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Rain may wash out opener
Kumble’s effort goes in vain
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Ban Jones, says Aussie senator
Iranian kabaddi team to play matches in Punjab
Amarinder to honour medal winners today
Independence Cup Hockey
Barua finishes fifth, Negi
tied 12th
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Rain may wash out opener
Thundershowers, which have lashed the capital city in the past 48 hours, washed out India’s warm-up match today after South Africa were deprived of a warm-up match yesterday. Weather forecast predicts more rain in the next five days, threatening a washout of the second match as well. The Proteas, who take on the hosts in the day-night encounter at the Premadasa Stadium tomorrow, have a poor record of one win and nine losses out of the 11 one-day matches they have played in the island nation. The world No. 2 side’s lone win came in 1993, which means a dismal 10 per cent success rate as against an overall winning percentage of 64. The Indians, who have their first match on Wednesday against the hosts, are only marginally better with a 32 percent winning record in the neighbouring country, even though they thrashed the Lankans 6-1 at home last year. The South Africans are without some of their key players, with skipper Graeme Smith, his deputy Jacques Kallis and pacer Charl Langeveldt missing the tour due to injuries. Speedster Makhaya Ntini is a doubtful starter following a hamstring injury which he picked during the second Test against the hosts. The rain could work in the favour of the two visiting teams as a wet outfield would mean less grip for home spinners, making it easier to chase under lights. Still, it would be foolhardy to underestimate Muttiah Muralitharan who has taken 123 wickets in 84 matches at a staggering strike rate of 37.1 at home. Moreover, the Sri Lankan bowling attack is not all about the record-breaking offie. They have the experienced Chaminda Vaas, the menacing Dilhara Fernando and the fast improving Lasith Malinga, known for his peculiar slingshot action. The captains could also have a torrid time, constantly comparing their total with the corresponding par score on the Duckworth-Lewis chart. Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain, refused to call his team the favourites. “We have played good cricket recently but I won’t call ourselves the favourites. Both India and South Africa are very good one-day sides,” he said. Marvan Atapattu, the regular skipper, is yet to recover from an injury and Jayawardene said the team would not risk rushing the return of his senior team-mate. “He is a key member of our team, and there is a lot of cricket ahead,” he said. Kumar Sangakkara is expected to return to the role of wicketkeeper-batsman to lend balance to the team. Jayawardene had done well as a captain. He led the team to a come-from-behind 1-1 Test series draw in England and capped it with the 2-0 win over the Proteas. His own form with the bat has only got better, carving a sequence of fine performances, including an innings of 374, the highest individual score by a Sri Lankan, in the first Test against South Africa. There is an alarming coincidence here for the Indians. Rahul Dravid, too, was the stand-in captain when the team came here an year ago for the Indian Oil Cup, and the team, despite losing the final, began its upswing from there. Teams (from): Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillekaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Farvez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara, Ruchira Perera and Prasanna Jayawardene. South Africa: Mark Boucher (capt), Boeta Dippenaar, Loots Bosman, Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Shaun Pollock, Johan van der Wath, Robin Peterson, Andrew Hall, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Roger Telemachus, Dale Steyn and Thandi Tshabalala.
— PTI, UNI Live on Ten Sports (2.30 p.m.)
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Kumble’s effort goes in vain
London, August 13 Kumble took two crucial wickets conceding only 26 runs in his four overs to help Surrey restrict Nottinghamshire to 176 for 6. The Indian leggie first castled Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming (31) and then rushed through the defences of top-scoring Australian David Hussey (42). Chasing 177 for a berth in the final, Surrey were dismissed for 139 in 19.2 overs as most of their top batsmen failed to shine. Only Jonathan Batty (58 not out) put up some resistance. When his turn came to bat, Kumble contributed eight runs off seven balls before being snared by Mark Elham. However, Nottinghamshire suffered a narrow four-run loss to Leicestershire in the title clash later that evening.
— PTI
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Ban Jones, says Aussie senator
Melbourne, August 13 In a scathing attack, Victorian Labour senator Robert Ray said Jones did not deserve to get behind a microphone again after referring to Hashim Amla as a “terrorist” during South Africa’s second Test against Sri Lanka. “I regard Jones as the worst commentator that I have ever heard in 50 years of following cricket,” he told the Senate, according to a report in The Herald Sun. “People around this building will know of my complaints “Jones said he did not mean the comment to go on air, just like Mel Gibson did not mean his public comments in Los Angeles two weeks ago to become public — but they have become public,” Senator Ray said referring to Gibson’s recent allegedly anti-Semitic remarks. “I just hope that Australian broadcasters note the reaction out of the subcontinent and never employ Jones again because he does not deserve it.” The senator’s comments evoked instant reaction from Jones himself and a few other former cricketers. Jones said people were entitled to their views while veteran commentator Tony Greig said the senator’s comment “smacks of a cheap shot”. “People, whether they be senators, people in the bar, everyone has their opinions. People will take positions on this and rightly so, they’re entitled to,” Jones was quoted as saying by the daily. Former Test bowler Rodney Hogg sprung to Jones’ defence. “How many times did we hear Ian Chappell drop the magic word when he didn’t know the microphone was on,” he said. Meanwhile, Jones, who lost his contract worth $ 200,000 a year with Ten Sports, said he was hopeful of fulfilling other commentary roles in the next few months. “It’s all a bit uncertain but I’m still planning to do commentary for a series next month in Singapore and Malaysia. I am also contracted to do some work in October at the Champions Trophy (in India) and they have indicated they still want me for that.”
— PTI
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Iranian kabaddi team to play matches in Punjab
Chandigarh, August 13 The visiting squad, led by the President of the Kabaddi Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, M.R. Maghsodlou, is expected to arrive in the Capital tomorrow. It will straightway head for Punjab to play matches and attend a special training programme during its 15-day sojourn in the sate. Coached by Manjit Singh, a former Indian Navy and Services kabaddi player, the visitors will make Jalandhar their base station. The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports granted clearance to the visit last week after the Punjab Kabaddi Association headed by Kanwaljit Singh Lalli extended a formal invitation to the Iranian federation for training and exhibition matches. India are currently the Asian Games champion in the sport. Experts feel that debutants Iran may be a major hurdle in India’s endeavour to complete a hat-trick of gold-medal triumphs in the sport at the Doha Asiad. Strong and sturdy Iranians have been training hard for some time now. Pervinder Singh Chandhoke, an Iranian- born Sikh, is accompanying the squad as an international adviser to the Iranian federation. Chandhoke, with the help of Director, Sports, Punjab, Pargat Singh, recruited Manjit Singh as Iran’s coach. Talking to The Tribune on the telephone, Chandhoke confirmed that all members of the Iranian squad had been granted visas. The team: Mohammad Shabani Mohammad Abadi, Behzad Bamadi, Abdolhamid Maghsoud Lou, Hossain Nosrati, Kianoush Naderian,Ramezanali Paeinmahalli, Alidoost Mohammadi, Aref Fojerdi, Farhad Kamal Gharibi, Naser Roomiani Nazari, Ali Roushanshemal, Mostafa Noudehi, Mokhtar Saidi, Syed Moslem Amiri. Leader of the delegation: Mohammad Reza Maghsodlou; International adviser: Pervinder Singh Chandhoke; Coach: Manjit Singh.
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Indian footballers form body
Kolkata, August 13 A brainchild of striker Bhaichung Bhutia, who would also be its president, the FPA plans to look after the welfare of players and educate and advice them by engaging professionals. “We will function as the parent body of the players. We want to work with the national and state associations for the game’s development. At the same time we want fair treatment for footballers,” Bhutia, also a member director of the body, said at the press conference announcing the launch. Any registered current players, including foreigners playing in India, could become a member of the FPA by paying a fee. For players plying their trade for clubs featuring in the NFL and premier division in state leagues, the fee would be Rs 5,000, while those participating in the second division of the NFL would have to pay Rs 2,000. District-level players need to pay Rs 500. “We want players to only concentrate on their game without worrying about their finances or injury. We will also come out with post-retirement options including pension plans for the footballers,” Bhutia said. The FPA, which has been registered in West Bengal, plans to give annual awards to the season’s best player, coach and the most promising footballer. Allahabad Bank has agreed to sponsor the FPA for a year and Bhutia said talks were on with some more corporate houses for support. On whether the current players would be able to devote time for the FPA’s wide-ranging programmes, Bhutia said, “That’s the reason we have appointed former footballer Sumit Mukherjee as our CEO. Also, we’ll have professionals.” Bhutia — flanked by Mukherjee, Indian captain S Venkatesh, Dipak Mandal, Alvito D’Cunha and Samir Naik — also acknowledged the support and encouragement received from the AIFF and IFA. “I’ve spoken to AIFF President Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi. He is happy. We’ve also spoken to several state associations, including Manipur. The response has been good.” Dipak Mandal would be the secretary, while Venkatesh, Sandip Nandy, Debjit Ghosh and Mahesh Gawli the vice-presidents. Raman Vijayan will be the treasurer. All players attending the national camp for the August 16 AFC Asian Cup qualifying match against Saudi Arabia were present at the function. Brazilian Jose Ramirez Barreto, who has joined Mohun Bagan this year, was also present. This is the third attempt to form an organisation of footballers in the country. The earlier associations in the 1980s and 1990s had become virtually defunct without making much headway. — PTI
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Amarinder to honour medal winners today
Chandigarh, August 13 Giving this information here today, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs, Punjab, said these outstanding sportspersons would receive cash rewards at a function here tomorrow. The Chief Minister will distribute a total of Rs 1.16 crore among the sportspersons. Among those who would be felicitated are world shooting champions Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Abhinav Bindra. Olympian Bindra will receive a cheque for Rs 39.5 lakh, while Manavjit will get Rs 34.33 lakh. Other shooters to be honoured are Avneet Kaur Sidhu (Rs 10.25 lakh), Mansher Singh (Rs 7.33 lakh) and Amanpreet Singh (Rs 2.33 lakh). Commonwealth Games gold medallist weightlifter Geeta Rani will be presented a cheque for Rs 7 lakh, while Commonwealth Games silver medal winner Vicky Batta will get Rs 5 lakh. Athletes Manjit Kaur and Rajwinder Kaur, both silver medal winners at the Commonwealth Games, will be given Rs 2.5 lakh each.
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India Seniors rout Tamil Nadu 7-0
Chennai, August 13 India Seniors, who have booked their berth in the final on August 16, have a tie tomorrow against India Juniors, who have lost both their encounters. With four matches completed in the four-team format, India Seniors have won two. India Development and Tamil Nadu, who have won one each, will battle it out to decide the other finalist. In the matches between India Seniors and Tamil Nadu, the former converted all five penalty corners that came their way. But Gagan Ajit Singh missed a stroke, awarded when Shivabalan came in the way of Shivender Singh inside the circle. Seniors led at half time by a Shivener Singh goal in the third minute. Alfred Asir of Tamil Nadu made a goal-line save close to the end of the first half, denying Tejbir Singh the chance to score. In the second half, Sandeep Singh (two), Arjun Halappa (two), Gagan Ajit Singh (one) and Tushar Khandekar (field goal) were the scorers. In the other match, Adam Sinclair (two), Raghunath and V Raja (one each) and Virender Lakra (two) netted for the Development side, while Bikramjit Singh scored two goals for the losers. — PTI
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Barua finishes fifth, Negi
tied 12th
Vlissingen, August 13 The Indian had the best tiebreak score among the seven-point players after the tie was resolved in this nine-round Swiss event, deservedly won by second-seeded Polish Grandmaster Michal Krasenkow. Krasenkow scored a quick victory over top seed Mikhail Gurevich of Turkey in his final-round game and ended with eight points. On a day when the world’s youngest Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi failed to break the defences of Ziska Helgi Dam and had to settle for a draw, the remaining three Indians ended on a positive note, winning their last-round games. As a result of his draw after a fantastic performance till the seventh round of this event, Negi finished tied 12th on 6.5 points and giving him company here was Saptarshi Roy along with nine others. Roy defeated IM Bart Michiels of Belgium in the final round. International Masters Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury and Roktim Bandyopadhyay ended their Dutch tour with easy victories over Dutchmen Arlette Van Weersel and Anton Rosmuller, respectively, and finished with an identical score of six points.
— PTI
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Kapil says cricketers should play like team in Sri Lanka.
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Colombo, August 13
