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| Thursday, March 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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India slump to 10-wkt defeat |
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East Bengal thrash champions Mohun
Bagan 3-1
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SHARJAH, March 22 (PTI) — India plunged from the high of a series victory to abject surrender after a pathetic all-round display as South Africa inflicted one of their worst ever defeats ten wickets in the opening tie of the Coca Cola Sharjah Cup one-day cricket triseries here tonight. Openers Herschelle Gibbs (87 n.o — 9x4, 3x6) and Gary Kirsten (71 n.o — 85 b, 9x4) pulverised the listless Indian attack in their imposing stand as South Africa cruised to 168 for none in only 29.2 overs after dismissing India for a modest 164 at the Sharjah stadium. India surrendered the advantage of winning the toss with a stunning batting collapse before a record last wicket stand of 62 runs between top-scorers Ajay Jadeja (43 n.o) and Javagal Srinath (30) helped them hold out for 45.2 overs. Any hopes of a fightback simply evaporated as the in-form South African openers came up with chanceless knocks. India never really recovered from the setback of losing star batsman Sachin Tendulkar (5) cheaply followed by skipper Saurav Ganguly for an aggressive 27 off 28 balls. Man of the Match Steve Elworthy returned magical figures of 10-3-17-3 and with Rookie Makhaya Ntini (3/36) completely undid the Indian batting after fellow paceman Jacques Kallis (2/43) did the early damage as Indian batsmen paid the penalty for needless aggression and reckless strokeplay. Tottering at 102 for nine, Jadeja (43 n.o — 79 b, 3x4) and Srinath (30 — 58 b, 1x4, 2x6) fought grimly for 17.3 overs to give some respectability to the total before being crushed by the South Africans. India, who had lost to the West Indies by 10 wickets at Bridgetown in 1997, where the Caribbeans achieved the victory target by reaching 200 for none, never looked like taking a single wicket tonight after both openers settled down. The left-right combination of Kirsten and Gibbs maintain their crushing form shown in their narrow 2-3 series loss in India as they flayed the erratic Indian attack by picking boundaries at will to kill any fight that was expected. Both the paceman Srinath and Ajit Agarkar made no impression as Gibbs made up for a slow start to race to his fifty off only 47 deliveries with Kirsten also showing firm command of the slow pitch to reach the milestone in 66 balls. Kirsten and Gibbs hit the medium-pacers fluently through the off-side field and Indian hopes of any comeback ahead of their hot contest against Pakistan tomorrow evaporated when leg spinner Anil Kumble was also punished. The South African openers, who were in tremendous nick in the five-match series in India, maintained their relentless approach to run gathering to notch up their century stand and the game was won and lost well before it ended. The Proteas, who have never lost a match at this venue, kept up their reputation as the Indian resolve seen at home vanished quickly with Gibbs in particular flaying the spinners without any let up and Kirsten maintaining his classy shot making at the other end. Jadeja and Srinath earlier produced a 62-run last wicket stand that eclipsed the previous best for India — 53 — between Ravi Shastri and Narendra Hirwani at Gwalior in 1987-88 against the West Indies. SCOREBOARD India: Tendulkar b Pollock 5 Ganguly c Boje b Kallis 27 Dravid b Kallis 8 Joshi b Ntini 24 Azharuddin c Boucher b Ntini 7 Jadeja not out 43 R Singh lbw b Elworthy 1 Karim b Elworthy 0 Agarkar b Ntini 1 Kumble c and b Elworthy 8 Srinath c Gibbs b Boje 30 Extras (lb-3, w-7) 10 Total (all out in 45.2 overs) 164 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-42, 3-50, 4-72, 5-81, 6-82, 7-82, 8-89, 9-102. Bowling: Pollock 8-0-35-1, Kallis 10-1-43-2, Ntini 10-2-36-3, Elworthy 10-3-17-3, Klusener 4-0-21-1, Boje 3.2-0-9-1. South Africa: Kirsten not out 71 Herschelle Gibbs not out 87 Extras (lb 3, w 5, nb 2) 10 Total (for no loss, 29.2 overs) 168 Bowling: Srinath
4-0-25-0, Agarkar 5-0-29-0, Kumble 7-0-37-0, Tendulkar
6-0-32-0, Joshi 5-0-32-0, Robin Singh 2-1-6-0, Jadeja
0.2-0-4-0. |
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SHARJAH, March 22 (PTI) — Reeling from a string of recent defeats, Pakistan will use the current Cup one-day tri-series as the launching pad for their upcoming tour of the West Indies. Plagued by injuries to key members, Pakistan will hope the return of star all-rounder Wasim Akram after recovering from a groin injury will work wonders as they take on India in their opening tie here tomorrow. The Moin Khan-led side starts as the least prepared side after arriving here without star opener Saeed Anwar, nursing a neck strain, besides indisposed off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and all-rounder Azhar Mahmood (back injury). The 29-year-old stumper felt both their rivals had peaked well following the closely fought series where India beat the South Africans 3-2 while their own batting was heavily dependent on the in-form Inzamam-ul Haq and Yousuf Youhana. “We’ll try our best. We will play the hardest possible cricket but the opposition is tough and we have an inexperienced middle-order,” he said on reaching here. After a 0-3 Test series and the one-day tri-series losses in Australia and the 0-3 and 1-2 reverses in one-dayers and Tests against Sri Lanka at home, Pakistan will hope beating Sri Lanka in the final Test would mark a turnaround. Pakistan’s forte is bowling and a good show here would help the team ahead of their tour of the West Indies next month. “No doubt the West Indies are not as strong as they were in the past. But at the end of the day, results count and not whether the team has been weakened by the absence of some players,” he said. Moin Khan, who took over after Anwar was laid low during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi following an on-field collision, said the absence of Anwar, Saqlain and Azhar Mahmood would be felt, but it gave an excellent opportunity for the youngsters. He said India and South Africa have shown tremendous batting prowess by scoring 300-odd runs twice in the recent series, but said it also exposed their bowling limitations. That aspect could be a plus point for Pakistan because its bowling will not allow free-stroking opportunities and reduce the demand on the batsmen. Moin Khan said fitness would be a key aspect. “We have struggled and lost matches because we never had a full team. I am hoping that in the next four months, we will be able to field the best available players. There is never a substitute for experience,” he said. He said the return of Javed Miandad as coach was a great boost to the team. “Miandad is the best tactician and has made several tours of the West Indies,” he added. Akram said he has fully recovered from the groin injury which sidelined him from the Test series against Sri Lanka. “I have tried and tested it hard. It is perfect and I am confident it would not affect me on the forthcoming tours,” the 33-year-old former skipper announced. Akram, 17 wickets adrift of the 400-mark in Tests, said he was as keen for tours as in the past and was more ambitious now than ever before. “It has been a very long lean period. I am sick of ending up on the losing side. There are no personal goals but to help Pakistan return to winning ways,” he said. Akram said Sharjah has been a lucky ground for Pakistan and was confident the team would continue to lift its overall performance. “We have broken the jinx of a series of defeats. I am sure we will now progress in the right direction. It was just a matter of one win to put everything right and I think the victory in Karachi will help us a long way to move on the victory path,” he said. Akram, who was replaced by Anwar for the series against Sri Lanka, vowed to give his best to the team and captain. “I will try to help the team as much as I can. I am always available for any suggestions if the team management feels.” Akram said he was very keen to join the 400-wicket club in Tests, but emphasised he was currently concentrating on the assignment at hand. “The Sharjah contest is very important for the confidence and morale of the team, particularly because we have to immediately proceed to the West Indies. I am targeting the Sharjah Cup and when the Test series approaches, I will aim at 400 wickets. “I think I am at a
stage where I have to go series by series and give
preference to team performance than personal
achievements,” he said. |
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SHARJAH, March 22 (PTI) — Australian umpire Darryl Harper has defended his controversial leg before decision against Sachin Tendulkar in the first cricket Test at Adelaide in December last year and said after watching replays he was convinced the star Indian batsman was out. Harper, who ruled Tendulkar out after the batting maestro ducked into a delivery from Aussie paceman Glenn McGrath to be struck on his shoulder said he was severely criticised by the Indian media but the decision was correct. “I was heavily criticised by the Indian media, but as far as I was concerned it was the right decision,” Harper, one of the umpires who will officiate in the Sharjah Cup tri-series, said. “When I gave the decision, I was not looking at who was batting but my concentration was on the trajectory of the ball and I was convinced the ball would have hit the stumps. Therefore, I ruled him leg before,” he said. The 48-year-old Harper said he was convinced his decision was correct after he watched the television replays. “I watch recordings of my decisions afterwards and have no hesitation in accepting my errors. By doing so I get rid of my mistakes and can improve upon them,” he said. He, however, said it was a matter of policy among Aussie umpires not to apologise to a player for any judgement errors. Harper also dismissed charges of racism in cricket and said such talk gained ground because of what sub-continental teams perceived to be grossly unfair decisions against them when they toured Australia. “I have never come across racism in cricket,” Harper, one of the five Aussie National Grid umpires who released a signed protest statement following such a charge by a Pakistan team official in Australia late last year. The umpire said such allegations rose only due to chucking incidents involving Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar — both were called for throwing by Australian umpires in that country. He, however, said there was no harm in leaving the decision to the third umpire or the match referee as they could watch slow motion television replays. Harper felt advancement of technology was putting tremendous pressure on umpires, but still supported technology driving the game’s progress. “We have got humans playing the game and humans as umpires. Unfortunately, humans make errors in judgement. It happens to a batsman who plays a bad shot or a bowler who bowls a bad ball. “But cricket has
survived for over a century and to keep it going we must
adapt to changes,” he said, adding that soon umpires
could even start wearing miniature devises on their
wrists to watch slow motion replays before pronouncing
their decisions. |
East Bengal thrash champions Mohun Bagan 3-1 CALCUTTA, March 22 (PTI) — Beleaguered East Bengal salvaged some pride as they put up an inspired show to thrash this year’s title winners Mohun Bagan 3-1 in the National Football League here today. Having already won the coveted title in the high-profile league, Mohun Bagan lacked motivation and zeal and suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of their traditional foes much to the disappointment of thousands of their supporters at the Salt Lake Stadium. Right full back Falguni Dutta struck two brilliant goals after Jackson Egeypong put East Bengal in the lead early in the opening session in a fast-paced encounter. Brazilian striker Jose Barreto scored the lone goal for Mohun Bagan. Mohun Bagan will have to remain content with 44 points from 21 matches while East Bengal improved their position on the table with this victory, taking their tally to 29 from as many outings. Determined to regain some prestige after a string of indifferent performances in the league, East Bengal went into the offensive straightaway and shot into the lead as early as the 20th minute through the hard-working Jackson. The goal was the result of a fast counter attack which saw Dipankar Roy break through the defence and centre to an unmarked Jackson who headed home from inside the box. But the euphoria was shortlived as their arch rivals found the equaliser through Brazilian striker Jose Barreto just two minutes later. East Bengal again forged ahead four minutes later when Falguni Dutta’s inswinging freekick from the edge of the box sailed into the goal, giving no chance at all to the Bagan custodian Arpan Dey. Leading 2-1 at the interval, East Bengal attacked with renewed vigour in the second half tormenting the Bagan defenders who looked very tentative right through the contest. Falguni Dutta, who played a stellar role in East Bengal’s triumph today, consolidated the position for his team in the 79th minute as he climaxed a combined move by neatly placing the ball into the goal. The two Mohun Bagan strikers Jose Barreto and Igor Shkvirin failed to combine well and never really looked dangerous whenever they managed to come close to the rival goalmouth. Mohun Bagan did get a few scoring opportunities, particularly in the second session, but their forwards invariably failed to get their act together inside the box much to the dismay of coach Subrata Bhattacharya. Substitute striker Dipendu Biswas was guilty of muffing an easy scoring opportunity midway through the second session when he dribbled past two defenders but lost control of the ball just in front of the goalmouth. Salgoacar upset MARGAO: Defending champions Salgaocar’s (Goa) hope of second place received a jolt today when they went down to a spirited Churchill Brothers 1-2 in penultimate round of the fourth edition of Coca Cola National Football League being played at Nehru Stadium Fatorda here. Churchill today avenged their defeat they had suffered earlier, by a solitary goal in the first leg and gained three valuable points to jump onto second place. Both their goals came in the first half through striker Marcus Carvlho in the 15th minute and through Andry in the 32nd minute. While Salgoacar reduced the margin through Joao Dos Santos in the 86th minute. With this win Churchill Brothers have moved on to the second place on the league table with 38 points pushing down Salgoacar on third place with 36 points with an equal number of matches. Churchill today registered their 11th win out of 21 outings with five draws and five defeats. They will now meet JCT on March 25 on home ground while Salgoacar will clash against Mahindra and Mahindara Mumbai on March 26, also on home ground in their last match. In a fast paced match Churchill Brothers who had a major share of exchanges in the first half shot into the lead as early as in the 15th minute through striker Carvalho. The goal was a result of the fine combine move between Mario Soares and Rock Barreto, as the latter sent a well-measured pass to Marcus Carvalho, who beat the Salgoacar goalkeeper Juje Siddi and shot into the net 1-0. Churchill Brothers mid field and forward line combined well and increased their lead in the 32nd minute of the first half through striker Andriy, whose left footer pile drive hit the cross bar and went into the net, off a pass from Carvalho 2-0. SBT down ITI THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (UNI): State Bank of Travancore (SBT) beat Indian Telephone Industries, Bangalore by four goals to three in their second leg encounter of the National Football League here yesterday. Substitute striker V.P. Shaji (2) and strikers Ashif Saheer and S. Ignatius (penalty) scored for SBT. Frontliners R.C. Prakash and George Ekka and defender Muraleedharan (penalty) netted for ITI. The teams were level 1-1 at half time. With this win, SBT have 23 points from 21 matches and they have consolidated their ninth position in the league table. ITI, who have just 17 points from 21 matches, are in the tenth position and are still not out of the woods as far as relegation is concerned. BSF Jalandhar being eleventh in the NFL table, have 16 points from 21 matches. The two teams will meet on March 25 at Ludhiana for their final league match. A win for BSF will enable them to remain in the premier league. The day’s match turned out to be a memorable one for former international V.P. Shaji of SBT. Coming in as substitute to Abdul Hakkim in the 71st minute of the game, Shaji scored two splendid goals in a matter of nine minutes. First he dived like a torpedo to head home a right wing cross from medio Lanel Thomas to put his team 3-2 up. This was in the 72nd minute. Eight minutes later, Shaji unleashed a stinging right foot volley off a brilliant centre from S. Ignatius to put SBT 4-2 to the good. The match also saw some questionable decisions by referee S. Suresh of Tamil Nadu who disallowed a goal by Ashif Saheer of SBT for off side. Later he was a bit harsh in red carding SBT keeper Feroz Sheriff for an alleged foul on R.C. Prakash of ITI. This was six minutes
before the final whistle. SBT having effected the three
permissible substitutions had to give the goal
keeper’s jersey to substitute right back Saji Kumar
who, however, kept his composure under the bar. |
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MONTE CARLO, March 22 (UNI) — Viswanathan Anand rebounded in style and swung back into contention and good form with a brilliant 2-0 win over Joel Lautier in the fifth round of Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament here. The Indian Grandmaster who has been going through an extremely poor patch of results outplayed the Frenchman in both the blindfold and rapid games. He maintained his top spot in blindfold and rose to fourth overall. Anand who had been languishing in the lower half of the standings now has six points from the maximum of 10. The sole leader after five rounds is Bulgarian Veselin Topalov, with eight points, while Alexi Shirov, the Latvian-born Spaniard is in second place with 7.5 points. Former world champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia is in the third place with 6.5 points, half a point ahead of Anand. Anand and Topalov were the two players to register 2-0 wins and interestingly they will now clash in the next round. A win there could see the Indian in the race for the tournament hours. This first 2-0 win since 1998 Amber Tournament should put Anand back into the race after disappointing losses against Shirov and Loek Van Wely. The rest day after four rounds, during which Anand twice lost in rapid games, seemed to have done the Indian champion a world of good. He was looking fresh and energetic as he took on Lautier. Anand has been having a lot of trouble in rapid games, which is generally considered to be his forte. He has twice lost in it here. But in the fifth round, he found his form and scored his first victory. The Madras GM brought in a novelty in the Sicilian najdorf opted for by Lautier. The French player, who is having a lean tournament found himself in all sorts of trouble and resigned after 34 moves. Anand, who shares the lead in the blindfold section with Topalov, played with black against Joel Lautier whose play was rather weak and suggested lack of planning. Anand gained an early advantage as white, Lautier, gave up a pawn. Anand took it and equalised and though some felt it might have been sacrifice, Lautier was never comfortable. He hung on for long 72 moves before giving in. It was the second 0-2 loss for Lautier. Results of fifth round: Rapid games: Ljubojevic lost to Karpov Anand beat Lautier Shirov beat Van Wely Ivanchuk drew with Piket Topalov, Gelfand Nikolic lost to Kramnik. Blindfold: Karpov drew with Ljubojevic Lautier lost to Anand, Van Wely drew with Shirov , Piket drew with Ivanchuk , Gelfand lost to Topalov, Kramnik drew with Nikolic. Rapidplay standings 1. Shirov 4.5, 2. Topalov 4.0, 3-4. Ivanchuk and Karpov 3.0 5. Gelfand, Van Wely, and Kramnik 2.5 8. Anand 2.0 9-12. Piket, Lautier, Ljubojevic and Nikolic 1.5. Blindfold standings: 1-2 Topalov and Anand 4.0 3. Karpov 3.5 4-6. Kramnik, Shirov, and Piket 3.0 7-8 Gelfand and Van Wely 2.0 9. Ljubojevic, Nikolic and Ivanchuk 1.5 12 Lautier1.0. Overall standings: 1.
Topalov 8.0 2. Shirov 7.5 3. Karpov 6.5 4. Anand 6.0 5.
Kramnik 5.5 6-9 Piket, Ivanchuk, Van Wely and Gelfand 4.5
10-11. Ljubojevic and Nikolic 3.0 12. Lautier 2.5. |
Decision
vindicates PCA stand: Bindra Chandigarh, March 22 — Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra, a former President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and President of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), said here today in a signed statement that he had no grouse against some of the politicians and civil servants who, for petty considerations “allowed themselves to be manipulated by vested interests in cricket.” The Punjab IAS officer was reacting to the closure of the CBI case registered in February, 1997, against unnamed officials of the PCA and the Punjab Government regarding allotment of government land to the PCA for construction of a stadium at Mohali and collection and utilisation of funds by its office-bearers. The court of Mr B.S. Bedi, District and Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, yesterday agreed to the CBI’s recommendation to the closure of the case. This, Mr Bindra said, “totally vindicates the stand our association had taken and the statement I had issued on its behalf at the time of its (case) registration.” “ I will like to avail of this opportunity to thank large sections of the media and the cricket-loving public who gave us the courage and strength to face the onslaught launched by certain vested interests in cricket whose paths I had crossed as cricket administrator,” Mr Bindra said. The PCA President remarked that “it is a sad reflection on our system that the then CBI chief and the present CVC , wittingingly or unwittingly, allowed themselves to be manipulated. However, what caused me the greatest anguish was that some of the cricketers , for whom I had done a lot as President of the PCA and head of the BCCI, and some of my colleagues in the cricketing administration for whom I had enduring and lasting relationship for more than two decades tried to stab me in the back,” the statement added. While thanking the PCA
fraternity for standing beside him, Mr Bindra added that
during the past three years “I have borne enough
harassment and even faced threats of physical
elimination.” |
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NEW DELHI, March 22 (PTI) — The YMCA invitational boxing championships starting here on Friday will be a low key affair this year with the organisers reversing to domestic format as they were unable to raise sufficient funds to hold the annual international competition. But, in the absence of foreign competitions, some of the Indian stars, who will be figuring in the final qualifying tournament for this year’s Sydney Olympics, are expected to take part as it would be their last chance to participate in a tournament before the April 1 event at Bangkok. Over 320 boxers from all over the country will fight it out in senior, junior and sub junior sections of the seven-day tournament, the first day of which will be reserved for weight in and medicals, organising secretary Sarvjeet Singh told reporters here last night. Competitions will be
held in 12 weight categories in the senior and junior
sections while the sub juniors will fight it out in 13
weight categories of five age groups divided into A (born
in 1984), B (born in 1985), C (born in 1986), D (born in
1987) and E (born in 1988). |
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NEW DELHI, March 22 (PTI) — India, who qualified for the Thomas Cup world team badminton finals after a 12-year-gap, have been placed in a tough group headed by second seeds Denmark and including hosts Malaysia for the premier event to be held in Kuala Lumpur from May 11 to 21. South Korea, ranked joint fifth-sixth with England, are the fourth team in the blue group, as per the draw released by the International Federation (IBF) at the Malaysian capital yesterday. Top seeds and defending champions Indonesia, world powerhouse China, England and Sweden are lodged in the relatively easier yellow group, according to information received from IBF’s website. In the Uber Cup competition, the top group (pink) consists of second seeded Denmark, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia while holders China, Asian zone winners South Korea, the Netherlands and Sweden form the purple group. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout semifinals. All rubbers will be best-of-five affairs. India, ranked joint seventh-eighth with Sweden in the eight-team field, qualified along with China and South Korea for world’s the oldest badminton tournament after finishing third at the Asian zonal qualifiers held here in February. Spearheaded by world No 28 Pulella Gopi Chand, India defeated Thailand 3-1 to make the grade. India made it to the final round for the first time since they qualified for the 1988 championship at Kuala Lumpur. Led by world No 1 Peter Gade Christensen, Denmark, the perennial bridesmaid after reaching the final round of every edition, will be favourites to top the group from blue group as they seek their maiden title. Holders Indonesia are expected to face a tough challenge from China, who boast of recent All-England winner Xia Xuanze and world champion Sun Jun in their ranks. In the Uber Cup, holders China will be the favourites. Groupings (numbers in bracket denote seedings): Thomas Cup: Blue group — Denmark (2), Malaysia (3/4_, Korea (5/6), India (7/8). Yellow group — Indonesia (1), China (3/4), England (5/6), Sweden (7/8), Uber Cup: Pink group — Denmark (2), Japan (3/4), Indonesia (5/6), Malysia (7/8). Purple group: China (1),
Korea (3/4), Netherlands (5/6), Sweden (7/8). |
N Rly, W
Rly champions JALANDHAR, March 22 — Northern Railway, Delhi, defeated Southern Railway, Chennai, by a margin of 31 points in the men’s final of the 49th All India Inter Railways Kabaddi Championship which concluded at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Stadium of Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, today. Western Railway proved their supremacy in women’s section. Northern Railway, leading by 10 points at half time, put up a grand fight with man-to-man marking and returned triumphant by 57-21. Asiad gold medalist Sanjeev Kumar played the pivotal role for the winning side, displaying brilliant speed and skill. In the second half also Northern Railway maintained the pressure. Their performance in the second half was better than the first half. Southern Railway failed to impress. Sanjeev Kumar remained the top scorer for the winning side. Eastern Railway had to settle at number three. They defeated North- East Railway by 38-30. In the women’s section, Western Railway proved their supremacy by winning the maximum matches in the league phase. Although they drew their last league match with South East Railways with score 34-all, Western Railway were declared the best. They earned 11 points, while SER settled at number second with nine points. Southern Railway with eight points and South Central Railways with six points were declared third and fourth, respectively. Mr V.P. Ojha, General
Manager, R.C.F. Kapurthala, gave away the prizes. |
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THRISSUR, March 22 (PTI) — Despite their stunning defeat to lowly-placed BSF, FC Kochin start as favourite to win when they take on bottom-placed Dempo, Goa in a National Football League match here tomorrow. With Mohun Bagan already assured of the title, the interest now is on the placings. FC Kochin, who had a chance to come to the top three spots earlier, received a jolt in their previous match against Border Security Force (BSF), going down by a solitary goal. The team has 31 points from 20 encounters, while Dempo, facing relegation, have just 10 points from 20 matches and are in the bottom slot in the 12-team league. “Even if we win
tomorrow and our next match against SBT it will not help
us. However, we will go all out to win tomorrow. The
youngsters, whose average age is 19-20 years, are raring
to go,” said Dempo coach C. Almeda. |
Qualifying
chances for w’lifters bleak PATIALA, March 22 — The Indian women weightlifters’ chances for qualifying for the Sydney Olympics have considerably dimmed even as they are training vigorously at the NIS here for the Asian Weightlifting Meet. At Osaka, the Indians have just one berth open to squeeze through to the Sydney Olympics and the realisation that the finally dawned on them is that even at Osaka, it will be only a gold medal winning effort, either by Kunjarani Devi (46 kg) or Karnam Malleswari (56 kg), which will enable them to book a seat at the Olympics. The Indians had at least
four to six berths open for them to make the grade to
Sydney, but the abysmally poor performance at Athens
proved to be disastrous. If neither Kunjarani Devi nor
K.Mallsewari qualify during the Osaka championships, then
only a wild card by the international body can come to
the rescue of the Indians. |
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JORHAT, March 22 (PTI) — Defending champions Indian Railways moved into the final of the Senior National Women’s Cricket Championship defeating Punjab by nine wickets here today. Punjab were all out for a meagre 84 runs in 57.5 overs after electing to bat first. Punjab’s captain Gulshan and Anjali Sharma scored 25 runs each. Deepa Kulkarni was the most successful bowler for the Railways capturing five wickets in 8.5 overs conceding only three runs. Railway reached the victory target of 85 runs in 29.2 overs with a loss of just one wicket. Railway’s Rajani Sharma and R.V. Gopala remained unbeaten on 33 and 39 runs, respectively. Sharma hit four boundaries while Gopala struck five to thrash Punjab women. In another semifinal
between Bihar and Air India, Bihar were all out for 246
runs in 88.4 overs. Geeta Samanth Rai was the highest
scorer of her team with 88 runs before being caught and
bowled by Seema Pujari. Rai played 95 balls and hit 10
boundaries. |
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PORT-OF-SPAIN, March 22 (AFP) — The West Indies cricket team were fined 35 per cent of their match fee yesterday for a slow over rate after miraculously winning their inaugural Test against Zimbabwe by 35 runs at Queen’s Park Oval. West Indies became only the second team to defend a total of less than 100 to win a Test, when Zimbabwe, set a target of 99 to win, were bowled out for 63 in their second innings on Monday.
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