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We accelerated bit late: Dravid
Yuvraj, Munaf in team for 2nd Test
Greg eats his words
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World Cup bid meeting’s venue changed
Aussies hit back to beat South Africa
Patiala to host
Ambassadors’ Cup
Amarinder for full utilisation of NIS
Dudu’s brace sinks Fransa
Nadal beats Federer for
Dubai title
Indian eves rout Kyrgyzstan 7-0
Indian Airlines win hockey title
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Test ends in exciting draw
Nagpur, March 5 Set to chase a near-improbable 368 for win, India started in a defensive fashion but shifted gears in a sensational final session with some aggressive batting after Jaffer and skipper Rahul Dravid had provided the platform to launch a late assault. Jaffer (100) and Dravid (71) put on 167 runs for the second wicket to steer India to safety after the hosts had lost Virender Sehwag with just one run on the board. The home team made a victory charge after the departure of Dravid by first promoting Irfan Pathan and then Mahendra Singh Dhoni when Jaffer was dismissed with 155 runs needed in the last 18 overs. Pathan made 25-ball 35 with four fours and a six before being caught by Andrew Strauss. Dhoni, who made 16 in 21 balls, was joined by Sachin Tendulkar who slammed a quickfire unbeaten 28 off 19 balls with five fours. But the game came to a premature end when the umpires offered light which both captains accepted. India ended on 260 for 6 with 11.4 overs remaining. The two teams will now travel to Mohali for the second Test to be played from March 9 to 13. The 28-year-old Jaffer made his comeback into Test cricket after a gap of three years a most memorable one with a knock that lasted nearly five hours before falling when India were well and truly out of danger. The Mumbai batsman spooned a drive off rival skipper Andrew Flintoff to short cover where Strauss plucked the catch. Jaffer’s 198-ball innings, that included 12 fours, came at a very crucial stage of the match as India needed to bat out the three sessions after England declared at the overnight score of 297 for three. The right-handed opener showed great character and loads of patience to see off the threat in the company of Dravid who hit 10 fours in his four-and-a-half-hour vigil at the crease. Bailed out of trouble by the duo, the Indians decided to have a go at the target, evident from the reshuffling in the batting order. Even Harbhajan Singh (7) was promoted ahead of VVS Laxman to get quick runs, although the attempt to step up the run rate came too late in the day and India eventually fell 108 runs short of the target. The match was called off after the second ball of the 78th over to bring up the fifth draw at this venue in nine matches. Scoreboard England (1st innings) 393 India (1st innings) 323 England (2nd innings) 297 for 3 India (2nd innings) Jaffer c Strauss b Flintoff 100 Sehwag b Hoggard 0 Dravid b Panesar 71 Pathan c Strauss b Flintoff 35 Dhoni c Strauss b Harmison 16 Tendulkar not out 28 Harbhajan b Harmison 7 Extras
(lb-3) 3 Total (6 wickets, 78.2 overs) 260 Fall of wickets:
1-1 2-168 3-198 4-215 5-252 6-260. Bowling: Hoggard 16-7-29-1, Harmison 17.2-4-48-2, Flintoff 17-2-79-2, Panesar 16-2-58-1, Blackwell 12-2-43-0.
— PTI Man of the match: Matthew Hoggard |
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We accelerated bit late: Dravid
Nagpur, March 5 “We decided (to go for the target) at tea time but scoring about eight runs an over was never going to be easy. Looking at things now, maybe we should have gone for it some 40 minutes earlier,” Dravid said after the match. “It was an interesting last session. It is never easy to chase a target in the region of 400. The idea was to see through the first couple of sessions and then see if we can chase the target through Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” Dravid said. The home captain said the fightback in the first innings and holding out for a draw in the second essay were the positives for the team from the match. “Saving a Test on a wearing wicket is an achievement. And particularly the way Mohammad Kaif and Anil Kumble batted in the first innings was creditable,” he said. Asked if the team lacked a fifth bowler, Dravid said, “If we had gone for an extra bowler, the 128-run partnership between Kaif and Kumble might not have happened.” Dravid also defended the bowler’s performance in the match. “There was not enough bounce on the fourth and fifth days to get 20 wickets,” he said. Dravid praised Wasim Jaffer whose maiden Test hundred set up India’s chase on the last day. “Hopefully this will kickstart his career again,” he said. On the performance of Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh, Dravid said the two deserved to be given a long rope. “Harbhajan is a proven performer. He is going to comeback in the series in the remaining matches. “Sehwag is such a player he will undergo such lean patches. But he scores runs at such a pace that it gives the team a chance to win.”
— PTI |
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Monty Panesar’s parents ecstatic over his success
Yamunanagar, March 5 His family could not watch him play at Nagpur as they were not sure if Monty would find a place in the final eleven. “But now we are going to watch him in action in Mohali and Mumbai Tests”, said the proud father. “The wicket of Tendulkar is equal to 100 wickets and our son has achieved a great feat by dismissing him”, said Ms Gursharan Kaur, mother of the English spinner. The family reached here to meet Monty’s maternal uncle this evening. |
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Yuvraj, Munaf in team for 2nd Test
Nagpur, March 5 Chairman of selectors Kiran More reiterated his view on Ganguly’s chances of a comeback. “I am sticking to what I said in Baroda about Ganguly. We are looking forward and there’s no question of looking back on the issue,” he said. The squad: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, S. Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and Piyush Chawla.
— PTI |
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Greg eats his words
Nagpur, March 5 Chappell’s admission came at a late night meeting called by BCCI President Sharad Pawar here in the wake of the letter written to him by Ganguly wherein he complained about the remarks made by the coach in an interview to a British daily. At the meeting lasting 30 minutes, it was made clear to Chappell that such interviews were unwarranted. “Chappell admitted during the meeting that it had been a mistake on his part to have suggested that captaincy was utterly important to Ganguly’s life and finances,” said BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah, who also attended the meeting. Later addressing mediapersons, Pawar said Chappell had assured the board that he would not talk about any individual players in future and restrict his comments to the team’s performance.
— PTI |
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World Cup bid meeting’s venue changed
Chandigarh, March 5 The venue has been shifted due to the busy schedule of Mr Sharad Pawar, BCCI President. Mr
I.S. Bindra, former BCCI President, said today that the cricket boards’ chiefs would meet in the Capital to discuss the modalities for making a joint bid to host the World Cup. Mr Bindra said the BCCI President would arrive here on March 8 and witness play on the first day of the second Test between India and England to be held at the PCA Stadium from March 9 to 13. Mr Pawar will also inaugurate the newly constructed indoor practice nets at the stadium.
— TNS
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BCCI portal to fetch $ 1 billion: Bindra
Mohali, March 5 Now at the helm of affairs at the BCCI led by Sharad Pawar, Mr Bindra has grander plans up his sleeve. While talking to TNS here today, the Punjab Cricket Association honorary president caused a bit of amazement when he said the board was in the process of developing its web portal which will generate revenue of $ 1 billion in four years. “Web portal will be ready during the current season and will generate a revenue of $ 1 billion,” Mr Bindra said. The man responsible for converting the PCA Stadium into a cricketing venue comparable with the best in the world, Mr Bindra said, “The Internet will easily overtake television in terms of accessibility in the next 10 years. Through the portal people will be able to keep abreast of the latest developments in their offices, while on the move or elsewhere,” he said. “Matches will also be shown in cinema halls in the countries where the game is popular, which will add to the revenue,” he said. “A total of 72 days of domestic cricket and 160 days of international cricket will be shown through the web portal,” Mr Bindra stated. Asked about the viewership of domestic cricket abroad, he replied that the previous edition of Challenger Trophy hosted by the Punjab Cricket Association last year was a keenly watched affair. “Twentysix per cent of the total revenue will be shared by players,” Mr Bindra replied when asked about the money to be ploughed back into the game. |
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Aussies hit back to beat South Africa
Port Elizabeth, March 5 South Africa slumped to 69 for five before AB de Villiers, with a career-best 68, and Shaun Pollock (69) added 119 in 22 overs and brought the home side back into contention. But a sensational boundary catch by Brad Hogg, leaping one-handed above his head, dismissed De Villiers off the useful left-arm spin of Michael Clarke. Shane Watson bowled Pollock to end his dazzling 74-ball innings and South Africa were out of the hunt despite a late flourish from Roger Telemachus who struck three mighty sixes in his 29 off 13 balls. Earlier, Ricky Ponting returned to action for Australia after recovering from an abdominal strain, top-scoring with 62. Damien Martyn scored 51 off 69 balls, during which he passed 5,000 ODI runs in his 198th match, to see Australia through to the last five overs after Ponting was fooled by the length of a Shaun Pollock delivery and skied a pull to long-on. Scoreboard Australia Gilchrist c Boucher b Pollock 25 Katich run out 49 Ponting c Peterson b Pollock 62 Martyn c Telemachus b Ntini 51 Clarke run out 24 Hussey c Gibbs b Hall 22 Lee not out 6 Watson not out 4 Extras (lb-2, nb-3, w-6) 11 Total (6 wickets, 50 overs) 254 Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-99, 3-173, 4-214, 5-243, 6-244. Bowling: Pollock 10-1-45-2, Ntini 9-0-56-1, Telemachus 8-0-59-0, Hall 9-1-38-1, Peterson 10-1-39-0, Smith 4-0-15- 0. South Africa Smith c Gilchrist b Lee 10 Dippenaar lbw Watson 16 Gibbs run out 16 De Villiers c Hogg b Clarke 68 Boucher c Gilchrist b Lee 5 Kemp c Bracken b Clark 0 Pollock b Watson 69 Hall c Gilchrist b Lee 5 Peterson c Gilchrist b Lee 3 Telemachus lbw Bracken 29 Ntini not out 1 Extras (lb-3, nb-3, w-2) 8 Total (all out, 47.2 overs) 230 Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-43, 3-60, 4-68, 5-69, 6-188, 7-192, 8-197, 9-199. Bowling: Lee 9-2-48-4, Bracken 8.2-1-40-1, Clark 9-0-32-1, Watson 10-0-49-2, Clarke 9-0-46-1, Hogg 2-0-12-0. — Reuters
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Patiala to host
Ambassadors’ Cup
New Delhi, March 5 The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh, announced here today that the championship would be held under the patronage of the Chief of the Army Staff, Gen. J.J. Singh. He said over “33 Ambassadors” from 21 countries had confirmed their participation. There will be 12 teams from India. The confirmed foreign entries are from the United States, Uruguay, Switzerland, France, Singapore, Australia, China, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Poland, Argentina, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Mongolia, Morocco, Egypt, Pakistan and Chile. The Indian participants include Patiala Sahgal Stud, Royal Kashmir, 61st Cavalry Red, Indian Navy, APRC, Delhi, ASC/Artillery, 61st Cavalry Yellow, South Delhi, RVC-PBG, Royal Gems and Arts and Jaipur-Thunderbolt. The tournament will be played on a knockout format and each team will consist of two Indian players and two “Ambassadors”. Gen. J.J. Singh, who is also the president of the Indian Polo Association, will be the chief guest during the opening ceremony while Punjab Governor Gen. S F Rodriques (retd) will preside over the final match. The Punjab Chief Minister said equestrian sport, particularly polo, was a cultural heritage of Punjab and every effort was being made to revive equestrian sport in the State, including breeding of horses, the setting up of a race course near Ludhiana, and equestrian centres at five places, notably Patiala, Ludhiana and Amritsar. Capt Amarinder Singh said during the Ambassadors’ Cup, the horsemanship of Nihangs, and traditional polo teams from Ladakh and Manipur would also be on exhibition. |
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Amarinder for full utilisation of NIS
New Delhi, March 5 He lamented the neglect of the Patiala institute, adding that presently only 20 per cent of the existing capacity of the Moti Bagh Palace complex was being utilised for sports coaching and training. Capt Amarinder Singh said his father Yadavindra Singh handed over the 280-acre Moti Bagh Palace complex with over 1,000 rooms to the Central Government with the exclusive purpose of setting up a world class sports training institute. “Sadly, the NIS is in a run down condition now”, the Punjab CM observed. He said if the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) wanted to use only a fraction of the existing facilities at Patiala, “then we are willing to give space to the NIS at Anandpur Sahib, where a Martial Arts Academy has been set up, or at Nabha, for developing a new NIS complex. We could then give the Moti Bagh Palace for setting up a defence university, the first of its kind in the country”. But everything is not lost on the NIS front as the issue is now between the Sports Ministry and the Punjab Government to be sorted out after Amarinder’s meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “We will not allow the NIS to be shifted out of Punjab, but we see no point in keeping the Moti Bagh Palace as an under-utilised facility. We would like to have a full-fledged defence university there rather than having a half-baked sports institute,” the CM asserted. He said he would be shortly meeting Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mani Shankar Aiyer to find ways and means to regain the lost glory of the NIS, Patiala. Capt. Amarinder Singh noted that with the setting up of the Bangalore Centre of Excellence by the SAI, when Punjab was under turmoil in the 1980s, the balance of power shifted to the Southern Centre, leaving Patiala with some crumps. He said the idea was to bring in top foreign coaches to Patiala to train Indian sportspersons and coaches, instead of sending them out for training at enormous cost to the exchequer. With the erosion of training facilities at Patiala, Indian athletes now go abroad for training to drain out precious foreign exchange, which has not helped Indian sportspersons improve much but only helped lower the status of the NIS. SAI cites lack of funds as the main reason for the poor upkeep of the NIS. “The Moti Bagh Palace has been virtually ripped apart of its heritage possessions. The antique chandeliers and carpets are missing. Even the original fittings are not there. The grounds and the synthetic turfs are in a mess. The unkempt palace grounds look more like a forlorn land than a premier sports institute,” observed Indian Olympic Association secretary-general Raja Randhir Singh, a scion of the Patiala Royal family. He said NIS Patiala could be kept in good shape only if the Central Government allots special funds for its upkeep and maintenance. “The old Moti Bagh Palace, which is a heritage building, is in a shambles. It needs urgent salvation,” elaborated Randhir Singh. Randhir, who is the lone member from India in the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said the IOC had given its recognition to the NIS, Patiala, as a “high-level training centre”, but nothing has been done to make use of this offer. |
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Dudu’s brace sinks Fransa
Panaji, March 5 Dudu again scored five minutes later through a penalty after defender Bello Rasaq brought down striker Edeh Chidi inside the box. Bibian Fernandes played a stellar role in the midfield than hammered the last nail in Fransa Pax coffin five minutes before the end of the match to give Sporting a comfortable win to take their tally to 13 points. Dudu Omagbemi was declared the man of the match. Fransa Pax who shone in patches are at the bottom of the table with two points. —
PTI |
Nadal beats Federer for Dubai title
Dubai, March 5 Nadal, who earned his 13th career title, was playing only his second tournament this year after missing three months with a foot injury that kept him out of the Masters Cup in Shanghai and the Australian Open. The defeat ended top seed Federer’s 16-match winning streak this year after he had claimed titles in Doha and at the Australian Open. The 19-year-old Nadal was able to turn the match in his favour after Federer almost totally dominated the opening set. Federer, seeking to win four titles at one event for the first time in his career, gave up only two points on serve as he broke to lead 2-0 with a forehand winner and won the final eight points of the set, closing it out with a spectacular over the shoulder backhand that forced an error from his opponent. The Swiss was able to take control by mixing the pace well, often coming to the net and not letting Nadal settle. In the second set, Federer led 1-0 and held 30-0 on Nadal’s serve, but the Spaniard pulled himself out of a potentially difficult situation. And as Federer’s level inevitably dropped a little, Nadal became more aggressive and eventually managed to make an impact. Nadal earned a break point to lead 3-2 but was too eager and netted his return, but his big forehand kept him in contention and he broke Federer to love to lead 5-4. In the third set, Federer hit two aces but still dropped the opening service game when Nadal hit a powerful crosscourt forehand. Although Federer levelled at 2-2 by hitting a forehand down the line to force a backhand error, Nadal once again broke when it counted most as Federer hit a forehand marginally wide to leave Nadal serving for victory.
— Reuters |
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Indian eves rout Kyrgyzstan 7-0
New Delhi, March 5 Hmar scored the first two goals, yet the credit of initiating the moves go to Malik. The Orissa forward’s shot in the 11th minute bobbled up from the hands of Kyrgyzstan goalkeeper Sharpilova Elina and an opportune Hmar put the ball in to help India go 1-0 up. The second goal came after six minutes. After a few nice moves, which went futile, Malik did not miss the opportunity to score the third goal in the 37th minute. In the 46th minute, Malik breached the Kyrgyzstan defence easily to net the fourth goal. In the 70th minute, the ball went up high in the air while a Kyrgyzstan defender tried to thwart a move by Malik and it went into the goal as the goalkeeper misjudged the flight while trying to catch it. Eight minutes later, Malik got another loose ball and completed a good solo by beating Elena to complete her fourth goal. The spirited Indians kept up the pressure on the visitors and showed good coordination to slam the seventh goal in the injury time.
— PTI |
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Indian Airlines win hockey title
New Delhi, March 5 In a pulsating game featuring a number of internationals, Sameer Dad scored the lone goal of the match with a reverse shot after fed from the right side of the ‘D’ and that turned out to be the winner. Both teams tested each other before launching attack and counter attack and poor finishing by the forwards did Bharat Petroleum in. Indian Airlines goalkeeper Jagdish Ponappa stood like a rock under the bar and frustrated Len Aiyappa and Amar Aiyamma on a number of occasions. Bharat Petroleum managed only one penalty corner in the 55th minute but Aiyappa failed to score. Indian Airlines muffed three penalty corners in the 10th, 47th and 48th minutes. The winners received Rs 1 lakh while the runners-up team got 50,000. Gurbaaz Singh was adjudged man of the match, while Army XI got the fair play trophy.
— UNI |
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