Friday, January 15, 1999
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S P O R T | Friday, January 15, 1999 |
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JCT rally to down Air-India MUMBAI, Jan 14 — JCT Phagwara, beat local outfit Air-India Football Club 3-2, after leading 2-1 at the breather, to score their first full points from group-A in the National Football League at the Cooperage here today. With this win, the millmen have four points from three matches while the airmen have none from three. Warne to lead Australia MELBOURNE, Jan 14 — Shane Warne will lead Australia onto his home Melbourne cricket ground for the first time on Friday after skipper Steve Waugh was ruled out of his third successive limited-overs match. |
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Three new faces in Pakistan squad ISLAMABAD, Jan 14 — Pakistan selectors today expectedly dropped former captain Aamir Sohail and included three new faces, opening batsmen Wajahtullah Wasti, Muhammad Naveed and off-spinner Nadeem Khan, in a strong 16-member squad under the captainship of Wasim Akram for the forthcoming tour of India.
Probables for World Cup today |
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JCT rally to down Air-India MUMBAI, Jan 14 (PTI) — JCT Phagwara, beat local outfit Air-India Football Club 3-2, after leading 2-1 at the breather, to score their first full points from group-A in the National Football League at the Cooperage here today. With this win, the millmen have four points from three matches while the airmen have none from three. JCT outplayed their rivals in all departments of the game after conceding a goal in the very second minute of the match. Air-India took an early lead when their medio Khalid Jameel's volley off winger Anthony Fernandes was bang on target. The millmen then regrouped and put pressure on their rival's citadel with repeated attacks. In the 17th minute, JCT winger Hardeep Sangha's header off a Hardeep Gill cross was well collected by Air-India custodian Shyam Sawant. Six minutes later, JCT medio Ram Pal's try off a Gill forward pass was again well saved by Sawant. Soon after, JCT striker Jasbir Singh's header hit the bar and ballooned up before Sawant managed to collect. The equaliser for the millmen came through a penalty kick which was awarded to them when Gill was brought down by Air-India medio Khambiton Singh in the 37th minute. Hardeep Sangha took the spot kick and scored. Earlier, Air-India winger Abbas Ali Rizvi’s try off Jameel back pass had just missed the mark. JCT surged ahead in the 39th minute, when Jasbir Singh, who got a free ball from the centre lobbed over an advancing Sawant. With a couple of minutes left for half time, Jasbir almost got his team the third goal but his lob from the left flank was cleared on the goal-line by Air India medio Osbern D’Souza. Jasbir’s lob had beaten onrushing Sawant and was poised to enter the goal-mouth. The teams went for the breather with the visitors leading 2-1. Eight minutes after resumption, Air-India winger Rizvi’s try was well saved by JCT goalkeeper Virender Singh. Soon after substitute Ratan Singh, who came in for Jameel in the 50th minute hit out a Rizvi cross with just Virender to beat. In the 67th minute the millmen increased their margin when gill slammed home a rebound. Ram Pal had tried to score first but Sawant had done well to block the ball which went back to Gill who was left unmarked by Air-India defenders. With six minutes to go for the final whistle, Air-India were awarded a penalty kick. Substitute Nitin Shetty, who came in place of medio Osbern D’Souza in the 57th minute, was obstructed from scoring by JCT defender Daljit Singh resulting in the spot kick. Defender Subir Sinha who took the kick made no mistake. Air-India went all out in search of the equaliser but in vain. Churchill hold Bagan CALCUTTA: Mohun Bagan failed to make much of their dominance against a weak Churchill Brothers challenge today and had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the National Football League tie at the Salt Lake Stadium here. The Calcutta giants went into the lead as early as the fourth minute via Khemtang Paite, but Churchill striker Cyril Barreto equalised in the 38th minute to deny Bagan full points from the home match. Mohun Bagan dominated throughout the game, but Barreto’s sudden equaliser, which came against the run of play, helped his team to gain a toe-hold in the match. Bagan’s goal came in the fourth minute through a Reazul Mustafa cross from the right, which Paite pushed into the goal after Chima’s attempt to head the ball failed. The Goan team’s equaliser came via a Philip Mensah pass, which found Barreto unguarded on the top of the Bagan box and pushed it to him. Barreto initially fumbled in controlling the ball, but recovered quickly and placed the ball neatly with Hemanta Dora looking on. The hard-working Iraqi recruit Yonam Basim’s entry in the second half in place of Paite helped Bagan to dominate the midfield, but lack of imagination by the forwards proved to be the bane of the Calcutta team. Babado, who replaced Satyajit Chatterjee in the 54th minute, failed to impress. In the 21st minute, Chima made a sudden surge with the ball sprinting past two Churchill defenders, but his powerful shot flew over the bar. Again in the 27th minute, Chima’s free kick 10 yards from the box went over the bar, which Bagan got after an advancing Amit Das was brought down. In the second half, which saw some quick counter attacks by the Churchill players, Bagan had a slight edge over their Goan counterparts. A couple of beautiful flag-kicks by Churchill’s Somatai Saiza in this half found the team’s lanky defender Osumani Hussein whose firm headers were unlucky to find Dora’s hands. But for the corner kicks, Saiza failed to do much during the game and was also booked for improper tackle on Basim in the 49th minute. In the 70th minute, Bagan defender Reazul Mustafa’s curling cross reached Chima, but the Nigerian failed to connect. The Churchill goalie Edward Ansah fisted the ball away to save the situation. A low free-kick by Vijayan from near the box was well saved by Ansah in the 77th minute who dived to his left to save a sure goal. Barreto again failed to
control the ball inside the box in the 85th minute with
only a Bagan defender and the goalkeeper to beat, but was
not so lucky this time around and the ball was snatched
by Dora from between his legs. |
Jordan calls it a day CHICAGO, Jan 14 (AP) — Michael Jordan, who won six U.S. League titles with Chicago Bulls and made the NBA popular throughout the world with his high-flying dunks, officially retired from basketball yesterday. "I played it to the best I could play it,’’ Jordan told a packed news conference at the United Centre, the Bulls home court. "I tried to be the best basketball player I could be.’’ "I’ve had a great time,’’ he said. Mentally, I’m exhausted, I don’t feel I have a challenge,’’ Jordan said. Physically, I feel great.’’ This is a perfect time for me to walk away from the game. I’m at peace with that.’’ Joining the 35-year-old Jordan at the podium were Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and NBA Commissioner David Stern. "This is a day I hoped would never come,’’ Reinsdorf said. "It’s a tough day for basketball fans all over the world.’’ Countered Stern: "I disagree with Jerry. This is a great day. The greatest player is retiring with the grace that describes his play.’’ Asked if he had lost his desire to play, Jordan responded: "The desire is always going to be there.’’ But he said he wanted to make sure that the desire was there "not one-fourth of the time I step onto the court, but every time.’’ Although he said, "I never say never,’’ he absolutely closed the door on whether he would return to the game. I’m very secure in my decision,’’ he said. I’m just going to enjoy life and do things I’ve never done before,’’ Jordan said. Jordan appeared with a bandage on his right index finger and said he said he severed a tendon while trying to cut a cigar and would need surgery. He said he hoped the Bulls would re-sign teammate Scottie Pippen, but he added that was his personal opinion and that he didn’t know what decisions would make in signing free agents. "We set high standards around here,’’ he said. Around the league and throughout the city that worships him, Jordan’s impending retirement didn’t come as a surprise. But most acknowledged that neither the Bulls nor the NBA would be the same without him, especially during this lockout-shortened season. Jordan met with a few teammates at his home on Monday and told them the thought of playing an abbreviated, 50-game season wasn’t enough of a challenge, the Chicago Tribune reported. Now Jordan can go out as he always wanted on top. His last-second shot the last one he might ever take in competition beat Utah in game 6 in June and gave the Bulls their sixth title. "There’s a way to go out as an athlete, and that’s the way to go out,’’ said B.J. Armstrong, one of about a dozen players working out on Tuesday at the Berto Center. Armstrong, who now plays with Charlotte, is a good friend of Jordan and a teammate on Chicago’s first three NBA championship teams. Jordan leaves as a five-time winner of the league’s most valuable player award, 10-time league scoring champion and the No. 1 per-game scorer in NBA history. Jordan also claimed three international honours, leading the United States to the 1983 Pan Am Games title, the 1984 Olympic title and was a key member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic "dream team’’ that rolled to the gold in Barcelona, Spain, by an average margin of victory of 43.8 points.
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India-New Zealand tie washed out WELLINGTON, Jan 14 (UNI) — Rain stole what would have been a good chance for India to go 2-1 up in the five match one-day series with New Zealand at Basin Reserve here today. The match started late initially, reduced to a 44-overs-a-side affair due to wet conditions. Then even as only seven overs had been bowled in the Indian innings the rain gods intervened again to force further reduction and the game was curtailed to 32 overs a side. The rain played spoilsport yet again during the New Zealand innings when only 12 overs had been thrown down with the Kiwis at 89 for two. Earlier India made 208 for four. The match will now be replayed tomorrow. India had batted extremely well to pile up a score of 208 from 32 overs, with Rahul Dravid again distinguishing himself. The retrospective disadvantage of batting first in a rain-affected one-day match is devastating. On this occasion, heavy rain early in the morning delayed the start by 75 minutes and the match began as a 44-overs-a-side contest. There was plenty of damp lying around the ground and India, who were put in to bat, had to contend with a constantly moving ball delivered with great accuracy by Chris Cairns and Dion Nash. But with the overs reduced, early momentum had to be picked up and Saurav Ganguly chanced his arm in the second over only to top-edge a pull. This reverse and the quality of the bowling compelled Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid to exercise restraint and the score was only 15 as the end of the seventh over, when there was a sudden onset of rain, which lasted long enough for the quota of side’s overs to be further curtailed to 32. It was quite an achievement on India’s part to score 193 from the 25 overs that remained available . Of these, Tendulkar and Dravid got 69 from just nine after the resumption. Tendulkar hit two fours and two mighty sixes. Dravid, though not that volatile, was artful in improvising and hardly lagged behind his partner. A ball after he had lifted Gavin Lassen for his second six, Tendulkar leapt out again, this time to pull him to mid-wicket, missed and was brilliantly stumped. Dravid was the more dominating partner in a stand with Azharuddin both put on 54 in eight overs before Dravid mishit a pull and was caught at long-leg for 62 scored from 71 balls, with five fours and a six. Soon after, New Zealand had two opportunities to get rid of Azharuddin. On the first one, Cairns made a great effort to catch him at mid-wicket, of a pull off Larsen. The second-time-round he was offered a much easier chance off Chris Drum. In between these two reprieves, Azharuddin plundered 16 runs, including a pulled six off Chris Harris. Azharuddin, who scored 52 off only 44 balls, and Jadeja together put on 57 from seven overs before the Indian skipper was caught at long on. Only seven balls of the innings remained, but Jadeja and Robin Singh looted 13 runs off them. According to the Duckworth/Lewis system, New Zealand had to get four runs in excess of India’s total to win. But unlike India, whose innings was so badly disrupted, New Zealand had the advantage of having a target to aim at. India gained ascendancy by removing in the first seven overs Matthew Home and Craig McMillan, the two batsmen who have taken heavy toll of their bowling in the previous matches. Home was caught behind off a superb ball from Prasad and McMillan miscued a steepler off Srinath to be caught at mid-on. But Bryan Young, who came into the squad as a replacement for Stephen Fleming, ran amok and was 52 not out in a score of 82 made from only 12 overs when it rained again with great force to put paid to the match. India: Extras (2lb, 3w, 2nb) 07 Total: (for four wickets in 32 overs) 208 Fall of wickets: 1/1, 2/84, 3/138, 4/195. Bowling: Chris Cairns 7-1-30-1, Dion Nash 6-0-26-1, Chris Drum 6-0-46-0, Gavin Larsen 6-0-56-2, Chris Harris 7-0-48-0. New Zealand: McMillan c Dravid b Srinath 14 Roger Twose not out 12 Extras: (nb-4, lb-2, w-1) 07 Total: (for two wickets in 12.1 overs) 89 Fall of wickets: 1/11, 2/45 Bowling: Srinath
4-0-22-1, Prasad 3-0-23-1, Robin Singh 2-0-19-0, Kumble
2.1-0-9-0, Chopra 1-0-5-0. |
Three new faces in Pakistan squad ISLAMABAD, Jan 14 (PTI) — Pakistan selectors today expectedly dropped former captain Aamir Sohail and included three new faces, opening batsmen Wajahtullah Wasti, Muhammad Naveed and off-spinner Nadeem Khan, in a strong 16-member squad under the captainship of Wasim Akram for the forthcoming tour of India. Aamir Sohail has been constantly at loggerheads with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials and did not attend the conditioning camp in Karachi. He had also declined to lead the team mid-way through the home series against Zimbabwe which Pakistan lost last month. A PCB announcement from its Lahore headquarters said the team was chosen by the three-member national selection committee headed by Wasim Bari after assessing the performances of the players at the Karachi camp. Wicket-keeper Moin Khan will be Akram's deputy. The team: Wasim Akram (Capt), Moin Khan (vice-capt-wicket keeper), Saeed Anwar, Wajahatullah Wasti, Muhammad Naveed, Ijaz Ahmed, Salim Malik, Inzamam-ul Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Azhar Mahmood, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed and Nadeem Khan. Reserves: Rashid Latif, Muhammad Akram and Shahid Nazir. The announcement of the
team comes even while the Pakistan Government and the PCB
are assessing the security situation in India in the wake
of Shiv Sena threats of preventing the series. |
Match referee for Indo-Pak series MUMBAI, Jan 14 (PTI) — Cammie Smith of the West Indies has been appointed as the match referee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the Indo-Pak two-Test series, commencing later this month, as well as the inaugural Asian Test Championship to follow. Steve Dunne of New Zealand is the ICC-nominated umpire for the first Test between India and Pakistan to be held at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from January 28 to February 1, it was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The second Test is slated from February 4 to 8 at Delhi’s Ferozeshah Kotla ground. The Asian Test Championship, featuring India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, is to be held from February 16 to March 16. India are to play Pakistan at Calcutta’s Eden Gardens from February 16 to 20 before taking on Sri Lanka at Colombo from February 24 to 28. The Pak-Lanka clash would be held at Karachi from March 4 to 8 leading to the final at Dhaka from March 12 to 16.
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Warne to lead Australia MELBOURNE, Jan 14 (AP) — Shane Warne will lead Australia onto his home Melbourne cricket ground for the first time on Friday after skipper Steve Waugh was ruled out of his third successive limited-overs match. Waugh’s hamstring strain has still not improved sufficiently to enable him to play against an unbeaten England in the tri-series match, ensuring the fulfilment of a childhood dream for Warne. And the star leg spinner could hardly have asked for a bigger stage on which to captain Australia, with a crowd of 80,000 expected at his home ground. "It’s great to get the opportunity to do it but I’ll be handing it back to Steve when he is ready." Waugh, who plays for Victoria state, said today. That scenario will occur on Sunday as Waugh confirmed today he would definitely be fit for the clash against England in Sydney. Australia go into the Friday match revitalised following Wednesday night’s eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Sydney in which it successfully chased 260 thanks to a brilliant 131 off 118 balls from opener Adam Gilchrist. England is tipped to make one change to its lineup with batsman Nassar Hussein likely to come in at the expense of an all-rounder, probably Mark Alleyne. Likely teams: Australia: Shane Warne (captain), Michael Bevan, Greg Blewett, Adam Dale, Damien Fleming, Adam Gilchrist, Brendon Julian, Darren Lehmann, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting and Mark Waugh. England: Alec Stewart (captain), Robert Croft, Mark Ealham, Neil Fairbrother, Darren Gough, Dean Headley, Graeme Hick, Adam Hollioake, Nasser Hussain, Nick Knight and Alan Mullally.
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Petr Korda's year spins out of control LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) — At the age of 30 Petr Korda proved it is never too late to win your first grand slam title. Twelve months on, the cart-wheeling Czech is at the centre of a drugs controversy that has split the world of tennis, called into question the anti-doping credentials of the game’s ruling body and all but ruined his reputation. Korda has known pain and frustration before. Three years ago he almost retired before being persuaded to overcome a fear of surgery and cure a long-standing hernia. But nothing had prepared him for what he suffered in a tumultuous 1998. January went like a dream as the gangly Czech won the Doha Open before travelling to Melbourne where he crushed Marcelo Rios in the Australian open final. He had often been called the best player never to win a grand slam and the world of tennis rejoiced at his victory. After cartwheeling to the net, Korda said he felt he was flying with happiness. "I just want to enjoy tennis and bring joy to other people. Let me enjoy this year." But after winning 14 matches in a row and reaching a career-high number two ranking, Korda’s year went sour. He failed to reach another semifinal and lost eight times in the first round. If Melbourne provided the peak of 1998 Wimbledon was where Korda’s year spun out of control. Korda reached the quarter-finals, where he was due to play British favourite Tim Henman. The treatment he received before that match is now the subject of great speculation. In the previous round, Korda had pulled up in agony after straining his achilles’ tendon while trying to reach a drop shot from Dutchman John Van Lottum. On July 1, Korda, who has blown hot and cold throughout his career, was soundly thrashed by Henman. He was then called for a routine dope test and his world, slowly but surely, began to implode. Exhausted by the summer heat, Korda took 80 minutes to provide the necessary urine. His sample was first tested in Lausanne a week later and was shown to contain the banned anabolic steroid, nandrolone, a substance that can only be administered by syringe. The second mandatory test was not carried out until September and it was another month before it was concluded that Korda had broken International Tennis Federation (ITF) regulations. Korda professed his innocence: "I am not a drugs cheat... I would not try to gain an unfair advantage over my fellow professionals by taking performance-enhancing drugs." He called Boris Becker and former coach Tony Pickard as character witnesses and his case was heard by what the ITF call its independent Anti-Doping Review Board on December 21. At this meeting Korda challenged the collection procedures as he had required so long to provide the samples. He also suggested there might be an innocent explanation for the results. The board agreed with some of Korda’s misgivings over the procedure but concluded that "The ITF have established that the appellant was guilty of a doping offence". It then discussed Korda’s statement that, if he had taken steroid, it had been done without his knowledge. Doctor John Honour, speaking in Korda’s defence, put forward the hypothesis that Korda could have ingested the steroid in meat which the board thought was "highly unlikely". He then suggested the banned substance might have been produced naturally which was again ruled "highly unlikely". Then, in a decision which has angered many of Korda’s fellow professionals, they ruled he did not have to show the source of the positive test results and concluded "we are satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the appellant acted innocently and reasonably". ITF withdrew Korda’s prize money and the points he won at Wimbledon but stopped short of imposing the one-year ban that is mandatory under the ruling body’s anti-doping regulations. The sanctions were announced late on December 22 but, if the ITF or Korda were hoping the Christmas break would stem any controversy, they were badly mistaken. While the Czech continued to profess his innocence, the reactions of his fellow professionals veered from giving him the benefit of the doubt to heated condemnation. Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman, whose form has also collapsed this year, demanded Korda be suspended — "This is steroids and you take them or not" — and accused the ITF of running scared of a drugs problem in the sport. Tennis is already under pressure from Olympic leaders to join a united front against drug abuse with the hidden threat the sport may be thrown out of Games if it does not comply. Pressure from players almost certainly persuaded the ITF to step away from its previous position and announced last week it would appeal against the decision of its own appeals board, hinting it wanted a one-year ban slapped on Korda. But the pressure on Korda, who still intends to defend his Australian title next week, continued at such a level that American Todd Martin said there seemed to a desire for some kind of ritual lynching. The whole episode has been a disaster for the image of men’s tennis, already looking sickly in comparison with the manifold charms of the women’s game. It has undoubtedly concentrated minds in the game, where players have grown fat on dollops of prize money and huge endorsement contracts and winning on the monotonous merry-go-round is all that matters. And the incident has caused untold damage to Korda’s image his game and quite possibly his psyche.
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Countdown begins to National Games NEW DELHI, Jan 14 — Following clearance from the Home Ministry and also close understanding among local units, the much-delayed National Games will be held in Manipur (Imphal) from February 14 to 25. While announcing the schedule and programme, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi said here today that all bottlenecks had been overcome and there would be no postponement. All affiliated units of the IOA and the Services contingent would take part in 27 disciplines in which about 6700 men and women would participate. Except for canoeing, all other 26 events will be held in one city within a radius of 5 km. According to Mr A.E. Ahmed, Resident Commissioner to Government of Manipur today. The events age: archery, athletics, badminton, boxing canoeing and kayaking, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kho-kho, rowing, sepak takraw, shooting, aquatics, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, trathlon, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling. Kang, mikhna and thang ta will be demonstration games. While most of the stadia are complete and tested and re-tested. The participants will be housed in the specially designed village, which has 800 houses with proper facilities and amenities. The President of India Mr K.R. Narayanan, will be the chief guest for the opening ceremony. While the closing ceremony is expected to be presided over by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. "Informally, he has consented", said Mr Kalmadi. The synthetic surface for hockey is already in Manipur and it would be laid before the end of this month, according to Mr Kalmadi. "For us in Manipur, the National Games are not merely games but much more than that", said Mr Ahmed. His observation was supported by Mr Kalmadi, who said all government employees had contributed one-day's salary to make a grand success of the games. While Mr Kalmadi will visit Manipur on January 19 to undertake on-the-spot survey, his two-member delegation will be in Manipur two days earlier. Mr Kalmadi said buses would ply from Dimapur to Manipur and back to provide transport to all participants and officials. "Despite tedious transportation, the games will be enjoyable and worth going all the way", said officials present at the Press briefing. The IOA authorities are
optimistic that there will be live coverage of the games
in which all the leading sportspersons will be seen in
action. "We will welcome participants with flowers
and bouquets", is the slogan of local persons in
Manipur. "One OB van has already been positioned
while another six will reach Manipur soon", said one
of the officials. |
Tollygunge, Dempo to clash today CALCUTTA, Jan 14 (PTI) — Debutants Tollygunge Aggragami would seek to capitalise on home advantage when they lock horns with Dempo in a group-A match of the third National Football League at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium here tomorrow. The home team, who have done reasonably well not to have lost a match yet, would be quite content if they can maintain that record against their superior opponents in what promises to be an exciting contest. Tollygunge thrashed Air-India with a convincing 3-0 margin in their lung-opener and then played out a 1-1 draw against Churchill Brothers in their next match to prove that they are no pushovers despite their maiden appearance in the high profile league. Coach Amal Dutta’s much-publicised "box system" has paid dividends so far and it remains to be seen how the team fares against the Goan outfit which finished sixth in the last edition of the league. Dempo were held to a goal-less draw by Churchill Brothers in the opening match and then managed to earn full points by getting the better of JCT 2-1 in their second match. Both the teams have four points from two outings. The Goan Club would be hoping that their new Nigerian recruit Henry Okoro would deliver the goods upfront alongwith striker Francis Silveira. The two have not played together much and may find it difficult to combine. Dempo coach T.K. Chathunni has worked a lot on the fitness level of his players. "I have been working on various aspects, including fitness. I hope we can keep our reputation intact in the league", Chathunni said. The Goans would be handicapped to some extent by the injury to striker Marcus Carvalho while the reliable defender Stanley Colaco would have to miss the tie because of two bookings. The Dempo defence has looked quite weak and tentative and Nigerian Christopher Kem would have to take the bulk of the load for his team. The home team would rely on their Sri Lankan recruit Roshan Pereira and striker Nwakanma Chibuzor to score the goals. The duo have combined well to pierce the rival defence in the two earlier matches. Pereira, who has been highly praised by his coach Dutta, had scored two brilliant goals against a depleted Air-India in their opening match and would be hoping to carry on the good work tomorrow. The sturdy Felix Abayomi has controlled the game admirably from the midfield and has also moved up to assist the forwards. He has a big role to play for Tollygunge with his ability to create the openings.
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MP to meet Bengal in final CUTTACK, Jan 14 (PTI) — Madhya Pradesh edged out Mumbai by two runs in a gripping semifinal at the Barabati Stadium here today to set up a title clash with Bengal in the Wills Trophy. In the other semifinal at Jamshedpur, Bengal defeated Delhi by 127 runs with 10 overs to spare. Left-handed Amay Khurasia lit up the stadium with brilliant strokeplay to hit up 107 and help MP set Mumbai a stiff victory target of 272 in 50 overs. Mumbai in reply staged a late rally through their tailenders but lost the cliffhanger by two runs. Mumbai batted well till midway in the innings and were cruising along at 135 for two in the 25th over, but collapsed dramatically to 224 for nine with less than five overs to go. Though the MP team was almost sure of victory, tall left arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni upset all calculations as he blasted the bowling to collect 31 runs off just 17 balls to add 45 runs with Paras Mhambrey for the last wicket. At one time, it appeared that Mumbai would scrape to victory but the chase ended three runs short of the target when Mhambrey was run out while going for a non-existent second run off the penultimate ball of the match. Mumbai were bowled out for 269 with a ball remaining. Kulkarni, who hit three
massive sixes and a four, spread panic among the MP
fielders as the last pair snatched 16 runs in the 49th
over bowled by leg spinner Narendra Hirwani. |
Probables for World Cup today CALCUTTA, Jan 14 (PTI) — National selectors will meet here tomorrow to choose 30 probables for the May 14-June 20 cricket World Cup to be held in England. The list will be pruned further to 20 before February 28. The final list of 15 players and five stand-byes would be sent to the organisers before the March 31 deadline. The five selectors, currently watching the Wills Trophy semifinals in Cuttack and Jamshedpur, are expected to reach here by tomorrow morning for the meeting. They will also choose the
India ‘A’ team to play against the visiting
Pakistan team in the three-day tour opener at Gwalior
from January 23. |
Israelis move into last four CHANDIGARH, Jan 14 — Top seed Amir Hadad of Israel will take on unseeded Simon Larose of Canada while third seed Jonathan Erlich of Israel will vie with unsealed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in tomorrow's singles semifinals of the Gold Flake Aces ITF Futures Tennis Tournament at the CLTA complex, Sector 10, today. However, in the men's doubles semifinal, there was some consolation for India when Syed Fazalludin partnering Cedric Kauffman of France entered the finals of this event. Amir Hadad of Israel played the first match of the quarterfinal on centre court against eighth seed Cedric Kauffman of France. The 385th ranked Hadad was a bit slow in the beginning and at 2-2, both were playing good quality tennis, and gradually Hadad with his excellent anticipation and reach throughout the court, took the score in the first set to 5-2. At this point of time, two negative returns of Hadad gave two points to the French player but a beautiful net return of Hadad made him the winner of the first set at 6-3 in 22 minutes. It seemed Cedric was not serious, the way he missed the crucial points and left it to the opponent on many occasions. In the second set, big rallies and the deceptive net play with fine cross court placings proved to be advantageous for the Isreali player who piled up a lead of 5-1. It was only at 2-0, that both the players were locked in five time deuce encounter and in the rest of the set it was Hadad all the way who finished the set in 24 minutes and the match at 6-3, 6-1. The second centre court match between Canada's Simon Larose and Armando Brunold of Switzerland was a thrilling one with the tie extending to three sets before. Larose won at 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. Larose with a fast serve was quite aggressive for Brunold who bagged the first set at 6-2 in 25 minutes after losing initially at 0-2. But the 733rd ranked Simon came back in the second set and rectified all his previous mistakes, which helped him in gaining an early lead at 3-0, and here Brunold had a break when Larose committed a double fault. Larose again put pressure on the Swiss player who is ranked 690th, by slicing the ball down the base line with a sure point and the points stood at 4-1. At this juncture, Brunold extended a big rally thus forcing Larose to commit the unwanted mistake and reduced the margin at 2-4. The spirited Larose was bent on equalising the set and wrapped the same at 6-2 in 30 minutes. The third set saw Simon playing a more positive game and took an early lead at 4-1. Later only one game was surrendered to Armando. Larose won the set and match at 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in 90 minutes and booked a berth in the semifinals. The longest match in the men's singles was played between Yves Allegro of Switzerland, sixth seed having 475th rank and Jonathan Erlich of Israel who is third seed and ranked 416th. The match lasted two hours and 15 minutes spanning over three sets and was ultimately won by Erlich at 3-6, 7-6 (5) 7-5. The fourth quarterfinal was between the six feet ten inches tall Ivo Karlovic of Croatia and the 607th ranked Artem Derepasko of Russia. Karlovic won in 56 minutes at 6-1, 6-4. Results: Men' singles (quarterfinal) Amir Hadad (Israel) b Cedric Kauffman (France) 6-3, 6-1: Simon Larose (Canada) b Armando Brunold (Switzerland) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2: Jonathan Erlich (Israel) b Yves Allegro (Switzerland) 3-6, 7-6 (5) 7-5: Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) b Artem Derepasko (Russia) 6-1, 6-4. Men's doubles (semifinals) Cedric Kauffman and Syed Fazalluddin (India) b Simon Aspelin (Sweden) and Jocelyn Robichaud (Canada) 5-7, 7-6 (3) 6-3: Jonathan Erlich and Amir Hadad (Israel) b Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) and Michael Kogan (Israel) 7-6, 6-2.
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Schools' cricket from Jan 29 CHANDIGARH, Jan 14 (BOSR)
— The XXth National School Games in cricket for
under 14 will be held at Ambikapur (MP) from January 29
to February 2, according to Mr B.D. Gandhi, secretary of
the School Games Federation of India. This five-day
tournament is being organised by the Directorate of
Public Instruction, Madhya Pradesh under the aegis of the
SGFI. Moreover, the students up to Class VIII are
eligible to take part in these games. During the course
of this meet, budding cricketers will also be selected on
the basis of their individual performance for various
Asian and other international tournaments to be held in
later part of this year, Mr Gandhi added. |
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