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| SPORTS TRIBUNE |
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IN THE NEWS |
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Titanic clash
The more the merrier — that’s the adage for cricket fans as the third India-Pakistan series in less than two years gets under way. Pity the people who lived through times when the two countries didn’t play for almost two decades. This series, however, doesn’t have much in common with the two previous ones. When India went to play in Pakistan in 2004, it was their first full-fledged tour in about 14 years. History, diplomacy and bonhomie almost overshadowed cricket. When Pakistan paid a return visit a year later, it was the turn of the Indians — right from the Prime Minister to the common man — to reciprocate the hospitality. They did it with aplomb, making the score level. India’s current tour has no frills — it is all about cricket. There is much media hype and public interest as on earlier occasions, but it is all focused on the game. Both teams are in good nick, even though rival captains Inzamam-ul-Haq and Rahul Dravid think current form doesn’t count in an India-Pakistan series. The two squads have many strengths, but there are also a few weaknesses which can be targeted by the opposition. India’s strengths
India’s weaknesses
Pak strengths
Pak weaknesses
On the whole, we have two fairly strong teams. A cracker of a contest is on the cards. May the best team win.
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IN THE NEWS Bathinda girl Avneet Kaur Sidhu is developing into a fine shooter. She shot 400 out of 400, equalling the world record score in the women’s air rifle event, at the recently held selection trials. The icing on the cake was that she replaced Anjali Vedpathak Bhagwat for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games to be held in March this year. Avneet, who took up shooting only five years ago, is from a farming community. Her father, determined to make her a top shooter, accompanied Avneet to various shooting ranges. Avneet has become the third Indian shooter to shoot a perfect score after Abhinav Bindra, who shot 600/600 in a shooting event at Colorado Springs in the USA in 2003, and Suma Shirur, who shot 400 out of 400 (world record) in the Asian Shooting Championship at Malaysia last year. However, Avneet’s record might not be considered an official world record as the trials were not a registered event on the ISSF (International Shooting Sports Federation) calendar. Avneet honed her skills as a student of Dashmesh Girls College, Badal (Muktsar), in 2001. Later, she shone at inter-college, inter-university and national championships, besides the National Games. Since last year, after she was picked by Indian Airlines, she has been able to take part in various tournaments. Her selection in the Indian team for the Commonwealth Games has signalled the emergence of another sharpshooter from Punjab after Sabeeha Dhillon and Abhinav Bindra. To prepare for the Melbourne games, Avneet will be heading for Germany on January 24 after attending a camp in New Delhi. The way she is going, she is India’s medal hope in shooting not only in the Commonwealth Games but also in the Doha Asian Games. |
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It’s PHL time After 20 group matches, the top two sides will play best-of-three finals on January 30, 31 and February 1 January 5 Maratha Warriors vs Hyderabad Sultans January 6 Hyderabad Sultans vs Bangalore Lions January 7 Sher-e-Jallandhar vs Maratha Warriors January 8 Chandigarh Dynamos vs Sher-e-Jallandhar January 12 Sher-e-Jallandhar vs Hyderabad Sultans January 13 Maratha Warriors vs Chandigarh Dynamos January 14 Bangalore Lions vs Sher-e-Jallandhar January 15 Chandigarh Dynamos vs Bangalore Lions January 19 Bangalore Lions vs Maratha Warriors January 20 Hyderabad Sultans vs Chandigarh Dynamos January 21 Sher-e-Jallandhar vs Chandigarh Dynamos January 22 Hyderabad Sultans vs Maratha Warriors January 23 Bangalore Lions vs Chandigarh Dynamos January 24 Hyderabad Sultans vs Sher-e-Jallandhar January 25 Maratha Warriors vs Bangalore Lions January 26 Chandigarh Dynamos vs Hyderabad Sultans January 26 Maratha Warriors vs Sher-e-Jallandhar January 27 Bangalore Lions vs Hyderabad Sultans January 28 Chandigarh Dynamos vs Maratha Warriors January 29 Sher-e-Jallandhar vs Bangalore Lions January 30 First final January 31 Second final February 1 Third final (Matches begin at 7 p.m.)
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Eves in great form The Indian women’s cricket team deserves congratulations for winning the ODI series against England 4-1. The team deserves plaudits for its wonderful performance. Defeating a top-class side like England was no cakewalk. The team has shown its competence and proved that it can defeat tough teams by working as a unit. Bowler Jhulan Goswami, the top wicket-taker in the series, showed that she could single-handedly win matches for India. She was well-supported by Amita Sharma at the other end. Openers Karuna Jain and Monica batted well. The middle order consisting of captain Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra was rock solid. The team is going great guns. Now it is the turn of their sponsors and the government to do the rest for promoting women’s cricket in India. Tarika, Ganguly’s return A hue and cry was raised over the exclusion of Sourav Ganguly from the Indian team despite his reasonably good performance in the New Delhi Test against Sri Lanka. There were protests from all quarters over his omission. The issue was even raised in the Lok Sabha. Whatever may be the claims of Sharad Pawar and Kiran More, the fact is that all such protests forced the selectors to recall Ganguly for the Pakistan tour. The question is: Why do we take such a stand only for cricket players? Why don’t we show the same kind of passion for “discarded” players in other sports? Undoubtedly, politics has made keep inroads into most sports disciplines in the country. We often hear about deserving players being meted unfair treatment. In 2004, Dhanraj Pillay was brought in only at the fag-end of a classification match against South Korea at the Athens Olympics. There could not have been a worse way of bidding farewell to a great player who was playing his last Olympics. We even saw Pillay crying on TV after the match. Surprisingly, it failed to move the nation. We all must show passion vis-a-vis all games and rise in unison against any high-handedness by the people managing sports bodies in the country. The wrong-doers must be brought down to their knees just like what happened in Ganguly’s case. Surendra Miglani, Lanka laid low Kudos to skipper Rahul Dravid and stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag for leading India to victory in the Test series against Sri Lanka. India outclassed Sri Lanka in all aspects of the game, be it batting, bowling or fielding. However, in most of the innings, the top-order batsmen fared miserably and it was the lower order that gave respectability to the score. The bowlers, especially the spin duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, wrecked the Sri Lankan innings. It is heartening to note that India now stand second in the ICC rankings and Irfan Pathan is considered to be one of the top five all-rounders. D.K. Aggarwala, Pathetic show India put up a pathetic show in the Champions Trophy, much to the chagrin of hockey lovers. They lost all but one but one league match. In the clash for the wooden spoon, they lost to arch-rivals Pakistan 3-4 from a very good position and failed to qualify for the 2006 event. The forwards were leaden-footed and miserably failed to make use of the gilt-edged chances that came their way. The defenders were sluggish and tactless. Through his faulty tackling, Harpal Singh conceded too many penalty corners. First choice goal-keeper Adrian D’Souza did a horrible job under the bar, especially against Australia, when he was at his wits’ end as how to defend his citadel. Goalkeeper Bharat Chhettri, who played in the subsequent matches, put up a spectacular performance. But for his numerous saves, India would have conceded several more goals. Gagan Ajit Singh agonisingly failed to perform and inspire his team-mates. Coach Rajinder Singh Jr must have rued his decision of leaving out experienced players who are still a force to reckon with. A fit and speedy player, irrespective of his age, can make a big difference to the fortunes of an outfit. Tarsem S. Bumrah, |
Maratha Warriors, Hyderabad Sultans, Bangalore Lions, Sher-e-Jallandhar and Chandigarh Dynamos