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Lankans tighten grip |
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Bhupathi advances in
men’s doubles
Chess Olympiad
Indian juniors win
hockey title
Jyoti moves up to
tied 27th spot
Pemba Tamang finishes
11th
Bhaskaran slams Aslam’s
suggestion
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India on the backfoot St John’s, June 4 Vice-captain Virender Sehwag failed to utilise the launch pad he had built himself, a victim of the probing Corey Collymore for 41. But his opening partner, Wasim Jaffer was cruising comfortably on 28. No matter how grave the situation, Sehwag cannot resist the odd flourish. Indeed, he welcomed Fidel Edwards with a six, using the latter’s additional pace to upper cut him over thirdman. India went into lunch on the third day on 16 without loss. After the break, he punched a full toss from the Barbadian to the long on fence. The bowler then responded with a couple of fiery deliveries to the batsman’s ribs, which the Delhiite fended inconveniently, but survived. Jaffer, meanwhile, competent and composed as an opener should be against the quicker stuff, was in no mood to be excluded from the party, either. He defended with aplomb. But interspersed this with sweetly timed cuts and drives to keep the total ticking. For India both runs and occupation of the crease were vital. They had to assign themselves the task of batting for at least four sessions. Fortunately, the strip was at its best on the third day and extra velocity was the best solution in the circumstance. But striving for one more yard of speed, Edwards hurt his knee midway through an over to retire to the dressing room, at least temporarily. But danger man, Collymore was still around on a critical day of the match. In the final session on the second day, with the sixth West Indian wicket falling on 282, India had hopes of containing the deficit to less than three figures. But a phlegmatic 49 run partnership between Denesh Ramdin and Ian Bradshaw for the seventh wicket ensured the tourists would be denied this. While figures only mirror half the story, runs conceded per over in a bowler’s analysis often provide a clue to how well he has performed. Six runs an over - which is what Sreesanth haemorrhaged - probably indicates it is premature to repose too much faith in him. The odd wicket taking feat - that, too, rarely inexpensively - is insufficient evidence of one’s potential at the highest level. VRV Singh, in contrast, albeit on the basis of limited data, looked promising. Introduced as first change after another wasteful spell by Sreesanth with the shining leather, he fully deserved his two scalps, both products of sheer hostility. He had the West Indian tail ducking and weaving, administering medicine Caribbean quicks have discharged to India for half a century. But the really encouraging stint came from the laid back Munaf Patel, who was appropriately handed the second new ball. He extracted an outside edge from Denesh Ramdin after softening up the 20-year-old Trinidadian to finish with three for 80. West Indies, though, realised 52 runs from their overnight score of 318 for six before throwing in the towel. Scoreboard
India (1st innings) 241 West
Indies (1st innings) Gayle c Dravid b Kumble 72 Ganga lbw Patel 9 Sarwan lbw Kumble 58 Lara c Yuvraj b Patel 18 Chanderpaul c Dhoni b Sehwag 24 Bravo st Dhoni b Sehwag 68 Ramdin c Dhoni b Patel 26 Bradshaw c Yuvraj b VRV Singh 33 Mohammed not out 19 Edwards c Dhoni b VRV Singh 4 Collymore lbw Kumble 0 Extras (b-2, lb-14, nb-22, w-2) 40 Total (all out, 98.3 overs) 371 Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-137, 3-159, 4-182, 5-255, 6-282, 7-331, 8-359, 9-370. Bowling:
Sreesanth 16-1-96-0, Patel 28-7-80-3, VRV Singh 15-1-61-2, Kumble 27.3-6-86-3, Sehwag 12-2-32-2. India (2nd innings) Jaffer not out 28 Sehwag c Gayle b Collymore 41 Laxman not out 4 Extras (lb-1, w-1, nb-2) 4 Total
(1 wkt, 20 overs) 77 Fall of wicket: 1-72. Bowling: Edwards 5.4-2-16-0, Collymore 6-2-17-1, Bradshaw 8-0-42-0, Bravo 0.2-0-1-0.
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Nottingham, June 4 The visitors ground their way to 286 for seven by the close, for an overall lead of 288, with two days remaining. England's best fourth-innings total to win a Test match at Trent Bridge came two years ago, when they made 284 for six. Sri Lanka's coach Tom Moody had challenged his batsmen to take their chance to level the series and they responded magnificently, even if it meant replacing their trademark lavish strokeplay with attritional defence. Kumar Sangakkara led the way with a faultless 66, captain Mahela Jayawardene added a watchful 45 and the 19-year-old Charmara Kapugedera, in only his second test, sealed a perfect day for the touring side with a maiden unbeaten 50 not out. With Muttiah Muralitharan waiting in the wings to exploit a dry, slow-paced wicket, the home side know they face a massive challenge to escape from Nottingham with the series. Andrew Flintoff had hoped for a quick start when Sri Lanka resumed on 45 for one but Sangakkara and Upul Tharanga put paid to that with a stand of 94. Within sight of lunch, though, Tharanga, having just driven Panesar for a flat six over long off, edged via his pad into the hands of Alastair Cook at short leg to make it 100 for two. Scoreboard
Sri Lanka (1st innings) 231 England
(1st innings) 229 Sri Lanka (2nd innings) Vandort b Hoggard 5 Tharanga c Cook b Panesar 46 Sangakkara c Trescothick Jayawardene c Jones Jayasuriya lbw Panesar 4 Dilshan c Jones b Hoggard 32 Kapugedera not out 50 Maharoof b Panesar 6 Vaas not out 24 Extras
(b-1, lb-3, nb-4) 8 Total (7 wkts, 104 overs) 286 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-100, 3-143, 4-148, 5-191, 6-223, 7-238. Bowling: Hoggard 19-4-51-2, Lewis 20-6-54-0 , Flintoff 13-1-38-1, Panesar 36-13-73-3, Plunkett 14-2-54-1, Pietersen 2-0-12-0.
— Reuters
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Paris, June 4 The 20-year-old Safina will face fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova for a place in the semifinals after mounting a stirring comeback to defeat the poster girl of women’s tennis. Sharapova let a 5-1 final set lead slip against her gutsy opponent who had also trailed 3-5 in the first set before staging her first fightback in the fourth-round tie. Eighth seed Kuznetsova, a former US Open champion, struggled into her first Roland Garros quarterfinal beating Italy’s ninth seed Francesca Schiavone 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. Belgian second seed Kim Clijsters raced through to the last eight and a probable showdown with Martina Hingis when she thumped slender Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova 6-1, 6-4. Clijsters is yet to drop a set. Mauresmo suffers shock exit
World No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo suffered a shock exit at the French Open when she was beaten 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 by Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova in the fourth round. The Frenchwoman, who has long been an under-achiever on home clay, has yet to make it past the quarterfinals in Paris. The 17-year-old Vaidisova, who won the Strasbourg tournament a week ago, will next meet American 11th seed Venus Williams for a semifinal place. Federer sets up Ancic clash
World No. 1 Roger Federer stayed on course to become only the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam titles when he eased into the French Open quarterfinals on Sunday. Federer brushed aside Czech Tomas Berdych, the man who beat him at the Athens Olympics, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to set up a mouth-watering last eight clash against Croatia’s Mario Ancic who put out Spanish seventh seed Tommy Robredo. Federer took just 106 minutes to complete his afternoon’s work as he continued his campaign to be the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles. Ancic overcame a late injury scare to knock out Hamburg Masters champion Robredo 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 and reach the quarterfinals for the first time. Ancic, the 12th seed, also saw his Davis Cup winning team-mate Ivan Ljubicic reach the last 16 beating Juan Monaco of Argentina 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in a match held over from Saturday. The fourth seed will next play Spain’s Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo for a place in the quarterfinals. French teenager Gael Monfils also triumphed in a third round match which was halted the night before beating America’s James Blake, the eighth seed, 6-2, 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/1), 5-7, 6-4 in a stormy encounter. Monfils now meets fellow teenager Novak Djokovic of Serbia for a place in the last eight. Birthday boy Rafael Nadal also survived a marathon slugfest yesterday, as well as a tricky banana, to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and keep the defence of his French Open title on track. Nadal, who has turned 20, won his 56th consecutive match on clay but had to call repeatedly on his famous fighting spirit to see off the 29th seeded Frenchman in an enthralling duel which lasted just seven minutes short of five hours. The Spanish second seed, who now takes on Lleyton Hewitt for a place in the last eight, also had to defeat another opponent in the match when a piece of banana got stuck in his throat and he was forced to stop playing to consult a doctor. Mahesh-Malisse
in quarters
Mahesh Bhupathi and his Belgian partner Xavier Malisse reached the quarterfinals of the French Open men’s doubles competition with a straight-set victory over the Swiss pair of Stanislas Wawrinka and Yves Allegro here today. The Indo-Belgian pair carved out a convincing 6-3, 6-1 win at Stade Roland Garros. Success was in store for a couple of other Indians as well with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sanam Singh winning their first-round matches in boys
singles. Unseeded Jeevan defeated local boy Jerome Inzerillo 6-1, 6-4, while Sanam, seeded seventh, beat another French player Guillaume Rufin 1-6, 7-5, 6-2.
— Agencies
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Bhupathi advances in
men’s doubles
Paris, June 4 The Indo-Belgian pair carved out a convincing 6-3, 6-1 win at Stade Roland Garros. Success was in store for a couple of other Indians as well with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sanam Singh winning their first-round matches in boys singles. Unseeded Jeevan defeated local boy Jerome Inzerillo 6-1, 6-4, while Sanam, seeded seventh, beat another French player Guillaume Rufin 1-6, 7-5, 6-2. Yesterday,
Leander Paes and his Russian partner Maria Kirilenko upset third-seeded
American duo of Meghann Shaughnessy and Mike Bryan 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to
advance to the second round of mixed doubles but Sania Mirza, partnering
Aussie Paul Hanley, crashed out with a 0-6, 4-6 defeat to sixth-seeded
American pair of Martina Navratilova and Bob Bryan. — PTI
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Indian eves finish 12th, men
30th
Turin, June 4 Indian men yet again failed to make the most of the situation and managed a minimal 2.5-1.5 victory over Italy B in the 13th and final round. Armenia attested their supremacy in the event with a quick draw on all four boards against Hungary and won the gold medal with a huge score of 36 points out of a possible 52. The silver medal went to China, who came with yet another fine performance in the final round game to beat Holland by a 2.5-1.5 margin. The Chinese men finished with 34 points. In an amazing turn of events, pre-Olympiad favourite and top seed Russia were thrown out of medal contention after they lost their final round game against Israel by a 1-3 margin. It paved the way for the US men, who beat Norway 3.5-0.5 to join Israel in the third spot on 33 points and after the tiebreak was resolved, the USA got the bronze. Behind Israel, Hungary finished fifth overall on 32.5 points, while Russia ended sixth. Indian men, who had been given the second billing here behind Russia finished 30th on 29.5 points after the final list was announced. In the women’s section, Ukraine won the gold after taking a draw with Armenian eves. Ukraine ended with 29.5 points out of a possible 39 and won the gold with a 1.5 point lead over Russia, who defeated Indian eves in the final round 2-1. Indian eves, seeded ninth, had a better finish than their male counterparts and tallied 23 points to finish 12th. The Chinese women, the defending champions, had to be content with the bronze this time. In the final round, China drew with Belarus and ended on 27.5 points overall. For Indian men, the final round also did not bring any good news as national champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly was outdone on the third board by unknown Sabino Brunello of Italy B. Viswanathan Anand was expectedly rested and Krishnan Sasikiran won his game against Niccolo Ronchetti after former World junior champion P Harikrishna gave the team an early lead defeating Daniele Vocaturo. However, Ganguly’s loss combined with a draw by Sandipan Chanda against Denis Rombaldoni on the fourth board could yield only a minimal victory. The Indian women looked better placed to hold Russia with Grandmaster Koneru Humpy settling for an early draw with Russian top player Alexandra Kosteniuk. On the second board, Dronavalli Harika also did well to get a half point against Natalia Kosintseva but on the third, Swati Ghate fumbled from a promising position against Nadezhda Kosintseva, giving the Russians a 2-1 victory. — PTI
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Indian juniors win hockey title
Chennai, June 4 According to a fax message issued here by Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) Secretary K. Jothikumaran, captain V Raja put the team in the lead with a field goal. Raghunath increased the lead converting a penalty stroke and Sardara Singh found the target again off a field goal. The
juniors began their campaign in the tournament with a 4-0 win against
Pakistan and defeated Germany 3-2. The Indians, who won all their five
matches, conceded just four goals in the tournament. They scored 32
goals in all. Drag-flicker Raghunath was the highest scorer of the
tournament with nine goals. — UNI
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Jyoti moves up to
tied 27th spot
London, June 4 His compatriot Jeev Milkha Singh shot an even-par 69 and is now tied for 46th, up from tied 58th, where he had Randhawa for company. Randhawa bogeyed the second, but then quickly birdied the third, sixth and seventh to turn in two-under. On the back nine, he birdied the 13th and 17th and in between bogeyed the 14th for his 66. His three rounds are 67, 70 and 66 for a total of three-under 203. Jeev birdied the sixth and 12th and dropped shots on third and fifth for his 69, tallying one-under 205 for 54 holes. His
earlier rounds were 68 and 69. Robert Karlsson continued to demolish his
opponents and also set new European Tour records as he went into a
six-shot lead after three rounds. The Swede became the first player to
break 190 for 54 holes and anything under the par of 69 to close would
eclipse Ian Woosnam and David Llewellyn’s all-time low total of 258. The
36-year-old went into the third round holding a three-shot lead with a
record halfway total of 124. By the end of the day, Karlsson had doubled
his advantage and claimed the 54-hole record with a round of 65 for 189.
— PTI
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Pemba Tamang finishes
11th
New Delhi, June 4 The Army marksman shot a score of 578 with 291 (98, 96, 97) in stage one and 287 (96, 96, 95) in stage two. Vijay Kumar was placed 25th after firing 573 (286+287), while Ramkishan Yadav ended up 46th with a card of 557 (283+274). Three-time
Olympic champion Ralf Schumann of Germany, who improved on the world
record score set in last week’s Munich event, established a new mark
at 787.7 (587+200.7) and won the gold medal. Roman Bondaruk of
Ukraine, the silver medal winner at Munich, once again won the silver
scoring 780.2 (585+195.2), while the bronze went to Zhongshe Liu of
China — 779.9 (582+197.9) — who was placed third last week as well.
Liu also won the Olympic quota place here. Among the women, Sonia Rai was 22nd in 25m sports pistol event with an effort of 576 (286+290). Saroja Kumari Juthu shot a score of 565 (278+287) to finish 52nd, while Shweta Chaudhary shot 552 for a distant 74th place. Munich
World Cup bronze medallist Fengji Fei of China won the gold medal with a
tally of 793.4 (584+209.4), while the silver went to his compatriot Ying
Chen with a score of 789.0 (583 +206.0). Antoanet Boneva of Bulgaria won
the bronze and the Olympic quota place with a score of 787.3
(585+202.3). — PTI
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Bhaskaran slams Aslam’s
suggestion
Chennai, June 4 He was reacting to Aslam’s statement yesterday that the Indian
Hockey Federation (IHF) had failed to salvage Indian hockey and that
time was ripe for appointment of a foreign coach like in cricket. “Aslam
bombarded me when I was the coach of junior and senior teams in the
past. I am also an Olympian. But I want to know his (Aslam’s)
contribution to the game,” Bhaskaran said. Stating that some
Olympians had not been true to their jobs as selectors or IHF observers,
he said Aslam never showed any continuity and consistency as a selector.
— PTI
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