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Thursday,
August 8, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Batsmen under pressure to deliver Expert comments: Ian Botham
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Chetan Sharma writes Lanka complete 3-0 sweep Morale-boosting win for Sampras
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Women’s hockey team hits the jackpot
Foreign coaches must for Olympics: Anjali AP assures job to Sailaja Haryana
to honour winners Judo trials on August 16
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Batsmen under pressure to deliver Trent Bridge (England), August 7 Despite having a star-studded batting line-up, the Indians were unable to match the huge score of England in the first innings of the first Test at the Lord’s and had to go down by 170 runs. Skipper Saurav Ganguly has already made it clear that he will go in with the same 12 players in tomorrow’s match, and that will mean there will be no change in the top and middle-order batting line-up. It is up to the batsmen now to live up to their big reputations. The man in the spotlight would obviously be Sachin Tendulkar. The world’s greatest batsman had scores of 16 and 12 in the first Test and is coming increasingly under attack from critics who have highlighted his repeated failures in pressure games. But even as reams of print were being written about how England bowlers had sorted him out with their innovative techniques, Tendulkar hit a fiery 167 in the four-day game against Worcestershire to announce his presence. And for the benefit of all those who were doubting his capabilities, he said he knew very well what he was doing and what he needed to do. That in itself is an ominous sign for England because Tendulkar seems determined to silence his critics now. As England captain Nasser Hussain himself said players like Tendulkar cannot be expected to be “kidding around” for long. In fact, apart from Tendulkar, and Ganguly himself, every other top batsman had at least one decent hit in the first Test. What was lacking was their conversion into big scores and a good partnership to anchor the side. Ganguly’s insistence on the same 12 means Shiv Sunder Das would once again be left out. Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer had one half-century knock each in the first Test but in both innings they were unable to prevent an early loss of wicket, which is so essential for putting up a big score. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are two batsmen who have flourished abroad and they did so in the first Test too. But Ganguly, who has a century at this ground on his debut tour of 1996, is in desperate need of runs. He was happy to see the condition of the wicket here. After inspecting the pitch on Monday, Ganguly said it looked exactly like the one he scored his hundred on. Last evening, the groundsmen had shaved whatever little grass remained on the track which should suit the Indian batsmen fine. However, the issue giving the Indians headache right now is who to select between Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. All indications are that the team management has once again reconciled to picking only one spinner - partly due to the fact that Ajit Agarkar cannot be ignored after his brilliant hundred at the Lord’s. Kumble’s calf muscle injury is nothing serious but the team management is wary of risking him in this match. Barring last minute changes, Harbhajan Singh is most likely to replace him in the side as the only change in the playing 11. England, on the other hand, are faced with much more serious injury worries. The hosts, who had gone in the first Test without three of their frontline bowlers, now have to contend with the exclusion of Simon Jones, who made a breezy debut at the Lord’s. With Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick remaining on the injury list, England have almost decided to blood youngster Steve Harmison in their fast bowling ranks though Alex Tudor and Dominic Cork also give an option. England have also been jolted by the absence of Graham Thorpe who has opted out due to personal reasons. His place is most likely to be taken by Kent opener Robert Key. The inclusion of Key, who is averaging in the high 40s in county cricket this year, will also provide more balance to the English batting line-up because Mark Butcher would come at No 3, a position he is more comfortable at. England have been doing extremely well with their depleted resources under the inspirational leadership of Hussain and they will be hoping to come up with a performance similar to the one at the Lord’s. The weather forecast is not very encouraging though, with mild thundershowers predicted for tomorrow and heavy showers for Saturday. Teams (from): India: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Ajay Ratra, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Shiv Sunder Das, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Mongia, Tinu Yohannan, Parthiv Patel. England: Nasser Hussain (captain), Michael Vaughan, Robert Key, Mark Butcher, Alec Stewart, John Crawley, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard, Ashley Giles, Dominic Cork, Steve Harmison, Craig White. Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Russel Tiffin (Zimbabwe). Match-referee: Clive Lloyd (West Indies).
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Expert comments: Ian Botham MOST
teams would have wrung their hands if their strike bowlers and their most reliable batsman were ruled out through injury. However, the absence of Darren Gough, Andrew Caddick, Marcus Trescothick and Graham Thorpe has proved a blessing in disguise. The selectors have been forced to try out new faces and nothing can be better for England just ahead of the Ashes and the World Cup. Tomorrow’s Test will see the debut of Robert Key and Steve Harmison. The former is a talented young batsman from Kent who has been prolific over the last two seasons. He spent some time at the Academy in Australia, which helped him immensely. He is an exciting, attacking batsman who takes the battle to the opposition rather than sit back. Steve Harmison is the other debutant and he is the fastest bowler in England right now. He is around six feet six inches, strong and more consistent in terms of line and speed than Simon Jones. The Indian batsmen who did not quite relish the stuff Jones dished out will find Harmison a handful as well. The Durham youngster is among the fastest in the world right now and has been awaiting a call to the national team for two-three seasons. He also had a stint in Australia, but subsequently incurred a rib injury that kept him out of the game for some time. Like Jones, Harmison is an unknown quantity, and right now I think India would prefer facing the likes of Gough and Caddick since they would know what to expect. This is obviously a crucial Test for India. If they can’t square the series here, it might be all over for them. The wicket looks good to bat on first but will get uneven as the Test progresses. Nottingham has had brilliant sunshine interspersed with thunderstorms – unusual weather for Nottingham. All these factors make the toss extremely crucial. Both teams would like to bat first and get a reasonable total on the board. India have plenty of work to do at this moment. To start with they have to get their playing eleven right. At Lord’s they broke the golden rule of playing their best four bowlers, and paid the price for that lapse. They must replace Agarkar with Harbhajan Singh at Trent Bridge if they want to have their best possible attack playing. India’s problems are not limited to their bowling. On paper their top six look strong and formidable. However, they must now translate that potential into some runs for which all the batsmen must take responsibility. They must not leave it to Sachin Tendulkar and cave in if he does not come good. They must look to build partnerships and share the responsibility around. I’m sure that John Wright is doing everything possible to guide the Indians, however it’s up to the eleven guys to go out and perform. It’s not going to be easy since England are intent on giving guys like Sourav Ganguly a baptism by fire. He did not get too many against England in India and Nasser Hussain seems to have a game plan for him in England as well. Ganguly had run into some form in West Indies, but the absence of genuinely quick bowlers must have helped. England’s bowling has acquired that extra edge of late and it’s that edge that might trouble Ganguly. It is now up to the Indian captain to prove that he can recreate some of the magic that charmed everyone in his debut series here, six summers ago.
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Chetan Sharma writes INDIA
go into the second Test with so much to play for, this could be the series-deciding Test match. Having lost the first Test India are under pressure and the Trent Bridge Test will be a do-or-die battle for them. Crying over spilt milk is of no use but when I looked at the England bowling attack for the first Test, I thought India can use their rivals’ inexperience to good use. Little did I realise, like all of you, that the same set of bowlers would make one of the most formidable batting line-up appear so ordinary. As it is, England have been further deprived the services of Simon Jones and Graham Thorpe from tomorrow’s Test, so again I have to say this will be India’s best chance of a revenge. But the question is, will Saurav Ganguly and his team rise to the occasion? India are a good side, no doubt about that, but when they play overseas they perform below par. Take batting for example, people like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Ganguly are all world-class players and if you look at their records you realise they can turn the tide alone. But, unfortunately, they haven’t been able to bat together and get India a good total in Test matches. In the first innings, India have to aim at a minimum of 400 runs if they are to have a say in the game. Anything above that will be a bonus but when they start getting runs lower than that, it will only put pressure on their bowling. India’s bowling too was a disappointment in the Lord’s Test. England were allowed to recover from a hesitant start and not only their middle-order batsmen but even their tailenders enjoyed themselves with the bat. India’s selection for that Test were also surprising as leaving Harbhajan Singh out was a big mistake. I hope Harbhajan plays here as he is India’s proven match-winner, someone who can pressurise batsmen with his spin and variety. I am afraid India will also have to make Ashish Nehra or Anil Kumble sit out. I really love Ashish’s attitude as he never gives up easily but frankly he did not make an impression in the first Test. Ajit Agarkar, whose bowling was equally wayward but who came up with a century in the second innings, looks set to play tomorrow, Zaheer Khan will also play. This leaves Kumble and Ashish to fight it out for the fourth spot. If Kumble does not clear the fitness test, it will be Ashish otherwise Ganguly will find it difficult to decide on leaving Kumble out. I would wish for Parthiv Patel to be blooded here. He is young but so was Sachin Tendulkar and a host of other Indians when they started their careers. These days if you are good, age is no bar. Ajay Ratra also disappointed me, especially after he had scored a century in the West Indies but he looked a novice with the bat at Lord’s. Ratra’s keeping also left a lot to be desired and if he plays tomorrow, he will be very lucky. So, the stage is set for Indians to make a comeback in the series. Whether they do it or not will depend as much on their mental ability as their playing skills. I am keeping my fingers crossed. |
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Lanka complete 3-0 sweep Colombo, August 7 Sri Lanka dismissed Bangladesh for 200 after scoring a challening 258 for 6 to complete a 3-0 sweep. They had won the first one-dayer by five wickets and the second by eight. Bangladesh’s three wins since making their one-day debut in 1986 have come against Kenya (1998), Scotland (1999) and Pakistan (1999). Habibul Bashar defied the Sri Lankan attack as he scored a solid 52 for his fifth half-century, sharing a 65-run stand for the fifth wicket with skipper Khaled Mashud (37). Khaled Mahmud contributed 39 late in the innings. Sri Lanka: Atapattu c Mahmud b A.de Silva c Kopali b K. Sangakkara b Islam 22 M. Jayawardene c Mashud Arnold c Mashud b Mahmud 62 Dilshan c Rafique b Ashraful 50 H. Fernando not out 23 Chandana not out 4 Extras (lb-2 nb-6 w-7) 15 Total (6 wckts, 50 overs) 258 Fall of wickets: 1-39 2-82 3-114 4-115 5-215 6-248 Bowling: Manjural Islam 10-0-42-1, Tapash Baisya 7-0-41-0, Khaled Mahmud 10-0-51-3, Mohammad Rafique 10-1-32-0, Alok Kopali 6-0-36-0, Habibul Bashar 2-0-20-0, Mohammad Ashraful 5-0-34-1. Bangladesh: Sarkar lbw b Gunaratne 14 Sahariar c Dilshan b Ashraful c Chandana b Bashar c Dilshan b Murali 52 Imran b Gunaratne 0 Mashud run out 37 Kopali lbw b Chandana 8 Mahmud b Murali 39 Rafique b Arnold 13 Baisya lbw b Murali 3 Islam not out 0 Extras (lb-1 w-2) 4 Total (all out, 47.2 overs) 200 FoW: 1-27 2-45 3-48 4-48 5-113 6-132 7-165 8-184 9-189. Bowling: Gunaratne 9-0-39-2, Gamage 7-0-43-1, Fernando 8-1-18-, Muralitharan 9.2-1-24-3, Chandana 9-0-45-1, Arnold 5-0-30-1.
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Sodhi, Amit Uniyal fashion Punjab win Chandigarh, August 7 Sodhi’s knock came off just 138 balls even as he remained unbeaten till the end with Munish Sharma (43) and Ankur Kakar (30) the other main run getters of the Punjab innings. Replying to Punjab’s challenging total of 267 for five, the KCA were bundled out for just 130 runs in 35 overs. Trancis with 2 for 44 was the main successful bowler for the hosts, a release of Punjab Cricket Association said here today. For Punjab, Amit Uniyal ran through half of the KCA side claiming an impressive five for 37 in his alloted quota of 10 overs. Leg spinner Sandeep Sawal, too, did his bit and allowed the hosts to score just 15 runs in the seven overs he bowled. His figures read 7-3-15-1. Harikrishan Kali bagged two wickets giving away 44 runs in ten overs.
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Morale-boosting win for Sampras Cincinnati, August 7 The American rose to 17-1 against players from Argentina, his only loss coming a decade ago against Gabriel Markus, who now coaches Wimbledon finalist David
Nalbandian. Sampras’ mastery on the North American cement proved to be the difference against
Canas, winner of last week’s ATP Masters event in Toronto. Sampras, playing in Cincinnati for the 12th time with three titles claimed, stands 36-8 here. Three of his 11 career Masters Series titles have come here.
Canas boasted wins over five seeds last week on his way to the Canadian trophy, beating American Andy Roddick in the final. World number one Lleyton Hewitt of Australia took out his frustrations at the ATP over what he said was a last-minute television interview request yesterday with a 6-0 6-0 battering of unfortunate American qualifier Robby
Ginepri. The first “double bagel” of the top seed’s career came at the end of a stressful morning, as ATP officials pressed him to fulfill an interview requirement which had been hanging for two days.
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Women’s hockey team hits the jackpot New Delhi, August 7 Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh to each member of the hockey squad, when they hosted a tea party for them at his residence. The Railways followed suit, by giving a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each to 15 members of the team, who are all employed with the Railways, as well as out of turn promotion to the girls. The 16th girl, who is unemployed, has been promised a job in the Railways. The Railways were actually the first to distribute the cash prizes to the girls. The Indian Women’s Hockey Association (IWHA) today distributed Rs 2 lakh among the members of the team at a felicitation function held at the National Stadium. IWHA president Mrs Vidya Stokes said Chattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has announced a cash prize of Rs five lakh to the team, and one lakh each to Mamta Kharab, who scored the match-winner in the title-clash against England, and the only girl in the team from Chattisgarh, the newly-carved out state from Madhya Pradesh, Saba Anjum. Mrs Stokes said Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi has announced Rs 5 lakh each to the three girls in the team from his state — Kanta Maa, Masira Surin and Sumrai Tete. Delhi Women’s Hockey Association secretary Sudarshan Pathak distributed mementoes to each member of the team. “Our girls have created history. This tremendous victory will go a long way in boosting the image of women’s hockey in the country”, gushed Mrs Vidya Stokes. But the IWHA president also cautioned that “our responsibility has increased, and there will be great expectation from women’s hockey from now onwards”. She said Union Civil Aviation Minister Shanawaz Hussain has evinced interest in starting an Air-India women’s hockey team, after the success of the Indian girls at Manchester. The Indian girls did not receive such overwhelming cash rewards when they returned with the silver medal from the Asian Games at Bangkok in 1998, though the medal had come after a very long hiatus. But the hue of the medal-gold-has made a tremendous impact on the government and the people, and the women’s hockey players has hit the pot of gold, as never before. But manager Rupa Saini, a former Olympian, did not seem very happy, as often, the manager and the doctor are kept out of the purview of the cash rewards. Though she received her share from the IWHA largesse, she was not sure whether the government would honour its promise of giving Rs 10 lakh to each member of the squad. For coach Gurdial Singh Banghu, the immediate concern, however, is to iron out some of the deficiencies noticed in the team at Manchester, in the five-week coaching camp starting at Patiala on August 15, in preparation of the Asian Games. Banghu, who seems to have effectively silenced his detractors for criticising the conferment of the coveted Dronacharya award on him, said the Indian team need to strengthen its mid-field, deep defence, tackling and interception, and defence of penalty corners. He said though the Indian team was strong on the left flank in attack, he wanted to solidify attacks down the right flank too, as most teams attack through the right flank, and it would be of India’s advantage to strengthen this area so as to mount sudden counter attacks, to catch the rival defence off-guard. Banghu said India’s penalty corner conversion also left a lot to be desired, though interestingly, India got most of their goals from penalty corners. |
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Olympics: Rs 1 cr for gold medallists New Delhi, August 7 Sports Minister Uma Bharati said gold medal winners in the forthcoming Asian Games in Busan will also get a cash bonanza of Rs 20 lakh while there will be hefty incentives for the silver and bronze medal winners. Announcing the cash awards at a function to felicitate the Indian contingent which returned home with a record haul of 72 medals in Commonwealth Games, Bharati said her decision to enhance cash incentives was aimed at encouraging the athletes to attain greater heights. The five-time increase in cash awards will mean that the silver medallist in the Asian Games will be richer by Rs 15 lakh while the bronze winner will get Rs 10 lakh. The minister had earlier announced a similar package for the medal winners of the just concluded Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Every gold winner of the Commonwealth Games will now get Rs 20 lakh each instead of the Rs 4 lakh earlier. Similarly silver medallists will get Rs 15 lakh and
bronze medallists Rs 10 lakh. The Sports Ministry will soon organise a workshop to brief athletes and their trainers on the implication of certain drugs in the wake of two Indian weightlifters failing the dope test in the just concluded Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Ms Bharati said all the athletes, coaches and managers of various disciplines would be called to the workshop where all drug-related issues would be explained to them.
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Foreign coaches must for Olympics: Anjali New Delhi, August 7 Bhagwat, who won gold medals in all the four events she participated in the Manchester Commonwealth Games, is very excited with her showing but realises that it also puts a greater responsibility on her to maintain that performance level. Her prime objective is to win a medal for India at the Olympics. She knows it is a very difficult job but feels a foreign coach can be of substantial help in this regard. “Olympic Games are a very big stage and in other countries they prepare for the event for full four years. Indian shooters do not have enough exposure at the international level and that is the reason why an Olympic medal would be a dream in the absence of foreign coaches,” Bhagwat said in an interview. Arjuna awardee Bhagwat said even the present standards of the Indian shooters can be attributed to the fact that they had trained under foreign coaches for two years. “Till sometime ago even the basic infrastructure was not available and we had to practice on manual targets instead of electronic ones,” she said. But even now the situation is far from ideal, Bhagwat said, citing the example of the import of ammunition which involves a lot of difficulties. “Ammunition has to be imported from Germany and England and there are a lot of formalities involved,” she said adding that Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and Sports Minister Uma Bharati had assured her that the process for providing import liceses would be made simpler. Talking about the Asian Games in Busan next month, Bhagwat said the field would be a lot more tough than at Manchester as there are some world class shooters in China and South Korea. She said there was no time to start the preparations for the Asian Games afresh but advocated the staging of more competitions inside the country too. “If we maintain our confidence, then we can make history at the Asian Games too,” said Bhagwat whose immediate concern is the world championships to be held in Munich.
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AP assures job to Sailaja Hyderabad, Aug 7 Sports Minister P. Ramulu and other officials of the state Olympic Association received Sailaja and Neelamsetti Laxmi, who bagged a silver, at the airport here this morning. The two young weightlifters, from Amudlavalasa in Srikakulam district, called on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at his residence who announced an award of Rs 10 lakh to Sailaja for winning gold and Rs 7.5 lakh to Laxmi for the silver and agreed to offer a state government job to Sailaja. Naidu asked the officials to set a facility for learning basics in weightlifting at Amudalavasla, which produced champions like Karnam Malleswari, and an academy in Visakhapatnam. The two young lifters from the state said they were looking forward to some good performances in the ensuing Asiad and National Games.
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Haryana to honour winners Chandigarh, August 7 Mr Chautala said that in the Indian contingent seven medalists, namely three women hockey players — Mamta Kharab, Suman Bala and Pritam Siwatch — two wrestlers, Krishan Kumar and Ramesh Kumar; athlete Neelam J. Singh and boxer Jitender Kumar, belonged to Haryana. He said these sportspersons would be honoured appropriately. Mr Chautala said for development of sports, sufficient infrastructure and sports facilities including new coaching centres, akharas and nurseries at various places were needed and the Haryana Olympic Association had taken up this matter with the Haryana Government and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. |
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HP sportspersons
to be honoured Shimla, August 7 |
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Judo trials on August 16 Chandigarh, August 7 The state sub-junior championship has been postponed to September and the exact dates will be announced later. |
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