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Dravid lauds bowlers
Indian colts reach semis
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Services pip Punjab to bag gold
Punjab prevail over Jammu and Kashmir
Sengupta upsets Sarunas
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Indians roar at Pindi
Rawalpindi, February 11 India’s bowlers, mauled by the host side batsmen, set the stage for the victory by restricting Pakistan to 265, a total Indian batsmen easily overhauled with solid contribution from Yuvraj Singh (82 not out), Virender Sehwag (67) and Rahul Dravid (56). India outplayed Pakistan thoroughly to record their first triumph on the tour in 38 days. Set to score 266 for a win, the tourists rode on splendid top-order batting display to canter to a win and silence the capacity crowd which saw the drift of the game quite early and started leaving for home. It was sweet revenge for the tourists who had been beaten 1-0 in the three-Test series held prior to the five-match one-day rubber and also enabled India to draw level 1-1 with three matches to go. A rollicking century stand (105) for the first wicket between the master and pupil pair of Sachin Tendulkar (42 in 43 balls with eight fours) and (67 in 60 balls with 10 fours and a six) put India firmly on the road to their first win since their arrival here on January 5. After the duo’s departure in the space of 12 balls and 18 runs, skipper Dravid and in-form batsman Yuvraj Singh ensured that the brilliant work of the openers did not go waste. The pair put on 118 runs for the third wicket in 128 balls to guide the hosts to their first victory over their arch rivals after five straight losses, going back to the last series held in India in 2005. The last win had come in Vishakapatnam in April. Dravid hit five fours in his 61-ball stay before departing when his team needed only 25 more runs. He was caught and bowled by Shoaib Malik in the 39th over, the ball stopping a bit on the batsman. Yuvraj, who made a century in the Karachi Test for a lost cause, struck eight fours and two on-driven sixes off Shoaib Malik while facing 89 balls to remain unconquered in the end. The superb victory not only arrested the home team’s momentum gained after the Karachi Test victory but also provided the tourists their ninth win in their last 12 one-day internationals, including the 6-1 sweep over Sri Lanka and the 2-2 series draw against South Africa. Earlier, Pakistan rallied their way from a difficult 68 for four to 265 all out in 49.2 overs riding on one down batsman Shoaib Malik’s 110-ball 95 (13 fours), his second successive 90-plus score in the series, and vice-captain Younis Khan’s measured knock of 81 (98 balls, 9 fours). It looked like a fighting total by Pakistan, who opted to bat first after winning the toss, till Sehwag and Tendulkar got involved in their rollicking partnership that put India firmly on the path of victory which was later consolidated by the third wicket three-figure stand between Dravid and Yuvraj. Sehwag was at his punishing best, though the six he hit with his patented slash over third man off Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in the fifth over of the innings saw him clutch his left shoulder with pain. Physio John Gloster came out and treated the shoulder, but the batsman was seen shuffling the hurt area often after the six. Sehwag, who carted the Pakistan new ball bowler for 20 runs in that over, with Rana bowling two no-balls to make it 22 from it, gave the innings the start it needed to set a scorching scoring rate. He struck three fours too in it. After the fifth over, the Indian score jumped to 32. Tendulkar, coming into the match on the back of a glorious 100 he made in Peshawar, once again was content to give the strike to his partner like he had done so wisely in the first ODI. Rana was packed off after that over and the Indian fifty came up in the eighth over with Sehwag on 36 and Tendulkar on 11. The Delhi batsman then raced to his 50 in only 46 balls with eight fours and a six in it. It was his 20th half century and fourth against the archrivals in 19 matches. Umar Gul, who beat Sehwag off two successive balls outside his off stump, was then hit for three fours in an over by Tendulkar in the 13th over and the Indian run-rate jumped from around 6.4 to plus 7 by the 15th. Gul gave away 29 in his first four-over spell. Mohammed Asif, India’s tormentor in the third Test at Karachi and in the first ODI at Peshawar, was again impressive but also gave away 28 runs in his first six overs. Pakistan tasted their first success when Tendulkar tried to chase a wide ball from Abdul Razzaq only to edge it to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. Sehwag also followed him to the pavilion soon 12 balls later when he was run out after being beaten by a throw from the deep from Umar Gul at deep fine leg. The two setbacks notwithstanding, Dravid and Yuvraj Singh batted sensibly to see India well on way to a series-squaring victory, scoring their 66th and 21st half centuries, respectively, in the process. The Pakistan skipper tried to unsettle the third wicket duo with constant bowling changes, but the ploy failed to work. Earlier, India let Pakistan off the hook, allowing the hosts to fight back from a precarious position. After reducing Pakistan to 68 for four, the Indian bowling attack appeared to run out of steam before bowling out the home side in 49.2 overs at the jam-packed Pindi Stadium. Pakistan’s fightback was fashioned by Shoaib Malik, who topscored with 95, and Younis Khan who made 81. Pakistan were off to a shaky start, losing opener Salman Butt for a duck in the first over followed by the dismissals of Kamran Akmal, Mohammed Yousuf and skipper Inzamam-ul Haq. Malik and crisis man Younis then salvaged the innings with a fifth wicket stand of 102 runs in 125 balls. Malik’s 110-ball knock and Younis’ 81 in 98 balls with nine fours not only took the fight to the opposition camp but also ensured a good score in the end. The 23-year-old Malik missed a century for the second match in running, being run out when in sight of his fifth hundred in limited over internationals. S. Sreesanth’s throw was quick and accurate as Malik tried to steal a second run from a Younis Khan stroke to deep point. He had made 90 in the first match at Peshawar. Pakistan, 114 for four after 25 overs, increased the tempo later, adding 59 runs in the last 10 overs to finally set India an asking rate of 5.32 to win the clash. Scoreboard
Pakistan Butt c Dhoni b Pathan 0 Akmal b Pathan 14 Malik run out 95 Yousuf run out 1 Inzamam c Sreesanth Younis c Kaif b Agarkar 81 Afridi c Kaif b Pathan 18 Razzaq run out 14 Naved c Raina b Agarkar 4 Gul not out 17 Asif run out 2 Extras (lb-2, nb-5, w-4) 11 Total
(all out, 49.2 overs) 265 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-43, 3-46, 4-68, 5-170, 6-204, 7-234, 8-242, 9-257. Bowling:
Pathan 10-1-43-3, Sreesanth 10-0-50-0, Zaheer 9.2-0-53-1, Agarkar 10-0-52-2, Tendulkar 7-0-45-0, Sehwag 3-0-20-0. India Sehwag run out 67 Tendulkar c Akmal Dravid c and b Malik 56 Yuvraj not out 82 Kaif not out 5 Extras (lb-6, w-5, nb-3) 14 Total
(3 wkts, 43.1 overs) 266 Fall of wickets: 1-105, 2-123, 3-241. Bowling: Naved 7-0-60-0, Asif 6-1-28-0, Gul 9-0-49-0, Razzaq 7-0-43-1, Afridi 2-0-17-0, Arshad 9-0-37-0, Malik 3-0-24-1, Younis 0.1-0-2-0.
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PTI |
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Dravid lauds bowlers
Rawalpindi, February 11 “The bowlers set up this win for us. They bowled beautifully on a flat pitch and kept the score under control,” Dravid said after the match. “Once we restricted Pakistan to 265, we were pretty confident of reaching the target.” The captain hailed his forgotten footmen for sticking to a difficult task at hand as “it is never easy bowling to Pakistani batsmen.” “It was a thoroughly professional performance from start to finish and the boys played great cricket. It was a total team effort.” The four run-outs were the result of some sprightly fielding, Dravid said. Dravid praised the opening wicket stand of 105 between Virender Sehwag (67) and Sachin Tendulkar (42). “When Viru plays like that he gets us off to a great start. Their opening wicket stand made a big difference. It’s good to see Viru back among the runs after getting out in the 30s and 40s earlier on. He was unfortunate to be run out when he looked set for a bigger score,” Dravid said. He also credited the youngsters, particularly Yuvraj Singh and man of the match Irfan Pathan, in the team for handling the pressure with confidence and said they were being “developed” for the World Cup next year. Inzamam-ul Haq said Pakistan fell 20-30 runs short and the bowlers also did not put the ball in the right areas. But he denied that the defeat adversely affected the team morale. “Every one-day international is a new game and hopefully we will play better in Lahore.” Pathan said the last three-four weeks were tough on the bowlers but the ball was coming out well from his hand. “Conditions were overcast this morning and all our bowlers swung the ball,” he said. Crediting the coaching staff for the improvement in his batting, the Baroda player said fitness was not a problem for him and he was putting in extra effort for the benefit of the team.
— PTI |
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Indian colts reach semis
Colombo, February 11 India posted a formidable 284 for nine in the stipulated 50 overs before bowling out their rivals for 158 in 38.5 overs. Dhiman struck a quickfire 77 off 56 balls and then scalped three West Indian batsmen to script the convincing win for India in the quarterfinal tie. India elected to bat first and openers Dhiman and C. Pujara (94, 134 b, 9x4s) provided a flying start to the former champions, adding 110 runs for the first wicket in 13.5 overs. Dhiman was especially ruthless, plundering the Caribbeans for 10 fours and three sixes. Yesterday’s man-of-the-match Rohit Sharma again clicked with the bat, notching up another half century. His 50 off 57 balls consisted of six boundaries. Speedster J. Searles was the pick of the West Indian bowlers, bagging six for 68. The run chase was never easy for the West Indians as Indian new ball bowlers V. Yomahesh (4/25) and Dhiman (3/27) delivered the goods early on for them, reducing their opponents to a sorry reading 68 for 7. Barring opener A. Fletcher (44), none could make a substantial contribution for their side although the tail-enders did put up some resistance before being bowled out. Dhiman was adjudged the man of the match for excelling with both bat and ball. Australia, England and Pakistan also made it into the semifinals. In other quarterfinal matches played today, Australia trounced Sri Lanka by nine wickets, England beat Bangladesh by five wickets and Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets. Brief scores: India: 284 for 9 in 50 overs (Pujara 94, Dhiman 77, Sharma 50; Searles 6/68); West Indies 158 all out in 38.5 overs (Fletcher 44, Narine 29; Yomahesh 4/25, Dhiman 3/27, Bipinbhai 2/21).
— PTI |
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Paes-Bhupathi duo keep India afloat
Changwon, February 11 Reeling at 0-2 after the twin defeats in the opening singles matches yesterday, the Indian duo exhibited sparks of their old rhythm to overcome Oh-Hee Kwon and Woong-Sun Jun 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the Asia Oceania Zone Group I tie. India’s victory in the doubles has now rendered tomorrow’s reverse singles matches crucial for both the sides. Coming together for the tie, Paes-Bhupathi started off on a positive note, winning the first set with ease. However, Oh-Hee and Sun got their act together and capitalised on the errors of their opponents to fight back and bag the second set in no time. With the scores leveled at one-set all, Paes and Bhupathi clung on to their aggressive brand of tennis to race to a 5-0 lead in the third set. The Koreans showed some resistance to win three games but they had no answer to the Indians’ net coverage and fine sync with each other. The last set turned out to be a sort of cakewalk for the visitors who cruised ahead until Oh-Hee and Sun effected a break in the sixth game. However, the confident Indians broke back in the very next game with Bhupathi holding on his serve to wrap up the match in style. India, who have lost all three previous Davis Cup rubbers hosted by South Korea, now need to win both the reverse singles to qualify to the next round of the tournament. In tomorrow’s matches, 232nd ranked Rohan Bopanna is scheduled to take on 89th ranked Hyung Taik Lee while Prakash Amritraj, with a ranking of 249, is slated to lock horns with Hee-Seok Chung, ranked a lowly 677. — PTI
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Services pip Punjab to bag gold
Kurukshetra, February 11 It was the sheer professionalism and experience of the Services riders that held them in good stead against the youthful exuberance of the Punjab cyclists. Early on in the energy sapping race, one of Punjab’s riders, Ajay Trehan, had to drop out of the race following a technical snag that hit his cycle forcing the runners up to finish the race with just three riders. The Services quartet of Pardeep Kumar, Asgar Hassan, Vinodh Malik and Davinder Singh started well but at the turning point, after 15 km from the starting line, the Punjab team, comprising of Harpreet Singh, Amandeep Singh, Ajay Trehan and Kamalpreet Sharma caught up with the Services team. However, when things started looking rosy for Punjab, Ajay Trehan made an exit due to a ‘gear slip’ which meant that the cyclist had to slow down to virtually a snail’s pace due to increased wind resistance. Trehan stopped, rectified the fault, but then enough time had been consumed by him in this endeavour which virtually put paid to Punjab’s chances for a gold medal finish. Punjab coach Mittarpal Singh, however, was not disappointed at his team finishing second. “Our riders are young but they still managed to match the wits of Services riders who are all professional cyclists. We lost by a margin of just four seconds which shows the fight my boys gave to their rivals,” remarked Mittarpal Singh, under whose guidance Harpreet, Amandeep and Kamalpreet, all students of Patiala’s Khalsa College, are trained at the Punjabi University velodrome. The organisers, the Haryana Cycling Association office-bearers, did well to secure permission from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to hold the races on the busy NH-1. The races commenced from the sleepy hamlet of Ramgarh village, 3 km from Kurukshetra, and went on to Shahbad, 15 km away, from where the cyclists had to pedal their way back to the starting line. In fact, Ramgarh village was turned into a vibrant place as nearly 450 riders from 27 affiliated units of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) turned up at the venue. Results (all finals): 60 km team time trial (men) — Services-1 ( 1 hr 18m 33 s), Punjab-2 (1 hr 18m 37 s), Railways-3 (1 hr 19m 19 s); 20 km team time trial (women) — Punjab-1 (31m 20.13s), Manipur (31m 50.63 s), Maharashtra -3 (32m 45.63 s); 20km individual time trial (u-19, boys) — Dayala Ram Jatt (Rajasthan)-1 (27m 17.74 s), Pat Ram Jatt (Rajasthan)-2 ( 28m 17.87 s), Sachin Panwar (Delhi)- 3 (29m 08.45 s); 40 km individual time trial (men) — O.Bikram Singh (Railways)-1 (54m 38.00s), Pardeep Kumar (Services)-2 (55m 20.23 s), Sushil Kumar (Delhi) -3 (55m 29.88 s); 15 km individual time trial (women) — Amandeep Kaur (Haryana)- 1 ( 25 m 28.75 s), Maninder Kaur (Punjab)-2 (25m 33.50 s), Rajinder Kaur (Punjab)-3 (25m 52.46s). |
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Punjab prevail over Jammu and Kashmir
Ludhiana, February 11 Jharkhand and Services too won their matches. Jharkhand who lost their first encounter yesterday against Gujarat, got their acts together today to down Goa 20-10 while Services trounced Manipur 21-6. Meanwhile, Gujarat continued with their fine performance winning both the matches today. They routed Goa 38-11 and then went on to record another easy win over Pondicherry who they drubbed 20-4. In other matches, Chhattisgarh got the better of Uttar Pradesh 28-14; Kerala beat Manipur 36-22; Andhra Pradesh trounced West Bengal 19-4; Services beat Karnataka 22-11; and Bihar outnumbered Orissa 20-9. |
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Sengupta upsets Sarunas
Moscow, February 11 Double GM norm holder Negi, who just turned 13, went down to GM Michele Godena of Italy while another GM norm hopeful Abhijeet Gupta was beaten by Russian GM Alexander Obuchuk. Krishnan Sasikiran coasted to a fine one-sided victory against Denis Khismatullin of Russia, in the ‘A1’ group where other two Indian contenders, Sandipan Chanda and Surya Shekhar Ganguly, signed the peace pact. International Master Prathamesh Mokal was impressive in the ‘B’ group as he recorded his third straight victory to reach 3.5 points out of a possible four.
— PTI |
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