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Thursday,
April 25, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Razzaq, Younis clinch series for Pakistan A welcome birthday gift, says
Tendulkar
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DOWN MEMORY LANE — SOCCER WORLD CUP FICCI signs MoU with SAI Bhullar, Kartar Singh, Gill honoured Bathinda, Ludhiana
win PPS defeat YPS Mohali
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Razzaq, Younis clinch series for Pakistan Rawalpindi, April 24 Pakistan, labelled as poor chasers in the shorter version of the game, scored 278 runs for victory in 47.1 overs, thanks to Razzaq’s 86 off 84 balls and Khan’s brilliant 70. The victory gave Pakistan an insurmountable lead heading into the last one-dayer, scheduled for Lahore on Saturday. Razzaq was promoted ahead of Inzamam-ul Haq at No 5 and shared a match-winning 93-run fourth-wicket stand with Khan, who scored his fourth half century in the last five games. Razzaq was bowled by Scott Styris in the 43rd over when Pakistan was just 26 runs a way from victory. Lou Vincent gave his team a glimmer of hope when he ran out Wasim Akram in the 45th over with a brilliant diving effort. But Rashid Latif and Saqlain Mushtaq kept their cool and remained unbeaten on 28 and five runs respectively. By the time Khan was bowled by Brooke Walker in the 31st over, the stylish right-handed batsman had made the task easier for the late-order batsmen. Haq made a quick-fire 26 off 30 balls before he was bowled by Andre Adams in his second spell. But Razzaq kept his cool and never allowed the Kiwis to sneak through. Earlier, Craig McMillan hit a swashbuckling career-best century to raise hopes of a comeback for injury-hit New Zealand. McMillan made 105 of his team’s formidable 277 for five in the allotted 50 overs. The knock by the 25-year-old from Christchurch formed the backbone of his team’s innings with solid stands from Matthew Horne, 62, and Andre Adams, 45. McMillan, whose previous best of 104 not out was against Pakistan on home ground in February last year, took the attack to the home bowlers with some ferocious drives, cuts and pulls. He hit eight fours and a six off Shoaib Akhtar in the 116-ball innings to lift the injury-hit Kiwis’ dwindling morale after a massive loss in the first game. The tourists’ problems were further compounded today when high-scoring batsman Nathan Astle was ruled out of the rest of the tour with a torn ligament in his left knee. All-rounder Chris Harris was also left out after he became the latest victim of a stomach bug that has haunted the visitors. Captain Stephen Fleming, however, recovered from the bug in time to win the toss, electing to bat before a capacity crowd of 17,000. Scoreboard New Zealand: Nevin b Razzak 23 Horne lbw b Akram 62 McMillan c sub (Malik)
b Waqar 105 Adams b Akram 45 Oram c sub (Malik) b Waqar 8 Vincent not out 7 Styris not out 1 Extras (b-8 lb-11 nb-3 w-4) 26 Total (5wkts, 50 overs) 277 Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-140, 3-232, 4-259, 5-272. Bowling: Akram 10-0-58-2, Waqar 10-1-46-2, Razzak 7-0-33-1, Akhtar 10-1-51-0, Saqlain 8-0-47-0, Afridi 5-0-23-0. Pakistan: Nazir lbw b Tuffey 0 Afridi lbw b Styris 40 Youhana b Adams 3 Khan b Walker 70 Razzaq b Styris 86 Haq b Adams 26 Latif not out 28 Akram run out 6 Saqlain not out 5 Extras: (lb-4, w-4, nb-6) 14 Total: (7wkts, 47.1 overs) 278 Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-6, 3-79, 4-172, 5-218, 6-252, 7-261. Bowling: Tuffey 8-0-61-1, Adams 10-0-58-2, Oram 7.5-1-39-0, Styris 10-0-53-2, Walker 7-0-37-1, McMillan 4-0-23-0, Vincent 0.2-0-3-0.
AP
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A welcome birthday gift, says Tendulkar Port of Spain, April 24 “It’s a great feeling,” said Tendulkar, who scored his 29th hundred in the first innings to equal Sir Donald Bradman’s record. “We would now be able to celebrate the birthday well.” Skipper Saurav Ganguly who kneeled and kissed the turf on recording the famous win praised man-of-the-match V.V.S. Laxman. “He looked in good nick but he hasn’t converted his half centuries into a big hundred, the kind of hundred which would do justice to his talent.” Both Ganguly and coach John Wright was full praise for Tendulkar’s 117. “Any team which is put in to bat and finishes with 262 for four on the first day has done a good job,” said Wright. “Tendulkar’s hundred gave us a good push early on in this game.” The importance of that innings was not lost on the century-maker either. “I am sure if you deduct hundred runs, the balance of the two teams shift a great deal. But more than that, all the players have contributed and that is what counts,” said Tendulkar. “I think we are playing well as a team at the moment. Nobody has got a five-wicket haul and nobody has a big hundred from this game. Still we won. That’s what winning is all about for a team,” said Tendulkar. Ganguly and Wright also congratulated the medium pace trio of Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra. “Srinath made an impact on the second day and he did it again on the final day by getting Mervyn Dillon and pressurising Junior Murray enough to get the run out. He is pretty experienced and knows where to put the ball,” said Wright. “We always had a chance after setting them a 300-plus target. We knew if we could pick up Hooper and Lara, we would win the Test,” said Ganguly with Wright in tow. “They needed 40 runs to win with only one wicket standing. It was too much to expect from Cuffy (to pull it through),” he said. The skipper was also satisfied with the rare overseas win and counting the number of victories abroad. “It is good to win a Test abroad. It is the fourth Test we have won on foreign soil in recent times. It is pretty satisfying.” India defeated Bangladesh in May 2000 and defeated Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka last year. Ganguly has so far won 10 of the 20 Tests he has captained, losing just five. Ganguly said he was a bit worried when Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle brought West Indies real close with a 73-run fifth wicket stand. “We were a bit worried, I must confess. But once we picked up Gayle, we were again in business.” Reviewing the closely fought match, both the captain and coach emphasised the need for India’s lower order to come good in the remaining three Tests. “There is little denying we need more runs out of the tail. We lost 12 wickets here for 70 or 80 runs. We need to work in this area,” said Wright. “Ratra has done well behind the stumps but he needs to score runs too. I mean if numbers 7, 8, 9 and 10 don’t contribute, that’s a lot. A lot of our batting is doing nothing so we expect him to score a few runs as well,” said Ganguly. “Das looked good in Guyana before he threw it away. They (openers) have got to realise they have to play out the new ball every time and that’s not easy. Once they go through the new ball, they would score runs. They have done it before and they must do it again,” the skipper said.
PTI |
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Sachin Tendulkar’s century ‘beginning of a better phase’ Chandigarh, April 24 Ravinder Chadha has watched Sachin very closely both as chairman of the junior selection committee as well as member of the senior selection committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He was also associated with the Indian cricket team as doctor-cum-physio from 1998 to 2000, a period during which India started playing non-stop cricket round the year. It was during this period that Sachin had a major problem with his back and subsequently had a longish lay-off from the game. It was also during the same time when Sachin blossomed into a major batsman clobbering Australia and Pakistan. The former Indian selector is of the opinion that Sachin still has a long international career in front of him and is in a position to overtake Sunil Gavaskar’s world record of 34 Test centuries. But to continue playing cricket at the highest level, Sachin will have to take care of not only his health, mainly his back, but should also selectively decide the series he will play in. In any case cricket has now become a round-the-year game and a player of Sachin’s calibre should be in a position to decide in which series he will or will not play. By adopting such an attitude Sachin will be able to extend his playing career. True, the Indian fan is interested in seeing Sachin performing in every game but they must realise that too much exposure may well harm his career in the long run. Ravinder Chadha, whose association with the game extends well over two decades both as a player and administrator talked to TNS on various aspects of Sachin and his game. The following are excerpts from the interview: Q: What makes Sachin such a great cricketer? Ans:
Sachin’s greatness as a cricketer lies in his total commitment to the game. In addition to this he is very hard working, more mature than his age, very determined and mentally tough. He is always composed on and off the field. Q: How would you define his personality? A:
Sachin is basically a shy person and harbours no ill-will against anybody. He is meticulous in planning his actions both on and off the field. Q: Which was his best innings? A: During my tenure his best performance was against Australia in the Coca-Cola one-day triangular series at Sharjah during 1998-99. He scored two consecutive centuries against Australia and won the man of the match, man of the series, best fifty and maximum sixes awards. His best match as a bowler was also against Australia in the one-day game at Cochin during 1997-98. Chasing India’s 300 odd runs, the Australian openers scored 100 runs in only nine overs. At one stage it looked as if the match would be won by Australia. When Sachin was brought in to bowl, instead of bowling medium pace he started bowling leg spin and won the match for India by taking five wickets. Q: What about Sachin’s back problem? A: He complained about his back problem at Chennai during the Test match against Pakistan where he scored a century in hot and humid weather conditions. Pain came off and on due to the hectic schedule of matches. On the advise of Greg Chappel he was examined by Dr Kennedy at England who advised him to use a lighter bat and also prescribed exercises for his back but he got no relief. Ultimately, by conducting many sections of CT scan and MRI he was found to be suffering from a rare disease — bilateral
spondylolsis. The treatment was either surgery or strengthening the back muscles. He was in discomfort whenever he felt exhausted in and hot humid weather. The reason was back muscle exhaustion which led to the entire body load being put on the lower spine which caused discomfort. In order to avoid a back problem Sachin will have to control his weight, strengthen his back muscles and take rest between series, especially in hot and humid weather. Q: What are your comments regarding Sachin’s 29th century at Port of Spain? A:
I believe it is the beginning of Sachin’s better phase of his career as now he is more experienced, mature and mentally tougher. Though the number of Test matches he is playing have decreased yet he will be able to create a record which shall indeed be a Herculean task for any batsman to achieve or overcome. Q: What are his chances of leading India again? A:
Sachin resigned from the captain’s job as it was affecting his batting. I think, till the World Cup next year the selectors will like Saurav to continue as captain. I feel Sachin would get a chance to lead the country whenever there is replacement of the captain due to his experience and knowledge of the game.
New Delhi
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DOWN MEMORY LANE — SOCCER WORLD CUP Paris, April 24 The match of the tournament took place in the quarter-finals, when Zico’s Brazil faced Michel Platini-inspired France, who had already knocked out holders Italy, in Guadalajara. A flowing match finished 1-1 before France won the penalty shootout 4-3. Diego Maradona established himself as the star of the tournament. The Argentine’s infamous ‘hand of God’ goal, when he punched the ball into the net, and a spectacular solo effort put paid to England in the last eight and he produced more magic to see off Belgium in the semi-finals. West Germany beat France in the semi-finals, just as they had four years earlier, but in the final they were quickly 2-0 down to Argentina, Jose Luis Brown and Jorge Valdano scoring. Somehow the Germans recovered. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Rudi Voller netted in the closing stages to force extra-time, only for Maradona to send Jorge Burruchaga through for the winner. Not since Pele in 1970 had one man so inspired a team to glory. 1986 World Cup top scorers: Gary Lineker (Eng) 6, Diego Maradona (Arg) 5, Emilio Butragueno (Spa) 5, Careca (Bra) 5. Mexico became the first country to stage two finals after the original hosts Colombia, financially bankrupt, withdrew their application. Denmark, Iraq and Canada were making their debuts in the finals. Eight venues were used for the 52-match programme. They were: Guadalajara, Puebla, Leon, Queretaro, Irapuato, Toluca, Monterrey and Mexico City. The opening game between the holders Italy and Bulgaria ended 1-1. Alessandro Altobelli, scorer of Italy’s last goal in the 1982 final, became the first player to score in this tournament. Iraq were denied a goal in their first World Cup game, which they lost 1-0 to Paraguay, when the referee blew his whistle a split-second before Ahmed Rhadi’s header crossed the line. Ray Wilkins became the first England player to be sent off in the World Cup when he was redcarded in a 0-0 draw with Morocco for throwing the ball at the referee. Mexico’s 1-1 draw with Paraguay in the group stages featured 55 fouls. The referee was England’s George Courtney. Uruguay’s Jose Batista was sent off after just 55 seconds for hacking down Gordon Strachan in a 0-0 draw with Scotland. Gary Lineker saved England’s bacon by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 defeat of Poland that saw them edge into the second round. They had earlier lost 1-0 to Portugal, whose players threatened to go on strike just before the match over bonus payments. On his 41st birthday Northern Ireland goalkeeper Pat Jennings gained his world record 119th international cap against Brazil. After the game, won 3-0 by Brazil, Jennings announced his retirement. Argentina’s Marcelo Trobbiani made his one and only World Cup appearance as an 88th-minute substitute in the final against West Germany, equalling the record for the shortest World Cup career set by Tunisia’s Khemais Labidi in 1978. 1986 World Cup winning squad Argentina: Goalkeepers:
Luis Islas, Oscar Ruggieri, Hector Miguel Zelada. Defenders: Jose Luis Brown, Nestor Clausen, Jose Luis Cuciuffo, Oscar Garre, Ricardo Giusti, Julio Jorge Olarticoechea, Daniel Passarella Midfielders:
Sergio Almiron, Sergio Daniel Batista, Ricardo Bochini, Jorge Burruchaga, Hector Adolfo Henrique, Diego Maradona Forwards: Claudio Borghi, Pedro Pablo Pasculli, Carlos Tapia, Marcelo Trobbiani, Jorge Valdano Coach: Carlos Bilardo 1990, Italy:
The 1990 World Cup witnessed the lowest goals-per-game average, a deluge of sendings-off and arguably the worst final ever seen. Just 115 goals were scored from 52 games at an average of 2.21 per game. There were 16 red cards and 164 bookings at an average of 3.46 per match, another record. In addition penalty shootouts were routine — four in total — including both semi-finals. Argentina advanced at the expense of Italy and West Germany beat England. Appropriately it was a penalty, by Andreas Brehme for the Germans, that decided a sorry final which included two sendings off for the Argentines. It was West Germany’s third World Cup win. Argentina’s performance was typical of the tournament. They reached the final despite winning only two games and scoring five goals in total. Maradona finished the final in tears. Cameroon, with the veteran Roger Milla inspired, reached the quarter-finals, while the unheralded Toto Schillaci hit six goals for Italy to finish top scorer. Adding to everyone’s woes were the hooligans. Some 300 were expelled by the Italian police with England fans prominent in several ugly brawls which nonetheless weren’t as bad as had been feared before the finals. 1990 World Cup top scorers: Salvatore Schillaci (Ita) 6, Thomas Skuhravy (Cze) 5, Gary Lineker (Eng) 4, Michel (Spa) 4, Roger Milla (Cam) 4, Lothar Matthaus (WGer) 4. Chile were banned after goalkeeper Robert Rojas pretended he had been struck by a flare thrown from the crowd during a qualifying match against Brazil in 1990. Chile, who needed to win 2-0 to qualify, were losing 1-0 with 20 minutes left when the incident occurred, and Chile’s players refused to play on. As in 1982, holders Argentina were beaten in their opening game. This time they lost 1-0 to Cameroon when goalkeeper Nery Pumpido fumbled a leaping header from Omam Biyick. The Africans also had two men sent off. Cameroon’s Russian coach Valeri Nepomniaschi was unable to communicate with his team without use of an interpreter. It didn’t stop the Africans marching into the quarter-finals. United Arab Emirates’ Khaleel Mubarak became the 50th player to be sent off in World Cup finals when given his marching orders in the 4-1 defeat to Yugoslavia. Cameroon’s Roger Milla, at 38, was the surprise find of the tournament, but even he needed a helping hand in the second round from Colombia’s madcap goalkeeper Rene Higuita. In George Best mode, Higuita tried to dribble over the half-way line but lost the ball to Milla who rolled the ball gleefully into the empty net. Blubbing Paul Gascoigne was England’s star as they marched into the semi-finals. There an ill-timed tackle against West Germany meant he was out of the final — if England reached it — and Gazza burst into tears at the prospect. Another sobbing superstar was the hero of 1986, Diego Maradona. He led an ultra-negative Argentina side into the final despite scoring only five goals and winning two games. When they had two players sent off in losing the final to West Germany, Maradona sobbed unashamedly. Toto Schillaci followed in the footsteps of Paolo Rossi in 1982 when he emerged as Italy’s unexpected goal hero. The feisty little Sicilian was the last player named in the Italian squad, but finished top scorer with six strikes. The finals produced the lowest goals-per-game average ever — just 2.21. There 16 red cards and 164 bookings at an average of 3.4 per match, another record. Penalty shootouts peppered the finals — there were four in total, with both semi-finals decided this way for the first time. 1990 World Cup winning squad West Germany: Goalkeepers:
Raimond Aumann, Bodo Illgner, Andreas Kop. Defenders: Klaus Augenthaler, Thomas Berthold, Andreas Brehme, Guido Buchwald, Jurgen Kohler, Hans Pflugler, Stefan Reuter, Paul Stainer. Midfielders: Uwe Bein, Pierre Littbarski, Lothar Matthaus (capt), Thomas Hassler, Gunther Hermann, Andreas Moller, Olaf Thon. Forwards:
Jurgen Klinsmann, Franck Mill, Karl Heinz Riedle, Rudi Voller; Coach: Franz Beckenbauer.
AFP
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FICCI signs MoU with SAI New Delhi, April 24 The MoU was signed by president of FICCI R.S. Lodha and SAI director-general Shekhar Dutt in the presence of Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Uma Bharati. The involvement of FICCI in the running of sports will give the SAI the necessary money power to go for world class facilities in spotting, nurturing and training sports talent in the country. The entry of FICCI into sports promotion gave Sports Minister Uma Bharati the confidence to declare that India will bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. But bidding for the Olympics Games is easy said than done as it involves a very lengthy process, and as of now, India stand very little chance of ever winning the Olympic bid for the obvious reason that India’s place in the the Olympic nations is at the dismal bottom. The minister elaborated that the “preparation for bidding for the Olympic Games starts today, and the signing of the MoU is a historic moment in Indian sports”. She said the MoU was for a period of three years, upto March 2005, which would facilitate regular interaction among government, sports federations and industry to promote sports in India. She said it was specially aimed at supplementing SAI’s efforts in preparing Indian teams for participation in the Commonwealth Games (to be held in Manchester), Asian Games (to be held in Pusan in Korea) and the Olympic Games 2004. But the moot point is whether such association will lead to its logical conclusion as a similar MoU signed between the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) two years back has not brought about any tangible results, other than getting some instance publicity for IOA president Suresh Kalmadi and CII President Rahul Bajaj. Knowledgeable people point out the political angle to these MoUs as the FICCI leans towards the BJP while the CII is more oriented towards the Congress. CHANDIGARH: R.S. Lodha, President FICCI on being asked, as what returns they expect from this sponsorships, said their main objective was to help India attain a good image in sports field, but he said in longer run, each and every achievement of any individual or team carries with it an image projection also, so they expect the same from the country sportspersons who bring laurels at any level of competitions. He was speaking along with Uma Bharati during a tele conference. Ms Bharati also promised to look into the plight of the sportspersons of the yesteryear who were living under pathetic condition, even after bringing glory to the nation. She said under the new national sports policy, a Fund, the National Sports Development fund, had been set up to which legendary cricketer Kapil Dev has contributed Rs 1 crore as initial amount. She also promised to probe into any alleged use of drugs in the National Institue of Sports, Patiala. On the question of sport relations with Pakistan, she said both the countries enjoyed cordial relations in sports. When asked about the possibility of the much-delayed Afro-Asian Games, she said the infrastructure was ready, but they were awaiting for the green signal from the International Olympic Committee for the final date and the Indian Olympic Association personnel were already trying their best to hold these. |
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Bhullar, Kartar Singh, Gill honoured Chandigarh, April 24 MS Bhullar during his tenure at the PAP Complex, Jalandhar, had promoted sports in the complex. He encouraged the sportspersons and helped in building a huge sports complex of international level at PAP, Jalandhar. Rajdeep Singh Gill, who had earlier served as IG, Punjab Police Range I at Patiala, was instrumental in providing thrust to sports in the state. He initiated a proposal to provide jobs to outstanding sportspersons of the state. He was also the Chef-de-Mission of the Punjab contingent at the National games in Punjab. Kartar Singh brought laurels to the country in wrestling. He bagged gold medal in 1978 and 1986 Asian Games. Kanwarjeet Singh Sandhu, President of the association said these eminent personalities were pride of Punjab. NRIs Ranjit Singh Rana of Toot brothers, California, USA, Loveleen Kumar Sharma (Canada) and HS Dhillon (USA) assured their help for sports promotion in Punjab. |
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Bathinda, Ludhiana
win Chandigarh, April 24 In the girls section Faridkot and Hoshiarpur posted victories. Bathinda proved their
supremacy gaining an 18-point lead (25.7) against Jalandhar in the first quarter itself, and won the match 70-50. Harpreet of Bathinda excelled in shooting, scoring 28 points which included five three-point shots. Another sharp shooter Prabjot could score only 11 points, which included one three-points shot. For Bathinda Harpreet (28) Gurpal (14) Prabhjot (11), Sukhdip (12) and for Jalandhar Pawan (21) were the main scorers. In an exciting league match, Gurdaspur boys were defeated by Ludhiana 68-81. Gurdaspur were leading by nine points (56-47) at the end of third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Ludhiana charged with confidence and determination, scoring 34 points against 12 points of Gurdaspur. The fourth quarter was fully dominated by Amit Prashar and Snekpal of Ludhiana, both scoring 14 and 10 points, respectively, in that quarter. For Ludhiana, Amit Prashar (31), Snekpal (22) Fatehjit (12), Ramesh (10) and for Gurdaspur, Mandeep (28), Prabjot (24) were the main scorers. In the girls section Faridkot had an easy 56-32 victory over Kapurthala whose shooters failed totally. They could not stop Parmjit Kaur of Faridkot, who scored 25 points. For Faridkot Parmjit (25) Nampreet (16) Gurjeet (12) and for Kapurthala Mala (12) were the main scorers. In another match Hoshiarpur thrashed Ludhiana 28-11. For Hoshiarpur Rajwinder (9) Sandeep (9) and for Ludhiana Rekha (10) were the main scorers. |
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PPS defeat YPS Mohali Patiala, April 24 Simranjit Randhawa fired in the first salvo for Dashmesh Academy while Arjun equalised for Doon School after he scored off a deflection helping his team to share points. In the third match of the day, Sainik School, Kapurthala, had an easy outing against Wellham Boys School, Dehra Dun, beating them 4-2. For the Kapurthala boys, Harpreet banged in three goals and Sanjeev added the fourth. |
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Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar who turned 29 today said India’s win in the second Test here at Queen’s Park Oval yesterday was a welcome birthday gift.
