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Monday,
September 16, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Aussies crush Kiwis by 164 runs
Chetan Sharma writes Akram,
Inzamam, Anwar opt out Pitch experts visit PCA Stadium |
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Bhutia strikes as India beat Uzbekistan Smashnova dashes Kournikova’s hopes
Faridkot girls retain basketball title Balwinder scores a hat-trick Dope test results not to be made public Gurgaon, Kaithal win Punjab squad for jr eves’ soccer meet
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Aussies
crush Kiwis by 164 runs
Colombo, September 15 New Zealand were bowled out for a paltry 132 in 26.2 overs after Australia, electing to bat first, had piled up 296 for seven in their stipulated 50 overs. Glen McGrath was the wrecker-in-chief for Australia claiming five wickets for 37 runs from his seven overs as New Zealand caved in without any fight. Speedster Brett Lee finished with three wickets for 38 runs. Ironically, the highest scorer for New Zealand was number eleven batsman Shane Bond who hit five fours in his 22-ball 26. Bond put on 50 runs in an entertaining last wicket stand with Kyle Mills after New Zealand had collapsed to 82 for nine in the 19th over. Mills remained unbeaten on 23 off 39 balls with one four and a six. Earlier, Damien Martyn had led a combined assualt on the New Zealand bowlers as Australia equalled the highest score at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground. Martyn scored an 87-ball 73 with eight boundaries after openers Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden had given the team a flying start. It was New Zealand’s second biggest defeat, next only to the 174-run thrashing they received from India in 1999 at Hyderabad. The Australian win was fashioned by the fine performance of all the frontline batsmen who chipped in with useful contributions and in quick time. Gilchrist and Hayden put on a whirlwind 68 runs in just 9.2 overs before Daryl Tuffey provided the breakthrough for New Zealand. Gilchrist, who scored 44 runs off just 30 deliveries with seven fours score at a six was caught by Matthew Sinclair. However, the Australians continued to well above six runs an over with skipper Ricky Ponting and Hayden combining well and finding the runs with ease. The two put on 61 runs for the second wicket before Ponting fell on the last ball of the 19th over, caught by Stephen Fleming at short covers off Shane Bond for 37 runs off only 31 balls with eight boundaries. Hayden soon followed his captain to the pavilion when he was clean bowled by Daniel Vettori, clearly the pick of the New Zealand bowlers. At a time when other bowlers were being thrashed all over the ground, Vettori sent in 10 overs for just 25 runs while claiming the wicket of Hayden who made 43 runs with four fours and a six. Thereafter, Martyn took the centrestage and dominated the New Zealand attack in the company of Darren Lehmann who made 35. The two added 74 runs for the fourth wicket in 17 overs. Australia were 217 for four in the 41st over when Michael Bevan joined Martyn at the fall of Lehmann. The stage was set for some big hitting and a 300-plus score looked a distinct possibility. But one-day specialist Bevan looked slightly out of sorts today even though he managed 21 runs off 23 balls. With Bevan unable to get going, Martyn, who had already crossed his half-century, took on the responsibility to push the accelerator and came up with some powerfully-hit boundaries. New Zealand bowlers did well in the last five overs to dismiss both Bevan and Martyn in quick succession but Shane Watson smashed an unbeaten 19 runs off just nine balls with a four and a six to undo the good work. In contrast, none of the New Zealand batsmen were allowed to settle down with Jason Gillespie trapping opener Nathan Astle leg before wicket for nought in the second over of the innings to claim his only wicket of the match. It was a McGrath show all the way after that as he claimed the next five wickets to clean up the New Zealand middle order as the Kiwis crashed to 51 for six in the 13th over. McGrath was later declared the ‘man of the match’ for his effort. Chris Harris (19) offered some resistance but wickets continued to tumble at the other end, and at 82 for nine, New Zealand were in real danger of suffering their biggest ever defeat. Scoreboard Australia: Gilchrist c Sinclair b Tuffey 44 Hayden b Vettori 43 Ponting c Fleming b Bond 37 Martyn c Harris b Bond 73 Lehmann c Vettori b Mills 35 Bevan b Oram 21 Watson not out 19 Warne c Bond b Oram 0 Lee not out 4 Extras (lb-6, w-7, nb-7) 20 Total (for 7 wkts, 50 overs) 296 Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-129, 3-143, 4-217, 5-272, 6-276, 7-290. Bowling: Bond 10-0-63-2, Mills 9-0-49-1, Tuffey 6-1-55-1, Oram 10-0-60-2, Vettori 10-1-25-1, Harris 5-0-38-0. New Zealand: Fleming lbw b McGrath 12 Astle lbw b Gillespie 0 Sinclair c Gilchrist b McGrath 18 Vincent c Martyn b McGrath 0 Styris c Gilchrist b McGrath 16 Harris b Lee 19 Oram b McGrath 1 Vettori lbw b Lee 6 Mills not out 23 Tuffey c Warne b Lee 0 Bond st Gilchrist b Warne 26 Extras (b-4, lb-3, nb-2, w-2) 11 Total (all out in 26.2 overs) 132 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-17, 3-17, 4-44, 5-49, 6-51, 7-71, 8-78, 9-82. Bowling: McGrath 7-1-37-5, Gillespie 7-1-29-1, Lee 6-0-38-3, Watson 6-1-19-0, Warne 0.2-0-2-1. PTI
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Chetan Sharma writes Having lost twice in the opening match of the mini-World Cups, Australia finally won one in the third edition of the tournament, now called the Champions Trophy. And what a win it was. Rarely does one see such ruthless performance in international cricket, though with Australia you can expect anything these days. Their batting clicked and their bowlers responded in the best possible manner by bowling out the New Zealanders in just 26.2 overs, winning the match by a huge 164 runs. Beating Australia in this tournament will not be easy now. The Australians played with a purpose. In the two earlier tournaments, they played and lost to India in their very first matches but this time they were playing New Zealand and not India first. Even if the New Zealanders were the defending champions, I didn’t really expect them to upset the Australians. In the end, New Zealand have all but crashed out of the semifinal race after a disgraceful defeat today. Australia had charted up a good gameplan for the New Zealanders. They batted with all the intent on picking up quick runs and all the time there run rate was only on the upswing. Early on they were fired by Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, and then Damien Martyn and Michael Bevan produced a flurry of runs to help Australia score 296 for 7 in 50 overs. I expected the New Zealanders to make a fight out of it at least but when they lost their best batsman for all seasons, Nathan Astle for no score, they were in for a huge shock. In no time they were reduced to 17 for 3 and the result was pretty much on the cards. Glenn McGrath lived upto his image of being the world’s best fast bowler by claiming five wickets while Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie supported him fantastically. The tournament is warming up for the next battles and till now we seen Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand running into trouble. These times are as good as knocked out of the competition though they have a match each to play. Going by that, Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka should have no difficulty in reaching the semifinals while India look favourites from their group. They have a match against England on September 22 and all eyes will be on them. They should complete a line-up worthy of semifinals of the Champions Trophy.
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Akram, Inzamam, Anwar opt out Karachi, September 15 While Inzamam is out of the series due to a heel injury, Akram and Anwar have opted out to take some much needed rest from a team which has been plagued by a recent run of poor performances. “It’s disappointing that some senior players have opted out of the series but it’s their decision and we have to honour it,” Pakistan’s chief selector Wasim Bari said. Bari, while refusing to comment on the situation, tried to downplay the crisis saying the absence of the senior players will give Pakistan Cricket Board a chance to start the rebuilding process earlier than planned. “Wasim has been playing regular cricket but Anwar’s decision looks strange but now the selection committee will sit down and consider the available options,” Bari said. “Coach (Mudassar) Nazar is arriving home tomorrow and we will get his words before taking decisions.” Former captain Intikhab Alam termed the developments as “shocking and disappointing.” “It’s shocking and disappointing and what I smell is there is something terribly wrong in the team which led to Wasim and Anwar’s pull out,” Alam told AFP. He blamed mismanagement for the current state of affairs. “I see lack of coordination and groupings in the team and this is very, very unfortunate for the team with just four months left before the World Cup. It’s mishandling of the affairs by the management which has led to this scenario.” Pakistan fared badly in their last three events. Their recent slump is significant as in June they beat world champions Australia in Australia in a one-day series. Pakistan lost three of their four matches in the Morocco Cup in August, were thrashed by 224 runs and by nine wickets by Australia in the tri-series in Kenya in August-September and lost to Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the ICC Champions Trophy currently being held in Sri Lanka. AFP
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Jayasuriya
may not play today Colombo, September 15 Skipper Sanath Jayasuriya, who braved a shoulder injury to lead his side to a resounding victory over Pakistan, may not need to stretch himself tomorrow, but no decision has yet been made on whether he will skip the match to give himself more time to recover. In any case, his team may not need for all the big guns to fire against the Dutch.
PTI |
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Pitch experts visit PCA Stadium Chandigarh, September 15 The wicket has been designed to offer good bounce to the pace bowlers following the Indian cricket board policy of preparing “bouncy” tracks for all Test centres. Mr Rangan revealed that a proposal was there to provide bouncy wickets at all the 31 centres in the country. “The wicket should rank as the best in India and compare favourably with the best in the world,” Mr Wamsley emphasised. He revealed that Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the BCCI, had desired that sporting wickets should be prepared all over the country so that whenever the Indian team visited oversees it did not have to struggle on account of bouncier tracks. In pursuance to this Mr Keith Macaullif, Director of New Zealand Turf Management Institute, the only institute of its kind in the world, had earlier visited the country and recommended a major overhaul in the process of the laying of the wickets in India. “It should offer good pace and bounce on the first day. Then it should flatten out and help batsmen for the next two to three days before it turns an ally of spinners on the last day. If these objectives are achieved it is truly a sporting wicket,” Mr Wamsley explained. Mr Kasturi Rangan revealed that the BCCI had decided that henceforth no request would be entertained from any team management regarding the nature of the wicket, adding that the associations had been told to provide similar practice wickets as well as those for the domestic cricket. Mr Kasturi and Mr Wamsley reached at the PCA Stadium after having visited the wickets at Mumbai, Rajkot and Ahmedabad. They will next visit Nagpur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Bhuvaneshwar, Chennai and Bangalore wickets before rounding off their tour on September 23 after which they will submit a report to the board. |
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Bhutia strikes as India beat Uzbekistan New Delhi, September 15 Bhutia’s two goals, one in each half, were executed with effortless ease, though otherwise, the star striker did not see much of the ball. He played upfront, lonely and lethargic, and did not make much effort to run deep. But the few occasions the nippy striker displayed his dribbling skills, he looked dangerous, though he seemed to have added a few kilos to his weight. The Indian team, composed mostly of under-23 players (the Asian Games football is an amateur tournament, and only Under-23 players are allowed to be fielded, with each country having the liberty of fielding three senior players), did not go flat out, as the strategy seemed to be give the squad as much match practice as possible before the Asian Games, though the government is yet to clear the football squad for the Busan Asiad. All-India Football Federation (AIFF) secretary Alberto Colaco, who witnessed the match, said he was expecting the Government to clear the football team for the Asian Games “in a day or two”. He also said that the 21-member Asiad probables would be pruned to 20 members “very soon”. Besides Baichung Bhutia, the other senior players among the probables are Renedy Singh, S Venkatesh and Joe Paul Ancheri. Ancheri did not even figure among the reserves in today’s match, though he was present at the reserve bench. After having played hectic football in Vietnam and then in England in recent weeks, the Indian players were not in peak form to launch an all-out attack against the Uzbek national team, who were the winners of the Asian Games gold medal at the 1994 Hiroshima Asiad in Japan. The Uzbeks apparently did not reveal all their cards, and they played at a slow pace to give a lot of leverage to the Indian boys. And India indeed tried to make capital out of the soft approach of the visitors. The slightly heavy underfoot conditions of the ground, after the heavy drenching it suffered due to incessant rains during the past two days, also prevented the teams from playing fast football. Yet, in the last quarter of the match, the teams cast away their defensive approach to give glimpses of their true talent, but it was too brief and too sweet, as before the feel-good effect sunk in, the match was over. India took the lead in the 16th minute when Bhutia effortlessly left-footed the ball into the far corner of the goal, off a cross from the right by Sasti Duley (1-0). A few minutes later, the Indian goal was lucky to survive a scare when Nikolaev Alexey’s longer-ranger was collected, at the nick of time, by Indian custodian Nasim Akhtar. Nasim did a fine job under the bar, bringing off a couple of difficult saves, though it was apparent that the Uzbek strikers did not apply full force in their shots. The Indian goal made another lucky escape when medio Hamidullaev Bahtier latched on to a forward pass by Kliklinov Aleksey inside the box, took a couple of steps forward, only to ram into the cross bar, with a nervous Nasim Akhtar staring in bewilderment. Then Aleksey himself attempted a stiff shot, but this time, Akhtar was in position to effect a neat save. At the other end, India kept pressing hard to enhance their lead with their short-passing game,but Praveen Kumar, Bhutia and S Venkatesh failed to convert easy chances into goals. Venkatesh was guilty of squandering the easiest of chances when he trapped a Bhutia pass, dashed down the left corridor, but kicked wide of the mark, with an open goal mocking at him. Two minutes before the half time break, the Uzbeks yet again missed the mark when Mirkholdirshayev Shukrat’s powerful shot was tipped over the bar by custodian Akhtar. In the second half too, the spate of misses continued with the strikers bungling at the finish line. Bhutia injected fresh energy into the match, when he slotted home his second goal in the 21st minute. It was achieved after a long dribble when he cut through two defenders before slotting the ball in with a left-footer. A few minutes later, Bhutia could have comfortably accomplished his hat-trick, but he shot across with the rival custodian Korniychuk Alexander out of position. Yet, the sure-footed touch of Bhutia was the crowning glory of India’s victory. And there were smiling faces all round, in the end. |
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Smashnova dashes Kournikova’s hopes
Shanghai, September 15 Kournikova ran faster and hit the ball harder than her opponent. But the 21-year-old Russian foundered on unforced errors, repeatedly hitting balls too long from the baseline and missing key net shots. Smashnova, a 26-year-old Israeli who is ranked 19th in the world, remained precise and controlled. She pleased the crowd on several occasions with perfect winners hit in mid-stride as a hapless Kournikova looked on. Smashbiva seized the rhythm of the match early and never let go. She broke Kournikova’s serve in the first game, and then easily held her own serve. It wasn’t until the third game of the first set that Kournikova managed to score a point, when smashnova made an uncharacteristic errror and hit a shot wide. Kournikova was after her first singles title in 115 WTA tournaments, since she turned pro in 1995. It was her first singles final since 2000. Last year she broke her foot. This appeared Kournikova’s best title chance yet. The Russian beat Smashnova in their last two match ups, most recently last month in the Acura classic in California. But Smashnova’s superior experience seemed to pay off. This is her sixth WTA title since turning pro in 1991. Her most recent title was June’s Wien Energie Grand Prix in Vienna, Austria. At times, Kournikova overpowered her opponent, as when she hit her first ace in the first set, a 165 kph rocket that Smashnova only barely reached with her racket. Smashnova remained unflustered even as Kournikova showered her with hard shots. The Israeli seemed to patiently wear Kournikova down, returning shot after shot until the Russian made an error. Kournikova’s frustration began to show in the second set. Several unforced errors, including a sure-thing drop shot that sailed into the net, allowed Smashnova to break serve in the first game. By the second game, Kournikova disputed calls and was visibly angry. But she quickly regained composure. After a final missed shot handed Smashnova the victory, Kournikova smiled and kissed her opponent on the cheeks. AFP
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Faridkot
girls retain basketball title Ludhiana, September 15 In the final, Jalandhar cagers got off to a flying start and proved too good for the defending champions, maintaining the lead till at the end of the third quarter (41-36). With three minutes to go for the long hooter, Faridkot girls exhibited great mobility in their moves and raided Jalandhar territory time and again. Their relentless assaults bore fruit as they managed to catch their rivals at 50-50 and again at 55-55. In the dying minutes of the cliff-hanger, Jalandhar girls committed some mistakes which proved costly and they lost the battle 55-57. For Faridkot, Gurpreet top scored with 17 points while Mehak Dhaliwal played a pivot role accounting for 14 points. Nampreet too chipped in with 14 useful points. Jalandhar captain, Satinder Kaur excelled with 19 points while Aashima contributed 16 points. Rishma and Ankita netted 7 and 8 points, respectively. Earlier, in the semifinals, Faridkot prevailed over Bathinda 27-11 while Jalandhar pipped Kapurthala 44-24. In the boys section (semifinals), Bathinda got the better of Kapurthala 72-52 and kept their hopes alive despite their defeat yesterday against hosts Ludhiana. Ludhiana after causing an upset victory over the reigning champions Bathinda today lost to Gurdaspur 69-71. In the match between Ludhiana and Gurdaspur, the table official made a mistake of finishing the encounter seven seconds before the actual time which attracted protests from Ludhiana team officials. The technical committee decided to play the match for seven seconds and Gurdaspur boys did not allow Ludhiana to score a basket and won the match 71-69. In another semifinal league fixture, Gurdaspur breezed past Bathinda 77-68 with Sahil contributing 33 points and Mandeep scoring 19 points while for the losers, Prabhjot scored 22 points and Gurpal and Sweetpal accounted for 12 and 11 points, respectively. Mr Jagmohan Singh Kang, Punjab Minister for Sports, gave away trophy to the winners (girls) Faridkot. Mr Rajdeep Singh Gill, ADGP, Punjab and President, Punjab Basketball Association was also present on this occasion. |
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Balwinder
scores a hat-trick Mandi, September 15 In the 20th minute Manprit Kaur beat H.P. defence and scored a goal for her team . At half time the score was 1-0 in favour of Khalsa College girls. In the second half H.P. girls started the game with great spirit and in the 31st minute Dimple of H.P. XI entered the circle from right flank and equalised the score. After seven minutes Dimple again netted the ball and raised the score 2-1. But all this was shortlived as Manpreet of Khalsa College converted a penalty corner into a goal in the 45th minute. The match ended in a draw. In the men’s section, C.I.S.F. entered final beating Uttranchal 2-1. Both teams were locked goalless at half time. In the second half both teams got various chances but could not score a goal. In the 58th minute Uttranchal team moved into the circle and P.P. Minz scored a goal. C.I.S.F. boys scored an equalizer in the 64th minute when Major Singh converted a penalty corner in a goal. At full time the score was 1-1. Then the golden rule was applied and in the 2nd minute C.I.S.F. boys moved with good combination and G. V. XAXA scored the golden goal talking his team a berth in the final to be played tomorrow. In the second match of the women section, Haryana XI thrash H.M.V Jalandhar by 5-0. The Haryana girls dominated the game from the very beginning and continued scoring goals one after. Balwinder Kaur of Haryana scored a first hat-trick of the tournament. She netted the ball in 13th, 19th, and 20th minutes. At half time score was 4-0. In the second half Kirwala of Haryana XI made no mistake and converted a penalty in a goal. |
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Dope test results not to be made public Patiala, September 15 Mr Randhir Singh, secretary general of the IOA, said here: “We don’t want to enter into any legal wrangles by announcing the results of sportspersons who have tested positive since the New Delhi-based SAI lab, where the samples were tested, is not an International Olympic Committee (IOC) accredited one and as such our hands are tied.” A senior New Delhi-based SAI functionary had earlier claimed that 39 positive results were arrived at during the National Games with the worst offenders being athletes followed by weightlifter’s. Mr Randhir Singh confirmed that results of all the positive samples were forwarded to the respective national sports federations by SAI through the IOA. As many as 485 samples were collected during the Games from sportspersons competing in 19 disciplines. The IOA secretary-general confirmed that the SAI lab would be accorded accreditation by the IOC before the Afro-Asian Games being held in New Delhi from October 24 to November 1, 2003. |
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Gurgaon, Kaithal win Chandigarh, September 15 In this keenly contested match Gurgaon today were leading by 10-9 score. In the last minute before half time Lokesh of Faridabad equalised the score. After the half time Gurgaon players mounted strong pressure on the rival goalline area and won the match by 19-15 score. Bhoop Singh score maximum 6 goals while Amit (5), Surender Kumar (3), Bhagat Ram (2), Gopal (2) and Sanam (1) were other scorers for the scored for the Gurgaon team. For Faridabad Amit (4), Mukesh (4), Manoj (3), Subhash (2) and Lokesh (2) scored for their team. In another first round match in men’s section, Kaithal routed Rewari by 13-2 goals. In this one-sided contest Sunil scored 4, Praveen 3, Rajesh 2, Gopal 2 and Rajiv and Mahipal (1 each) for Kaithal victory. Sukhvir and Deepak were the only scorers for Rewari. Rohtak got walk over against Fetehabad and Panchkula got walk over against Karnal in the men’s section. In women’s section, Jind outplayed Mohindergarh by 13-6. Deepshikha scored maximum 5 goals while Poonam (4) and Manju and Pooja (2 each) were other scorers for Jind. Savita scored 3, Menka 2 and Suman 1 goals for
Mohindergarh. Earlier Mr Suhbash Goyal, Local Govt Minister, Haryana, inaugurated the championship. He announced a grant of Rs 31000 for Haryana Handball Association. |
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Punjab
squad for jr eves’ soccer meet Jalandhar, September 15 A two-member selection panel conducted trials at Lyallpur Khalsa College for Women here yesterday. The selected players: Mandeep Kaur, Amandeep Kaur, Rajni, Satinder Kaur, Manjeet Gill, Simranjit Kaur, Harkamaljit Kaur, Sandeep Kaur, Rajdeep Kaur, Satwinder Kaur, Karamjit Kaur, Rupinder, Baljeet, Deepika, Balwinder Kaur, Sukhdeep, Amandeep, Kuldeep Kaur, Rajandeep and Sukhdeep Kaur. Gitanjali, Gagandeep, Pooja, Sukhwinder and Paramjit Kaur will be the reserve players. Ms Amandeep Kaur and Mr Harbhajan Singh have been appointed manager and coach respectively. Punjab have been placed in group “D” and will play their first match in the preliminary league against Maharashtra on September 22, against Nagaland on September 24 and against Orrisa on September 27. |
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