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Sunday,
July 14, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Kaif, Yuvraj stun England
Chetan Sharma writes |
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Sehwag, Yuvraj impress Slater We missed Murali, says Jayasuriya Pakistan plans to dethrone Australia Football: Indians must win to qualify ‘Russians lacked vision’ Nicklaus confident Woods will win Davenport back
on the field Airlines, Railways record wins
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Kaif, Yuvraj stun England London, July 13 In a truely historic win, India came from the dead of 146 for five to make 326 for eight and emerge unexpected winners in a high-scoring game to lift the tri-nation NatWest Trophy, to the delight of a capacity crowd at the Lord’s which comprised sizeable number of Indian supporters. The victory, the second highest run-chase in a one-day international, capped an excellent run of India in the tournament which saw them winning four of their six league matches and also broke their losing streak in the final matches — stretching to nine games since April 1999. Kaif, later declared the man of the match, and Yuvraj Singh added 121 runs, the highest partnership for the sixth wicket at the Lord’s, in a little over 17 overs to set the stage for an Indian victory after all seemed to have been lost when the top five batsmen had returned to pavilion in the 24th over. The winning runs came on the third ball of the last over and negated the centuries by Marcus Trescothick and Nasser Hussain which had helped England pile up their highest total in a 50-over match. Skipper Saurav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag gave India a fine start putting on 106 runs before Ganguly’s dismissal in the 15th over triggered a collapse. The fall of five wickets in a little over five overs almost washed away all hopes of an Indian victory before Yuvraj and Kaif pulled off a miracle. The two youngsters, who have had a fine run in the series, kept India in the hunt with fast but risk-free scoring in the middle overs and broke loose after the 35-over mark when the asking rate was hovering around 7.5. Yuvraj, whose 69 came off 63 balls and contained nine fours and a six, was the one who indulged in big hitting while Kaif concentrated on building the partnership. They brought the score to 267 and within a striking distance of victory when Yuvraj Singh miscued a shot to be dismissed in the 42nd over. But Kaif continued the fight, hitting some audacious shots which included two mighty sixes over mid-wicket fence. He kept a cool head in a high-pressure situation and, in the company of Harbhajan Singh, slowly brought the target to run-a-ball. But there was more drama remaining. With just 12 required from 16 balls, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble got out within two balls of each other. But the ever-composed Kaif not only kept things in control, he also managed a boundary off Gough off the last ball of the 49th over to leave India needing just two runs in the last over. Zaheer Khan missed two balls before scampering for a single on the third and an over-throw brought up the famous victory. There were two century makers in the English side and one of them - skipper Nasser Hussain - compiled probably the most scratchy hundred in one-day cricket. The other century, that by Marcus Trescothick, was an innings in contrast, an aggressive knock of 109 that enabled England to score at more than six runs an over throughout after they had elected to bat on a perfect batting track. England: Trescothick b Kumble 109 Knight b Zaheer 14 Hussain b Nehra 115 Flintoff b Zaheer 40 Vaughan c Mongia b Zaheer
3 Collingwood not out 3 Irani not out 10 Extras: (b-2, lb-16, w-7, nb-6) 31 Total: (for 5 wkts, 50 overs) 325 Fall of wickets: 1-42, 2-227, 3-307, 4-312, 5-312. Bowling: Nehra 10-0-66-1, Zaheer Khan 10-1-62-3, Kumble 10-0-54-1, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-53-0, Ganguly 3-0-28-0, Sehwag 4-0-26-0, Yuvraj Singh 3-0-18-0. India: Sehwag b Giles 45 Ganguly b Tudor 60 Mongia c Stewart b Irani 9 Tendulkar b Giles 14 Dravid c Knight b Irani 5 Yuvraj c Tudor b Collingwood 69 Kaif not out 87 Harbhajan b Flintoff 15 Kumble c Stewart b Flintoff 0 Zaheer not out 4 Extras
(b-3 lb-8 w-6 nb-1) 18 Fall of wickets: 1-106, 2-114, 3-126, 4-132, 5-146, 6-267, 7-314, 8-314. Bowling: Gough 10-1-63-0, Tudor 9-0-62-1, Flintoff 7.3-0-55-2, Irani 10-0-64-2, Giles 10-0-47-2, Collingwood 3-0-24-1.
PTI |
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Ganguly attributes win to team effort
London, July 13 “We played fantastically throughout the series and we deserved to win the final today,” the elated skipper said after India knocked off the required 326 runs with three balls to spare to script a historic victory. Ganguly said the victory was quite unbelievable but once they had raced to 100 odd runs in the 15 overs “we knew we had a chance”. “It was a fast outfield and it was a good batting wicket... We batted splendidly,” Ganguly said. Ganguly praised youngsters Mohammed Kaif and Yuvraj Singh for their daring rescue act after India were teetering at the brink at 146 for five in the 21st over. But Ganguly said it all by saying he had simply no words to describe the experience. England skipper Nasser Hussain was graceful in defeat and said he had no embarrassment in losing today. “The Indians played out of their skins... All credit to them for winning this one.” PTI
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Chetan Sharma writes I would begin by saying the entire nation is proud of you Mohammed Kaif and Yuvraj Singh. I have played cricket for years but for the first time in my life, I miss being a part of the Indian team. When India won the 1983 World Cup I was a student waiting to get into the Indian team while I was a member of the 1985 team which won the Benson and Hedges World Championship in Australia but this match will be the greatest of all. India won a match nobody thought they would win. But Kaif and Yuvraj batted like gods, only because they knew a win would the cherished even 50 years down the line. All of India watched history being enacted at the Mecca of cricket, Lord’s, as India chased the second highest total ever in one-day internationals. India’s win came without Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid’s contributions. The cricket we have seen during this fortnight will take India forward and we can now say that our youngsters are as good as any. I am sure Dinesh Mongia would not be in a big celebratory mood because he wasted a golden chance to become a hero but it was all his own doing. He has been batting one-down in a strong Indian team but now, we need VVS Laxman back. Then, India will be a strong contender for the World Cup. If India’s finals jinx has been broken it was because the youngsters believed in themselves. Well done! England were rather unlucky because they lost after scoring 325. I was impressed by Marcus Trescothick’s century. He will be England’s future captain. Nasser Hussain on the other had should thank his stars today for I have not seen an uglier century than this. He was playing some audacious shots while the Indian bowlers must have been waiting to tear their hair out. His catches were dropped, some lbw appeals were turned down and some shots would have gone to a fielder’s hands some other day! Both Trescothick and Hussain got centuries and England just raced along. There was a big debate on whether India should have played three seamers and I can tell you for sure it was a crazy idea to play to seamers and two spinners. The Lord’s pitch has something in it for seamers and I was very surprised to see India going in with just two. And since both were left-armers there was no variety. It is pointless to say this now, but Ajit Agarkar could have got India early wickets and since England did not lose wickets, they dominated the innings. Probably England didn’t reckon with Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif. After India had been reduced to 146 for five many must have switched off their TV sets. Those who did missed out on an hour and a half of unbelievable cricket by two players who will serve India for years to come. These boys fought hard and showed the men who were the real bosses. India are worthy champions but they should not rest on their laurels. The Test series is next and will be a great test of character. It is a pity that both Kaif and Yuvraj are flying back to India after the one-day series. I know the team had been selected long ago but the Indian board would be best advised to ask the two young heroes to stay back in England. The tour only will improve their game further.
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Sehwag, Yuvraj impress Slater
New Delhi, July 13 “Sehwag has impressed me and there is no doubt that he idolises Tendulkar, he is of a similar stature and his technique, sort of models on Tendulkar, that’s certainly how it looks,” Slater said on ‘Harsha Online’ which was aired on Star Sports today. “Yuvraj Singh, the power with which that guy strikes the ball has really impressed me and the nature in which he plays, he makes it look easy. Agarkar has done well, but he is still relatively young, he’s bowled well and used the ball when it has been swinging,” Slater said adding “I think you will always find some good talent coming up in India.” Slater was sorry for the controversial incident involving Rahul Dravid in the Mumbai Test on Australia’s last series which India sensationally won 2-1 but was convinced that he had taken Dravid’s catch cleanly. Recalling the incident the player from New South Wales said: “I have never been involved in an incident like that and it disappointed me later that I had behaved like that, there were a few reasons for that.” “I had a poor start to the series, it had come around a time when I had a marriage split up and there was lot of pressure off the field and it was an instinctive reaction far too over the top and I was unable to put a lid. But I genuinely felt I had caught the catch,” he said. “The TV is certainly not conclusive, you can see it being caught, you can see it being dropped but you can’t tell because its not three dimensional,” he explained. “For all those people who thought I didn’t catch it, well fair enough but I felt it was different,” said Slater who was pulled up by match referee Cammie Smith for arguing with umpire S Venkatraghavan and Dravid. “I feel very sorry for it had happened, but what I feel and its something I feel very strongly is that Dravid should have asked me if he thought I had caught it and if then there is an element of doubt, then you go for the third umpire because I feel that to iron out all these problems the players have to take more responsibility to be honest about these dismissals. “With TV these days if you are trying to do the wrong thing then you are going to be exposed. I just felt bad from an integrity point of view. All of a sudden I had gone from a guy who played in a very sportsmen like way to being the bad boy of Australian cricket and having that tag really hurt me,” he said. “That wasn’t a happy tour for me on and off the field and that was seen in the middle and that’s unfortunate.” Slater, one the fittest players in Australia, was also keen to win back his place in the side. “There is no spot there and there is no way back in but what I have got to do is to go back this summer and score as many runs as I possibly can for New South Wales.”
PTI |
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We missed Murali, says Jayasuriya
Bristol, July 13 Muralitharan, a proven match winner for Sri Lanka and leading wicket taker for his side in both Tests and one-day internationals, is nursing a shoulder injury after playing in the three-match Test series against England. “Sometimes when we needed a wicket, it was very difficult to get. Had Murali been around, it would have been a different game. “At times when we needed to attack and Upul Chandana and others were introduced, they went for runs,” said the attacking opening batsman. The Lankan captain, who is also a slow left-arm bowler, admitted that he under bowled himself in this tournament. “I think I did underbowl a bit after I have become the captain. I have to accept it.” Commenting on his batting Jayasuriya said there was nothing wrong with his present form though he was disappointed for getting out in 20s and 30s on a number of occasions. “I am getting to 20s and 30s but not carrying on to get big runs. Most of our batsmen are getting out in the 20s and 30s. It is disappointing.” Jayasuriya said against India in the last match, either Marvan Atapattu or Kumara Sangakkara had to bat through to guide the side to victory. “Either Marvan or Sangakkara, one of them, needed to bat 50 overs. Unfortunately both of them, who got runs, were out at the wrong time. If you are needing 300 or more, you need somebody to get a hundred,” he said. He was particularly critical of the way Mahela Jayawardene got out trying to reverse sweep Yuvraj Singh. “It was a totally unnecessary shot at that stage. I don’t think he should have played it. He tried to get the run rate up but it was highly unnecessary at that time.” Jayasuriya said though the England tour was disappointing, where apart from failing to qualify for the triangular final they also lost the Test series to England, there was no reason to write off Sri Lanka for the World Cup in South Africa next year. “If you notice, this is only the second time in the last two-and-a-half years when we have failed to qualify for at least for the finals. It happened in Kenya (the ICC knock-out tournament in 2000) and now here. “Just because we didn’t do well in this series, doesn’t mean we can’t come back.” He said to perform better his batsmen needed to be more consistent and bowlers had to contribute with the bat. The Lankan skipper also complimented India for their victory and said India’s fielding looks vastly improved now. PTI
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Pakistan plans to dethrone Australia
Islamabad, July 13 Dismissing his team being labelled as the ‘world champions’ or the number one side in the world, Waqar said, “I do not think that we are the number one team. Just by beating Australia in its den in a three-match one-day series does not make us the best. We still have a lot of ground to cover.” “It would be foolish for me or any other player to consider ourselves the best. We have to be very consistent and more aggressive in our coming matches to dethrone Australia as world champions or be much better than any other side,” The News today quoted Waqar as saying. Pleased with his team’s performance in Down Under, he attributed the series win over Australia mainly to the bowling of Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram and said they had done outstandingly well. “Everyone contributed to the victory, but I think Shoaib and Wasim were in prime form and if they continue bowling like this, we should win many more matches,” he added. The skipper commented: “If anything at least the series win in Australia gave us the confidence that we can beat any team if we play according to a plan and like a combined unit.” Waqar said he was not satisfied with his own form in Australia but every bowler went through a lean patch and he would come out of it. UNI
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Football: Indians must win to qualify
Kolkata, July 13 India’s chances of qualifying as the Group IV champions of the U-20 AFC Soccer Championship suffered a serious dent when they failed to live up to the mercurial form of their inaugural match against Bhutan. For all practical purposes the hosts handed over the advantage to Tajikistan who now have the weakest team to negotiate in their last match, while India will have to take on Kyrgyzstan, who for sure, has more teeth and sting than the Himalayan country. Though India have a better goal average than Tajikistan, they cannot rest on the laurels of the first game and have to pump in as many goals as possible against Kyrgyzstan just to be safe. For it looks like Bhutan will not disappoint Tajiki forwards. The goal India took from Bhutan could also play a crucial role. “The boys were afraid of playing their natural game, as if they were too aware of letting anything negative happen,” said India’s Uzbek coach Islam Ahmedov after yesterday’s match. “I told them to play along the ground, instead they banked on long ball passes,” he said adding this type of communication gap between the players and the coach does not augur well when they have such a steep mountain to climb. Islam was happy at the way the defence played yesterday, but could not find a proper reason why his midfield failed to recreate the magic of July 10. “We have to play our best game against Kyrgyzstan. We have to utilise on their inexperience and our organised gameplan,” he said. But, the display India dished out made them look like a bunch of profligate school drop-outs who after squandering chances settled for a meek draw. On the other hand the championship theoretically is still wide open. If Kyrgyzstan can earn a big victory against India without conceding any further goal and Bhutan defeat Tajikistan then they qualify on a better goal average. Kyrgyz Coach Chmyr Vasily was, however, tightlipped about their startegy against India. “I am happy that we drew against Bhutan and sad because we could have beaten them. Lets see what happens against India,” he said adding jocularly, “Do you think we have an outside chance?” Behind, this comment was a thinking man who had not yet thrown in his towel. But tomorrow’s match would depend on how the midfield of Bungo Singh, Malswama Tluanga and Ashim Biswas shape up for India and how good Vadim, Vladimir and Radik utilise opportunities that trickle their way. Tajikistan on the other hand got just what they wanted. They snatched a point for themselves and spoiled the host’s party. The team hardly looked adventurous and made a complete departure from making scoring attempts against India thus settling for a draw. “We are happy with what we have earned. Now we can rethink our startegy against the Bhutanese. They can be defeated and that is what we have to do,” said Boris their coach. The coach banks heavily on the adventurism of Sadikov, Djabarov and Nasikov upfront and Nosirov and Borotov in the midfield. “However, we are not taking Bhutan easy, besides we know the mathematics for qualifying,” he said. Arie Schans, the Bhutanese coach, said: “We have nothing to lose. So we will try to salvage some pride.” UNI
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‘Russians
lacked vision’
Moscow, July 13 “It was a faceless team,” Vyacheslav
Koloskov, president of the Russian Football Union, told a news conference yesterday. “Romantsev’s team had no clear vision how to play in particular situations, how to defend, how to make the transition from defence to attack,” he said. “But more important, it had no team
spirit.” Koloskov also criticised Romantsev over tactics. “Team tactics are one of the most important elements in modern-day football,” he said. “Unfortunately, in Romantsev’s team, very little time was spent on
tactics.” Koloskov said the RFU had spared no expense to give the team excellent training conditions. “The team and Romantsev had everything they needed,” he said. “We spent a lot of money on scouting and had a complete dossier on our opponents, but the information was not
used.” Romantsev quit after Russia failed to advance from what was regarded as one of the easiest first-round World Cup groups. They beat Tunisia 2-0 in their opening match, but then went down 1-0 to Japan and 3-2 to Belgium.
Reuters
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2 Iran soccer players flogged
Tehran, July 13 It said unnamed players had been identified by videos and photographs found in a raid on an illegal Tehran brothel. One of the players received 170 lashes and the other 70. Six players were given cash fines. Prostitution is illegal in Iran, which is governed by strict Islamic Sharia law. Flogging is a common form of punishment for moral crimes. The players confessed their crimes and vowed to lead an honourable life. They said they had been invited to a party after their elimination from the 1998 World Cup finals in France where they had been “trapped” in the “vice network”.
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Nicklaus confident Woods will win
Muirfield (Scotland), July 13 “Tiger will have an excellent chance at Muirfield,” said Nicklaus, who won the first of his three British Opens on the Scottish links. “At Muirfield you have to think, you have to hit it straight, you have to play in every wind direction. It has everything except length. Sure he can win there.” Nicklaus’ attempt to become the first player to pull off the Grand Slam foundered here 30 years ago when he was beaten by Lee Trevino. Woods will have no such rival - another factor Nicklaus sees in helping Wood on his chase for golf history. “The guys chasing him don’t have the experience winning majors. Tiger’s dominating. I was semi-dominating. The guys chasing me, the guys I chased - Palmer, Player, Watson, Trevino - they all had won majors,” explained Nicklaus. “One guy chased Tiger on Sunday at the US Open, Phil Mickelson. Phil’s a wonderful player but he hasn’t won a major. That’s a big difference.” Woods has not played since his US Open victory but the 26-year-old insists the lack of competition will not hinder his bid to lift his third straight major. “Not at all,” said Woods. “I took off three weeks before the PGA Championship in 1999 and won. In 1997 I took four weeks off after winning the Masters and won the Byron Nelson. I’ve won different ways.” Also Woods is quick to point out that playing a tournament does little to help prepare for the bump-and-run style of links golf. “Going over there, it’s totally different golf,” said the world number one. “It’s not like you can play and prepare the same way here.” Woods, like previous years, plans to rediscover his feel for links golf by flying to Ireland to play with close friend and fellow pro Mark O’Meara before making the shot hop to Scotland’s east coast. The two Americans will be guests of local millionaire businessmen JP McManus and Dermott Desmond but Woods says he is not sure what courses they will play. “They have the helicopters,” said Woods of his hosts. “Whatever they set up, that’s where we’ll go.” But apart from playing in Ireland, Woods is also studying videos of previous Opens played over the Murfield links. However he knows that the course will not be the same as that conquered by Nick Faldo in 1987 when he beat American John Cook by one shot. “They’ve gotton so much rain over there it’s not going to play the same,” said Woods. "They've had a very wet summer and the rough will be a lot more lush.” AFP
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Davenport
back on the field Hartford (Connecticut), Jul 13 Davenport, the No. 9 player in the world, made her comeback in the not-so-serious confines of World Team Tennis as a member of the New York Buzz in a match against the Hartford FoxForce. She won 12 of 22 games in a combination of women’s singles, mixed doubles and women’s singles. She underwent knee surgery in January to repair cartilage and lost the strength in her leg after 10 weeks on crutches. She has spent the past few months gaining it back as well as her speed and flexibility. “It’s been a long, long road. Certainly, I’ve got much farther to go,” she said. She opened the evening with a match against Meghann Shaughnessy, the No. 20 player, who quickly got the best of a slower Davenport and beat her 5-2. “I’m definitely a little unsure out there about my shot selection. When you’re playing well, you just kind of know where the balls are going and where you’re going to hit the ball,” Davenport said. “And when you don’t, you second-guess yourself. I just need to get over that and play more.” Davenport grew sharper as the night wore on winning in mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi and women’s doubles with Liezel Huber. Her team finished tonight with a 22-16 win over Hartford. “I kind of knew the first few matches I came back are going to be tough,” she said. “I’m really confident I’m going to keep improving.”
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Airlines, Railways record wins
Chennai, July 13 Earlier, Railways thrashed Customs and Central Excise 7-2 in a Group D encounter with Bikramjit Singh scoring a hat-trick and ONGC disposed of Air India 4-2 in a group B match. Amongst the three matches, Airlines vs IOC was easily the best with a host of past and present internationals on view. Pillay was his usual self wriggling out from his markers and he could have scored in the sixth minute itself. However, the lead came via Airlines’ first penalty corner in the ninth minute with captain Dilip Tirkey on target. IOC equalised five minutes later when Prabhjot Singh netted a superb goal. The match picked up momentum from thereon and both teams were pressing hard for goals. After a series attacks fluctuating on both ends, IOC went into lead with Prabhjot Singh again finding the mark. But the fluent Airlines forwards restored parity three minutes before the break with Pillay getting on the score sheet. Crossing over, Airlines had more of the possession but they could convert the advantage into a goal only after 21 minutes. Pillay was obstructed by Jaswinder Singh inside the circle and the resultant penalty stroke was converted by 14-year-old Prabodh Tirkey. However, he messed up another golden chance in the closing minutes as he failed to convert another award. Against Air India ONGC scored through Mohd Fahad (2) and Prabhakar and Amarjeet Pratap one each for ONGC, while for Air India Roshan Tete and Davinder Kumar were the scorers. Apart from Bikramjit Singh’s hattrick, Railways scored through Chander Pal Singh (2), Iqbal Singh and Kuljeet Singh. Customs, who were totally off colour, managed to score through Rahul Singh and Vikram
Kanth. PTI
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