Wednesday, November 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India






National Capital Region--Delhi

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
S P O R T S

Waqar inspires Pak win
Bulawayo, November 19
Pakistan captain Waqar Younis finished with four wickets today to inspire his team to a 10-wicket victory over Zimbabwe on the fourth day of the second Test.


Zimbabwe batsman Andy Blignaut tries to make his crease as he is stumped by Pakistan wicketkeeper
Zimbabwe batsman Andy Blignaut tries to make his crease as he is stumped by Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal for 41 runs on Tuesday.  — Reuters photo


SA pull off tense win over Lanka 
Centurion, November 19
South Africa scrambled to a tense three-wicket win over Sri Lanka on the fifth day of the second and final Test at Centurion Park today.

South African captain Shaun Pollock holds up the trophy that his team won after beating Sri Lanka by 3 wickets on the final day of their Test in Pretoria on Tuesday . — Reuters photo
South African captain Shaun Pollock holds up the trophy

Balaji deserves a better deal
Chandigarh, November 19
The national selectors have done well by deciding to rest skipper Saurav Ganguly for the last two one-day matches against the visiting West Indies squad but the treatment meted out to two youngsters, all-rounder J.P. Yadav and Tamil Nadu’s fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji, by the ‘‘wise men’’ does not behove good for the future of Indian cricket. 


President of the World Cup Organizing Committee Franz Beckenbauer displays the logo of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
President of the World Cup Organizing Committee Franz Beckenbauer displays the logo of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany in the stadium "Schalke Arena" in Gelsenkirchen, on Tuesday. — Reuters

EARLIER STORIES
 

Punjab, Himachal Pradesh gain vital 1st innings lead
Cuttack, November 19
A 139-run sixth wicket partnership between Pankaj Dharmani (81) and Harminder Singh (87) enabled Punjab to take the vital first innings lead against Orissa on the third day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match at the Barabati Stadium here today.

Mumbai crush Delhi
Mumbai, November 19
Hosts Mumbai today crushed old rivals Delhi by nine wickets with more than a day to spare in the elite Ranji Trophy league match here at the Wankhede Stadium. Delhi, trailing by 179 runs, crumbled for 251 in their second innings, leaving Mumbai to mop up the required 72 runs off 16.4 overs with the loss of only one wicket with about five overs of the third day still remaining.

Vasco rally to hold Mohun Bagan
Margao, November 19
Formidable Vasco Sports Club registered a fine come back to hold defending champions Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan 1-1 to share points in the seventh edition of the National Football League at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, today.

Brazilian football players Roberto Carlos and Belletti compete during a training session
Brazilian football players Roberto Carlos (L) and Belletti compete during a training session in Seoul on Tuesday. The 2002 World Cup winning Brazilian team will play a friendly match on Wednesday against South Korea, who were placed fourth in the World Cup.

Brazil's football coach Mario Zagallo holds the ball during a training session in Seoul
Brazil's football coach Mario Zagallo holds the ball during a training session in Seoul on Tuesday. The 2002 FIFA World Cup winning Brazilian team will play a friendly match on Wednesday against South Korea. — Reuters photos

PU register 6-1 victory
Ludhiana, November 19
Panjab University, Chandigarh, drubbed Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 6-1 while Punjabi University, Patiala overwhelmed Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut 5-0 to earn full points on the third day of the Ist Gobind Singh (Namdhari Seeds) Gold Cup Hockey Tournament being organised by the Ludhiana Sports Welfare Association at the Astro-turf ground of the PAU here today.

Sri Hari, Gursher win
Amritsar, November 19
Top-seeded V.S. Sri Hari got the better of Vicky Goswami of Delhi 6-3, 6-3 on the second day of the All-India Tennis Ranking tournament for boys and girls (U-14, 16) organised by the Punjab Lawn Tennis Association under the aegis of the All-India Tennis Association at Maharaja Ranjit Singh tennis complex here today.

Rock Rovers stun Railways
New Delhi, November 19
Former champions Air India and BSF played a 3-3 draw to share points while Chandigarh’s Rock Rovers Club stunned another former title holder Railways 2-1 in the super league matches of the 39th Senior Nehru Hockey Tournament here today. In the first fixture of the day, Rock Rovers and Railways were level 1-1 at lemon break. Rovers took the lead 1-0 through Gurtej Singh at the 15th minute.

Ferozepore, Bathinda in semifinals
Ferozepore, November 19
Ferozepore, Bathinda and Jalandhar districts have entered the semifinals of the Punjab State Under-17 Hockey Championship that started here, at Shaheed Bhagat Singh stadium yesterday. In all nine matches were played today in which Faridkot defeated Moga 4-1, Jalandhar defeated Ropar 6-0 Mansa defeated Batala 8-5, Ferozepore defeated Majitha 8-0, Fatehgarh Sahib defeated Nawanshahr 5-1 and Gurdaspur defeated Muktsar 1-0.

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Waqar inspires Pak win

Pakistan captain Waqar Younis holds the trophy
Pakistan captain Waqar Younis holds the trophy after the visitors beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in the Test series at the Queens Sports Club on Tuesday. — Reuters photo

Bulawayo, November 19
Pakistan captain Waqar Younis finished with four wickets today to inspire his team to a 10-wicket victory over Zimbabwe on the fourth day of the second Test.

The Pakistan fast bowler took four for 78 in Zimbabwe’s second innings of 281 after the home side had resumed on 171 for five. Pakistan scored the 57 they needed in 8.3 overs to win with a session and a day to spare.

Younis struck before a run had been added on Tuesday, dismissing Zimbabwe’s most dangerous batsman Andy Flower lbw for 13.

Flower’s replacement Andy Blignaut launched an immediate assault on the bowling, striking three fours and two sixes.

Blignaut had reached 30 when he hooked Younis high towards the square-leg boundary where Younis Khan spilled a running catch.

He erased the deficit with a pulled four off Saqlain Mushtaq in the 12th over of the day, but then took two large steps down the pitch attempting to drive the next delivery down the ground and was easily stumped by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.

Blignaut’s whirlwind 41 came off 32 balls, and his dismissal ended a seventh-wicket stand of 55 with Taibu.

Mluleki Nkala scored 14 before he was caught behind attempting to sweep a ball from Saqlain and Zimbabwe slumped to 265 for nine when Ray Price was bowled for 12 by fast bowler Muhammad Sami.

The visitors had a scare half an hour before lunch when Saqlain appeared to twist his right ankle while fielding on the third-man boundary. He resumed bowling after receiving medical treatment.

Pakistan won the first match in the two-test series by 119 runs in Harare last Tuesday.

SCOREBOARD

Zimbabwe (Ist innings): 178

Pakistan (Ist innings): 403

Zimbabwe (IInd innings):

D. Ebrahim lbw b Younis 7

M. Vermeulen lbw b Younis 26

A. Campbell b Sami 62

G. Flower b Akhtar 43

A. Flower lbw b Younis 13

Masakadza c Youhana b Mushtaq 16

Taibu c Youhana b Younis 37

Blignaut st Akmal b Mushtaq 41

Nkala c Akmal b Mushtaq 14

Price b Sami 12

Olonga not out 3

Extras: (lb-5 nb-2) 7

Total: 281

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-37, 3-125, 4-146, 5-171, 6-171, 7-226, 8-248, 9-265.

Bowling: Waqar Younis 21.2-4-78-4, Saqlain Mushtaq 38-9-89-3 (nb-1), Shoaib Akhtar 12-4-61-1, Muhammad Sami 16-6-47-2 (nb-1), Hasan Raza 1-0-1-0

Pakistan (IInd innings):

Umar not out 21

Elahi not out 30

Extras: (b-1 nb-4 w-1) 6

Total: (for no wicket) 57

Bowling: Olonga 4.3-0-35-0 , Price 4-1-21-0. Reuters

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SA pull off tense win over Lanka 

South African bowler Jacques Kallis celebrates getting the wicket of Sri Lankan Chamila Gamage
South African bowler Jacques Kallis celebrates getting the wicket of Sri Lankan Chamila Gamage on the final day of their Test played at Centurion, Pretoria, on Tuesday. — Reuters photo

Centurion, November 19
South Africa scrambled to a tense three-wicket win over Sri Lanka on the fifth day of the second and final Test at Centurion Park today.

South Africa, set to make 121 to win, crashed to 44 for five before Neil McKenzie played a crucial innings of 39 to take his side to within nine runs of victory.

South Africa won the series 2-0. They won the first Test in Johannesburg by an innings and 64 runs. It was South Africa’s sixth win in seven Tests against Sri Lanka in South Africa.

On a dramatic day, 14 wickets fell for 189 runs.

Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilhara Fernando took four wickets in a devastating opening spell.

McKenzie and Andrew Hall put on 29 for the sixth wicket before wicketkeeper and vice-captain Mark Boucher helped McKenzie add 39 for the seventh wicket.

As the tension mounted, Sri Lankan fast bowler Chamila Gamage received an official warning from umpire Daryl Harper for walking into McKenzie between overs.

Sri Lanka lost seven wickets for 65 runs today, collapsing from an overnight 180 for three to be dismissed for 245. Makhaya Ntini and Jacques Kallis both took four wickets.

South Africa took two wickets in the first 10 balls of the day to expose the Sri Lankan tail, exactly as South African captain Shaun Pollock had said would be the objective when he spoke to the media yesterday evening.

Scoreboard

Sri Lanka (Ist innings): 323

South Africa (Ist innings): 448

Sri Lanka (2nd innings): (overnight 180-3)

Atapattu c Boucher b Kallis 22

Mubarak c Boucher b Ntini 15

Sangakkara c Boucher b Ntini 89

Jayawardene lbw b Ntini 40

Tillakaratne c Boucher b Kallis 6

Arnold lbw b Pollock 4

H. Fernando c Hall b Ntini 14

Vaas lbw b Kallis 17

Gamage c Pollock b Kallis 0

D. Fernando c Boucher b Elworthy 14

Muralitharan not out 0

Extras (b-13 lb-1 nb-3 w-7) 24

Total 245

Fall: 1-23, 2-60, 3-179, 4-180, 5-185, 6-205, 7-209, 8-209, 9-245,

Bowling: Pollock 17-7-45-1, Ntini 22-5-52-4, Elworthy 12-1-54-1, Hall 8-0-29-0, Kallis 14.2-5-39-4, Smith 4-2-12-0.

South Africa (2nd innings):

Smith lbw b Vaas 0

Gibbs c Sangakkara b D Fernando 7

Kirsten c Mubarak b D Fernando 11

Kallis b D Fernando 6

Prince c Sangakkara b D Fernando 5

Hall c Arnold b Murali 16

McKenzie b Murali 39

Boucher not out 22

Pollock not out 6

Extras: (b-5, lb-1, nb-6) 12

Total: (7 wkts, 35.3 overs) 124

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-13, 3-23, 4-31, 5-44, 6-73, 7-112.

Bowling: Vaas 8-2-28-1, D Fernando 12-0-49-4, Muralitharan 13.3-1-35-2, Gamage 2-1-6-0. AFP

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Balaji deserves a better deal
Abhijit Chatterjee
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 19
The national selectors have done well by deciding to rest skipper Saurav Ganguly for the last two one-day matches against the visiting West Indies squad but the treatment meted out to two youngsters, all-rounder J.P. Yadav and Tamil Nadu’s fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji, by the ‘‘wise men’’ does not behove good for the future of Indian cricket. The changes and cropping of the Indian team is obviously being done with an eye on next year’s World Cup in South Africa but the selectors must not lose sight of the larger picture of Indian cricket.

It is apparent to any followers of the game that bowling is India’s Achilles’ heel and efforts must be made by the selectors to spot new talent in this department if the balance in the national squad is to be maintained. It is probably in this connection that Balaji and Yadav were given a look-in in the ongoing series.

True, the performance of both Yadav and Balaji have not been up to the mark in the matches they have played in, but then which bowler, and both have primarily been tried in the bowling department, has been able to deliver in any of the five matches played in the ongoing series so far ?

Balaji, in particular, will rue his miserable performance in the Baroda match on Monday when he was carted all round the field and had to give away as many as 44 runs in the four overs he sent down. Yadav’s performance with the ball was no better and his single essay at the crease saw him being out for zero. Of the two it is Balaji whom India might need in the future because here is one genuine fast bowler who given the right guidance might still prove to be an asset for Indian cricket in the future.

The performance of the Tamil Nadu bowler must be compared with the performance of the likes of Ajit Agarkar, who has now replaced him in the squad for the last two match against the visitors. The Mumbai bowler in spite of his experience has been equally expensive in the matches he has played in even in this current series.

What the selectors have probably forgotten is that Balaji must he given an opportunity to show his true self on some bowler friendly strip before being dumped into oblivion.

In this connection one is remined of the treatment meted out to Punjab’s current cricket coach Bupinder Singh Sr. This bowler then in his prime was inducted into the national squad for a one-day tournament in Sharjah where again the strips are known to be completely batsmen-friendly and after giving away too many runs in the matches he played in never got a chance to don India colours again. One hopes that such a treatment is not also meted out to Balaji whom many consider to be the fastest bowler of the country at the moment.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) pitch committee is spending a lot of time, effort as well as money to produce ‘‘sporting wickets’’ in various centres in the country. Why such an effort was not made in the centres hosting matches of the on-going series between India and the West Indies is a question which Jagmohan Dalmiya and his team can answer.

Why are matches being played on strips where even a score of about 300 is not enough to defend is a question which defies cricketing logic!

In the World Cup in South Africa India will encounter pitches where the ball will have a much bigger role than it is having now. Would it not have been better if more ‘‘sporting’’ pitches were made available for the ongoing series against the West Indies?

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Punjab, Himachal Pradesh gain vital 1st 
innings lead

Cuttack, November 19
A 139-run sixth wicket partnership between Pankaj Dharmani (81) and Harminder Singh (87) enabled Punjab to take the vital first innings lead against Orissa on the third day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match at the Barabati Stadium here today.

Replying to Orissa’s first innings total of 301, the visitors who were a shaky 141 for four at close yesterday, were bowled out for 381 towards the end of the day’s play.

Orissa, in their second innings, were four for no loss at stumps.

With only a day’s play left and the match heading for a draw, Orissa has once again lost out on a point as Punjab claimed the one point at stake for having taken the first innings lead. Orissa also had failed to get any point in their previous match against Assam.

SCOREBOARD

Orissa (1st innings): 301

Punjab (1st innings):

R. Rickey c sub b Satpathy 51, S. Sharma b Mohanty 0, A. Kakkar lbw b Barik 18, P. Dharmani b Barik 81, R.S. Sodhi c sub b Mohanty 4, M. Sharma lbw b Bipin Singh 29, Harminder Singh b Satpathy 87, Navdeep Singh lbw b Mohanty 0, A. Uniyal c and b Satpathy 31, Gagandeep Singh not out 35, V. Sharma b Mohanty 15.

Extras (b-15, lb-12, nb-3) 30. Total (all out, 130.5 overs) 381. Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-57, 3-89, 4-94, 5-145, 6-284, 7-285, 8-306, 9-338. Bowling: Debasis Mohanty 26.5-14-37-4, Bipin Singh 28-6-88-1, Ajay Barik 26-7-71-2, Prabhanjan Mallick 9-2-21-0, Sanjay Satpathy 30-6-113-3, Sanjay Raul 11-5-24-0.

Orissa (2nd innings):

BBCC Mohapatra batting 4, Shiv Sundar Das batting 0. Extras: 0. Total (for no loss) 4.

Bowling: Gagandeep Singh 2-1-4-0, Amit Uniyal 1.5-1-0-0.

HP take lead

Kolkata: Himachal Pradesh took a 119-run first innings lead when they bowledout Bengal for a meagre l71 in their first innings on the third day of their league match at the Eden Gardens here.

Coming to bat for the second time, the visitors, guided by another sparkling knock of 91 by skipper Vikram Rathore, scored 208 runs losing five wickets to take a lead of 327 runs with five second innings wickets in hand and a day to spare.

Rathore, who scored 120 in the first innings, was unlucky to miss a back to back century by just nine runs when he was caught and bowled by Rohan Gavaskar after facing 194 deliveries during his stay at the crease for 267 minutes and hitting 11 bounderies and a six. Besides Rathore, Virender Sharma and Amit Sharma also chipped in with 36 and 23, respectively. At stumps Virender Singh and Rahul Panta were batting on 36 and 1 respectively. Bengal medium pacer Ranadev Bose, who bagged six wickets in the first innings, again proved his mettle bagging two Himachal scalps conceding 45 runs off 14 overs. In Bengal’s first innings besides Devang Gandhi only captain Rohan Gavaskar tried to stem the rot.

SCOREBOARD

HP (1st innings): 290.

Bengal (1st innings): D. Dasgupta lbw b Thakur 0, A. Chakraborty c S. Singh b Thakur 14, D. Gandhi c sub (Dogra) b Kapoor 63, R. Gavaskar not out 58, S. Das lbw b Kapoor 0, S. Sanyal c Rathore b Thakur 0, L.R. Shukla c Rathour b Kapoor 7, U. Chatterjee lbw b Kapoor 1, S. Lahiri b Thakur 0, R. Bose c & b Kapoor 12, S.S. Paul run out 4. Extras: (b-6, nb-5, w-1) 12. Total: (all out, 66.4 overs) 171. FoW: 1-0, 2-37, 3-116, 4-116, 5-117, 6-124, 7-128, 8-133, 9-163. Bowling: Thakur 23.4-7-77-4, Panta 8-3-25-0, Singh 3-0-13-0, Sharma 6-0-22-0, Kapoor 22-11-25-5, Bhatia 4-1-3-0.

HP (2nd innings): N. Gaur lbw b Bose 13, S. Sharma c Chakrabarty b Bose 19, V. Rathore c & b Gavaskar 91, S. Singh c Paul b Chatterjee 6, A. Sharma c Gandhi b Chakrabarty 23, V. Sharma batting 36, R. Panta batting 1. Extras: (b-12, lb-5, nb-2) 19. Total: (for 5 wkts, 68 overs) 208. FoW: 1-26, 2-66, 3-77, 4-129, 5-206. Bowling: R. Bose 19-8-45-2, S.S. Paul 14-1-48-0, L.R. Shukla 5-0-22-0, U. Chatterjee 18-5-37-1, S. Lahiri 7-1-23-0, A. Chakrabarty 3-0-10-1, R Gavaskar 2-0-6-1.

Rajasthan fight back

Jaipur: A fighting half century by wicketkeeper Rohit Jhalani (52 batting) and his unbroken stand of 82 runs with tailender Sanjeev Sharma for the seventh wicket kept hosts Rajasthan in the hunt for a first innings lead on the penultimate day of their group ‘A’ match against defending champions Railways.

Railways (Ist innings): 384

Rajasthan (Ist innings): Anshu Jain c Khanolkar b Parida 47, Vinit Saxena c Raja Ali b Harvinder 46, Nikhil Doru lbw b Parida 0, Rahul Kanwat lbw b Santosh Sahu 42, P. Krishna Kumar c Amit b Harvinder 12, Kaushal Devra r/out (Sahu from covers) 34, Rohit Jhalani batting 52, Sanjeev Sharma batting 26. Extras: (lb 14, b 6, nb 3) 23. Total: (for six wickets in 139 overs) 282. FoW: 1/92, 2/93, 3/122, 4/151, 5/183, 6/200. Bowling: Harvinder Singh 27-12-53-2, Zakir Hussain 22-7-29-0, Santosh Sahu 21-11-27-1, K. Parida 50-18-93-2, T.P. Singh 8-1-23-0, S. Khandolkar 10-2-28-0, Yere Goud 1-0-9-0. UNI 

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Mumbai crush Delhi

Mumbai, November 19
Hosts Mumbai today crushed old rivals Delhi by nine wickets with more than a day to spare in the elite Ranji Trophy league match here at the Wankhede Stadium.

Delhi, trailing by 179 runs, crumbled for 251 in their second innings, leaving Mumbai to mop up the required 72 runs off 16.4 overs with the loss of only one wicket with about five overs of the third day still remaining.

Delhi’s surrender would have been more abject but for the seventh wicket defiance of 78 runs by top scorer Mithun Manhas (83) and Sarandeep Singh (40).

The visitors had made a steady progress from overnight 52 for no loss. Gautam Gambhir and Akash Chopra took the score to 71 when the former, after making 29, was caught by a close-in fielder off Ramesh Power. Chopra made a patient 63 in his 207 minutes stay before he was caught behind.

Delhi then stumbled to 156 for six, bringing Sarandeep together with Manhas. The latter cracked nine fours and swung the spinners for two sixes. Sarandeep also lofted two sixes and hit two fours. Manhas stayed for 174 minutes while Sarandeep needed 67 balls for his cameo knock.

Off spinner Ramesh Power with three for 65 and pacer Ajit Agarkar with three for 67 were the chief destroyers. They were ably supported by leg spinner Sairaj Bahutule (2-27) and another medium pacer Avinash Salvi (2-41).

Mumbai needed to finish the match by 10 wickets for a bonus point but Vinayak Mane got out for 28. This was home team’s second straight win. Last week they came from behind to beat Hyderabad and now have four points.

Delhi had received one point from their match against Railways.

Scoreboard

Delhi (1st innings):123

Mumbai (1st innings): 302.

Delhi ((2nd Innings): A Chopra c Patwardhan b Bahutule 63, G Gambhir c Mane b Power 29, V Dahya lbw b Salvi 3, M Manhas lbw b Salvi 83, P Chawla c Jaffer b Power 9, K Rawat c Agarkar b Power 0, A Sharma c Patwardhan b Agarkar 0, Sarandeep Singh c Bahutule b Agarkar 40, R Sanghvi c Patwardhan b Agarkar 1, A Singh c Muzumdar b Bahutule 6, A Bhandari not out 5. Extras: (LB-4, NB-4, B-4) 12. Total: (All out in 96.2 overs) 251. Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-82, 3-113, 4-141, 5-141, 6-156, 7-234, 8-238, 9-241. Bowling: Agarkar 21-3-67-3, Salvi 16-3-27-2, Mhambrey 4-0-7-0, Bahutule 21.2-5-41-2, Power 22-6-65-3, Pawar 12-2-36-0.

Mumbai (2nd innings): V Mane b Sharma 28, W Jaffer not out 45, M Tamhane not out 2. Extras: (NB-1) 1. Total: (For one wicket in 16.4 overs) 76. Fall of wickets: 1-41.

Bowling: Bhandari 6-2-11-0, Arun 3-0-14-0, Sarandip 4-0-24-0, Sharma 2.4-20-1, Sanghvi 1-0-7-0. UNI

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Vasco rally to hold Mohun Bagan

Margao, November 19
Formidable Vasco Sports Club registered a fine come back to hold defending champions Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan 1-1 to share points in the seventh edition of the National Football League at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, today.

Sheikh Sanjib scored for Bagan in the sixth minute, while Rui Wanderely Weis levelled for Vasco in the 68th minute off a penalty.

Vasco were in dazzling form and could have won by at least two goals had they utilised the gilt-edged opportunities before them, especially in the first half.

With today’s match, Mohun Bagan opened their account with one point in their opening match. Vasco also remained on one point from two outings as they lost their first match to Dempo by a solitary goal.

The local side started in full steam and came near to scoring in the very fifth minute of the first half, but Bagan keeper Rajat Ghose Dastidar brought off a fine save off an attempt from Brazilian import Rui Wanderely Wies off a pass from Marcus Pereira.

Soon after, Bagan shot into the lead as early as in the sixth minute from the start through Sheikh Sanjib off a well-measured pass from Sunil Chetri. The goal was a result of a defensive lapse. A silly mistake by Vasco defenders Sanjay Parte and Franky Barreto cost them heavily.

Inspired by the lead, Bagan continued to attack and had another chance in the 10th minute when Jayant Sen dribbled past rival defender Sanjay Parte and unleashed a shot but Rogerio Remos collected the ball well.

Then it was Vasco all the way as they unleashed raids after raids and could have led by at least three goals in the first half had they utilised the chances before them. A minute before the half-time, Vasco had almost equalised, but Marcus Pereira’s power-packed shot off a cross from the left flank by Rui Wanderely crashed into the frame work and rebounded towards Riston Rodriques. He could not have a clear look at the goal and shot over the bar.

After the change-over, Vasco accelerated the pace and restored parity in the 68th minute off a penalty award. Referee S Suresh awarded a spot kick to Vasco when Bagan defender Isa Moosa Eroje handled the ball in the danger zone off a shot from Riston Rodriques. Rui Wanderely Weis made no mistake in converting the spot kick correctly, making the score 1-1.

Indian Bank shock ITI

Bangalore: Promotee Indian Bank started their campaign in style shocking fancied Indian Telephone Industries by 3-1 in a round one encounter here.

Trailing by a first half goal, the Bankmen got their goals through their Sri Lankan striker Imran Mohammad in the 60th and 81st minute. ITI had shot into lead through Najeeb in the eighth minute before the Indian Bank could settle down.

The Sathyan-trained Indian Bank called the shots after settling down. ITI, coached by veteran Shabbir Ali, failed to find the rhythm in the first encounter. UNI

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PU register 6-1 victory
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, November 19
Panjab University, Chandigarh, drubbed Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 6-1 while Punjabi University, Patiala overwhelmed Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut 5-0 to earn full points on the third day of the Ist Gobind Singh (Namdhari Seeds) Gold Cup Hockey Tournament being organised by the Ludhiana Sports Welfare Association at the Astro-turf ground of the PAU here today. After three matches, Chandigarh and Patiala lads are tied at five points with two wins and one draw each.

Later, in the evening, PAU went down fighting to Delhi University 1-2 to make an exit from the tournament.

On the first match of the day played between Panjab University, Chandigarh and Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, the former dictated the terms throughout the encounter and the local lads, however, managed to reduce the margin in the 33rd minute. Chandigarh boys drew the first blood in the eighth minute through Rajinder Singh and Jugraj Singh made it 2-0.

Down by two goals, the hosts made some attempts and were able to breach their rivals’ territory in the 33rd minute which resulted in a penalty corner. Yadwinder Singh successfully converted it into a goal to reduce the margin 2-1.

In the second half, Chandigarh lads consolidated the lead with Sandeep Singh converting three penalty corners (39th, 58th and 60th minute) to score the first hat-trick of the tournament. The very next minute, Rajinder Singh of Chandigarh found the target to complete the rout 6-1.

The second match played between Punjabi University, Patiala and Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut turned out to be a lacklustre affair as the latter lost it 0-5 without putting up any resistance. All the goals were scored in the first half.

Pardeep Singh scored a hat-trick (10th, 15th and 25th minute) while the other scorers were Charanpreet Singh (27th minute) and Paramjeet Singh (32nd minute). Meerut boys forced two penalty corners (45th and 63rd minutes) but failed to capatalise these chances. In the third match of the day, PAU, Ludhiana, toiled hard before going 1-2 against Delhi University 1-2.

After muffing scoring chances, Delhi surged ahead in the 27th minute following a defensive lapse by PAU when Ankur from the right flank entered the striking circle and scooped the ball into the net much to the chagrin of the goalkeeper. Delhi enhanced the lead (2-0) through Kulbir Singh.

After changing ends, PAU lads played a better game and had some close scoring chances but fumbled near the goalmouth. They kept up the pressure with a series of attacks over their opponents and finally got the reward in the 46th minute when Palwinder Singh, with a reverse stick sounded the board which took the visitors’ defence by surprise.

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Sri Hari, Gursher win
Our Sports Reporter

Amritsar, November 19
Top-seeded V.S. Sri Hari got the better of Vicky Goswami of Delhi 6-3, 6-3 on the second day of the All-India Tennis Ranking tournament for boys and girls (U-14, 16) organised by the Punjab Lawn Tennis Association under the aegis of the All-India Tennis Association at Maharaja Ranjit Singh tennis complex here today.

In other matches of the boys (U-14) section No 2 seed Gursher Harika of Chandigarh outplayed Vijyant Malik 6-3, 6-1; Rahul Belwal of Delhi defeated No 8 seed Kaushal Mehale of Maharashtra 3-6, 6-4, 7-5; No 9 seed Pankaj Thapa of Delhi outclassed Manav Dhawan of Punjab 6-3, 7-5; Pritam Jassi of Chandigarh beat Uday Karan Puniya of Chandigarh 6-4, 6-3; No 6 seed Ankit Goswami of Delhi outclassed Arjun Chodury of Delhi 6-0, 6-2 and Harkamal Preet of Chandigarh beat third-seeded Ajesh Anthati 6-3, 7-6.

In the boys (U-16) section top-seeded Vivek Shokeen of Delhi outplayed Rajiv Yadav 6-1, 6-3; No 8 Nitish Raj (UP) beat Simarvir Singh of Chandigarh 7-5, 6-3; third-seeded Sunit P. Gupta (UP) outclassed Abhinav Grover of Delhi 7-5, 6-2; No 6 seed Vijay Sehgal of Delhi beat Kinshuk Sharma 2-6, 6-4, 7-6; seventh seeded Honey Rana of Delhi trounced Rohit Chodury of Delhi 3-6, 6-3, 6-0; No 2 seed Rohan Gide beat Rajkanwar Singh of Chandigarh 6-1, 6-2; and Kushagra Mahajan of Punjab defeated Pankaj Thapa of Delhi 7-5, 6-3.

In the girls (U-14) section, top-seeded Sanjana Kapoor beat Inayat Khosla (Chandigarh) 7-5, 7-5, Taskim Bains of Chandigarh trounced Shilpa Jaiswal 6-2, 2-6, 6-2; No 3 seed Daksha Mulley defeated Nikunj Kamal 6-4, 6-4; sixth-seeded G. Janki Rao beat Shubhneet Sandhu of Punjab 6-3, 6-3; Alisha Talwar of Punjab outclassed Sameera Sharma of Delhi 6-1, 6-1; Jlike Nelord got better of Anushka Kapoor of Delhi 7-5, 6-2 and Anukirti Prasad outplayed Khyati Thakur 6-0, 6-2.

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Rock Rovers stun Railways

New Delhi, November 19
Former champions Air India and BSF played a 3-3 draw to share points while Chandigarh’s Rock Rovers Club stunned another former title holder Railways 2-1 in the super league matches of the 39th Senior Nehru Hockey Tournament here today.

In the first fixture of the day, Rock Rovers and Railways were level 1-1 at lemon break. Rovers took the lead 1-0 through Gurtej Singh at the 15th minute. Three minutes later, Railways Satish Kumar drew parity 1-1. Navdeep Singh scored the decider at the 68th minute to upset the former champions 2-1.

Railways played a better game and won six penalty corners but could not convert any of them in a highly paced game.

In the other match of the day, BSF’s Bhajan Singh (46th, 47th) and Air India’s Anil Aldrin (15th, 62nd) scored braces as both teams split points in a 3-3 draw.

Air India drew first blood through Anil Aldrin in the 15th minute but could not hold its forte and the opponent equalised 1-1 at the 33rd minute. UNI 

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Ferozepore, Bathinda in semifinals
Tribune News Service

Ferozepore, November 19
Ferozepore, Bathinda and Jalandhar districts have entered the semifinals of the Punjab State Under-17 Hockey Championship that started here, at Shaheed Bhagat Singh stadium yesterday.

In all nine matches were played today in which Faridkot defeated Moga 4-1, Jalandhar defeated Ropar 6-0 Mansa defeated Batala 8-5, Ferozepore defeated Majitha 8-0, Fatehgarh Sahib defeated Nawanshahr 5-1 and Gurdaspur defeated Muktsar 1-0.

In the quarterfinals played today Ferozepore defeated Amritsar 3-0, Bathinda defeated Mansa 8-0 and Jalandhar defeated Faridkot 5-3, Jalandhar emerged winner in the tie-break after a 1-1 draw in the 70-minute game.

The fourth quarterfinal between Gurdaspur and Fatehgarh Sahib will be played tomorrow.

In the first semifinal Ferozepore will take on Bathinda. 

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 SPORTS BRIEFS

HEWITT KEEN TO REST
ADELAIDE:
Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, who retained his year-end world number one ranking in China last week, arrived home on Tuesday saying he was looking forward to some rest ahead of the Australian Open in January. “I’ll just put my feet up and catch up with a few mates,” Hewitt told a news conference at Adelaide airport. “Yeah, not do a hell of a lot basically, just try and relax and sort of just get the mind and body ready for the Australian Open.” The slightly-built 21-year-old, who weighs 60 kilograms, said he had not felt fully fit for several months and his ability to overcome a viral complaint was not helped by constant international travel. Hewitt arrived in Adelaide flanked by his girlfriend, Belgian player Kim Cliisters, who upset world number one Serena Williams to win the WTA Championships in Los Angeles earlier this month. Reuters

ROLLER SKATING TRIALS
PATIALA:
Trials to select the Punjab roller skating teams for both men and women will be held at the Rink Hall on November 21 at 9 a.m. The selected team will take part in the National Games slated to be held at Hyderabad from December 13 to 22, according to Mr S.S. Tiwana, honorary secretary, Punjab Roller Skating Association (PRSA). OSR

SABA KARIM
RANCHI:
Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim today said India has got some “good match-winners” which is quite evident from the team’s recent results. “I am very happy to see the change in temperament of the Indian cricketers. The team is also a mixture of experience and youth,” Karim, who is here to watch the Bihar vs Karnataka Ranji trophy tie, told PTI. “The team has become very strong and got a few good match-winners,” he said, adding it was evident from the team’s performance despite the absence of star batsman Sachin Tendulkar. Asked whether Karnataka speedster Venkatesh Prasad could win back his place in the national team, he said, “Venkatesh is a hard worker and has the capability to stage a comeback.” PTI
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