 |
Friday,
February 15, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Dravid, Prasad look to cement place To win, Ganguly looks to reshuffle batting order Waugh will be
back: Akram |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WORLD
CUP- Track Record
Ratan’s brace puts Churchill into
final |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Defending champion
Atwal takes lead Bare reporter finds chill at
Olympics Scheme for setting up ‘akharas’ Manav maintains
winning streak
|
|
Dravid, Prasad look to cement place Vijayawada, February 14 The inclusion of former captain Campbell, who was dropped from the side in October 2000 for his alleged racist comments, adds strength to the batting line up of the tourists, which includes skipper Stuart Carlisle, Trevor Gripper and Andy Flower, who had scored 540 runs, including a double century and an unbeaten 183 in two-Test series during their last tour of India in 2000. Though the touring team suffered an ignominous defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka recently, succumbing to the mesmerising spin of Muttiah Muralitharan, Carlisle expressed confidence in tackling the spin attack of Sarandeep Singh. Vice-captain Heath Streak, who had played the World Cup matches held in the Indian sub-continent in 1999, would spearhead the bowling attack, along with Travis Friend. Former Indian wicketkeeper M.S.K. Prasad, who had scored a prolific 248 at an average of 62 with an unbeaten 82 against Kerala as his highest during the ranji season, and Mumbai’s leading run-getter Wasim Jaffer are likely to open the innings for board president’s XI. Dravid, who would be playing his first major match after undergoing treatment for injury on the right shoulder in South Africa, is likely to play a sheet-anchor role for the team as also middle order batsman Y. Venugopala Rao, who had an impressive Ranji season, scoring 303 runs at an average of 60.60 with 91 against Kerala being his highest. The bowling attack would revolve round MRF Pace Foundation product Tinu Yohanan of Kerala and left-arm medium pacer Ashish Nehra of Delhi, who would go all out to secure a place in the Indian squad. With the selectors still showing a no-entry sign to India’s No 1 wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia, the search continues for a ‘keeper who can also do a decent job in front of the wicket. With Bengal’s Deep Dasgupta failing in his primary duty, the selectors now wants to have another look at Andhra’s M.S.K. Prasad. Prasad played in six Tests and 17 one-dayers and claimed 40 victims before he was dropped after the Australian tour in 2000. The Zimbabwe team which had strenous three-hour practice session in the morning will look to get familiar with the slow bowlers and pitches they will encounter on the tour. Skipper Stuart Carlisle said he has a balanced side which is a blend of youth and expertise. He said three former captains in the side will be a blessing in disguise. “I would feel more secured in their company,” he said and hoped the three days would benefit the youngsters in the side. The pitch is expected to help the batsmen initially and bowlers in the later stages. Thirty-six wickets fell in four days in the last match played here between Goa and Andhra Pradesh. For the Indira Gandhi Stadium, the first class match would give it the BCCI requirement to hold a one-day international which it hopes to host when the West Indies tour India towards the end of this year. Teams (from): Zimbabwe: Stuart Carlisle (capt), Heath Streak (vice-capt), Dion Ebrahim, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Travis Friend, Trevor Gripper, Mpumalo Mbangwa, Raymond Price, Gavin Rennie, Tatendu Taibu (wk), Brighton Watamba and Craig Wishart. Board President’s XI: Rahul Dravid (capt), Abhijit Kale, Wasim Jaffer, MSK Prasad (wk), Tinu Yohannan, Prabhanjan Mullick, Sarandeep Singh, L. Balaji, Ashish Nehra, Y. Venugopal Rao, Gagan Khoda, Gautam Gambhir and Sitanshu Kotak. Umpires: O. Krishan (Hyderabad) and K.R. Shankar (Chennai). UNI, PTI |
|
To win, Ganguly looks to reshuffle batting order New Delhi, February 14 A day after being retained as captain of the national cricket team, Ganguly told PTI in an interview here that the objective of the plan was to try and win consistently “rather than show individual brilliance”. The stylish left-hander readily acknowledged that his team has been choking at the finishing line in one-day internationals and is keen to sort this out. “I think we have got to sit and work out the formation of the eleven, placement of people at different places.” Asked whether this would include master opening batsman Sachin Tendulkar batting down the order, the captain replied that he did not want to jump the gun and name anybody. “It is basically for the team’s sake. The whole world knows where our problem lies.” Why does India choke at the finishing line? Ganguly does not know why. “This is one answer I myself do not know. If I had known that, probably we would not have lost so many big games. The reason perhaps lies in inexperience,” he said. Pointing to India’s defeat in the recent one-day match against England in Delhi, the captain said India had a score of around 200 and had to get 60-odd runs with six wickets in hand. “Any team in the world would have just walked through with it. We played some poor shots, we hit too many balls in the air and gave wickets away,” he recalled. The greatest drawback of the team that he had led for two years now was failure to win important games, he admitted. “I do not think we have played badly. We have played well but lost important games, not finished off. That has totally changed the scenario of people’s perception about the team doing well or doing very badly,” Ganguly said recalling the series against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, England and the ICC knock-out tournament in Nairobi. As for the recent series against South Africa there, the captain said that they had a better team. “There is no harm in accepting it.” Explaining the rationale behind his move to reshuffle the batting order, Ganguly said the intention was to distribute “the batting order properly so that under a crunch situation we have an experienced guy who can take it through”. He was unwilling to disclose specifics, saying that he would like to have a word with the selectors before finalising his “definite plan”. Asked what his own number would be in the order, the captain pointed out that he had been very successful as an opener in one-day cricket and would like to continue in that position. “But then if we start losing crunch games like this, probably a lot of people have to bat at a lot of different places. We have to look at this because the bottomline is winning, which is everything in this game.” Ganguly is not disappointed at having been reappointed captain only for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe although he is of the view that such appointments should be for at least six months straightaway. However, what the selectors had done was “fair enough” and he had no grudge. When asked if he expected to lead India in the series against the West Indies starting in the Caribbean in April and next year’s World Cup in South Africa, the captain said that he had not thought about that. “At present, I am concentrating on the Zimbabwe series. I will take it series by series,” he said. How much say should a captain have in team selection? Ganguly replied, “I think there should be a definite say because at the end of the day it is the captain who has to lead the boys on the ground. He has to have enough understanding and confidence in the cricketers.” At the same time the selectors cannot be ignored. “We don’t get to watch domestic cricket because half the time we are playing international cricket. They go round the country, watch young cricketers. They know who is better than whom. The bottomline is that we select the team that is best for India.” The captain answered in the affirmative when asked if he had that kind of a say in the team selection. Asked about the frequent changes in India’s opening attack, Ganguly said that Zaheer Khan had just missed one series against England. “He has bowled superbly in the Ranji Trophy and should be back. The same applies to Ashish Nehra, who had been left out because he was injured.” He was clear in his mind that India had not done as well as expected against England because of its batting, and not bowling.
PTI |
|
Waugh will be
back: Akram Sharjah, February 14 “Steve Waugh is one of the best players in the world and definitely the best captain around,” Akram said. “I am quite stunned he has been dropped. But Waugh will come back because he is a fighter.” Waugh (36), who led Australia to victory in the 1999 World Cup against Akram’s Pakistan, was yesterday dumped from the one-day squad, although he will continue as Test captain. It put a question mark on the 325-match veteran’s chances of making his fifth World Cup appearance in South Africa early next year.
AFP |
|
Shoaib ‘never tried’ to break speed barrier Sharjah, February 14 “I have never tried to break the speed barrier. I have never known that such a thing existed. I just go out there and try to bowl as fast I can and do well for my team,’’ Shoaib told newspersons here yesterday. He said, “My ambition is to be a team-man and contribute significantly in any way. I now look to returning with at least three to four wickets every time I go out to play for Pakistan. I am trying hard to take wickets which can change course of matches.’’ “If the opportunity comes, I try to bowl fast but I do not think of breaking any speed barrier,’’ he added. He insisted that he just tried to bowl fast and intimidate the batsmen so that he could get them out easily. Despite being in stage three of the International Cricket Council (ICC) bowling action review process, Shoaib said he had felt no pressure bowling in Bangladesh or Sharjah and in fact was now enjoying himself bowling fast. About his bowling action, Shoaib said: “Look I think we have had enough of my bowling action. Doctors have said I cannot modify my action. I have loose joints and limbs by birth which is why I have this distinctive action.’’
UNI |
|
Railways pile up 445 for 4 New Delhi, February 14 At stumps, Goud (93) and J.P. Yadav (21) were undefeated and looking confident against Bengal bowlers, who failed to put brakes on the hosts and earned only three wickets in the 99-over game. Resuming at 129 for one, Railways overnight batsmen Amit Pagnis and Tejinder got off to a sound note and scored 50 runs for the second wicket before Pagnis was caught by substitute Alokendu Lahiri at point off medium-pacer Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Pagnis made 81 (169b, 8x4) in a total of 174. New batsman Goud joined Tejinder to repair the damage and they carried out run business carefully. Tejinder was harsh on each bowler and reached his 50 from 75 balls with 10 hits to the ropes. The hosts went for lunch at 251 for two, with Tejinder remaining unbeaten at 73. Both the batsmen negotiated the bowlers without any trouble and kept the scoreboard ticking with their strokes. Tejinder continued his hitting spree to notch up the second century of the season. He scored 100 (147b,14x4) before being caught by Subhamay Das at second slip off Sourav Ganguly, who had also taken Sanjay Bangar (48) yesterday. Tejinder Pal and Goud compiled 110 runs for the third wicket. With the team score reading 284 for three, new bat Raja Ali began his journey with Goud, who completed his 50 runs from 139 balls with six boundaries. The duo of Goud and Ali scored runs on their own terms and did not give any opportunity to the rivals to dominate them. The Bengal bowlers looked helpless on the placid Karnail Singh track which was not conducive for them. Bengal skipper Rohan Gavaskar introduced eight bowlers, including himself, but they could not stop the hosts from putting up a big total in the first innings, which will play a pivotal role if the match will be drawn. And Ali also hit his half-century and scored 67 before he was stumped by wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta off tweaker Sourashis Lahiri in a total of 415. He along with goud added 131 runs for the fourth wicket. Railways (Ist innings): Sanjay Bangar c Lahiri b Ganguly 48, A. Pagnis c A. Lahiri b Shulka 81, Tejinder Pal c Subhomoy b Ganguly 100, Yere Goud batting 93, Rajan Ali st Deep b S. Lahiri 67, J.P. Yadav batting 21. Extras: 35 Total (for 4 in 142 overs): 445 Fall of wickets: 1-124, 2-174, 3-284, 4-415. Bowling:
Ganguly 28-3-95-2, Ali 16.1-3-57-0, Shukla 21-4-68-1, Lahiri 28-3-87-1, Utpal 32-9-72-0, Sanyal 6-1-11-0, Amitabh 1-0-9-0, Rohan 9.5-0-34-0.
UNI |
|
|
Uniyal restricts Baroda Uniyal restricts Baroda Baroda, February 14 Resuming at the overnight score of 95 for loss of four, Punjab batsmen batted with grit and helped their team reach a respectable total. Baroda were 189 for loss of 8 in their second innings when stumps were drawn with Ajit Bhoite and Valmiki Buch batting on 34 and 8, respectively. Punjab speedster Amit Uniyal and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh ran through the Baroda batting line-up and helped their team take a firm grip over the match. Uniyal claimed three wickets for 48 to restrict Baroda in their second innings despite a fighting 61 runs eighth wicket partnership between Zaheer Khan and Ajit Bhoite. Harbhajan grabbed two wickets conceding 72 runs. Except Baroda captain Jacob Martin and wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia, the other recognised batsmen including Connor Williams, Sudeep Kale, Tushar Arothe and Atul Bedade failed in their attempt to add runs to their team’s total. At one stage, the hoste were 98 runs for five wickets with all their top batsmen returning into the pavilion. However, it was again tail-enders Ajit Bhoite and Zaheer Khan who came to the rescue of their team. Both added 61 runs for the eighth wicket before Zaheer Khan was out on 35. Scoreboard Baroda (1st innings): 222 Punjab (1st innings): Ricky c Kale b Zaheer 0, Munish Sharma c Mongia b Zaheer 24, Yuvraj c Mongia b Zaheer 5, Dharmani c Mongia b Patel 0, D. Mongia c N. Mongia b Patel 62, Rathore run out 55, Navdeep c Martin b Bhoite 26, Harabhajan c Arothe b Joshi 10, Uniyal c Arothe b Bhoite 12, Vineet b Zaheer 16, Puri not out 1. Extras: (b-9, lb-14, nb-3) 26 Total: (all out, 69 overs) 237 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-39, 3-39, 4-39, 5-163, 6-170, 7-187, 8-219, 9-221. Bowling: Zaheer Khan 26-3-112-4, Rakesh Patel 27-4-73-2, Shekhar Joshi 10-7-12-1, Ajit Bhoite 3-0-16-2, Valmik Buch 3-2-1-0. Baroda (2nd innings): Kale c Munish b Harbhajan 4, Williams c Sawant b Uniyal 0, N. Mongia b Uniyal 29, Martin c Sawant b Uniyal 41, Arothe c Dharmani b Vineet 10, Badade c Rathore b Vineet 9, Bhoite batting 34, Patel b Navdeep Singh 1, Zaheer c Uniyal b Harbhajan 35, Buch batting 8. Extras: (b-8, lb-5, nb-5) 18 Total: (for 8 wickets, 44 overs) 189 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-23, 3-63, 4-82, 5-98, 6-103, 7-118, 8-179. Bowling: Vineet Sharma 11-6-34-2, Ajit Uniyal 13-1-48-3, Harbhajan Singh 17-3-72-2, Navdeep Singh 3-0-22-1.
PTI |
|
WORLD
CUP- Track Record Chandigarh, February 14 5. Pakistan (4 gold, 2 silver) Like the Dutch, Pakistan also have an envious record in the hockey World Cup. The Pakistanis started with a bang, clinching the gold in the very first edition at Barcelona in 1971 where the team led by Khalid Mahmood upset Spain 1-0 in the final. Pakistan scored the maximum 14 goals and conceded nine. Subsequently at Amsterdam, Pakistan lost to India 0-1 in the semifinals and eventually finished fourth. In the third edition at Kuala Lumpur, Pakistan settled for the silver, losing 1-2 to India in the final. However, a remarkable feature of Pakistan’s campaign was that once again they scored the maximum 20 goals while conceding 10. The team was led by Islahuddin. In the fourth edition at Buenos Aires in 1978, Pakistan under the captaincy of Islahuddin, snatched the gold for the second time scoring the maximum 35 goals while conceding only four. The title was successfully defended in the fifth edition at Bombay under the captaincy of Akhtar Rasool where Pakistan outplayed West Germany 3-1 in the final. Hassan Sardar, Kaleemullah and Manzoorul Hasan with 11, eight and six goals were among the leading scorers. Once again Pakistan scored the maximum 38 goals while conceding 12. In the sixth edition at London in 1986, Pakistan’s fortunes nosedived as they finished a poor 11th among 12 contestants. However, at Lahore in 1990 Pakistan redeemed lost prestige by claiming the silver under the captaincy of Qazi Mohib. The eighth World Cup at Sydney in 1994 once again saw Pakistan reigning supreme as they regained the gold for the fourth time pushing Holland to the second spot. However, at Utrecht in 1998 Pakistan crashed out of the medal race and eventually finished fifth. (To be concluded) |
|
Ratan’s brace puts Churchill into
final New Delhi, February 14 Zee Churchill, who have never won any major soccer title barring the Goa League crown, will take on Mahindra United, Mumbai, in the final on February 16 (Saturday). Mahindra United had lifted the Durand Cup in 1998, and were runners-up in 1990 and 2000. The most encouraging factor of Churchill’s victory was that both the goals were scored by India’s very own product, Ratan Singh, who first headed in, and then slotted in from zero angle. Chandan Das scored the consolation goal for East Bengal. For East Bengal, this has been a season of despair, as they have been struggling to find their niche in recent months, and their seventh position in the National Football League, which was suspended at half-way stage to accommodate the Durand Cup, has only compounded their woes. East Bengal, in a seemingly desperate bid in this second semifinal, fielded the not-so-fully-fit star players, I.M. Vijayan and Joe Paul Ancheri, in the second half after they trailed by a goal against Zee Churchill in the first session. Even Vijayan and Ancheri could not bail them out as Churchill had superior fire power, and they used it to their advantage, to fire on all cylinders, and come up trumps. Churchill seemed to have worked out their game-plan quite methodically and their coach Chathunni was always on his feet, shouting instrucitions, when the players deviated from the ‘game plan’. East Bengal lost half the battle when their dangerous and dependable striker Jose Carlos DaSilva, the Brazilian import, was bottled up completely by the Churchill defenders. Zee Churchill forged ahead in the 12th minute when Mousavi showed his immaculate ball control and dribbling skills, to cut past the East Bengal defence, and then cut in to the right, before executing a stiff right-footer which kissed the cross bar and rebounded. Ratan Singh was standing at a well-positioned slot on the left of the box, and despatched the ball into the net. Churchill put tremendous pressure on the East Bengal goal in the rest of the first half, but did not succeed in adding to their lead. And in a reversal of form, East Bengal pulled off the equaliser through Chandan Das in the fourth minute of the second half, to make matters tough. The induction of Vijayan into the attack in the second half in place of Dipendu Biswas, injected punch into the East Bengal forwardline. And the reward was quick in coming when a Jackson Agaypong-Tushar Rakshit move culminated in Chandan finding the mark. With Ancheri also fortifying the attack, East Bengal started seeing more of the ball, unlike in the first half, but Churchill’s foreign goalie, Edward Ansah, rose to the occasion, literally, to save the situation a couple of times. When the match looked like heading for a 1-1 deadlock, Churchill scored the stunning match-winner, in the 42nd minute, when Ratan Singh right-footed the ball into the far corner, from almost a minus angle. East Bengal stopper back Jackson Agaypong, who was limping in pain, and Suley Musah could have checked Ratan Singh when he cut into the left corner with a forward pass from Yakubu, but he was let off thinking him to be off-side, and Ratan Singh quietly took up a vantage position before placing the ball past the custodian. |
|
RCF clinch
soccer title Nahan, February 14 Hundreds of football lovers watched the final match this evening. Mr V.K. Walia, chairman of the Walia group of industries, presided over the concluding ceremony of the tournament and distributed the prizes. It was also announced that next year the tournaments would be organised at Paonta Sahib to give a boost to the players of Paonta Valley also. This four-day tournament was organised in the historic Chowgan Ground here in which 12 teams from different states participated. The tournament was inaugurated by Mr Rakesh Kaushal, Deputy Commissioner, Sirmour |
|
Defending champion Atwal takes lead Gurgaon, February 14 Atwal was followed by rookie Michael Christensen (USA) at 5-under 66. A three-way tie for the third place included Daniel Chopra, Lam Chih Bing of Singapore and Tatsuhiko Takahashi (Jpn). Fancied Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Singh and Gaurav Ghei of India were in tied sixth place at three-under 68, along with Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and Craig Kamps of South Africa. A birdie-birdie kickstart was all Atwal needed to begin his quest. In a bogey-free round, the 29-year-old Indian missed four birdie putts from eight feet range and was rarely in trouble. The longest putt he made was a 20-footer on the seventh, while the rest were from within six feet, ample testimony to the fact that he hit his iron shots extremely well. Atwal finished both his halves in 33 with birdies on the seventh, 13th, 14th and 17th. Christensen, a 24-year-old from Minnesota, got off to a slow start from the 10th tee, but caught fire after making a bogey on the 13th hole from the front bunker. Thereafter, he was unstoppable making seven birdies in the next nine holes. A lob wedge to four feet on the par-5 14th, was followed by birdies from three and five feet on the 16th and 17th. On the 18th, he sank a 20-footer from the back of the green. UNI |
|
Bare reporter finds chill at Olympics Salt Lake City, February 14 But the Crystal Inn management sent Gagnon packing — with his clothing. “It was my fault. I didn’t have to lock myself out of the hotel,” Gagnon said. But “I think they over-reacted. That incident would have been solved in 35 seconds in Quebec. He would have laughed at me and opened the door.” Crystal Inn manager Dave DeYoung refused to discuss the incident. Gagnon told The Ottawa Citizen that he grabbed the newspaper, using sections of it to cover his front and back as he asked for a key to his room. “I tried to make a little joke and said, ‘I’m lucky it was a broadsheet and not a tabloid,’ but they didn’t laugh,” Gagnon said. “I told them I had nothing to hide.” Gagnon now sleeps at Baymont Inns and Suites a few miles down the road, but he hopes to recover money he paid for the nights he won’t be spending at the Inn. Baymont assistant manager Mary Fell will handle similar incidents with a cool head - but said she would have to ask for identification before allowing a guest into a locked room. First, though, “I would push him into the bathroom and grab him a towel as quickly as possible. When you work in this industry, you see a lot and nothing surprises you,” Fell said. “And it’s not his fault ... well, it is, but it isn’t. Things happen.”
AP |
|
Scheme for setting up ‘akharas’ Chandigarh, February 14 Stating this here today, Haryana Director General of Police and Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president M.S. Malik pointed towards a saga of success and outstanding performances by Indian Wrestling Championships in free style, Greco Roman and women free style since April, 2001. He added that this was an indication of India’s emergence as a significant wrestling power. He said in five international wrestling championships from June to December last year, held at Ulanbaatar (Mongolia), Tehran (Iran), Tashkent (Uzbekistan, Warsaw (Poland) and Patras, Hellos (Greece), 37 Indian wrestlers bagged three gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals. Mr Malik said wrestlers from Haryana, Punjab and Delhi gave outstanding performance in the national games held in Punjab in December last year. Other states were keen to follow them and had started making efforts towards this end, he added. However, setting up of adequate number of wrestling akharas would greatly help them in coaching their wrestlers. |
|
Manav maintains winning streak Kolkata, February 14 Jasjeet Singh of Noida got the better of Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa on the 20th hole. Oosthuizen missed a birdie on the 19th hole to continue the match to the 20th hole on which he missed a short putt. Gurbaaz Mann who triumphed over Nawab Singh yesterday at the 23rd hole put up a spirited fight to be overwhelmed only on the 19th hole. Varun Sahay of Kolkata,who beat top seed Rohana of Sri Lanka, bowed out of the tournament by losing to Girish Virk of Chandigarh at the decider on the 18th hole. Mike McDermott of Ireland beat Jaideep Patwardhan 4 and 3, his team mate Tim Rice got the better of Vikram Chopra on the 18th. Charl Schwartzel of South Africa also beat Simarjeet Singh of Noida on the 18th hole. Saurav Bahuguna prevailed over Keshav Mishra 1 up on the 18th hole.
UNI |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
New Delhi, February 14
