 |
|
| Thursday,
November 2, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
|
Kapil emerges unscathed in match-fixing probe Guilty will be punished,
says Dhindsa ‘Azhar was not giving 100 per cent’ Indicted cricketers refute charges |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Betting procedure and manipulations “Conspiracy of silence” India must not play offshore cricket Durand Cup Four Indians enter last eight ATP Challenger
from Feb 19 Bridge tourney
in Chandigarh Disney, Rishu bag TT titles Himachal close to innings defeat Bhutan upset India Convincing win
for Himachal
|
|
Kapil emerges unscathed in match-fixing probe NEW DELHI, Nov 1 — The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) ‘Report on cricket match-fixing and related malpractices’ has given clean chit to former Indian captain and cricketing legend Kapil Dev. “The enquiry has so far not disclosed any evidence of Kapil Dev’s role in match-fixing and related malpractices,” the report, which was released to the press by the Union Sports Minister, Mr S.S. Dhindsa, today, said. CBI had conducted an in-depth enquiry into Kapil’s possible role in match-fixing and related malpractices. The enquiry had focussed on Manoj Prabhakar’s allegations against Kapil Dev and also delved into former Indian captain and his associate’s linkages, if any, with the betting syndicate. Prabhakar had alleged that during the Singer Cup, 1994 at Colombo, Sri Lanka, Kapil had offered him Rs 25 lakhs to underperform in the match against Pakistan. The only ‘eyewitness’ to this alleged incident, as claimed by Prabhakar, is Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has completely denied that any such incident took place in his presence. Sidhu, the possible ‘chance’ witness — Prashant Vaidya — wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia, the then team manager Ajit Wadekar and the then captain Mohd Azharuddin have all denied having any knowledge of any such incident, the CBI report says adding only former all-rounder Ravi Shastri has stated that Prabhakar had told him about the alleged offer about three to four days after the alleged incident, but he did not believe him. The report says that CBI has also gone through the “Tehelka tapes” and evaluated the observations made about Kapil Dev by Jaywant Lele, Ajit Wadekar, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Prashant Vaidya, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, etc., but no credible and actionable evidence can be deduced from their observations. “There is thus no credible evidence to substantiate the allegation of Manoj Prabhakar that Kapil Dev had offered him Rs 25 lakhs to underperform during the Singer Cup Series, 1994, in Sri Lanka,” it says. Kapil Dev was also probed with regard to his linkages, if any, with the betting syndicate. His telephone/cell phone analysis has not disclosed any contact with bookies/punters, it says. “In the case of Kapil Dev, no evidence has surfaced so far as his linkages with the betting syndicate, both during his playing career and after retirement. In fact, the CBI has examined a number of bookies/punters of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Lucknow, and other places but the name of Kapil Dev does not figure as a possible suspect in any of their statements,” the report says. Foreign players CBI categorically states that it has not conducted in-depth enquiry into the linkages of overseas players with Indian bookies/punters. Foreign players have also not been examined to verify the evidence of Indian bookies/punters) Sri Lanka: Mukesh Kumar Gupta, alias MK, a bookie, stated that Aravinda De Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga were introduced to him by Manoj Prabhakar. (Manoj has denied this). However, MK has further stated that both Ranatunga and de Silva had ‘fixed’ the Lucknow Test in 1994 between India and Sri Lanka. He has added that he had paid a sum of $ 15,000 to De Silva for ‘doing’ that match. He has further stated that de Silva had ‘telephonically introduced’ him to Martin Crowe in New Zealand sometime in 1991. AUSTRALIA: Mukesh Kumar Gupta has stated that he was introduced to Dean Jones by Manoj Prabhakar in Sri Lanka during a festival match. Manoj Prabhakar has denied this. MK has further stated that he had offered a sum of $ 40,000 to Jones to provide him ‘information’ about Australian team’s strategy, morale, pitch conditions, weather, etc. whenever they played. Jones refused the offer and told MK that Alan Border had seen him talking to MK and that if Border came to know of the link between the two, Jones’ career would be in jeopardy. MK has also stated that he was introduced to Mark Waugh by Prabhakar during a six-a-side tournament in Hong Kong. Prabhakar has accepted this fact. MK has further stated that he paid a sum of $ 20,000 to Mark Waugh to provide ‘information’ about pitch, weather, team strategy, morale, etc, whenever Australia played. NEW ZEALAND: MK has stated that he met Martin Crowe in New Zealand, sometime in 1991, after being introduced by de Silva. He has stated that he met Martin Crowe at his residence and Crowe’s wife Simone was also present during the meeting. MK has further stated that he paid a sum of $ 20,000 to Crowe to get information about the pitch, team composition, weather, etc. whenever the New Zealand team played. However, MK says that Crowe refused to fix any matches for him. ENGLAND: MK has stated that Alec Stewart was introduced to him by Manoj Prabhakar in 1993. Prabhakar has also accepted this fact. MK discloses that he paid £ 5000 to Alec Stewart in exchange of information about pitch, weather, team composition, etc. whenever England played. MK has further stated that Alec Stewart, however, refused to fix any matches for him. WEST INDIES: MK discloses that Prabhakar introduced him to Brian Lara. Prabhakar has accepted this in his statement. According to MK, he paid a sum of $ 40,000 to Brian Lara to underperform in two one dayers when West Indies toured India in 1994. SOUTH AFRICA: MK has stated that he was introduced to Hansie Cronje by Mohd. Azharuddin in 1996 during the India-South Africa Test in Kanpur. Azharuddin has also accepted this in his statement. MK has further stated that he paid a sum of $ 40,000 to Cronje on the third day of Kanpur Test to ensure that South Africa lost and also as an ‘investment’ for future. He has also stated that Cronje wanted to ‘tie-up’ the Mohinder Amarnath benefit match at Bombay with him, but informed him at around 3 a.m. on the day of the match that it would not be possible. MK has further stated that he had got around $ 50,000 transferred to the bank account of Hansie Cronje in South Africa to ‘fix’ matches when India toured South Africa in 1996-97. He has, however, stated that most of the matches did not turn out as arranged with Cronje. PAKISTAN: MK has stated that Salim Malik was introduced to him by Manoj Prabhakar at Delhi before a match between Wills Cup winners of Pakistan and Wills Cup winners of India. Prabhakar has accepted this in his statement. The match MK is referring to was played between Habib Bank of Pakistan and Wills XI of India on October 13, 1991 at Ferozeshah Kotla. MK has stated that he paid a sum of Rs 18 lakhs to Salim Malik to fix that match without the knowledge of Javed Miandad who was captaining the Pakistani side. MK has stated that he does not know who were the other players roped in by Malik. MK has also stated that Malik had given him the ‘information’ during Singer Cup, 1994 at Sri Lanka that Pakistan would lose a particular match against Australia in that series, which turned out to be correct. Rattan Mehta, a big time punter of Delhi, has stated that he is on very friendly terms with some Pakistani players, including Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq. He has also stated that he has on some occasions sought their ‘judgement’ on matches involving Pakistan. He further stated that he had given some ‘small gifts’ to Pakistan players on a few occasions. Anil Steel, the bookie from Mumbai, has stated that he is on very friendly terms with Asif Iqbal, the former Pakistan captain. He has also stated that he has sought ‘information’ from Asif Iqbal about international matches and has also given him ‘gifts’ of jewellery items, etc. Steel has disclosed that he introduced MK to Asif Iqbal during the World Cup inaugural ceremony at Calcutta in 1996. |
|
My family was traumatised: Kapil NEW DELHI, Nov 1 (UNI) — India’s cricketing icon Kapil Dev might be a relieved man after getting a clean chit from the CBI in the matchfixing inquiry, but he is hurt as his name being dragged into the scandal and peeved at the media for “blowing up the baseless allegations” against him. “I do not want to say anything now. Nobody can give me back those days when my entire family was traumatised by the allegations,” Kapil told UNI today. “My mother is happy now and that makes me feel very good,” said the former Indian captain, who got India’s only World Cup victory during his illustrious career. “Now it is up to the media to write about me and the whole truth. When the allegations were flying thick and fast, my name used to appear on the front pages,” Kapil said while coming down on the media for putting him at the epicentre of the scandal that hit Indian cricket in the last few months, particularly after the sensational exposure of former South Africa skipper Hansie Cronje. Kapil insisted that he had “nothing to say about cricket to anyone after having severed all links with the game. “My letter to BCCI President A.C. Muthiah was my final shot. I do not want to speak about anything related to the game anymore,” the world’s second highest Test wicket-taker said. He wrote a strongly-worded letter to the BCCI President last month while resigning as the coach just ahead of the camp for the ICC knock-out tournament in Nairobi. Kapil not only turned down BCCI’s offer to continue as coach, but also harped on the unprofessional running of the cricket board and declared severance of all ties with the game. “If this is what I get after 20 years of service to the game, it is not worth having links with it,” Kapil said and added there would be no rethinking on his part, "my letter to the BCCI was my final word.” Kapil said his entire family had to “pass through hell” during the past few months. “My mother, wife and daughter were under great stress in the wake of media reports. We spent sleepless nights,” he said and asked, “can the media give us back those precious days.” While the investigations were on by the CBI, officials of the Income Tax Department searched the residential and business premises of a number of cricketers, including Kapil, besides administrators of the game and those alleged to be bookies during countrywide raids in July. The department’s report on any undisclosed income or unexplained investment (on the basis of the bank accounts and other documents seized during the raids) is under preparation. |
|
Guilty will be punished,
says Dhindsa NEW DELHI, Nov 1 — The Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, said here today that the “guilty must be punished” but the “innocents should not be slandered”. Mr Dhindsa said this while releasing the CBI report on match-fixing. Mr Dhindsa said action on the CBI report would be taken after eliciting the views of the Law Ministry and the Home Ministry, who have been given a copy each of the report. Mr Dhindsa said the CBI report would have a “good impact on cricket. At least for the time being, there will be no match-fixing”. Mr Dhindsa said there was no question of taking a lenient view on those indicted in the CBI report and a lenient would have been taken on those who apologised before the CBI probe.” Now the guilty will be punished”, he said. He also asserted that the “law is for everyone whether it’s players, officials or the BCCI, and if need be we may amend or frame new rules, to clean up the system”. |
|
‘Azhar was not giving 100 per cent’ NEW DELHI, Nov 1 (UNI) — Indian master blaster Sachin Tendulkar told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that during his tenure as captain he felt that Mohammed Azharuddin was not putting in 100 per cent effort and he suspected that his predecessor was involved with some bookies. He told this to investigators during his examination in Mumbai, when asked if he suspected the involvement of any Indian player in match fixing. About the India-West Indies match at Kanpur in 1994 when Manoj Prabhakar and Nayan Mongia batted slowly, he stated that he was the vice-captain during that match and was absolutely sure that there were no instructions from the team management for Prabhakar or Mongia to bat slow. Sachin said he was so upset with their approach that he did not talk to them after the match. Prabhakar had later claimed that Mongia had informed him about the management’s instruction to play slowly and not to lose the wicket. Mongia did not confirm who had given such instruction. In a disclosure which cleared the air around the country’s best all-rounder Kapil Dev, Sachin told the agency that the decision against enforcing a follow-on in a Test match against New Zealand at Ahmedabad in 1999 was the team management’s and not of any individual. The one-day record holder for maximum centuries said the decision was taken jointly by him, coach Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Ajay Jadeja, since the bowlers, especially Javagal Srinath, had insisted that they were very tired. Kapil was being held responsible for the decision as reports had indicated that the captain, Tendulkar, had stoutly opposed the decision of not enforcing a follow-on. The media also carried certain reports that the decision was guided by bookies. The 162-page CBI inquiry report said: ‘’By the end of the third day’s play when New Zealand had lost around six wickets, Sachin had thought to himself that he would enforce a follow-on the next day. However, the New Zealand innings dragged on till after lunch the next day and by then, he, coach Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Ajay Jadeja decided that a follow-on would not be enforced since the bowlers, especially Srinath, had insisted that they were very tired. “It was a collective decision not to enforce follow-on. On being asked whether anybody could have influenced this decision since the bookies in Delhi allegedly knew one day in advance that a follow-on will not be enforced, he accepted that it was possible.’’ About Shobhan Mehta, the Bombay bookie who was allegedly present at Sachin’s wedding, the cricketing genius stated he had never met this person (Mehta) nor invited him to his wedding. There was tight security during the wedding and only select persons were invited and nobody
without a proper invitation could have gate crashed, he told the CBI. “All speculations about me and Mehta are absolute rubbish and I have never even met him any time in my life,” he said while recording his statement in Mumbai. |
|
Indicted cricketers refute charges SYDNEY, Nov 1 (AFP) — Former Australian batsman Dean Jones says he is outraged at being named in the CBI report on match-fixing. India’s Sports Minister S.D. Dhindsa yesterday confirmed that Jones and former captains of South Africa, England, West Indies and Pakistan were named alongside five other Indian players in the CBI report. Jones today revealed he was once approached by a bookmaker but refused to have anything to do
with him. “I’m obviously surprised about this — in what way has my name been brought up?” Jones told ABC radio. “In 1992 there was the well-documented situation where I was approached by a bookmaker and by an Indian player — most of the Australian players know who that guy was — so whether they used me to throw a bit of dirt around, I don’t know. All my books are open, anyone can go through my place.” Jones alleged, “there is one player throwing a lot of dirt over there trying to protect his backside at the moment.” Jones said former Indian players like Mohammed Azharuddin and Kapil Dev should not be accused of match-fixing simply because they were rich. “Kapil Dev makes a lot of money in being the broker in deals which take a lot of Australian coal into India,” said Jones. “Blokes like Azharuddin, who is married to the Demi Moore of Bollywood, these people are making a lot of money.” “Just because the tax people go through their accounts, and they have a lot of money in there, that doesn’t mean they’re into match fixing. “This is the big problem. People make big money in India. People don’t understand the place. I go there quite regularly. Shooting arrows at everyone is not fair and not right.” Jones said he revealed everything he knew about match-fixing when he admitted to being approached by a bookmaker in 1992. “I’ve had complete investigations through me by the current Australian CEO (Malcolm Speed) and his board and also (former ACB chief executive) Graham Halbish back in 1992-93,” he said. WELLINGTON: Former New Zealand cricket captain Martin Crowe today strongly denied he was linked to match-fixing in India. Indian Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said yesterday Crowe and the former captains of England and the West Indies — Alec Stewart and Brian Lara — had been named in the CBI report. However, there was no suggestion they had been involved in corruption. “I’m shattered that my name is mentioned when you don’t know what it’s for,” Crowe said. RAWALPINDI (Reuters): Former England captain Alec Stewart has declined to comment after he was named in an Indian report on match-fixing. Stewart is touring Pakistan with the England team. “I am aware that my name has been mentioned but I will not make any comment,” said Stewart at his hotel in Rawalpindi late last night. On the morning of the four-day match against the Patron’s XI at the Pindi cricket stadium today, England media manager Andrew Walpole said the England Cricket Board would also not comment until it had seen the report. |
|
Betting procedure and manipulations NEW DELHI, Nov 1 — The CBI report, which exposes to a great extent the murky world of match-fixing, has also traced the betting procedures and the manipulations that take place behind the scene and the operation of betting syndicates in India. Betting procedure: The ‘odds’ for a particular match are decided among bookies based on certain accepted criteria such as the relative strength of the two opposing teams, previous record, pitch and weather conditions, team composition, etc. For example, if two teams, ‘A’ and ‘B’, are scheduled to play, and where ‘A’ is perceived to be relatively weaker than ‘B’, then the odds may be 60 paise on ‘B’ and 150 paise on ‘A’. After these ‘odds’ have been decided upon, primarily by bookies based in Mumbai, they are transmitted telephonically to bookies in different parts of India and betting starts, the report says. Punters place bets with concerned bookies over telephone. For example, if a punter places a bet of Rs 1 lakh on team ‘B’ winning the match, he will get Rs 60,000, if team ‘B’ actually wins. On the other hand, if he places a bet on ‘A’ winning the match and if team ‘A’ actually wins the match, he will get a sum of Rs 1,50,000. However, in case he loses his bet in either instance, then he pays a sum of one lakh which he placed as a bet, to the concerned bookie. The whole betting procedure is a very flexible system in which ‘odds’ keep changing during the course of the match depending on how the match is progressing and the punter can conclude and place fresh bets according to his judgement. Without going into the intricacies of changing ‘odds’ during the course of a match, it is emphasised that bookies generally manipulate the ‘odds’ in such a manner that they seldom incur huge losses. It is generally the punter who risks losing his money. The ‘odds’, which keep fluctuating as the match progresses, are transmitted to the bookies throughout India by mobile phone, pager or through the ‘dibba’ system. The ‘dibba’ has a phone with speaker facility. The person operating the ‘dibba’ will normally have a Mini Exchange in which there are 10 to 12 incoming and around 100 outgoing lines. An operator will constantly receive the prevailing ‘odds’ in the incoming lines from the big bookies. These ‘odds’ are, in turn, constantly passed on to the other bookies/punters through the outgoing lines from the phone with speaker facility. The outgoing lines are also used by bookies/punters throughout India for the latest information about prevailing ‘odds’ at Mumbai. The outgoing lines are kept energised throughout the match. Primarily the owners of STD booths act as conduits in this sort of a communication network. Manipulations: Betting on cricket, having emerged as a major organised racket, it makes sound common sense for both bookies and punters to manipulate results according to their financial interests. For example, if a bookie wants to ‘fix’ a favourite team to lose, he would naturally rake in a huge amount of money at the cost of punters who generally place bets on the favourite team. A punter can also ‘fix’ a team according to his financial interests and place heavy bets with a number of bookies which would result in major gains for him. Results of cricket matches are manipulated or attempted to be manipulated by both the bookies as well as punters. Apart from ‘fixing’ matches, ‘performance fixing’ of individual players can also help the betting syndicate in ‘spread betting’. Dimensions of betting: Betting on Cricket is today, in terms of monetary turn-over and volume of transactions, perhaps the biggest organised racket in the country. According to rough estimates, the turn-over for a one-day match in any part of the world which is being telecast live in India is to the tune of hundreds of crores. A primary reason for the growth of this racket is the relatively liberal provisions of the Public Gambling Act, the CBI report says. The ingredients and punishments under this Act differ from state to state. Even as it is debatable whether betting on cricket attracts provisions of this Act, since cricket theoretically is a game of skill, the maximum punishment under this Act, for example in Delhi, for a first offence is imprisonment for six months and a fine of Rs 1,000 and for subsequent offences, a maximum punishment of imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs 2,000. Hence for a bookie or a punter dealing in crores of rupees, the provisions of this Act are no major cause for worry, the report says. The lure of easy money has gradually attracted the underworld into this racket. It seems that it is only a matter of time before major organised gangs take direct control of this racket, a phenomenon that would have implications not only for cricket but for national security as a whole, the report adds. |
|
“Conspiracy of silence” NEW DELHI, Nov 1 — The CBI, which probed into the player-betting syndicate linkages, in its “Report on Cricket Match-Fixing and Related Malpractices” says that the cricketing fraternity maintained a “conspiracy of silence” during the inquiry. “It is emphasised at the outset that the cricketing fraternity, generally speaking, maintained a ‘conspiracy of silence’ and were rarely forthcoming with any specific information relevant to the enquiry,” the report, which was release to the media by Union Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, says. “Not a single player/ex-player/official etc, other than those who had made vague and general allegations in the media, volunteered any information to the CBI,” it says. In spite of the resistance offered by the players, ignorance feigned by ex-players and officials connected with the game, the CBI was able to collect evidence through painstaking and meticulous efforts, it says and adds “confronted with the evidence gathered, some players/others, in spite of their stubborn denials, broke down and disclosed their involvement in the malpractices in various degrees.” The CBI had collected all relevant material/evidence, individual players, ex-players, officials, bookies, punters and others were examined and they were confronted with the evidence it had gathered. Thereafter, their statements were recorded. |
|
Most appointments
arbitrary: CBI NEW DELHI, Nov 1 (PTI) — Denting the image of cricket board, cbi in its match-fixing probe report has clearly stated that bcci appointed selectors, physiotherapists and coaches for the Indian cricket team in an arbitrary manner. “The appointments of professionals like coaches, physiotherapists, selectors are made more or less in an arbitrary manner,” cbi said in its 162-page report submitted to the government on Monday. The investigating agency said : “Names are suggested by the members of the bcci and its affiliate units whose knowledge and insight into cricket is questionable.” Referring to various deals regarding cricket matches, the report said : “Although bcci today is cash rich, it does appear that, over the years, it has undersold Indian cricket with regard to guarantee money.” Cbi said the bcci was in control of huge amounts of public funds without any concomittant rules, regulations/laws that govern the manner in which public funds were to be utilised. “There is no accountability of any office-bearer of the bcci similar to the one imposed on public servants when dealing with public funds,” the investigating agency said. |
|
Decision on coach today MUMBAI, Nov 1 (PTI) — The new coach for the Indian team would be announced tomorrow, the cricket board said today. BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele told PTI by the telephone from Baroda that a final decision over the issue would be taken tomorrow after which the name would be announced. Australians Greg Chappell and Geoff Marsh and New Zealander John Wright are in contention for the job and have been interviewed by the board. Mr Lele today denied that Marsh had already been named as the new coach saying he was unaware of any new development regarding the former Australian opener. Former BCCI president, Raj Singh Dungarpur, who was one of the officials who interviewed Marsh, had yesterday said a decision on the issue would be taken only after the marketing and finance committee meeting tomorrow. |
|
India must not play offshore cricket CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Now that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has submitted its report on "match-fixing and related malpractices", the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) must get its act together and bring in some discipline among cricketers as well as board officials if it wants to retain its place as the "best managed sports association in the country." This claim, however, took a severe battering the day it was revealed that a number of Indian cricketers indulged in match-fixing. The CBI in any case has raised suspicion over the role of the Indian cricket board in the scandal. "Although there is no concrete evidence to suggest the direct involvement of any of the members of the BCCI in match-fixing, their resolute indifference does give rise to suspicions that there was perhaps more than what meets the eye," the report says. The report was submitted to the Union Sports Minister, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, on Monday in New Delhi. During the course of its investigations the CBI raided the houses and business premises of the BCCI treasurer, Mr Kishore Rungta, as also the former president of the International Cricket Council, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, who at one time was the secretary of the BCCI, and also questioned officials like Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra, a former president of the board and president of the Punjab Cricket Association. However, the final report makes no mention of any board official. By ordering the CBI enquiry Mr Dhindsa had the guts to take on the all-powerful cricket board whose clout, it was said, also ran in the corridors of South Block. It was he who insisted that "tainted" players Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja or Nayan Mongia should not be considered for national selection till such time the CBI finished its enquiry. And subsequent events proved that the Union Sports Minister was right in taking such a tough stand. As the report says betting started in Indian cricket soon after 1983 when India won the World Cup. But the phenomenon of match-fixing, according to the report, started in the 1990s when the prospects of making "easy money" first emerged. And the players, known in any case for their mercenary attitude, made most of the circumstances. Ever since the issue of match-fixing came in the open in late March this year corporate sponsorship for the game has come down. Also, the spectator response to the game has been much less than earlier. However, India's performance in the ICC Knockout Tournament at Nairobi did raise hopes of a cricket revival in the country but the performance at Sharjah immediately after the Nairobi tournament probably nullified all the gains the new-look Indian team had made. Much will depend how the Indian team performs at the international level this winter. The one area where the board has to get tough is the concept of offshore cricket. This was started in an effort to popularise the game worldwide but instead it is this type of cricket which has lead to the maximum amount of betting and match-fixing. And India has been a major promoter in the concept of off-shore cricket with the national squad playing in centres like Toronto, Sharjah and Singapore. Such activities must stop forthwith. The CBI report does mention the name of Pakistan's Asif Iqbal, the man behind the growth of cricket in Sharjah. Sharjah over the years has become a big den for betting. The CBI report says that Asif Iqbal played a role in passing of information to the bookies. Even when the Sharjah tournament was started certain sections of the board did oppose the move. But they were over-ruled by majority vote. Moreover, the BCCI never examined the sponsors of such offshore tournaments. Such an attitude might have caused immense harm to the board as well as Indian cricket. The BCCI must get all the cricket playing countries together and decide that the game will be played only where it is played on a regular basis. The concept of globalisation of the game must take a backseat at the moment. And the International Cricket Council must endorse such a move because it is no use of popularising the game if the native population of the country does not play the game. Offshore cricket must be given a quick burial if the game has to progress. And the quicker it is done the better it will be for all concerned. |
|
Durand Cup NEW DELHI, Nov 1 (UNI) — Riding on a hat-trick by star-striker Dipendu Biswas, Calcutta giant-Kingfisher East Bengal trounced Muktijoddha Sangsad K.C. of Bangladesh 3-1 in a quarterfinal match of the Durand Cup at the Ambedkar Stadium here today. In the other quarterfinal, Goa league champions Zee Churchill Brothers drubbed JCT Phagwara 3-0. The match between East Bengal and Muktijoddha began on a fast note. Both teams made no bones about their thirst for goals and made repeated forays into each others domain. The Bangladeshi lads went into the offensive right from the word go and dominated the proceedings in the first 15 minutes. Gradually East Bengal began counter-attacks from both the flanks and playing in 4-4-3 combination wreaked havoc on Muktijoddha’s defence. East Bengal fired the first salvo in the 35th minute through a penalty kick. Centre forward Dipendu Biswas, the player of the day, was brought down stopper back Md Sujan and referee S.M. Balu had no hesitation in awarding East Bengal a penalty-kick. Dipendu took the kick and scored to make the score 1-0. Four minutes later East Bengal clinched the lead when medio Carlton Chapman passed the ball to outside-left Bijen Singh whose powerful right-footer hit the Muktijoddha custodian who failed to collect and Dipendu lurking in the penalty box tapped it in to make it 3-0. The Bangladesh lads reduced the margin in the 89th minute when Rejaul Karim Litton scored the goal through a long right-footer. The other match between Churchill Brothers and JCT was a lop-sided one as the Goans dominated the proceedings throughout the 90 minutes of the play. Churchill impressed by their speed and agility and well-coordinated passes. JCT played well in patches. Churchill scored the first goal in the 35th
minutes of the first half when centre-forward Francis Silviera mounted an attack from the left flank. Uday Konar reached the penalty box and dribbled two JCT defenders and lobbed the ball to right-half Somtai Shaiza whose powerful grounder beat JCT custodian Baljit Singh. The Goans consolidated
the lead in the 45th minute when Konar intercepted a JCT pass and relayed it to centre-forward Silviera whose swerving shot hit the net to make it 2-0. Silviera fired the final salvo in the 82nd minute when medio Andre Requena gave a mid-field pass to right-half Noel Wilson who lobbed it to Silviera. Silviera’s angular shot hit the net beating JCT goalkeeper to make it 3-0. |
|
NEW DELHI, Nov 1 (UNI) — India had a good day today as four players from the country made it to the last eight in the ongoing $ 25,000 ITF Women’s Tennis Tournament. While Shruti Dhawan and Sonal Phadke moved past the unseeded Eva Fislova of Slovakia and Harsimran Bedi, respectively, Sai Jayalakshmi and Jyostna Vasisht gave commendable performances moving to the quarterfinals after knocking out seeded players. Sai, who did not have a good run last week at the $ 10,000 tournament here where she lost in the first round, today scored a hard-fought victory over the third-seeded Katarina Daskovic, winning 4-0, 2-4, 5-3, 5-4 (5). She now clashes with another seeded player, seventh-seeded Ekaterina Kozhokina of Russia, for a place in the semis. On the other hand Jyotsna, who entered on a wildcard, shocked fourth seed Alicia Ortuno in straight sets to set up a last eight encounter against Russia's Olga Kalijnaia. Jyotsna defeated her Spanish opponent 4-2, 5-3, 5-3 in one hour and 26 minutes. Top-seeded Czech girl Eva Krejcova also bowed out of contention as she conceded her match after pain in the shoulder. Eva, who was pitted against Slovakias Lenka Dlhopolcova, had lost the first set 1-4 and was trailing 0-2 in the second when she decided to call it quits after battling for 82 minutes. The last seeded player to crash out was sixth-seeded Slovakian girl Lubomira Kurhajcova. She went down to Olga 4-5 (7), 1-4, 0-4 in close to one and a half hours. Shruti continued her strong run, cruising past Fislova in just 53 minutes. The Indian won the match 4-1, 4-1, 4-0 and now runs into Lenka. Sonal, meanwhile, had to win a battle of wits against compatriot Harsimran Bedi, who entered as a lucky loser. The former won the close to two hour match 4-1, 5-3, 4-5 (2), 4-2 and now has a tough match against Slovenian girl Urska Vesenjak, the winner of the tournament last week. Urska today didn’t need to lift her racquet to reach the last eight as her opponent, Angela Cardoso, could not play as she was down with fever. Angela had yesterday withdrawn from the doubles as well. The last player to win was the seventh seed Ekaterina Kozhokina of Russia. She won a tough match against Andrea van den Hurk of Netherlands. After taking the first two sets 5-3, 4-1, she lost momentum, losing the next two at an identical score of 3-5. However, she pulled up her socks in the decider, taking it 4-1 to reach the quarters. The quarterfinals will be played tomorrow while the semis and finals while be played on friday and saturday respectively. |
|
ATP Challenger
from Feb 19 CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Chandigarh will host ATP Challenger tennis tournament from February 19 to 24, 2001. Briefing newspersons, Mr Rajan Kashyap, chairman, Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association, told that it was for the first time that such a big tournament involving cash prize of $ 25,000 was going being staged here. He said Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, the former world number one doubles pair will participate in the tournament to be played on synthetic courts. The first leg of the same ATP tournament will be held from February 12 to 17 at Mumbai. The tournament will be conducted in association with Paes En Sport, a sports management company of Calcutta. World ranking players will be seen in action in the prestigious meet. Kashyap disclosed that city will have a plethora of tournaments in the coming season with the latest being the ITF men’s futures tournament from November 13 to 17, followed by ITF junior section from January 27 to February 3, 2001. Then ITF women circuit will be held from April 7 to 14 followed by ITF Satellite Masters from May 26 to June 2. He said that now one CLTA had two Deco-Turf courts and four synthetic courts. He said that tennis events for the National Games will be held at the CLTA in March as decided by the Organising Committee of Games. |
|
Bridge tourney
in Chandigarh CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Chandigarh will play host to the first-ever national-level bridge tournament from November 3 to 5 at the skating rink, Sector 10. The threeday meet will be organised by the Chandigarh Bridge Association and will be held under the aegis of the Bridge Federation of India. According to Colonel Govinder Singh, chairman, tournament committee, the president of the BFIY. Kamalakara Rao will also grace the occasion on the opening day. Mr M. Ramsekhar, Deputy Commissioner-cum-Director Sports UT will inaugurate the meet. The events on the first two days will comprise three and six rounds of Swiss league, pairs elimination round, and semifinals — team of four. On the final day, pairs final, team of four-finals and board -A- match will be played. |
|
Disney, Rishu bag TT titles KHANNA, Nov 1 — Current Punjab junior champion, Disney Ryait of PAU Coaching Centre, Ludhiana,putting on a dazzling performance thrashed Rohit Mahajan from Amritsar in straight games to retain the junior boy’s singles title in the 41st Punjab State Inter-District Open Table Tennis Tournament which concluded at the Hindi Putri Pathshala School here today. In the junior girls’ section, Rishu from Jalandhar struggled hard to ward off stiff resistance put up by her opponent Anjali of Amritsar to bag the title. Paddlers from Patiala, Randeep Singh and Manisha won the sub-junior titles in the boys and girls sections, respectively. Disney Ryait, a plus one student of Sacred Heart Convent School, Ludhiana who finished runners-up in the men’s section of the Punjab State Ranking Tournament held at Bareta recentley gave an excellent performance today to outclass Rohit Mahajan. In the first game, Disney faced little opposition from Rohit and breezed past to wrap it up 21-11. It was the same story in the second set which Disney won 21-12.In the third
game, Rohit fought valiantly before going down 17-21. Junior girls’ singles final between Rishu and Anjali was a battle of nerves, in which the former eventually emerged winner by 21-14,23-21 and 21-19. In the sub-junior section (boys), Randeep Singh of Patiala defeated Ritesh of Amritsar 21-18,21-15 to clinch the title. The final in this category of the girls section between Manisha of Patiala and Reetika of Ropar proved to be mismatch in which Manisha ran through victorious 21-9, 21-14. In the men’s final, Vaneet Chopra of State Bank of Patiala overcame fancied Punjab State Electricity Board’s Vikramaditya in four games which lasted for over one hour 21-18, 11-21, 21-18 and 21-15. Rajni Gupta of Amritsar downed her town mate Shikha Ghai 16-21,21-17 and 21-13 to win the crown in the women’s section. Mr Sukhminder Singh Gill, SDM, Khanna gave away the prizes to the winners. The results:- Subjunior boys singles (semifinals) Randeep Singh (PTL) b Sher Bahadur (PTL) 21-18, 21-15, 21-19. Ritesh (ASR) b Gaurav (ASR) 21-15, 21-23, 21-19. (Final) Randeep Singh b Ritesh 21-18,21-15. Subjunior girls singles (semifinals) Manisha (PTL) b Ravneet Kaur (RPR) 21-18,21-19. Reetika (RPR) b Gagandep (RPR) 21-10, 21-15. (Final) Manisha b Reetika 21-9,21-14. Junior boys singles (semifinals) Disney Ryait (LDH) b Mohit Kundra (ASR) 21-19,14-21,21-15.Rohit Mahajan (ASR) b Sumit Bahri (ASR) 21-19, 21-15, 21-12. (Final) Disney Ryait b Rohit Mahajan 21-11, 21-12, 21-17. Junior girls singles (semifinals) Rishu (JAL) b Reetika (RPR) 21-19, 21-15.Anjali (ASR) b Gagan (RPR) 21-15-21-11. (Final) Rishu b Anjali 21-14, 23-21, 21-19. Men’s singles (semifinals) - Vikramaditya (PSEB) b Janakraj (PSEB) 21-18, 21-13, 21-19,Vineet Chopra (SBOP) b Vikas Mahajan (PSEB) 21-19 16-21 21-18, 24-22. (Final)-Vineet Chopra b Vikramaditya 21-18, 11-21, 21-18, 21-15. Women’s singles(Semifinal)-Rajni Gupta (ASR) b Anu (JAL) 21-19 18-21 22-20, Shikha Ghai (ASR)- b Nitika (JAL) 21-19 15-21 21-16. (Final)-Rajni Gupta b Shikha Ghai 16-21 21-17 21-13. |
|
Himachal close to innings defeat UNA, Nov 1 (PTI) — Forced to follow on, the hosts Himachal were struggling hard to avert innings defeat in the North Zone Ranji Trophy tie against Punjab on the third day today. Chasing a massive total of 526 for seven declared, Himachal were bundled out for 130 runs in the first innings conceding a lead of 396 runs. Resuming the play at overnight score of 75 for three, Himachal lost the remaining seven wickets, adding 55 runs and could score only 130 runs. Ritender Sodhi, Harbhajan and Sarandeep took three wickets each for 40, 29 and 17 runs, respectively. Requiring 396 runs to make Punjab bat again, Himachal failed to put an impressive show and scored 134 for five at the draws of stumps, still 262 runs short of the target. Himachal lost the first wicket in the second innings with 16 runs on the board and lost the second wicket at 21 adding only 5 runs. Skipper Rajiv Nayyar scored 20 runs, Virender Sharma added 39 runs while Amit Sharma scored a modest 22 runs. Sangram Singh (3 n.o.) were at the crease. Harbhajan Singh and Amrinder claimed two wickets each for 29 and 19 runs, respectively while sandeep claimed one for 43. Scoreboard: Punjab (1st inning): 526 for 7 wkts. Himachal Pradesh (1st inning): Rahul Panta c. Ravneet Ricky b. Sodhi 00, Nishchal Gaur c. Vikram Rathore b. Sodhi 05, Rajiv Nayyar lbw Sarandeep 44, Ajay Sharma c. Harminder b. Sodhi 04, Amit Sharma r.o. Ravneet 46, Varinder Sharma b Sarandeep 15, Sangram Singh st. Harminder b. Harbhajan 04, Arun Verma lbw Sarandeep 00, Jaswant Rai lbw Harbhajan 00, Rajinder Thakur n.o. 05, Rakeshwar b. Harbhajan 00. Extra: 07 Total: all out in (59 overs) 130 Fall of wickets: 1-00, 2-05, 3-11, 4-90, 5-105, 6-123, 7-124, 8-124, 9-123. 10-130. Bowling: Ritender Sodhi 17-05-40-03; Amrinder 14-03-30-00; Harbhajan 11-01-29-03; Navdeep 05-02-11-00; Sarandeep 12-06-17-03. Himachal Pradesh (IInd innings): 134/5. Nishchal Gair c Harminder b. Amrinder 06, Arun Verma lbw Amrinder 08, Rajiv Nayyar lbw Sarandeep 20, Ajay Sharma retd hurt-13, Amit Sharma c. Navdeep b. Harbhajan 22, Virender Sharma c Navdeep b. Harbhajan 39, Sangram Singh n.o. 03, Rahul Panta n.o. 08. Extra: 15 Total: (for 5 wickets) 134 Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-21, 3-69, 4-81, 5-123. Bowling: Ritender Sodhi 8-2-20-0; Amrinder 10-3-19-2; Sarandeep 16-4-43-1; Harbhajan 15-5-29-2. |
Bhutan upset India NEW DELHI, Nov 1 (PTI) — Bhutan upset India’s applecart to emerge leaders in the third round of the Asian Archery Championship which concluded here today. Besides the team gold in both the women’s and men’s sections, Bhutan also won the top honours in the men’s individual event. The sole consolation for India was provided by Reena Kumari (India A) who grabbed the gold with a difference of just one point in the individual women’s event after a nerve-wrecking battle with Tshering Chhoden of Bhutan. Reena won 105-104 after the stipulated four rounds of 120 points. In men’s individual shooting, Somai Murmur (India B) dissappointed local fans by succumbing in the tiebreaker 107-107 (8/10), after giving a spirited fight to Rinzin Choppel of Bhutan. Thus, India failed to make most of a depleted field in the absence of Asian heavyweight and faltered when it mattered the most. Bhutan, on the other hand, shot consistently, without giving the home-team a chance to dominate. |
|
Convincing win
for Himachal CHAMBA, Nov 1 — Himachal Pradesh scored a resounding victory beating Jammu and Kashmir by five wickets in the North Zone (Under-19) Cooch Behar Cricket Championship here today. J & K started their second innings on the overnight score of 41 for 6. Shammy and Ashif saved the collapse but they were lucky when both were dropped twice. J & K were all out for 144. HP were to score 134 for outright victory. Himant Dogra and Parshant opened for Himachal. Parshant was out when the score was only 20. Himant used his long handle and scored a brilliant 56 with six fours and three sixes. J & K got three quick wickets but Amit Verma played so well that Himachal reached the target with five wickets in hand. Amit Verma hit two sixes and two fours in one over. Score:
J & K (first innings): 243. Himachal: (first innings): 254. J & K (second innings): 144 (Ashif 55, Shammy 53, Prince 3 for 37, Paras 2 for 37). Himachal: (second innings): 134 for 5 (Himant Dogra 56, Paras Dogra 22, Amit 25 not out, Anubhab 3 for 16). |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 120 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
NEW DELHI, Nov 1 — The Central Bureau of Investigation ‘Report on cricket match-fixing and related malpractices’ has given clean chit to former Indian captain
and cricketing legend Kapil Dev.
