 |
|
|
India in Sri Lanka
Raina feels India bowled well
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Strauss wants no more Pak controversy
Bhullar to lead Indian challenge in Brunei
Delhi not yet set for CWG
Harassement cases will be dealt with impartially: Gill
Hockey Manipur moves Women Commission
Low key appearance for Chhetri against Manchester United
Parimarjan to take on Andreikin
|
|
India in Sri Lanka
Colombo, July 26
Electing to bat, the two Lankan openers Tillakaratne Dilshan (54) and Paranavitana provided a rollicking start to the innings, capitalising on some wayward and insipid bowling by the Indians. The depleted Indian bowling attack, badly missing the services of pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, just did not ball in the right areas to pose much problems for the hosts who scored at a brisk pace right through the day. If the inexperienced pace duo of Ishant Sharma and Abhimanyu Mithun failed to make much of an impact, the two spinners Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha also lacked penetration to compound the problesm for the visitors. The Indians were pushed on the backfoot almost immediately after play began this morning with Dilshan and Paranavitana unleashing a flurry of strokes. The opening pair put on a brisk 99 runs for the first wicket before Ojha provided the breakthrough by evicting the hard-hitting Dilshan with VVS Laxman latching on to a brilliant catch at short extra cover. Dilshan struck ten boundaries during his 42-ball knock which allowed the home team to take the initiative from the word go. Paranavitana and Sangakkara then served a painful reminder of the opening day's play at Galle as they tormented the Indians with a fine exhibition of batting. The duo were in no discomfort at all as they scored at a quick pace, forcing Dhoni to opt for a completely defensive field. — PTI Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st innings):
|
Colombo, July 26 "I think if you look at the surface there is nothing for the bowlers. But still our bowlers bowled really well. Especially Ishant (Sharma) and (Abhimanyu) Mithun are bowling really well," insisted Raina after the day's proceedings. "They bowled at good areas. If you look at (Kumar) Sangakkara and Tharanga Parnavitana, they both got back to back hundreds. It is always good to get runs. But I think we had a good bowling plan. We did a good job. Let us hope for the best. We need to execute our bowling plan," he added. Raina said no matter how many runs Sri Lanka puts on board, India have the batting line-up to out-score the hosts. "If we bowl well in tomorrow's session it will be useful for us. We will not be under pressure even if they score high. We have got good players. There will be three days and anything can happen. We have players who have done well overseas and everywhere they have scored runs. I think it is an attitude game," he said. Raina, however, admitted that getting a few wickets would have helped. "I think we bowled well during the tea session and the last session. We did not give much runs but at the same time we need to take wickets also. So we will have to do well in the morning session," he said. "I think it will be important what the approach is. We need to bowl well especially in the first session. We bowled really well even today but we could not get the wickets. May be we can get them out before the tea session," he added. On his debut, Raina said he considers himself fortunate to have got the opportunity and would be aiming to make a mark. "I have played about 98 ODIs. I have scored runs in first-class cricket. I am thankful to god," he said. — PTI
|
|
Strauss wants no more Pak controversy
London, July 26 It all makes the recent flare-up that saw match referee Chris Broad, father of England bowler Stuart, warn only Pakistan seamer Mohammad Aamer for his part in a collision with Australia captain Ricky Ponting in the first Test at Lord's, seem tame by comparison. But all those incidents were eclipsed by the extraordinary scene that unfolded at The Oval four years ago. Strauss, deputising as England captain for the injured Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff, was a spectator as umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove penalised Pakistan five runs for ball-tampering on the fourth day of the series finale in south London. So incensed were Pakistan, they refused to take the field after tea and were thus deemed to have forfeited the match - the first time this had happened in Test history. “It was a terrible day and terrible for Test cricket. No one came out of that day with any credit,” Strauss told the Mail today. “Being new to the captaincy, I probably wasn't qualified to know what to do about it. I don't think I could have done much that would have changed what happened, but maybe I could have spoken more to Inzamam. It's hard to say. It was not something that the England team were particularly involved in but it was not a great advert for the game and let's hope we don't get anything like that in the future.” — PTI
|
|
ICC’s ranking system excellent: Steve Waugh
Chandigarh, July26 During the launch of an awards function in Chandigarh, the Australian reacted over the statement by Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakara over ranking awarded system of the ICC (International Cricket Council). “The system of awarding points to the teams by the ICC is excellent, but here the fact is that there is revolution in the game, these days any team can perform beyond its capability, which make cricket a more competitive game than before. The best performance of a team and the best of rank will be awarded,” said Waugh Talking over the Kangaroo’s performance in last Test match against Pakistan Waugh said, “To give a consistent performance is a very hard thing, there are ups and downs in the game, Australia earlier had brought laurels in the Test cricket and one can only hope that they will give their best in future against England and India.” Sharing his experience off the field, Steve believes that the Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar still has the ability to give his cent percent on the ground and can make over 50 centuries in Test cricket. Talking about Muttiah Muralitharan, Steve said, “He touched the new heights, with his 800 wickets haul. It is very difficult for a bowler to beat his record. There are many spinners in the world of cricket but they need a lot of effort and hard work to beat his record.”
|
|
Bhullar to lead Indian challenge in Brunei
Also contending for the title will be Thai young gun, 21-year-old Chhinarat Phadungsil as the Asian stars set out to wrestle the title from defending champion Darren Beck of Australia. Bhullar, 22, is hoping to mend last year’s heartbreak where he lost in a three-way play-off to eventual winner Beck. Bhullar got off to a fine start this season when he won his second title at the Asian Tour International in Thailand. He missed only one cut this season and will be eyeing for more glory at the Brunei Open. “Winning your first event in the season gives you a lot of boost and confidence. Now I don’t have the burden on my mind to retain my card on the Asian Tour. But I’ll continue to work hard and perform well to keep my confidence high,” said Bhullar. The US $ 3 lakh prize money event will also see Kolkata's Rahil Gangjee as a contender. Ranked 13th on the Asian Tour order of merit, Rahil has started the season strongly with two top-10s and two top-15s to his credit. He is also confident of improving his third third place at the Brunei Open in 2006. Chandigarh’s challenge in the Brunei event will be taken up by seasoned Amandeep Johl and big hitter Gurbaaz Mann. Also in the line-up are C. Muniyappa, Anirban Lahiri, Digvijay Singh, Himmat Rai, Kunal Bhasin, Mandeo Singh Pathania and Gurki Shergill. Among the reserves are Manav Jaini, Kanwar Sekhon and Navtej Singh. Big Indian names missing from the line-up are Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal who will be playing in the $60 lakh Green Brier Classic in West Virginia PGA Tour event. Three others Shiv Kapur, Jyoti Randhawa and S.S.P. Chowrasia will battle it out on the European Tour in the 3 Irish Open at Killarney in Ireland on those dates.
|
|
Pargat lambasts Kalmadi
New Delhi, July 26 “Kalmadi is running sports like an old filmi villian, surrounded by his henchmen. He is the ugly face of the Indian sports,” Pargat said. He said “spineless people” were running sports, and in the HI, out of the seven ad hoc committee members, five had quit and only two remained. He wondered how they could take a unilateral decision of rejecting the government aid, as they had no locus to take such an important decision. He said he would not abide by the decision of the HI if elected as the president, as he would take the majority opinion along. “If the government does not recognise your body, how would you send your teams abroad,” Pargat asked. Pargat said it was surprising that the HI did not adhere to the recommendation of the five-member committee constituted by it to probe the sexual misconduct allegation levelled against former chief coach of the women's hockey team MK Kaushik by a player, Rajitha Devi. He said such controversies could be avoided if all-women staff were appointed with the women's team, who would stay with them 24 hours. He said it was in fact the IOA's job to constitute an independent Redressal Cell, having legal professionals, to deal with such cases by following the law of land. “Personally, the Kaushik episode was mismanaged due to loose administration as the HI handled it in a childish way; they did not handle it professionally.” Taking a clever swipe at HI candidate for the post of president, the 83-year-old Vidya Stokes, Pargat said she indeed had considerable experience and might have even watched Dhyan Chand play hockey, though his chances of victory was bright as he enjoyed the supports of 35 of the 60 voters in the electoral college. The only problem area Pargat finds in his panel was for the post of secretary as his candidate was rejected, and HI's Narinder Batra was expected to give a tough challenge. Pargat said he was fighting the HI elections on his integrity. “I have no money or muscle power,” he stated. He said hockey was still a popular game in India as it had a standing of seventh-eighth in the world. He said sponsors would come to support the game if it was marketed properly, as cricket had become a costly game. He added that his priority would be to strengthen the domestic structure of hockey, to bring in more international tournaments, manage the technical, marketing and the media departments in a competent manner. “I have a definite plan for hockey,” he said.
|
|
Delhi not yet set for CWG
New Delhi, July 26 With only 68 days to go before the games begin, far from being prepared Delhi looks like a battlefield with roads dug-up, heaps of debris strewn everywhere and almost all the venues witnessing frenetic construction. The agencies constructing or doing up the stadiums have to hand over their possession to the OC by August 1, but officials say it is certain that it would be far from finished by then and lots of peripheral works would still be going on in major venues, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which would host athletics besides inaugural and closing ceremonies. This stadium, which like all CWG works has missed many deadline, in its present form with debris and construction material all around does not offer much reassurance for the future. The torrential rains have already exposed the slipshod works and many venues were flooded and suffered damages. In case of the Yamuna Sports Complex, its false ceiling blew away in the wind and expensive tiles were badly damaged. Official estimate that they would take August month to repair it. Kalmadi says these are small issues and everything will be fine before the games. This has been his stock reply to all inconvenient questions. Delhi police officials say securing these venues will be impossible before all works come to a halt. Amidst the dark clouds hanging over the CWG preparation, there does not look any silver lining. The OC officials say close to 15,000 sportspersons and officials from 72 countries are expected but caterers to feed them at different venues, 17 in all, are yet to be found. The only contract awarded so has been for the Games Village, where most the guests would stay, even as they are expected to arrive mid-September onwards. Officials blame clash of personalities, Kalmadi hardly gets along with Sports Minister MS Gill and Delhi CM Shiela Dikshit, and absence of any overriding agency, which could dictate to a host of different agencies - more than 20 - working for the CWG as they have often been found to be working at cross-purposes wasting public money and time.
|
|
Harassement cases will be dealt with impartially: Gill
New Delhi, July 26 “The Ministry will do what it has to in a professional and impartial way,” Gill told reporters outside the Parliament today. In both the cases, coaches are at the centre of the row and have been suspended by the respective federations. In hockey, veteran coach M K Kaushik has been suspended for alleged sexual harassment of players and the case has been sent to the Delhi Police for a criminal probe. In weightlifting, Ramesh Malhotra, who was ironically recommended for the Dronacharya award by the Federation, has only been suspended for the time being for allegedly harassing junior lifters for over a decade. The accusations against Malhotra were levelled by Sydney Olympics bronze medallist Karnam Malleswari, who is now a vice-President in the Indian Weightlifting Federation. Both the coaches have denied the allegations, claiming the charges are motivated and false. — PTI
|
|
Hockey Manipur moves Women Commission
Guwahati, July 26 In its complaint filed with the National Women Commission, Hockey Manipur stated that Ranjita had been losing many opportunities for representing the country due to her resistance to the indecent proposals by Kaushik. Hockey Manipur requested the commission to take necessary action against the coach so that such incidents did not recur in future. |
|
Low key appearance for Chhetri against Manchester United
Chhetri, who is yet to make his Major League Soccer debut, came in for Teal Bunbury in the 69th minute and had a couple of shots, which did not trouble Manchester United goalkeeper Benjamin Amos at the newly remodeled Arrowhead Stadium. He was lively throughout his outing as he kept running and tried to pile pressure on the Manchester United defence in an open and free-flowing game that was played at a breakneck pace in front of more than 50,000 spectators last night. Chhetri did not get adequate supply from his team-mates as he was kept as the lone striker after his side was down to 10 men in the whole of second half after Jimmy Conrad was sent off for a foul on Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov in the 41st minute. One of his two shots at goal was two minutes after taking field from around 35 metres but Manchester United keeper Amos easily collected it. — PTI
|
|
Parimarjan to take on Andreikin
Biel (Switzerland), July 26 After the lone rest day battle resumes in the category-17 event with Fabiano Caruana of Italy still in front on four points out of a possible six. The tournament has thus far seen just nine decisive games out of a possible 30 and Negi has been involved in three of them ending on the losing side on all occasions. However, the Indian who has been nominated for the Arjuna Award this year by the Indian Chess Federation has staged a recovery of sorts by drawing the last three games.
— PTI |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Colombo, July 26
The Indians, who desperately need to win the match to level the three-match series and retain their number one position, put up a rather pathetic bowling display to allow the hosts to get off to a flying start. Mahela Jayawardene (13) was giving Sangakkara company at stumps as the hosts dominated on a very good batting track at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground.
Chandigarh, July 26
New Delhi, July 26
Jeev ends tied 54th
Madrid: