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Tuesday,
July 30, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Agarkar’s ton delays inevitable
We should have played
two spinners: Ganguly Chetan Sharma writes Probe launched into security breach Sachin is best, says Ponting |
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Gamage puts Sri Lanka on top Agassi, Venus Williams win titles
Shooters continue to reign supreme
Edwards not ready to
call it a day Schumacher takes a break Jalpa Club in final
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Agarkar’s ton delays inevitable
London, July 29 Ajit Agarkar led the rare resistance from the lower order batsmen with a fine maiden Test hundred as the last four wickets added 227 runs to the Indian total. India were finally bowled out for 397 in their second innings when Ashish Nehra, who defied the English attack for more than an hour, was caught in the slips for his best Test score of 19. Neither the unbeaten 109 by Agarkar nor the fact that India were able to post the highest fourth innings total at Lord’s cricket ground was enough to change the course of the match but it was certainly a minor consolation for the team which had collapsed to 170 for six yesterday while chasing a mammoth target of 568. It was the 126-run seventh wicket partnership between Agarkar and V.V.S. Laxman, the two overnight batsmen, which set the momentum for the dogged resistance by the Indians. Laxman, who made an impressive 74, was dismissed nearly half an hour before lunch but the defiance had become infectious and Anil Kumble (15), Zaheer Khan (7) and Nehra hung in long enough to enable Agarkar reach his century. Agarkar himself showed immense character for a man who had been ridiculed for a long time as the ‘Bombay Duck’ for his world record sequence of no-scores against Australia in the 2000-01 series. Scoreboard England (1st innings): 487 India (1st innings): 221 England (2nd innings): 301-6 decl. India (2nd Innings): Jaffer c Hussain b Vaughan 53 Sehwag b Jones 27 Dravid b Giles 63 Tendulkar b Hoggard 12 Ganguly lbw b Hoggard 0 Laxman c Vaughan b Jones 74 Ratra c Butcher b Hoggard 1 Agarkar not out 109 Kumble c and b Hoggard 15 Zaheer c Stewart b White 7 Nehra c Thorpe b White 19 Extras: (b-4, lb-3, w-2, nb-8) 17 Total: (all out, 109.4 overs) 397 Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-110, 3-140, 4-140, 5-165, 6-170, 7-296, 8-320, 9-334. Bowling: Hoggard 24-7-87-4, Flintoff 17-2-87-0, White 16.4-2-61-2, Jones 17-1-68-2, Giles 29-7-75-1, Vaughan 6-2-12-1. PTI
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We should have played two spinners: Ganguly
London, July 29 “When you have two great spinners (Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh), it is always difficult to pick one,” Ganguly said and added: “Probably, we should have gone in with two spinners.” India opted for three seamers and one spinner here. Conceding that England deserved to win this first Test on the basis of their performance on the first three days, the Indian skipper sounded defiant saying “a lot of cricket is still left in the series”. Explaining the batting collapses in both innings, Ganguly said “such things happen early in a series”. England captain Nasser Hussain, who also bagged the Man of the Match award, said: “We didn’t expect the match to go into the fifth day. The Indian batting today was something special.” “The way the Indians batted today, we have some hard work ahead (in the series),” said Hussain trying to explain that his team was not going to take things easy after today’s 170-run victory. ‘’All credit to that young attack for coming in and getting 20 wickets. It was a great effort. It only needed one or two people to get in today and I think 560 could have been a possibility,’’ Hussain said. England took the field without their two leading strike bowlers Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick, as well as Alex Tudor who made a successful return to the Test arena in the 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka. In their absence England gave a first cap to Glamorgan’s Simon Jones who took four wickets and bowled consistently fast. PTI
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Chetan Sharma writes In the end, India went down fighting as their score of 397 in the second innings says. Ajit Agarkar scored a heroic century which he will remember for a long time but how India will wish this effort had come in the first innings. I don’t know why but over the years whenever the situation demands, the Indian team has been let down by the reputed players especially when playing overseas. Here two senior most batsmen in the side, Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, could not rise to the occasion. If India fancy themselves in the series, these two players have to fire. I was happy to see VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar fight their way today. Even on the fifth day, the Lord’s pitch was conducive for batting and when Laxman and Agarkar started playing their strokes, there was nothing the English bowlers could do. In fact, I would go on to say that this was actually the true worth of their bowlers. Even Ashish Nehra, our last batsman, seemed to be enjoying his batting today. We all know this English attack was a make-shift one but our batsmen have made them heroes. Simon Jones is nothing than an average bowler but our batsmen gave him free wickets. Matthew Hoggard and Craig White too aren’t extraordinary bowlers but they were on top in India’s first innings. If only the Indians had played with care in the first innings, they would have saved the Test and their pride. Isn’t it surprising that such a formidable middle-order cracked under pressure? In Laxman and Agarkar’s performance there is a lesson for others. Only when you apply yourself and show the will, can you succeed. I would still say that India was the better team despite the heavy defeat. Laxman has got better after the West Indies series as he now tries to build his innings rather than just going out and hitting bowlers around. I really like to see him bat as he is one batsman who can shred any bowling attack to pieces. Laxman has all the strokes in his batting but if he can learn to build long innings, he will serve the team for a long time to come. For Agarkar this century will be a tremendous morale booster. As a youngster playing for India under-19 and India A sides, Agarkar had been scoring runs very consistently but at the international level he has been a disappointment. Now after this knock, he will realise that he has it in him to do well at the Test level too. Full marks to Nasser Hussain for leading the way for England. He scored a century in the first innings and led his side well on the field by keeping the pressure on the Indians. England had lost the tri-series final to India but Hussain did not give up. He worked to a plan and now that it has come off, this will be a nice feeling for him. |
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Probe launched into security breach
London, July 29 After an angry Indian team manager Ranga Reddy had protested over the incident, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) tendered a deep apology for the breach of security. The intruder, who accosted Tendulkar, patting and exchanging words as he walked alongside the maestro all the way to the pavilion, was arrested thereafter. Tendulkar himself appeared unperturbed saying the man was neither harsh nor rude to him but had only encouraging words to say. Tendulkar even urged the authorities not to punish the man harshly, Reddy said. The incident, nevertheless created a major storm with British media playing it up and some wondering what could have happened if the intruder was carrying a knife or any other weapon. Although at least 500 securitymen are deployed at the ground with 75 alone on guard near the playing area, there is no security check or frisking at the entrances of what is considered the Mecca of cricket. MCC secretary Roger Knight said he had already spoken to Reddy and Indian coach John Wright and also intended to meet Tendulkar. “It sounds like we were a bit slow in reacting... I gather the man was just trying to say ‘well done’, but it was potentially very serious,” Knight said. An outraged Reddy minced no words though saying “security was very tight when England came to India and we expect it to be the same here. We were surprised and shocked when we saw a man run out on the pitch. The man could have been a terrorist ... It could have been a complete disaster.”
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Sachin is best, says Ponting
Bangalore, July 29 “I always thought Sachin is the best player in the world today. He has batted for long”, Ponting told PTI here today. He, however, said Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist had good performances last year and could be counted among the great players of today. “When you talk about great players, you would probably put these two names (of Hayden and Gilchrist) in the category as well”, said Ponting, who earlier inaugurated the “Parle Coaching Clinic” for 20 kids selected from all over India. Asked if Australian leg-spinner Warne is looking to take Tendulkar’s wicket, Ponting said; “Always, he does....great rivalry they have”. “I know that Warne loves to bowl at the best players in the world and wants to get best batsmen in the world out. Against each other (Tendulkar and Warne), it’s always a battle”, he said. On Kapil Dev being chosen Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century, he indicated that he was not sure if he would have selected the captain of India’s 1983 World Cup winning squad. “Obviously, it’s a close decision between the three players — Sachin, Sunil (Gavaskar) and Kapil. I have seen more of Sachin than the other two players”. “Kapil has taken 434 test wickets, Sunil has hit 34 centuries and Sachin has over 50 international centuries. I have not seen much of (the performance) of Kapil and Sunil, so I can’t say if their performance is much better than Sachin’s”, Ponting said. Asked how he rates India in the coming World Cup in South Africa, he said India was a good side. “India’s batting line-up is very, very long and very deep. Bowlers are doing a job for them as well. India play a big part in the World Cup”. As for Australia, he said they don’t worry too much about the World Cup till it comes around. Australia, he said, was looking to play well in the tournaments that come before the World Cup and win them, and then start thinking about the big event. Queried if the absence of Waugh brothers — Steve and Mark — would have a bearing on Australia’s performance in the World Cup, Ponting said he hoped it would not but added that one never knows. “We won in South Africa but lost to Pakistan in Australia. One never knows, I suppose. Hopefully, we will continue to play well and keep improving”, he said. On the move to use third umpire to decide leg before decisions, Ponting said one has to wait and see how it works.
PTI |
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Gamage puts Sri Lanka on top
Colombo, July 29 The 23-year-old paceman became the 13th bowler and the first Sri Lankan to take a wicket with his first delivery in Test cricket during his effort of two for 33 as the tourists crashed to 164 in reply to the hosts’ 373. Sri Lanka, who did not enforce a follow-on, were 25 for no loss at stumps in their second innings for an overall lead of 234 on the second day at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground. Sri Lanka: 373 Bangladesh (1st innings): Sarkar lbw Fernando 5 Al-Sahariar c Jayawardena
b Jayasuriya 12 H. Bashar lbw Fernando 11 M. Ashraful b Gamage 1 T. Imran lbw Gamage 8 K. Mashud c Tillekeratne A. Kopali lbw Jayasuriya 39 F. Muntasir c & b Samaraweera 7 T. Baisya not out 52 M. Islam c Jayawardena T. Jubair c Jayasuriya Extras (nb-10 lb-4) 14 Total
(all out, 62 overs) 164 FoW: 1-20 2-28 3-31 4-43 5-51 6-72 7-86 8-123 9-163 10-164 Bowling: Fernando 15-3-36-2 , De Silva 11-2-45-0, Jayasuriya 7-2-17-3 Gamage 12-5-33-2, Samaraweera 12-3-18-2 Chandana 5-1-11-1 Sri Lanka (2nd innings): M.Vandort not out 18 J. Mubarak not out 2 Extras (b-4 w-1) 5 Total
(for no wickets, 7 overs) 25 Bowling : M.Islam 3-0-12-0, Jubair 3-0-5-0 Kopali 1-0-4-0.
Reuters
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Agassi, Venus Williams win titles
Stanford (California), July 29 Williams had not won a WTA title since Amelia Island in April. She lost to her younger sister Serena, the world’s top-ranked player, in the Wimbledon and French Open finals and fell to Belgium’s Clijsters in the final at Hamburg in May. Second-ranked Williams, (22) won $93,000 in addition to avenging her only loss to fourth seed Clijsters. Williams, who overcame 10 double faults and lost only 21 games all week, has won two of three career meetings with Clijsters,19. “She brought out the best of my game,” said Williams. “She ran down a lot of balls.” Williams won here for the second time in three years while Clijsters failed in her bid to become the sixth player to win back-to-back crowns here. “You have a few chances on her service game. You have to go for it,” Clijsters said. “I had some chances, but she hardly made any unforced errors. Almost every shot, every ball, has to be perfect. Either you try hitting the ball a few inches higher or away or you have to go deep down the middle.” Leading 3-2 in the opening set, Williams recorded her first service break, ripping a forehand down the line at 30-30. She took the first four games of the second set but double-faulted twice and committed two unforced errors in the eighth game as Clijsters broke to climb within 5-3. But Williams broke right back to close out the match and her 26th career title. “If she held serve, we could still be out there right now,” said Williams, who played no match longer than 67 minutes on the Stanford University campus. “She does a little bit extra, she moves so well,” Clijsters said. “She has that fire. She is really focused. That’s how all the top players play. They raise their level so well. They focus on every tournament they play.” LOS ANGELES: Andre Agassi captured his fourth ATP title of the year, beating fellow American Jan-Michael Gambill 6-2, 6-4 in the final of the $400,000 Los Angeles hardcourt tournament on Sunday. “Right now I feel good about my game,” said Agassi. “I need to keep bringing it. “I am going to find a way to get down to most guys’ tanks. That’s what it boils down to, executing my game.” Heavily favoured Agassi executed perfectly against Gambill, using superior groundstrokes and a precision serve to successfully defend his title before 7,100 spectators. With the score 5-4 at double set point, second seed Agassi hit a forehand that Gambill dropped into the net to give Agassi the victory in one hour, 17 minutes. Agassi picked up $51,500 for his 53rd career singles title while Gambill received $30,300. Agassi improved to 34-5 on the season. Agassi became the 10th player in the 77-year history of the event to win three times, joining Pancho Gonzalez, Arthur Ashe and Jimmy Connors. AFP
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Shooters
continue to reign supreme
Manchester, July 29 The Indian marksmen hit the bulls eye with great consistency to maintain their dominance for the third successive day as they picked three of the five gold medals on offer today. Pistol king Jaspal Rana and partner Samaresh Jung stole the limelight with another brilliant performance to clinch their second gold medal in the meet when they took the honour in the men’s 25 m standard pistol pairs event with an aggregate of 1130 points. Rana, who was far from impressive in the recent World Shooting Championship in Lahti (Finland), has made amends to some extent with his two gold-grabbing feats along with Jung as the Indian have already improved upon their medal tally of four gold, two silver and one bronze medals collected in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Anjali (Ved Pathak) Bhagwat and Raj Kumari also brought cheer for the Indian contingent by fetching a gold medal in the women’s 50 m rifle three position pairs event with a total of 1140 points. Anjali, who had won a gold on the opening day of the competitions, carried on with the same form as she played a stellar role to push the fancied Australian pair of Susan McCready and Susannah Smith to the second position. Mukesh Kumar and Bhanwar Lal Dhaka picked the fifth gold medal for the contingent in the shooting event today. The Indian duo displayed superb skill and concentration to clinch the coveted gold medal in the men’s 25 m rapid fire pistol pairs event with an aggregate of 1141 points to boost India’s overall medal tally to five golds and two silver medals. The marksmen, who have
traditionally been the main medal suppliers in multi-discipline events, have accounted for all the seven medals India have collected in the competitions so far. The India duo broke Australia’s stranglehold in the event with the Aussie pair of Bruce Favell and Bruce Quick failing to live upto expectation and were pushed to the third position with a total of 1127 points. The South African duo of Allan McDonald and Frederick Van Tonder took silver medal with an effort of 1131 points. The talented duo of Abhinav Bindra and Sameer Ambekar had provided India with the first gold medal in the Games with a record-shattering effort in the men’s 10 m air rifle pairs event on the opening day of the shooting event. While the Indian
marksmen bagged a gold and silver medal on the first day, the second day proved more productive as they set the ranges ablaze by picking up three gold and one silver medal. The star duo of Anjali (Ved Pathak) and Suma Shirur set the gold-conquering tempo yesterday by winning the women’s 10 m air rifle pairs event and setting a new Games record in the process.
PTI |
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Edwards
not ready to call it a day Manchester, July 29 Speaking the day after he won the Commonwealth gold to go with his world, Olympic and European titles, Edwards said there would be no resting on his laurels ahead of next week’s European championships in Munich. “If I do not win in the Europeans, I will not be Grand Slam champion for long,” he said. The 36-year-old Gateshead star came into the Commonwealth Games saying it would not make a great difference to him if he won or not as the opposition was not up to the standards of the other main competitions.
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Schumacher takes a break Hockenheim, (Germany), July 29 But before that happens, possibly at his next appearance in Hungary on August 18, Ferrari’s newly crowned five times world champion will put all thought of records on hold to focus on his family. Formula One’s brief summer break started after yesterday’s German Grand Prix, with the Hockenheim paddock emptying at record speed as the drivers and team bosses made quick getaways for vacation destinations. They will meet up again in Budapest where Schumacher will be aiming for his fourth win in a row and Ferrari’s 11th in 13 races. “I think we have good reasons to celebrate,’’ the German said after racing untroubled to his first German Formula One Grand Prix victory for Ferrari yesterday. In the last two weeks he has equalled Juan Manuel Fangio’s record of five titles and his own and Nigel Mansell’s record of nine wins in a single season, as well as extending his run of points scoring finishes to 17 races. He already has more wins, more points and more podium finishes than any other driver in grand prix history and has not stopped yet. There was no sign yesterday that the German has any intention of lifting his foot off the accelerator now that he has made history. “I really look forward to having that time for my family, to take some time off and then just relax and recharge my batteries for the last part of the season,’’ said Schumacher, who has 106 points from a maximum 120. “We still have to win the constructors’ championship although we are in a very comfortable position. But still we have to do this. “Whatever the points position, racing is still a big enjoyment and I look forward to this, to have some more battles and fights.’’ Ferrari have 141 points to Williams’ 76 and McLaren’s 49. Schumacher could take his winning race tally into the teens, particularly with his favourite Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium coming up and Ferrari’s home race at Monza before Indianapolis and Japan. “We have a very good car for all circumstances. You’re going to see that at Monza maybe,’’ he said when asked yesterday if he could have won at the old Hockenheim as well as the shorter new circuit. Ferrari want to help Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, Schumacher’s team-mate, finish second overall this season but he will still have to fight his team-mate. He will also have to hope, after another problematic weekend, that his luck turns. It was McLaren who took the fight to Ferrari in France and at Hockenheim it was Williams’s turn to get closest to Schumacher at the revised Ring with its long straights chopped out. But Williams are not expecting to get much closer to Schumacher in comparatively slow-speed Hungary. “Our main focus is obviously on next year,’’ said the team’s technical director Patrick Head. “I think the Ferrari is a better car so its difficult, unless Michael has a problem or Bridgestone suddenly turn up with a bad tyre, to say we’ll beat them in Budapest.’’ Reuters
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Jalpa Club in final Chamba, July 29 CSC Club won the toss and elected to bat. At one state CSC Club were 124 for 3 in 15 overs. But they could not face the bowling of Amit who got 4 wickets. Deepak Soni of CSC Club scored 35 runs and Hem scored 40 runs. Jalpa Club reached the target by loosing only four wickets. The highlights of the match were all-round display by amit who scored 50 not out and got four wickets. Brief scores: CSC Club: 133 all out (Hem 40, Deepak 35, Dheeraj 27, Amit 4 for 10, Chander 1 for 12, Sachin 1 for 17, Bobby 1 for 12. Jalpa Club: 137 for 4 (Ravi 18, Amit 50
n.o., Sachin 24, Kaka 15, Jindu 1 for 12, Maharaj 2 for 14, Notty 1 for 10).
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Sania advances Hyderabad, July 29 The Hyderabad girl, who had made it a grand double in South Africa last week, dropped just four games and won against Aliaa Fakhry of Egypt 6-3, 6-1.
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Kang is PJA Chief Patron Punjab team is the undisputed leader in judo in the country. In the National Games held in November, Punjab won medals in all the 16 weight categories and contributed substantially. Navjot Channa of Punjab won the first Asian gold medal for India in the Asian Championship held in Syria in May this year. |
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Bangalore, July 29
Chandigarh, July 29
