 |
|
| Monday, February
19, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
|
India ‘A’ take 77-run lead Tendulkar, Agarkar to
miss 3-day tie Shoaib’s pace destroys New
Zealand S. Africa squad for WI
tour Leander seeded
6th No second line of players:
Amrithraj Hingis, Testud in Qatar Open
final |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Nirupama, Zeeshan for Dubai
qualifier Gopi, Sachin Ratti
in last eight Dragila raises pole vault
mark Punjab, Chandigarh
enter semis
|
|
India ‘A’ take 77-run lead Nagpur, February 18 Opener S. Ramesh (101) and skipper VVS Laxman (94) provided the tourists a harrowing time with their 195-run second wicket partnership before Jason Gillespie provided some respite to the Australians with two quick wickets in the space of one run.
Riding on the solid start, India ‘A’ made 368 in their first innings in response to the visitor’s meagre score of 291 for a handy 77-run lead.
The Australians closed the day at 38 for one in their second essay, and will now hope to gain crucial batting practice tomorrow ahead of the three-Test series starting later this month.
While Gillespie provided the much-needed breakthrough, it was the versatile off-spinner Colin Miller, who walked away with the day’s honours grabbing six wickets. Miller’s six for 90 put India ‘A’ into somewhat slippery spot at 287 for eight after they were once at healthy 231 for one. The slump was Miller’s creation who picked up five wickets giving just 30 runs between lunch and tea. Resuming the day at 71 for one, both Ramesh and Laxman batted with authority as the visiting captain Steve Waugh could do little to contain the flow of runs. Ramesh, tipped to open for India in the first Test starting in Mumbai on February 27, left behind a lean season to score classy 101 with 20 boundaries in his 158-ball knock. Laxman, fighting for a place in the Test squad, enhanced his claims with a fluent 94 as the hosts raced beyond 200 runs without losing a wicket. Laxman struck 17 fours frustrating the bowlers. Gillespie then tempted Laxman to drive uppishly to be caught by Steve Waugh, six short of the three-figure mark. Despite a slump triggered by Gillespie and Miller — Dinesh Mongia, Hemang Badani and Balaji Rao falling cheaply — Nayan Mongia held one end together. After Miller sent back Harbhajan Singh for 12 and Rahul Sanghvi for one, Mongia found able ally in Mohanty, who hit Miller for a six for his first scoring shot and then struck three fours in his 84-minute stay at the wicket in making 28. In the Australians second innings, Mathew Hayden was batting on 20 while Justin Langer was yet to open his account when the stumps were drawn. Harbhajan gave India ‘A’ the only wicket when he had Michael Slater caught by Balaji Rao at the mid-wicket region for just 11 runs. Australia, with nine wickets in hand, still need 38 runs to wipe out the first innings’ deficit. Scoreboard Australia (1st innings): 291 all out India ‘A’ (1st innings:) Das run out 12 Ramesh c Gilchrist b Gillespie 101 Laxman c S. Waugh b Gillespie 94 D. Mongia c Gilchrist b Miller 0 Badani c sub (M. Waugh) b Miller 0 N. Mongia not out 71 WDB Rao c Fleming b Miller 6 H. Singh st Gilchrist b Miller 12 Sanghvi lbw b Miller 1 Mohanty c Slater b Miller 28 Nehra c Slater b Kasprowicz 4 Extras:
(b-13, lb-10, nb-15, w-1) 39 Total: (all out in 97.4 overs) 368 Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-231, 3-232, 4-232, 5-232, 6-264, 7-281, 8-287, 9-362. Bowling: Gillespie 19-8-55-2, Fleming 21-4-74-0, Miller 32-10-90-6, Kasprowicz 22.4-2-103-1, Ponting 3-0-23-0. Australia (2nd innings): Slater c Balaji Rao b Harbhajan 11 Hayden batting 20 Langer batting 0 Extras: (lb-6, nb-2) 8 Total:
(for 1 wkt off 8 overs) 39 Fall of wickets: 1-31. Bowling: Mohanty 2-0-7-0, Nehra 3-0-9-0, Harbhajan Singh 2-0-13-1, Sanghvi 1-0-4-0.
PTI |
|
Tendulkar, Agarkar to
miss 3-day tie Mumbai, February 18 “Both Tendulkar and Ajit Agarkar have been pronounced unfit,” a website quoted Indian coach John Wright as saying. While Tendulkar has strain in the calf muscle, Agarkar has some problems with his ankle. “Therefore, both have been advised rest,” the Mumbai Cricket Association Joint Secretary, Prof Ratnakar Shetty told the website here. Asked whether the duo, both key members of India’s battle with the all-conquering Australians in the Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, will be fit for the first Test, to be held at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium from February 27, Prof Shetty said: “They were expected to regain fitness in time.”
UNI |
|
Shoaib’s pace destroys New Zealand Auckland, February 18 After rib and back injuries forced him out of the game for 300 days, shoaib took a career-best five for 19, including five for two in 11 balls, to skittle the hosts out for a paltry 149. In reply, Pakistan raced to 150 for four and won with five overs to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. New Zealand’s miserable summer continued as they slumped to their 12th defeat in the last 14 limited-overs internationals. The first match of the series was postponed by a day after rain forced officials to abandon play yesterday. The Pakistan batsmen battled a slow pitch and an equally dour attack as they ground out some valuable batting practice before the second match, scheduled for Napier on Tuesday. Only left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori troubled the tourists as he got the ball to turn and claimed Saeed Anwar (48) and Abdur Razzaq (19) for the cost of 21 runs in 10 overs. The injury that forced Shoaib out of a lucrative $200,000 contract with English county Nottinghamshire last season, kept him out of 16 one-day internationals. In a career that had been plagued by injury and controversy, when he was reported for throwing during a Test series in australia in November 1999, Shoaib’s best before today was four for 37 against England in Sharjah in April 1999. Shoaib (25) and Australia’s Brett Lee are vying to become the first bowlers to break the 161 km-per-hour barrier. While Shoaib’s fastest ball of the day was clocked at 147 kph, Lee was clocked at 150 kph during the triangular one-day series across the Tasman recently. Returning for second spell, Shoaib took just 11 balls to wipe out the New Zealand lower order as the home side crashed from 142 for five to 149 all out in 35.3 overs in a matter of 20 minutes. Shoaib extracted pace and bounce from a lifeless and grassless Eden Park pitch. SCOREBOARD New zealand: Parore b Akram 0 Astle c Khan b 20 Waqar Fleming b Saqlain 18 Twose c Afridi b 0 Akram McMillan run out (Razzaq/ 35 Khan) Oram b Shoaib 16 Vincent b Shoaib 31 Harris not out 5 Vettori b Shoaib 0 Franklin b Shoaib 0 Tuffey lbw b Shoaib 0 Extras (lb-13, w-10, nb-1) 24 Total (all out in 35.3 overs) 149 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-25, 3-26, 4-88, 5-89, 6-142, 7-147, 8-147, 9-149, 10-149. Bowling: Akram 6-1-20-2, Waqar 6-0-2-1, Razzaq 7-1-38-0, Akhtar 6.3-0-19-5, Saqlain 7-0-23-1, Afridi 3-0-12-0. Pakistan: Anwar b Vettori 48 Farhat c McMillan b Tuffey 5 Razzaq c Oram b Vettori 19 Haq b Harris 32 Youhana not out 30 Afridi not out 4 Extras (lb7, w2, nb3) 12 Total (4 wkts, 45 overs) 150 Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-78, 3-85, 4-143. Bowling: Tuffey 7-1-21-1, Franklin 10-1-36-0, Vettori 10-2-21-2, Harris 6-1-21-1, Astle 4-0-14-0, McMillan 8-0-30-0.
AP |
|
S. Africa squad for WI tour Durban, February 18 Nel (23) is the only uncapped player in the 15-man party which departs for the West Indies on February 28. It will be South Africa’s first full tour of the West Indies. On their only previous visit to the Caribbean they lost a one-off Test by 52 runs in Barbados in April 1992, South Africa’s first Test after being readmitted to international cricket in 1991. South Africa won all five Tests when West Indies toured South Africa in 1998/99. Nel was at the centre of a controversy when he struck Donald with a bouncer in a provincial match in Benoni on February 4. Donald, playing for Free State, alleged that Ray Jennings coach of Nel’s Easterns team, had put a “price on my head” as an incentive for Easterns bowlers to try to hit him on the helmet. Donald had to go to hospital for a brain scan after the incident and Jennings was summoned to a displinary hearing which will be held next week. Donald later phoned Nel to say he held no grudge against the fast bowler personally. Nel was picked primarily as back-up to Donald. “He is young and strong and doesn’t give up. He is the sort of bowler who is likely to be just as quick in his third spell as he is in his first,” said Magiet. Squads: Test: Shaun Pollock (captain), Mark Boucher (vice-captain), Paul Adams, Nicky Boje, Daryll Cullinan, Boeta Dippenaar, Allan Donald, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Neil McKenzie, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini. Roger Telemachus to join after March 25. One-day:
Pollock, Boucher, Boje, Dippenaar, Donald, Gibbs, Kallis, Kemp, Kirsten, Klusener, McKenzie, Nel, Ntini, Justin Ontong, Jonty Rhodes, Telemachus.
AFP |
|
Leander seeded
6th Chandigarh, February 18 Earlier today evening, former Indian tennis ace, Vijay Amritraj declared open the meet by releasing the draws. In his brief speech, he commended the tennis facility in the CLTA and hoped that players will benefit from the same. He also formally launched the web site of the CLTA, www.cltaindia.com Mr H. Behl, Deputy General Manager, Markeing and Operations, IOC, the official sponsors said that the organisation was committed to the cause of sport by organising tournaments and inducting top players in its fold in various disciplines. Mr Rajan Kashyap said the presence of Vijay here which will go a long way in motivating young players. Students of Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, presented a bhangra. Meanwhile, Dennis Van Scheppingen of the Netherlands, ranked 204 on the ATP was given top billing in the singles event draw of 32 players and he will clash with Prakash Amritraj in the opening round tomorrow. The Indian challenge will be spearheaded by Leander Paes who will cross swords with Nir Welreen tomorrow in its first tie. Dr Vece paes told that Prahlad Srinath was suffering from injury. Earlier in the morning qualifying matches, Gerald Mandl of Austria defeated JF Hemmes of Netherlands, N. Okun of Israel who faced stiff resistance from D. September of the USA before emerging winner, Sergui Pozdnev of Russia outplayed Branislav Sekav of Slovakia while Dmitri Mazur of Uzbekistan beating K Ziv of Israel. The seedings: Dennis Van Scheppingen (Ned) 1, Andy Ram (Isr) 2, Oleg Ogorodov (Uzb) 3, Frantisek Cermak (cze) 4, Jamie Delgado (Gbr) 5, Leander Paes (Ind) 6, Ladislav Svarc (Svk) 7, Vasillis Mazarakis (Gre) 8. |
|
No second line of players:
Amrithraj Chandigarh, February 18 Recalling his first visit to the city in 1970, more than three decades back, the recently-appointed Ambassador of Peace of United Nations, said during his playing days there were less opportunities for players since number of international tournaments in India was not high. Appreciating the infrastructure created by Chandigarh Lawns Tennis Association, he said that city offered better facilities for any tennis player. Vijay is accompanied by his son Prakash who has been given a wild card entry into the main rounds. He said that his son at 17 was doing satisfactorily but he should get more exposure by playing maximum number of tournaments. He will play in the Wimbledon Junior and US Open Junior meets. When asked it was tougher for a player to play on the deco-turf synthetic courts, as compared to grassy and clay courts, Vijay said that though these courts were a bit slow, they have to follow bigger countries. Vijay said that there was a dearth of specialised tennis coaches in India. Vijay praised the cream of youngsters coming from CLTA, like Sunil Kumar, Amanjot Singh and Tushar Liberhan and said that the boys had bright future. He appreciated the efforts made by Paes En Sport headed by Dr Vece Paes for managing the tennis events and the players as well as looking after the injuries. Vijay said in view of the tough nature of sport, one needs athletic body. The more you invest, better will be the gains. About ATP Challengers meet, Vijay said that surprisingly there were less number of qualifiers in this meet. “May be the players were scared of competing with top players!” he said. |
|
Hingis, Testud in Qatar Open final Doha, February 18 Hingis, the world’s No. 1 tennis player, beat Schett 6-1, 6-2. Hingis will meet third-seeded Sandrine Testud of France in the final. Testud ended the dream run of Czech player Adriana Gersi by winning their semifinal match 6-1, 6-1 in just 47 minutes. “I wasn’t at my best today but my strength is that I adjust quickly to different situations,” Hingis said. “I practiced well for this tournament and I was very keen to reach the final in Doha.” Hingis broke Schett twice in the first set. The pressure proved too much for Schett, who hit several returns wide in the 21-minute first set. Schett rebounded with four aces in the second set, but Hingis broke the Austrian’s serve in the first and third games to take the match. Testud broke giant-killing Gersi six times in the match as the Frenchwoman never allowed Gersi to get into the rhythm that shocked second-seeded Mary Pierce of France on Wednesday. COPENHAGEN: Top seed Tim Henman of Britain beat Dutch outsider Jan Siemerink 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) on Saturday to advance to the final of the $350,000 ATP Copenhagen Open, where he meets defending champion Andreas Vinciguerra of Sweden. Henman will be vying for his seventh singles title since he turned pro in 1993 although the Swedish holder will be emboldened by the fact that the Englishman has also lost in 11 other finals he has reached. But he faces tough competition from a determined Vinciguerra, who knocked out Russia’s rising star Mikhail Youzhny in the other semifinal, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. The 19-year-old Swede, who defeated compatriot Magnus Larsson last year to take his first ATP title, made his extra year’s experience on the ATP tour tell over the 18-year-old Yuzhny in a fascinating two hour battle. NICE: Top-seed Venus Williams of the USA was knocked out of the $535,000 Nice Open WTA event here on Saturday after a semifinal drubbing by unseeded Bulgarian veteran Magdalena Maleeva. Wimbledon and US Open champion Williams complained of a pulled tendon in her right knee after going out 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 to Maleeva, who has rediscovered the form that had her at No. 4 on the world in 1996 and is now back up to 20th, having advanced to her first final this year. The Bulgarian meets France’s Amelie Mauresmo in the final after the seventh seed rallied to oust German fifth seed Anke Huber 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 for second time in less than a week. World No. 14 Mauresmo is bidding for her second home win in seven days after lifting her third WTA title last Sunday at the Paris Indoor Open when she defeated Huber. The 20-year-old williams was playing with a bandaged knee from the fifth game in the second set after receiving court-side assistance. Maleeva (25) has had a strong start to the season, reaching the semifinals at the Pan Pacifics in Toyko and the Paris Indoors where she was defeated by world No. 1 Martina Hingis and by huber, respectively. MARSEILLE: Sebastien Grosjean moved closer to fulfilling his dream of a win in his hometown here on Saturday when he ousted Belarussian Max Mirnyi for a spot in the $500,000 Marseille Open final. Three weeks after his Australian Open semifinal defeat to compatriot Arnaud Clement, the No. 4 seed Grosjean had little difficulty overcoming Mirnyi 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) to reach the fifth final of his career. The Marseille-born player is seeking to win his second career title here when he takes on Yevgeny Kafelnikov after the Russian No. 2 two seed defeated sixth-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4. Grosjean, the only Frenchman left in the tournament after both Julien Boutter and Cedric Pioline lost in Friday’s quarterfinals, was buoyed by the support of the partisan home crowd. After eliminating Croat Ivan Ljubicic, Czech Jiri Vanek and Slovak Karol Kucera en route, Grosjean had little difficulty overcoming unseeded Mirnyi, playing in his third career semifinal and still waiting for his first-ever title match on the ATP circuit.
AFP, AP |
|
Nirupama, Zeeshan for Dubai qualifier Dubai, February 18 Zeeshan, who coaches the top UAE tennis star Oman Behroozian, will also be a practice partner for the top seed Martina Hingis in the inaugural tournament beginning here tomorrow. Nirupama, ranked 181 on the WTA tour, beat Martina Sucha of Slovakia, ranked 112, but she will have to cross two more rounds before making it to the main draw. Lack of professionalism and late start were the bane of Indian tennis, said Nirupama, who holds the record for being the only Indian woman to win a Grand Slam match when she reached the second round of the Australian Open. “We do not have the mindset for sports. Very few venture to take tennis as a profession. It is a hobby for most of them and they play twice a day for a maximum of four hours. One can never become a professional tennis player with this kind of approach” she told the Gulf News. “Indian players start playing professional tennis very late. I turned professional only when I was 18. That is too late,” she said. “I am not sponsored by anybody. Whatever I earn from this tournament will be recycled and put into the next one. I am on my own. What I also lack is a coach travelling with me. Without a sponsor, I cannot afford to travel with one,” she rued. She said her aim was to “break into the top 100 and keep playing the Grand Slams”.
PTI |
|
|
Gopi, Sachin Ratti in last eight Mumbai, February 18 Joining him in last eight were second seed Sachin Ratti of Railways, third seeded Abhin Shyam Gupta and Chetan Anand, both of petroleum. In the women’s section rising Andhra Pradesh star Gutta Jwala, top seeded Aparna Popat and second seeded Manjusha Kanwar, both of petroleum, third seeded Divya Ramesh of Life Insurance Corporation and fourth seeded P.V. Laxmi all went past their respective rivals to enter the last eight stage. Ladies singles (pre-quarterfinal): Aparna Popat (PSCB) b 5 Moghe (Guj) 11-1, 11-1, Sampada Shetye (Rly) b C.H. Deepti (PSCB) 11-9, 11-9, P.V.V. Laxmi (PSEB) b Shrvti Kursen (AP) 6-11, 11-5, 11-8, Leena Pednekar (LIC) b Parul Priya Darshani (AI) w/o Neelima Choudary (PBIB) b Trupti Murgunde (AI) 11-9, 11-4, Divya Ramesh (LIC) b Krupa Telang (Mah) 10-13, 11-6, 11-3, Gutta Gwala (AP) b Pooja Patil (Ktk) 11-2, 11-9, Manjusha Kanwar (PSCB) b D. Shweta (AI) 11-2, 11-1. Mens singles (pre-quarterfinal): P. Gopichand (PSCB) b Amar Singh Kundi (Gj) 15-4, 15-5, Sanave Thomas (Ker) b Sanket Shetty (Mah) 15-8, 15-7, Chetan Anand (PSCB) b Srikant Bakshi (Rly) 15-10, 15-13, Abhishek Bakshi (AI) b Arvind Bhat (Ktk) 16-17, 15-9,15-2, Mayur Tawade (Mah) b Nimesh Goyal (Mah) 15-13, 15-12, Abhin Shyam Gupta (PSCB) b JBS Vidhyadhar (Rly) 15-6,15-8, Thomas Kurien (Ker) b Guru Prasad (Ktk) 15-3, 15-10, Sachin Ratti (Rly) b K.A. Anish (Ker) 15-3, 15-6. Men’s doubles (pre-quarterfinal): Marcos Bristow (PSCB), Vijay Deep Singh (Rly) b Yogesh Padukone (Mah), Kunal Vaswani (Mah) 15-7, 15-5, Rupesh Kumar (Ker) and Arvind Bhat (Ktk) b Jaison Xavier (Ker).
UNI |
|
Dragila raises pole vault mark Pocatello (Idaho), February 18 Dragila, who trains here at Idaho State University, set a world indoor mark of 4.63m February 2 in New York at the Millrose Games, then vaulted 4.65m at a university athletics meet here on February 9. Dragila actually had two record efforts at the Golden Spike Invitational, the final tuneup on the USA indoor track series before the US Championships starting on March 3 in Atlanta. She cleared 4.66m on her first try, then cleared her new record height on the third try, brushing the bar as she went over. The bar moved but did not fall. “I knew it wasn’t the greatest of jumps,” Dragila said. “I know I nicked it. Sometimes the greatest jumps come with a little drama.” Dragila took three attempts at 4.80m but could not clear the height. Her eventual target is 4.88m, the 16-foot mark in American distance measurements. Alicia Warlick was a distant second at 4.21, the same height as third-place Mary Sauer. Dragila’s record effort gave her the overall lead in the Golden Spike points series, although she might have to advance the record at the US nationals to take the competition between all event competitors. Provided she qualifies at the US meet, Dragila can take another chance at the world record at the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships in Lisbon, from March 9 to 11.
AFP |
|
Punjab, Chandigarh
enter semis Chennai, February 18 While the Mumbai-Punjab semifinal will be played tomorrow, the other match will be held on February 20. In the quarterfinals today, Mumbai, who qualified from group ‘H’, defeated Haryana 2-1 after leading 1-0 half time. Punjab weathered an early storm before edging out Bengal (group G qualifier) 3-0. In the other quarterfinal, Chandigarh hung on to their 16th-minute goal to get past a fighting Uttar Pradesh to complete the semifinal lineup. Karnataka, the best team so far in the tournament, had defeated Punjab and Sind Bank by a solitary goal on Friday last.
UNI |
 |
| 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 | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
