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Thursday,
April 5, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Miandad sacked as Pakistan coach Indians,
Aussies arrive in Goa Ganguly under attack Punjab
face Railways today |
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Mohun Bagan beat FC Kochin 4-2 CISF drub
SRC; BSF held Bhutia tipped for captaincy Progress too slow,
FIFA warns Korea Jury convicts Hingis’ stalker Manoj Goel stars in
Friends Club win Punjab Police win
in volleyball
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Miandad sacked as Pakistan coach Islamabad, April 4 The announcement, last night by Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Lt-Gen Tauqir Zia, was accompanied by other bombshells - sacking of big guns Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Yousuf Youhana, Ejaz Ahmed and Azhar Mahmood. “Their names have not been considered due to fitness reasons. Even Moin Khan has opted out of the series due to injury,” General Zia was quoted as saying in media today. But there is apparently more to it than mere fitness problems. Some of the players are indeed injured, but others, specially Akram is reported to have recovered. Miandad, who was appointed coach till the 2003 World Cup, was sacked under the pretext that the PCB needed him in its advisory council. “I need Miandad to assist me in administrative work. It is not possible for me to handle the cricketing matters alone. Miandad along with Ramiz Raja will assist me in dealing with administrative functions. I know Miandad is hurt but I will pamper him like a kid,” the all-powerful general said in a lighter vein. Media reports said possible replacements for him include former England opener Geoff Boycott, a part-time coach at the country’s cricket academy, and Raja. Miandad was sacked once earlier too, just seven months after assuming charge in 1999. Miandad’s ouster as coach was on the cards for some time as he was loathed by the senior players like Akram and Moin. Rumours about his ouster were in circulation ever since the return of six senior players including Akram mid way through the just-concluded New Zealand tour owing to injuries. Media reports said a number of players had expressed their resentment against Miandad to the PCB. Miandad was caught in an acrimonious verbal duel with Akram and Moin over sharing of sponsorship money. The players complained that he was taking their share undeservedly. However, his fate was sealed by the disastrous performance of Pakistan in New Zealand where they lost the one-day series. Interestingly, the young team will be without the services of a full-time coach in Sharjah where a strong Sri Lanka and a depleted New Zealand are contesting. As an ad-hoc arrangement, Yawar Saeed, a member of the PCB’s advisory council, has been appointed coach-cum-manager of the team. Explaining the move, PCB Director Brig Munawar Ahmad Rana told reporters yesterday: “Saeed has enough experience to handle both jobs. As soon as we get a suitable coach, he will be appointed with the team,” he said. Team (from): Waqar Younis, (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq, (vice-captain) Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Abdur Razak, Hamayur Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mohmamad Aami, Faisal Iqbal, Imran Nazir, Yasir Arafat and Kashif Raza.
PTI |
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Indians, Aussies
arrive in Goa Margao (Goa), April 4 Friday’s encounter will be a needle contest for both teams as the Aussies levelled the one-dayer series 2-2 after yesterday’s 93-run victory at Vishakhapatnam. On their arrival at Dabolim airport near the port town of Vasco-da-Gama, both teams were accorded a traditional welcome. They chose to remain confined in hotels and were scheduled to take the nets tomorrow. Australian coach John Buchannan, who visited the stadium this evening, expressed satisfaction over the arrangements and said his boys would go for net practice tomorrow evening. Meanwhile, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief curator G.Kasturirangan had inspected the wicket and expressed happiness over the arrangements. The general perception here is that the pitch would tilt heavily in favour of batsmen and Goans would get an opportunity to witness a proper game of a sport that’s still struggling to rise at par with soccer in this tiny tourist state. Goa has hosted five international cricket matches in the past. Among them, India played three but lost two. The first was between Sri Lanka and Australia on October 25, 1989, in which the men from Down Under won by 33 runs. The Lankans won the second match on December 12, 1990, defeating India by seven wickets. The third one-day international between the West Indies and the Kiwis was abandoned on October 26, 1994, due to unseasonal showers. The fourth, between India and New Zealand on November 21, 1995, was washed out and Sri Lanka won the fifth on December 28, 1997, again vanquishing India by seven wickets.
UNI |
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Ganguly under attack Sydney, April 4 The spat between Ganguly and Australian captain Steve Waugh began even before the Aussies left for their current tour of India. It has shown no signs of abating as Ganguly continues to be picked on even for minor issues. Australian cricket writers touring with the team have found fault with Ganguly’s behaviour with Australian spectators in Kolkata, his “discourteous treatment” of Waugh and his perceived disregard for the game’s niceties. A lot of fuss was first made about Ganguly keeping Waugh waiting in seven matches before going out to toss, prompting the Australian captain to walk to the wicket alone at Indore, venue of the third one-day international. At Indore, Ganguly was also accused of wrongly claiming to have won the toss. Ganguly responded to this charge stating “I merely asked whether it was heads or tails because we have used a new coin in every match of the series. It just showed how this series has gone — one controversy after another..... I think people should be a bit more responsible and must clarify issues with those concerned”. In the fourth one-day international at Visakhapatnam yesterday, Ganguly went out to the pitch 15 minutes before Waugh joined him at the appointed time for the toss, Australian media reported today, claiming that the Indian captain had been admonished by match referee Cammie Smith for being late for the earlier tosses. However, the Aussie writers now had a new complaint —Ganguly had breached the ICC regulation that stipulates that captains must wear their match clothes at the toss. Ganguly wore his team’s training shirt, presumably the reason why Waugh had yet another word with Smith, they reported today. “Ganguly seems to be international cricket’s version of a spoilt child,” wrote Mark Ray in a leading newspaper. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, in a newspaper article in India, has advised Ganguly not to bother about the Australian media “whose temerity in suggesting that he is rude should be laughed at”. What about all the verbals that the opposition bowlers have indulged in, Gavaskar asked. In the middle of all the controversy being raked up by the Australians, it must be really pleasing for Waugh and his team to have totally unsettled Ganguly who has repeatedly failed with the bat in the three-Test series and the four
one-dayers. He looks a pale shadow of the superb one-day batsman that he is. A big knock by Ganguly in the deciding fifth
one-dayer in Goa on Friday would be an appropriate send off for the Aussies as they leave India after the gruelling tour with severely dented reputation of world beaters.
PTI |
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Punjab face Railways today Chandigarh, April 4 Dinesh Mongai, Yuvraj Singh and off-spinners Harbhajan Singh and Sarandeep Singh are members of the Indian squad which is currently playing a one-day series against Australia. In case the Board of Control for Cricket in India had accepted the plea of the Punjab Cricket Association to defer the match, then these players could also have turned out for the state. Also, their presence would have added a lot of glamour to the match and would have drawn spectators to witness the contest. However, the Punjab team has not been demoralised by the absence of their star players. The primary reason for it is that they still can avail of the services of senior players like Vikram Rathore and Pankaj
Dharmani, both of whom are seasoned campaigners. Besides having beaten Mumbai in the quarterfinals in Mumbai has boosted their
confidence. Ravneet Ricky and Vikram Rathore are likely to open the Punjab innings with Munish Sharma, Ankur
Kakkar, Pankaj Dharmani and Reetinder Sodhi forming the middle order. The pace attack will be in the hands of Gagandeep Singh and Vineet Sharma. Right-arm leg spinner Sandeep Sawal and left-arm spinner Babloo Kumar will take care of the spin department. The chances of off-spinner Sanjay Dhull playing in the match can only be decided before the two captains go out to toss tomorrow morning. The Railways team on the other hand cannot be considered as pushovers. Any team which can reach this stage of the National Cricket Championship cannot be dismissed as easy prey. The Railways squad is in full strength as Test discard Murali Kartik has also joined the team after having missed the quarterfinal clash against Karnataka due to fitness problems. Former Indian player Harvinder Singh and Pace Academy bowler Zakir Hussain will share the new ball for the Railways team. The two spinners in their ranks are Murali Kartik and off-spinner Kulmani
Parida. The Railways team is banking heavily on allrounder Tejinder Singh, who incidentally has his roots in Punjab, who has performed consistently this season. The batting line-up of the visitors consists of Amit
Pagnis, Sanjay Bangar, Yere Gaud, Raja Ali, Santosh Sahu and skipper Abhay Sharma himself.
Abhay, formerly of Delhi, has a point to prove. The two umpires for this match are L.P. Verma from patna and Subrata Banerjee from
Kolkata. Play will commence at 9 a.m.
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Bayern stun Manchester United Manchester (England), April 4
“I’m not disappointed with our performance but I’m very disappointed with the result because I thought we played well enough to win it,’’ said United manager Alex Ferguson. Manchester United had given their German opponents a less than subtle reminder of past glories as they warmed up by playing the hit tune Barcelona over the public address system. The similarities with that match continued as Bayern controlled much of the game, just as they had before being denied in injury-time at the Nou Camp. Paul Scholes had to clear Patrik Andersson’s towering header from a corner off the line in the 16th minute. Carsten Janker shot straight at Barthez and Salihamidzic blasted wide after a mistake by Mikael Silvestre. By then, Manchester United had carved out their best opportunity. Beckham’s deep cross found Andy Cole unmarked at the far post, but the England striker hit his shot into the ground and off target. Barthez kept Manchester United in the game from then on with two stunning saves to deflect long-range efforts from Jens Jeremies round the post. Elber was also twice denied by the Frenchman before Zickler crashed a shot against the bar. The
warning was not heeded and Sergio knocked in a winner which will put
Bayern firmly in the driving seat in the second leg in a fortnight’s
time in Munich. Reuters  |
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Mohun Bagan beat FC Kochin 4-2 Kolkata, April 4 Foreign recruits dominated the day, with Bagan’s skillful Brazilian striker Jose Ramirez Barreto scoring thrice, while the versatile Liberian Sunday Seah struck a brace for the visitors in the closely contested match at the giant Salt Lake Stadium. Barreto also played a crucial role in his team’s other goal doing the spadework from the left to enable substitute Sumit Sengupta find the target from close. The match saw Bagan surge in the initial stages, before Kochin went ahead against the run of play. But the local club equalised seven minutes from the breather through Barreto. Early in the second half, Seah again put Kochin ahead, but a desperate Bagan raised their game by several notches and with Barreto leading the charge established total domination over their rivals pumping in three goals within a space of 15 minutes. The tension-packed match was marred by frayed tempers, and Bagan’s
substitute striker Amar Ganguly received marching orders in the 81st minute from referee J.Ravishankar for punching rival defender Rashidi Williamas off the ball. With this win Bagan have consolidated their position in the second spot and emerged sole challengers to leaders East Bengal. With 35 points from 18 outings, Bagan are now three points behind East Bengal, who have played a match less. FC Kochin, who were on an even keel with Bagan on points before the match, remain on 32 points from 18 matches.
PTI |
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CISF drub
SRC; BSF held Kolkata, April 4 In the other pool ‘B’ match at CCFC ground, Army XI were held to a goal-less draw by a gritty Border Security Force, with both teams squandering scoring opportunities due to poor finishing. CISF shot into the lead through skipper G.V. Xaxa in the 17th minute when the striker scored a clever field goal off a goalmouth melee. The Delhi team added another cushion to their tally when Mohammed Parvez hit the net with a powerful hit 10 minutes after the breather (2-0). Xaxa earned his second goal of the day and his team’s third when he collected a long pass to convert it into a brilliant field goal in the 22nd minute of the second half (3-0).
UNI |
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Bhutia tipped for captaincy New Delhi, April 4 The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) is likely to announce the name of the captain on Friday, a source said. Bhutia joined the training camp for the national team at Bangalore recently after completing a professional contract with English football club Bury. According to FIFA rules, 22 players can be picked for an international match. India has been clubbed with Yemen and Brunei Darussalam in group eight for the pre-World Cup home-and-away qualifying matches. Yemen and Brunei Darussalam are comparatively weaker sides as they are ranked 161 and 194 in the FIFA list. Two or three teams will qualify from the Asian region, comprising 39 teams, apart from the two joint hosts, who qualify automatically. The World Cup will be held in South Korea and Japan next year. A draw with the UAE, ranked 64th by FIFA, will be considered an achievement for India, ranked 124th. India’s preparations for Sunday’s match, however, have been hit hard as an AIFF rule that does permit the selection of more than three players from a particular club. This rule has ensured that Basudeb Mondal, India’s captain in the recently concluded Millennium Cup, does not find a place in the 21-member squad. An ankle injury to left-half Hardeep Singh Sangha and a fractured hand to stopper Tapan Ghosh has also weakened the prospects of the team doing well against the UAE. The selectors are likely to trim the 21-member squad to 18 players. Squad: goalkeepers: Virender Singh, N. Balaji and Prasnta Dora; defenders: Sur Kumar Singh, Deepak Mondal, Mahesh Gawli, Roberto Fernandes, Rattan Singh, K.V. Dhanesh; mid-fielders: R.P. Singh, Jules Alberto, Joe Paul Ancheri, Noel Wilson, Khalid Jameel, S. Venkatesh and P. Rennedy Singh; forwards: Bhaichung Bhutia, I.M. Vijayan, R.C. Prakash, Alvito D’Cunha, M.A.M. Abdul Hakim. Fixtures: April 8: India vs. UAE (Bangalore); April 15: India vs. Yemen (Bangalore); April 26: India vs. UAE (Dubai); May 4: India vs. Yemen (Sana’a); May 12: India vs. Brunei Darussalam (Bandar Seri Begawan); May 20: India vs. Brunei Darussalam (Kolkata).
IANS |
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Progress too slow,
FIFA warns Korea Sogwipo (S. Korea), April 4 An inspection mission from football’s world governing body expressed concern about the pace of construction work and facilities at the Sogwipo stadium on the resort island of Cheju. After touring the 42,256 capacity stadium, Antonio Matarrese, a FIFA Vice-President, told AFP: “The stadium is behind time and we are here to suggest solutions. We will have to come back to make sure that all the terms of reference are being fulfilled. “We see many things that must be done. There is still lot of work to do and some of the facilities we have seen are not satisfactory.” Mr Matarresse and other FIFA experts ordered Sogwipo’s mayor Kang Sang-Joo to provide monthly progress reports on construction work. The stadium is expected to become a focus of attention during the World Cup finals because of its exotic location in the shadow of an extinct volcano, Mount Halla.
AFP |
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Jury convicts Hingis’ stalker Miami, April 4 The jury deliberated for two and half hours before announcing the verdict yesterday in the stalking and trespassing case against Dubravko Rajcevic, a 46-year-old Croatian-born naval architect. Rajcevic was found guilty on all of the four misdemeanour charges against him: one count of stalking and three counts of trespassing during the 2000 Ericsson Open near Miami. Rajcevic faces up to four years in state prison. Rajcevic said he fell in love with Hingis after seeing her on television while at home in Australia about the same time he was getting a divorce in 1999. Thinking a relationship could develop with Hingis, Rajcevic began sending her faxes and letters expressing his admiration for her and travelled to her Swiss home to deliver flowers. Rajcevic said many people close to Hingis told him she didn’t want a relationship with him, but he said he never heard that from her. Hingis testified on Monday that she told him in person and by phone to stay away. Earlier yesterday, Rajcevic told jurors he was convinced Hingis once loved him, but had probably found someone else while he was in jail. “Yes, I believe she was in love with me, but I’ve been in jail for one year,” Rajcevic said. “She’s young, beautiful, famous. In one year she’s probably found someone else.” In closing arguments after Rajcevic’s testimony, prosecutor Christopher Calkin said Rajcevic followed Hingis around the world even though she and others repeatedly told him to stop. Under the law, he said one warning was enough. “It certainly does not require somebody to tell someone to stop for over a year,” he said. Defence attorney Frank Abrams said Rajcevic never threatened Hingis and never had a weapon. He argued the charges would have been dropped if the alleged victim had not been a celebrity. Mr Abrams said the only thing his client is guilty of is trying to romance a woman beyond his reach. “The pursuit, no matter how implausible, cannot be punished,” he said. In more than five hours of testimony on Monday and Tuesday, Rajcevic was at times argumentative and rambling. “Is it wrong if I want to marry Martina?” he asked. Rajcevic bristled when Calkin said he had been “chasing” Hingis to the various tennis tournaments that she plays around the world. “I was travelling, not chasing,” Rajcevic said. “Chasing means that she was running and I was behind.” Psychologists who evaluated Rajcevic concluded he was delusional but mentally competent to stand trial. He talked about how he is close friends with former US President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh. Rajcevic said he was glad Clinton didn’t pardon him when he left office because it was important that at least one person “very close to Mr Clinton” did not receive a pardon.
AP |
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Manoj Goel stars in
Friends Club win New Delhi, April 4 A fine all-round performance by Manoj Goel (89 and 5 for 22) and a strokeful 86 by Haryana Ranji discard Paras Prajapat, were the highlights of Friends’s club title triumph. Manoj Goel was adjudged the man of the match as well as the man of the tournament, Paras Prajapat the best batsman, Krishan Thapa the best bowler (all Friends Club) and Sumeet Sharma of Bhiwani as the best fielder. Rao Shamsher Singh, Principal of Jain Public High School LS Changwal and Balram Sharma presented the trophies to the winners. Brief scores: Friends Club: 237/5 (Krishan Thapa 31, Manoj Goel 89, Paras Prajapat 86, Sunny 3/41). Bright Club: 82 (Deepak Jora 18, Manoj Goel 5/22, Krishan Thapa 3/19, Parmod Yadav 2/19). |
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Punjab Police win
in volleyball Tuticorin, April 4 However, ITI Bangalore and title contenders IOB Chennai came through pulsating encounters to beat Indian Bank, Chennai, and Cochin Refineries Limited respectively. Led by spiker Nagaraj and setter Rajesh, ITI prevailed 21-25, 23-25, 30-28, 25-22, 15-11, recovering from a two-set deficit for their second
win. UNI |
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Rohtak win Sonepat, April 4 |
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