Monday,
March 19, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Harbhajan, Dinesh
Mongia in 1-day squad Mark Waugh writes |
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Youhana,
Saqlain frustrate New Zealand SA
collapse after good start Sampras,
Agassi in Indian Wells final
Anand
starts campaign with win over Karpov India
rout Egypt 8-0 to enter final Chandigarh hockey team
felicitated Churchill
Brothers register 1-0 win Bagan
thrash Mahindras Punjab state fencing championships on
March 27
Hamirpur
athletic association
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Harbhajan, Dinesh Mongia in 1-day squad
Chennai, March 18 Other players who were also discussed during the two and a half hour selection committee meeting were Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Yuveraj Singh, Debashish Mohanty, Venkatesh Prasad, Rahul Sanghvi, Jacob Martin, Nikhil Chopra, Aashish Kapoor, Nilesh Kulkarni, Sriram and Murali Karthik, Borde said. Borde said the selectors were having an open mind on asking Rahul Dravid to keep wickets also. Referring to Srinath, he said doctors had informed the board that Srinath would be fit in a couple of days time. Agarkar was also fit, he said. The first match will be played on March 25 in Bangalore. The second and third match will be played in Pune and Indore, respectively. The team for the fourth and fifth matches will be selected at Indore, he said.
PTI |
Mark Waugh writes The turn of events at Kolkata obviously was very disappointing for me as well as my teammates. Our winning streak came to an end at the Eden Gardens in a Test that was well within our grasp for three of the five days. The fact that we lost from a very strong position makes it that much more disappointing. Having said that, I think the Indians played tremendous cricket to come from behind and win the game. It was an exceptional effort to put on such a mammoth total after following on, and full credit to VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid for batting the way they did. Laxman’s 281 was the best innings I have ever seen played against Australia. I cannot recall a better innings, especially since he was playing against probably the three best bowlers in the world — Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie. Besides the pressure he was under because of his team’s position - they needed more than 200 runs to make us bat again — he was also under some pressure to come up with a big score. The fact that the match was being played at the Eden Gardens with a large crowd watching must not have made his task any easier. He shouldered his responsibilities remarkably well and hardly played a single false stroke right through the innings. I have seen Brian Lara’s 277 in Sydney, but this knock was played under tougher circumstances and was absolutely faultless. While playing at the Eden Gardens is a tremendous experience, the venue has not been too lucky for me with two losses in two Tests. The ground has a beautiful surface and the outfield is nice and green, but what makes the Eden stand out is the crowd. I think the number of people who turned up to watch the match on each of the five days must have been some sort of a record. The spectators are quite sporting and are always ready to applaud a good performance from the visiting team. My stay in Kolkata was also made special by the great time I had in Udayan, a home for the children of leprosy patients. I have been sponsoring a little girl at the home and took this opportunity to see for myself how she was faring. I was curious about the living conditions and well-being of the children. I was very happy to see the girls and boys having a great time and it made me feel good that I was contributing in my own small way to the development of these wonderful children. Coming back to cricket, as far as my own performance is concerned, I am not too happy with the returns I’m getting. I think I am in good nick, and was disappointed about getting out after I had got set in the first innings in Kolkata. I had fared pretty well in my tour to India in 1998, when I had averaged around 60 after the three Tests. Hopefully, I’ll get a big knock in the final Test to put my team in a winning position. Chennai has mixed memories for me. I remember scoring a 100 in the World Cup quarterfinals against New Zealand in 1996, but the more recent memory is of the defeat against India in the first Test of our 1998 tour. I did not do too badly in that Test since I recall scoring 60-odd. We have everything to play for in the
Chennai. It is going to be an exciting Test since it will decide the series. While we are disappointed about losing in
Kolkata, we must put it behind us. What’s happened has happened and we will try to be positive and upbeat. We simply have to regroup and think of the game as a start to yet another winning streak. That will be the Australian mindset when we take the field at the Chepauk Stadium on Sunday morning.
(Gameplan) |
Youhana, Saqlain frustrate New
Zealand
Christchurch, March 18 The fourth day’s play, while remarkably tedious with only a single wicket to fall, was notable for Yousuf Youhana’s 203, ended only by a fluke but much needed caught and bowled by Mark Richardson, New Zealand’s opening batsman. Pakistan bowler Saqlain Mushtaq was moored at 98 not out and could, if Pakistan declare, miss the chance for his maiden Test century. As he stayed out at the wicket all day, and was particularly over cautious in getting the runs, it will be his own fault. He got just four singles in the last hour on the flattest wicket he will ever bat on. At stumps on the fourth day Pakistan were 561 for seven, 85 runs ahead of New Zealand’s first innings 476. The real villain in the day has been the lifeless portable wicket on Lancaster Park which has seldom challenged batsmen. New Zealand’s bowling attack, already depleted when Chris Drum was forced out hurt yesterday, looked weaker when Craig McMillan had problems through the day with his insulin levels. The lack of variety in the attack was exposed -particularly when part-timer Richardson actually got the only wicket of the day. With only a day remaining and not even the first innings complete, a draw is the most likely outcome. However, New Zealand have managed to stage dreadful collapses in the past, and while they can perhaps see no prospect for a victory, Pakistan, with an early declaration could have a chance. SCOREBOARD New Zealand (1st innings): 476 Pakistan (1st innings): Farhat c Drum b Martin 4 Ahmed hit wicket b Drum 11 Iqbal c Fleming b McMillan 63 Haq c Fleming b Martin 130 Youhana c and b Richardson 203 Khan c Parore b Tuffey 0 Khan c Martin b Bradburn 28 Mushtaq batting 98 Younis batting 5 Extras: (b-5, lb-8, nb-6) 19 Total: (for seven wickets) 561 Fall
of wickets: 1-5, 2-25, 3-157, 4-259, 5-260, 6-304, 7-552. Bowling: Tuffey 45-11-144-1, Martin 41-9-153-2, Drum 8-1-21-1, Bradburn 42-10-124-1, McMillan 31-13-47-1, Astle 26-10-43-0, Richardson 9-0-16-1.
AFP |
Port of Spain, March 18 South Africa were all out for 286 yesterday despite a century by Daryll Cullinan, who shared a thrilling 99-run stand with Jacques Kallis. West Indies were two for no wicket at the close. The stand between Cullinan and Kallis threatened to put South Africa in control before emergency bowler Wavell Hinds made a crucial breakthrough. Kallis was in dominant form when he and Cullinan came together after openers Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs had been dismissed in successive overs soon after lunch. Kallis slammed seven fours and two sixes over long-off against legspinner Dinanath Ramnarine as he raced to a half-century off 77 balls. With Cullinan striking the ball cleanly as well, runs were flowing when West Indian captain Carl Hooper called on Hinds to bowl for the first time in 16 Tests. Bowling gentle seamers, Hinds dismissed Kallis with his third ball when he held a low return drive. Kallis made 53 off 80 balls. Cullinan went on to make his 13th Test century, reclaiming the South African record from teammate Gary Kirsten. He made 103 before top-edging a sweep against Ramnarine just four balls after Nicky Boje had fallen in similar fashion. He faced 155 balls and hit 14 fours. South Africa lost their last eight wickets for 125 runs to the delight of a noisy 20,000-strong crowd. Kirsten and Gibbs batted well to remain together until the lunch break, although they could score only 61 runs against some impressive bowling, particularly by veteran Courtney Walsh. Kirsten was out one run later in the second over after lunch, however, when he was caught at second slip off a lifting ball from Nixon McLean. Gibbs went in the next over, bowled off his glove by Walsh. It left Walsh just three short of his 500th Test wicket. SCOREBOARD South Africa (Ist innings): Gibbs b Walsh 34 Kirsten c Hooper b McLean 23 Kallis c and b Hinds 53 Cullinan c Dillon b Ramnarine 103 McKenzie c Gayle b Walsh 9 Boucher c Hooper b Hinds 16 Klusener c Jacobs b Ramnarine 15 Boje c Jacobs b Ramnarine 3 Pollock not out 15 Donald c Jacobs b McLean 0 Ntini c and b McLean 7 Extras: (nb8) 8 Total: (86.5 overs) 286 Fall of
wickets: 1-62, 2-62, 3-161, 4-189, 5-221, 6-256, 7 -264, 8-265, 9-266 Bowling: Walsh 21-5-47-2 (3nb), Dillon 17-2-74-0 (4nb), McLean 16.5-2-60-3, Ramnarine 18-6-57-3, Hooper 9-1-25-0, Hinds 5-0-23-2 (1nb). West Indies,(Ist innings): Hinds not out 0 Gayle not out 0 Extras: (w2) 2 Total: (0 wkts, 1 over) 2 Bowling: Donald 1-0-2-0 (2w).
AFP |
Sampras, Agassi in Indian Wells final Indian Wells (California), March 18 Third seed Sampras snuffed out seventh-seeded Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov, storming back from deficits of 2-5 and 1-4 to score a 7-5, 6-4 victory in Saturday’s first semifinal. Fourth seed Agassi overcame a stiff challenge from sixth-seeded Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who is 10 years his junior, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, to claim his place in the final. In a seesaw match in which both men had trouble holding serve and finding consistency on their groundstrokes, Agassi prevailed by breaking the 20-year-old Hewitt in the final game when the sixth seed dumped a forehand into the net to end a long rally. “It was an uncomfortable match for both of us,’’ said Agassi. “I don’t think either of us played well. It was pretty choppy. “Nobody had any feel for how to step it up and start executing their game.’’ Sampras shook off a slow start and put together impressive runs of five straight games to close out each set against the frustrated Olympic champion. Today’s final between Agassi and Sampras will be the 30th time the two old American warriors have faced each other, with the 29-year-old Sampras holding a 17-12 advantage over Agassi. “We could play in my backyard and I would love it,’’ Agassi said of the great rivalry. “To play a big match in the final, it’s truly just a memory waiting to happen.’’ The pair last clashed in the semifinals of the 2000 Australian Open, a five-set thriller which propelled Agassi to the second of his three Australian crowns. “That was incredible,’’ Agassi said. “The standard of tennis was pretty special.’’ The two former top-ranked players own 20 Grand Slam titles between them and have been playing each other since grade school, when they met in a junior tournament in Northridge, California. He came in from Vegas, his whole family came down,’’ Sampras recalled. “He beat me. It’s amazing where we are now. Our careers have been pretty damn good.’’ Agassi recalled sampras as someone who was always playing “up” in divisions that included children older than he was. “I remember seeing him with a two-handed backhand, just a counterpuncher, running down balls and pushing,’’ Agassi said. “I beat him something like 6-2, 6-3.” Thirteen of their 29 meetings have come in finals, including in 1995 here, when Sampras crushed Agassi to successfully defend his title in his last Indian wells final appearance. When asked about their long history, however, Sampras names as “classics” two Grand Slam finals in which he overwhelmed the Las Vegas showman. “At ’99 Wimbledon, that was the best tennis I’ve played and he forced me to do that,’’ Sampras said of that straight sets triumph on his favourite court. “The ’95 US Open finals, we both played quite well,’’ he recalled of a match in which Agassi had been the hot favourite. “It’s a good match-up. No question it should be some good tennis.” Agassi has been the superior player so far in 2001, winning the Australian Open and reaching the San Jose final two weeks ago. Sampras will be playing his first final of 2001, but he doesn’t feel like the underdog entering Sunday’s contest. “I feel like I’m still the strong favourite each week I play,’’ Sampras said. “This year, he’s obviously been much more consistent and has played better. I feel just as much pressure playing Andre tomorrow or playing him five years ago.”
Reuters |
Sepang, March 18 David Coulthard, who briefly led after a series of spinouts and a tropical storm wreaked havoc early in the race, was pushed back to third in his McLaren-Mercedes, confirming the dominance that Ferrari has established over the sport since winning its first driver-constructor’s double since 1979 last year. Neither rain, two aborted starts, a comedy-laden pit stop, two Ferraris skidding off together and even Schumacher being forced to drive a back-up car could keep the German from his 46th career victory, five shy of the all-time record of 51 by Alain Prost. Schumacher’s sixth straight victory left him three short of the record nine set by Ferrari’s Alberto Ascari in 1952-53. The German ace started from his 34th career pole position, second behind the 65 established by the late Ayrton Senna. “It’s great being somehow dominant, but we know that won’t be the case for every race,” Schumacher said. “It was special conditions, special circumstances. And we made the most use of it.” Fourth place went to Heinz-Harald Frentzen in a Jordan-Honda. Ralf Schumacher, Michael’s younger brother in a Williams-BMW, pulled up fifth ahead of Mika Hakkinen, whose two-year hold on the world championship was ended by Schumacher last year. Hakkinen, in a McLaren-Mercedes, was the last driver to win a race before Schumacher began his winning streak at the Belgian Grand Prix last year.
AP |
Anand starts campaign with win over Karpov Monte Carlo, March 18 Grandmasters Peter Leko of Hungary, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and defending champion Alexei Shirov of Spain became early leaders in this 11-round 22-match tournament with comprehensive 2-0 victories over their respective opponents. The players play one rapid and one blindfold game in every round. The rapid game starts with 25 minutes with 10 seconds added after each move while in blindfold the addition is 20 seconds. Playing black in the rapid game, Anand opted for the queen’s Indian defence and the game was a repetition of the one he played against GM Jan Timman of Holland in the last round of the Wijk Ann Zee tournament last year. Anand played the opening moves in a blitzkrieg mood and Karpov’s success in this game was not losing like Timman did! Anand had no problems once the queens got traded and a balanced endgame arose after the 25th move where the peace treaty was signed. |
India rout Egypt 8-0 to enter final Dhaka, March 18 India, who won all their three matches at the league stage to top Group A, pumped in goals at regular intervals as the hapless Egyptians had no clue to the aggressive hockey by the Asian powerhouse. The winners led 4-0 at the half-time. Skipper Baljit Singh Dhillon, Arjun Halappa and Deepak Thakur scored a brace each while star striker Dhanraj Pillay and Radhakrishnan scored the other two goals. Pillay, who threatened the rival penalty area with alarming frequency, was declared the man-of-the-match. He opened the account for India in the 15th minute and Dhillon made it 2-0 five minutes later. Goals by Halappa (25) and Thakur (34) within the next 15 minutes ensured a healthy 4-0 lead for India at the half-time. Egypt tried counter-attacking in the second half but in vain as Dinesh Naik and Dilip Tirkey stood like rock in the defence. The Indians continued with their goal rampage with Dhillon (41), Thakur (45), Halappa (67) and Radhakrishnan (70) taking the match beyond the Egyptians. India will take on the winner of the second semi-final, slated later today, between Japan and Pakistan on Tuesday.
PTI |
Chandigarh hockey team
felicitated Chandigarh, March 18 Olympian Balbir Singh wished for the senior team also to bring glory to Chandigarh hockey. Chandigarh had outplayed Mumbai 3-2, with the golden goal scored by Mangra Munda. One of the players recalled that when they had surprised Uttar Pradesh 1-0 in the quarterfinals then it was said that they (city team) the has beaten a team from a place as big as a country. Many former Olympians Dharam Singh, T.S. Bawa, Sukhvir Grewal and Sukhbir Singh Gill also graced the occasion. The boys were given track suits, trousers, wrist watches and cash prize of Rs 2000 each. Hockey lovers, Praveen Jain and Deepak Bhatia announced a sum of Rs 50,000 every year to the CHA for welfare of players for the next five years. The team which won the meet: |
Churchill Brothers register 1-0
win Ludhiana, March 18 With today’s defeat, JCT remain positioned at the bottom with seven points while Churchill Brothers’ tally has gone up to 19 points from five victories and four draws. The ding-dong battle for supremacy was indeed a treat for the large Sunday crowd which at times grew boisterous as action shifted from one side to another in rapid succession. Both sides displayed strong determination but JCT’s anxiety was palpable as they muffed some easy chances in their bid to grab the initiative. Churchill Brothers, trained by Uzbekistan’s Grigoryi
Tsevtein, kept up constant pressure through Uzbeki striker Igor Shkvirn, Andre Requena, Francis Silveira, Noel Wilson, and Jose Colaco with the roving Somatai Shaiza coming in to bolster the attack late in the second half. In the defence, the stout Osumanu Husseini along with Hayder Farooq were outstanding as was skipper Edward Ansah under the bar. Having realised that it was now a battle for survival, JCT went all out from the kick-off and in the very fourth minute a flighted ball by the promising Jaswant for Ram Pal saw the latter lifting it high over the Churchill defence but the onrushing Hardip Sangha failed to connect. This was followed by another attempt by Sangha but his long ranger from 30 yards was off the mark. Soon after, Hardip Gill, who had advanced into the
box, found himself sandwitched between two defenders. A counter attack by Churchill Brothers saw Igor Shkvirn putting Andre Requena in possession but unluckily Requena’s power-packed shot struck the horizontal. This was followed by Hardip Gill’s attempt from close range but despite being in a one-to-one situation with the goalkeeper, Gill failed to beat him. Later, Hardip Sangha also made an unsuccessful attempt as Osumanu Husseini thwarted the move. Shortly before half-time, Sangha was stretchered off following a collision with Husseini. In his absence, Hardip Gill tried to make amends but failed on two occasions. First he failed to capitalise on a Ram Pal pass and shot straight at Edward Ansah and then his long ranger struck the upright. The second half witnessed a strong Churchill resurgence as Jose Colaco cut in from the left following Igor Shkvirn’s measured pass but his crisp left footer struck the horizontal. JCT also had a good chance thereafter but Jaswinder missed a sitter following a cross from the left and his shot from hand-shaking distance was wide off the mark. With the experienced Somatai Shaiza joining the fray in place of the injured Jose Colaco, Churchill Brothers’ attacks became sharper. In the 70th minute, Igor Shkvrin had a clear view of the goal but in haste he shot straight at Arvind Kumar under the JCT bar. Five minutes
later, JCT’s Jaswinder again missed a sitter after having successfully trapped the ball inside the
box. With a clear view of the goal, he only managed to shoot high over the bar. Towards the end of the second half, JCT’s Jaswant, who otherwise had a good game, was replaced by Jaspreet who wasted a golden chance after Churchill goalkeeper Ansah had advanced out of charge. However, he failed to beat only one defender to let the opportunity slip out of his hands. |
Bagan thrash Mahindras Kolkata, March 18 Bagan’s Brazilian striker Jose Ramirez Barreto pumped in three goals and the other striker R.C. Prakash chipped in with one while Mahindra gifted the home team with two self-goals in a ridiculously one-sided encounter. The glamour club, who were stunned by lowly State Bank of Travancore (SBT) 2-4 in the last league match, raised their game by several notches in a bid to claim full points and consolidate their position on the points ladder. With this emphatic victory, Mohun Bagan have now secured 25 points from 14 outings while Mahindra United have 14 points to their credit from as many outings. The green-and-maroon brigade capitalised on the defensive lapses to take a 3-0 lead by the interval.
PTI |
Punjab state fencing championships on
March 27 Patiala, March 18 The events that will be held in the meet are Sabre,
Foil and Epee for Men and Foil and Epee for Women. The meet will also
act as trials to select the Punjab Fencing that will take part in the
31st National Games to be held in Punjab in September. DCW sports
The first DCW Baisakhi Sports Festival will be held at the DCW
stadium here from April 5 to 17, informed Mr Arun Kumar Jund, sports
secretary of the DCW. Competitions will be held in basketball,
kabaddi and cricket (Under-15) events. The festival is being organised
by the newly formed DCW Sports, Cultural and Welfare Club. Meanwhile,
Mr Sukhdev Singh has been elected president of the newly formed Diesel
Component Work (DCW) Sports, Cultural and Welfare Club at a meeting
held here today. Other office-bearers are: vice-president — Mr
Baljit Singh: general secretary — Mr Ranjit Singh; treasurer — Mr
Charanjit Singh Mann; PRO—Mr Bharti Maria. |
Hamirpur athletic
association Hamirpur, March 18 The following are the other office-bearers: Patron-in-Chief — Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, patrons — Mrs Urmila Thakur, Mrs Anita Verma, and Mr Kuldip Singh Pathania, Senior Vice President: Mr Vijay Kumar, Vice Presidents: Mr Kuldip Guleria, Mr Sanjay Thakur, Mr Suresh Kumar, Mr Sandeep Dhadwal and Mr Ashok Thakur, joint secretaries: Mr Anil Kumar, Mr Pavan Verma and Mr Narendra Attri; cashier: Mr Jagdeep Chandel; press secretary: Mr Arun Rana. |
Pritam selected New Delhi, March 18 |
SYMONDS MISSES
FLIGHT GOLDEN DUCKS KAPTAN WINS UNPAID FINES |
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