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| Thursday, August 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India    |
Yuvraj (98
n.o.) scripts Indian win
Batsmen to
blame, says Jayasuriya |
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England
face uphill task in 3rd Test Ghatak,
Baboor make exit  Montreal, August 1 Top seed Gustavo Kuerten found himself in a dogfight against the oldest man in tennis and the Brazilian needed all of his survival skills to manage a comeback against Haiti’s Ronald Agenor. Kuerten took just under two hours to subdue the 36-year-old veteran 4-6 6-4 6-3 here yesterday in a first-round match at the $ 2.95-million ATP Masters Series hardcourt event. Andre Agassi of the USA returns the serve of Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic during the Tennis Masters Series - Canada, in Montreal on Tuesday. Agassi lost the match 2-6, 4-6. — Reuters photo |
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Jeev
Milkha ready for ‘exciting day’ Shilpa,
Tushar Liberhan ousted Ghavri
takes charge of Bengal team India
salvage draw Youth
basketball from today PEA to
field depleted squad Archery
to make debut Tennis
camp at Amritsar
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Yuvraj (98 n.o.) scripts Indian win
Colombo, August 1 Having been put in to bat by Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya in a must-win game, India were tottering at 38 for four but wriggled out to a healthy 227 for eight thanks to a career-best unbeaten 98 by Yuvraj Singh. The bowlers then did their job, skittling out Sri Lanka for 181 in 45.5 overs to give the team their second victory in the tournament. India, who had just two points from four matches before this match, have completed the first part of their job with this win. They now need to beat New Zealand, who have four points from five matches, tomorrow to ensure their place in the final. Sri Lanka are already in the final with eight points from four wins. It was a gutsy performance by Yuvraj Singh, whose previous claim to fame was the match-winning innings of 84 on his debut against Australia in the ICC Knock Out Tournament in Nairobi last year, as he engineered a remarkable turnaround in the company of Rahul Dravid after the top-order collapse. Yuvraj was unfortunate not to have reached his first one-day century but he can draw satisfaction from the fact that his effort was largely responsible for India’s win today. That effort was duly acknowledged when he was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his heroic 110-ball knock that included six fours and a six. India also owed its total to patient 47 by Dravid who prospered once again in his sheet anchor role. A quickfire 30 by Reetinder Singh Sodhi towards the end ensured India did not waste the advantages gained by Dravid and Yuvraj. A total of 227 on a track that gave ample support to the bowlers was always going to be difficult for Sri Lanka. The hosts too lost early wickets but, unlike India, they could not get any partnership going which ultimately did them in. Sri Lankan batsmen capitulated without a fight after the pace duo of Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan had put them in a situation similar to what India had been in the morning. Sri Lanka were unable to recover after being reduced to 24 for three in the eighth over and never really looked in the running. India could not have had a worse start when opener Virender Sehwag, who was trapped leg before wicket by Chaminda Vaas off the first ball of the innings, and captain Saurav Ganguly were out with just seven runs, all extras, on the board. There was more shock in store for them when V.V.S. Laxman and Hemang Badani fell in quick succession to leave India in a seemingly hopeless position. Laxman, who was just beginning to time the ball well, was foxed by a slower delivery from Dilhara Fernando and gave a simple catch to Jayasuriya at mid-off after making 10 runs. Badani looked uncomfortable from the start and went for a wild slash off Fernando and only managed to give a regulation catch to Mahela Jayawardene at first slip. He made two. Dravid and Yuvraj were then engaged in the brilliant rescue act that set the course for a healthy total. They took their time to settle down and played patiently. The duo first saw off the pace bowlers, who had been getting considerable help from the pitch, and then started picking up the singles and twos at a good rate once the spinners came into operation. Seeing Yuvraj playing comfortably, Dravid, who had hit Vaas and Fernando for a boundary each early in his innings, rotated the strike and gave the youngster the opportunity to do the bulk of the scoring. India’s run-rate picked up after the 25th over with both players picking up the runs easily in a spread-out field. Yuvraj caught up with his senior partner in the forties and overtook him to reach his 50 with a single off Arnold in the 33rd over. He had earlier hit the bowler over mid-on in the same over for his third boundary.
SCOREBOARD India: Sehwag lbw b Vaas 0 Ganguly c Sangakkara b Vaas 0 Laxman c Jayasuriya b
Fernando 10 Dravid st Kalu b Jayasuriya 47 Badani c Jayawardene b
Fernando 2 Yuvraj not out 98 Sodhi b Muralitharan 30 Dighe c Kalu
b Fernando 3 Harbhajan b Murali 4 Zaheer Khan not out 3 Extras (b-2, lb-7, w-15, nb-6) 30 Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 227 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-7, 3-31, 4-38, 5-140, 6-197, 7-200, 8-213. Bowling: Vaas 9-1-35-2, Fernando 9-1-47-3, Perera 3-0-20-0, Muralitharan 10-2-29-2, Dharmasena 8-0-39-0, Jayasuriya 7-0-28-1, Arnold 4-0-20-0. Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya c Dravid b Nehra 10 Kalu run out 0 Atapattu c Dighe b Khan 1 Jayawardene b Ganguly 34 Arnold lbw b Ganguly 21 Sangakkara b Nehra 18 Perera c Zaheer b Harbhajan 30 Dharmasena run out 23 Vaas c Harbhajan b Nehra 13 Muralitharan c sub
(Agarakar) b Zaheer 11 Fernando not out 2 Extras (lb-7, w-3, nb-8) 18 Total (all out, 45.5 overs) 181 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-7, 3-24, 4-67, 5-93, 6-109, 7-151, 8-157, 9-178. Bowling: Zaheer 8-1-24-2, Nehra 8.5-0-35-3, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-31-1, Ganguly 10-1-31-2, Sehwag 3-0-19-0, Sodhi 6-0-34-0.
PTI |
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Batsmen to blame, says Jayasuriya Colombo, August 1 “I have got a lot of faith in him (Yuvraj). He is a match-winner...The way he played today shows he is a future prospect for India,” a beaming Ganguly said. Ganguly shot back at his detractors, who have been resenting his support and preference for the Punjab all-rounder, saying they “should leave Yuvraj alone” let him play his natural game. On today’s victory, Ganguly said: “The first 15 overs are very important and our bowlers bowled well.” Ganguly admitted tomorrow’s match against New Zealand “is a big one for both of us”. India, who have four points from five matches, must win against New Zealand, who are equally placed in the final against Sri Lanka on August 5. Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya squarely blamed the batsmen for the defeat. “We had a good start as we picked early wickets. We did well in restricting the Indians to a total of 227. “The batsmen should have played with more responsibility. By the first 15 overs we had lost three wickets. It was not a big score and the wicket was also good....No excuses. We were let down by bad batting,” a dejected Jayasuriya said. The skipper said they would try and forget this game and “come back to play a new game altogether in the final”.
PTI |
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England face uphill task in 3rd Test Nottingham (England), August 1 England face a must-win situation at Trent Bridge tomorrow in the third Test to stop Australia’s relentless pursuit to win a record seventh Ashes series in a row. Australia have taken control of the five Test series with lopsided wins at Edgbaston and Lord’s to take a 2-0 lead. Stand-in captain Atherton is looking for a revival of spirit and urged his players to draw inspiration from England’s four straight series victories before the Ashes began. England rediscovered the winning habit against Zimbabwe, West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It also drew a two two-Test series against Pakistan. Then Australia arrived, England lost every match of the one-day series, which also included Pakistan, and the first two Ashes Tests. “I think we’ve shown a lot of character, shown a lot of spirit in difficult circumstances, we’ve come back from behind on a couple of occasions,” Atherton said. “They’ve (Australia) had the upper hand,” Atherton said. “Psychologically, I don’t think so. The players retain a faith in our team. We’ve showed character and resilience, and we have faith in the team and each other to do that.” Atherton conceded England had found itself in a difficult situation largely due to its inability and experience. “It’s been a tough couple of Tests,” Atherton said. “We’ve recognised we’ve not played as well as we would have liked to have done. We recognise Australia has played pretty well as well. We obviously got to focus on the area we’ve got to improve — fielding is one.” England has been let down by poor catching, dropping 13, many of which let Australia off the hook at crucial stages. Atherton, the only player in the current side who has played in England’s Ashes wins, recalled how important it was to grab crucial moments. “In every series and every game we’ve had small opportunities,” he said. “Games like Adelaide in ’95 we were really behind for much of the game but managed to take a small window of opportunity and I think in these two games (just gone) we’ve had those opportunities as well. That’s the key for us, to take that opportunity.” England will play five bowlers for the first time including a four-man pace attack to bowl Australia out on a benign Trent Bridge pitch. Australia skipper Steve Waugh pointed out Australia’s experience in winning had made it a tough and battle-hardened outfit. Under his captaincy, Australia have won 19 Tests and lost just five since March 1999. “You get to certain moments in the game and you know they’re crucial,” Waugh said. “It’s how you react to those moments that sets up the Test match. We’re pretty relaxed. Once you’ve done it a few times you’re more confident in what you can do. “You’ve got to get that first breakthrough to do it. It’s hard against a side like us because we’re always.
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Ghatak, Baboor make exit Kolkata, August 1 While lowly ranked T. Pradipa of Tamil Nadu ousted Olympian and national champion Poulami (PSCB) after a gruelling seven set tie 11-9, 12-14, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, unfancied Ranbir Das of Bengal got the better of last year’s runner-up and Olympian Baboor (PSCB) in another see-saw battle 11-9, 11-13, 8-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-9, 11-7. The women’s singles quarterfinal match went evenly with both the paddlers sharing the first two sets. Poulami showed her brilliance and came back strongly to take the second and the third set. But thereafter Pradipa swept through the fourth and fifth sets before Poulami took the sixth tie. Pradipa again took the seventh set 11-8 hitting a series of top spin winners. Ranabir Das who hails from Bengal and plays for the Indian Railways was seeded fifth in the five-day championship at the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra. But he was elevated a step further following withdrawal of third seed S. Raman (PSCB). Raman cancelled his participation following his brother’s accidental death in the USA. In the other quarterfinal matches in the men’s singles Soumadeep Roy of PSCB beat his campatriot Arjun Dua 11-4, 11-5, 12-10, 5-11, and 11-8. Sibaji Dutta also from PSCB defeated Tamil Nadu’s A Sarath Kamal 17-15, 14-12, 19-17, 10-12 11-8, 14-12 and 11-9, while Subha Saha (PSCB) downed Railways Sourav Chaktraborty 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 110-8 and 11-6. In the women’s singles quarterfinals Nandita Saha of Bengal beat her home player Kastari Chakraborty 6-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-1, 11-7 and 11-5 and Mouma Das of the PSCB ousted Railways’ Susmita Roy 11-3, 8-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7 and 11-7. Another PSCB recruit M.S. Maithili beat local Mousami Paul 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 4-11 and 11-7.
UNI |
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Indian duo upset Montreal, August 1 They lost to the unseeded American pair, Scot Humphries and Alex O’Brian of the USA 3-6 6-3 3-6.
PTI |
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Agassi suffers shock defeat Montreal, August 1 Kuerten took just under two hours to subdue the 36-year-old veteran 4-6 6-4 6-3 here yesterday in a first-round match at the $ 2.95-million ATP Masters Series hardcourt event. “Guga” won on the first of three match point after Agenor had dropped serve in the seventh game to open the door for the South American. Like fellow seeds Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt of Australia a day earlier, Kuerten too rallied to advance. “The opening round is always so tough,” Kuerten said. “After the courts last week in Los Angeles, these were just so fast.” Kuerten lost the first set as he got a break back but dropped serve against in the final game. In the second, the Brazilian began to work and levelled with a break in the ninth which held. Uncomfortable and unfamiliar court conditions got the best of third seed Andre Agassi, sending the two-time champion crashing out in a first-round upset loss. Croatian Ivan Ljubicic used a familiarity with the fast, low-bouncing purple cement of this former baseball park to carve out a 6-2 6-4 upset in just 71 minutes. “I was not comfortable in any facet of my game,” Agassi said. “He took it to me. He was better than I was and there was nothing I could do about it.” There was nothing the 31-year-old father-to-be could seem to get right less than 48 hours after claiming his fifth title of 2001 in Los Angeles at the expense of Pete Sampras, who pulled out here with an injury. Agassi said everything went wrong for him — but the American had only himself to blame. “It was like playing a different sport out there,” Agassi said. “Here, the balls are quick and low. In LA, they bounce high.” Ljubicic called his victory the best of his career. The former Bosnian refugee who escaped to Croatia from the Balkan war zone a decade ago and learned tennis in Italy as a charity student, was clearly enamoured with his achievement. “I’m pretty excited about this,” said the balding 21-year-old. Ljubicic maintained a personal telephone hotline with Goran Ivanisevic in the week following his compatriot’s miracle Wimbledon title triumph. His gamble to abandon the European clay early and take to the cement in preparation for the US Open appears to have been a solid bet.
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Jeev Milkha ready for ‘exciting day’ Denver, August 1 Despite the presence of big names like world No. 2 Phil Mickelson, No. 3 and reigning British Open champion David Duval, defending champion Ernie Els and the hottest player on the Tour, Sergio Garcia, the fact that two Singhs were playing together was enough to create excitement around the Castle Pines Golf Club course. “It was a great experience playing with Vijay. He won this tournament in 1998 and know how to tackle this course. He passed me a few tips which should be helpful in the coming days,’’ said the 29-year-old golfer. Jeev has been in Denver for two days now giving the tournament his best shot. “I practiced today and played the pro-am yesterday. I have practiced very hard at the driving range and I am looking forward to a decent finish here,’’ said Jeev, who came closest to playing a PGA Tour event in 1999 when he missed the final berth in the us Open qualifier after losing a playoff. “It almost seems as if I have been waiting all my life for this to happen. Tomorrow is going to be the most exciting day of my life,’’ said the Hero Honda-sponsored golfer. The international has attracted a sterling field, including all yesteryear champions.
UNI |
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Shilpa, Tushar Liberhan ousted Chennai, August 1 Nidhi struggled in the first set which she managed to win on a tie break but dropped just two games in the second as Shilpa’s game crumbled. Nidhi won 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. Parul, however, was in devastating form as she whitewashed West Bengal’s unseeded Devanshi Rajgharia 6-0, 6-0. Sandri also did not drop even a single game against Assam’s Neha Rana to win 6-0, 6-0. Sandri’s state mate Punam Reddy ended the run of Tamil Nadu’s M. Kamini 7-5, 6-0. Unseeded Shranya Pattabi (TN), Karnataka’s Iciri Rai, Tamil Nadu’s Preethi Shravan and Vandana Murali also made it to the last eight stage. In the boys under-16 boys singles only one seed, third-seeded Tushar Liberhan of Chandigarh was upset. Maharashtra’s unseeded Aditya Madgekar ended his run, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 to make it to the pre-quarters. Top-seed M.V. Abhay Prakash (TN), fifth-seed Somdev Verman (TN), seventh-seed Ajay Selvaraj (TN), eighth-seed Vikram Aditya Menon (TN) also entered the last 16.
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Ghavri takes charge of Bengal team Kolkata, August 1 The 50-year-old former medium pacer, who took over as the coach of the Bengal team today, said the boys would have to work hard if they were keen to improve their performance. “I have just taken over the job, so I am not in a position to talk much about the team. Give me some time to know the players,” the amiable Ghavri told reporters. “It is a challenge for me. I know Bengal’s performance has not been too good in the last few years. I hope I can change that,” he said. The former Test cricketer expressed satisfaction with the coaching facilities available at the Eden Gardens. “The facilities are very good. I am impressed with the indoor coaching centre here”. “I have to assess the fitness level of the players. Fitness is an important factor in cricket these days,” he added. He said his priority would be to first know the players, particularly the younger ones, and then draw up the plans for the forthcoming season. Ghavri, who reached the city in the morning, got down to work immediately with the Bengal probables as he watched them closely at the nets in the indoor coaching centre. The practice session was shifted to the indoor centre due to the steady monsoon drizzle.
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India salvage draw London, August 1 India, who had earlier lost 0-3 to Brentford Football Club and 0-2 to former European Cup champions Nottingham Forest Club will next meet first division Walsall Football Club on August 3. After a goal-less first half, striker Brendan McElholm who came as a substitute, converted a corner to put Orient into the lead in the 63rd minute and India salvaged their prestige scoring the equaliser in the 79th minute when star striker I.M. Vijayan shot home from outside the box.
PTI |
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Youth basketball
from today Patiala, August 1 Giving this information, Mr Teja Singh Dhaliwal, secretary, Punjab Basketball Association (PBA), said that all 17 districts of the state have confirmed their entries for the championship. Since the championship is open for both men and women, 33 entries had been received in all in both the sections. The Ferozepore women’s team has yet to confirm its entry. Mr Dhaliwal said that in both the men’s and women’s section’s, the teams have been divided into four pools each and the matches will be played on knock out basis. The top team from each pool will make the semi-final grade which will played on league basis. In the men’s section Bathinda, which won last year’s edition of the championships, start as favourites, while on the distaff side Gurdaspur are the firm favourites to lay their hands on the title. The PBA has decided to go in for stringent age verification checks that include screening by PBA officials. The screening process will be followed by medical checks to be undertaken by a medical board that will be constituted by the PBA. |
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PEA to field
depleted squad Patiala, August 1 When the PEA came to know of the decision of the Services, a senior office-bearer of the association rushed to
Meerut, where the Services equestrian team is stationed but failed to get a favourable response. The 12-member Punjab equestrian team that will take part in the National Games, will now comprise riders from Punjab Police and the
BSF. Earlier, the PEA suffered setbacks when first it failed to find a good coach and then a top class stallion died at Jalandhar recently. |
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Archery
to
make debut Chandigarh, August 1 Inter-college events for men began with wrestling event which began from August 30. Kabaddi ( women) will begun from September 3, cycling (men and women) from September 10, softball from September 12, swimming and water polo from October 1 and rowing from October 3. Shooting (both pistol and rifle) will be held in the 2nd week of December, ball badminton in 3rd week of same month and archery in the 2nd week of January 2002. |
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Tennis
camp at Amritsar Amritsar, August 1 He said that AITA would depute a senior national coach for conducting the camp. The camp would be organised free of cost. Youngsters are requested to report at the Ram Bagh Tennis Complex. |
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