 |
|
Saturday,
July 27, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Chetan Sharma writes Sachin underachiever abroad: Gavaskar Steve Waugh hopeful
of joining squad Kiwis, Wales make impressive start Dwain Chambers fires first salvo |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
India’s absence ‘disappointing’
Paddlers begin on
promising note Pakistan swimmer vanishes Coach sacked
Mahesh, Ashok in second round
|
|
Sehwag shines in new role
London, July 26 Despite the loss of opener Wasim Jaffer in the first over, India did well to reach 130 for three at close on the second day thanks to a fine effort from Virender Sehwag who distinguished himself in his new role of a Test opener. Sehwag made a shining 84 with 10 fours and a six and put on 126 runs for the second wicket with Rahul Dravid, unbeaten on 33, before the loss of two quick wickets towards the end of the day took some sheen off the Indian performance. Sehwag was unfortunate to play on to his stumps when less than four overs remained for the day and night-watchman Ashish Nehra was unable to do justice to his job, being trapped leg before wicket on the fourth ball of the last over which brought the day’s proceedings to an end. Earlier, the England batsmen had flourished on a lifeless wicket, adding 230 runs to their overnight score of 257 for four with the late order batsmen coming up with handsome contributions. Nasser Hussain and Andrew Flintoff put on 93 runs for the sixth wicket after Zaheer Khan had given India an early breakthrough by sending back Alec Stewart at his overnight score of 19. The good work was continued by the tailenders and as many as 130 runs were scored for the last three wickets with debutant Simon Jones making an attacking 44. The opening blues continued for India with Jaffer being clean bowled by Mathew Hoggard off the fifth ball of the innings after making just one run. But the newest trial in the opening slot, Sehwag made a strong claim for a permanent place in the Test team with a characteristic fluent knock. Sehwag didn’t exactly look like a classical Test opener and batted in his natural stroke-playing style but that did not take away the effectiveness of his innings. He got good support from Dravid who began on a very positive note before settling into his usual sheet anchor’s role. England threw up a surprise by bringing on left-arm spinner Ashley Giles as the first change bowler and keeping the tearaway Jones in wraps until the 15th over. The move only helped the two Indians - both quite capable batsmen against spin - to settle down into a rhythm and build a partnership. Giles started in his trademark fashion, coming over the wicket and pitching the ball well outside the leg-stump. But after receiving some punishement from Dravid, who hit some delightful drives on both sides of the wicket, the bowler reverted to the more orthodox line from round the wicket. Scoreboard England (1st innings): Butcher c Jaffer b Kumble 29 Vaughan lbw b Zaheer 0 Hussain c Ratra b Agarakar 155 Thorpe b Zaheer 4 Crawley c Dravid b Sehwag 64 Stewart lbw b Zaheer 19 Flintoff c Ratra b Agarkar 59 White st Ratra b Kumble 53 Giles b Nehra 19 Jones c Dravid b Kumble 44 Hoggard not out 10 Extras
(b-11, lb-11, w-2, nb-7) 31 Total (all out, 142.2 overs) 487 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-71, 3-78, 4-223, 5-263, 6-356, 7-357, 8-390, 9-452. Bowling: Nehra 30-4-101-1, Zaheer Khan 36-13-90-3, Agarkar 21-3-98-2, Kumble 42.2-9-128-3, Ganguly 3-1-16-0, Sehwag 10-0-32-1. India: Jaffer b Hoggard 1 Sehwag b Giles 84 Dravid batting 33 Nehra lbw b Flintoff 0 Extras (b-4, lb-5, nb-3) 12 Total (for 3 wkts, 36.4 overs) 130 Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-128, 3-130. Bowling: Hoggard 8-2-23-1, Flintoff 7.4-4-8-1, Giles 8-1-45-1, Jones 7-0-25-0, White 6-2-20-0.
PTI
|
||
|
Chetan Sharma writes But for India losing two wickets towards the fag end of the day, the game was looking even. It was quite mysterious to see India send Ashish Nehra as a night watchman after Virender Sehwag was dismissed. Nehra has absolutely no credentials as a batsman. In the end, India finished with three wickets down which could so easily have been only two. The pressure will be on India tomorrow, when Rahul Dravid will be joined by master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. They would need to guard against losing another wicket but if they do, India will be in danger of being asked to follow on. England’s total of 487 was a good score considering that they were at one stage 78 for three and not much left. However, skipper Nasser Hussain showed his fondness for the Indian attack and with the lower-order also playing wonderful strokes, the Indian bowling was exposed once again. I will again take up the dropping of Harbhajan Singh today. Did India not miss him, especially when players like Andrew Flintoff, Craig White and Simon Jones were hitting our bowlers out of the ground? Saurav Ganguly made a big blunder of keeping his best spinner out of the eleven. Anil Kumble was a big disappointment while Ajit Agarkar looked unfit despite picking up a couple of wickets today. Even Ashish Nehra bowled poorly and only Zaheer Khan showed good bowling skills. India’s first task is to avoid a follow-on. When opener Wasim Jaffer lost his wicket early, India were looking down the barrel and the English hopes got a big lift. However, Sehwag and Rahul Dravid got a century partnership. Viru played another gem of a knock but must have been disappointed at missing a century, at the Lord’s. He scored 84 in 96 balls, helping India out of a difficult position but he should have got a century. From my experience in international cricket, I can tell you that opening the innings is a thankless job for someone who is not a regular opener. Viru grabbed the chance and played his strokes so well, even the English crowd must have loved his batting. I know when he bats like that, he can be very dangerous because the scoring rate zooms with his bat. Dravid is the wall of Indian batting. When ever India are in trouble, Dravid bails them out and since he is playing at the venue where he made his Test debut six years ago, Dravid would wish for a century tomorrow. I was not very impressed by Simon Jones. It was said that he could bowl as fast as Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee but he looked just ordinary to me. He was not getting the ball to swing or cut and if you cannot do that in international cricket, batsmen can hit you anywhere in the ground. Tomorrow’s first session will be important as India will look to get past the follow-on target.
|
|
Sachin underachiever abroad: Gavaskar
London, July 26 Ever since Tendulkar has made his debut for India, the cricketing world has delighted in his exploits but India has not won a Test series outside the sub-continent all these years, nor any one-day international of note till the recent NatWest series where his contribution in the final was minimal, Gavaskar wrote in The Telegraph newspaper. Tendulkar’s highest score of 69 in India’s last 10 one-day finals, does not do “his awesome talent justice at all,” Gavaskar said. Even as Gavaskar ticked off the maestro for not achieving more with his bat for his country overseas, English media dwelt on how Tendulkar was capable of turning the record books upside down if he continued to play till he was 40. “Don Bradman played 52 Test matches for Australia and no one-day internationals in a career that lasted 16 years. Tendulkar plays for India, on an average, every 10 days. “If Tendulkar goes on until he is 40, as Bradman did, he may well finish with something in excess of 40,000 runs and 120 hundreds in Tests and one-day internationals, a record that can prove as unassailable as Bradman’s own,” said noted writer John Woodcock. Today there is the universal consensus that Tendulkar is the best batsman in the game, which is some commendation when you consider that at 33, Brian Lara is in his prime (and Tendulkar is 29), Woodcock said in the write-up that appeared in a special issue of The Times. Woodcock says the intention of his writing was not to compare Tendulkar and Bradman but to celebrate “a wonderful little Indian player - insatiable, resourceful, unflinching and orderly”. “Bradman, I believe, would have been proud to play the modern game as well as Tendulkar does, just as Tendulkar, like all of us, stands in awe of Bradman.” Narrowing down to the current Test series between India and England, he said, the more Tendulkar plays against the same opposition, the more, in theory, they should be able to work out how to rein him in. “In India last winter England were reduced to getting their slow left-armer, Ashley Giles, to bowl from over the wicket into the rough, a foot or more outside Tendulkar’s leg stump, leaving him either to risk playing the sweep, made hazardous by the uncertain bounce of the ball, to pad the ball away or to be tempted into something wildly exotic. “The whole episode was an act of submission by England, less violent but no less abject than the bodyline to which they resorted all those years ago to keep Bradman in check. It will be the greatest pity if Giles adopts the same cynical ploy in this series: the umpires have it in their power to prevent it.”
PTI |
||
|
Steve Waugh hopeful
of joining squad Mumbai, July 26 Waugh was speaking to reporters here at the launch of western region operations of the Chennai-based ANP Sanmar Assurance Co Ltd, of which he is the brand ambassador. The former Australian captain, who has been dropped from the one day international side and the Australia ‘A’ team, said that he was “concentrating a lot, especially on bowling” and would like to be picked up as an all-rounder for the next World Cup. To a question whether the World Cup, to be held in South Africa, would be more challenging than the previous ones, the cricketing icon agreed, saying, “Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and with the recent performance of India, it is definitely going to be competitive.” “Around half a dozen teams are playing well and this will make the contest more challenging .
UNI |
|
Bradman
bust to be auctioned Durban, July 26 The World Cup spokesperson Rodney Hartman said today this was the third instalment of Bradman and Australian cricket artworks valued at almost rand two million (appx Rs 86 lakhs) which would be auctioned to help establish turf cricket ovals in previously disadvantaged areas of South Africa. “Two of the ovals will carry the Bradman name”, he said. Hartman said the handing over ceremony marked the ‘200 days to go’ for the opening match between South Africa and West Indies in Cape Town next February.
PTI |
|
|
Lanka offers to host tri-series
Colombo, July 26 The Sri Lankan cricket board made the offer today amid concerns next month’s series, featuring Australia, Pakistan and a third nation, could be scrapped. The series had originally been scheduled to take place in Pakistan, but because of security concerns it was shifted to Kenya. But the Kenyan sports minister has said the series should not go ahead because of a dispute with the Kenya Cricket Association, and Sri Lanka has chipped in with an offer. Reuters
|
|
|
Rickey, Dharmani
hit centuries
Chandigarh, July 26 In reply, despite a fine unbeaten 73 by Brijesh Patel, the Kenyan side was bundled out for a paltry 171 in their first innings. For the tourists, Babloo Kumar, who claimed three for 37, was the most successful bowler. Brief Scores: PCA XI
(Ist innings): 445 for six (Ravneet Rickey 101, Munish Sharma 76, Pankaj Dharmani 101
retd., Vikram Rathore 92, Brijal Patel 2/80, Laneck Onyango 2/35). KCA Development Side: (Ist innings): 171 (Brijesh Patel 73 n.o. Babloo Kumar 3/37, Rajesh Sharma 2/27, Ami Uniyal
2/39). PCA XI (2nd innings): 195 for 4 (Reetinder Sodhi 57 n.o., Ishan Malhotra 64).
PTI
|
|
|
Kiwis, Wales make impressive start
Bolton (England), July 26 Ghana were no match for the fourth-seeded Welsh - who were encouraged by a visit to the Bolton Arena from the Duke of Edinburgh - going down 0-5, with defeats in the men’s and women’s singles and doubles and the mixed doubles. Richard Vaughan and Kelly Morgan - both in with a good chance in their individual events next week - were particularly impressive in disposing of their opponents in straight games. Playing under the controversial ‘seven-points-to-win’ system - due to be scrapped after the Games - they dropped just one point apiece to Issah Mohammed and Theresa Tetteh. Second seeds New Zealand showed the benefit of their intensive preparation in China and the Netherlands as they made similarly short work of Mauritius, who were only admitted to the competition at the last minute after failing to submit their entry in time. Men’s Singles star Geoff Bellingham had to work hard in one game against Hyder Aboobakar before winning 8-6 and the Mauritius’ mixed doubles pairing of Stephan Beeharry and Karen Foo Kune had the moral victory of taking a game off Chris Blair and Tammy Jenkins before going down 3-1. The Seychelles had their moment of glory when Juliette Ah Wan beat Northern Ireland’s Lisa Lynas in the women’s singles, but they still lost the match 4-1 overall. By far the best contest in the opening round of group matches was between Barbados and Botswana, in which the Africans fought back after losing both singles to win the women’s doubles through Leungo Tshweneetsire and Joyce Arone. Botswana then threatened to tie up the match by winning the men’s doubles before Andre Padmore and Kevin Wood squeezed home 3-2 for Barbados. Victory in the mixed gave them a 4-1 win which was less comfortable than it might sound. Trinidad and Tobago withdrew from the team event, because their travel arrangements would have forced them to miss the first day of the competition. That left the hosts and top seeds, England, without a match on the first evening of the group stages after playing Nigeria in the afternoon. AFP
|
|
|
Dwain Chambers fires first salvo
Manchester, July 26 The 24-year-old ran 10.19 seconds to record a faster winning time than main rival and compatriot Mark Lewis-Francis, who posted 10.25 seconds and complained of a niggling pain in the back of his knee. Both had already received a boost when veteran Frankie Fredericks opted to skip the 100m - in which he won silver in 1998 - and concentrate on the 200m for which he has the fastest time in the world at sea level this year. Chambers looked very comfortable as he sauntered in for the fastest time ahead of Canada’s Nick Macrozonaris. “I was happy with my run and I didn’t expect such a fast time. For the first time for ages I am coming into a championships without any physical problems. “I didn’t watch Mark’s race - the only person I am worried about is myself,” added the 1999 world and 1998 European medallist. Gambia’s Lamin Sanyang may not be in with a chance of a medal but the youngest contender at 16 years in the event ran a highly creditable fifth place behind Chambers in 10.80 seconds. Lewis-Francis eased home ahead of a portly-looking Obadele Thompson, the bronze medallist four years ago, to make the second round later today. The English teenager was never in trouble as Thompson, rarely seen this season, had little in the locker to put pressure on him. “I worked hard in the first part of the race, my only worry is a pain in the back of my knee.” “But I’m trying not to think about it. I think the final could possibly be won in under 10 seconds. “But the time is really irrelevant,” he said. One of the few athletes tipped to upset the English dream of a 1-2 Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis struggled to impress as the man sixth in the last Olympics came in third in his heat behind Asafa Powell of Jamaica. However the 26-year-old Collins was not too upset at his low-key start. “I’m just trying to keep my head down. I would rather not be considered one of the favourites. Many a time those who shine early extinguish themselves by the time the final arrives.” AFP
|
|
India’s absence ‘disappointing’ Manchester, July 26 Dancer, coach of the Australian men’s team, said yesterday eight-time Olympic champion India and Malaysia missed out because of antiquated rules that required one team from each of the Commonwealth regions to qualify along with the hosts and defending champions. “I think it’s pretty disappointing that the qualification process means that India and Malaysia, who are two of the top 10 teams in the world and Commonwealth nations can’t be here,” Dancer was quoted saying. Pakistan got the Asian berth for Manchester, while Wales, Barbados and Canada advanced to make it a lopsided eight-nation tournament. Australia won the men’s and women’s gold medals at Kuala Lumpur four years ago and both teams are hot favourites to defend their Commonwealth Games titles. Dancer said the competition in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 was enhanced by the presence of both India and Malaysia.
AP |
||
|
Paddlers
begin on promising note
Manchester, July 26 The men’s team had no difficulty in brushing aside the challenge of lowly Maldives with an emphatic 3-0 margin, while the women’s team had to dig deep into their reserves to get past Wales 3-2 in a keenly contested affair. Displaying very good form, the talented Sourav Chakraborty gave the Indians the lead with a facile 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 victory over Ahmed D’ Mirzai of Maldives in what turned out to be a rather one-sided contest. Former national champion Soumyadeep Roy than consolidated the position for his team with a convincing 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 victory over Shuree Ibrahim while Subhajit Saha clinched the issue with a 12-10, 11-9, 11-2 win over Rasheed Ali. The going was not as smooth for the women’s team, who paid the price for a rather erratic display but still managed to hold their nerves in the crucial stages to move into the second round of the team events. Poulumi Ghatak provided the perfect start for the team with an easy 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 verdict over Davies Siwan. But young Mouma Das failed to keep the momentum going as she lost 7-11, 9-11, 7-11 to her spirited rival Dunton Betnam, allowing their opponents to level the score 1-1. However, India soon took the lead when the experienced NR Indu compensated for the loss by prevailing over Lake Natasha with a hard-fought 11-2, 8-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-3 scoreline in a contest that saw fortune fluctuate from one player to the other till the very end. Wales managed to draw level again when Poulumi, who played very well in the first match, failed to keep rhythm and went down to Dunton Betnam 6-11, 5-11, 4-11 rather tamely. With both the teams winning two matches each, the tie breaker rule was applied. Mouma Das, playing the deciding match, did not disappoint her teammates as she kept her cool in the crucial stages to carve out a thrilling 10-12, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 victory and give India a narrow 3-2 win.
PTI
|
||
|
Hardeep Kaur fails to qualify India’s athletic campaign began on a dismal note with woman hammer thrower Hardeep Kaur failing to qualify for the final on the opening day. Hardeep, who had put up an impressive performance in domestic meets, narrowly missed the qualifying cut when she hurled the iron ball to a distance of 55.98 m. Hardeep finished behind Scotland’s Mhairi Walters who just managed to qualify with an effort of 56.03 m. PTI
|
||
|
Pakistan swimmer vanishes
Islamabad, July 26 “His parents have signed a bond of one million rupees ($16,500) assuring he will return after the Games.” Abbas said the Board was contemplating legal action if the athlete did not return to the national squad. Abbas received information from Pakistani officials in Britain that Hussain had disappeared from the camp on Wednesday. He was the only male swimmer from Pakistan and now the country will not be able to compete in men’s swimming. Pakistan’s Sports Ministry had made it mandatory for all athletes and officials to sign an indemnity bond as an insurance against any defections. It was forced to take the action after several embarrassing disappearances during foreign tours, apparently by athletes seeking a better life abroad. A Pakistani football player, Nasir Iqbal, went underground during a tour of Britain last year. Four boxers and a hockey team goalkeeper defected in Australia and the USA at the last two Olympics in 2000 and 1996. A 14-member football team disappeared in Japan in 1994. Pakistan’s 75-member contingent expects little at the Manchester Games, with boxers and the field hockey team the only medal hopefuls. AFP
|
|
Coach sacked Canberra, July 26 The ASC said the reputation of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), which is run by the ASC, depended on its representatives exhibiting high standards of personal behaviour. The 52-year-old has coached Russian Olympic gold medallist Alexander Popov and Australia’s former world champion Michael Klim. “The contracted company, in its provision of services by Mr Touretski to the institute, has not met those standards,’’ ASC chief executive Mark Peters said in a statement on Friday. Reuters |
|
Agassi, Kuerten in q-finals
Los Angeles, July 26 The win yesterday moves the 32-year-old Agassi one step closer to his third Los Angeles title. His previous victories came in 1998 and last year. “I felt like I was on top of my game,” said Agassi.” I put pressure on him early and I managed to stay in front.” Agassi, the second seed, is the only one of the top three seeds left. No.1 seed Tommy Haas of Germany was bounced on Tuesday while the third seed Sebastien Grosjean of France fell on Wednesday. Agassi barely broke a sweat in disposing of the 19-year-old Ginepri in just 54 minutes. He booked a quarter-final date with Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil in a rematch of last year’s semi-final. Agassi won that match 6-7 (3/7) 6-3 6-3 before going on to beat Pete Sampras in the final. Agassi has a 6-4 lifetime record against three-time French Open champion Kuerten. “It is going to be great. I haven’t played him (Kuerten) in a year and we always have explosive matches,” said Agassi. “I expect a colourful match. Too bad it is so early in the tournament.” Fifth seeded Kuerten rolled over Martin Lee of Great Britain 7-5 7-6 (7/5). Kuerten, who is trying to recover from hip surgery, has only played five tournaments on the ATP circuit since undergoing the operation in February. “I don’t know if I can play the same way I did last year when I played one of my best matches, even if I lost to him,” Kuerten said of Agassi. “For me, it’s special when I play a match like this.”. In other action yesterday, Nicolas Kiefer beat American Alex Bogomolov 6-3 6-3. Bogomolov played the role of giant killer by eliminating Haas 6-4 6-4, in the opening round on Tuesday and Kiefer said it was his patriotic duty to avenge the loss. “Tommy lost to him, so I had to fight back for Germany and I did it,” said Kiefer, who reached the third round at Wimbledon. “The last couple of weeks have been good for me. My confidence is coming back.” Kiefer will next face American Jan-Michael Gambill, who beat Israel’s Noam Okun 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 to advance. The Gambill-Kiefer winner will face either American Andy Roddick or Belgium’s Xavier Malisse for a spot in the final. Kiefer, 25, broke Bogomolov’s serve twice in the first set and showed no effects of the wrist injuries he has suffered over the past two seasons that have slowed his progress. He is looking forward to spending more time in the USA on the hardcourt tuneup series for the US Open and enjoying what places like California have to offer. “I like the hardcourt season,” Kiefer said. “Where I come from it rains a lot. What can you say about Los Angeles? It’s got Sunset Boulevard. It’s great. “Everyday you wake up and see the sun. In Germany, it is always raining.” AFP
|
|
Mahesh, Ashok in second round Chandigarh, July 26 Another seeded player Ashok Badwani of Bhiwani defeated Vikram Ranolia of Hisar to enter in the second round. Last year’s champion in under 14 age group Arun Dalal of Rohtak scored easy win over Varun Bhatia of Panchkula and entered in the second round. Earlier Mr Mohammad Illyas, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister, Haryana, inaugurated the three-days championship. Speaking on the occasion he said the new sports policy introduced by the present government had improved standard of sport in the state. Mr Kulbir Singh Rashidan, president, Haryana Chess Association said that the chess competition would also be organised at all the district levels. The other results are: Ist round — Satinder Sharma (KKR) b Vikram Singh (Pkl), Sanjay Duggal b Abhilesh (Pkl), Sulekh Malik (KKR) b Manish Varma (Pkl), Arvind Doon (Rohtak) b Saurabh Narang (Pkl), Vikrant Dalal (Rohtak) b Samay (Pkl), Satpal (Pkl) b Sanjam Vir (Ambala), Amit Sethi (Pkl) b Deepak Bansal (Ambala), Laxman Singh (KKR) b Vashisth Sukhija (Pkl), Lokesh (Pkl) b Anshul Kadiyan (Pkl) and Ajay Kumar (Pkl) b Ankur
(Pkl). |
|
BSNL table tennis results Shimla, July 26 Himachal Pradesh defeated Assam 3-0 and Maharashtra beat Uttar Pradesh by an identical margin. Punjab outplayed Haryana 3-0, while Chhatisgarh edged out Rajasthan 3-2. Andhra Pradesh beat Jammu and Kashmir 3-0 and MTNL (Delhi) defeated Haryana 3-0. In the women’s section MTNL (Delhi) beat Gujarat 3-2, Rajasthan b Himachal Pradesh 3-1 and Maharashtra b Chhatisgarh 3-0.
|
 |
| 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 | |
Islamabad, July 26
