Friday, May 21, 1999
today's calendar
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S P O R T | Friday, May 21, 1999 |
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India still nurse faint hopes Windies
play B’desh today Azharuddin
blames bowlers Cricket
suits nations ‘which don't value time’ Dubious
record by Indian bowlers Tendulkar’s
father cremated Tendulkar
‘likely’ for Lanka match Omega
award for Kapil Dev
Indian fans stone Zimbabwe bus Marshall
to undergo surgery |
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Sampras ‘targets’ French
Open DUESSELDORF, May 20 — Pete Sampras has achieved so much that he sometimes finds it difficult to set goals for himself — until the French Open comes around. Wild
tee-shot costs Sriroj lead Chatvinder,
Amanjot enter last 4 |
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Twose, Cairns inspire Kiwi
upset CARDIFF, Wales, May 21 (AP) — Brilliant half centuries by Roger Twose and Chris Cairns and a record 148-run stand for the fifth wicket inspired New Zealand to a five-wicket win over Australia in a World Cup group B match at Sophia Gardens here last night. It was a remarkable batting recovery by New Zealand after it was reduced to 49 for four in the 16th over while chasing Australia’s 213 for nine. But the left-hand-right-hand combination of Twose and Cairns led the victory charge against the highly-fancied Australians to remain unbeaten in the group along side Pakistan. New Zealand scored 214 for five and won off the second ball of the 46th over as Twose lifted medium paceman Damien Fleming to long-on for the winning boundary. The strong middle-order batting display complimented an outstanding spell of left-arm seam and swing bowling by Geoff Allott, who claimed a career-best 4-37 to restrict the Australians to an attainable total. Australia blundered by deciding to bat first on a damp surface and then lacked the firepower to nail New Zealand even though its top order was cleaned up. New Zealand lived up to its pre-match promise, refusing to be intimidated by its strong neighbours who have dominated the recent encounters between the two countries. Twose, who has enjoyed fine batting form since his return to the New Zealand side early this year after an 18-month absence, anchored the innings with an unbeaten 80 while Cairns used the long handle with great effect hitting 60 runs off 77 balls. Cairns hit three sixes, two off leg spinner Shane Warne, one of them disappearing in a ditch over long-off outside the ground. He also hit five boundaries before falling in the 45th over with New Zealand 16 runs short of the target. Twose, the former pro with English county Warwickshire, hit 10 boundaries in his 99-ball knock. Twose, who hit an unbeaten 30 in New Zealand’s win over Bangladesh, hit his seventh half century in 39 matches. Warne, whose wife Simone gave birth to their son Jackson today, went for 21 runs in his last three overs as New Zealand hurried to victory. New Zealand required 47 in the last 10 overs and won easily with 28 balls to spare. Earlier, Allott ripped through the Australian batting before and after a 94-run stand between top scorer Darren Lehmann and Ricky Ponting. The Australians failed to come to terms with a slow-paced pitch and some disciplined bowling by an all seam attack. Allott, who removed openers Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist in his first six-over burst, then returned to bowl Michael Bevan (21) and Shane Warne (15) in his third spell. It was Allott’s second four-wicket haul in a 16-match career and surpassed his previous 4-47 against South Africa in Auckland early this year. Left-hander Lehmann held the innings together with a 94-ball 76 runs with eight boundaries and was the fifth to fall at 172. Lehmann and Ponting (47) resurrected the innings from 31 for two to 126 without a further loss when the latter spooned a catch off Nathan Astle to Chris Harris at point. The New Zealand bowling was backed by brilliant catching and fielding. Astle excelled with three catches, the first a sharp one at second slip to get rid of Gilchrist in the third over. Australia well set on
163 for four after 40 overs, managed just 50 in the last
10 as New Zealand tightened its hold on the innings. |
Akhtar, Akram lead Pak to 94-run win CHESTER-LE-STREET (England), May 21 (PTI) — A fiery Shoaib Akhtar rocked the Scotland’s top order with an awesome spell of three wickets for 11 runs as Pakistan pace attack shot out the rank outsiders for 167 runs on their way to a comfortable 94-run win in a World Cup group ‘B’ match here last night. Scotland, after giving hiccups to Pakistan in their innings early on, never threatened the favourites’ total of 261 for six as wickets kept falling regularly and only Gavin Hamilton played a knock of some respect scoring 76 runs. Hamilton, one of the two Scotsman who plays in English county for Yorkshire, shared a sixth wicket stand of 59 with fellow countryman James Brinkley (22). Left-handed Hamilton lofted three big sixes and two boundaries once the pacemen Akhtar and Wasim Akram finished their first spells to emerge top scorer for the Scots hitting first official half-century for his country. Shoaib looked every inch the world’s fastest bowler as, along with Akram (3/23), he ripped through the Scottish top order to leave them facing disaster at 19 for five. After skipper Akram had removed Bruce Patterson for duck, Akhtar clean bowled Michael Smith with a superb inswinger that smashed the off-bail into two pieces. He then trapped Iain Philip leg-before with a toe-crushing yorker and had captain George Salmond caught behind by Moin Khan with a deadly outswinger. He finished with a spell of 6-2-11-3. As Akram struck again to make it 19 for five, Scotland were in danger of being dismissed for the lowest world cup total ever - 45 by Canada against England at Old Trafford in 1979. Hamilton, who aspires to join the English ranks next season, saved the day for Scotland as he along with Brinkley gave some semblance of fight to Pakistan. The Yorkshire pro was the last man out when Akram sent down an intelligent slow delivery that kept low before uprooting off and middle stumps. The remaining Scottish batsmen were cleaned up by medium pacer Abdul Razzaq (3/38) and off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq had to contend with sole wicket of Brinkley. Earlier, Yousuf Youhana (81) and Moin Khan (47) helped Pakistan survive a shaky start by compiling a run-a-ball stand of 103 for the sixth wicket after half the side had been removed for 92 runs. Their stand saved Pakistan from blushes and skipper Akram came in at Moin Khan’s fall to further torment Scottish bowlers. Pakistan struggled to come to terms with a slowish pitch as Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzak, Salim Malik and Inzamam fell cheaply and only the huge tally of extras kept the scoreboard moving. Youhana, who came in when Pakistan were on rocky shores at 60 for four, played a patient game and after he lost his partner Inzamam-ul Haq (12), dug his team out of trouble along with Moin Khan. Youhana and Akram put on a quickfire 66 as the Scottish attack wilted in the final overs. Scotland undid their own good work of rocking the Pakistani top order by bowling 33 wides and 16 no balls, conceding 59 extras to take away the dubious World Cup record of most extras that India earned in their match against Zimbabwe in Leicester yesterday. SCOREBOARD |
A lesson in how to lose What a shocker! If India wanted to shoot themselves in the foot they couldn't have improved on that performance at Leicester. Zimbabwe must be laughing as they couldn't believe their luck. With Tendulkar going home, this was the time for all the players to stand up and be counted. It was vital for the team to show they 'have the bottle' to cope without him. What an opportunity to show everyone that they are not a one-man squad. Zimbabwe are a decent team but not special. India had just played a good game against favourites South Africa and confidence should not have been down. All it needed was for everyone to dig deep, apply themselves properly and perform their best. What we got was a lesson in how to lose in three easy ways. Be so indisciplined that your bowlers can't bowl at the wickets or behind the bowling crease. Give the opposition 21 wides and 16 no balls which is tantamount to another 6 overs. I realise umpires are very strict on wides so every team gets called for a few, but 21 is excessive and there is no excuse for 16 no balls. Then you bowl your overs so slowly that the match referee quite rightly penalises your four overs and suddenly India have a 10-over handicap. That's like the favourite in a horse race carrying two sacks of coal on its back and still hoping to win! Finally when the run chase began, some batsmen committed harakiri. Ganguly hooking down fine leg's throat, Dravid hitting a wide one to cover and Azhar hanging his bat out like a number 11. It was pathetic coming from experienced players. It didn't stop there as young Ramesh batted nicely and then threw his wicket away. Three times he tried to hit the spinner over the top and nearly holed out. Then to make his dismissal unforgivable Jadeja went down the pitch to tell him to 'cool it' and settle down but he took no notice and holed out to mid-wicket. How stupid can you get? To be a top class cricketer you have to use your brain and Ramesh didn't use his. He probably thought he had done his bit making a half century and it didn't matter if he got out. Someone should tell him forcibly that when he gets in, not to give it away. He should go on and win the game and if he does it again he won't play for India. Even when Jadeja and Mongia got India in a position to win the match with the crowd supporting them, they pushed the self-destruct button. There was helter-skelter, panic running and cross bat slogging when sensible cricket was required. Srinath was still slogging when India needed 10 runs off 12 balls! At the end it was like watching lammiger hell bent on running over a cliff to certain death. Sadly, I have seen India
chase a total badly on many occasions. They are not a
good team when batting second. It is a mental thing
— it is not ability. Now their World Cup prospects
are in tatters and they can't use the absence of Sachin
as an excuse. These are highly paid cricketers with rich
endorsements and they play more one day cricket than any
team in the world. India must win at least two out of the
remaining three matches and hope that other results help
them out so that they can sneak into the Super Six.
— PMG |
India still nurse faint hopes LEICESTER, May 20 (PTI) — India’s World Cup dream has begun to fade fast with their batting, bowling and leadership in disarray, but if their players get their act together in the remaining league matches, the team could still make it to the super six. India have looked the most amateurish of the nine Test-playing nations in the championship, showing no inclination to overcome their age-old handicaps which came into sharp focus as they lost their first ever World Cup tie to Zimbabwe. However, the 1983 champions might still be able to make it to the next stage, since the point format is such that any victory against eliminated teams count for nothing. With favourites South Africa and hosts England looking poised to enter the next round, it is the points which India, holders Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe manage against these two teams that would count. Sri Lanka have already lost both their matches against South Africa and England. India went down to South Africa and are yet to play England while Zimbabwe are yet to face these two heavyweights in the group. India now have the daunting task of needing to beat both Sri Lanka and England and pray that Zimbabwe, with four points from two wins, lose to both South Africa and England. Despite such calculations, lack of balance in the Indian team has stood out in their two defeats. Paying the price for playing without an effective fifth bowler, they also have the longest tail among the top teams. Batting has always been held out as India’s strength, but in the absence of star Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and skipper Azharuddin flopped yesterday and it proved a futile effort from the non-specialist batsmen before the agonising three-run defeat came about. The poor Indian running between the wickets has also been exposed against two top fielding sides, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Indian batsmen never push the rival fielders and usually end 20-30 runs short while they give extra runs as fielders. The World Cup so far has shown that even poor fielding sides like Pakistan have come prepared. Indian bowling has stood exposed in the last two matches, in particular against Zimbabwe where they conceded a record 51 extras including 37 wides and no balls which also saw four overs deducted for their chase due to resultant slow bowling rate. Pace spearhead Javagal
Srinath, despite his experience still bowls short of the
ideal length in English conditions where the ball moves
late. |
Windies play B’desh today DUBLIN, May 20 (AFP) — Bangladesh take on West Indies in the World Cup here tomorrow after being told by their coach that it is time for them to play cricket as well as they talk it. Gordon Greenidge, the former West Indian star, said he could provide the players with stacks of inside information on their group B opponents. But once the toss had been made, it was up to them to make use of it. Greenidge said: “The boys are forever talking about doing it but when they get the opportunity, they seem to forget what they’ve been talking about. We have tried to install positive thinking and cricket knowledge into them and also to apply in terms of game, but it just doesn’t seem to be working. “For some reason, we seem to stop playing cricket and do a lot of crazy things out in the middle.” Few people know the West Indies than Greenidge, who took up coaching Bangladesh after being ignored for a similar assignment at home. The Barbadian, now 48, was a member of the team which won the first two World Cups and were finalists in the third. He retired in 1991 after scoring more than 7,500 Test and 5,000 one-day runs. “The best way to beat the West Indies is to put them under pressure,” he said. “They are known to choke at times.” Greenidge should know. He was playing when West Indies caved in for 140, chasing India’s modest 183 in the 1983 final at Lord’s. They also suffered the greatest giant-killing in World Cup history when they lost to minnows Kenya in India in 1996. Greenidge, however, sees little hope of Bangladesh pulling off an upset if they play like they did against New Zealand on Monday when they were bowled out for 116 to lose by six wickets. “It was not very good, not the way we wanted to start our World Cup history,” he said. Greenidge himself has had a chequered career with Bangladesh. He was made an honorary citizen when Bangladesh won the ICC Trophy in 1997 to qualify for their first World Cup. But he was sacked a year later after a row with cricket officials, only to be reinstated just before the tournament. West Indies skipper Brian Lara, meanwhile, had problems of his own as middle-order batsman and left-arm spinner Keith Arthurton was ruled out of the match due to a sprained ankle. His absence means the
team, who lost to Pakistan by 27 runs in their first
match, will have to include an extra bowler at the
expense of an all-rounder. |
Azharuddin blames bowlers LEICESTER, May 20 (PTI) Indian skipper Mohd Azharuddin yesterday blamed “indisciplined” bowling for his team’s defeat even as his Zimbabwean counterpart Alistair Campbell claimed it was a “gut feeling” to entrust speedster Henry Olonga with sending down the penultimate over which ensured a dramatic win for the African side in the World Cup Group ‘A’ tie here. Campbell tossed the ball to Olonga with India needing nine runs from 12 balls with three wickets in hand and Olonga, who was wayward in his first three overs, claimed three wickets in the space of five balls to lead his team to a thrilling three-run victory. “It was not a cricketing decision but just a gut feeling. I felt a seamer could do better than a spinner. I thought he did not have a good day and may be could do something to turn the match. “The ball was old and I felt he could bowl fast and straight. The reverse swing would come into play and that’s exactly what happened,” he told reporters after the match. Slamming the bowlers for sending down 24 wides and 10 no-balls, Azharuddin said, “...Our bowling indiscipline did us in.” “You can’t win a match if you concede these many extra runs and six overs ... There is no point in criticising your batsmen if you are so disappointing in bowling,” he said. “It was a good toss to win and we also bowled well in initial overs. But the way those no-balls and wides were bowled and our overs were reduced by four overs, we were facing a stiff challenge,” Azhar added. Azhar admitted the pressure was now on India to play well and “win all the next three matches” to qualify for the super six stage. Asked why did he persist with Ajit Agarkar when runs were plundered off him, the Indian captain said he believed in bowling his main bowlers. “Bowlers like Saurav Ganguly and Ajay Jadeja are all right to chip in with a few overs but to expect them to bowl the entire quota of 10 overs is asking too much,” Azhar said. “We got off to a good start and had the match in our hand. It was remarkable the way Ramesh and Jadeja batted. But the latter order batsmen failed,” a dejected Azhar said, adding that the team missed Sachin Tendulkar. “He is the best batsman in the world and his absence did set us back, especially since it was such a close game.” However, Campbell said he thought the absence of Tendulkar could pose problems for his team. “I felt it would now bring the Indians together and they would be looking to contribute 200 per cent to see India wins,” the Zimbabwe skipper said. Campbell said it was the “most important victory for us, ever” but admitted his team has to sort out the problem of wayward bowling after conceding 36 extras. Olonga, the man who made
it happen for Zimbabwe, said he never thought he would be
asked to bowl at such a critical juncture. “When
Alistair asked me to bowl, I was bit surprised. Stuart
(Carlisle) told me it was my chance to make a history. I
am happy I did make it one for my team,” Olonga
said. |
Cricket suits nations
‘which don't NEW DELHI, May 20 (PTI) — Why is a nation of nearly a billion people animated about the doings of 11 of its own on cricket grounds thousands of miles away? Starved of living role models and having little to cheer about in other fields, Indians, borne upon a market-driven frenzy, are seeking some glory through the only heroes they know — their cricketers — say experts. "Politics and cricket are the two things we have. Right now politics is letting us down so we are witnessing this cricket frenzy," says Mr S Vishwanathan of the Centre for Study of Developing Societies. And unlike England, which has been cool to the ongoing seventh edition of the cricket World Cup, South Asia, which has produced three sub-continental champions since 1983, is in the grip of a cricket mania for much the same reason, says Mr Vishwanathan. "India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are fragile nations in many ways, and cricket, with the opportunity of success it offers, enables them to forget that. It is a vehicle of expression for the nation state," he says. India’s upset 1983 victory over reigning champions West Indies on an overcast June evening at Lords, followed by Pakistan’s win at Sydney in 1992 and Sri Lanka’s triumph at Lahore in 1996, cricket firmly established itself as the number one sport in South Asia. Stoking the mania is the involvement of the ‘star’ cricketers. With a dearth of any other heroes, cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Ajay Jadeja, who have taken the fast track to wealth and fame, are the role models for today’s youth, says psychiatrist Dr Achal Bhagat. And the fans’ interest in these heroes is matched only by the commercial interest in them, says well-known sportscaster Dr Narottam Puri. "The hype is all about marketing; nothing to do with the sport as such. For companies the event is a vehicle for selling their products," says Dr Puri. Journalist-turned-TV personality Rajdeep Sardesai, son of former Test player Dilip Sardesai, goes a step further. "Cricket is a part of the entertainment industry today. It’s showbiz, with the cricketers as stars". "Its spell on the public is epitomised by a banner carried by Indian fans in Bradford recently: ‘Cricket is our religion, Sachin is our god’," Mr Sardesai says. And television, he says, has catalysed this metamorphosis of sport into spectacle. "When India won the World Cup in 1983, we only had Doordarshan. And colour TV had come in only a year earlier. "But since then satellite TV, multiple sports channels and corporate sponsorship have made a major impact on the game." With advertisements egging on people to support their favourite team, a near "gladiatorial" atmosphere is built up around cricket matches with fans taking victory as their team’s right. This obsession with the result, over-riding any appreciation of the finer aspects of the game, is a typical Indian affliction, says Dr Puri. "Indians are emotional extremists. We go berserk if we win and its the same if we lose. The average fan is not bothered about the nuances of the game," he says. However, says Mr Sardesai, this is inevitable in the case of the one-day game in which "one team has to win and the other has to lose and there’s no such thing as a honourable draw". There’s a psychological reason too behind the cricket hysteria. Mass events like the World Cup, says Mr Bhagat, trigger mass reactions. "Our self-esteem is very reactive to cricket, it reaches a peak during cricket matches, which create an anticipation of victory". And companies have good reason to go all out to woo customers on such occasions. "When people are on an emotional high they spend more than they do normally," says Mr Bhagat. Conversely, the amount of money cricket attracts today is boosting its popularity, says sociologist T K Oomen. "The new-found pursuit of Laxmi (goddess of wealth), with cricket stars becoming filthy rich, seems to be contributing to the popularity of the game," he says. Also, says Mr Oomen, "hockey is our national game, but when companies from a relatively poor country like India generate over 60 per cent of the advertisement revenues in cricket — the figures for the World Cup alone are reported to be up to Rs 750 crore — it creates an aura around the game". Mr Oomen also sees a more unflattering reason for cricket occupying the number one position among sports in the subcontinent. With the "enormous amount of time" it consumes unlike football, hockey or tennis, cricket suits nations which do not value work or time much, he says. "We do not have much organised leisure in India because organised leisure suggests organised work, where people have little leisure time. "But in our country ‘working’ generally means just being present in office — one may be listening to cricket commentary on radio or watching TV". That, however, does not apply to the managers of cricket, according to M K Kaushik, coach of India’s gold medal winning hockey team at the Bangkok Asian Games. Cricket owes its "success", says Kaushik, to professional management. "I appreciate the professional management of cricket. Other sports bodies can learn from it." "The market and the media are also professional and their priorities in promoting sports are only a reflection of this," says Kaushik. But ultimately, as in everything else, it is the consumer who has the final say. As a market study has
revealed, while Indians feel there’s too much of
cricket going on, they still want more of the same. India
truly ‘manage more’. |
Dubious record by Indian bowlers NEW DELHI, May 20 (UNI) — Indian bowlers today created a dubious record of conceding the highest number of extras — 51 — so far in the seventh edition of the World Cup during their tie against Zimbabwe. With the bowlers erring in length and unable to control the swing, until the Zimbabwe innings on the sixth day of the championship a total of 390 extras have been conceded in 687.3 overs, with India accounting 68 runs in 97.2 overs against South Africa and Zimbabwe, respectively. However, debutants Bangladesh might have lost their opening game against New Zealand, but so far they are the one who had conceded less number of extras — five, though they had bowled only 33 overs — the very essence for a bowler in limited overs cricket is to bowl economically and to restrict the batsmen from scoring runs. But what happened at Leicester was the reverse. More than the wickets, the hallmark of a bowler is to stick to a nagging line and length and should not give much of the width to execute a shot. More so with conditions favouring the seam and swing bowlers in the ongoing World Cup in England, especially the gentle medium pacers, hitting the deck is more important. Unlike the red ball, the white ball, which is being used in this World Cup, swings a lot more and is a test for bowler’s accuracy. Interestingly 50 per cent of the extras have come in wides, which alone accounted for 195. India’s wavering length in bowling has also come in for criticism from BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur who had expressed unhappiness about it. The following is the list of extras conceded: team wise: (upto Zimbabwe’s innings against India and does not contain the match between Sri Lanka and South Africa). England: 36 in 98.2 overs (b-1, lb-14, w-15, nb-6) Sri Lanka: 19 in 46.5 overs (lb-6, w-12, nb-1) India: 68 in 97.2 overs (lb-18, nb-26, w-24) South Africa: 25 in 50 overs (b-6, lb-2, nb-6, w-11) Kenya: 60 in 80 overs (lb-11, nb-15, w-29, b-5) Zimbabwe: 36 in 50 overs (b-2, lb-5, w-25, nb-4) Pakistan: 35 in 48.5 overs (b-1, lb-8, w-20, nb-6) West Indies: 38 in 50 overs (b-1, lb-12, w-23, nb-2) Australia: 39 in 50 overs (lb-9, w-22, nb-8) Scotland: 16 in 44.5 overs (lb-3, w-5, nb-8) New Zealand: 13 in 37.4 overs (lb-1, w-5, nb-4, b-3) Bangladesh: 5 in 33 overs (w-4, lb-1).
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Tendulkar’s father cremated MUMBAI, May 20 (UNI) — The last rites of Prof Ramesh Tendulkar, father of India’s ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar, were performed at the Shivaji Park electric crematorium early this morning. It seemed as if even the gods were paying their respects to the departed soul as the skies opened up and there was a slight drizzle since early morning. Prof Ramesh Tendulkar who had been ailing for the past few months passed away of Tuesday night following cardiac arrest. He had earlier been admitted to a city hospital in March due to heart problems. The funeral procession began from Sahitya Sahavas, the residence of the Tendulkars in Bandra east and wound its way to the Shivaji Park crematorium where the last rites were performed by Nitin, the eldest son of Prof Ramesh Tendulkar. The chairman of the selection committee Ajit Wadekar, Vinod Kambli, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and president of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) Manohar Joshi. The joint honorary secretary of MCA, Professor Ratnakar Shetty, mediapersons and fans of Sachin were also present. Sachin, who was in England at the time of his father’s death rushed back home on hearing the sad news. It is not known as yet when he would return to England to assist the Indian team in the World Cup. His two brothers Nitin and Ajit were also out of India at the time. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has left it to Sachin to decide when he wants to rejoin the Indian team. Prof Tendulkar was a Marathi teacher, and a prominent critic. His literary work — ‘Geetbhan’ — had won him a state award. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Governor, Mr PC Alexander, today condoled the death of Prof Ramesh Tendulkar. In his condolence
message to Sachin Tendulkar, the Governor said
“everyone understands your grief, but the thought
that millions of your countrymen share the grief should
give you strength to bear it. |
Omega award for Kapil Dev NEW DELHI, May 20 (PTI) — Swiss watchmaker Omega yesterday conferred ‘Lifetime Achievement, Award on cricket legend Kapil Dev for his contribution on Indian cricket. Former captain Kapil
Dev, who led India to famous victory in the 1983 World
Cup, was presented with a seamaster 300 Omega watch by
Shah Rukh Khan, Omega’s brand ambassador in this
part of the world. |
Wisden predicts Pak-South Africa final LONDON, May 20 (PTI) — It is going to be a Pakistan versus South Africa final in the 1999 cricket World Cup, with the Pakistanis having an edge due to their stronger bowling attack, says the Wisden cricket monthly. Making its latest predictions on the ongoing World Cup after the first week, the cricket world’s bible said, “We studied the recent form of teams and came up with the conclusion that the Pakistanis and the South Africans would sweep all the teams facing them”. Wisden said the Indian team would win matches against Zimbabwe (which it didn’t), Kenya as well as Sri Lanka but would come a cropper against England at Edgbaston as the ground was the luckiest for the hosts. Wisden said after careful calculations and taking in the form of the teams, India would definitely make it to the super six stage, but would not be able to make it to the semi-final knock-out stage. The cricket monthly, in it’s latest issue, said during the super six stage India would have to face three tough teams, Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand and on current form except New Zealand would not fare well against the other two World Cup contenders. Wisden predicts the four teams to make it to semifinals would be Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and England and the final would be between Pakistan and South Africa, with Pakistan having a better chance if they won the toss. The magazine, to hit the
stands early this week, said it appears that two good
teams, Sri Lanka and the West Indies, would face
nightmares in the current tournament |
Tendulkar ‘likely’ for Lanka match LEICESTER, May 20 (PTI) — Sachin Tendulkar, who left here yesterday for Mumbai to attend his father’s funeral, is expected to rejoin the team in time for the crucial match against defending champions Sri Lanka at Taunton on May 26. "He (Sachin) was very close to him, but has said he will try to be back with us for the Sri Lanka game on Wednesday," team manager Brijesh Patel said. "It is a hell of a setback for any side to lose a player of his ability and his return will be a big boost for us," he said. "Sachin is obviously devastated by the loss of his father," Patel added. Tendulkar, the 26-year-old batting maestro and the finest batsman in the world, missed the match against Zimbabwe here yesterday and will also be absent from India’s next encounter with Kenya at Bristol on Sunday. Tendulkar has scored 21
centuries in one-day internationals, more than any other
player in the short form of the game. He also has an
awesome average of 67 from the 16 World Cup matches he
has played so far with two tons and six fifties from 15
innings. |
Indian fans stone Zimbabwe bus LEICESTER, May 20 (PTI) — Indian supporters, infuriated by their team’s dramatic three-run defeat in the World Cup tie, stoned the Zimbabwe team bus here last night, British media reported today. "They left a few dents," Zimbabwe team manger Malcolm Jarvis, a former Test player, was quoted as saying by Daily Mail. Earlier, two Zimbabwe players, paceman Eddo Brandes and all-rounder Neil Johnson, were jostled by invading spectators when they were leaving the pitch at the Grace Road ground. "People were trying to take stumps away from them (the players) and it was a bit of a melee, but no-one was hurt," said Jarvis. Police later arrested a man who hurled a can in the direction of the Zimbabwe dressing room, the paper reported. Security at Grace Road was stepped up after Indian skipper Mohd Azharuddin was jostled while leaving the pitch following India’s defeat by South Africa at Hove last week.
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Marshall to undergo surgery St John’s, Antigua, May 20 (Reuters) — West Indies coach Malcolm Marshall will have exploratory abdominal surgery in Birmingham, England, on Saturday. The West Indies Cricket Board said Marshall, (41) has had a stomach complaint for several months and has been advised by doctors to undergo surgery. He will be away from the West Indies World Cup team for an unspecified period. "He’s had a complaint for some time and has been seeing doctors for some time, I think since the South Africa tour or little before," chief executive Stephen Camacho said yesterday. "We had some tests done over the last week or so, which resulted in (him) having to have this exploratory operation on Saturday". West Indies lost their opening match against Pakistan and play Bangladesh tomorrow. Camacho said he did not expect Marshall’s absence to have negative effect on the team. "I think they will
try to win the match, particularly for Malcolm who is
very popular, and I think we are all hoping that he makes
a very, very speedy recovery," Camacho told the
Caribbean news agency CANA. |
Sampras ‘targets’ French Open DUESSELDORF, May 20 (Reuters) — Pete Sampras has achieved so much that he sometimes finds it difficult to set goals for himself — until the French Open comes around. "It’s the biggest challenge in my career," said Sampras, hoping to win the only Grand Slam title which has eluded him. "I need challenges and winning the French would be the ultimate one." It has been a difficult year for the 27-year-old American, who has been hampered by injury, played little and last month lost top spot to Russia’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov. "Physically and mentally, I feel fresh," he said. "But as far as the tennis is concerned my game has been up and down and that’s because I haven’t played many matches." The world No 2, whose best performance in Paris was to reach the semifinals in 1996, boosted his confidence for the French Open with a convincing three-set win over the elegant Karol Kucera of Slovakia. "I’m finding my range," he said after beating world No 12 Kucera. "The tennis I played in the third set is the kind of tennis I need to play." Sampras, who had outclassed France’s Cedric Pioline in his first match here on Sunday, improved dramatically on his poor performance at last week’s Italian Open. Sampras ended 1998 as world number one for a record sixth consecutive time but was physically and mentally exhausted. He took a break and missed the Australian Open. He was slowly recapturing his best form when a lower back injury formed him out of the Barcelona event last month. "I’m fine now," he said. "I wouldn’t consider myself as a strong favourite to win the French but I’m in contention. There are 15 guys who can win it and I’m one of them that’s the way I see it." Having been through hard times could turn out to be an advantage, he added. "Sometimes I entered Grand Slams feeling great and I lost then. Other times I was feeling awful and I ended up winning. You want to struggle a bit and peak at the right time." Sampras promised his fans he would not stay back like the average baseliner but would rely on his fluid, attacking game on the Paris clay. "One thing I’ve understood over the year is if I win in Paris I’ll do it by playing my game. I need to be aggressive. Need to come in and pick my spots." "I’m not going to be obsessed with the French. I want to enjoy it. I’ve got three or four years left and I want to have fun playing. "But it would be
nice to win in Paris." |
Wild
tee-shot
costs Sriroj lead SHANGHAI, China, May 20 — A wild tee-shot cost Thailand’s Thammanoon Sriroj the outright lead today in the $ 400,000 Volvo China Open at Shanghai Silport Golf Club. Thammanoon fired a first round five-under-par 67 in the Asian PGA Tour event to tie with Hong Kong’s Scott Rowe and Pakistan’s Taimur Hussain, but he was disappointed not to be out in front on his own. The Thai player, who started his round on the back nine, was six under with three to play but slipped up over the closing holes. On the par four seventh he hit a big slice off the tee with his driver and lost his ball. He parred the hole with his second ball for a double-bogey six. He had an opportunity to make amends for that mistake on the par five eighth, where he reached the green in two. However, he three putted
from 25 feet. A birdie on his last hole meant he finished
the day sharing the lead. |
Chatvinder, Amanjot enter last 4 YAMUNANAGAR, May 20 — Top seed Saniya Mirza of Andhra Pradesh beat Anuja Parekh of Maharashtra 6-3, 6-3 and second seed Ankita Bhambri of Delhi easily won against Anjini Kant of Delhi, 6-1, 6-1 at the Adidas junior tennis circuit. In the boys section Chatvinder of Chandigarh beat his city mate Saurav Singh 6-4,6-3 to enter the semifinals. Tushar Garg of Delhi had a tough second round as he came back from behind to beat Arjun Talwar of Punjab 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. Mr Suman Kapur, Honorary Secretary, Haryana Tennis Association (HTA) informed here today that 200 entries from North Zone had been received besides one each from West Bengal , Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Results: Boys U-16: Amanjot (Chd) b Atul Kumar (Pb) 6-1,6-0; Dhruv Kumar (WB) b Anil Goswami (Dli) 6-3,6-1; Chatvinder (Chd) b Saurav Singh (Chd) 6-4,6-3; Nipun Gupta (Dli) b Varun Giri (Dli) 6-3,6-2. Boys U-14: Ankit Raj (Chd) b Harneet Singh (Chd) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; Tushar Librahan (Chd) b Varun Valia (UP) 6-1,6-2; Wrik Ganguli (Dli) b Rahul Verma (Dli) 6-4, 6-1. Girls U-16: Sania Mirza b Anuja Parekh (Mah) 6-3, 6-3; Rani Smita Jam (Raj) b Harsimran Kaur (Dli) 6-0,6-0; Sanna Bhambri (Dli) b Monika Goel 6-0, 6-1. Girls U-14: Ankita Bhambri (Dli) b Anjani Kant (Dli) 6-1, 6-1.
|
H
COA chief's election challenged CHANDIGARH, May 20 (BOLC) — The election of Mr Rajan Kashyap, president of Chandigarh Olympic Association, was challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Mr S.S. Budhwar, secretary, Chandigarh Gymnastic Association, who also contested for the post of the president of the COA. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice H.S. Brar and Mr Justice V.M. Jain issued notice of motion to the respondents for May 25, 1999. Mr Budhwar in his writ petition alleged that when on September, 21, 1998, the COA elections were held, Mr Rajan Kashyap himself acted as the Returning Officer. This way the basic principle of natural justice was thrown to winds. He further suspected
that Mr Kashyap stagemanaged the resignation of Mr Maini,
the outgoing president. On the basis Mr Kashyap declared
himself as Acting Vice-President and then got himself
elected as president. |
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