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| Wednesday, February
7, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Lanka crush Kiwis by 9 wickets
India must play to its strength against
Aussies Lee’s injury dents Aussie
plans |
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Cricket camp
from today Indian colts
win BCCI to retain five-member
selection panel Haryana ready for
Rest of India Jadeja meets
Bhuj orphans India eyeing hockey
World Cup berth Churchill Bros outplay JCT in NFL Gopi Chand, Popat
enter finals Punjab win; Delhi
beat Chandigarh
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Lanka crush Kiwis by 9 wickets AUCKLAND, Feb 6 (Reuters) — Sri Lanka thrashed New Zealand by nine wickets in the rain-affected one-day international in Auckland today to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Attapattu dominated the New Zealand attack in their opening stand of 158 as the tourists made light work of the 181 run target, passing it in 29.5 overs. Captain Jayasuriya smashed 10 fours and six sixes as he raced to his 10th one day international century off just 76 balls — his second fastest — before being caught on the boundary for 103. Attapattu and Kumar Sangakkara then led Sri Lanka home, with Attapattu bringing up his 28th one-day half-century in 78 balls, including four fours and one six. He finished not out on 59. In contrast to the Sri Lankans, the Kiwi batsmen struggled in their innings and were bowled out in 45.4 overs after rain had delayed the start of play and reduced the match to 47 overs each. The best partnership was 52 for the third wicket between Nathan Astle (33) and top-scorer Craig McMillan (61). After that stand was broken, wickets fell regularly until last batsman Chris Martin was bowled by Dilhara Fernando. Kumar Dharmasena was the pick of the Sri Lanka bowlers with three for 33 and his dismissal of McMillan brought up his 100th one-day wicket. New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said his team’s crushing nine-wicket loss reflected a total loss of confidence and had left him “questioning everything I stand for in the game.” Fleming said the mood in the changing room after the defeat was one of the worst he had experienced in his time at the helm. “Our defeat today reeked of tentative decision-making,” he said. “We are completely lacking in confidence. We didn’t get anything going today and when we were batting and there was a wicket, it wasn’t just jitters in the team, it was shock waves.” “I have never been in this position before. I am questioning everything I stand for in the game. Things are weighing particularly heavy on me and I’ve got to get over that,” he said, but added he would not consider giving up the captaincy. Scoreboard New Zealand: Sinclair b Zoysa 5 Astle c Sangakkara b Murali 33 Fleming c Murali b Vaas 9 McMillan b Dharmasena 61 Vincent c Jayasuriya b Dharmasena 17 Oram c and b Murali 11 Harris run out (Sangakkara) 8 Parore c Sangakkara b Vaas 2 Vettori not out 17 Franklin b Dharmasena 4 Martin b Fernando 1 Extras: (w4, nb5, lb4) 13 Total: (all out, 45.4 overs) 181 Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-22, 3-74, 4-106, 5-127, 6-151, 7-154, 8-159, 9-165. Bowling: Vaas 8-2-32-2, Zoysa 7-1-13-1, Fernando 5.4-0-33-1, Muralitharan 10-2-41-2, Jayasuriya 5-0-25-0, Dharmasena 10-1-33-3. Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya c Oram b Harris 103 Attapattu not out 59 Sangakkara not out 13 Extras: (w7) 7 Total: (for one wicket, 29.5 overs) 182 Fall of wickets: 1-158. Bowling: Martin 6-0-26-0, Franklin 4-0-38-0, Oram 3-0-16-0, Vettori 7-0-44-0, McMillan 4-1-25-0, Harris 5.5-0-33-1. |
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India must play to its strength against
Aussies CHANDIGARH, Feb 6 — With barely days to go before the Australian cricket team lands in India, there is a lot of confusion over the type of wickets to be prepared for the matches against the visitors. There were reports that the Mumbai Cricket Association, which is to host the first of the three Tests that the visitors would play during their tour of India, had been asked to prepare a slow flat track to counter the Australian attack. ‘‘We have been ordered to prepare slow tracks. The order apparently has come from the Chairman of the selection committee Chandu Borde and coach John Wright’’, the unnamed spokesman of the Mumbai Cricket Association was quoted as saying. The first Test at the Wankede Stadium is scheduled to begin on February 27. Now Chandu Borde has gone on record to say that he had not ordered groundsmen of the staging associations, in this case Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, to prepare lifeless wickets for the three Test matches. ‘‘Neither I nor coach John Wright have given such instructions. I completely deny this report which appeared in newspapers,’’ was the statement issued by Chandu Borde yesterday. But is Chandu Borde telling the truth? After all he was Chairman of the same committee in the eighties which had dropped Kapil Dev for reasons other than cricket and then went to town denying the charge. This one action by the selection committee blotted Kapil’s copybook Test record of playing uninterrupted in Test matches throughout his playing career. One is also intrigued by the total silence of the members of the pitches committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on the issue. After all it is work of this committee to oversee the preparation of pitches for all matches, both domestic as well as international. Why has it allowed the Chairman of the selection committee to usurp its role? Any home team always will play to its strength. And India’s cricketing strength lies in its batsmen and not with its bowlers, specially due to the fact that Anil Kumble will be out of the series due to injury. In any case the biggest drawback for Indian cricket in recent times has been the lack of penetration of its bowlers, be they spinners or medium pacers. True, once in a while the likes of Javagal Srinath or Zaheer Khan has got India vital breakthroughs but overall the bowling scenario has been bleak in India. So why not pamper the batsmen on placid pitches? That Kumble will be sorely missed in the series is apparent from the action of the selection committee of calling up as many as seven spinners of all varieties for the coaching camp in Chennai but even then they would never find the right type of mix to contain the Aussies who are coming to India with the enviable record of 15 consecutive Test victories. The Indian batting specially with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly in its ranks is probably the best batting line-up in contemporary international cricket. So why not prepare pitches on which the Indian batting line-up can prosper. While there is no denying the fact that it is bowlers who win matches but a good batting line-up can help avoid defeat so why not start preparing from that angle even if the puritan does not agree with such a view. Already there are reports that Australian skipper Steve Waugh has reacted strongly to preparing ‘‘designer’’ pitches for the forthcoming series in India. ‘‘It just concerns me if someone is influencing the type of wickets they are producing because that is not the game of cricket. You are not supposed to be doing that’’, the Australian skipper has been quoted to be saying as his team looks for a win on Indian soil because it must be remembered that Australia have not won a Test series in India since 1970. Lee’s injury dents Aussie plans SYDNEY, Feb 6 (AFP) — Brett Lee’s injury withdrawal has forced selectors into a rethink on the makeup of the Australian cricket squad for its tour to India this month. Cricket captain Steve Waugh spent over an hour with selectors today debating the composition of the squad focusing mostly on how to fill the void left by Lee. Lee, the fastest bowler in Australia if not the world, underwent an operation today for an injured elbow and will miss the eight-week tour. Waugh said his absence has “thrown a spanner in the works” denting Australia’s plan to blast India with a barrage of pace. “Brett would have been an automatic selection and his injury has changed things quite a bit — there’ve been a lot of names tossed up in the last hour or so,” Waugh said today. “It has changed our way of thinking a little bit.” The final squad will be named on Thursday. The selectors must decide whether to press on with their pace theory or add another spinner to take advantage of the slow, turning pitches the team is likely to encounter. |
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Cricket camp from today CHENNAI, Feb 6 (UNI) — With the goal of taming invincible Australia on home turf, a camp for 25 probables will begin at the Indian Institute of Technology Chemplast and MRF Pace Foundation grounds here tomorrow and continue till February 11. The probables, including three new faces - spinners Rahul Sanghvi (Delhi), Balaji Rao (Tamil Nadu) and batsman Dinesh Mongia (Punjab) will be put through the grind by coach John Wright and physio Andrew Leipus. According to Wright, the camp, the second phase of which will be held from February 16 to 18 or 19, would be utilised to sharpen skills. It goes without saying that fielding would also be in focus. The players, some from Raichur where they played a benefit match, will assemble here by evening. The chosen ones include eight batsmen — Sourav Ganguly (Bengal), Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai), Rahul Dravid (Karnataka), S. Ramesh, Hemang K. Badani (both TN), S.S. Das (Orissa), VVS Laxman (Hyderabad) and Md Kaif (UP); seven pace bowlers — Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad (both Kar), Zaheer Khan (Baroda), Ajit Agarkar (Mumbai), Debasish Mohanty (Orissa), Ashish Nehra (Del), Surinder Singh (Jammu and Kashmir) and five spinners in Murali Karthik (Rlys), Sarandeep Singh, Harbhajan Singh (both Punjab), Venkatapathi Raju (Hyd) and Sunil Joshi (Kar). Wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia, recently cleared by the BCCI of involvement in match-fixing, medium pacer Mohanty, who last played in the series against Australia Down Under, and left arm spinner Raju are back in contention. The Indian team for the first Test will be announced on February 19 at Mumbai. |
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Indian colts win HYDERABAD, Feb 6 (PTI) — Propelled by an elegant 81 by opener Goutam Gambhir and a four-wicket haul by Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, India defeated England by 28 runs in the final match and clinched the under-19 one-day series 2-1 at the Lal Bahadur Stadium here today. Electing to bat, India scored 277 in the allotted 50 overs with Goutam compiling a fine 81, laced with eight fours and was followed by blazing knocks by skipper Ajay Ratra (45) and Siddharth Trivedi (37 n.o.). For England Chris Trmlett claimed 3 for 47. England, chasing the target in 47 overs as they bowled three overs short, started with a flourish with Garry Pratt (71) scripting a breezy innings but spinner Sivaramakrishnan ripped through the top order claiming the first four wickets in two spells. Skipper Ian Bell (51) and G. Muchuull (42) showed some resistance but the team caved in 45.2 overs for 249 to give India the match and the series. India won the first one dayer here and lost the second at Vijyawada. The hosts also won the Test series. The Indian innings took off on a promising note with Vinayak Mane, who replaced indisposed Maninder Singh, and Goutam putting up 55 runs for the first wicket before Mane was out for 24. Gambhir lost his partner M. Bishal (17) but A. Das (33) gave him company to register 51 runs for the third wicket. Gambhir’s innings of 81 was scored off 97 balls. BCCI to retain five-member
selection panel CHENNAI, Feb 6 (PTI) — In order to give wider scope for cricketers to become national selectors, the constitution committee of the BCCI has decided to retain the existing five-member selection committee, but recommended a more liberal qualification system. The committee rejected
BCCI’s proposal to reduce the number of senior selection committee members, from five to three and also suggested that 20 first class matches be the limit for selection, instead of 15 Test matches, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association
secreatart Ashok Khumbat told PTI here. The committee, comprising chairman K. Subba Rao and Mr Shashank Manohar of the Vidarbha Cricket Association, besides Mr Kumbhat and Mr Kishore Rungta (convener), which met in Mumbai on February 4, had been authorised by the BCCI to study its proposals and recommend changes to be placed at the board’s special general body meeting on February 23 at Chennai, he said. |
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Haryana ready for
Rest of India ROHTAK, Feb 6 — The four-day cricket tie for Chidambram Trophy between Cooch Behar champions Haryana and Rest of India (under-19) begins at Maharaja Aggarsain Stadium here tomorrow. The contest is likely to be keen as both the teams have several faces which are known for displaying superb cricketing skills. Haryana, who have won their maiden Cooch Behar title this year, have nearly half a dozen cricketers who have either played Ranji Trophy or represented India (U-19) against the visiting England team. Besides skipper Ratra, Amit Mishra, Nitin Aggarwal, Ishan Ganda and Manvinder Bisla have played against England. Most of them are in good form. In Cooch Behar Trophy this season, Amit Mishra and Nitin Aggarwal have captured 36 and 32 wickets, respectively. Similarly Manvinder Bisla amassed as many as 927 runs in seven Cooch Behar matches to emerge the highest scorer this season. Ishan Ganda has also been among runs, having already scored 584 runs with four centuries. On the other hand, Rest of India have also several talented cricketers who have excelled in their respective departments while representing their states. Andhra batsman Y. Gnaeswara Rao had topped the Cooch Behar batting averages scoring 466 runs at the rate of 116.50 runs per innings. Rest of India skipper K.R. Khadkikar had a total of 566 runs from six Cooch Behar matches. Railways spinner Surinder Singh captured 26 wickets this season. According to sources in Haryana Cricket Association, the players who represented India in today’s match against England at Hyderabad would reach Rohtak by midnight to play tomorrow’s match. All India Radio, Rohtak, will broadcast the resume of each day’s proceedings at 9.16 p.m. everyday. The team (from): Haryana: Ajay Ratra (captain), Sumit Sharma, Amit Mishra, Nitin Aggarwal, Ishan Ganda, Manvinder Bisla, Joginder Sharma, Yuvraj Siddharth, Rohit Arya, Gaurav Vashishta, Sumit Narwal, Bhuvnesh Sharma, Deepak Joon and Raj Kumar. Rest of India: N.R. Khadkikar (captain), R. Banik, Tushar Saha, Munish Mishra, Naman Ojah, Deepak Lazarus, Gagandeep Gary, S.P. Singh, Gnaneshwar Rao, Surinder Singh, A.S.K. Verma and
Moh. Faiq. |
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Jadeja meets
Bhuj orphans BHUJ, Feb 6 (PTI) — Cricketer Ajay Jadeja wants to play “Santa Claus” for the kids of Bhuj, orphaned by the devastating earthquake. “I would like to do something for the children who have been orphaned in the quake,” Jadeja, who came with a bag full of chocolates and other items for the kids, told PTI. “I want to start when others have stopped,” he said on arrival here to join his uncle and former ruler of Kutch Shatru Saliasji. Jadeja, who was contemplating an event to raise funds for the relief work, said “I know a lot of industrialists, musicians and cricketers who will come here when an event will be organised keeping in mind the devastation”. Jadeja’s ancestral palace in Jamnagar was also badly damaged in the quake. “We cannot live there anymore,” Jadeja, whose father Daulat Singh Jadeja was former MP, said. |
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India eyeing hockey World Cup berth NEW DELHI, Feb 6 (PTI) — Smarting under Sydney Olympic Games fiasco, the Indian hockey team is preparing afresh for the coming season with an eye on grabbing a berth in the 2002 Brisbane World Cup. Former international Cedric D’Souza, who has staged a comeback as coach of the senior national team, has chalked out a systematic plan to lead the team to a better tomorrow. “Our main aim is to get ourselves prepared well for the World Cup qualifiers,” Cedric told PTI here today. India will be vying for one of the seven berths up for grabs at the 16-nation qualifying tournament in Edinburgh, Scotland from June 17 to 29. “We have to think positively in all aspects to reach our goal,” Cedric said. The coach, who worked with 55 probables in the Ludhiana camp last month, said he was trying to get rid of the shortcomming that “I witnessed in Sydney.” “This is not to undermine V Baskaran (his predecessor till after the Sydney Olympics) in any way. But what I saw during the Olympics, I want to rectify some of the flaws in the Indian team’s play,” Cedric said. A three-Test series against Germany starting on February 26 and a six-nation tournament in Dhaka from March 10 to 20 are India’s immediate concerns. “To get prepared for these important events to get into the groove for the Edinburgh tournament, a short camp for the 40 selected probables has been scheduled from February 11 to 25,” the coach said. India are to play Germany as part of the Indo-German series at three venues across the country. The first match will be in Mumbai on February 26 while Hyderabad will host the second on March 1. Chennai will be venue for the last on March 4. “After that we will have a short camp in Chennai itself before heading for Dhaka,” Cedric said. Meanwhile, the organisers of the Dhaka event are trying to make the tournament an eight-nation event, though no confirmation has yet been made, Cedric said. This year India will be looking to regain a place in the 2002 Champions Trophy when they plays host to the Champions Challenge Trophy in December. The winner in the December event will get direct entry into the 2002 champions Trophy in Belgium. “India have not qualified for the Champions Trophy since 1995 and we want to break that tradition,” the coach said. In the Ludhiana camp last month, he said the focus was on physical, mental and tactical aspect of the game. “We did not allow the players to have passive rest. We insisted on active rest after days of hard work,” he said adding it was better to watch TV or video, or discuss any other topic to unwind oneself rather than sleeping, he explained. At the next camp specific aspects such as set plays, penalty corners will be dwelled on, he said. While 18 players will attend the second Ludhiana camp, 22 will practice in Patiala before the final team is selected for the series against Germany. “There will be another team -development team - chosen from the probables for the five-nation tournament in Egypt featuring India, Kenya, France, Belgium and the hosts,” he said. |
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Churchill Bros outplay JCT in NFL MARGAO, Feb 6 (UNI) — A brace by Uzbekistan import Igor Shikvirin enabled Zee Churchill Brothers (Goa) trounce JCT Phagwara 4-0 after leading 3-0 at the breather and register their first win in the National Football League at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, here today. In a totally one sided affair, Churchill virtually toyed with a weak defence of the rivals and fired in three goals in the opening session through Edson Crasto in the eighth minute, Igor Shikvirin in the 25th and 40th minutes and substitute Somatai Shaiza in the 78th minute. With this win, Churchill increased their point tally to five from a win, two draws and two defeats. Churchill swung into attack right from the beginning with a controlled mid-field play and the team played like a well-oiled machine to surge into the lead as early as in the eighth minute of the first half through Crasto, who received a pass from Francis Silveira. JCT came near scoring in the 11th minute of the first half with Rampal’s long ranger carpet drive, which missed the mark narrowly. Salgaocar meet East Bengal PTI adds: An absorbing contest is on the cards when former national champions Salgaocar take on East Bengal in the fifth edition of the National Football League here tomorrow. Salgaocar, who have not met IFA shield champions East Bengal this season, are at third place with nine points, two points above East Bengal, who are at fifth spot from four matches. Salgaocar will be fielding the same side that played against Tollygunge and will once again forego the services of its three foreign players — striker Tejani Ahmed, goalkeeper Abu Baker and Okoye Christian Okwudili, who are nursing injuries. Their absence has not affected the team’s performance. Salgaocar played well especially in the second half to down Tollygunge 2-0. Striker Bruno Coutinho and Alvito D’Cunha, whose morale was down at the beginning of the season, have gained confidence under coach Marcus Pacheco and are striking good rhythm in the upfront. The rival defence will have to be cautious as both are capable of scoring from long range. Salgaocar midfield consisting of Climax Lawrence, Jules Alberto, Dharamjit Singh and Denis Cabral have combined well so far. Cabral, who has combined well with Climax and Bruno on the right, has threatened the rival defence with his speedy run and individual skill and lot will depend on him for Salgaocar’s success. The return of captain Robert Fernandes will add more solidity to the defence. Easr Bengal, who drew with Zee Churchill 1-1, have a strong side with all their foreign recruits playing well. Striker Bijen Singh, injured in the last match, will not play tomorrow while Dipendu Biswas also nursing an injury, is a doubtful starter. Carlton Chapman, who did not play in the last match, will replace Sur Kumar Singh tomorrow. East Bengal have a strong defence led by Suley Musah, Dipak Mondal, Ratan Singh and Jackson Agaypong. Dipankar Roy will spearhead the attack along with Chapman, Isiaka Awoyemi, Chandan Das and Dipedu Biswas. The upfront will be led by Omolaja Olalekan and Sreekanta Dutta, who is a likely choice to replace Bijen Singh. Salgaocar coach, Marcus Pacheco said: “we will play a cautious game considering that our opponents, who are tough to beat. the match will be fought closely. If our team plays well and sticks to plan there is no doubt why we should not win. We also have the home advantage and our boys should utilise the home advantage”. East Bengal coach Manoranjan Battacharya said Salgaocar were a strong side and they also had the home advantage. “Our boys, who did not play to their potential due to the climatic condition, now have adjusted themselves and are prepared for tomorrow’s match,” Bhattacharya said. With both teams equally balanced, the team that dominates the midfield will emerge victorious. AI meet Tollygunge MUMBAI: Bottom-placed Tollugunge Agragami will look for their first win in the fifth edition of the National Football League (NFL) when they take on Air-India at the Cooperage here tomorrow. The Calcutta team, who lost 0-2 to Goan giants Salgaocar at Margao on Sunday, has only one point after four matches while Air-India have four points to their credit from as many matches. The match, scheduled for today, was postponed by a day as Tollygunge needed rest after their fixture against Salgaocar on Sunday. Air-India coach Bimal Ghosh will have to depend mainly on the defenders as his main strikers Anthony Fernandes and Herbert Phillip have failed miserably as far as scoring goals is concerned. But having the likes of Khambiton Singh, Raju Singh, Bungo Singh and Tomba Singh in the midfield, ghosh was confident of giving a tough fight to the opponents. The airmen will have experienced M.Y. Ansari in the goal while Sabir Ali Mondal and Nitin Pradhan can be useful substitutes. On the other hand, Tollugunge rely mainly on one player, their captain and goalkeeper Hemant Dora. With strikers Sasthi Duley, Qizar Mohammad and Satish Kumar Barti unable to score in the earlier matches, the defence line consisting of Debashish Paul Chowdhary, Achilefu and Ranjan Chowdhary also could not do much.
But tomorrow they will have to play with extra effort in order to beat the airmen. |
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Gopi Chand, Popat enter finals JAIPUR, Feb 6 (UNI) — Top seed P. Gopi Chand, world rank six trounced last year’s runners-up Abhin Shyam Gupta 15-10, 15-5 and entered men’s single’s final at the ongoing 65th NTPC Senior National Badminton Championship here today. Gopi Chand is a four-time defending champion and if he wins the title here, it would be his fifth crown in a row. Three times champion and top seed Aparna Popat and her team-mate and second seed Manjusha Kanwar will meet in the women’s single’s final tomorrow. Aparna Popat defeated fifth seed Divya Ramesh (BAI) 11-3, 11-3 and entered the women’s singles final. In another match, Manjusha Kanwar (PSCB) displayed a dazzling form as she thrashed fourth seed B.R. Meenakshi (Ktk) 11-5, 11-6 and stormed into women single’s final. Gopi Chand was too erratic in the first set against Abhinn Shyam Gupta as he first gave away three points to Gupta-two because of bad judgments and one due to bad return, which saw the score from 5-1 to 5-4 in his favour. At this stage,he controlled his strokes well and forged a commanding lead of 11-4. The ace international displayed some powerful smashes besides clever drops and caught his rivla on wrong foot time and again to further increase the lead by 14-6. Gupta suddenly appeared to be making a come back when he took four points in a row with Gopi committing unforced errors. Twentyseven-year Gopi ultimately took the set with a beautiful drop at the net in 22 minutes. Gopi Chand got his rhythm right from the word go in the second set and never allowed Gupta to settle. He played most of his forehand strokes down the line and occasionally drawing him near the net. Gopi had full advantage of his hight also taking jumping smashes and drops too. He said after the match that the first set was a bit fast and there were a few rallies in the second. Abhinn too played well as he is a good attacking and a defensive player. |
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Punjab win; Delhi
beat Chandigarh NEW DELHI, Feb 6 — Defending champions Punjab posted a straight games victory against Karnataka 25-19, 25-17, 25-15 while hosts Delhi warded off a brief challenge from Chandigarh to beat them 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21 in the men’s section of the National Volleyball Super League at the mud ground in Ashok Vihar, far away from the city centre, in North Delhi here today. In the women’s section, Delhi flattered to deceive as after winning the first set, they caved in to Karnataka at 21-25, 25-13, 25-8, 25-21. Punjab hogged the day’s spotlight with their smashing victory as they simply toyed with Karnataka. Punjab were too good in all departments of the game as Jagbir Singh, Manoj Kumar and Roy Mathews excelled with their superb spiking and blocking. The lanky Manoj Kumar of Punjab Police, who hails from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, was the toast of the Punjab victory as he broke the back of the Karnataka resistance with his searing, unretrievable smashes. Roy Joseph of Border Security Force put up impregnable blocks to foil the Karnataka efforts to gain some points. Manoj, who was the best player of the league last year, made the life of the Karnataka blockers miserable as his powerful, and at times angled smashes, brooked no defence. Punjab dominated in all the three sets, as never once they conceded the lead, to make it a virtually one-sided contest. In the Delhi-Chandigarh match, the hosts called the shots in the first two games as they led from the word ‘go’, with Rajwinder Malik, playing in his ninth consecutive national, putting up a breath-taking performance. But Chandigarh called a halt to Delhi’s supremacy in the third game, but it was just a brief moment in the sun for the visitors, as Delhi roared back in the fourth game, albeit after a lot of struggle, to equal at 18-18 before forging ahead, to lift the game and the match. The super league matches are being
simultaneously held in Delhi and Renukoot, but due to financial constraints, the hosts in Delhi could not afford to hold the matches in a proper indoor or outdoor venue, and instead had to for a park in the far-flung Ashok Vihar area. |
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