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‘Wall’ rebuilds brick by brick Gambhir and Dravid at close of first days play in the second Test at Mohali. Tribune photo: Pradeep Tewari
It’s a special ton: Gambhir
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Sri Lanka agree to tour Pakistan
We need early wickets: Moores
Gambhir getting better with each game
Top runners for Indian Open marathon
Mumbai in control against Punjab
Advantage Australia
English clubs handed tough task
Saina storms into semifinals
Bhutia out of Fed Cup final
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‘Wall’ rebuilds brick by brick
Mohali, December 19 But the Karnataka batsman, formerly the mainstay of the Indian batting for nearly a decade, proved that it was not for nothing that he was nicknamed the “Wall”. He was determined to come good today. And he did it in style. Along with Gautam Gambhir, who carried his fabulous run in the Australia Test series into this game and scored an unbeaten century, put India on firm footing as India finished the Day 1 of the second Test against England at 179 for the loss of Virender Sehwag’s wicket. While Gambhir was unbeaten on 106, Dravid was at the crease on 65, when bad light forced early end to the day’s play. Only 72 overs could be bowled during the day. It was a day when England bowlers, keen to gain an upper hand in the Test after having had to face an unlikely defeat in the first Test at Chennai, did virtually everything right. They pitched the ball in the right areas and maintained an impressive line and length. But the fierce determination of Dravid and the purple patch that the Delhi opener Gambhir is going through at the moment blunted all their efforts. England were off to a dream run as Stuart Broad, who replaced an off-colour Steve Harmison, brought early jubilation in the England camp. The lanky seamer, undoubtedly pick of the seamers, ensnared Sehwag, their nemesis in the previous Test, in the second over of the innings. Sehwag went for a tentative forward prod but ended up edging the ball to be caught behind the stumps by Matt Prior. Unfortunately for the visitors, this turned out to be their lone happy moment of the day as Gambhir and Dravid brought all their experience into play in an effort to thwart the England charge. Both were confidence personified and negotiated whatever was hurled at them. While Gambhir never hesitated to free his shoulders whenever the opportunity arose, Dravid was content to defend. It was the stage when he just concentrated on survival. Middling the ball well, he had no problem facing spinners and pacers alike. It took Dravid 47 deliveries to hit his first boundary. He showed his class, caressing an James Anderson delivery which went racing to the square leg fence and his score rose from 7 to 11. This was Dravid’s first four in the last five innings. Dravid grew in confidence and started to pay his strokes after the lunch break. He steered Stuart Broad to the square leg before dispatching Monty Panesar effortlessly to the cover boundary. He then sent Flintoff, who bent his back and invariably bowled upwards of 140 kmph, to deep mid-wicket area and ran a couple to reach his fifty - his first in the last nine innings. Gautam, in the meantime, went on accumulating runs, clobbering off-spinner Graeme Swann over the long-off fence. There were no nervous nineties, as the dashing southpaw reached the three-figure mark, taking a couple off Anderson to complete his century. This is Gambhir’s third century of the year (fourth overall), which has seen him score heavily in every version of the game. With this century, Gambhir has taken his tally of runs to 964 runs in eight Tests this year at an average of 68.85. Gambhir and Dravid have stitched together an unbeaten 173-run stand for the second wicket. Scoreboard Gambhir batting 106 Sehwag c Prior b Broad 0 Dravid batting 65 Extras
(lb 3, nb 5) 8 Total (one wicket, 72 overs) 179 Fall of
wicket: 1-6. Bowling: Anderson 15-3-29-0, Broad 16-7-45-1, Flintoff 13-2-31-0, Panesar 13-2-41-0, Swann 15-4-30-0.
Stats side
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It’s a special ton: Gambhir
Mohali, December 19 Primarily a strokeplayer, Gambhir displyed sound temperament. Along with Rahul Dravid he played a responsible innings as India recovered from the early loss of Virender Sehwag to put a healthy score (179 for 1) on the board at close. “After England set a seemingly improbable 387-run target, they did not expect to lose the game in Chennai. They lost the one-day series 0-5 and dominated the first Test for nearly four days and still lost. So we knew that they will come hard at us as it was the last chance to level the series. But we were ready for it. I think we have done a good job. It is now important to carry in the same fashion tomorrow.” “Broad bowled really well, putting the ball in the right areas. Perhaps he was the most impressive bowler from the side,” Gambhir said. About the strategy tomorrow, Gambhir said; “Rather than to be on the defensive, we would like to be posiitive tomorrow. Not only tomorrow, but for the rest of the four days and would like to clinch the series 2-0. We are keen to grab the No 2 Test ranking.” “From the team’s point of view it was very important as we were 6 for 1 at one stage. We desperately needed a partnership, which I am happy developed nicely,” he replied when quizzed about the stand he was involved with Dravid, who overcome a lean patch and to finish the day at unbeaten 65. Quizzed specifically about the role Dravid played, he said: “He is a legend having more that 10,000 Test runs under his belt. There is no need to comment on his batting.” This was the second century for the dashing batsman in the space of two months, having slammed 104 against Australia in the second Test on the same venue in October. He conceded that he was happy that Mohali was turning out to be a happy hunting ground for him. Gambhir is nearly 40 runs short of completing 1,000 runs in Test cricket during this calendar year. “I am very keen to reach the landmark. I will try to score the required runs early.” About the performance of Monty Panesar, Gambhir said the left-arm spinner did not bowl badly. “I think he bowled pretty well but our batsmen handled him well. We faced him well in Chennai. That gave us the confidence,” he said. |
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Sri Lanka agree to tour Pakistan
Karachi, December 19 The Pakistan Cricket Board had sent an invitation to the Sri Lankans after the Indian government yesterday pulled the plug on its cricket team's tour of Pakistan, scheduled to start from January 4. “Arjuna Ranatunga, the President of Sri Lankan cricket board has sent an answer in the affirmative to our invitation. We are now working out the final details of the series,” Saleem Altaf, chief operating officer of the PCB, said. He said Sri Lanka would be playing three Tests and three one-dayers besides taking on Pakistan in a Twenty20 game. The Tests would be held in Karachi, Lahore and Multan while the ODIs would be played in the first two places. Karachi will also host the lone Twenty20 encounter. “They are expected to reach Pakistan straight from Bangladesh where they complete their tour around January 16,” Altaf said. Pakistan has been desperate to play Tests at home as the national team has gone without a series since December last year due to security concerns raised by other nations. Pakistan also played just 21 One-day Internationals this year, many of them against weak opponents like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Altaf said Sri Lanka's confirmation had come at a very good time as Pakistan needed to revive international cricket activities at home. “We are really thankful to Ranatunga and other board officials for coming to our rescue because we need to give our team some international cricket and also generate revenues,” Altaf said. Pakistan is expected to lose an estimated $20 million due to the India team's pull out. Meanwhile, Pakistan players Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi welcomed Sri Lanka's confirmation. “It is great news because we are desperate to play some Test cricket. The cancellation of the Indian tour was very disappointing for all of us yesterday,” Afridi said. Altaf said the reasons behind India's decision to pull out of the tour would be discussed at a high level meeting of the officials. “What has happened has happened but we now need to look ahead and plan for the future,” he said. He also said the issue of Pakistan players taking part in the IPL and ICL would also come up for discussion in the meeting. — PTI |
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We need early wickets: Moores
Mohali, December 19 “Getting (Virender) Sehwag early was a great success and I think our bowlers bowled pretty well throughout the day. Three down would have been the right thing but they (India) played really well,” said Moores. “We’ll come back tomorrow and the morning session would be crucial. We saw the new ball doing a bit in the first 7-8 overs and there was little bounce as well. All three seamers hit the right areas but we missed a couple of chances,” he rued. England removed the dangerous Sehwag in the second over for a duck but the unbroken 173-run stand between Gautam Gambhir (106) and Rahul Dravid (65) saw India clawing their way back into the game. Justifying the decision to include Stuart Broad, who dismissed Sehwag today, in place of off-colour Steve Harmison, Moores said, “We decided to bring him in because he is young, quickly developing, tall and generates bounce. “He has got good variations and is a good one-day player as well. We hope it translates in Test cricket as well. He is a wicket-taking bowler and swings the new ball. He is quite a thinking bowler,” he said. “Of course Steve Harmison was disappointed after being left out and he definitely wanted to play. But we picked the best side which could win us this match,” Moores explained. On off-colour Monty Panesar, Moores said the left-arm spinner lends balance to the England attack. “We decided to go into the match with a balanced attack and hence felt having two spinners was important. We still don’t quite know how much the wicket would turn. “Monty had little preparation before the Test series and it showed in the Chennai Test. He had plans to prepare in Sri Lanka but because of security issues, things didn’t materialise. Anyway, we needed two spinners to put pressure on Indians,” Moores added. Talking about the Indian team, Moores said he was not surprised to see Rahul Dravid wriggle out of his bad patch. “He is a fantastic player we have seen playing very well in England, both internationally and domestic cricket. Good players don’t become bad overnight. We did attack him and could have got him out. Stuart Broad attacked him around the off-stump. The longer he stays, the settled he gets and by the end, it was Rahul Dravid, all hard work. “He is a good player and you expect it from them at some stage because that makes them the players they are,” Moores said. — PTI |
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India-England Test series Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be a happy man at the end of the first day’s play in Mohali. There is no greater satisfaction for a skipper, when the man he backs delivers the goods. Rahul Dravid put on a gritty effort today, to finally register a half-century, and his captain will be extremely satisfied to see him put on a good show against all the odds. Dravid’s knock would have made all his admirers happy, and none more so than his captain. Due credit must also go to the chairman of selectors for persisting with Dravid, without bowing to pressure from all quarters, and replacing a classy batsman in the team. This might not have been Dravid’s most fluent knock, but that’s understandable considering the conditions in Mohali, which were more English than Indian. North India gets pretty cold at this time of the year, and the dull, gloomy and overcast conditions must have reminded the English players of home, after the sweltering heat and humidity in Chennai. Dravid is the best man for the job when conditions favour the seam bowlers, and his effort today would have calmed the dressing room considerably. Gautam Gambhir looks to be getting better with every match, as it’s good to see him get the big scores on a regular basis. It was crucial that he played well today, after the early dismissal of the Chennai hero Sehwag, and it was Gambhir’s innings that took a lot of pressure off Rahul Dravid. Gambhir has all the shots in the book and is maturing as a cricketer, after every match he plays. He used to previously throw his wicket away after getting to a half century, but is now going on to get big hundreds, as his third consecutive hundred in four Tests will signify. Gambhir also possesses a sound technique along with his attacking style of play, making him a complete opening batsman. India will be looking to pile on the runs tomorrow, and keep the pressure on England, who will be keen to perform well in this game. Bad light will play a big part in this Test, as it tends to get dark early in Mohali at this time of the year. England must look to pick up early wickets tomorrow, or they will be chasing the game for the rest of the match. — PMG
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Top runners for Indian Open marathon
New Delhi, December 19 Chairman of the organising committee Sidharth Sriram announced here today that the prestigious event, ranked by the Athletics Federation of India, will feature top runners from the Army, the commando force from the SPG (Special Protection Force) who countered the terrorist strikes in Mumbai, Border Security Force, Delhi Police, Central Reserve Police Force, Delhi Government, Delhi University, Railways, NCC, corporate houses and several top-notch athletes of the country. The winners of the men's and women's full marathon races will receive cash awards of Rs 2 lakh each while the winners of the half-marathon races will pocket Rs 25,000 each. Sriram said the Indian Open marathon will also be a test run of the 42.197km circular route for the Commonwealth Games marathon route which was first explored last year through this event. |
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Ranji Trophy
Riding on contributions from top order batsmen and a patient 113 from former captain Amol Muzumdar, Mumbai took a massive 234-run lead over Punjab on the second day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Division Group ‘A’ match here today.
With his place in the eleven under threat following a string of poor scores before this innings, Muzumdar compiled his 24th first class ton in his 142nd match as Mumbai, replying to the visitor’s meagre total of 202, declared their first innings at 436 for nine. In the remaining time under poor light conditions, Punjab made 18 for no loss in four overs bowled by Mumbai spinners Ramesh Powar and Ankit Chavan, but face a huge task tomorrow to stay afloat. Punjab started the day well after the hosts had commenced at their overnight score of 90 for one when they sent back in-form batsman and the tournament’s leading scorer Ajinkya Rahane for 80 in the seventh over of the morning. Rahane, not out 53 off 60 balls last evening, fell leg before to Gagandeep Singh off the 21st ball he faced today. Thereafter, the visitors bowling was put to sword by the Mumbai batting line-up with Muzumdar dropping anchor. After overnight unbeaten batsman Vinayak Samant (65) fell, Rohit Sharma cracked a quickfire 85 with 14 fours and a six in only 102 balls and then left-hander Abhishek Nayar hit a cameo 61 off 50 balls with eight fours and a six to dominate the proceedings. In the morning, after the departure of Rahane, Muzumdar joined makeshift opener Vinayak Samant and dug in for a long haul. The duo added 63 runs for the third wicket before the Mumbai stumper departed after a 191-minute vigil, falling to left arm spinner Ankur Kakkar. Rohit Sharma joined his senior partner Muzumdar and played the stellar role in their stand of 132 runs in only 119 minutes to take Mumbai past the 300 mark. Sharma, who struck Gagandeep Singh for three successive fours with glorious on and straight drives, fell trying to play one attacking shot too many, caught at mid off. The 34-year-old Muzumdar, who batted for 277 minutes and struck 12 fours, later put on 93 runs in just 96 balls with Abhishek Nayar, whose quickfire 61 in 50 balls included eight fours and a six. The two batsmen fell in the space of eight balls before Mumbai lost three more wickets in quick succession when captain Wasim Jaffer applied the declaration with six overs remaining. Ladda, who came into the match with a haul of nine wickets against Hyderabad in Punjab's previous tie, emerged the most successful bowler with 3 for 93 while Gagandeep and Kakkar grabbed two wickets apiece. Gangling pacer Amanpreet Singh and left arm spinner Varun Khanna took one wicket each. HP 251 for two
Nagpur: In-form Bhavin Thakar (111 not out) and Vinit Indulkar (80) forged a second wicket stand of 154 runs as Himachal Pradesh reached 251 for two in reply to Madhya Pradesh first innings 228 all out by close of play on second day of plate group Ranji Trophy match here today.
Himachal began shakily losing Sangram Singh (6) at the team score of 21. Indulkar in company of Bhavin clawed their way back into the game with some sensible batting as the latter completed his fourth century of the season. Himachal in the process surpassed the Madhya Pradesh total with the loss of only Indulkar's wicket in an otherwise near faultless performance. Indulkar finally fell to spinner Jalal Saxena, caught at short leg but not before his side was in command of the proceedings. Southpaw Mukesh Sahani (38 not out) was keeping Bhavin Thakkar company as they were involved in an unbroken 76-run third wicket stand at draw of stumps. Madhya Pradesh bowlers lacked the spite and guile on a fairly placid wicket and looked clueless as the Himachal batsmen made merry. Paceman Sanjay Pande claimed the early wicket of Sangram Singh while Vinit Indulkar was claimed by Jalal Saxena at the stroke of tea. Brief Scores: Madhya Pradesh (first innings): 228 all out.
Himachal Pradesh (first innings): 251 for two in 94 overs (Bhavin Thakkar 111 not out, Vinit Indulkar 80, Mukesh Sharma 38 not out). — PTI Scoreboard Mumbai (1st innings) (Overnight 90 for 1) Samant b Kakkar 65 Jaffer c Dharmani b Amanpreet 0 A Rahane lbw Gagandeep 80 Muzumdar lbw Khanna 113 R Sharma c Inder Singh b Kakkar 85 Nayar b Ladda 61 R Powar c Dharmani b Ladda 2 A Chavan lbw Ladda 1 U Malvi not out 7 R Verma c Goel b Gagandeep 2 R Shaikh not out 5 Extras: (b6, lb2, nb6, w1) 15 Total: (for nine, decl, 103 overs) 436 Fall of
wickets: 1-4, 2-126, 3-189, 4-321, 5-415, 6-418, 7-419, 8-420, 9-422. Bowling: Gagandeep 22-2-93-2, Amanpreet 18-3-85-1, Khanna 26-3-99-1, Ladda 25-5-93-3, Kakkar 12-2-58-2. Punjab (2nd innings):
Sohal batting 12 K Goel batting 2 Extras: (lb-4) 4 Total: (for no loss in 4 overs) 18 Bowling: Powar 2-0-12-0, Chavan 2-1-2-0. |
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Advantage Australia
Perth, December 19 Australia were 228 for seven in their second innings at stumps Friday with Brad Haddin (39 not out) and Jason Krejza (28 not out) at crease. Earlier in the day, Australia took a strong 94-run lead, after bowling South Africa out for 281 in their first innings, with Mitchell Johnson ending with a career best 8-61. The Australians could not continue with the same intensity as a resurgent Proteas drew first blood in out-of-form Matthew Hayden (4) early in the ninth over. The visitors struck at regular intervals and left Australia reeling at 88 for four as skipper Ricky Ponting (32) and Michael Hussey (8) fell in successive overs. Ponting was caught behind off Paul Harris while Hussey’s bails were clipped by Makhaya Ntini (1-55). Michael Clarke (25) and Andrew Symonds (35), too, failed to stick their heels in on the crease for long. Wicket-keeper Haddin led the fightback, which included two straight sixes in an over from Harris and build an unbeaten 66-run partnership with Krezja to put Australia on top at close. For South Africa, Dale Steyn, Harris and Jacques Kallis took two wickets each. It will be a test of character for South Africa over the next two days as they gear to stave off a sharp Australian attack on a bouncy WACA track. — IANS South Africa (1st innings) McKenzie c Krejza b Johnson 2 Smith b Johnson 48 Amla b Krejza 47 Kallis c Haddin b Johnson 63 de Villiers c Haddin b Johnson 63 Duminy c Haddin b Johnson 1 Boucher c Katich b Siddle 26 M Morkel c Krejza b Johnson 1 Harris c Krejza b Johnson 0 Steyn c Haddin b Johnson 8 M Ntini not out 5 Extras (lb 5, w 5, nb 7) 17 Total
(all out; 89.5 overs) 281 Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-106, 3-110, 4-234, 5-237, 6-238, 7-241, 8-241, 9-256. Bowling: B Lee 21-3-59-0, Johnson 24-4-61-8, Krejza 25-2-102-1, Siddle 16.5-5-44-1, Symonds 3-1-10-0. Australia (2nd innings)
Katich c Boucher b Kallis 37 Ponting c Boucher b Harris 32 M Hussey b Ntini 8 Clarke c Kallis b Steyn 25 Symonds c Smith b Harris 37 Haddin not out 39 B Lee c de Villiers b Kallis 5 Krejza not out 28 Extras (lb 6, w 2, nb 5) 13 Total (7 wickets; 75 overs) 228 Fall of
wickets: 1-25, 2-59, 3-88, 4-88, 5-148, 6-157, 7-162. Bowling: Steyn 16-3-57-2, Ntini 13-2-55-1, Harris 23-3-64-2, Kallis 11-4-19-2, M Morkel 12-3-27-0. |
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English clubs handed tough task
London, December 19 Holders Manchester United were paired with Italian champions and Serie A leaders Inter Milan while Premier League leaders Liverpool take on nine-times champions Real Madrid after the draw was made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Last year’s runners-up Chelsea were paired with Juventus, managed by former Blues boss Claudio Ranieri, while Arsenal, finalists in 2006, play AS Roma in a third Anglo-Italian clash. The Manchester United tie will see another former Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho, returning to face Premiership opposition in his new role in charge of Inter. “Obviously Jose has put us out of the competition before,” said United’s communications director Phil Townsend in reference to Mourinho’s success at the same stage in 2004 with eventual European champions Porto. “But equally we put Inter out in 1999 when we went on to win the tournament so maybe that’s a good omen for us.” — Reuters |
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World Super Series
Kuala Lumpur, December 19 Saina defeated Wong 21-10, 17-21, 21-16 to claim her second successive win that catapulted her to the last four stage.
Following her loss to Tine Rasmussen in the first game, Saina had to win both her quarter-final league matches and she did just that.
After brushing past Hongyan Pi of France 21-18, 21-13 in the day's first encounter, the world No. 10 Indian had to battle hard before edging past Wong in the evening match.
Faced with a must-win situation, a gritty Saina rode on her powerful smashes and opened up a nine-point lead at 13-4 in the first game as her Malaysian counterpart could not match up to her.
The world No. 11 Malaysian tried to level scores but could not get past Saina who held on to her lead and won the game 21-10.
However, Saina lost concentration in the next game and allowed her rival to open a four-point lead at 9-13.
Saina rallied to level the score but was soon staring at defeat as the game progressed. She ultimately conceded the second game 17-21 and allowed the Malaysian to bounce back.
The decider was a cliffhanger as both fought tooth and nail before Saina took a slight advantage with the score reading 13-10 in her
favour.
Thereafter, she didn't give Wong much chance and wrapped up the match in 48 minutes.
Earlier, Saina hammered fourth-seed Pi of France in a 34-minute contest to keep her semi-final hopes alive.
The 18-year-old national champion rallied well to leave her opponent, ranked three notches above her, huffing and puffing all over the court and indulged in some sharp smashes to gallop her way to the first set at 21-18.
In the next game, Hongyan displayed some powerful strokes and matched Saina's smashes well but the Indian ace was not in a mood to give an inch. She played close to the nets and raced away with the game 21-13. — PTI
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Bhutia out of Fed Cup final
Kolkata, December 19 The India captain, with his knees heavily padded, was stretchered off the field in the first session of extra-time against East Bengal in the second semifinal, raising doubts over his availability. After the game, Bhaichung was taken to a hospital and he underwent an MRI scan to evaluate the extent of the damage. “It’s a huge setback for us. Bhaichung has been ruled out for 15-20 days. In fact, it's a double blow as Bhaichung has hurt his knee and ankle," Mohun Bagan general secretary Anjan Mitra told PTI. Last night's first semi-final saw the clash of heads between Dempo striker Ranty Martins and Churchill Brothers midfielder Ogba Kalu. The collision left both unconscious and were rushed to hospital. While Ranty was discharged from the hospital, Ogba was kept in ICCU and is under observation. The Nigerian will be discharged tomorrow and he will return to Goa with the team manager. His Churchill Brothers teammates and coach Zoran Djordjevic left this afternoon. —
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Mohali, December 19
Mohali, December 19
