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| Saturday,
March 24, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Lanka secure 5-wkt win over
England When Jeev stepped on Tiger’s
tail Anand beats Ivanchuk
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“Harbhajan will be role model” Win to boost morale of Indian
cricketers India snatched one of greatest
series JCT overcome
Mahindras Mumbai take up Punjab’s challenge
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Lanka secure 5-wkt win over England Dambulla, (Sri Lanka), March 23 With Sri Lanka slumping to 58 for four in the 16th over in pursuit of a target of 144, Atapattu (40) and Arnold, who made an unbeaten 39, decisively swung the balance. Their fifth wicket stand ensured Sri Lanka ultimately won the first game of the three-match series at 144 for five with 9.1 overs to spare. Pace trio Alan Mullally, Darren Gough and Andy Caddick had shaken Sri Lanka by capturing three wickets for eight runs in six overs after they reached 50 for one. England were earlier dismissed for 143 in 48.5 overs after Muttiah Muralitharan snapped up four for 29, including two wickets with consecutive balls. Off-spinner Muralitharan removed Andrew Flintoff (2) and Craig White with his double strike, having earlier accounted for Michael Vaughan (9), and completed his haul by dismissing last man Mullally. Graham Thorpe, the century-making hero of England’s victory in the Test series decider in Colombo at the weekend, was again their most impressive batsman. He scored an unbeaten 62 from 107 deliveries, hitting five fours. The Dambulla ground was staging its first international cricket match after building work started only six months ago. Scoreboard England: Trescothick b Arnold 26 Stewart b Zoysa 21 Hick c Dharmasena b Zoysa 2 Thorpe not out 62 Vaughan st Kalu b Murali 9 Flintoff st Kalu b Murali 2 White c De Saram b Murali 0 Giles run out 7 Caddick c Murali b Jayasuriya 0 Gough c Kalu b Vaas 4 Mullally lbw b Murali 0 Extras (lb-4, w-4, nb-2) 10 Total (all out, 48.5 overs) 143 Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-35, 3-75, 4-92, 5-97, 6-97, 7-113, 8-118, 9-131. Bowling: Vaas 9-1-26-1, Zoysa 7-0-22-2, Dharmasena 9-1-18-0, Arnold 7-0-21-1, Muralitharan 9.5-1-29-4, Jayasuriya 7-0 23-1. Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya lbw b Mullally 39 Kalu c Stewart b Caddick 2 Atapattu lbw b White 40 Jayawardene c Stewart b Gough 3 Sangakkara c Stewart b Caddick 1 Arnold not out 39 De Saram not out 6 Extras (lb-8, w-1, nb-5) 14 Total (5 wkts, 40.5 overs) 144 Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-50, 3-54, 4-58, 5-128. Bowling:
Caddick 8-1-42-3, Gough 10-2-24-1, Mullally 8-1-23-1, White 8-2-17-1, Giles 5-0-21-0, Vaughan 1-0-3-0, Hick 0.5-0-6-0.
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When Jeev stepped on Tiger’s
tail Chandigarh, March 23 Asians, particularly Indians, went ga ga over the performance of the Chandigarh boy. Kenyan and Ugandan Sikhs did the ardas hoping Jeev would manage to tame the “Tiger”. But the Indian could not repeat his class in the last round, returning a poor one under card to have an overall 17 under card. This was five strokes behind the champion, Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, who outscored Tiger Woods by just one stroke. The ‘Flying Sikh’, Milkha Singh, and Nirmal Milkha Singh were with their son as he tried to tame the “Tiger” on Dubai soil. Still licking his wound in the form of a ligament injury he suffered in the Dubai tournament last year in March, Jeev came very near to upsetting the applecart of the top Europeans in international golf. The ligament injury had forced Jeev into hibernation for seven months on doctor’s advice. Despite the ban he tried his hand in the Irish Open in July. He had to withdraw from the tournament. This was his first major tournament after the forced hibernation and his performance has sent the message. The Chandigarh boy is just raring to go places. He has set his sights on the US and Japan tournaments. His dream is to play at the US Masters Course in Augusta (Georgia). Jeev had a foggy start at Dubai. He teed off at 3 pm. The visibility was poor. This was in sharp contrast to the morning weather when Tiger Woods and Thomas Bjorn had played identical eight-under cards. He could complete only 14 holes with a score of two under. He shot three birdies in the remaining four holes the next morning for a first round card of five under. It was good going. The second round saw Woods playing a four-under card. Bjorn had a second-round card of five under. Jeev outsmarted Woods. It seems he had scented blood. The crowd also anticipated something big. And Jeev did not disappoint. He returned a six-under card to be just one stroke behind the “Tiger”. “It was amazing. I was virtually on the tail of the ‘Tiger’. At that stage I did feel nervous. Here was a golfer I had always adored as I watched him executing his strokes on TV. “, said Jeev as he described the third day’s play. A birdie on the second hole and then followed two bogeys (on the fourth and seventh). The score showed a poor one-over after nine holes. Jeev had somehow lost that touch. Nervousness was writ large on his face. But seeing his parents and the vast crowd egging him on, he sparkled again in the return nine. Then followed birdies on the 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes and par scores on the 10th and 14th holes. It was a great comeback. The third round showed a five-under card, but that dark patch in the first nine on the third day, saw the leader, Tiger Woods, take a four-stroke lead. (Tiger was 20 compared to Jeev’s 16 after the third round). Jeev was not his self in the last round. After scoring a birdie on the second and fifth holes, he lost a stroke in the sixth hole for a one-under card after nine holes. The return nine saw him returning par on all the holes for a one-under card. This was Jeev’s worst showing in four days. Tiger Woods also found his match in Thomas Bjorn who pipped him on the last hole. The Danish player won the tournament with 22-under card. Tiger had a 21-under score and Jeev was four strokes behind with a 17-under card. Jeev then moved over to Japan where he played in snow for the first time. The tournament had to be reduced to 54 holes because of the heavy snowfall. It was an experience playing golf with ski gloves. The performance in Dubai will certainly act as a confidence booster for Jeev. He is still exercising by tying a band on the right wrist and is hopeful of overcoming the slight pain that still troubles him because of the ligament injury. He has set his sights on the US and Japan tournaments but will continue to play in the domestic circuit. “ This is important as the sponsors don’t come forward if some key names are missing”, Jeev said, as we wound up the interview. Anand beats Ivanchuk Monte Carlo, March 23 All the leaders have accumulated seven points each and are followed by GM Peter Leko of Hungary who suffered a 1.5-0.5 defeat at the hands of GM Boris Gelfand of Israel. Anand was in full swing in the Ruy Lopez opening with white pieces in the rapid game. |
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India thrash Australia
by 154 runs Chennai, March 23 The Aussies lost wickets at regular intervals and were never in the hunt. Agarkar started the slide removing Damien Martyn (4) of his very first ball and Srinath got rid of Darry Lehmann (24, 9 balls 2x6, 3x4) and Ian Harvey (7). Off spinner Virendra Sehwag hastened the end picking up three wickets, including two in one over, as the contest ended long before the scheduled close, despite left hander Justin Langer’s quickfire 53 (39 balls, 3x6, 6x4). Earlier, electing to bat, India helped by a whirlwind knock of 93 (49b, 18x4, 2x6) by master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and fine half-centuries by local star Hemang K. Badani (55) and wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya (50), scored 338 for eight in the allotted 40 overs. Tendulkar set the tone adding 127 for the first wicket in just 12 overs with S. Ramesh (35) as the crowd had their money
worth. Brief scores: India 338 for 8 in 40 overs (Tendulkar 93, Ramesh 35, Badani 55, Mongia 29, Sehwag 19, R. Singh 33, Dahiya 50, Campbell 2 for 3). Australia 104 all out in 27.1 overs Lehmann 24, Bevan 58, Langer 53; Srinath 2 for 46 and Sehwag 3 for 19).
UNI |
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We held our nerve to finally pull it off THE three Test series ended in a dramatic fashion on Thursday at the Chepauk ground. It is probably one of the most exciting Test series I have played in. The game tilted to and fro on all five days of the last two Test matches and my hats off to both the teams the way they fought hard in testing conditions. It was great comeback by us after the first day of the Text match, when the Aussie were 326 for 3. Getting them out for 391 and then scoring 501 was a terrific achievement. Harbhajan bowled once again superbly on a flat pitch. There was no turn for him but he extracted enormous bounce, which troubled the Aussies and showed their vulnerability against quality spin. He bowled a superb line and was backed by superb close-in fielding. Although we had a 110-run lead, we knew that we had to bat fourth — any traget of over 200 in the last innings of the game would be very well defended by the Australians. So, it was very important how we bowled in the second innings because I knew that would decide the fate of the game. The Aussies got off to a flyer but we again pulled it back by picking three quick wickets after lunch. We took some outstanding catches in the field. Two by Laxman and one by Rahul were absolutely out of this world. It is really satisfying to the team when you have practiced hours taking catches, and you will off ones that wins you games. The catches by Laxman and Mark Waugh were absolutely superb. Harbhajan bowled well once again and took 8 for 84. He has had a dream series and taking 32 off the 50 wickets speaks volumes of how he shouldered the responsibilities. We had made a little mess of the 155 for we were 100 for 2 at one stage. But that’s what this game is and it just summed up how hard the series was fought. The happiest part was that we held to our nerve and finally pulled it off. This is a series which will be remembered for a long time. The Australians had come with a formidable reputation and the whole world backed them to win. The way we fought after being one-down in Mumbai speaks a lot about the strong character of the team. They kept their chins up against all odds and pulled off probably the biggest win in Indian cricket. My heartiest congratulations to all my team-mates, especially Laxaman and Harbhajan and I was really proud and honoured to lead this bunch.
(Gameplan)
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“Harbhajan will be role model” Jalandhar, March 23 It was for the second day that Jalandhar remained immersed in celebrations over the victory of the Indian team and in particular the performance of Harbhajan Singh, who has brought laurels for India and his home state of Punjab. Dancing on beats of “dhols”, youngsters in queues kept thronging his house in the city today, while Harbhajan’s elated mother Avtaar Kaur and other family members had a tough time attending to “hordes” of known and unknown guests from across the state. “Scores of people are pouring in to greet us”, she said. “After long Punjab has found a role model, a star”, was the first comment of Harbhajan’s coach and guide for about seven years, Davinder Arora, when The Tribune team contacted him. Describing Harbhajan as the most versatile spinner and cricketer the state has produced after Bishan Singh Bedi, Mr Arora, who runs a coaching academy for children of railway employees nowadays, claimed that Harbhajan had been under his charge for the past seven years. “He had come to me when he was just 14-15 years old. I had felt on the very first day that he had some spark in him and this came true when he got selected to be a part of the Indian team heading for South Africa in 1997. He was so hardworking in his filed that he used to practice for more than seven hours a day. I was impressed by him for the first time when he got seven wickets in an inter-district match against Amritsar in 1996,” said Mr Arora, while remembering the days when he used to witness the performance of the man in the making about five years ago in the local railway grounds. “When it came to bowling his average accuracy level has always been above 90 per cent”, said Mr Arora. “Actually, unlike Mumbai and Delhi, Punjab had no role model in the field of cricket. Now we have found Harbhajan I am sure he will keep it up for the days to come for he has been known for his consistency,” said Mr Arora. On the other hand, a number of people thronging his residence said Harbhajan had revived true cricket, which had been dying due to recent match fixing and other irregularities, “He will prove to be an oxygen for the game and its lovers,” said Dr H.J. Singh, a city based cricket lover. |
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Win to boost morale of Indian
cricketers Chandigarh, March 23 The Indians also showed that the best of teams will have chinks in the armour once it is pierced. And that is true for any team, be it India or Australia. The way the visitors steamrolled the hosts in the first Test in Mumbai in less than three days only helped the critics to label the Indian team as a bunch of non-performers who were only interested in the fat pay cheques given by the board and the moolah they picked up from sponsors for endorsing things non-cricket. But just one day of good cricket in Kolkata changed the whole complexion of Indian cricket. Two cricketers, one desperately trying to cement his place in the squad and the other trying to regain his wanton form, of contrasting styles took India to new heights. From a hopeless position they took the hosts to a position of total supremacy. The fightback of V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid at Kolkata is too recent to be repeated. But suffice it to say that the fourth day’s play of the second Test showed Indian cricket in a totally new light. And that the good work at Kolkata was carried on at Chennai only goes to prove that Indian cricket has the ability to bounce back. In Harbhajan Singh India have found a world class spinner yet again. True, he has yet to prove his worth on foreign pitches, but if the success of Shane Warne in contemporary cricket is a yardstick, there is no reason why the Punjab offie will not be able to leave his mark on international cricket in the years to come. Only 20 years old, he can only improve with age and once the injured Anil Kumble returns the Indian, squad will have two world-class bowlers bowling in tandem. That the series against Australia was won without the services of Anil Kumble has only added to the confidence of the Punjab off-spinner who has already fought many a mind battle in his short international career. The one person whose comments one is waiting for is that of Raj Singh Dungarpur, a former President of the board, who was largely instrumental in having him thrown out of the National Cricket Academy. But on hindsight it must be said that this expulsion has only helped in steeling the resolve of the Punjab bowler. With India’s spin department in fairly safe hands one must look towards the fast bowlers’ department. With Zaheer Khan showing that he has the temperament to use the new ball effectively, one is waiting for the return of Javagal Srinath to see how both bowl from either end. True, Srinath is now aging but he can still serve Indian cricket for a couple of years before hanging up his boots. Fast bowling is a tough task on helpless Indian conditions but the exploits of Srinath or for that matter of Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar before him should inspire the hopefuls waiting in the wings to work even harder. The likes of Debashish Mohanty and Ashish Nehra must be encouraged because if Indian cricket has to do well abroad, then it must have quality fast bowlers in its ranks. The Indian batting has started showing stability and should serve the team well in the future. The likes of Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly (never mind his poor form against the Australians) should be the envy of any international cricket squad. S.S. Das and Sadagopan Ramesh have started settling down in the role of openers and should be given some more time to cement their places in the squad. The national selectors showed maturity in retaining Ramesh in spite of some failures in the series against Australia and this confidence reposed in him should pay dividends. The only area of worry in the Indian team at the moment is in the keeping department. It seems that Nayan Mongia is not willing to listen to the team coach and his place in the squad seems doubtful. In any case he does not have many years left in international cricket while his replacement in the third Test, Sameer Dighe, at 30 is not exactly a future prospect. The only other contender for the spot is Vijay Dahiya, but it seems that the national selectors do not have much confidence in his ability. So what does India do ? |
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India snatched one of greatest series Sydney, March 23 The Indian victory and not the Australian defeat made the headlines in the print and electronic media here. “The man who broke Australia’s Heart,” said the headline in the `The Australian’ newspaper’s front page also featuring a colour picture of Harbhajan Singh who not only spun the Aussies to their doom but also scored the winning runs yesterday. While the ‘Courier-Mail’ of Brisbane said “Singh Chills our Indian Summer”, Sydney’s ‘Daily Telegraph’ went to town with its front page story about “The Test that stopped a nation” and, with a touch of music, proclaimed “India Singhs tune of triumph” with a pitcture of Harbhajan running to embrace his batting partner Samir Dighe while a dejected Glenn McGrath is walking away in the opposite direction. “An Australian dream was shattered,” wrote cricket writer Robert Craddock who went on to add that young Harbhajan Singh “became a legend as India snatched one of the greatest Test series of all time”. There was some sympathy for the Aussies too as Mark Ray of ‘The Age’ in Melbourne said in his despatch from Chennai: “Although the Australians lost the second Test in Kolkata and then the series here ..... Their reputation for determination, courage and preparedness to play wonderfully attacking cricket remains undiminished”. Commenting on India clinching the series and quashing all hopes of Australia defeating India on Indian soil, former Test cricketer Doug Walters says, “It has been a fantastic series. India deserved their well earned victory. They, especially Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman, played some tremendous cricket. Indian wickets were spinning and Australians don’t tend to play the spinners that well. Had Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath been there, the Australian defeat would have been more disastrous. During my career spanning from 1965-1981, I have not seen an amazing victory like the one in Kolkata.” “Has there been a better Test series?” Craddock asked. “Any team that can come from one-down in a series and win 2-1 after following on in the second Test, deserves it. But, the bland scoreline will tell nothing of the tension and sheer pandemonium India had to wade through to achieve victory,” he added.
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In defence of Shane Warne Sydney, March 23 “In those conditions, sometimes you sweat so much it’s very very difficult to hold the ball. “And for a leg-spinner, if you are having difficulty gripping the ball, it makes it very difficult to bowl. “Anybody sweats in those conditions and the bigger man you are, the more you’re likely to sweat.” But Philpott, a former Test spinner who has coached Warne’s rival for a Test berth, New South Wales tweaker Stuart MacGill, said the selectors had made the right decision in naming Warne once they had decided to name just one leg-spinner in the tour squad.
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JCT overcome
Mahindras Ludhiana, March 23 As the laborious Jaswinder set up a move on the right flank, promising medio Harinder Singh chested the ball before relaying it forward for the onrushing Hardip Gill whose superb execution from an acute angle in the 54th minute left Mahindra goalie Virender Singh helpless. As the huge crowd went into raptures, JCT went all out to consolidate the lead but eventually had to remain content with the 1-0 verdict. With today’s maiden victory, JCT’s tally has gone up to 10 points from 15 matches while Mahindras remain at the 10th position with 14 points. In a classic tale of patience being tested to the limits, JCT had to wait till the end of the 15th round to notch up their maiden win. So far they have drawn seven matches and have lost seven. The victory sparked celebrations in the stands as groups of JCT supporters hugged each other over the team’s first victory in the league, which is being seen as a major step forward for the mill men to ward off relegation. As coach Sukhwinder Singh said, JCT’s priority now was to retain their slot as they are already out of the race for bagging top honours. The match was indeed a close contest as the two teams struggled to wrest the initiative. Mahindras relied heavily on star striker Raman Vijayan, who also donned East Bengal colours some years back. Shamsy Raza also displayed remarkable understanding and on several occasions, the duo gave the JCT defence anxious moments. Abhay Kumar also posed danger to the JCT citadel with skipper Aqueel Ansari lending him full support. For JCT, Jaswinder and Jaswant were outstanding with Hardip Gill ready to provide the finishing touches. Hardip Saini, who is yet to recover from an injury, was inducted to strengthen the midfield but towards the end of the first half, he was replaced by newcomer Sameer. Mahindra United dominated the show initially with Abhay Kumar trying to capitalise on the through passes and on one occasion, he hastily shot over the bar. JCT’s counter-attacked through Taranjit, whose pass to Hardip Saini saw the latter putting Hardip Gill in possession. However, Gill’s feeble shot was easily collected by Mahindra custodian Virender Singh. Midway through the first half, Mahindras had a good chance when Bernard Oparanozie’s cross from the left corner saw Raman Vijayan leaping high for a header but unluckily, he missed the flight of the ball. After a barren first-half, JCT broke the deadlock in the 54th minute. Jaswinder’s move on the right flank was well anticipated by Harinder, who chested the ball and relayed it to Hardip Gill, who had cut through a horde of defenders. Gill guided the ball home leaving the Mahindra United players stunned. Gill’s success spurred JCT to launch more forays with Jaswinder orchestrating several intelligent moves. On one occasion, his pass for skipper Ram Pal saw the latter’s header sail over the bar. Midway through the second half, left winger Jaswant made an excellent attempt. After successfully throwing off Mahindra defender Ramesh Rajak with fine body swerves, Jaswant despatched a curling left footer which brought out the best in goalie Virender Singh, who managed to stop the ball with some difficulty. Thereafter, Jaswant was replaced by Jagjit Randhawa. Mahindras also made some replacements with Satish Minz coming in place of Habib Adekunle and N. Moosa replacing Aqueel Ansari. However, they failed to make any major impact. Towards the end, JCT had a good chance when Jagjit Randhawa moved in dangerously but with only one defender to beat, he fumbled and let the opportunity go waste. JCT will now travel to Calcutta where they will meet East Bengal on March 28 while Mahindras will take on FC Kochin at Kochi on the same day. |
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Mumbai take up Punjab’s challenge Mumbai, March 23 Mumbai, who conceded 98-run lead, have to score 337 runs for an outright win off minimum 90 overs. Earlier, Punjab were all out for 322 in the second innings with the last six wickets tumbling for just 71 runs against fine leg spin bowling of Rajesh Pawar, who took six for 109. Restarting at 124 for no loss, Punjab were all set to bat out the whole day. Manish Sharma and Ravneet Rickey took the opening stand to 146 before the latter became the first victim of Pawar’s guile. Manish Sharma then missed his hundred by seven runs falling to Pawar. Captain Vikram Rathore made 21 and Yuvraj Singh 33 before Pankaj Dharmani accepted the dual role of keeping one end intact and also scoring. He made an unbeaten 71 off 167 balls, with five fours. Manish Sharma was more enterprising hitting three sixes and 11 fours off 195 balls. Mumbai lost their wicketkeeper Amol Rane for two but Vinayak Mane and Wasim Jaffer announced their intentions scoring 76 runs off 10.4 overs at a rate of more than seven runs per over. However, the stand would have skidded to a halt had Sandeep Sanwal taken a simple catch in the second slip when Mane was on 48 off Gagandeep Singh.
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Punjab Police
win New Delhi, March 23 |
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