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Friday,
August 24, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Vaas puts
Lanka in strong position Kumble writes
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No rift
between IOA, Ministry: Randhir
Working
at different wave-lengths Punjab
may host Asian school cricket meet Punjab basketball
league PCA U-19
league
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Vaas puts Lanka in strong position Kandy, August 23 Nearly all the Indian batsmen got a start today but, with the exception of Sadgopan Ramesh and Harbhajan Singh, the two top-scorers for the side, none of them could consolidate. In the process, they fell 42 runs short of the Sri Lankan first innings score of 274, being skittled out for 232. India succeeded in dismissing Sanath Jayasuriya quite early for the second time in this Test but that was the only consolation for the visitors on the day after they were once again tormented by the formidable pace attack of the home team. As many as four batsmen fell between 10 and 20 runs and Sameer Dighe was out for 28. Ramesh battled for 152 minutes for his 47 while Harbhajan Singh made a sparkling 44 off just 32 balls. India had a positive start to the day’s play with Harvinder Singh bowling Chaminda Vaas off the third ball to end the Sri Lankan first innings without the addition of any run to their overnight total of 274. Vaas was out for 42. But it was the batsmen’s performance which remained a matter of deep concern for the Indians. Opener Shiv Sunder Das was unlucky to have been given out let before wicket to Vaas. Das had made eight runs with the total on 11. But the remaining batsmen own mistakes and this time even Rahul Dravid could do nothing about a straight one from Vaas which found him plumb in front of the wicket. Dravid had started well, his previous innings obviously giving him a lot of confidence against the Sri Lankan pacemen. He struck Vaas for two boundaries through the mid-wicket region but was out to a similar shot. Dravid made 15 and the second wicket fell at 36. For a change captain Saurav Ganguly made a confident start to his innings. Ganguly promoted himself to No 1 and batted quite positively during his short knock. He middled the ball well and his timing too was good, giving the impression that the captain was ready to finally leave behind his horrendous run with the bat. A couple of silky drives through the off-side for fours reminded one of the Ganguly-that-used-to-be, but probably it was all too good to be true. One bad shot from the skipper and he was returning to the pavilion. Going for another drive through the off-side, Ganguly was unable to keep a Ruchira Perera delivery down and Hashan Tillekaratne took a good catch at gully. Ganguly made a run-a-ball 18. All this while, Ramesh, who made a very tentative start and was outscored by all his three partners, was gaining in confidence. He was beaten outside the off-stump, his nemesis on numerous earlier occasions, quite a few times, but after the dismissal of Ganguly, settled down to play some fine shots on both sides and in one over hit Dilhara Fernando for two fours, one through the covers and the other to long-on fence. However, the pick of his shots was a drive off Muthiah Muralitharan to the extra-cover boundary. Ramesh got good support from Mohammad Kaif, the two raising 52 runs for the fourth wicket. But Kaif got another bad decision and India were in deep trouble at 120 for four. Kaif was surprised by a rising delivery from Fernando, the ball taking the top edge of his bat and flying to gully where Marvan Atapattu took the catch. However, TV replays showed it was actually a no-ball. Kaif’s 17 came off 44 balls. Fernando struck again in his next over, this time dismissing Ramesh with an outgoing delivery. Ramesh made a feeble attempt to play the shot and the ball landed in wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara’s gloves after taking an outside edge. Ramesh faced 95 balls for his 47 that contained five hits to the fence. PTI Scoreboard Sri Lanka (Ist innings): Atapattu b Zaheer 39 Jayasuriya run out 3 Sangakkara c Ramesh
b Ganguly 31 Jayawardene c Dighe b Prasad 104 Arnold c Dravid b Zaheer 5 Tillekaratne c Dighe b Prasad 10 S. Perera lbw b Ganguly 18 Vaas not out 42 Murali b Harvinder 5 Fernando c Dighe b Zaheer 4 R. Perera not out 0 Extras: (lb-7 w-1 nb-5 ) 13 Total:
(all out 78.3 overs) 274 Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-78, 3-82, 4-101, 5-138, 6-189, 7-232, 8-245, 9-274. Bowling:
Khan 22-6-62-3, Harvinder Singh 14.3-1-62-2, Prasad 18-4-52-2, Ganguly 17-5-69-2, Harbhajan Singh 7-1-22-0. India (1st innings): Das lbw b Vaas 8 Dravid lbw Vaas 15 Ramesh c Perera b Fernando 47 Ganguly c Tillekaratne b
R. Perera 18 Kaif c Atapattu b Fernando 17 Badani c Fernando b R. Perera 16 Dighe lbw b Vaas 28 Harbhajan b Vaas 44 Z. Khan c Tillekaratne b Murali 0 Prasad not out 1 Harvinder b Murli 6 Extras: (lb-7, w-2, nb-23) 32 Total:
(all out, 64.1 overs) 232 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-36, 3-68, 4-120, 5-123, 6-154, 7-218, 8-223, 9-223. Bowling:
Vaas 21-3-65-4, Fernando 14-2-66-2, R. Perera 7-2-23-2, Muralitharan 20.1-5-62-2, S. Perera 2-0-9-0. Sri Lanka (2nd innings): Atapattu batting 30 Jayasuriya b Zaheer 6 Sangakkara batting 13 Extras:
(lb-2, nb-1) 3 Total: (for 1 wkt, 18 overs) 52 Fall of wicket:
1-20. Bowling: Khan 7-1-29-1, Harvinder Singh 3-1-8-0, Prasad 4-1-4-0, Ganguly 2-1-2-0, Harbhajan Singh 2-1-7-0. |
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Kumble writes It is never easy to come back from a first Test loss in a three-Test series, but India have done that in the past against the mighty Aussies. However, while recent history is in favour of the Indians at Kandy, Muttiah Muralitharan will be ready with his bag of tricks on his home ground. I have not bowled on this wicket because the last time we played a Test at this venue was in 1993, rain played spoilsport, allowing only fifty minutes of play in the entire match. Indians have a fight on their hands if they have to come up trumps in this Test in order to keep this series alive, but Sri Lanka have certainly got the edge after the first two days. Even though they have lost the wicket of danger man Jayasuriya in the second innings, they are now ahead by 90-odd with nine wickets still standing. The visitors will have to bat last on this wicket and tackle the great man Murali. One person who he hated bowling to, Navjot Singh Sidhu, is in Sri Lanka at the moment, with the commentary team. His inputs to the younger batsmen in the squad on the approach and the way to tackle him will certainly be of immense help. The Indians would have been a lot happier if they had restricted the Lankans to less than 225 runs in their first innings but their score of 274 runs was mainly due to a later order effort from Vaas, who batted usefully. While batting, the Indians looked a lot more positive than they did in Galle. Das was adjudged lbw, when it seemed and sounded that he had nicked the ball onto his pads. The wickets of Rahul and skipper Sourav did cause a setback but this did not deter Ramesh and Kaif in their approach to gather a fifty-run partnership. The return of Fernando after the lunch interval saw the exit of Kaif to a snorter and Ramesh in quick time. Ramesh ideally should have capitalised on a good start to carry on to get a big score. There seems to be a lapse in his concentration as soon as he gets to his forties. He showed signs of it by almost getting run-out trying to go for a non-existent run before he eventually falling to Fernando. It was only thanks to Harbhajan and Dighe’s rearguard action that India crossed 200 and restricted the hosts’ first innings lead to 42. India started the Test with a bonus wicket in the form of a run-out of the Sri Lanka skipper Jayasuriya due to an error in judgement from the skipper. The two wickets in quick succession at the end of the first session of the game did set back the Lankans a wee bit. Sourav provided with the vital wocket of Sangakkara, with Ramesh taking a brilliant catch at gully. Mahela Jayawardane came good at the right time with a superb stoke filled century. The Indian bowlers were guilty of erring in their line and length when bowling at Jayawardane and anything short was punished with arrogance and disdain. He is a sort of a player who is always positive and does take a lot of risk when he is in the middle. His century against England at the very same ground would surely have given him the much-needed confidence coming into this Test match.
Gameplan |
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Langer helps set up huge Aussie total London, August 23 He laid the foundations for a huge total in a series-best 158-run first-wicket stand with Matthew Hayden before Australia closed the opening day at the oval on 324 for two. Moments after hitting three successive fours off Phil Tufnell to reach three figures, the left-handed Langer was floored by an Andy Caddick bouncer, lying full length on the pitch after being struck on the helmet as he shaped to hook. He was given a standing ovation as he was helped off with a cut near his left temple, having made a near-chanceless 102. Ricky Ponting then built on the good start with a quickfire 62, and Mark Waugh ended the day on 48 not out, rising to fourth place on Australia’s list of leading Test run-scorers in the process. The 30-year-old Langer, surprisingly recalled for his first Test of the series despite a wretched tour, had been promoted to open from his normal No 3 position. Langer, who batted for four hours and hit 12 fours, ended the day in hospital for a precautionary scan. Play ended eight overs early due to bad light, but Australia, with Steve Waugh back at the helm after recovering from a torn calf, already look in perfect position to push for a victory that would complete a 4-1 series triumph. Hayden could have been out three times before lunch, the first danger moment coming with the fourth ball of the day when he inside-edged Darren Gough just past his stumps and short of wicketkeeper Alec Stewart. Hayden’s luck ran out when he swept at Tufnell and was caught halfway back to the midwicket boundary by Marcus Trescothick for 68. He batted for just over three hours, facing 124 balls and hitting nine fours. SCOREBOARD Australia (Ist innings) Hayden c Trescothick b Tufnell 68 Langer retired hurt 102 Ponting c Atherton b Ormond 62 M. Waugh not out 48 S. Waugh not out 12 Extras: (b-9 lb-7 nb-16) 32 Total: (for 2 wkts, 82 overs) 324 Fall of wickets: 1-158 2-292 Bowling: Gough 17-3-50-0, Caddick 19-5-84-0, Ormond 21-3-60-1, Tufnell 24-0-112-1, Butcher 1-0-2-0.
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Olympian
Inder is no more Chandigarh, August 23 Nicknamed ‘Gogi’, Inder Singh was born in the erstwhile princely state of Faridkot which has produced many players of repute. He received his early education in Balbir High School, Faridkot, an institution which boasted of well-maintained hockey and football grounds. Since hockey was the most popular game, Inder honed his skill under ideal conditions. Having gained proficiency in hockey, Inder Singh was offered a job in the Railways. He represented the institution’s team in various tournaments of the country. His outstanding performance while playing in the inside-left position was instantly noticed and Inder soon found himself in the national team. In the Mexico Olympics, his performance came in for special mention. However, shortly thereafter he emigrated to Italy and played a major role in establishing a hockey club at Bra, a small town in northern Italy, which also had an Astro-Turf. Both Inder and Gianna continued to inspire youngsters with their achievements. Their daughter, Jasbir, followed in their footsteps and has earned a place in the Italian national team. The couple was also blessed with one son, Luca. When a sobbing Gianna rang up Air Cdre(Retd) Dayal Singh, elder brother of Inder, to convey the sad news, she promised to ‘bring him back home’ in October. Inder Singh’s cremation took place the day before yesterday in Italy. The bhog ceremony will be held at the Sector 8 gurdwara here on August 25 at 11.30 a.m. |
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No rift between IOA, Ministry:
Randhir New Delhi, August 23 The estimated figure of Rs 150 crore would be spent for the conduct of the Games as well as for the upgradation of the infrastructure. Ms Bharati emphasised that the government will not compromise on the arrangement for the Games while observing full austerity measures. Meanwhile, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary-general and newly elected member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Randhir Singh dispelled rumours about the Games getting postponed. He said the Organising Committee, constituted with the full concurrence of the IOA, was in command of the situation and the Games would be held as scheduled. He said if some unforeseen development occurs, the Games can only be cancelled, not postponed. Randhir Singh, who is also the secretary-general of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), denied that there was any rift between the IOA and the Sports Ministry—or to be more precise, between IOA president Suresh Kalmadi and Uma Bharati-regarding the conduct of the Games. He said the IOA was fully involved in the organisation of the Games, and he and Kalmadi have been attending all the relevant meetings. He termed the perceived differences between the IOA and the Sports Ministry as mere “shadow boxing” by vested interests. The IOA secretary-general also took a veiled snipe at Milkha Singh for his refusal to accept the Arjuna Award bestowed on him for “Lifetime achievement”. Randhir said had he been chosen for a similar award, he would have gladly accepted it. “I would not have bothered about who else were the other winners”. Randhir said getting the Arjuna Award was an honour, and without naming Milkha, opined that refusing the award amounted to rubbishing the coveted award itself. Randhir said he got the Arjuna Award 16 years and five Asian Games after he made his international shooting debut, in 1979. The country’s first Asian Games gold medallist in shooting, Randhir said he had to wait so long for the Arjuna Award despite the fact that his father, the late Raja Bhalendra Singh, was the president of the IOA for a number of years. “We never pulled strings to get the award. When I got the award, I got it on merit”, he added. But Randhir Singh admitted that the present selection process of the Arjuna and Dronacharya Awardees was flawed. He said he would be writing to the Sports Minister that henceforth, the Arjuna and Dronacharya award selection committee should comprise only the Sports Minister (chairperson), a representative each of the IOA and the Arjuna Awardees’ Association, and four truly great former internationals. Meanwhile, Mr S.S. Gandhi has come out with a voluminous, first-ever book covering all sportspersons who have, over the past 46 years, been honoured with the prestigious Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri and Arjuna Award. This is the second book by Gandhi on national awards. Earlier, he had authored an equally well-received book on gallantry awards. The 800-page book covers sportspersons from 36 disciplines with numerous analytical chapters. According to the book, athletes have cornered the maximum number of awards-eight have won both Padma Shri and Arjuna Award, two have won Padma Shri and 54 have received the Arjuna Award. Hockey comes next with 63—which includes one Padma Bhushan, eight Padma Shri/Arjuna Awardees, five Padma Shri and 49 Arjuna Awardees. Punjab dominates the awards list in hockey (21) and athletics (19), with basketball and weightlifting cornering five each, boxing, cricket and mountaineering four each, and football and shooting three each. And a major share in these awards has come from the districts of Amritsar (16), Jalandhar (15), Gurdaspur (11), Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Ludhiana and Patiala (six each). Randhir Singh formally launched the book here today. |
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Working
at different wave-lengths New Delhi, August 23 The Empowerment Committee, which met here yesterday, took several decisions pertaining to opening ceremony, closing ceremony, security, marketing, foreign travel, arrangements for Continental delegates and budget. The Sports Minister Uma Bharati, who is also chairperson, feels — and feels vehemently — that since government has been doing a very thing, it should not be dictated into submission in the name of the ‘IOC charter and autonomy’. The bone of contention has been money. The IOA had initially stated at the time of staging of the Games that it would contribute Rs 30 crores. Now, the IOA has gone back on its commitment. It has expressed its inability to contribute much. The budget for the games, in the meantime, has escalated to more than Rs 150 crores. The observers are of the view that it will be near Rs 200 crores before the Games conclude and the official report is prepared. With a view to reducing expenditure, Ms Bharati has suggested that since committees have submitted their proposals and ideas most of them should be done away with. Her idea is that the government directors should be appointed to facilitate the preparations for the games. The IOA officials hold the view that the Sports Minister seems to believe in the system of “yes, minister, please and yes, madam please”. Bhopal’s Misra (Jagran) has been appointed as media advisor. The Media Committee will now be headed by the Law Minister Arun Jaitely as Shekhar Gupta has resigned owing to his preoccupation elsewhere. |
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Punjab may host Asian school cricket meet Chandigarh, August 23 Talking about broadbasing sports activities in the
state, Mr Tota Singh said an ambitious programme of opening sports academies in schools had been
finalised. Grants of Rs 10,000 each to select schools would be released. As
many as 52 schools in rural areas would be given financial assistance totalling Rs 78 lakh this year for upgrading sports equipment under the scheme of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. A hockey academy for children under 14 years of age was in the process of being set up at Takhanwadh village near Moga. Trials for the academy would be open for children from various parts of the state and 22 players would be picked for the academy, which is likely to become a nursery for grooming talent. The village was in the news during the Asian School Hockey Championship when an exhibition match featuring India and Uzbekistan held at the village drew record crowds. Two
boys, who were members of the Indian team, hailed from this village. The academy will be formally inaugurated on September 10. The Education Minister also revealed that players who brought laurels to the state in the National School Games would be honoured. Punjab will host National School Games in five disciplines namely volleyball, handball,
chess, basketball and hockey this year, he added. The Secretary, Education
(Schools) Mr R.S. Sandhu, who was also present, said in future every effort would be made to make available results of various championships in time. He also suggested the launch of a website to facilitate instant availability of result to the media. Meanwhile, Mr P.S. Chhabra, Deputy Director, Physical Education, released the sports calendar for the session 2001-2002 which is as follows: football (under-19, boys and girls) Patiala September 3; swimming and diving (primary, under 14, 17, and 19, boys and girls) Ropar September 15; waterpolo (under-19, boys and girls) Ropar September 15; kabaddi (under-19 boys and girls) Patiala September 15; volleyball (under-14 boys and girls) Patiala September 15; archery (under-14 boys and girls) Patiala. September 15; football (under-17 boys) Muktsar September 15; basketball (under - 14 boys and girls) Muktsar September 15; kabaddi (under-14 boys and girls) Bathinda September 21; kho-kho )under-14, 19 boys and girls) Bathinda September 21; handball (under-14 boys and girls) Bathinda September 21; kho-kho (under-17 boys and girls) Kapurthala September 21; kabaddi (under-14 boys and girls) Kapurthala September 21; football (under-14 boys) Malerkotla September 21; wrestling (under-14, 17, 19, girls) Moga September 21; chess (under-14, 19 boys and girls) Moga September 21. Roller skating (under-14, 17, 19 boys and girls) Moga September 21. cricket (under-14 boys) Faridkot October 3; basketball (under-17 boys and girls) Kotkapura October 3; handball (under-19 boys and girls) Kotkapura October 3; volleyball ) under-17 boys and girls) Shahkot October 3); lawn tennis (under-14, 17, 19 boys and girls) Amritsar October 3; ball badminton (under -19 boys and girls) Amritsar October 3; table tennis (under -19 boys and girls) Amritsar October 3; fencing (under-14, 19 boys and girls) Faridkot October 3; achery (under-10 boys and girls) Faridkot October 3; kabaddi (circle) (under-19 boys) Mansa October 3; cricket (under-19 boys Ropar October 9; handball (under-17 boys and girls) Mohali October 9; tennycot (under-19 boys and girls) Mohali October 9. Table tennis (under-14, 17 boys and girls) Sangrur October 9; basketball (under -19 boys and girls) Ludhiana October 9; cricket (under-16 boys) Ludhiana October 9; baseball (under-19 boys and girls) Ludhiana October 9; cricket (under-19 boys and girls) Patiala October 9; Tug of War (under-12, 15, 18 boys and girls) Patiala October 9; volleyball (under-19 boys and girls Patiala October 9; carrom) under-19 boys and girls Jalandhar October 15; boxing (under-19 boys) Jalandhar October 15; fencing (under-14, 19 boys and girls) Faridkot October 15; gymnastics (under-14, 17, 19 boys and girls) Gurdaspur October 15; hockey (under-19 boys) Kairon October 15. Hockey (under-17 boys and girls) Bhaini Sahib October 15; judo (under-14, 17, 19 boys and girls) Hoshiarpur October 15; hockey (under-14 boys and girls) Hoshiarpur October 15; hockey (under-14 boys and girls) Khujala October 15; hockey (under-19 boys and girls) Faridkot October 15; badminton (under-14, 17, 19 boys and girls) Nawanshahr October 15; softball and yoga (under-19 boys and girls) Fatehgarh Sahib October 15; athletics (under-11 boys and girls) Fatehgarh Sahib December 4; kho-kho (under-11 boys and girls) Fatehgarh Sahib December 4; kabaddi (under-11 boys and girls) Fatehgarh Sahib December 4; gymnastics (under-11boys and girls) Fatehgarh Sahib December 4; wrestling (under-11 boys and girls) Fatehgarh Sahib December 4. |
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Punjab basketball
league Ludhiana, August 23 In the men’s section, all the top professional teams of Punjab, current champions Punjab Police, along with Border Security Force, Jalandhar, Punjab State Electricity Board, Patiala, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, Punjab Juniors and Rest of Punjab teams will fight it out while in the women’s section spikers from Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Rest of Punjab will vie for top honours. A total of 15 matches in the men’s section and 10 matches in the women’s section will be conducted on round robin basis. Many international stars of the country like captain of Indian team Parminder Singh (Sr), Gagnesh Kumar, Parminder Singh (Jr), Vipin Kumar, Gursharnjit Singh, Pritpal Singh, Varinder Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Dawinder Hooda, Harminder Singh, Lakhwinder Singh and Jasjeet Singh and in women’s section Mandeep Brar, Kiranjit Dhillon, Savitri Guleria, Kulwinder Kaur, Rajni, Neena and Kamaljit Kaur will be seen in action during the course of this league tournament. |
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PCA U-19 league Chandigarh, August 23 To keep a check on the overage players representing districts, the PCA has directed the district associations to get the X-rays of particular bones done for age verification in consultation with the forensic department of the Medical College Hospital, Sector 32. The PCA selectors will judge performance of the players. |
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