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Friday,
November 22, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Dravid all praise
for Agarkar Chetan Sharma
writes Vaughan’s century lifts England
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Change of fortune for France, Holland Tollygunge beat Mahindras Panjab University win hockey title Hockey tourney from Nov 29
Taskin Bains moves into finals Randhawa in
sole lead
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India carve out 3-wicket win Jodhpur, November 21
In the first low-scoring match of the series, India bundled out West Indies for 201 in 46.3 overs, setting themselves a modest asking rate of 4.04 runs an over. The home team made a complete mess of the meagre target, compared to the totals the two teams have chased in this series, before scampering home in 46.2 overs to square the series 3-3. Rahul Dravid, captain of the side in absence of Sourav Ganguly, led from the front topscoring with 58. His 99-run association with Yuvraj Singh helped India recover from the early loss of three wickets. Yuvraj scored 54 from 64 balls with six fours. But both the batsmen got out in quick succession as India lost three wickets in two overs with the addition of just one run to land in trouble at 148 for six (rpt six) in the 35th over. But Mohammad Kaif and his new-found ally in that role Sanjay Bangar batted sensibly after that to bring their side within sniffing distance of victory. With 15 runs required for win, Kaif got out for 15 but Bangar and Ajit Agarkar carried the team through. Bangar remained unbeaten on 32 off 38 balls and Agarkar, later declared Man-of-the-Match for his three wicket haul on six. The victory, which continued the trend of the team batting second finishing the winner in this series, meant that Dravid has now won all the three matches he has led India in. He had earlier led India to victories against Zimbabwe at Rajkot in 2000 and Sri Lanka in Colombo last year. The two teams now move to Vijayawada for the decider on Sunday. Earlier, the newly-discovered batting might of West Indies crumbled for the first time in the series, thanks to some fine bowling performance by left-arm spinner Murali Kartik and all-rounder Ajit Agarkar, both of whom claimed three wickets apiece. Only top-scorer Shivnarine Chanderpaul and skipper Carl Hooper could put some resistance, scoring 58 and 38 respectively, but the other batsmen failed to supplement their efforts and West Indies slide started early in their innings. India did not have a good start either as they lost their first three wickets with just 48 runs on the board. The flamboyant Virender Sehwag was out after scoring 18 runs off 20 balls with three boundaries while Sourav Ganguly’s replacement Dinesh Mongia could manage only five. When V.V.S. Laxman was out to a spectacular one-handed catch by Chris Gayle after making seven from 19 balls, West Indies looked to be fighting back into the match. But Dravid and Yuvraj batted comfortably thereafter, scoring runs easily to seize the initiative back for the home team. Dravid, who is in very fine form this season, played a few glorious drives and cut shots, bringing up his 50 from 66 balls that contained five hits to the fence. Yuvraj took some time to get going but once he found his rhythm, he toyed with the West Indian attack. The duo took the score to 147 in the 34th over when everything started going wrong for the Indians. Yuvraj, who completed his eighth one-day half-century, chipped a simple catch to Ricardo Powell when Corey Collymore came to bowl in his second spell. Earlier, Kartik and Agarkar unsettled the West Indian innings with their early strikes. For the first time in the series, West Indies faced starting troubles with three-time centurion in this series, Gayle and his opening partner Wavell Hinds, who had struck a blazing 61-ball 80 in the previous match at Baroda, finding the going very tough against Javagal Srinath and Agarkar. SCOREBOARD West Indies: Gayle lbw b Kartik 27 Hinds c Mongia b Agarkar 1 Samuels b Kartik 3 Sarwan b Kartik 14 Chanderpaul c Dravid b Agarkar 58 R. Powell lbw b Sehwag 29 Hooper c and b Bangar 38 Jacobs run out 9 Drakes b Bangar 0 Collins c Bangar b Agarkar 2 Collymore not out 2 Extras (b-1, lb-8, w-7, nb-2) 18 Total (all out in 46.3 overs) 201 FoW: 1-34, 2-42, 3-47, 4-74, 5-135, 6-183, 7-193, 8-193, 9-197. Bowling: Srinath 8.3-1-28-0, Agarkar 9-1-24-3, Bangar 10-2-39-2, Kartik 10-1-36-3, Mongia 3-0-24-0, Sehwag 6-0-41-1. India: Mongia c Jacobs b Drakes 5 Sehwag c Samuels b Drakes 18 Laxman c Gayle b Collins 7 Dravid c Powell b Drakes 58 Yuvraj c Powell b Collymore 54 Kaif c Powell b Collins 15 Sodhi c Jacobs b Collymore 1 Bangar not out 32 Agarkar not out 6 Extras (w-2, nb-4) 6 Total (7 wkts, 46.2 overs) 202 FoW: 1-19, 2-26, 3-48, 4-147, 5-147, 6-148, 7-187. Bowling:
Collins 10-1-38-2, Drakes 10-0-38-3, Collymore 9.2-0-42-2, Hooper 4-0-19-0, Gayle 4-0-28-0, Samuels 4-0-37-0.
PTI
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Dravid all praise for Agarkar Jodhpur, November 21 “We have won our final matches in the last few games and there is no reason why we can’t do it in Vijayawada,” Dravid said after India’s three wicket win over West Indies in the sixth one-day match here. Dravid, who has proved lucky for the team having led India to victories in the all the three matches he has skippered, would be leading the side in the final match too since Sourav Ganguly has been rested. But the stylish Karnataka batsman, whose impressive 58-run knock played a key role in India’s victory today, said that was purely incidental. “Its just been three matches. So we can’t read too much into it. The fact is that we have been batting quite well in this series and today we bowled well too. I think we have a very good chance of winning in Vijayawada,” he said. Dravid was full of praise for all-rounder Ajit Agarkar who became the first bowler to be declared Man of the Match in this series after he returned figures of three for 24 from nine overs. Agarkar himself looked quite satisfied with his performance especially since he was dropped from the side after the first three matches.
PTI |
| Chetan Sharma
writes It was the kind of a game where each run was fought as if the game depended on it. In the end, India did well to come out winners in a close contest and they now go to Vijayawada with honours even. Though there still remained minor problems, I was most pleased with the splendid showing by the Indian bowlers. Credit goes to them for an inspired performance in the morning when they denied easy runs to the West Indian batsmen, tying them up instead. Had they not restricted West Indies to 201, the result could have been different because it became difficult for the batsmen to play their shots in the afternoon. Had West Indies scored about 30 runs more, they would have wrapped up the series here itself. Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik were the pick of Indian bowlers and it is all the more sweet for them that they were trying to secure their place in the side. Agarkar had been dropped from the team midway in the series while Kartik has never been a regular member but today they staked their rightful claims for the New Zealand tour and the World Cup next year. It is amazing how dropping a player can sometime work wonders. We have seen how the two Punjab players, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh were given shock treatment by selectors not so long ago and how they came back into the side with performances which could not be ignored. See, how Yuvraj and Harbhajan have become match-winners now with their ability to swing the match in their team’s favour. Agarkar must have gone through a similar experience and I just feel he should not get complacent now. He has the calibre and it is only a matter of his believing in it. I was impressed also with Javagal Srinath’s bowling with the new ball and Sanjay Bangar with the old one. But as I have been saying for long, the day our bowlers add consistency to their bowling, the Indian team’s winning percentage will go up. I must also commend Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh’s batting. They got together when India were 48 for 3 and it was their partnership which put India back in the game. Both batted beautifully and though they were helped to a large extent by unimaginative field placing by the West Indies captain Carl Hooper, they dominated the proceedings completely. Dravid has had an outstanding year of international cricket and I just wish he continues like this at least till the World Cup is over. On the other hand, Yuvraj is a gifted stroke player who bats with maturity when the team needs it. He is a crisis man and if you look at his record, he has rarely let his team down in such circumstances. He is the player for future. Unfortunately, Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Mongia failed once more. I am afraid chances are running out for Mongia, who is a good fielder but without runs against his name, he may also face the axe soon. So, we are all set for an interesting finish to what has been an engrossing series so far. The bat had ruled the ball till today’s match and I have a feeling that the last match will also be full of surprises for us. |
Vaughan’s century lifts England Adelaide, November 21 The verdict went to the third umpire Steve Davis, who after repeated viewings of replays, gave Vaughan the benefit of the doubt through the technology. It was a significant turning point in the first day’s play with Vaughan going on to score his first century against Australia. Vaughan failed to bat out the full day by just three balls when he edged Andy Bichel to Shane Warne to be out for 177. At the close, England were 295 for four with Mark Butcher to resume on Friday at 22 not out. Vaughan batted for 371 minutes and faced 306 balls. He hit 22 fours and three sixes. There were two other occasions when the third umpire was called in to adjudicate and both times Davis ruled in England’s favour. Marcus Trescothick was rightly given not out for a caught-and-bowled appeal by Bichel and Robert Key survived a tight stumping appeal by Adam Gilchrist off Shane Warne. Lambasted after their abysmal 384-run defeat in the first Brisbane Test and forced into three team changes through injury, England savoured a heartening day on what has been a nightmarish tour. In contrast, Australia fumbled through the day, putting down five catches, admittedly some difficult, but for a team with a crack fielding reputation they were not beyond their capabilities. Skipper Nasser Hussain was dropped twice in the slips by Damien Martyn and Warne before he succumbed to a catch by ‘keeper Adam Gilchrist off Warne for 47. Before the start of play there were fears that Vaughan would not even get on to the field after wrenching his right knee in catching drills, yet he went out to open the innings with Trescothick with his wonky knee strapped. It is the same knee that Vaughan had an arthoscopy performed on after the home series against India this year. Vaughan did a victory jig 35 minutes before tea when he scampered through for two off Bichel to raise his sixth Test century. It has been a sensational six months for 28-year-old Vaughan, who scored 115 against Sri Lanka at the Lord’s last May and then followed up with back-to-back hundreds (100 and 197) against India at the Lord’s and Nottingham and then 195 in the fourth Test at The Oval in September. England (1st innings): Trescothick b McGrath 35 Vaughan c Warne b
Key c Ponting b Warne 1 Hussain c Gilchrist b
Butcher batting 22 Extras (lb-6, nb-7) 13 Total (for 4 wkts in
Fall of wickets: 1-88, 2-106, 3-246, 4-295 Bowling: McGrath 21-7-62-1, Gillespie 20-5-68-0, Bichel
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Change of fortune for France, Holland Paris, November 21
France, humiliated at a World Cup in which as defending champions they failed even to score, walked past Yugoslavia 3-0 at the Stade de France while Holland, who did not even qualify for the summer jamboree, came away from finalists and neighbours Germany with a 3-1 scoreline in their favour. Of the two it was the Dutch result which will make the continent sit up and take notice — even if Rudi Voller’s Germans were without several regulars and in Fredi Bobic turned to a striker who had not pulled on Die Mannschaft’s shirt in four years. Bobic found the target at the Schalke Arena but that was a rare bright spot as Germany fell victim to a second-half smash and grab by two strikers based in the English Premiership, Chelsea forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaik and Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy netting in the closing stages after Bobic had equalised Barcelona star Patrick Kluivert’s opener. Sebastian Kehl was the villain for the Germans as he conceded possession to Rafael van der Vaart, who quickly found Hasselbaink and his unerring low shot past German keeper Oliver Kahn did the rest on 69 minutes. Nine minutes later and with the Germans reeling, Van Nistelrooy made the win safe when he fired home from a teasing Clarence Seedorf cross. The Manchester United striker insisted the Dutch hadn’t even played that well. “That wasn’t a world class performance from us — we didn’t play well in the first half when the Germans played pretty well. But after the break we got better and 3-1 is a great result for us.” Kahn was fulsome in his praise for the Dutch. “They are peerless in attack. They took off two world class strikers — and sent another two on in their place,” Hasselbaink having replaced Deportivo La Coruna’s Roy Makaay after 65 minutes and Van Nistelrooy having come on for Kluivert at the interval, the Barca man wanting to save his legs to face Real Madrid later in the week. France have been making strides under new coach Jacque Santini, having raced to the head of their Euro 2004 qualifying group. And against Yugoslavia they showed that they hardly need Manchester City star Nicolas Anelka, who refused to turn out for a coach who sees him only as a second choice striker. Given that Arsenal pair Sylvain Wiltord and Thierry Henry are the first choice pairing, just ahead of Fulham’s Steve Marlet and precocious Lyon starlet Sidney Govou — unavailable yesterday through injury — the door could have shut for the last time on the surly Anelka. While Lyon midfielder Eric Carriere earned many of the plaudits for scoring twice — in 12th and 50th minutes — for Les Bleus Auxerre forward Olivier Kapo hit the third and staked his own claim, while Lens debutant Daniel Moreira also moved up the pecking order as he came on for 15 minutes in place of the tiring Henry. Santini reflected: “This win is important for our aim which is the continuity of results. “I wasn’t surprised by Eric Carriere’s double.” In the absence of Zinedine Zidane, out with a nagging back problem, the French showed that — unlike last summer — they can function admirably without him. They likewise had to make do without Arsenal midfielders Patrick Vieira, who had racked up 44 straight caps. Skipper Marcel Desailly won his 102nd cap and now need just one to overtake World Cup-winning skipper Didier Deschamps for the French record. Christian Vieri took the pressure off embattled coach Giovanni Trapattoni when he got the equaliser in Italy’s 1-1 draw with World Cup semifinalists Turkey in Pescara. Vieri struck with a low shot from a tight angle just before half-time after Emre Belozoglu, who plays his football in Italy with Inter Milan, had given Turkey the lead.
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Tollygunge beat Mahindras Kolkata, November 21 Both teams were locked 1-1 at half time. While striker Ashim Biswas put Tollygunge in the lead with a fine header in the 19th minute, Mahindra restored parity through defender O. Lawson three minutes before the breather. After the change of ends the hosts struck twice successively through substitute forward Laltu Das and striker Akeem in the 54th and 67th minutes, respectively. Mahindra striker Samson reduced the margin for the Mumbai outfit a few seconds before close. The teams have so far collected three points from two outings each. Mahindra, which spent a big amount to prepare its team this season, were definitely favourites on paper at least, having a number of internationals in their fold. But they failed to combine well and shone in patches only. Besides their deep defence cracked whenever there was any pressure. In the last NFL also Tollygunge beat Mahindra 1-0 at home. Tollygunge, placed ahead of Mahindra in the last National League, had a better showing and seemed a determined lot from the beginning and took over the control as the match progressed. Both the foreign recruits of Tollygunge, Isiaka Awoami and strikers Akeem today proved their mettle. On the other hand, none of the foreigners in Mahindra could impress while their internationals, including Debajit Ghosh, Sur Kumar Singh, R P Singh and R C Prakash, failed to get into their stride. It was Mahindra, which came near scoring first as early as in the fifth minute, but an alert Tollygunge keeper Amar Deb smartly held a back volley by R C Prakash. Tollygunge soon after started dominating and forged ahead nine minutes later when Ashim Biswas headed home an accurate centre from right by Akeem (1-0). UNI |
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Panjab University win hockey title Ludhiana, November 21 After dominating during the initial stages, Punjabi University, Patiala, capitalised on a chance, midway through the first half. Amardeep Singh weaved a fine move and managed to
storm into the Chandigarh’s danger area where he executed a fine shot and Pardeep gave the ball direction as it rolled into the net. Chandigarh lads pressed hard for the equaliser and made repeated forays into their rivals’ citadel. Their forwards sneaked into the striking circle time and again and finally in the 28th minute, Sandeep converted a penalty corner to level the score at one-all. After changing ends, Sandeep added another goal through a penalty corner conversion in the 38th minute. Chandigarh lads pumped in one more goal through Gaurav to make it 3-1 and Jugraj Singh off a Gurjinder Singh pass, made it 4-1. In the 53rd minute, Chandigarh boys wasted a golden chance to increase the lead when Rajinder Singh could convert a penalty stroke awarded to them in the 55th minute while Patiala lads reduced the margin in the 60th minute through Dilbagh Singh 4-2. Ramneet and Amarjet Singh, both of PAU, Ludhiana, were adjudged the best goalkeeper and best full-back, respectively while Patiala’s Pardeep was declared the best forward and Gaurav of Panjab University, Chandigarh was named the best half. In the second exhibition match (women), Haryana XI defeated Punjab XI 4-0 to wrap up the series 2-0. The scorers were Jasjeet Kaur (2), Balvinder Kaur and Jaspret Kaur (one each). Mr Sardool Singh, Minister for Excise and Taxation, Punjab, gave away prizes to the winners. |
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Hockey tourney from Nov 29 Pathankot, November 21 The teams which have given the consent are Signals, BSF, Phagwara Academy, BME Jalandhar, CRPF, 5 Sikh Ramgarh, Sail Academy, New Delhi, Surjit Academy. Air India, RCF Kapurthala, ITBP Roorkie. The state championship will be inaugurated on November 29 by Mr KAP Sinha DC Gurdaspur and prize distribution function will be presided over by Mr Jagmohan Singh Kang Sports Minister, Punjab, on December 1. |
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Strong field for Tata Open
Chennai, November 21 Apart from defending champion Argentina’s Guilermo Canas and runner-up Paradorn Srichaphan, the main draw will also feature the likes of Mark Philippoussis (Australia), Karol Kucera (Slovakia), the direct entry cut-off being world No 113 as against the 117 last year. Philippoussis makes his maiden entry in the ATP event here. While the Indian ace Leander Paes and Prakash Amritaraj have already been given a wild card in the singles, Mahesh Bhupathi will be eyeing to retain his doubles title. Canas, world No 15, and Busan gold medallist Srichaphan, who leaped to No 16 from No 112 in the rankings, and the Netherland’s Sjeng Schalken, who reached world rank 20 this year, are the three among the top rankers in the field for the seventh edition of the country’s biggest tennis event. “With the lowest cut-off in tournament history, it is an extremely strong field, which will make for exciting action,” said new Tournament Director Fernando Soler from IMG Barcelona while announcing the field at a press conference here today. With the confirmation of Canas, Srichaphan, Kucera and Andrei Pavel (Romania), the entire semifinal line up of the last edition returns to the tournament this year too. Another big name is 2000 winner Jerome Golmard of France. Qualifying events would be held on December 28 and 29 and the main draw starts from December 30 with the finals slated for January 5. Winner of the tournament will get 35 ATP Champions Race points, runner-up 24, semifinalists 15, quarterfinalists eight and round of 16 three and main draw one point each.
Bhupathi not be pair with Paes Ace Indian doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi will have a new partner when he sets out to defend the title that he won with Leander Paes at the Tata Open 2003. Ruling out pairing with estranged partner Paes, Bhupathi said “I have not yet decided on my partner. I have a couple of options and will finalise within a week or so.” Bhupathi, who has already announced Joshua Eagle as his partner for the whole of next year, also said Max Mirnyi, with whom he won this year’s US Open doubles, would not be available for the Tata Open. “Max has said he wants to concentrate on singles,” Bhupathi said replying to questions at a press conference here today. His announcement pours cold water on hopes that the most
successful Indian pair may come together at Chennai, from where they began their winning streak in 1997. However, Bhupathi said he would not rule out Paes for the entire future. Paes and Bhupathi reunited for the Busan Asian Games where they clinched the gold. Asked whether he had quit singles, Bhupathi said “I have shut out of singles.
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| Taskin Bains moves into finals Amritsar, November 21 On the penultimate day besides the players, their parents and ground staff, there were hardly any spectators. In another match in the U-14 section Anukriti Prasad outplayed Alisha Talwar 6-2, 6-2 whereas in the girls (U-16). VS Siri Hari of Andhra Pradesh successfully knocked out his opponent Pritam Jassi of Chandigarh in the boys 6-3, 6-1 and Kinshuk Sharma of Chandigarh outclassed Ankit Goswami of Delhi 6-2, 6-4 in the other match of the U-14 section. In the boys (U-16) top-seeded Vivek Shokeen of Delhi trounced Sumit P. Gupta of UP 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 and in the other semifinal second seed Rohan Gide of Maharashtra beat local lad Kushagar Mahajan 6-2, 6-4. |
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Randhawa in sole lead New Delhi, November 21
According to information received here, the 30-year-old Randhawa, a four-time winner on the Davidoff Tour, was one stroke clear of the three-man pack, which included world No. 8 Irish star Padraig Harrington. Randhawa’s superb card had just one bogey while having the advantage of six birdies and one eagle in tough playing conditions at Ta Shee Golf and Country Club, which also saw some rain on a gloomy day. India had something else to cheer about too with Arjun Singh, who had a four-under 68, placed tied tenth. Vijay Kumar with a one-under 71 was joint 31st and Arjun Atwal was tied 54th. Vivek Bhandari with a one-over 73 was tied for 68th but Amandeep Johl had a poor five-over 77 and he was way down in the tied 111th spot. A delighted Randhawa, who needed just 27 putts in all, said: “I putted really well, which was the key to my round. I read the greens really well.” Harrington, fresh from another successful season in Europe, enjoyed a bogey-free 66 and was in joint second place with Germany’s Sven Struver and Dutchman Maarten Lafeber. Last year’s BMW Asian Open winner Jarmo Sandelin, trying to land an early wedding gift for himself, sparkled as well, firing a flawless 67 to be just two off the pace while American two-time Major winner John Daly carded a 70.
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