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Saturday,
December 14, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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India claw back with late strikes
Sachin the second best ever, says Wisden World Cup
probables
on Dec 18 Aussies beat England by seven
wickets
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Kalam opens National
Games Punjab judokas win 5 gold TN, Punjab spikers win
AP shuttlers grab
gold Keen contest on cards in cycling Haryana eves win in
hockey Goa men, Orissa eves
win
Gorkha Brigade, PSEB enter
semifinals Baroda 100 for 5 against
UP India to play
Turkmenistan
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India claw back with late strikes Wellington, December 13 The hosts were cruising along comfortably at 181 for three before the Indians staged a comeback of sorts with four dismissals in quick succession in the extended last session of play though Mark Richardson held one end up with a disciplined unbeaten 83. Left arm pacer Zaheer Khan (3/42), offie Harbhajan Singh (2/22) and Sanjay Bangar (2/23) struck crucial blows to keep the Indians in the game after overnight rains wiped out the entire morning session. Opener Richardson played cautiously to remain unconquered after facing 221 balls while Daniel Vettori was yet to open his account at stumps as New Zealand gained a 40-run first innings lead on a Basin Reserve pitch which has eased out quite a bit. Resuming at their overnight score of 53 for 1, the hosts seemed to tighten their grip on the match as Richardson and captain Stephen Fleming negotiated the Indian attack confidently and took the score to 92 for one at tea. But the complexion of the game changed rapidly after the break as the visitors sent back Fleming (25) and the dangerous Craig McMillan (O) in the span of three overs to make inroads into the inexperienced middle order. The combined attack of Zaheer and Harbhajan, which came only in the last hour, puzzled the New Zealand batsmen and the hosts’ batting suddenly looked vulnerable. New Zealand seemed poised for a big lead, with Richardson intent on batting through the day, before Indians struck back with four wickets conceding only 22 runs in the final hour. In between the two strikes by Zaheer Khan - Nathan Astle and wicketkeeper Robert Hart - Harbhajan Singh discounted all theories about it being a seamers’ pitch when he scalped Scott Styris and debutant Jacob Oram — both for nought. After New Zealand lost two quick wickets at the beginning of the last session, Astle (41) helped Richardson put on 70 runs for the fourth wicket. The stand was looking really dangerous with a set Richardson and Astle beginning to open up. But Zaheer struck at the right moment surprising Astle by a lifting delivery and the bastman spooned a simple catch to Harbhajan in the covers while taking evasive action. Harbhajan, who was held back by Saurav Ganguly till the 54th over, then foxed Styris with a drifter with Parthiv Patel effecting a smart stumping and shortly afterwards trapped Oram leg before wicket. Encouraged by the sudden turnaround, Ganguly brought back Zaheer in the penultimate over and the left-arm paceman closed the day with the scalp of wicketkeeper Robert Hart (6) who had looked obdurate and determined to last the day without any further loss. India could have been in a much better position had VVS Laxman held on to a straight forward catch of Richardson off Ajit Agarkar at second slip when the batsman was on 63. Though annoyed at his mistake, the left-hander drove the very next ball to the long-off fence. After completing a run he furiously rehearsed the shot and the bat flew off his hand but fell safely in no-man’s land as everyone watched in amusement. The let-down by the fielder seemed to have affected Agarkar as he conceded 13 runs in his next two overs before Ganguly took off his ineffective third seamer. Richardson, a cricketer who reinvented himself as an opener after starting as an off-spinner, showed remarkable judgment and perseverance in holding to his end through the curtailed day. He appeared a limited stroke-maker but there were often enough gaps in the field for him to keep ticking over and has so far hit 10 fours when play ended past 7 pm local time. Earlier in the day nearly four hours of play was lost because of overnight rain which didn’t damage the square but left the outfield spongy. Scoreboard India (1st Innings) 161 New Zealand (1st Innings): Richardson batting 83 Vincent c Patel b Bangar 12 Fleming b Zaheer Khan 25 McMillan lbw b Bangar 9 Astle c Harbhajan b Zaheer 41 Styris st Patel b Harbhajan 0 Oram lbw b Harbhajan 0 Hart lbw b Zaheer 6 Vettori batting 0 Extras (b-6, lb-11, w-1, nb-7) 25 Total (for 7 wkts, 76 overs) 201 Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-96, 3-111, 4-181, 5-182, 6-186, 7-201. Bowling: Zaheer Khan 18-5-42-3, Nehra 19-4-50-0, Agarkar 9-1-36-0, Bangar 15-4-23-2, Harbhajan Singh 13-3-22-2, Ganguly 2-0-11-0.
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Wellington, December 13 The despair to which the genial 46-year-old Ashoka de Silva has driven the Indians in recent months is such that the team management called up the cricket board President Jagmohan Dalmiya after the first day in the Test match against New Zealand here. What the team manager N.R. Choudhary has told Dalmiya is not being disclosed given the sensitivities involved. It has not come to a stage where the tourists have requested for a review of De Silva’s appointment in Test matches involving them but they have begun to bolt at the sight of this umpire from Sri Lanka. De Silva, a former Test player, has so far officiated in 21 Test matches and 15 of them have been against India. India have won six of these games, lost five and drawn four. If India were to go down in this Test at Wellington, he would have played part in one more defeat of the Indian team. De Silva ruled two questionable decisions on the first morning of the match, giving Sanjay Bangar and Sachin Tendulkar out which reduced Indians to 29 for three and straightaway put them at a disadvantage. De Silva is coming straight from India where he stood in three Tests played against the West Indies and handed out, among many, two rough decisions each against Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, the captain and vice-captain of the team, during the series. Ganguly and Dravid were twice given out when they had clearly played the ball on to their pads and they were decisions which could have played havoc against a struggling newcomer. Ganguly, before the start of the present Test, had hoped there would be better luck for him in this series as far as umpiring decisions go but the fate he avoided has befallen on his two other team-mates.
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Nehra, Agarkar disappoint After the Indian batsmen, it was the turn of New Zealanders to press the self-destruct button. They were cruising along nicely, at 181 for three, when tragedy struck for them and an hour later, New Zealand ended the second day at 201 for seven. If I were to say that India are right back in the game, it would just be an understatement. No praise is sufficient for Zaheer Khan, Sanjay Bangar and Harbhajan Singh for the way they made up for the inability of Ajit Agarkar and Ashish Nehra to make use of the conditions. There is no doubt in my mind that Zaheer is one for the future and he is the only fast bowler in the current crop who has shown the inclination to improve. He was getting the ball to swing at a consistent pace, troubling most of the batsmen to pick up three wickets while Bangar surprised all with his twin strike. Harbhajan, in fact, was underbowled for better part of the day. I was surprised to see that Saurav Ganguly didn’t bring him on early, especially when the left-handed Richardson was on a song and Harbhajan’s off-spin could have come in handy. I think Ganguly got carried away, thinking the wicket was ideal for fast bowlers but with Nehra and Agarkar lacking any direction, Ganguly ultimately had to fall back upon Harbhajan. I was happy to see Harbhajan picking up two wickets with his class and if India can claim the last three wickets cheaply, it would be a good contest to watch. Richardson played with remarkable discipline and though he was lucky to be dropped by VVS Laxman at slips, he batted right through the day to remain not out. I am sure he would not only try and complete his century tomorrow morning, he would also go for the Indian bowling. He knows he only has the tail left to bat with him and because he is well set, the onus will be on him to stretch New Zealand’s lead. In a low-scoring match like this one, the lead may prove to be the most crucial. New Zealand are already ahead by 40 runs, and if they can take it to around 100, they would be happy about that. New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle were the others to score runs and both were consumed up by the hard-working Zaheer. Astle, especially was more dangerous as he plays his shots freely and can change the course of a match in a single session. Their partnerships with Richardson were profitable for the New Zealanders to a great extent. Which brings us to the bowling of Nehra and Agarkar. Both have been playing in international cricket long enough to know what it takes to impress at that level but today they were a disappointment. They bowled many loose balls which allowed runs to the batsmen and it is time the selectors looked at their progress. Otherwise, India will continue to remain a two-man bowling attack.
“They were caught when they were burning a small patch of grass with petrol to write a slogan on the bowlers’ run-up,” said New Zealand cricket media manager Simon Wilson. “They could write only ‘No
Wa..’ before being arrested by the security staff. They were charged with vandalism and
tresspassing,” he said.
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Sachin the second best ever, says Wisden New Delhi, December 13 However, the little genius was a few notches ahead of several cricketing idols including Brian Lara of the West Indies, Mark Waugh of Australia and Saeed Anwar of Pakistan in the shorter version of the game, where he got a close second place behind the indomitable West Indian Viv Richards. The list by Wisden naming the top batsmen and bowlers in both
version of the game was made after analysing the performance of every player and career length and importance of each performance to the outcome of an innings or match. According to the list, Sri Lankan Muthiah Muralitharan and Pakistani Wasim Akram bagged the top spot in the bowling list for Test matches and one-dayers, respectively. While Muralitharan pipped many stalwarts like Richard Hadlee, Shane Warne, Dennis Lillee and Courtney Walsh, all of whom made a top 10 finish, Akram was followed by Allan Donald Waqar Younis, Glenn Mcgrath and Joel Garner. Besides Tendulkar, little master Sunil Gavaskar (8) and current Indian captain Saurav Ganguly (6) are the other two Indian batsmen who were named in the list for their exploits in the Test and one-day arena, respectively. However, no Indian bowler, including the legendary Kapil Dev, could find a place in the top-10 bowling list. According to Wisden, while preparing the list the expected score for a top performer was around 1000 points and the Don managed 1349 - just like his batting average of 99.94. Though Tendulkar got 921.5 for his second position, it was all the more creditable since among the current players only Lara got a place in the Test list with 881.9 points for a 10th place. Similarly in the one-dayers, Richards got 1132.5 points while Tendulkar came a close second with 1119.3 points - still almost 90 points more than the third placed Lara (1036.8). Amongst the current one-day players, Michael Bevan (5) managed 1016.7 points followed by Ganguly with 1012.6. Jaques Kallis (1001.2) and Anwar (997.7) took the last two spots in the top-10 list. Test: Batsmen: Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Viv Richards, Garry Sobers, Allan Border, Jack Hobbs, K Barrington, Sunil Gavaskar, Greg Chappel and Brian Lara. Bowlers: Mutthiah Muralitharan, Richard Hadlee, S. Barnes, Shane Warne, C. Grimmett, Glenn McGrath, Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall, Imran Khan, Courtney Walsh. One-day: Batsmen:
Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Dean Jones, Michael Bevan, Saurav Ganguly, Mark Waugh, Zaheer Abbas, Jaques Kallis, Saeed Anwar. Bowlers: Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Waqar Younis, Glenn McGrath, Joel Garner, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mutthiah Muralitharan, Shaun Pollock, Shane Warne, Dennis Lillee.
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World Cup
probables on Dec 18 Mumbai, December 13 Cricket board (BCCI) secretary S.K. Nair told PTI over phone from Thiruvananthapuram that the 30 probables as well as the 15-member team for the one-day series to be held from December 26 to January 14 next, will be announced simultaneously. Except India, all the participating countries in next year’s World Cup at South Africa have submitted the probables list to the International Cricket Council (ICC). BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya is trying to sort out the controversial players’ terms set by the ICC, which had threatened to disrupt the Champions Trophy at Sri Lanka recently.
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Aussies beat England by seven wickets Sydney, December 13 Matthew Hayden smashed 98 off 92 balls and Adam Gilchrist belted 53 from 50 as the Australians passed England’s total of 251 for eight in the 45th over. Damien Martyn finished 46 not out with Darren Lehmann unbeaten on 27 after he had also captured three wickets in England’s innings. Fast bowler Brett Lee took four for 47. Opener Nick Knight batted through the England innings to finish 111 not out, batting through the final few overs with a runner after suffering cramps. He put on 101 in 17 overs with Marcus Trescothick (60) for the opening wicket and shared in a 102-stand with England captain Nasser Hussain for the third wicket before the middle-order collapsed, four wickets tumbling for 18. The match was the first in a triangular series that includes Sri Lanka. Scoreboard England Trescothick c Warne b Lee 60 Knight not out 111 Irani lbw b Warne 0 Hussain c Gillespie b Lehmann 52 Blackwell c Gilchrist b Lehmann 0 Shah c Bevan b Lehmann 2 Stewart lbw b Lee 4 White b Lee 15 Batty b Lee 0 Caddick not out 1 Extras (b-2 w-3 nb-1) 6 Total (for eight wickets, 50 overs) 251 Fall of wickets: 1-101, 2-103, 3-205, 4-206, 5-211, 6-223, 7-249, 8-249 Bowling: McGrath 8-0-36-0, Gillespie 7-1-41-0, Watson 3-0-25-0, Lee 8-0-47-4 (w-1 nb-1), Warne 10-0-42-1 (w-1), Lehmann 10-0-32-3 (w-1), Martyn 4-0-26-0 Australia Gilchrist c Shah b Irani 53 Hayden c Trescothick b Blackwell 98 Ponting c Irani b Blackwell 18 Martyn not out 46 Lehmann not out 27 Extras (lb-5 w-2 nb-3) 10 Total (for three wickets, 45 overs) 252 FoW: 1-101 2-161 3-161 Bowling: Kirtley 7-1-53-0 (nb-1), Caddick 6-0-35-0 (nb-1 w-1), White 7-0-33-0 (nb-1), Irani 5-0-33-1, Blackwell 10-0-38-2, Batty 10-0-55-0 (w-1)
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Kalam opens National Games Hyderabad, December 13 In his arousing inaugural speach, Kalam highlighted the importance of sports in one’s life and called upon teachers, parents and society to encourage children to take to sports at a young age and bring laurels to the country. A capacity crowd of 30,000 watched in rapt attention as the stadium was bathed in multi-coloured lighting. The games torch arrived at the main venue on schedule and was carried into the stadium by woman volleyball player Mulini Reddy while weightlifter of yesteryear Kamineni Eshwar Rao, lit the sacred flame. Three-time hockey Olympian Mukesh Kumar took the customary oath on behalf of over 7,000 participants promising to play in the true spirit of sports to uphold the honour of the country and the glory of the games. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu emphasised the need for giving high priority to sports in the country. The sportspersons should be provided with the latest facilities and equipment to practice and enable them to compete at international levels, he said. Naidu urged the Centre and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to bid for the next Olympics and promised that his government would provide all the help for conducting the mega event in the country. “India is competent to host Olympics,” he said.
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Punjab judokas win 5 gold Visakhapatnam, December 13 In the men’s section, below 81kg category, Yashpal Solakni bagged the first gold defeating Vinod Solanki of Delhi. Narendra Singh of Andhra Pradesh won bronze defeating Yashvant Dangat of Maharashtra while Deepak Tyagi of Uttar Pradesh grabbed the second bronze by defeating Arun of Haryana. Parvinder Kaur added one more gold for Punjab flattening Sangeetha Sharma of Madhya Pradesh in the below 63kg category. Neelam of Haryana and Nirupamadevi of Manipur, who defeated Kavita of Delhi and Anjali of Maharashtra in the semifinals, won the bronze. Punjab grabbed the third gold when Jaipal defeated Satish Badsar of Haryana in the under 90kg category. Dharmapaul Yadav of Uttar Pradesh and Azam Khan of Andhra Pradesh had to be satisfied with bronze. While Dharmapaul had accounted for K.H. Sanjay Singh of Manipur and Khan had pipped Pradeep Tokas of Delhi in the semifinals.
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TN, Punjab spikers win Hyderabad, December 13 Tamil Nadu men spiked their way into the semifinals defeating Uttar Pradesh 25-12, 25-21, 25-15 in just 47 minutes in group “A”. In the same group, Andhra Pradesh men, who had lost to Tamil Nadu in the first match yesterday, kept their semifinal hopes alive with a victory over Haryana. In a do-or-die battle, they won 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 and need to beat Uttar Pradesh for the knock-out berth. A fit Y Subba Rao made the difference today as Haryana lads failed to cope with blistering smashes of the lean and tallest volleyball player in the country. In another keenly fought five-set match in group “B’’, Kerala clawed back to defeat Karnataka 22-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-20, 15-9. In the same group, Punjab outgunned Services in three straight sets 25-21, 25-22, 25-20.In the women’s section, Tamil Nadu toyed with Chandigarh and won 25-15, 25-19, 25-14 in 55 minutes in group “B’’. The Andhra women defeated Maharashtra 25-21, 25-19, 25-19 for their second successive victory in group “A’’.
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AP shuttlers grab gold Hyderabad, December 13 The Andhra Pradesh men showed little mercy as they spanked Kerala 3-1 to clinch the title while their women counterparts brought more cheers for the contingent by claiming the yellow metal with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Maharashtra. Determined to make an impression on their home soil, the hosts set the tempo with two gold medals even before the official opening ceremony of the 10-day sporting extravaganza. The women shuttlers staged a brilliant comeback after losing the first game to script a hat-trick of wins with Deepti tilting the balance in their favour by demolishing the experienced Neelima Choudhury after being locked 1-1. The hosts also had a satisfying day at the volleyball arena with their women’s team consolidating their position for a semifinal berth. The Andhra girls maintained their clean slate by edging out a spirited Maharashtra 25-21, 25-19, 25-19 in a group-A league match. In the men’s section, strong contenders Tamil Nadu brushed aside the challenge of Uttar Pradesh 25-12, 25-20, 25-15 in a group-A league match at the majestic Yousufguda Indoor Stadium. In men’s football, Services sprung a surprise holding former champions Bengal to a 1-1 draw in an exciting group-B league encounter while strong contenders Goa registered a fluent 2-0 victory over Maharashtra in another groub-B contest. Bengal had themselves to blame for the debacle as they frittered away a couple of scoring opportunties after taking the lead. Defending champions Haryana kept their reputation intact prevailing over Orissa 3-2 with Prakash Chaudhary scoring a hat-trick in the women’s hockey group league match. In another women’s hockey match, Maharashtra toyed with a weak defence to trounce Delhi 5-1 in a totally one-sided contest.
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Keen contest on cards in cycling Hyderabad, December 13 The newly built velodrome has been home to Andaman and Nicobar cyclists who arrived here three months ahead of the games to practice with the hosts. Punjab men start favourites in the 1500 metres team trial event while Manipur are expected to set the tone in the women’s event. Hosts Andhra Pradesh have a few emerging cyclists raring to make their mark at the national level, but it remains to be seen if they can produce results at the hour of reckoning. In the recently held senior nationals Punjab Police, Punjab, Manipur and Andaman and Nicobar teams did well and proved their class in team and individual events.
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Haryana eves win in hockey Hyderabad, December 13 Chaudhary displayed some amazing stickwork to score all the three goals in the first session within a space of eight minutes in a contest which initially seemed one-sided but came alive following a late charge from Orissa’s Pratima Tirkey who struck a brace. Orissa lost a golden chance to level the scoreline as striker Sarita Lakra missed the box by inches just before the hooter after connecting a long pass on the left from Ejran Dadel. Chaudhary put Haryana ahead as she crashed one in at the 17th minute. The 18-year old caught the rival custodian unaware once again three minutes later before dribbling in for her third goal in the 25th minute to make it a commanding 3-0 in favour of the holders. In a one-sided second encounter of the day, Maharashtra rode on the skills of Papki Devi who scored a brace. Papki, who put her state ahead at the stroke of breather, pumped in the second soon after the break. Paulina Surin, Nishi Chauhan and Suraj Lata scored once each to complete the rout. Delhi who failed to convert many a field chances and six penalty corners managed a consolation goal through Sushila in the 59th minute.
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Goa men, Orissa eves win Hyderabad, December 13 In other matches, Servicesmen held formidable Bengal to a one-all draw and Andhra Pradesh women scored a solitary goal win over Kerala. For Goa, Medio Savio Alphonso scored the first goal in the 21st minute and wing back Kannan Pirolkar stretched the lead seven minutes later to gain full points from group B. In the other match, Services scored the equaliser with 20 minutes left for the long whistle to split points with Bengal at Lal Bahadur stadium. In the women’s section, striker Aruna Priyadarshini struck four goals in a group ‘’B’’ league match. Formidable Orissa, boasted by the presence of Indian skipper Shradanjali and Goalkeeper Ranjith Mohanty, struck thrice in each half to decimate Bihar. It was virtually a target practice for Orissa for whom Aruna scored the first two goals in the eighth and 35th minutes. Shradanjali made it 3-0 five minutes before half time and Aruna struck two more in the 64th and 74th minutes to make it 5-0 before Shradanjali rounded off the tally in the 82nd minute to complete a comprehensive win. In the other Group B match, Shilpi Dev Baitha scored the lone goal for the hosts in the eighth minute of the second half to ensure full points for the team.
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Gorkha Brigade, PSEB enter
semifinals Yamunanagar, December 13 In the first quarterfinal, JCT Academy dominated early in the game and Harmesh scored a goal in the 10th minute for JCT Academy to lead 1-0. Gorkha Brigade equalised in the 24th minute through Banjinder Thapa and three minutes Bharat Thapa scored to make it 2-1. In the second half Bharat Thapa scored again to make it 3-1 for Lucknow team. Academy players scored the 61st minute through Baldeep to narrow the gap (2-3). Union Club, Yamunanagar in the semifinal. In the second match PSEB, Hoshiarpur, last year’s winners won in the tie breaker, PSEB and Switch Gear, Phagwara, were locked in 0-0 draw in the full time. PSEB missed two clear chances to score in the tie-breaker. PSEB defeated Phagwara team 4-3. Tomorrow PSEB will play against ONGC Dehra Dun in the semifinal. |
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Baroda 100 for 5 against
UP Patiala, December 13 Earlier, resuming from their overnight score of 315 for four, Uttar Pradesh finished their first essay at a commanding 541. Brief scores: UP (Ist innings): 541 all out (S. Raina 147, Ravikand Shukla 109 n.o., Amit Singh 98; S. Gaekwad 1 for 48, Hemal Shah 1 for 53) Baroda (Ist innings):
100 for 5 (R. Solanki 25, V. Parmar 26 n.o., S. Gaekwad 21; R.P. Singh 3 for 34) In another match played at the YPS Stadium, Delhi were 202 for six at the draw of stumps in reply to Orissa’s first innings total of 289. Brief scores: Orissa: (Ist innings): 289 Delhi: (Ist innings): 202 for 6 (Deepak Sharma 60, Mayanak Tehlan 62 n.o., Rohit Sharma 25; B. Mohanty 3 for 40, P. Nayak 2 for 48). |
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India to play Turkmenistan New Delhi, December 13 India, who beat Turkmenistan 3-1 in the Busan Asian Games, will play the first leg on April 5, 2003, and the second leg has been scheduled for April 19, as per the draw made at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. If India beats Turkmenistan they will take on Malaysia in the second round. The first leg of this tie will be played on May 3 and the second on June 7, 2003, according to information received here today. Also in the first round, Palestine will take on Nepal, Iraq meets Vietnam and Pakistan play Syria.
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Wellington
