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Thursday,
November 21, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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India face must-win situation
Expert comments Vivian Richards Chetan Sharma writes
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Injuries plague England Punjab get one point for first innings lead Sunita Rani free to compete: Kalmadi Punjab cops rout Rock Rovers PU to clash with Pbi varsity Alisha beats Amrita Seth Ferozepore boys take on Jalandhar
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India face must-win situation
Jodhpur, November 20 Already without batting mainstay Sachin Tendulkar and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, India were dealt a blow when skipper Saurav Ganguly was also ruled out for the last two matches which India must win in order to clinch the seven-match series that the hosts currently trail 2-3. With the bowling department remaining an area of big concern, Ganguly’s absence means the batting is also weakened considerably and the young guns would have to produce something out of the ordinary to turn the tables on a West Indies team which suddenly looks a very transformed side from the one that was badly battered in the Test series. However, stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid was looking at it as an opportunity for the youngsters to prove themselves. “It’s a great opportunity for the entire team. There are a few senior players missing and we are trailing the series. But if we can turn it around from here, we will earn the respect of a lot of people,” Dravid, who has won both his matches as a skipper in one-dayers, said ahead of the match today. With both Ganguly and Tendulkar missing, left-hander Dinesh Mogia has been asked to open the innings with Virender Sehwag. Though Dravid did not name the final eleven, he confirmed Mongia would get to play his first match of the series tomorrow taking Ganguly’s place. Considering the kind of totals being achieved in this series, the start provided by the openers is absolutely crucial and Mongia, who has not done very well in the last couple of games he has played, has a lot to prove tomorrow. Allrounder Ajit Agarkar, who is back into the squad after being dropped mid-way, is also almost certain to play as the second new ball bowler with Javagal Srinath. Even though the absence of Ganguly is likely to be felt acutely, the Indians are not worried much about their batting. It is the other two aspects — bowling and fielding — that they would be looking to improve upon in this match. “Our batting is pretty strong and that is quite evident from the series,” coach John Wright said. “But we have been giving too much width to the batsmen with the new ball.” “If we bowl well and back up with outstanding fielding, then only can we hope to do well. We must achieve the bowling and fielding standards that we had on the tour of England and in the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka,” he said. The bowlers have been badly mauled in all the matches of the series — a fact reflected in the veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble being left out of the squad after his poor performance in the first two matches. Even Harbhajan Singh has not been spared by the West Indian batting onslaught though the champion off-spinner has done well in the last couple of matches. In fact, Harbhajan Singh and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik have been the only saving grace for India in the last two matches. But Dravid was non-committal on fielding a three-pronged spin attack tomorrow by including off-spinner Sarandeep Singh who along with allrounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi have been recalled into the national squad after a long time. India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Dinesh Mongia, Sanjay Bangar, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra, Sarandeep Singh, Parthiv Patel. West Indies: Carl Hooper (captain), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ricardo Powell, Ridley Jacobs, Mervyn Dillon, Cameron Cuffy, Pedro Collins, Vasbert Drakes, Jermaine Lawson, Darren Ganga, Corey Collymore. Umpires: K Hariharan and Asoka de Silva. PTI
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Expert comments Vivian Richards The TVS Cup has really been a seesaw battle, which is exactly the way the pundits would want it. In fact, all those who enjoy good cricket must want India to win the next game so that everything comes down to one final match. At the West Indies camp, however, we would like to put the issue beyond doubt by winning in Jodhpur itself. The Indians were on a roll when we reached Baroda, and full marks to Carl and his team for wresting back the momentum to nose ahead to a 3-2 lead. We are near a desert so the soil here is a little dusty. The ground, however, is in good condition and the wicket looks pretty similar to the last one – plenty of runs for batsmen and plenty of heartbreak for bowlers. The bowlers must take heart from the fact that the all-important World Cup will be played in very different conditions. In fact, I hope the batsmen don’t get a false sense of security by seeing 300-plus totals getting overhauled regularly. The hardness of the wickets in South Africa will make run-getting much more difficult, and the true test for all those playing here will be to make the adjustments required to play in those conditions. The beauty of cricket is that it’s played in a variety of conditions, and I think the individual who can adjust to all conditions is the true champion. India are without their captain in the next few games, and I think that this could hit them hard. Saurav Ganguly has been in great form at the helm of things this season, especially during the Tests. Any organisation suffers when the head is absent the We only have to look at how the West Indies struggled in Rajkot in the absence of Carl Hooper. It’s tough for the guy who comes in to adjust in a short time, and the team looks a little disoriented. It is now up to those who replace Ganguly as captain and opener to motivate themselves by thinking that it is an opportunity for them to prove their worth. Dinesh Mongia played against us in Bangalore in our first warm-up game and scored heavily. We also saw a bit of him in the West Indies where he played pretty well. With the selectors already thinking of World Cup squads, I’m sure he’ll grab this opportunity to stake his claim. For the West Indians, the only question mark is over the fitness of Mervyn Dillon. He missed the last game and had his first thorough workout this afternoon. We will take a call on whether or not to play him tomorrow. Both teams will be desperate to win tomorrow. While the West Indies have two chances to win the series from here on, they would definitely not like to leave things till Vijayawada. The Indians, of course, will have to win both matches and must be very determined to keep their impressive record at home intact. I have played and seen too much cricket to predict winners. All I’m willing to predict right now is that a wonderful encounter is in store for us. (Gameplan)
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Chetan Sharma writes As the action shifts to Jodhpur, India have their backs to the wall. They are trailing the West Indies 2-3 and only if they win both the last two one-dayers, can they save the series and their pride. It is not impossible but seeing the way the West Indians have come back with vengeance, the task ahead is not so easy for the Indian team. They have already been missing Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan in the series and now Saurav Ganguly will not play in the final games. Well, as I see it, India will be without three of their most crucial players and this definitely gives advantage to the West Indian side. Even Carl Hooper has observed that Ganguly’s absence will hit the Indians because he is not only their skipper but also the leading batsman, who when the team needs can also chip in with a few overs at gentle pace. His withdrawal also means India will have to fill the opening place, which will not be easy because the other one Virender Sehwag too hasn’t been very consistent in the series. He has scored a century and a fifty but in other games he has flopped, so I guess both our openers in tomorrow’s match will feel the pressure. Among the contenders for the opener’s place will be Dinesh Mongia, who will have the advantage of being a left-hander but I would rather want J P Yadav to be given a fair chance. If the selectors think he is worth a place in the side, they should also give him a chance to bat at a position most comfortable to him. Since he opens the batting in domestic competitions, Yadav is my man for the opener’s place. I can tell you when he gets going, nothing can stop him as he has the capability of hitting the ball a long way. Another player who should also be given another chance is L Balaji, the fast bowler from Chennai. On his debut at Baroda, Balaji was smashed by the West Indian batsmen but again, as I said about Yadav, we should not be hasty in our judgement about them. If you ask me honestly, I never expected such poor performance from the Indian bowlers but nothing can be done about the past. They have the calibre to bowl better than the way they have been doing so I will advise them to give their best now. If the Indian bowlers are tidy, India can win both the remaining matches. Chris Gayle is the man whose wicket will be the most prized one tomorrow. Jodhpur is generally a batting paradise so it would suit Gayle’s style of hitting through the line and with Wavell Hinds and Ramnaresh Sarwan in blazing form, the West Indies start favourites tomorrow. These three have done the bulk of scoring for the West Indies in these matches and the West Indians will hope their dream form continues for another week.
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Injuries
plague England Battered and bruised in the series opener in Brisbane after some early fight, injuries to England’s bowling stocks have robbed the tourists of any competitive edge in another Ashes series. Left arm spinner Ashley Giles’ broken left wrist yesterday added his name to an already long injury list Darren Gough and Simon Jones were forced to return home with knee injuries. Hussain had pinned his hopes on Giles to turn the form table on Australia on a spin-friendly Adelaide surface, but now needs to put his faith on offspinner Richard Dawson, who will play his first Test in almost a year.
AP
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Punjab get one point for first innings lead Cuttack, November 20 Punjab scored 380 in 130.5 overs in their first innings in reply to host Orissa’s 301 in 109.2 overs establishing an 80-run lead. With this Punjab have two points. Earlier, Punjab had earned a point from their match with Baroda and Orissa drew blank after their match with Assam ended in a draw. Punjab will meet Assam at Guwahati and Orissa will meet Baroda here in their next matches. In their second innings, Orissa scored 256 at the loss of six wickets in 87 overs. RR Parida and Sanjay Satpathy (both not out) were at the crease with 126 and 19 runs, respectively, at the close of play. RR Parida, during his 331 minutes’ stay at the crease, hit 19 boundaries. Resuming their score at four without loss, overnight batsman BBCC Mohapatra (9) added only five runs while SS Das scored 39. Pravanjam Maullik and Gautam Gopal also played well scoring 24 and 23 runs, respectively. While Gagandeep Singh and Amit Uniyal took two wickets each Navdeep Singh and Vineet Sharma took one wicket each for the visitors. Scoreboard Orissa (Ist innings): 301. Punjab (Ist innings): 381 Orissa (2nd innings): BBCC Mohapatra C Sandeep B Amit Uniyal 9, SS Das C Pankaj B Amit Uniyal 39, RR Parida not out 126, Sanjay Raul C Munish B Vineet Sharma 4, P Mullick C Pankaj B Gagandeep Singh 24, Subit Biswal lbw B Gagandeep Singh 0, Gautam Gopal lbw B Navdeep Singh 23, Sanjay Satpathy not out 19. Extras ( B 4, LB 05, NB 3) 12. Total (For 6 wickets in 87 overs) 256. Bowling: Gagandeep Singh 18-05-49-2; Amit Uniyal 17-03-55-2; Navdeep Singh 33-06-85-1; Vineet Sharma 11-01-31-01; Ankur Karkkar 03-00-08-0; Samrat Sharma 05-00-19-0. Himachal gain 1 point KOLKATA: Himachal Pradesh gained one point due to their first innings lead as their match with Bengal ended in a tame draw at Eden Gardens. Scoreboard Himachal Pradesh (Ist innings): 290 Bengal (Ist innings): 171 Himachal Pradesh (2nd innings):
(Overnight 208 for five): N Goud lbw Bose 13, S Sharma c Chakrabarty b Ranadeb Bose 19, Vikram Rathore c and b Rohan Gavaskar 91, Sangram Singh c SS Pal b Chatterjee 6, Amit Sharma c Gandhi b Chakrabarty 23, Virender Sharma c Dasgupta b U Chatterjee 38, Rahul Panta c R Gavaskar b R Bose 3, R Nair not out 24, A Kapoor lbw R Bose 1, V Bhatia not out 11. Extras: 25 (b 16, lb 7, nb 2). Total: 254 for 8 wickets in 95 overs and 396 minutes. Fall of wickets: 1/26, 2/66, 3/77, 4/129, 5/206, 6/211, 7/213, 8/215. Bowling: Bose 26-10-58-4; SS Pal 14-1-48-0; LR Shukla 5-0-22-0; Utpal Chatterjee 31-11-54-2; S Lahiri 14-4-33-0; Chakrabarty 3-0-10-1; Gavaskar 2-0-6-1. Bengal (2nd innings): Deep Dasgupta run out 41, Amitava Chakraborty c A Kapoor b R Panta 16, Devang Gandhi lbw R Panta 3,L R Shukla lbw A Kapoor 41. Rohan Gavaskar not out 103, S Das c N Goud b V Bhatia 27, Sanjeev Sanyal not out 3. Extras: (bye 14, lb 5, nb4) 23. Total: 257 for 5 in 66.2 overs. Fall of wickets: 1/30, 2/34, 3/107, 4/169, 5/243. Bowling: A Thakur 13-3-49-0; R Panta 15-1-49-2; A Kapoor 21-5-67-1; B Bhatia 6.2-0-31-1; S Sharma 5-0-34-0; N Goud 6-2-18-0.
Railways open account Jaipur: A fine four-wicket haul by spinner Kulmani Parida helped holders Railways open their account in the domestic season with a point, gained by virtue of their first innings lead against Rajasthan in their Ranji Trophy Group ‘A’ league match which ended in tame draw here today. Scoreboard 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 run out Sahu 34, Rohit Jhalani lbw b K Parida 63, Sanjeev Sharma b K Parida 34, Sumit Mathur c Khanolkar b Harvinder 0, Md Aslam run out T P Singh 6, Lokesh Jain not out 3. Extras: (lb 14, b 7, nb 3) 24. Total: (for ten wickets in 153.3 overs) 311. Fall of wickets: 1/92, 2/93, 3/122, 4/151, 5/183, 6/200, 7/300, 8/301, 9/303, 10/311. Bowling: Harvinder Singh 34-13-69-3, Zakir Hussain 22-7-29-0, Santosh Sahu 21-11-27-01, K Parida 57.3-21-105-4, T P Singh 8-1-23-0, S Khandolkar 10-2-28-0, Yere Goud 1-0-9-0. Railways (2nd innings):
Sryas Khandolkar b R Kanwat 15, Amit Pagnis c Vinit b R Kanwat 49, T.P.Singh b R Kanwat 36, S Sahu c Jhalani b R Kanwat 28, S Wankhade c Doru b R Kanwat 0, Raja Ali not out 0, Extras: (b 12, nb 3) 15. Total: (for fiven wickets in 35.2 overs) 179 decl. Fall of wickets: 1/47, 2/111, 3/113, 4/114, 5/179 Bowling: Sumit Mathur 4-1-19-0, Krishna Kumar 2-1-17-0, Rahul Kanwat 13.2-2-49-5, Mohd Aslam 12-2-65-0, Lokesh Jain 4-1-17-0. Rajasthan (2nd Innings): Anshu Jain b Parida 7, Vinit Saxena not out 41, Nikhil Doru not out 40. Extras: (lb 4, 6 7, nb 1) 11. Total: (for one wicket in 28 overs) 99. Fall of wickets: 1/11. Bowling: Harvinder Singh 3-1-3-0, K Parida 9-3-27-1, Zakir Hussain 4-1-12-0, T P Singh 7-1-32-0, S Khandolkar 3-0-11-0, Yere Goud 2-1-4-0.
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Sunita Rani free to compete: Kalmadi New Delhi, November 20 “The AAFI has not banned her. If she wants to compete in the National Games, she can compete”, Mr Kalmadi said. Sunita Rani was tested positive for the banned drug after she won the gold in the 1500 metres and bronze in the 5000 metres at Busan. She was subsequently stripped of her medals by the Olympic Council of Asia. The AAFI later appointed a one-man Sushil Dutt Salwan Commission to enquire into the Sunita Rani dope case, and the Salwan Commission report, running into over 200 pages, exonerated Sunita of any misdoing. But after the Salwan Commission report was submitted, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports constituted yet another committee to probe into the case. The committee, which includes former secretary in the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports S.S. Sharma and Sports Authority of India Director-General Shekhar Dutt, has been given three months’ time to submit its report after thoroughly probing the drug menace prevalent among Indian sportspersons. Mr Kalmadi, who along with AAFI secretary Lalit K Bhanot, attended the meeting of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) at Monaco recently, submitted the Salwan Commission report to the international body “and registered our protest”. Meanwhile, Kalmadi again asked the SAI to send the B sample of Sunita Rani’s urine for testing in an IOC-accredited lab in a neutral country. |
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Punjab cops rout Rock Rovers
New Delhi, November 20 Earlier two other former title holders Punjab and Sind Bank and Bharat Petroleum recorded easy victories over their rivals to garner full points in the super league. Punjab and Sind Bank overwhelmed Karnataka XI 5-0 while Bharat Petroleum defeated SAI XI 4-2. In a one-sided tie, Punjab Police pumped in five goals in the second session after leading 1-0 at breather to rout Rock Rovers. The Chandigarh club put up a good fight in the first half but were totally outplayed by the Punjab Police in the second. Gagan Ajit Singh gave the Punjab cops the lead in the 25th minute but after that the winners had to wait for another 20 minutes for their next goal, which was scored by international Daljit Dhillon (2-0).Five minutes later Jugraj Singh made it 3-0 for the cops when he converted a stroke. Dhillon scored his second and team’s fourth goal in the 52nd minute and then Gabbar Singh increased the tally to 5-0 in the 59th minute and in the very next minute Daljit Dhillon scored off a penalty corner to complete the tally 6-0. This was Rock Rovers first defeat in two matches, having won against Railways in the opener yesterday. Punjab and Sind Bank led 2-0 at half time against Karnataka XI. The bankmen muffed some good chances otherwise the score would have been much higher in their favour. Kulwinder Singh (24th) and Harpreet Singh (35th) scored a goal each in the first session. After the lemon break Kulwinder Singh(56th), Jatinderpal Singh(59th) and Baljit Singh Chandi (70th) scored a goal each to make it 5-0 for the bank side. In the first match of the day,Bharat Petroleum scored two goals in each half to down SAI XI. Syed Irshad Ali and Ajay Saroha scored off penalty corners in 10th and 12th minutes respectively to put Bharat Petroleum ahead 2-0. Former Olympian Ravi Naikar made it 3-0 for the oilmen in the 42nd minute when he also sent the ball home following a penalty corner. SAI XI came back into the game as they scored two goals in a space of two minutes to reduce the lead to 2-3. B. Lakra scored in the 48th minute and the Kalim Khan reduced the lead further when he scored in the 50th minute. However, International M.K. Prakash sealed the match in favour of Bharat Petroleum when he converted a stroke,makig it 4-2 in the 64th minute. UNI
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PU to clash with Pbi varsity Ludhiana, November 20 On the penultimate day of the tournament, the last two league fixtures, between Punjabi University, Patiala, and Delhi University and between Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, ended in similar fashion, 1-1 draw. Patiala lads, with eight points, secured their entry into the final. Chandigarh boys along with Delhi varsity were tied at second spot with eight points each, however, the former made it to the title clash on the basis of goal average. Chandigarh scored 10 goals against eight scored by Delhi and conceded six goals against seven of Delhi University. In the first half of the match between Punjabi University, Patiala, and Delhi University the teams lacked coordination. With the encounter just four minutes into the second session, Punjabi University surged ahead through a superb field goal scored by Pardeep. Trying to score the eqauliser, Delhi boys made relentless raids and forced five penalty corners but failed to avail any of these chances. Their pressure tactics paid dividents with few seconds to go for the long hooter when Kulbir Singh of Delhi dodged past deep defenders to enter the danger zone and also found the goalkeeper off gaurd to sound the board (1-1). In the second match of the day, Chaudhary Charan Singh University went into an early lead (7th minute) through Amrit Sandhu. Panjab University, Chandigarh, levelled the score in the 18th minute through Rajinder Singh. |
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Alisha beats Amrita Seth Amritsar, November 20 However, scarcity of umpires in the ranking tournament has led to unrest among players and several matches had to be stopped to reach at amicable solution. In the boys (u-16) matches top seeded Vivek Shokeen of Delhi outplayed Nitish Raj of UP 6-3, 7-5, Sunit P. Gupta of UP defeated Vijit Sehgal of Delhi 6-3, 6-0 and Rohan Gide of Maharashtra got past Honey Rana 6-3, 6-0. In the girls (u-16) Taskeen Bains of Chandigarh trounced Nikunj Kamal 6-4, 6-2; Sanjana Kapoor of Delhi beat Simar of Chandigarh 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; Daksha of Maharashtra outclassed Shilpi Jaiswal 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and Amrita Seth of Delhi defeated Jaya Vatvani of the same city 7-5, 6-2. In the girls (u-14) section Taskeen Bains of Chandigarh beat Sanjana Kapoor 6-3, 7-6, 7-4; Daksha Muley of Maharashtra outclassed G. Janaki Rao of Andhra Pradesh 6-3, 6-3 and Anukriti Prasad outplayed Jilke Nelord of Delhi 6-2, 6-3. In the boys (u-14) section V. Shiri Hari of AP beat Rahul Belwal of Delhi 6-4, 6-2; Pritam Jassi defeated Pankaj Thapa of Delhi 7-5, 6-4; Ankit Goswami of Delhi thrashed Harkanwal Preet 6-3, 7-6 and Kinchuk Sharma of Chandigarh took advantage as his opponent Gursher Harika seeded 2 of the same city conceded the match due to injury. |
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Ferozepore
boys take on Jalandhar Ferozepore, November 20 In the first semifinal Ferozepore boys defeated Bathinda 2-0. Navdeep Singh scored the first goal in the 19th minute and Mandeep Singh the second goal in the 67th minute to complete the tally. Appu of Ferozepore had a good match and foiled many attacks. In the second semifinal Jalandhar defeated Fatehgarh Sahib 1-0. Amrit Bhargava scored the lone goal in the 55th minute of the game. In another thrilling match Moga girls got past Muktsar 2-0. Amandeep Kaur (senior) scored the first goal in the 52nd minute, dribbling the ball into the goal beating five players. The second goal was scored a couple of minutes after the first one by Amandeep Kaur (junior). |
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ADELAIDE: England cricket captain Nasser Hussain urged his injury-hit team to remain positive ahead of the second cricket Test at the Adelaide Oval beginning tomorrow. It might be easier said than done. 
