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Wednesday,
December 4, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Intriguing battle awaits Indians
Shane Bond ready to unsettle Indians Harbhajan has fever Windies wrap up series with win Haryana take on J&K today
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Air-India win Shastri hockey title Bilaspur, Kangra win HP athletics meet Kurukshetra varsity win MCM, DAV win b’minton titles PSCB beat Chandigarh Formidables
win title Haryana boxing starts
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Intriguing battle awaits Indians Christchurch, December 3 Indians play their tour opener against the home side tomorrow where both teams play two innings each yet the match must be completed within three and half hours. As if this is not bizarre enough, boundaries are worth eight and 12 runs if hit in the Max zone; the next ball to a no-ball and a wide is necessarily just that and a free hit; and besides 11 men in the field, an additional specialist fielder is allowed. Super Max is a game of hit and giggle but already a part of New Zealand’s domestic schedule and could be cricket’s master plan to spread its pitch in affluent European and US market. The match permits 10 overs in each innings to two teams which must be completed in 45 minutes. A Max Zone is deep in front of a batsman on strike where no fielder is allowed as the ball is being delivered though a catch inside the marked area is legal. A brainchild of former New Zealand player and now television commentator Martin Crowe, Max cricket is part of a staple of sports programmes dished out by Sky Television and tomorrow’s game will be telecast live in India. “The two innings format means the game is rarely dead even after first innings like in a one-dayer,” said Crowe. “It also forces bowlers to develop strategies to bowl at the death and batsmen are expected to hit straight. “As for no-ball, the next ball is a free hit because no batsman in the history of the game has ever heard a no-ball call early and done anything with it.” Indians have let it be known they are not too serious about the game though New Zealand is treating it as absolutely vital to their plans this summer. Captain Ganguly only knows it is a 10-over game and even coach John Wright has only seen it on television. But New Zealand Cricket boss Martin Snedden is hoping it clicks with the audience in India and give it an impetus. “If they enjoy Max cricket, it could take off in a big way,” said Snedden “At the moment it is not taken seriously.” The hosts are fielding their strongest team led by star allrounder Chris Cairns, missing from the line-up for the first Test next week. The squad also includes some hard-hitting batsmen - Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan and Scott Styris besides the skipper himself. New Zealand team: Chris Cairns (capt), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Tama Canning, Chris Harris, Paul Hitchcock, Brendon McCallum, Craig McMillan, Chris Nevin, Jacob Oram and Scott Styris. PTI
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Shane Bond ready to unsettle Indians
Christchurch, December 3 “I think the first Test is our big chance to hit them when they’re not used to the colder weather and the wickets,” said the sensational New Zealand fast bowler Bond, who is in terrific form clocking the fifth fastest delivery in the history at 151.3 km per hour this season. “They have some truly great batsmen and there is much less margin of error for us — but if they are mentally strong, I can be stronger,” said Bond. India will play two Test matches besides seven one-day internationals during their tour of New Zealand. Bond, a policeman, burst on to the international scene in the VB series in Australia last season, taking 21 wickets from nine games to be adjudged the ‘player of the series’. His five for 25 against Australia was the best figures by a New Zealander and he snaffled Australia’s best one-day batsman Ricky Ponting in every match. After a foot injury, he rolled over the West Indies on dull pitches, picking up two five-wicket hauls as New Zealand recorded their first ever series win in the Caribbean earlier this year. “After Australia, I think India are the next best batting line-up, some would even debate that if you lined the two up against each other.” Bond said his team was fully prepared to face the visitors and added he was confident to scalp the “key” Indians. “We started doing homework on the Indians when they were in Sri Lanka. We have tapes coming in from England from their series there for our video analyst as well,” said the bowler. “To get those key wickets, you have to be patient even if it means not going for the wicket every ball but just wearing them down. “It may take 10 overs rather than three to get to them but I’ll back myself to get those important wickets,” said the tearaway Bond, who features in the line-up for tomorrow’s ‘Super Max’ game against the tourists. Even though Bond will have only four overs to bowl, he would look to establish an early dominance against Sachin Tendulkar and company with his blistering pace. “My role is to bowl fast...I need to generate speed to knock them over. It’s all about putting the ball in the right area to try and get right up there. “They look like they’ve come from pretty flat tracks in India so if our wickets do a bit and bounce, we can beat them.” Bond was adamant the foot fracture that took him out of last summer’s home series with England just after he had become a headline act in Australia was a blessing in disguise. “In all fairness, when I went to Australia for the Test series, my preparations were not ideal. I wasn’t as strong and as fit as I could have been, having to work as a policeman around cricket. In hindsight, that break after the injury was probably something I needed. I got on a diet, lost a bit of weight, worked on my action and assessed what I needed to do to be a pro athlete. When I came back, it all added up to some good performances in the Windies. I’ve had another two months training now - I’m leaner and stronger. The importance of having Bond in the side prompted the New Zealand Cricket to place a restriction on the fast bowler not bowling more than 40 overs in a four-day match or 25 overs in an innings for Warwickshire next season. Bond replaced South African captain Shaun Pollock as the overseas player for the English County side Warwickshire. Named player of the year, Bond is among the 20 offered contract by the NZC and is absolutely amazed at how the year has panned out. “It is amazing and I keep telling my family I have gone through from a nobody to a hero in a matter of a year.” The tearaway fast bowler was confident that success against the Indians will only add to his growing stature. PTI
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Harbhajan has fever
Christchurch, December 3 Harbhajan, the lynchpin of Indian attack now that leg- spinner Anil Kumble has opted out of the Test series, apparently has had fever on and off in the last few days and was being provided medical attention this evening. “It is nothing to get worried about and I should be well in a matter of a day,” said Harbhajan, who nevertheless, will be on bench in tomorrow’s game as a precautionary measure. As if the fever was not enough, Harbhajan has been having a torrid time receiving calls on the shoe incident which is denying him any rest. That his family back home too has faced a barrage of calls in the last one day did not help matters. As more light is shed on the matter, it appears the fine had less to do with the cleanliness of the shoes and more with the number of pair of shoes declared. It seems cricketers didn’t remember correctly the number of pair of shoes they were carrying in their kit. According to New Zealand’s customs rules, any used pair of shoes in a baggage must be declared correctly. Besides Harbhajan, it is also doubtful whether captain Saurav Ganguly and his deputy Rahul Dravid will be seen in tomorrow’s game. The Indians would like to treat this game in a festive spirit only and not much seriousness is being attached to it. PTI
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Windies
wrap up series with win
Dhaka, December 3 Chasing a formidable West Indies total of 281 runs, Bangladesh scored 195 for nine wickets in 50 overs in the day-night match at Dhaka’s Bangabandhu National Stadium. The West Indies had won the second match of the series by 84 runs yesterday. The opening game was rained out. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels hit classy half-centuries to help the West Indies pile up 281 for five in 50 overs. Scoreboard West Indies: Gayle c Mashud b Sanwar 73 Hinds b Tapash 16 Samuels b Rafique 77 Sarwan c Rafique b Naimur 28 Powell not out 36 Jacobs run out 23 Nagamootoo not out 9 Extras
(b-1, lb-10, w-7, nb-1) 19 Total (5 wkts, 50 overs) 281 Fall of wickets:
1-46, 2-154, 3-200, 4-208, 5-270. Bowling: Manjural 10-0-77-0, Tapash 10-0-55-1, Rafique 10-0-45-1, Naimur 10-0-32-1, Haque 3.3-0-22-0, Sanwar 3.3-0-16-1, Ashraful 3-0-23-0. Bangladesh Huq lbw b Drakes 20 A Hossain c Hinds Powell 42 Ashraful c Hinds b Drakes 1 S Hossain c Jacobs b Drakes 5 Imran lbw b Drakes 0 Kapali not out 89 Mashud b Gayle 16 Rahman c and b Gayle 7 Rafique lbw b Gayle 0 Baisya lbw b Cuffy 0 Islam not out 2 Extras:
(b-1, lb-2, w-7, nb-3) 13 Total (9 wickets, 50 overs) 195 Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-32, 3-42, 4-42, 5-109, 6-151, 7-171, 8-171, 9-172. Bowling: Drakes 10-1-33-4, Cuffy 10-0-43-1, Powell 10-2-34-1, Nagamootoo 10-0-45-0, Gayle 10-2-37-3.
AFP
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Haryana
take on J&K today Rohtak, December 3 The tournament is being hosted by Haryana and stumps will simultaneously be pitched at two other venues namely Gurgaon and Faridabad also. According to Mr Ranbir Singh Mahendra, secretary, Haryana Cricket Association, Jitender Singh, who has been leading the side this season in Ranji Trophy four-day tourney, has been appointed Haryana’s skipper for one day matches also. The zonal champions of last year, Haryana will go all out to win this match as their rivals tomorrow are not as strong as other teams in the zone namely Punjab, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh against whom the hosts are to play subsequent
matches. There are no heavyweights in both the teams for tomorrow’s match. Haryana will definitely miss skipper Ajay Ratra who has joined the Indian team following his selection for the New Zealand tour. The Haryana side is comparatively young and lacks experience although they have recalled former skipper Parinder Sharma and left arm leg spinner Sonu Sharma. Both the teams will declare their final eleven prior to the start of the match tomorrow. However, Mr Mahendra gave the names of 15-member squad for tomorrow’s match. In other matches tomorrow Services take on Delhi at Gurgaon and Punjab take on Himachal Pradesh at Faridabad. |
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India
win Faridabad, December 3 Batting first, India made 162 runs in the allotted 20 overs. In reply England were all out for only 87 runs. Baljinder Singh of India was declared the ‘man of the match’.
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Air-India win Shastri hockey title
New Delhi, December 3 Captain Vikram Pillay, Pundalik Bellary and Sandeep Michael scored the goals for Air-India while the losers reduced the margin through skipper Dilip Tirkey. The star-studded Airlines were to be blamed for their defeat as their forwards squandered many chances to score goals and the defenders committed blunders inside the circle, which Air-India exploited well to emerge victorious. This was Airlines’ second defeat in the final of an important tournament within a week. They were pipped 2-3 by Punjab Police in the summit clash of the Nehru hockey tournament last Monday. After a goal-less first-half, which saw many opportunities go a begging, Air-India took the lead in the 37th minute when Vikram Pillay converted a penalty corner. While attempting to score the equaliser, Airlines erred giving too much space inside the circle to opposition strikers, which helped Bellary score a brilliant field goal to make it 2-0. In a counter-attack Pundari dribbled past couple of Airlines defenders before passing it to Kishore Kumar, who again pushed the ball inside the circle which was put into the goal by the Air-India striker. A demoralised Airlines team tried to up the tempo and got a penalty corner when Pillay was blocked inside the circle. The resultant penalty corner was converted by Tirkey in the 53rd minute. Airlines striker Dhanraj Pillay, who was brilliant in the match against Bangladesh XI in the semifinals yesterday, failed to recreate his magic as he was effectively marked by the Air-India defenders, particularly Anil Aldrin. Dhanraj Pillay struggled to get past the defenders on many occasions and hardly had any opportunity to test the goalkeeper. Besides missing six out of the seven penalty corners they got, Airlines also failed to score on a couple of occasions due to poor finishing. Mukesh Kumar was the culprit when he failed to guide the ball inside the open net after getting a pass from Vinay S from the right in the second half. Air-India took a comfortable 3-1 lead in the 56th minute when Sandeep Michael scored a field goal to leave the opposition gasping. PTI
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Bilaspur, Kangra win HP athletics meet Hamirpur, December 3 Kumari Pushpa Thakur of Hamirpur district won the best athlete title by claiming gold medal in 100m, 200m, 400m and 800 metres. Anil Sharma of Hamirpur district won the best male athlete prize by claiming gold medals in 100m, 200m, 400m and 4x100m relay. Mr Balbir Badaliya, Additional District Magistrate, Hamirpur, gave away the prizes to the winners here this evening. In boys U-20 section Sirmaur district were first while Bilaspur district came second. Sanjeet of Una was adjudged the best athlete. In the girls U-20 Kangra district won the title and the second place went to Mandi district. Promila of Kangra won the best athlete prize by claiming gold in 100m, 200m, 400m and 800 metres races. Una district won the U-16 boys championship while second place was won by Solan district. Virendra of Una and Pritam Singh of Chamba districts won the best athlete prize jointly. In the girls section Kangra district won the championship while Hamirpur were second. Subbu Thakur of Chamba and Manju of Kangra district were declared joint best athletes.
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Kurukshetra
varsity win Amritsar, December 3 In the first match of the day Calcutta University outplayed T.M. Bhagalpur University 18-4 while GGU Bhagalpur university outclassed Awadh University, Faizabad, 10-1. M.D. University, Rohtak, got the better of Kumaon university, Nainital, 19-5; APS Rewa defeated Kashmir University 15-5; Utkal University, Bhubneswar, defeated Bilaspur University 5-3, while in the last match of the day APS Rewa overcame SK Dumka University 11-9. The pre-quarterfinal matches will be played tomorrow. Last year’s top four teams, Punjabi University Patiala, runners-up Delhi University, Guru Nanak Dev University and Panjab University, Chandigarh, have also made it to the pre-quarterfinal stage. Mr Rajan Gupta IG (border range) was the chief guest and inaugurated the championship. Dr S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor of the host university presided over the function. |
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MCM, DAV win b’minton titles Chandigarh, December 3 In the women’s section, Panjab University campus got second place while Khalsa College For Women, Ludhiana, and SD College For Women, Moga, bagged the third and fourth places respectively. In the men’s section, the second place was secured by DM College, Moga, while third and fourth place went in favour of Panjab University campus, Chandigarh, and Government College, Ludhiana, respectively. The results: Women:
MCM DAV College For Women, Chandigarh b PU Campus, Chandigarh 2-0 (H. Sarda Devi b Nidhi 11-1,11-2; Isha and Roma b Amrit and Samritika 11-1, 11-0). Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana b SD College For Women, Moga 2-0 (Mandeep Kaur b Sandeep 11-6,11-0; Mandeep and Sukhpreet b Jasdeep and Sandeep 11-2,11-6). Men:
DAV College, Chandigarh b DM College, Moga 3-0 (Vikas b Sameer Luthra 15-0,15-0; Peeyush b Deepak 15-3,15-4; Gurjeet and Akash b Deepak and Amarjot 15-2, 15-7. PU Campus, Chandigarh b Govt College, Ludhiana 3-0 (Gurdev Singh b Mandeep Singh 15-0,15-9; Vikrant b Parmeet Singh 15-6,15-0; Vivek and Gurdev Singh b Mandeep Singh and Parmeet 15-2,15-1. |
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PSCB beat Chandigarh Sirsa, December 3 Results (Sub-Junior boys): Tamil Nadu b Bihar 3-0, Rajasthan b Himachal 3-1, Maharashtra ‘A’ b Pondicherry 3-0, Manipur b J&K 3-0, Delhi b Jharkhand 3-0, Madhya Pradesh b Meghalaya 3-1, Gujarat b Kerala 3-0, Punjab b Maharashtra ‘B’ 3-1, Punjab b Manipur 3-2, Maharashtra ‘B’ b Himachal 3-0, Chhatisgarh b Uttaranchal 3-1, Karnataka b Rajasthan 3-0, Chandigarh b Jharkhand 3-0, Pondicherry b Kerala 3-0, Orissa b J&K 3-1, Andhra Pradesh b Madhya Pradesh 3-1, Gujarat b Tripura 3-0, Haryana b Goa 3-0. Cadet boys:
Maharashtra ‘A’ b Madhya Pradesh 3-1, Karnataka b Chandigarh 3-0, Bengal b Mizoram 3-0, Uttaranchal b Rajasthan 3-1, Andhra Pradesh b Chhatisgarh 3-0, Meghalaya b Himachal 3-2, Haryana b Tripura 3-1, Gujarat b Manipur 3-1, Assam b Jharkhand 3-0, Maharashtra b Pondicherry 3-0, Delhi b Bihar 3-0, Orissa b Goa 3-1, Punjab b J&K 3-1, PSCB ‘A’ b Kerala 3-0, Maharashtra ‘A’ b Chandigarh 3-0, Karnataka b Madhya Pradesh 3-2, Bengal b Uttaranchal 3-0, Rajasthan b Mizoram 3-1, Andhra Pradesh b Himachal 3-0, Tamil Nadu b J&K 3-0, Uttar Pradesh b Kerala 3-0, Haryana b Manipur 3-1, Gujarat b Tripura 3-0, Assam b Pondicherry 3-0, Maharashtra b Jharkhand 3-0, Delhi b Goa 3-0, Orissa b Bihar 3-0. Cadet girls:
Tamil Nadu b Chhatisgarh 3-0, Assam b Chandigarh 3-0, Gujarat b Rajasthan 3-0, Uttaranchal b Himachal 3-1, Punjab b Jharkhand 3-0, Delhi b Tripura 3-0, Pondicherry b Chhatisgarh 3-0, Kerala b MP 3-0. |
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Formidables
win title Ludhiana, December 3 Playing steadily throughout, the team comprising Kiran
Nadar, B. Satyanarayana, K.R. Venkataraman, Subhash Gupta and Sunit Choksi earned 214 match points (MPs) to come out triumphant at the end of the three sessions.
Trambak Rubber, Kolkata (H.S. Bajoria, Sudhir Ganguly, Alok Sadhu,
A.B. Chakaraborty, B. Saha and Ajay Brahmchari with 203 MPs just managed to breeze past Choudhary Combines (M.K. Choudhary, Y. Kamalkar Rao, Geeta
Lakhani, MBV Subrahmanyam and K. Suryanarayana) which finished third with an aggregate of 202 MPs. In fourth place were Kolkata’s D.
Chakaborty’ IV.
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Haryana
boxing starts Bhiwani, December 3 In fly- weight category Pradeep of Yamunanagar defeated Chandrakant of Rewari, Jai Prakash of Bhiwani beat Naresh of Gurgaon, Shakti Singh of Fatehabad overcame Sunil of Karnal, Rajesh of Kaithal outboxed Ranjeet of Sirsa and Puneet Dutta of Faridabad defeated Annant of Hisar. In bantam weight category Vijender of Bhiwani defeated Jaidev of Jhajjar. In the 55-58 kg feather weight category Yadvender of Ambala defeated Sandeep of Hisar, Sunil (Rohtak) defeated Satish (Kaithal) and Nitin Bhardwaj (Yamunanagar) defeated Vikram of (Faridabad). In the light weight category Sham Lal (Kaithal) defeated Surender (Jind) Vijender (Bhiwani) beat Narender (Hisar) and Narayan of Gurgaon defeated Ram Swaroop of Chautala (Sirsa).
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