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| Wednesday,
April 4, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Thumping 93-run win for Aussies
‘RSS lobby behind govt’s decision’ Windies, SA draw third Test |
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PCA plea on Ranji tie logical
Australian XI lose
to Himachal XI Army XI drub
SRC; BSF held Hearing in Azhar case on April
16
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Thumping 93-run win for Aussies Visakhapatnam, April 3 Having piled up their highest total 338 for four against India, thanks to centuries by Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting, after electing to bat, the Aussies dismissed the hosts for 245 in 45 overs to draw level 2-2 in the five-match series. The Indians, who had put up very professional performances in the previous matches to take the lead twice, crumbled under the pressure and, except when Sachin Tendulkar tore apart the Aussie bowling, were never upto the daunting task. Captain Saurav Ganguly failed - yet again - and so did the other batsmen and India’s total was inadequate. But for a belligerent 46 off 34 balls with three sixes by Harbhajan Singh, whose defiance only exposed the lack of fight put up by the recognised batsmen, the Indians would have lost by a much bigger margin. Leg-spinner Shane Warne, who has had a rather lacklustre series so far, finally found his rhythm scalping three wickets as did captain Steve Waugh who bowled for the first time in this series. But it was paceman Nathan Bracken who broke India’s back claiming the wicket of Tendulkar who blasted 11 fours in his blazing 62 off just 38 balls. Ganguly tried too hard to shrug off his poor form but the Aussies kept him down tied down with some smart field placings. A frustrated Ganguly tried desperately to do something different but only managed to give Shane Warne, fielding at the unorthodox short mid-off, a simple catch off Bracken. He took 36 balls to score his 9 runs bringing his total contribution in the four matches so far to 19. But Tendulkar continued his duel with Glenn McGrath and once again came out better hitting him for a number of fours, three of them off consecutive balls in the 11th over to send him out of the attack. McGrath’s first six overs cost 40 runs. Unfortunately for the Indians, Tendulkar did not last long and holed out to Steve Waugh, who persisted with close in fielders even after 15 overs, at mid-off to a stunned silence of the capacity crowd at the Indira Priyadarshini Stadium. May be the Indian team would have been better placed had Tendulkar not persisted with his extravagant batting and decided to drop anchor like he did so successfully at Indore. In-form VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid also could not do much and both fell to the guiles of Warne who was his vintage best today. Dravid was caught and bowled by Warne while Laxman was smartly stumped by Gilchrist when Warne bowled around his legs. Dravid made seven while Laxman was out for 11. Hemang Badani, Robin Singh and Vijay Dahiya were out in quick succession to leave India tottering at 149 for 7 and staring a huge defeat before help came from unexpected quarters. Harbhajan, who could claim just one wicket today, played his part with the bat thrashing three sixes and three fours for his highest score in one-day internationals improving upon his previous best of nine. He added 59 runs for the ninth wicket with Zaheer Khan who made 29 off 28 balls. Harbhajan could not make a difference to the end result but his valiant knock made the Australians work that much harder for victory and also salvaged some prestige for the hosts. Earlier, the Australian batsmen fired on all cylinders with Hayden and Ponting combining in a record-equalling stand of 219 runs for the second wicket after opener Gilchrist fell in the very first over of the innings to Javagal Srinath. Hayden completed his maiden one-day century while Ponting chose the big occasion to return to form after an aweful series and went on to compile his seventh hundred in one-day internationals. While Hayden continued his brilliant run on this tour, which has seen him score more than 800 runs, Ponting grew in confidence with every stroke. The duo unleashed a barrage of strokes on both sides of the wicket to unsettle the rhythm of Indian bowlers. Hayden, who was out for 99 in the second match at Pune, lived dangerously in his nineties once again but was lucky that his lofted drives landed in safe zones. He completed his century with a two off Harbhajan Singh. A few minutes later Ponting, who has had a dismal run both in the Test series and the one-dayers so far, reached his hundred off a two off the bowler’s next over. Ajit Agarkar provided India a breather when Ponting, looking to go over the long-on boundary, gave a simple catch to Sachin Tendulkar. His 101 was studded with 13 boundaries. Hayden too did not last long after that and was foxed by Harbhajan while trying a big heave with wicket-keeper Vijay Dahiya doing a fine stumping. Hayden struk eight fours and two sixes - both of Harbhajan - in his 111. Their effort equalled Australia’s previous second wicket stand between Ponting and Mark Waugh against Zimbabwe in New Delhi during the 1997-98 triangular series. The Indian misery, however, was still not over as Steve Waugh and Bevan decided to make the maximum use of the solid platform they got. With luck on their side, even their edges and snicks flew to ropes and runs came aplenty for the Aussies. Waugh, in particular, was very aggressive and looking to hit every ball. He got away with a few poor strokes before finally holing out to Srinath off Zaheer Khan. His 35 came off just 24 balls and contained three fours and a six. Scoreboard Australia: Gilchrist c Dahiya b Srinath 6 Hayden st Dahiya b Harbhajan 111 Ponting c Tendulkar b Agarkar 101 Bevan not out 43 S Waugh c Srinath b Zaheer 35 Lee not out 25 Extras (lb-7, nb-3, w-7) 17 Total (for 4 wkts in 50 overs) 338 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-225, 3-246, 4-304. Bowling:
J Srinath 10-0-61-1, Zaheer Khan 10-0-71-1, A Agarkar 9-0-63-1, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-58-1, Robin Singh 6-0-37-0, S Ganguly 4-0-29-0, S Tendulkar 1-0-12-0. India: Ganguly c Warne b Bracken 9 Tendulkar c S Waugh b Bracken 62 Laxman st Gilchrist b Warne 11 Dravid c and b Warne 7 Badani c Warne b S Waugh 25 Robin c Gilchrist b S Waugh 16 Dahiya c Hayden b Warne 7 Agarkar lbw b S Waugh 9 Zaheer c S Waugh b McGrath 29 Harbhajan Singh c Lee b McGrath 46 J Srinath not out 7 Extras
(lb2, w12, nb3) 17 Total (45 overs) 245 Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-85, 3-87, 4-102, 5-135, 6-144, 7-149, 8-169, 9-228. Bowling: McGrath 8-0-62-2, Fleming 8-1-53-0, Bracken 7-1-21-2, Warne 10-0-38-3, Lee 3-0-11-0, S Waugh 6-0-29-3,
Bevan 3-0-29-0. PTI
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We will bounce
back: Ganguly Visakhapatnam, April 3 “Every time a team has lost in this series, they have bounced back. We also hope to bounce back in Goa,” Ganguly told reporters after India’s 93-run loss which levelled the five-match has only shown how competitive this series has been. Every team has a right to win and the side that played well today won,” he said, adding his team was not unnerved by the 300-plus score put up by the Aussies. Apparently the skipper had second thoughts as immediately after the match he said the target weighed heavily on the minds of the Indian team. “We also scored 300 twice in this series (taking into account 299 in Indore) but chasing a big total is definitely a difficult task. “We were doing well initially but lost momentum due to the quick loss of wickets,” he said. “We will have to play to a plan in the next match. It would be back to basics,” he said. Ganguly lauded in-form Hayden, also declared man-of-the-match for his 111-run knock, and Ricky Ponting, who finally struck form today with a brilliant 101. “It was a good wicket to bat on especially after the shine of the ball was gone. They (Hayden and Ponting) batted superbly,” he added. The Indian captain sounded a bit worried about the form of his bowlers but defended them, saying “in a one-day game it sometimes happens and I hope they will comeback in the decider at Goa.” On his own poor form in the entire series, Ganguly said, “I hope to strike form in every match and I am hoping for Goa as well.” Aussie captain Steve Waugh felt every run above 280 was a bonus and said it was a “good, professional performance from my team.” Waugh commended the performnce of his bowlers - Nathan Bracken, “who picked up couple of important wickets in the middle and Shane Warne, who returned to form taking three wickets which he “thoroughly deserved”. Waugh, who picked up three wickets, said: “I may not probably do that (bowling) again.” Continuing his golden Indian summer, Matthew Hayden who has so far scored close to 1000 runs in the tour, said he enjoyed batting with Ponting, describing him as a great “character”. “It was an excellent wicket and we were looking to have a big partnership,” he said. “We passed the 40 over mark with lots of wickets in hand and that helped in the end,” Hayden said.
PTI |
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‘RSS lobby behind govt’s decision’ New Delhi, April 3 “Disgusting and shameful is the only way I can describe the decision of the Government of India not to permit the cricket team to play at Sharjah because one of the teams is Pakistan,” Justice Sachar said in a statement. “It appears to me that the RSS lobby is playing this dirty game of anti-Pakistan stance, for electoral advantage. What a shame” he said. He described as silly the “putrid excuse that Sharjah audience is hostile,” Even former Test player E.A.S. Prasanna has denied that charge. He wanted to know why the Union Government had not given the permission to cricket team while it was ready to send “secretary-level officials to Pakistan for trade and other talks.” “Even the Prime Minister is willing to talk to General Musharaff if the cross-border attacks are reduced (We are not even asking for total stoppage) and yet we are bent on spoiling the people-to-people relations,” he said. He was of the view that cricket lovers in India love to watch Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar while Pakistanis hold Sachin Tendulkar in high esteem.
UNI |
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Windies, SA draw third Test Bridgetown, April 3 West Indies lost seven wickets for 48 runs after being set what seemed a straightforward task of batting out the last session. They finished on 88 for seven. Earlier, it had been South Africa who had been under pressure. They lost three wickets in the first hour before Daryll Cullinan batted them to safety with an innings of 82. South Africa declared soon after Cullinan’s dismissal at 197 for nine, leaving West Indies an impossible target of 265 to win in a minimum of 28 overs. In the end they had to face 38.4 overs. After a solid start, in which Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds put on 34, left-arm spinner Nicky Boje started a slide when he had Hinds caught at slip. Marlon Samuels went the same way before Gayle, who slammed 48 off 35 balls with 11 fours, went for another extravagant shot and was caught behind off Jacques Kallis. Wickets then tumbled and there were eight men crowded around the bat as Mervyn Dillon blocked out an over from Boje, with the crowd cheering every ball safely defended. Then Dinanath Ramnarine was warned by the umpires for time-wasting as he held up play, claiming cramp with the minimum overs already completed inside the last 15 minutes. He had treatment on the field before he and Dillon secured the draw. Ramnarine earlier had career-best figures of five for 78, with South Africa’s declaration robbing him of an opportunity to take a hat-trick after he sent back Cullinan and Allan Donald with successive deliveries. SCOREBOARD South Africa (1st innings): 454 West Indies (1st innings): 387 South Africa (2nd innings): Gibbs c Sarwan b Hooper 19 Kirsten c Samuels b Cuffy 0 McKenzie c Jacobs b Ramnarine 12 Cullinan c Lara b Ramnarine 82 Kallis c Sarwan b Hooper 20 Klusener c Cuffy b Ramnarine 4 Boucher c Jacobs b Ramnarine 0 Pollock c Hooper b Walsh 40 Boje not out 9 Donald lbw b Ramnarine 0 Extras (lb3, nb8) 11 Total (for 9 wkts dec, 95.5 overs) 197 Fall of wickets: 1-2, 3-31, 3-36, 4-80, 5-95, 6-97, 7-167, 8-197, 9-167. Bowling: Walsh 14-3-28-1, Cuffy 10-4-28-1, Hooper 34-12-49-2, Dillon 4-2-7-0, Ramnarine 31.5-10-78-5, Samuels 2-1-4-0. West Indies (2nd innings): Gayle c Boucher b Kallis 48 Hinds c Cullinan b Boje 8 Samuels c Cullinan b Boje 3 Lara b Klusener 8 Sarwan b Kallis 0 Hooper c Boucher b Boje 5 Jacobs c McKenzie b Boje 1 Dillon not out 2 Ramnarine not out 0 Extras (b8, lb1, nb4) 13 Total (for 7 wkts, 38.3 overs) 88 Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-59, 3-64, 4-64, 5-72, 6-82, 7-82. Bowling: Pollock 5-0-24-0, Kallis 8-1-34-2, Boje 16.4-8-18-4, Klusener 9-7-3-1.
AFP |
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PCA plea on Ranji tie logical Chandigarh, April 3 The National Cricket Championship has lost much of its glamour, now that top stars of the country are seldom available to do duty for their respective states with foreign teams touring India every winter. One remembers that there was a time when star players like Kapil Dev, Ashok Malhotra, Chetan Sharma and Navjot Sidhu (to name just a few) took leave from national coaching camps to turn out for their respective states. Even when the Indian team was to leave for the Benson and Hedges World Championship of Cricket held in Australia (which India won) in the mid-eighties, the Haryana stars (Kapil, Chetan and Ashok Malhotra) played for their state in a Ranji Trophy knockout match at Faridabad before joining the national squad for the Australian trip. But now such dedication on the part of the players has become a thing of the past. As it is this year’s Ranji Trophy semifinal line-up gives a clear indication that the game of cricket is moving away from the more traditional centres. This year the semifinal line-up sees teams like Orissa, Railways, Baroda and Punjab fighting it out for top honours with only Punjab having lifted the trophy in the early nineties. The remaining teams have yet to tast success at the highest level. The BCCI should have encouraged these teams to field their best possible squads. And by doing so Indian cricket would have been further enriched. What the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) had argued made sense. Four players of the state, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Sarandeep Singh and Yuvraj Singh, are currently doing national duty against Australia in the one-day series and therefore the PCA had requested the board Secretary, Mr J.Y. Lele, to postpone the match to a later date. The PCA had argued that in case Mumbai had got past Punjab in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match then Mumbai would have played their semifinal match from March 8 as the Ranji champions were scheduled to play in a tournament in Australia. Punjab had only wanted a similar facility so that they could field the “best possible” team in the tie against Railways. Such a move would have helped other teams in the semifinal as well as Zaheer Khan could have then turned out for Baroda (Mr Lele’s home state) in their semifinal match. But then, of late, certain actions of the BCCI defies logic. Now that Indian cricket is suddenly looking up the BCCI must make concerted efforts to bring in more competition in the domestic games. And what could be better than the National Cricket Championship to start with? In any case the BCCI is crying itself hoarse by saying that every player must play in the Ranji Trophy if he is free from international commitment. It is only by doing so can the standard of the game be maintained and improved. |
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Hingis feared ‘aggression’ from stalker Miami, April 3 The 20-year-old Swiss player, the world’s No. 1-ranked woman in tennis, was testifying in a Miami-Dade county court where Croatian-born Dubravko Rajcevic is on trial on charges of stalking and trespassing. “I thought the obsession and love for me might turn into hate and aggression,’’ Hingis told the court. Dressed in a beige jacket and black pants, Hingis looked calm, and occasionally smiled. Her mother and coach, Melanie Molitor, was in court. Prosecutor Christopher Calkin led Hingis through a string of telephone calls, letters and other efforts by Rajcevic to contact her from mid-1999 until his arrest one year ago during the Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne near Miami. Hingis described feeling at various points nervous and frustrated that she could not make him understand she did not want a relationship. Rajcevic, a 46-year-old Australian citizen and engineer who has been detained since his arrest, faces four misdemeanor charges: three of trespassing and one of stalking, each of which could carry a maximum sentence of one year in prison. The Rajcevic case has revived memories of a stalking that turned violent and shocked the women’s tennis world in April 1993, when the then No. 1-ranked woman, Monica Seles, was stabbed by a fan obsessed with her rival Steffi Graf. But Rajcevic’s attorney, Frank Abrams, has presented his client as a man who was simply in love with Hingis, and persistent in his efforts to woo her. Psychological evaluations of Rajcevic last year concluded he was delusional about the player, but fit to stand trial. The prosecution has argued that Rajcevic was increasingly a problem to Hingis, noting that she hired a full-time security guard and stayed in a hotel for her appearance in a tournament in her hometown, Zurich, in 1999. Rajcevic has several times interrupted proceedings since his trial began last week, and as Hingis spoke, he looked straight at her, often smiling and on a couple of occasions trying to interrupt. After one such interruption, Judge Kevin Emas admonished Rajcevic, warning him he could be removed from the courtroom to follow the rest of the trial via a television monitor. Hingis said yesterday that from early on, she left Rajcevic in no doubt that she did not want a relationship. When he managed to get through to her Paris hotel room on the telephone during the French Open in 1999, Hingis said she told Rajcevic that “I didn’t want to know about him, I was happy with my life, I even told him he could have been my father.’’ “You were very clear, you weren’t flirting?’’ Calkin asked. “No, no, not at all,’’ said Hingis emphatically, adding that she then hung up the phone. Back in Zurich, Hingis said Rajcevic hung around outside her home, repeatedly ringing the bell at the gate. At one point she went to confront him in person. “I told him to get out of my life,’’ Hingis said. The following month, Hingis suffered what she called the worst loss of her professional career, her exit in the first round of the 1999 Wimbledon Tennis Championship in England. Asked by Calkin whether the Rajcevic situation could have contributed to that, Hingis said, “Part of it might have been because of him.’’ The trial was held at this time to ensure Hingis could testify. She was playing in the Ericsson tournament, which just ended, losing to eventual winner Venus Williams in a semifinal last week.
Reuters |
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PSEB not to employ
cricketers Patiala, April 3 Due to the fact that promotional channels in PSEB have been blocked for the last few years, top sportpersons are leaving the board to seek greener pastures. Arjuna awardee in basketball Sajjan Singh, basketball Olympian Baldev Singh, national hammer throw champion Ishtiaque Ahmed, badminton World Cupper Vijaydeep Singh and scores of other top sportsmen have already left the board as they were not promoted despite giving good performances in international level meets. Other international level sportspersons who are awaiting promotions are cyclist Manmohan Singh, shuttler Yogita Sharma, grappler Ravinder Singh, former national hammer throw champion Bahal Singh and other top athletes like Nawab Singh and Devinder Singh. However, in future any player who is kept on contract and gives a good performance will be absorbed by the board on a regular basis. Meanwhile, PSEB has decided to abolish the Central Sports Committee and form a Sports Council to supervise the overall functioning of the sports wing of the board. From now onwards, it will be on the basis of recommendations of the Sports Council that sportspersons will be kept on contract, but with the approval of the Chairman. In a welcome change, the board has infused some uniformity regarding the recruitment of sportspersons on contract basis. Earlier, the board did not differentiate between a state level and an international level sportsperson and the management used to pay a lumpsum of Rs 7500/- per month to sportspersons, irrespective of their sporting calibre. However, now this anomaly has been done away with as sportspersons have been grouped under three categories depending upon their ability and will be paid accordingly. State level players will get Rs 5000 per month while national and international level players will be contracted for monthly amounts of Rs 7500 and Rs 10,000 respectively. TA/DA allowance for sportspersons and coaches has been hiked substantially, a mechanism of providing huge cash incentives has been put in place and, unlike earlier, coaches accompanying board teams will be taken on contract from outside. Only qualified coaches will be contracted and the board will pay a national level coach Rs 10,000 per month while an international level coach will be contracted for Rs 15,000 per month on an yearly basis. the performance of these coaches will be reviewed annually by the Sports Council. |
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New scoring system on anvil in
badminton Chandigarh, April 3 During the past two years, Gupta has emerged as a major force after All-England champion Gopichand. The above scoring system proved to be a boon for Gupta whose style involves long rallies. The other day when chief national coach Mohammed Arif, who had coached Gopichand, met this reporter in Chandigarh during the junior nationals, he had expressed doubts over the new scoring system. However, Gupta changed his style which helped him to win against Xie Yangchun of Germany. S. Muralidharan, international umpire, had also said that the new system would be taxing for girls who would now have to play for 45 points in case the game stretched to five and deuce. At present they can have a maximum of 39 points. Mr Punch Gunalan of Malaysia, Marketing Director of the IBF, had planned three new types of scoring systems. Mr Gunalan, who is also the secretary of the Asian Badminton Confederation, was of the view that the 5x7 scoring system would make the game more attractive. The other system proposed by Mr Gunalan was to have a nine-point scoring system with an interval at 5 points in each game with three games. The third system proposes scores of 25 points in game with introduction of rally point system on the pattern of table tennis and volleyball. The World Grand Prix Badminton Championships which were to be held at Brunei from March 28 got postponed at the last moment due to lack of sponsors. Had the new scoring system been introduced earlier, it might have attracted more sponsors and even the Brunei meet could have been held as scheduled. |
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Australian XI lose
to Himachal XI Patiala, April 3 Put to batting first, Australian XI scored 161 for the loss of four wickets. Chris Murphy (32), Phil Omar and Greg Meloni (27 each) were the main scores for the visitors. Devinder Arora, Prem Thakur, Prithvi and Vishal claimed one wicket each for Himachal XI. Replying to the Australian total Himachal XI started shakily but Raj Kumar and Devinder Arora took Himachal XI to victory. Raj Kumar scored 53 with eight fours while Devinder Arora’s 33 had two sixes and four fours. Arosh and Greig claimed two wickets each for the visitors. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr R.P. Khosla was the chief guest. The President of the Himachal Cricket Association, Mr Anurag Thakur said three renowned Indian cricketers will be invited to play for Himachal . |
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Army XI drub SRC; BSF held Kolkata, April 3 In the day’s first tie CISF and BSF fought in evenly-contested match with neither team sparing any effort to outwit the other. BSF shot into the lead via a Peter Tirkey penalty corner (1-0). Stung by the reverse CISF lay siege on the BSF defence forcing the equaliser through a penalty corner within a couple of minutes after the changeover. Mangra Munda directed the ball into the net with a delectable hit to level the scores at 1-1. After the equaliser CISF made waves of attacks in the BSF territory but failed to capitalise due to poor marksmanship from their strikers. The armymen made quickwork of the SRC taking the lead in the third minute through a Avtar Singh penalty corner(1-0). Avtar was among goals yet again when he netted his and the match’s second through another penalty corner five minutes before the changeover (2-0).
UNI |
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Hearing in Azhar case on April 16 Hyderabad, April 3 Azharuddin had filed a writ on March 7 seeking the documents regarding appointment of Mr K. Madhavan, a former CBI Joint Director, as BCCI inquiry commissioner. The board counsel today filed a counter, contending that the appointment of Mr K. Madhavan as BCCI inquiry commissioner did not constitute the subject matter of the suit filed by Azharuddin. However, Azhar’s counsel maintained that the appointment of Mr Madhavan was indeed a subject matter of the suit filed by his client and sought time to file a counter
affidavit. PTI |
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