunil Gavaskar for most number of Test centuries with his 35th ton in the second match against Lanka. The world’s leading batsman silenced his critics with a belligerent knock in the first ODI against the Lankans but it was in the new role of ‘mentor’ that the team and fans will be seeing him more in the days to come. Anil Kumble became the fifth Indian to play in 100 Tests in the third match against Lanka. The 35-year-old leg-spinner ended the year with 41 wickets from eight matches to extend his career tally to 485. Harbhajan Singh put aside his initial outburst against Chappell and redeemed himself as one of the best offies on the scene with economical bowling spells in the latter part of the year. His redemption at the end of the year was a far cry from the start of 2005 when he was reported for suspect action for the second time inside 12 months and faced a one-year ban. All the while, Dravid led from the front. If he proved his cricketing nous by setting attacking field placements or juggling the bowling options, he scored runs at will to provide batting stability. In the winter weather of Feroze Shah Kotla, venue of the second Test, he braved a viral infection to open the batting in Sehwag’s absence. As fate would have it, the virus laid him down for the final Test, denying him a rare record of playing in 100 consecutive Tests since debut. But Dravid did manage to get one record under his belt: he became only the third Indian to reach 8,000-run mark after Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar in the Kotla Test. The reward for Dravid, and an indication of where the selectors, was him being appointed as captain for the whole season covering the tour of Pakistan and home series against England. The revival of team’s fortunes set the board’s cash register ringing. The new team sponsorship contract fetched more Rs 650 crore, making the Indian team the most valued sporting outfit in terms of sponsorship revenues in the world ahead of several European football clubs. It is a picture which could have been possible only in the realms of fantasy at the start of the year when the team allowed Pakistan to comeback from behind to draw the three-Test series 1-1 and then suffered a humiliating 2-4 loss in the one-dayers. On the domestic front, Railways won the Ranji Trophy for the second time in four years and the champions lifted the Irani Cup without much ado. — PTI
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Sehwag, Sourav asked to play Ranji matches
Mumbai, December 28 Vice-captain Virender Sehwag, veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble and second wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel have also been asked by the BCCI to play in a Ranji Trophy match before arriving in Pakistan. This decision has been taken after consulting India captain Rahul Dravid, coach Greg Chappell and selection committee chairman Kiran More and has been approved by board President Sharad Pawar, BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah said in a media release. Shah said these four players would be reaching Pakistan after playing for their respective state teams in the Ranji Trophy Elite Division league matches (round 6) beginning January 3. “We have taken this decision as we thought that all players chosen for the tour will not be needed to play the opening tour three-day warm-up game on January 7. We also wanted to give importance to domestic cricket,” Shah told PTI from Rajkot. The decision also follows controversy over Ganguly’s absence in Surat and Selection Committee Chairman Kiran More expressing his displeasure over it. He had written to Shah as to why Ganguly was not playing in the Ranji match. Ganguly had made his re-entry into the Test side after being omitted from the team for the third Test against Sri Lanka played in Ahmedabad. The Indian team is scheduled to leave for Pakistan on January 5 and the opening Test in the three-match series starts in Lahore on January 13. |
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Symonds puts Aussies in command
Melbourne, December 28 Hayden (45 not out) was in sight of his 23rd Test half century to guide the home side to 110 for two after Symonds had earlier sliced through South Africa’s middle order and taken a career best 3-50, to help dismiss South Africa for 311. Brad Hodge (17) was the other not out batsman at stumps. Brett Lee had also taken three wickets in South Africa’s innings. Herschelle Gibbs top-scored for South Africa with 94, while A.B. de Villiers was the next-highest contributor with 61. Debutant opener Phil Jaques and captain Ricky Ponting were the only Australian wickets to fall when Jaques was lbw to Andre Nel for 28, while Ponting was lbw to Shaun Pollock for 11. With the pitch offering variable bounce and considerable turn, the home side would hope to bat for most tomorrow and use their leg-spin duo of Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill to bowl South Africa out on the fifth day on Friday. South Africa batted out the entire final day to secure a draw in the first test in Perth. After resuming the day on 169-2, the tourists scored just 57 runs in the first session with a hostile Lee capturing two of the three wickets to fall before lunch when he bowled Jacques Kallis (23) and Jacques Rudolph for 13. Ashwell Prince was the third wicket to fall in the first session when he was caught at silly-point by Ponting off Warne for six. South Africa continued their watchful approach after lunch before Symonds took three wickets for six runs in a devastating 19-ball spell. Mark Boucher was adjudged leg before for 23, although television replays suggested the ball was going over the stumps, to leave South Africa 260-6. Symonds then bowled Gibbs, who missed a delivery that nipped back from outside off stump to be dismissed six runs short of his 15th test century, in his next over. The all rounder then had Shaun Pollock (nine) trapped in front to complete his three-wicket haul. Warne bowled Nicky Boje for 12 and MacGill had Andre Nel caught by Mike Hussey in the covers for 14 to end the innings. Scoreboard Australia (1st innings) 355 South Africa (1st innings) De Villiers lbw McGrath 61 Smith lbw Lee 22 Gibbs b Symonds 94 Kallis b Lee 23 Prince c Ponting b Warne 6 Rudolph b Lee 13 Boucher lbw Symonds 23 Pollock lbw Symonds 9 Boje b Warne 12 Nel c Hussey b MacGill 14 Ntini not out 10 Extras
(b-2 lb-7 nb-15) 24 Total (all out, 111 overs) 311 Fall of wickets:
1-36 2-122 3-184 4-192 5-214 6-260 7-265 8-281 9-291 10-311. Bowling:
McGrath 27-13-57-1, Lee 28-5-92-3, Symonds 20-6-50-3, Warne 21-7-62-2, MacGill 15-3-41-1. Australia (2nd innings) Hayden not out 45 Jaques lbw Nel 28 Ponting lbw Pollock 11 Hodge not out 17 Extras
(b-1 lb-2 nb-6) 9 Total (2 wkts, 37 overs) 110 Fall of wickets:
1-53, 2-82. Bowling: Pollock 11-2-29-1, Ntini 8-2-17-0, Kallis 3-0-16-0, Nel 10-1-31-1, Boje 5-0-14-0.
— Reuters |
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Hari draws with Zviad
Pamplona (Spain), December 28 After the draw, the Indian was joined at the top by former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine who defeated GM Jan Timman of Netherlands. On a day full of good contests, GM Sergei Tiviakov of Holland got the better of Andorran GM Oscar De la Riva Aguado to jump to joint third spot where he now has the company of Ivan Cheparinov who drew with Laurent Fressinet of France in the fifth round. With only two rounds remaining, Harikrishna is sitting pretty with 3.5 points along with Ponomariov. Tiviakov and Cheparinov have 3 points apiece while Zviad and Fressinet are next in line on 2.5. Timman and Aguado are at the bottom of the tables having just one point each. In the last two rounds, third seed Harikrishna is slated to play Tiviakov and Poinomariov — the two seeds at the event. For Harikrishna, the draw as black came easy. Off late, the Hyderabad-based player has been working hard on his openings and the game against Zviad was an indication. Playing the Slav Defence, Harikrishna came with a relatively new idea as early as on move four and Zviad was not prepared for the same. Playing solidly in the early phase of the game, Harikrishna denied white any advantage with his impeccable technical style — trading a set of minor piece and queen quickly in the opening itself. The Indian, however, was quite up to the task in his defence and timely exchanges helped retain the balance. The peace was signed after 32 moves. — PTI |
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Vadodara trounce Punjab
Vadodara, December 28 Vadodara, who needed 32 runs to win the tie, resumed their second innings at 73 for four this morning and achieved the target of 105 runs losing two more wickets. With four points from this tie, Vadodara had now topped the tally in the group with 13 points from four matches, while Punjab were at the second spot with nine points from five matches they had played so far. Dinesh Mongia-led Punjab who had registered a 110-run victory over Vadodara in their league encounter last year at Mohali, virtually conceded their defeat yesterday when they were bundled out for 236 in the second innings setting an easy victory target of 105 for the hosts. Punjab waged a gallant fight through pace trio - Gagandeep Singh (3/32), Amit Uniyal (2/42) and Hardevinder Singh (1/24), but could not defend their meagre total for long. Earlier, they had sent Vadodara packing at 26 for 3. Vadodara, who took their total to 73 for four by the draw of stumps yesterday, added the required 32 runs in 7.3 overs
. — UNI |
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Andhra crush Haryana
Ananthapur, December 28 Andhra after bundling Haryana out for 206 in the first innings, piled up 409 runs with M.S.K. Prasad (79) and Venugopala Rao (70) playing vital knocks. K.S. Shabuddin chipped in with 61 runs while Mohamed Faiq hit a 42 to boost Andhra score. Haryana batsmen failed to fire for the second time in the match with speedsters Shabuddin and Kalyankrishna bowling a tight length. Andhra bowled 13.2 overs and conceded 33 runs to claim the remaining two wickets in 64 minutes.
— PTI |
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Pak veterans level series
Kanpur, December 28 With this win the visitors have leveled the series, the inaugural match of which was won by the hosts. Chasing the victory target of 241, the visitors romped home with six wickets in hand, courtesy the unbeaten 100 by Mansoor Akhtar well assisted by Azam Khan with 52. For the Indians, last match hero Atul Wassan claimed two wickets, while Vivek Razdan and Kirti Azad shared the other two wickets. Earlier, backed by fine performances by Atul Wassan (58) and Mohd Azharuddin (45), the hosts managed a reasonable total of 240 for nine. Left hand pacer Salim Zafar claimed four Indian wickets, while Rashid Latif, conventionally a wicketkeeper, took two wickets. Mansoor Akhtar was declared man of the match. Brief scores: India — 240 for nine in 40 overs (Wassan 58, Azharuddin 45, Latif 2 for 30); Pakistan — 244 for four in 38 overs (Akhtar 100 not out, Azam 52 not out, Wassan 2 for 30).
— UNI |
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Anjali, Suma dropped from air rifle team
New Delhi, December 28 Avneet Kaur Sidhu and Tejaswini Sawant have taken their place. However, Anjali has been included in the rifle prone 3 position alongside Anuja Jung in the 36-member shooting squad announced by the National Rifle Association of India here today. Olympic silver medallist Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore will spearhead the Indian challenge, which will include Abhinav Bindra, Jaspal Rana, Gagan Narang, Mansher Singh and Manavjit Singh. Chief coach Sunny Thomas said the selection criteria were fully adhered to while selecting the shooters, adding that the teams have been selected strictly on the aggregate scores of two selection trials held in Delhi and Hyderabad as well as the National Championships. Avneet shot a perfect round of 400/400 during the Hyderabad trial camp and Tejaswini scored 97 and 99 to grab the top two positions while Saudamini Gavankar finished third. Anjali and Suma were relegated to the fourth and fifth places. Thomas said Anjali and Suma were good enough as the difference in their scores was just in decimals. “But we had to be transparent in our selection,” he added. Harveen Srao, who had done well in the Delhi trial camps, has been included in the air pistol team. The shooters will undergo a coaching camp in Delhi from January 9 to 24 and then 16 air pistol shooters will leave for a training in Munich (Germany) from January 24 to 29. |
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Shelja, Monica win three gold medals
Yamunanagar, December 28 But Monica, a constable in the Central Reserve Police Force, was disappointed as she could not set a new record. “I was sure to win medals but I wanted to create a new record,” said Monica. She said her performance could have been better had she got more time to recover. “A weightlifter needs five to six weeks to recover from injuries,” said Monica. She said she only had two and half months to recover after representing her department and participating in the national meet. She has also won a gold in Commonwealth championship. Results: Women (69 kg): snatch: Monica Devi (Manipur) 99 kg; Janeshwari Devi (Manipur) 92 kg and Bela Rani (Police) 90 kg. Clean and jerk: Monica Devi 122 kg; Madhvi Mani (Andhra Pradesh) 110 kg, Janeshwari Devi 107 kg. Overall: Monica Devi 221 kg; Janeshwari Devi 199 kg and Nansita Devi (Police) 191 kg. Women (63 kg): snatch: Raj Lakshmi (AP) 88 kg; Poiren Jamb Chanu (Assam) 87 kg and Pramita Devi (Karnataka) 85 kg. Clean and jerk: Pramila Vali (AP) 114 kg; Porien Jamb Chanu 105 kg and Raj Lakshmi 105 kg (Raj Lakshmi weighed 35 grams more than Porien). Overall: Promial Vali 199 kg; Raj Lakshmi 193 kg and Proien 192 kg. Women (75 kg): snatch: P. Shelja (AP) 100 kg; Sumathi Devi (Manipur) 91 kg and Ranu Mohnathy (Orissa) 87 kg. Clean and jerk: P. Shelja 133 kg, Sumathi 117 kg and Kavita (UP) 107 kg. Overall: P. Shelja 233 kg; Sumathi 208 kg and Ranu Mohnathy 193 kg.
— TNS |
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Praveen, Jaswant shine
Rohtak, December 28 In table tennis, Kaithal defeated Jhajjar 3-0 and Sonepat defeated Kurukshetra 3-1. Nearly 1,800 boys, representing all districts of Haryana, are participating the three-day event which was declared open by Rohtak divison Commissioner N.C. Wadhwa. |
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IA, Namdhari XI enter semis
New Delhi, December 28
All the goals came in the first half. Olympian Gagan Ajit Singh put the Punjab cops ahead with a field goal in the ninth minute. But the lead was short-lived as former Indian captain Dhanraj Pillai pulled off the equaliser for Indian Airlines, and two minutes before half time, Birender Lakra found the mark to get them the match-winner. Namdhari XI made short work of star-studded Bharat Petroleum 2-1. Joga Singh struck in the 10th minute to give the Namdharis their first goal but five minutes later, Len Aiyappa equalised for Bharat Petroleum. Anmolak Singh regained the lead for the Namdharis in the 58th minute when he converted a penalty corner, and they held on to the slender lead till the final hooter. Air India will meet Punjab and Sind Bank while Indian Oil will take on Army XI Red in the remaining two quarterfinal matches tomorrow. |
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Sultans to meet Warriors in PHL opener
New Delhi, December 28 After 20 league matches, the top two teams will play for the title in a best-of-three finals. In Tier II, Delhi Dazzlers will take on new entrants Orissa Steelers on the same day. The champions in this division will be decided on the basis of performance in the round-robin league.
— OSR |
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