 |
Thursday,
March 28, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Rathore’s double ton puts North Zone on top Kanitkar’s ton lifts West Zone
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
ACB cancels tour of Zimbabwe Pak ready to resume ties
Sunil, Uppal enter semifinals Sanjay warms up with Pro-Am win East Bengal
drub HAL Kandan overcomes Thapa Dingko fails to find berth Future
of wrestling ‘bright’ J&K, Haryana win titles |
|
Rathore’s double ton puts North Zone on top New Delhi, March 27 North Zone, resuming at 250 for three, revelled on a batting pitch to indulge in a free-stroking spree to frustrate the East Zone bowlers, who had to toil without rewards for long hours. They could break open the fourth-wicket partnership between Vikram Rathore and Shafiq Khan midway through the session, only after the duo had taken North to a formidable
position. Vikram Rathore, who resumed at 149, added exactly 100 more runs to his total before he made his exit. It was his first double century in the Duleep Trophy, and one of his career best knocks. Rathore and Shafiq Khan were involved in a 176-run fourth-wicket partnership to put North on a road to high total. Both the batsmen made mincemeat of the East Zone bowling to hoist the huge partnership off 55 overs. Rathore reached the milestone before the lunch recess when he carted off-spinner Saurashish Lahiri over the deep mid-wicket fence for a huge six. His double century came in 452 minutes of batting, off 325 balls with 29 boundaries and one six. North Zone were 378 for three at lunch, and the partnership of Rathore and Safiq Khan continued to flourish even after the lunch break. The fourth wicket fell only after the duo took North Zone past the 400-run mark. Safiq Khan and Rathore left in quick succession after that, with Safiq Khan falling first, in the 133rd over. He holed out a catch to Parag Das off spinner Utpal Chatterjee and two overs later, Rathore too was back in the pavilion, held by Rashmi Ranjan Parida off Sanjay Raul. Safiq made 76 well-crafted runs in 180 minutes of batting with nine boundaries while Rathore made his 249 runs with the help of 34 boundaries and one six, after a marathon batting lasting 528 minutes. At tea, North Zone were 504 for five. But even after the exit of these dangerous twosome, there was no respite for the East Zone bowlers as wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya and Yash Pal Singh put on 137 runs before North Zone applied the closure. Vijay Dahiya remained not out on 76 (150m, 94b, 10x4) while Yash Pal Singh made an unbeaten 53 (142m, 5x4). Chasing the formidable total of North Zone, East Zone were lucky to escape unscathed at the end of the day as Debang Gandhi was let off by wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya off Sharandeep Singh in the sixth over of the match, when the batsman had made only five runs. Gandhi celebrated his reprieve with three boundaries to remain unbeaten on 17.
North Zone (1st innings): A Chopra c Raul b Lahiri 58, V Rathore c Parida b Raul 249, P Dharmani c Gandhi b Lahiri 29, M Manhas c S Das b Shukla 6, S Khan c P Das b Chatterjee 73, V Dahiya not out 76, Y Singh not out 53 . Extras (b-6, lb-7, nb-9, w-1) 23 Total (for 5 wkts decl, 169.2 overs) 567 Fall of wickets: 1-140, 2-208, 3-242, 4-426, 5-430. Bowling: Ingty 25.2-2-101-0, Shukla 17-4-54-1, Chatterjee 57.2-14-123-1, P Das 5-0-32-0, Lahiri 43-4-163-2, Raul 19.4-2-70-1, Mullick 2-0-11-0. East Zone (1st innings): P Das batting 33, D Gandhi batting 17 Extras (lb-1, nb-1) 2 Total (for no loss, 10 overs) 52 Bowling: Sharma 4-0-18-0, Shakti Singh 2-0-8-0, Sarandeep 3-0-14-0, Sanghvi 1-0-11-0. |
|
Kanitkar’s ton lifts West Zone Chennai, March 27 Kanitkar came in when the score was six for one and after West had lost both openers for just 34 runs. He put on a 100- run partnership with S.Kotak for the third wicket and 47 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket with Kaushik Aphale. Kanitkar, who remained unbeaten on 102 (14x4, 1x6), did not take risks and punished only the loose deliveries. He reached his 50 with a cover drive, his seventh boundary. Prasad then brought on Watekar, replacing left-arm spinner Sriram. Watekar dismissed Kotak in his second over of his second spell, when the batsman played forward to a turning delivery and edged to wicketkeeper Prasad. Kotak made 36 (4x4) in 156 minutes off 106 balls. He pulled Hemang Badani over midwicket fence to move from 90 to 96 and then twice swept him behind to reach his 100. His 50 came in 64 balls (7x4, 1x6). Earlier, West medium pacers Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan and spinners Sairaj Bahutule and Ramesh Powar claimed a wicket each to skittle out South, who added 59 runs in 100 minutes of play this morning. Sharath and Shabuddin of South Zone (overnight 233 for six) dug themselves in, while Agarkar and Pathan (jr) bowled tidily to a tight field. Sharath departed in Agarkar’s 11th over, caught brilliantly at square leg by Bahutule. He added just one run to his overnight score of 41, leaving South Zone tottering at 242 for seven. Once Sharath departed, it seemed that West would run through the tailenders. However, H Watekar (18), Venkatesh Prasad (16 not out) and M R Srinivas (11) defied the West attack, and together put on 45 runs. PTI South Zone (1st innings): S Sriram c Williams b Kanitkar 82, M S K Prasad c Aphale b Bahutule 23, D Vinay Kumar c Bhoite b Bahutule 37, B Rowland c and b Ramesh Powar 15, H Badani c Mongia b Agarkar 17, S Sharath c Bahutule b Agarkar 42, R V Ch.Prasad b Agarkar 10, K S Shabuddin c Kotak b Pathan 10, H Watekar c Pathan b Power 18, V Prasad not out 16, M R Srinivas st Mongia b Bahutule 11. Extras: (b-6, lb-l, nb-4) 11. Total: (all out, 121.2 overs) 292. FoW: 1-42, 2-109, 3-156, 4-170, 5-201, 6-229, 7-242, 8-246, 9-272. Bowling: Agarkar 24-11-47-3, Pathan (jr) 22-9-37-1, Godbole 5-1-7-0, Powar 31-7-97-2, Bahatule 26.2-5-53-3, Bhoite 6-0-32-0, Kanitkar 7-2-12-1. West Zone (Ist innings):
Niranjan Godbole c R V ch Prasad b M R Shrinivas 16, Connor Williams lbw Venkatesh Prasad 0, Hrishkesh Kanitkar batting 102, Sitanshv Kotak c M S K Prasad b H Watekar 36, Kavshik Aphale batting 15, Extras: ( B 4, LB 1, NB 7) 12. Total: for three wickets 181. FoW: 1-6, 2-34, 3-134. Bowling: V Prasad 13-6-21-1, K S Sahabuddin 13-3-26-0, M R Shrinivas 9-1-41-1, H Watekar 15-4-37-1, S Sriram 9-2-38-0, H Badani 2-0-12-0, R V Ch Prasad 1-0-01-0. |
|
Maher forces tie against SA Potchefstroom, March 27 Australia went into the final over needing 11 runs to claim a dramatic victory against a South African side that seemed in a position to finally turn around their losing run in the series. South Africa captain Shaun Pollock had won the toss and elected to bat, with the home side reaching 259 for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Australia were in trouble on 176 for four wickets in their reply before Maher, whose 95 in the second one dayer in Pretoria gave Australia a 45 run victory there, produced another superb innings to see Australia reach 259 for nine. Australia were denied victory, and a 3-0 lead in the seven-match series, as Nathan Hauritz was able to claim only one run off the final ball of a costly over bowled by Jacques Kallis. Half centuries by Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes enabled South Africa to recover from a poor start. Kallis made 71 off 101 balls, while Rhodes lifted the run rate by hitting 83 off 74 deliveries before being caught on the square leg boundary off Brett Lee in the last over. South Africa: Dippenaar c Ponting b Lee 7 Gibbs c Maher b Lee 10 Kallis c Gilchrist b Gillespie 71 McKenzie c Martyn b Lehmann 37 Rhodes c Maher b Lee 83 Klusener c Hayden b Lee 20 Boucher c Gilchrist b Gillespie 5 Hall not out 18 Pollock not out 1 Extras (nb-1, w-6) 7 Total
(for 7 wkts, 50 overs) 259 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-27, 3-105, 4-180, 5-222, 6-232, 7-256. Bowling: Gillespie 10-0-46-2, Lee 9-1-45-4, Watson 6-0-40-0, Bichel 10-1-44-0, Lehmann 9-0-42-1, Hauritz 6-0-42-0. Australia: Gilchrist c Boucher b Ntini 16 Hayden c Gibbs b Boje 78 Ponting run out 3 Martyn run out 35 Lehmann c Boucher b Kallis 33 Maher not out 43 Watson c Boucher b Ntini 8 Bichel b Ntini 7 Lee c Boucher b Ntini 8 Gillespie b Klusener 0 Hauritz not out 11 Extras (lb-1, nb-11, w-5) 17 Total
(9 wickets, 50 overs) 259 FoW: 1-33, 2-39, 3-112, 4-178, 5-180, 6-194, 7-206, 8-222, 9-223. Bowling: Pollock 9-0-49-0, Ntini 10-1-33-4, Kallis 9-0-52-1, Klusener 10-0-54-1, Hall 4-0-24-0, Boje 8 -0-46-1.
Reuters |
|
ACB cancels tour of Zimbabwe Melbourne, March 27 ACB chairman Bob Merriman said national cricket authorities decided at a board meeting late yesterday that the risk to safety of an Australian touring team was “unacceptable.” The Australians, who beat South Africa 2-1 in a recent test series to retain the No.1 international ranking, were scheduled to play two tests and three limited-overs internationals in Zimbabwe. Australia’s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer had urged the ACB to scrap the tour in the wake of recent elections that returned president Robert Mugabe to power in Zimbabwe, saying it would send the wrong signals to the new government. “What President Mugabe has done in the last couple of weeks, simply stealing an election through cheating ... we hardly, as a country, would want to feel that we were providing one of the greatest rewards by sending the world’s leading cricket team to a cricket loving country,” Downer told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. Earlier, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs had advised Australians to defer travelling to Zimbabwe for holiday or business purposes. Downer said that because Australian Prime Minister John Howard had played a leading role in Zimbabwe’s suspension from the Commonwealth, the players could become targets. ACB chief executive James Sutherland said the board was aiming at rescheduling the matches with Zimbabwe to the winter of 2004. The Australians are still in the midst of a limited- overs series against South Africa in South Africa. International Cricket Council said it was disappointed to lose another tour for political reasons. “The ICC is saddened by events in Zimbabwe which have caused this tour to be abandoned,” ICC president Malcolm Gray said in a statement. “The game has already lost recent series in Pakistan and this latest disruption is regrettable from a cricketing perspective.
AP |
|
Pak ready to resume ties Islamabad, March 27 A report in The News daily quoting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director Munawwar Rana said so far the PCB had got no official intimation though there were reports about Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi planning to raise the issue. “If anyone wants to meet and discuss with us resumption of cricket ties, we would welcome it,” Mr Rana stated. His comments came a day after Mr Kalmadi was quoted as saying he would discuss the resumption of cricket ties with Pakistan during a regional meeting in Islamabad this week. Mr Kalmadi said he had received positive signals from the authorities to use a meeting on the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games on Saturday to talk to Pakistani cricket officials. The SAF regional games were put off because of the security situation in Afghanistan. The News quoted Mr Rana as saying that the PCB remained open to discussion on India-Pakistan cricket ties. “The PCB has said time and again that if India decides to play against us, we would welcome it. We feel resumption of cricket ties is very important in the region and for both the boards,” he added.
IANS |
|
Parore to quit after final Test Auckland, March 27 The 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman released a statement through New Zealand Cricket (NZC) today to end recent speculation concerning his future. NZC chief executive Martin Snedden said: “Adam has served his country and his team mates over a 12-year period at the highest level.” “His contribution deserves the highest praise and recognition from New Zealand cricket fans.” Reuters |
|
Agassi marches into q-finals Key Biscayne, March 27 For the third time in as many matches on central court, Agassi dominated without dropping a set. In the process he remained unbeaten against Johansson, who captured the Australian Open crown in January as Agassi recovered from injury. Agassi’s performance is impressive for a player who will turn 32 on April 29. “It’s very satisfying,” Agassi said yesterday. “You go out there with a healthy respect for somebody who has won the first slam of the year. I’m excited to be out here competing and eager. I feel good about my game.” Although he is seeded only ninth, Agassi has to be a favourite to capture his fifth Key Biscayne crown, which would equal the record of his wife, Steffi Graf. In the next round, Agassi will face Ecuador’s Nicolas Lapentti, who grabbed the first quarter-final berth with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Romanian Adrian Voinea. Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela, 37th in the world, downed compatriot Gaston Gaudio who succumbed to cramps and retired with Chela up 6-3, 5-7, 4-3. Chela, who ousted American Andy Roddick, next faces 1998 champion Marcelo Rios of Chile, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over 16th-seeded Spaniard Alex Corretja. Men’s top seed Lleyton Hewitt looked well on his way to booking his quarter-final berth when rain stopped his match against American James Blake. The Australian led Blake 6-4, 3-1 in the last central court match of the day session when the rain struck, forcing postponement of the night session. The evening was to have featured eighth-seeded American Serena Williams battling third-seeded Swiss Martina Hingis for the chance to meet her sister, Venus, in the semi-finals. Venus Williams, the defending champion and second seed battled to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory over 12th-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva. The elder Williams sister is seeking her fourth title in this tournament, but needed two hours in the hot, humid weather to quell Dementieva. Also postponed was sixth-seeded Russian Marat Safin’s fourth-round clash with Chilean Fernando Gonzalez. AFP |
|
Sunil, Uppal enter semifinals
Kolkata, March 27 Sipayea, who upset top seed Rohan Bopanna in the pre-quarterfinals yesterday, came back after winning the first set to put it across seventh seed Kamala Kannan 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 after an 118-minute battle at the Calcutta South Club lawns. Having accounted for fifth-seeded Rishi Sridhar in the round of 16, Uppal today made short work of third-ranked Vinod Sridhar 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to set up a semifinal date with Sipaeya. Sixth seed Manoj Mahadeven of Tamil Nadu also caused an upset getting the better of fourth seed Tamil Nadu’s Vijay Kannan 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) in a tough 125-minute duel. In the semifinal, Mahadeven will take on second seed Nitin Kirtane, who had to toil hard before prevailing over eight-ranked Punna Vishal of Karnataka 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. In the ladies singles outings, top seed Maharastra’s Radhika Tulpule faced stiff resistance from fifth seed Chandigarh’s Shruti Dhawan before winning 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 while second seed and Tulpule’s statemate Sonal Phadke made short work of seventh seed Karnataka’s Archana Vankatraman 6-4, 6-2 to move into the last four. In other quarterfinals, third seed Sai Jayalakshmi stormed past Radhika Mandke 6-2, 6-0 while fourth seed Karnataka’s Sheetal Goutham beat Maharashra’s Liza Pereira 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. The semi finals will be played on March 29. PTI |
|
|
Sanjay warms up with Pro-Am win Chandigarh, March 27 The Pro-am was played on a ‘‘Medal’’ format, where the professional’s score, which was compulsory, and the two best out of three amateur scores on each hole, formed the team’s score on that hole. Local lad Ranjit Singh led his team to a second-place finish beating Kolkata’s Rafiq Ali and team in a back-six count-back. Earlier the two teams had tied at an identical score of 210 nett. The other leading performers of the day included Delhi’s Dinesh Kumar who returned a three-under 69, the day’s best card among the professionals. Top-ranked golfer on the Hero Honda Golf Tour, Mhow’s Mukesh Kumar, along with Meerut’s Digvijay Singh played to two-under 70. Sanjay Kumar’s team comprised T.L. Verma, Navtaj Sujlana and K.S. Sibia while Ranjit’s team constituted Sarvar Hussain, Maj T.A.S. Bedi and Col P.C. Sharma. Rafiq Ali teamed up with Raja K.S. Sidhu, Zoraver Singh and S.D. Kaila. Sanjay Kumar
as the pro in the winning team pocketed Rs 2,500 for his effort while Ranjit Singh despite his team finishing second had to share the total of the second and third pro cash prize amounts totaling to Rs 2,500 with Rafiq Ali and Amit Dube. This was owing to Rafiq and Dube’s teams tallying 210 nett each, a score identical to that returned by Ranjit’s team. The amateurs received attractive crystal trophies. Among the leading professionals participating in the Pro-Am were the likes of twice ‘Champion Golfer of the year’ award winner Mukesh Kumar; 98 Indian Open Winner Feroz Ali; thrice Hero Golf Chandigarh Open winner Amritinder Singh; the first ever Indian to qualify for the prestigious British Open Gaurav Ghei; twice-Honda Siel PGA golf Championship winner Uttam Singh Mundy; leading Asian PGA Tour professional Amandeep Johl; India’s top-ranked amateur who turned pro at the Hero Honda Masters 2002 Ashok Kumar; twice-Indian Open champion, Ali Sher and the golfer who recorded a third place finish at the prestigious Royal Challenge Indian Open earlier this month, Digvijay Singh, among others. |
|
East Bengal
drub HAL Mumbai, March 27 In the 15th minute of the match, East Bengal’s winger Jose Carlos Da Silva found the mark off mid-fielder Bijen Singh’s pass. Ten minutes later, Carlos, was again bang on target with a solo effort. HAL made just one good move in the entire first half when their medio Vinod Kumar shot over a Dayanand cross with just a minute to go for lemon break. In the second session, Soumitra Chakravorthy, who replaced striker Dipankar Roy in the 63rd minute, made his presence felt when he smartly converted defender Surya Bikash pass in the 65th minute. Bijen Singh then rounded off the tally in the 80th minute with his opportunistic goal following a flag kick. HAL custodian Gumpe Rime fumbled while collecting the flag kick, allowing Bijen Singh enough room to score. The Bangalore outfit got a couple of chances to score but their mid-fielders Dayanand and Vinod Kumar made a mess of it. In the 50th minute, Dayanand shot over a Vinod Kumar pass.
PTI |
|
Kandan overcomes Thapa Patiala, March 27 In the bout between Mani Kandan of Tamil Nadu and Gaurav Thapa of Madhya Pradesh, in the featherweight category, the MP boxer started with a flourish. However, he exhausted himself and Mani Kandan hit back to close the bout at 8-7. Results: (preliminary rounds): Featherweight: J.B. Singh (Haryana) b F. Ahmed (Assam)-RSC, Mani Kandan (TN) b Gaurav Thapa (MP) 8-7, T. Arphutaraj (Pondicherry) b R. Rautkima (Mizoram) 8-5, J.S. Patil (Mah) b S.C.K. Reddy (AP) 14-9, N.K. Maurya (UP) b B. Chettri (Meghalya) 15-3, P.P Singh (Punjab) b Y. Gogi (Goa)-RSC. Bantamweight: P.B. Thapa (Meg) b Y.H. Singh (Manipur)-RSC, Amarnath (Goa) b Sunil Kumar (Delhi)-RSC, J.P.D. Prazpati (Bengal) b B. Singh (Haryana)-RSC, B.D. Singh (Pun) b A. Sharma (UP) 17-8. Lightweight: P.K. Dayashanker (Mah) b Inamul Hooda (Bengal)-RSC, Vikas (HP) b Virender Singh (Har)-RSC, S. Sundi (Jharkhand) b M.B. Sanjeev (Kerala)-RSC. Light welterweight: M. Khamba (Man) b Amish Verma (Rajasthan)-RSC, M. Kumar (UP) b Chetan Chauhan 8-5, M. Akbar Basha (Pond) b Ashok Saha (SPSCB)-RSC, N.M. Saikia (Meg) b Jasvinder Singh (MP)-k.o. Light heavyweight: Sombir Singh (Raj) b Vinod Sharma-RSC, Himatjit Singh (Del) b Ram Singh (Pun)-k.o. Super heavyweight: Gaurav (UP) b R. Prem Kumar (TN)-RSC, Shyam Anchen (Goa) b Kirandeep Singh (MP)-k.o. |
|
Dingko fails to find berth Patiala, March 27 At present, the senior national boxing camp is being held at the NIS here in preparation for the meet and all the seven boxers were subjected to dope tests today morning. The selected boxers are Harpal Singh (91 kg plus), Jitender Kumar (75 kg), Dilbagh Singh (67 kg), Ramanand (60 kg), Som Bahadur (57 kg), Akhil Kumar (51 kg) and Mohammad Ali Qamar (48 kg). IABF officials present in Patiala in connection with the ongoing junior national championship disclose the Dingko did not want to train under Bulgarian coach Peter Stoyonav. The boxer had also informed the IABF that he wanted to train at the newly opened Army Sports Institute (ASI) at Pune. Dingko is posted as a Chief Petty Officer with the Indian Navy at Mumbai. However, the IAFB was averse to the idea of the boxer training at Pune and they wanted him to be present at the NIS. Dingko’s prolonged absence from the camp at Patiala forced the IAFB to drop him. The Sports Ministry has yet to give its clearance for the trip. The others who will be accompanying the squad are G.S. Sandhu (chief coach), Mr Peter Stoyonav (assistant coach), Rajesh Bhandari (manager) and Raj Chengappa (doctor). |
|
Future of wrestling ‘bright’ Chandigarh, March 27 In a letter to the president, Wrestling Federation of India, Mr MS Malik, Mr Milan, stated that Indian wrestlers secured positions among the top 10 in world wrestling during 2001. Out of these two males and one female won in free style and three in greeco roman. They were Gurbinder Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Mukesh Khatri, Palwinder Cheema, Shankar Patel and Ms Sunita. Mr Malik complimented the wrestlers for the achievement. Mr Malik appealed to the Union Sports Secretary, Mr S.S. Sharma, to pay more attention to promotion of wrestling in the country. |
|
J&K, Haryana win titles Chandigarh, March 27 In the women’s final, Jammu and Kashmir prevailed upon Chandigarh. After trailing 2-9 in the first half, local girls led by Ranjita Thakur tried to control in the second half, where the visitors could win only one point while the local girls gathered five. However, Chandigarh lost 7-10. Sabia Jaan scored three points while Rubia Jaan scored seven points. For the losers, Pushpa scored three points while Ranjeeta netted four points. Earlier in the men’s final, Haryana outclassed Chandigarh 26-5. Krishan was the main striker with 20 points while Shyam netted six points. For the losers Dipinder netted five points. Arjuna awardees Kanwal Thakur Singh and Manavjit Singh,were the guests of honour on the
occasion. |
|
|
Football tourney Yamunanagar, March 27 |
 |
| 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 | |
