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Sunday,
April 7, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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India set to grab lead in Davis Cup
Davis Cup:
USA, Spain tied 1-1
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Dismal show by Indian batsmen
Lara says he’s fit to face India Ponting,
Lehmann lead record run chase South Africa ‘A’
in comfortable position Salgaocar eyeing full points Shirov favourite to annex crown
6 qualify for Mercedes
Trophy golf finals Shiv Prakash lifts SRF title
Konar saves the day
for Bagan
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India set to grab lead in Davis Cup Wellington, April 6 The Indian duo will now have to wait till tomorrow morning to finish off the match and more importantly, the interruption will test Paes’ fitness to the limit as he has to beat Kiwi No 1 Mark Neilsen in the first reverse singles to see India through. In the beginning, the Kiwi duo matched Paes and Bhupathi, winner of three Grand Slam titles, at the net. They battled their famous opponents stroke for stroke but when the push came to shove, the former world No 1 duo put their foot down. Paes and Bhupathi were more bothered by the cold and south-easterly wind than the inexperienced Willman and Shortall. While Paes was impressive with his patented volleys, Bhupathi was as sharp as ever with his reflexes. Willman, who in partnership with Hunt had beaten Bhupathi and Jeff Tarango at the Auckland ATP tourney in January, and Shortall displayed good temperament but found the Indians too hot to handle, especially on crunch points. Willman/Shortall began on a confident note with the former trying to copy Paes’ tricks at the net and Shortall coming up with big serves. The scores remained level at 4-4 in the first set before the Indians threatened with three break points on Willman’s serve in the tenth game. Serving to stay in the set at 4-5, the Kiwis were suddenly staring three set points and conceded the crucial break on the second when Shortall put a forehand into the net. The second set too followed on the same lines with the hosts beginning positively only to falter later. The Kiwis were more aggressive and were up to every challenge that Paes and Bhupathi posed. But the Indians had already identified their man and in the eighth game they again put pressure on Willman’s serve. The ploy worked as a series of errors cost the home team dear. After Willman failed to keep a simple volley in, the two Kiwis were caught in a mix-up going for a lob, giving the Indians a double break point opportunity. The Indians wasted no time and converted the very first chance when Paes pounced on a weak return from Shortall, and then served out the set in the next without any difficulty. The match will resume tomorrow at 3 am IST and will be followed by the two reverse singles.
PTI |
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Davis Cup: USA, Spain tied 1-1 Houston, April 6
Corretja started to come alive in the third set yesterday while Sampras, who has won seven Wimbledon titles on grass, showed signs of wear. Corretja hit a passing shot for a winner in the third game and raised a fist into the air. He held serve in that game and eventually forced a tiebreaker in the set. Earlier, American Andy Roddick beat Spain’s Tommy Robredo 6-3 7-5 7-6 (9/7) in the opening match on the grass court at Westside Tennis Club. In Buenos Aires, Gaudio beat Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (7/5) 6-2, 6-3, and then Chela later beat Ivo Karlovic 5-7 6-4 6-4 6-2 to put the Argentines ahead. Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic beat France’s Nicolas Escudee 7-6(7/4) 6-1 6-7(5/7) 7-5 to level the score at 1-1. France, the defending champion, had earlier taken a 1-0 lead after Sebastien Grosjean beat Bohdan Ulihrach 6-3 3-6 0-6 6-3 6-1. Novak’s victory pegged back the buoyant French at the indoors match in Pau, southwestern France. Grosjean and Ulihrach had earlier played a rollercoaster game. The Frenchman was a set up but, from 3-3 in the second, lost nine games in a row. He hit back to move 3-0 up in the fourth and yielded only four more games before giving his team the lead. “He had two great sets, but I kept on fighting,” Grosjean said. Neither Marat Safin nor Yevgeny Kafelnikov dropped a set in their matches against Sweden. On the red clay courts of Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium, Safin made up for losing to Johansson in the Australian Open final by outplaying Sweden’s Thomas Johansson 6-4 6-4 6-4. Kafelnikov then scored a 7-6 (8/6) 6-3 6-1 win over Thomas Enqvist. “I was in control from the very beginning,” Safin said.” It was just good out there.” Kafelnikov won the first set tiebreak from 3-5 down and closed it out after a long baseline rally. Playing adventurous serve and volley, the Russian survived a break point in the sixth game of the second set before holding for 4-2 and Enquist won only two more games. “I think it was Marat who helped me a great deal,” Kafelnikov said. “His win helped me to play. I felt no pressure, no psychological pressure.” “I was nervous all day because I knew the Ljubicic was playing very well at the moment,” the Argentine said. “With his good service, I knew that if I did not break him once in every set, it was going to be complicated.” Among matches lower down the Davis Cup ladder, rain severely disrupted the Italy vs. Finland match in Europe-Africa zone Group One. The home team’s Sanguinetti led Kim Tilikainen 6-2 4-3 in the opening singles at Reggio Calabria when rain suspended play for the day.
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Gopichand goes down to Lee Tokyo, April 6 The fifth-seeded Korean, playing last year’s All-England champion from India for the first time, used his attacking smashes as the best weapon to score a 7-1 7-4 7-3 victory in 33 minutes. The women’s singles final will be an all-Chinese affair between defending champion Zhou Mi, top seed, and 1999 Malaysian Open champion Dai Yun. Zhou amazingly won 15 rallies in a row from a 5-3 lead in the first game to 5-0 in the third on her way to a lopsided 7-3, 7-0, 7-2 victory over her former team-mate Wang Chen, who now represents Hong Kong. Fifth-seeded Dai pulled off her first win in many years and only her second win overall against fellow Chinese Asian champion Zhang Ning with a 1-7 7-5 7-0 7-5 performance. “I’m really glad that I made the final again,” said Lee, who will turn 22 in 11 days. “It was very difficult for me to change my playing style since the current seven-point format was introduced, because it gives an advantage to those who play aggressively and I lacked speed in my play. But I can take that advantage now as I got used to the format. “It was the first time that I played Gopichand today. It was a bit easier than I had expected. I was able to play in my favourite style, because he was playing slowly,” added Lee. Gopichand played five games in the last three matches beating Indonesia’s world champion Hendrawan, Korean Open winner Lin Dan of China, and another Chinese, Wu Yunyong, and he looked passive against the spirited Korean. Gopichand could not show his excellent defence against hard smashes off the Korean and soon found himself 0-5 down in the opener and 0-4 down in the second game, falling an easy victim to Lee’s jump smashes.
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Dismal show by Indian batsmen
Georgetown (Guyana), April 6 Playing against a second-string team, the Indians had done well to skittle the opposition out for 118 yesterday but were unable to take full use of the advantage today. Overnight not out batsmen, skipper Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, and vice-captain Rahul Dravid were out within the first hour of play today after the tourists resumed at 73 for two. VVS Laxman and Sanjay Bangar then batted through the morning session remaining unbeaten on 23 and nine respectively. To a large extent, the below-par performance of the Indians could be attributed to the irregular pitch where the ball tended to keep low and the bounce was uneven. It required greater application from the batsmen and the Indians were found lacking there. Tendulkar, who was on three yesterday, was the first man to be dismissed this morning. Looking in an attacking frame of mind, the master batsman started the day with a whipping on-drive for a boundary. Guyana Board President’s XI (1st innings): Gonsalves c Dasgupta b Srinath 0 Arjune c Das b Harbhajan 25 Deonarine c Laxman b Zaheer 4 Dowling c Das b Kumble 11 Pooran c Dasgupta b Zaheer 41 Dasrath c Das b Harbhajan 0 Nagamootoo b Srinath 10 Griffith c Tendulkar b Harbhajan 5 Basil c Kumble b Harbhajan 12 Harinarine not out 5 Thomas lbw b Kumble 1 Extras (nb-3, lb-1) 4 Total (all out, 62.3 overs) 118 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-5, 3-25, 4-57, 5-57, 6-78, 7-99,8-105, 9-112. Bowling: Srinath 10-2-20-2, Zaheer 10-3-22-2, Kumble14.3-7-28-2, Bangar 8-5-8-0, Harbhajan 19-4-37-4, Tendulkar1-0-2-0. Indians (1st innings): Das c Nagamootoo b Dasrath 20 Dasgupta run out 6 Ganguly c Arjune b Dasrath 52 Tendulkar c Pooran b Griffith 18 R Dravid b Griffith 2 Laxman batting 23 Bangar batting 9. Extras (lb-3, nb-2, w-1) 6. Total (for 5 wkts, 55 overs) 136. FOW: 1-18, 2-42, 3-94, 4-102, 5-104. Bowling: Griffith 14-6-31-2, Thomas 15-4-48-0, Dasrath 19-5-40-2, Basil 4-1-11-0, Harinarine 3-2-3-0.
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Lara says he’s fit to face India Port of Spain, April 6 Following a knock of 71 for his Queen’s Park Club against an English touring team, Sydenhurst Ramblers, on Thursday at the Queen’s Park Oval, the 32-year-old Trinidad-born West Indies batting star told reporters: “I am fit to play in a Test match”. “The selectors will be picking the team in a couple of days and they will be looking to hear from me. At this moment I can give a positive answer. “The most important thing is that I’m in the process of getting back to 100 per cent fitness. It is going to be difficult but I’m looking forward to playing,” he added. “Every time I wake up and go into the nets or for therapy, there is some improvement. So, in the next seven or eight days, I could see more improvement.” Lara has been treated by orthopaedic surgeon Derrick Lousaing and physiotherapist Lisa Niles since picking up the injury in Sri Lanka during a collision with Marvan Attapatu. Whether he would be fit for the series against India had led to growing concerns among regional fans. He missed the Tests and one-day internationals against Pakistan played in Sharjah, and this year’s Busta Cup and Busta Shield tournaments. Lara, world record holder for the highest Test and first class scores of 375 and 501, respectively, was recently quoted as saying he wants five more years in the game. In preparation for the series against India, 22 West Indies players attended a one-week camp in Trinidad last month. Among those assisting were former West Indies captain Sir Gary Sobers and ex-fast bowler Andy Roberts.
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Ponting, Lehmann lead record run chase Port Elizabeth, April 6 Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden smashed 81 off 55 balls for the first wicket before Australian captain Ricky Ponting shared a fourth-wicket stand of 183 off 184 balls with Darren Lehmann to set Australia on the way to a three-wicket win and a 5-0 lead in the seven-match series. One match was tied. Ponting made 92 off 105 balls, while the left-handed Lehmann hit 91 off 93 deliveries before being stumped off part-time off-spin bowler Graeme Smith. There were late moments of hope for South Africa as Damien Martyn (15) and Ponting were dismissed off successive balls with 15 still needed and Shane Watson was run out with the scores level. Shane Warne sealed the match by hitting the first ball of the final over for four. South Africa seemed headed for victory after Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes went on the rampage as the home side hammered the highest total in one-day internationals against Australia. South Africa’s previous highest total against the Aussies was 310 for six in Bloemfontein five seasons ago. The previous highest total by a side against Australia was 320 for eight by England at Edgbaston in 1980 when matches were 55 overs a side. A bludgeoning partnership from Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes helped South Africa to their highest ever one-day total against Australia. Their brutal hitting led to an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 131 off 93 balls, with 102 from the final 10 overs. The early work had been done by opener Graeme Smith. Playing in only his third one-day international, the 20-year-old Smith struck 84 at St George’s Park after South Africa won the toss. Kallis added 80 not out while Rhodes was undefeated on 71 as Australia’s bowlers were put to the sword. Smith and Herschelle Gibbs had got off to a solid start, making 74 for the first wicket before Gibbs was caught and bowled by Neil Harvey on 37, the Australian throwing out his right hand to clutch on to a spectacular effort. Nicky Boje, again promoted to number three, confidently worked the bowling into the gaps as he reached 47 before he was bowled by the left-arm spin of Darren Lehmann attempting to make room for the cut. Leg-spinner Shane Warne, whose first over cost 15 runs, return to claim Smith’s wicket as he swept loosely and top-edged a routine catch to Lehmann. Smith’s knock came off 103 balls and included eight boundaries. That was the cue for some brutal hitting from Kallis and Rhodes. Kallis was particularly strong on the drive as his unbeaten 80 came off just 59 balls with three fours and two sixes, one off Warne over extra cover. South Africa Smith c Lehmann b Warne 84 Gibbs c and b Harvey 37 Boje b Lehmann 47 Kallis not out 80 J. Rhodes not out 71 Extras
(w-2, lb-5) 7 Total (3 wkts, 50 overs) 326 FOW: 1-74, 2-157, 3-195. Bowling: McGrath 10-2-52-0, Gillespie 9-0-60-0, Harvey 9-0-64-1, Warne 7-0-58-1, Watson 9-0-47-0 (w-2) Lehmann 6-0-40-1. Australia: Gilchrist c Ntini b Telemachus 52 Hayden c Pollock b Kallis 35 Harvey c Boucher b Telemachus 4 Ponting c Pollock b Kallis 92 Lehmann st Boucher b Smith 91 Martyn c Rhodes b Ntini 15 Bevan not out 3 Watson run out 11 Warne not out 4 Extras: (b-2, lb-7, nb-8, w-6) 23 Total
(For 7 wkts, 49.1 overs) 330 Falls of wickets: 1-81, 2-93, 3-104, 4-287, 5-312, 6-312, 7-326. Bowling: Pollock 8-0-57-0, Ntini 9.1-0-83-1, Telemachu 10-0-48-2, Kallis 10-0-59-2, Boje 6-0-34-0, Kent 2-0-16-0, Smith 4-0-24-1.
AFP
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South Africa ‘A’ in comfortable position
Bloemfontein (South Africa), April 6 Replying to the Indians’ first innings total of 291, the home team finished the day at 313 for four with Hashim Amla batting on 54 and Peterson on 50. All the front-line Indian bowlers were taken for runs as the hosts went on a rampage. Opener Jacques Rudolph was unlucky to have missed a century, being dismissed by left-arm spinner Murali Kartik for 97. Brief Scores: India ‘A’: 291 (M Kartik 59, Yuvraj Singh 54, A Pagnis 47, Balaji 37, D Mohanty 33; Pretorious 6-49). South Africa ‘A’: 313 for four in 92 overs (J Rudolph 97, Van Jaarsveld 57, Amla batting 54, Peterson batting 50; Kartik 2-93, Mohanty 1-43).
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Salgaocar eyeing full points Kochi, April 6 Salgaocar are on a high after a string of good results. They occupy the third spot with 35 points and a win here would further brighten their chances to win their second NFL title. In 19 matches, Salgaocar, winners of the third edition of NFL, have won nine, drawn eight and lost just two. On the other hand, Kochin, currently eleventh in the 12-team league, are struggling with 14 points from 19 matches and nothing short of a miracle would help them to remain in the premier league next year. Salgaocar would also have the added advantage of beating Kochin by a solitary goal in their home match in December. The Goans have a well-knit team and are superior in all departments compared to Kochin, whose performance deteriorated as the NFL progressed. The Salgaocar frontline comprising Liberian Sunday Seah, a former Kochin player, and Alex Ambrose is in good nick and the Kochin defence manned by Obinna Winners would be hard pressed to contain the speedy duo. The Goan midfield of Dharamjit Singh, Denis Cabral and Eugene Gray will have to put up a better show to give Seah and Ambrose more space to manoeuvre. Besides, the visitors also have a strong defence in Nigerian Balla Rasaq, Franky Baretto, Robert Fernandes, Cowan Lawrence and Abhay Das plus a safe pair of hands in Kalyan Chaubey. Kochin, who were badly hit by the loss of some of their key recruits mid-way through the NFL, never recovered fully and the absence of injured V P Shaji, who also missed FC’s previous match against Vasco, would add to their woes. Though the team has some talented youngsters who are capable delivering the goods, except for the brilliance of goalkeeper Ali Abubacker, the rest looked ordinary. FC midfielders Noushad, Dileep Kumar and Anil Kumar will have to raise their game and upfront Kulothungan and Bijumon will have to show more cohesion to help Kochin escape the humiliation.
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Shirov favourite to annex crown Dubai, April 6 Today was the only free day in the event and the 16 contenders vying for all-important Grand Prix points and a handsome prize purse will resume battles tomorrow. Former world champion Viswanathan Anand hasn’t quite lived up to his reputation in Rapid chess and after the second round loss against Georgian Zurab Azmaiparashvili, is fighting for the 9-12 places in the tournament. The semifinal line-up is interesting with Shirov slated to play against Russian sensation Alexander Grishchuk and former world junior champion Kiril Georgiev of Bulgaria to battle it out against GM Peter Leko of Hungary. Anand will play his next match against young GM Teimour Radjabov in their first encounter in a tournament. Radjabov hails from Baku in Azerbaijan where world’s highest-rated player Gary Kasparov was also born. Shirov has been in his element so far. Playing lively and living dangerously. He was lucky not get mated against Azmaip-ar Ashvili in the previous round and rode on his luck to win the match in tiebreak. Yet, Shirov’s victories have been quite the way he wants them. Attack, attack and attack have turned out to be the three winning words for him and he is now sitti-ng pretty. The next match, however, is crucial, as Grishchuk, who is playing here in the capacity of highest rated Junior, also likes to hum the same tunes. The hero of the tournament so far has certainly been Georgiev, a FIDE Presidential nominee in this event, who has played some superb chess to beat the likes of former world champion Anatoly Karpov and Alexey Dreev of Russia. Georgiev’s strength has been to play fast and volatile chess and this put pressure on vastly experienced Karpov too. Leko is a steady performer in all variants of the game and he has proved it yet again. His victory over GM Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria was a treat to watch in the last round. It was an intense attack thrown at Topalov right after the opening and he clearly failed to judge the guile of Leko. Pairings round 4: Semifinals: P. Leko (Hun) vs K. Georgiev (Bul); A Grishchuk vs A Shirov. 5-8 places: A Karpov (Rus) vs V Topalov (Bul); Z. Azmaiparashvili (Geo) vs E Bacrot (Fra). 9-12 Places: V. Anand (Ind) vs T. Radjabov (Aze); A. Dreev (Rus) vs A. Khalifman (Rus). 13-16 Places: Zhu Chen (Chn) vs J. Lautier (Fra); V. Ivanchuk (Ukr) vs N. Short (Eng).
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6 qualify for Mercedes
Trophy golf finals Chandigarh, April 6 At the awards function hosted by the Taj Group of Hotels at Rock Garden, Mr Kadlaskar conferred Mercedes Trophies to the three winners and runners-up in all 3-handicap categories and special prizes to two other winners. Six players have qualified from Chandigarh and will be special guests of Mercedes-Benz at the prestigious Mercedes Trophy Finals to be played in Delhi. The three lucky winners at the finals will be flown by Lufthansa to be special guests of Daimler Chrysler at the Mercedes Trophy World Finals at Stuttgart, Germany in September 2002. The results:
Category A (0-15): Suman Puri-stableford 41 points (won on a countback), Sagar Bhatia-stableford 41 points. Category B (16-25): Vivek Krishan stableford 43 points Runner-up: Dr Kiranjit Singh, 40 points. Category C (26-36):
Sachit Jain stableford points 45 points, Suman Munjal stableford 44 points. “Special Prizes: Closest to the Pin” Sandeep Sandhu hole no 18 (287 yards) “Longest Drive” Dr Ravinder Chadha hole no 11 (8 ft 3 inches). |
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Shiv Prakash lifts SRF title New Delhi, April 6 In the 36-hole final, the Kanpur-based Shiv Prakash took a commanding six-hole lead after the morning session of 18 holes. Dube fought back in the afternoon session, but the gap was too much to bridge. In the playoff for the third and fourth place, fifth-seeded Arjun Singh got the better of unseeded Dinesh Kumar by 6 and 4. It was Shiv Prakash’s second title of the 2001-2002 season. He had earlier won the Cotton City Open title in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu). Dube rued the way he played the last five holes in the morning session. Arjun Singh got off to a fast start against Dinesh Kumar en route to taking home a prize money of Rs 50,000. “I played some of the best golf of my life during the morning session. It is a tribute to Dube’s game that he kept the lead down to three holes after I made five birdies in the opening seven holes. Once I went six up after 18 holes, there was no way I could have let the advantage go”, said Shiv Prakash. |
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Giant-killer Samrita lifts title Mumbai, April 6 Samrita won 6-1 3-6 7-5. Giant-killer Samrita, who had accounted for second seed Radhika Tulpule and fourth seed Sonal Phadke in the earlier rounds, was a picture of confidence today. Samrita broke Sai in the very first game of the first set but failed to hold her own serve in the next game. However, she broke her rival in the third, fifth and seventh games to win the set 6-1. In the second set Sai pulled up her socks and with breaks in the fifth and seventh games she managed to win the set 6-3 after five deuce. In the deciding set Samrita broke Sai in the third game but again failed to hold her own serve in the next game for a 2-all score-line. Samrita saved two break points to hold the sixth game for a 3-all score-line and then broke her opponent in the seventh game only to drop her serve in the eight game. However, she broke Sai in the 11th game and then served out the set and with it the match at 7-5. The match lasted for one hour and 52 minutes. Samrita despite serving as many as 12 double faults to Sai’s eight managed to win the match and pocket the winners cheque of Rs 30,350 and 16 circuit points, while Sai had to be content with Rs 21,015 and 12 circuit points. Sai sent down as many as four aces while Samrita served three. Earlier, Sai Jayalakshmi and Radhika Tulpule won the doubles final beating Samrita Sekar and Archana Venkatraman 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-1. Results (finals): women’s singles: Samrita Sekar b Sai Jayalakshmy 6-1 3-6 7-5. Doubles: Sai Jayalakshmy/Radhika Tulpule b Samrita Sekar/Archana Venkatraman 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-1.
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Konar saves the day for Bagan Kolkata, April 6 Substitute Uday Konar struck the all-important goal late in the second session to propel the glamour club to the top of the points table again with just two more matches remaining in the high profile League. Konar’s brilliant effort saved the day for Mohun Bagan who desperately needed to collect full points after the two teams were locked 1-1 till the last 10 minutes of the fastpaced contest. Displaying a new found enthusiasm and determination, Toll-ygunge shot into the lead midway through the first half with livewire medio Sashti Duley scoring against the run of play. The surprise goal left nearly 40,000 Bagan supporters in a daze but the smiles returned to their faces when irrepressible Jose Barreto did the star turn for his team yet again with a stunning header. Level 1-1 at the interval, it was Konar who turned out to be the hero of the day by pumping in the match-winner just in the nick of time for the green and maroon brigade. With this victory, Bagan regained the top position on the league table securing 41 points from 20 outings while Tollygunge have 20 points from as many matches.
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ONGC, PSEB in final Yamunanagar, April 6 In the second match PSEB, Hoshiarpur won the match in tie breaker by 5-4 defeating Gorkha Brigade, Lucknow. In the first half PSEB scored a goal which was equalised by Gorkha Brigade in
second half.
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BEN’S GIRLFRIEND
IMPROVING DARRYN HILL RETIRES WISDEN’S PLEA BAGAN REQUEST |
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