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Wednesday,
December 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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India
fight injuries ahead of 2nd Test Cairns
doubtful for one-dayers Kiwis will
go all out for win Das,
Bangar should open Cup
probables to be named today
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England captain Nassar Hussain (2nd R) celebrates with his teammates in the second triangular series one-day match against Sri Lanka in Brisbane on Tuesday. Half-centuries by Hussain and Alec Stewart and an improved al-round bowling performance helped England break a 14-match run without victory and beat Sri Lanka by 43 runs on Tuesday.
— Reuters photo B’desh
restrict Windies Haryana
eves whip Punjab Haryana
judokas to retain medals Haryana men,
women win Rajani picks double gold Bengal, Services in soccer semis Dempo
trounce Tollygung 4-1 5-1 win
for Railway XI AIFF to
discuss affiliation issue Cricket
tourney Orissa
score 132 Haryana
wrestling Punjab
badminton from Dec 28
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India fight injuries ahead of 2nd Test
Hamilton, December 17 Opener Sanjay Bangar and all-rounder Ajit Agarkar were hit by rising deliveries on a fast and bouncy pitch in Wellington and with just two days to go for the start of the second Test here, both are yet to recover from their injuries. Bangar was hit on his right index finger by a lifting delivery from Shane Bond while the nail on Agarkar’s middle finger on right hand is bruised and numb because of a similar hit at Basin Reserve. “The blood clot in Ajit Agarkar’s finger has been drained out but he is under observation. The same is true of Sanjay (Bangar),” said physio Andrew Leipus. Team manager N.R. Choudhary said there would be a test conducted on Bangar and Agarkar tomorrow to ascertain if the two would be fit for the second Test. “We would have a test on Sanjay and Ajit tomorrow. It is important to know the state of their fitness because we can’t take any chances,” said Choudhary. India’s preparation has been hampered because neither Bangar nor Agarkar have been able to avail practice since the Test ended last Saturday. Bangar, somewhat a lucky mascot as India has won seven of the 11 Tests he has played in, looked in good touch in both the innings at Basin Reserve but his stays were cut short by umpiring decisions which appeared a bit too harsh. Agarkar, on the other hand, was a disappointment with both bat and ball in the Test though he could have had the scalp of man-of-the-match Mark Richardson had VVS Laxman been alert in the second slip. Bangar was one of the three Indian cricketers — along with Ajay Ratra and Murali Kartik — to be at the WestPac Trust Park straightaway after the team arrived here from Wellington this afternoon. The Railways all-rounder needs as much practice as possible to get used to the conditions while Agarkar too needs to get his line and length right if India is to appear a good bowling force in the second Test. The Indians are certain to include medium-pacer Tinu Yohannan in the line-up as the Kerala medium-pacer impressed everyone with his pace and bounce in the last two practice sessions at Basin Reserve. Yohannan played his second and last Test against England at Ahmedabad exactly a year ago. He has four wickets from two Tests at an average of 53.25.
PTI |
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Cairns doubtful for one-dayers Hamilton, December 17 “It is a possibility but as long as he is fit when the team leaves for World Cup in January end, we’ll be happy to take that,” New Zealand Cricket medical’s adviser Warren Frost said. Cairns is running out of time to be fit for the first one-day international after a keyhole surgery on his troublesome right knee. Frost said there were no complications from the surgery and Cairns began cycling and pool work at the weekend. But he wasn’t committing himself on when Cairns would start running and bowling again. New Zealand play seven one-day internationals against India later this month as part of the preparation for the World Cup, starting in South Africa in February. “Obviously we want him right for the World Cup and don’t want any complications bringing him too early,” said Frost.
PTI |
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Kiwis will go all out for win Green. That’s what will welcome India and New Zealand at the Westpac Trust Park wicket in Hamilton, come Thursday. The weather has been wet with downpours today and forecast for more rain tomorrow. This means that the pitch might be a touch under-prepared, which is not good news for a batsman. It also makes the toss crucial, since bowling first will be a big bonus. Over the last couple of years. Hamilton has emerged as the fastest wicket in New Zealand and we have always had exciting, result-oriented wickets here. The Black Caps come into this Test with a great deal of confidence after our comprehensive win at Wellington. I honestly did not think that we would be able to finish the game in 200 overs. We were aware that the Indians had very little time to acclimatise themselves and knew that we had to go all out for a win in the first Test itself. Fortunately, we used the crucial advantage of winning the toss and batted well for most of the second day. In fact, I felt that we had lost an opportunity when we collapsed to 200 for 7 after being 181 for three. Just before the second Indian innings began, we resolved to make run-scoring as hard as possible. The ploy worked and the Indians were soon seven down with hardly anything on the board. The victory was particularly satisfying because all the homework we had done by downloading video clips and analysing players’ weaknesses worked. We came up with a strategy for each of the top batsmen in the Indian batting line-up and practised hard. We were very thorough in our preparation, but it’s not always that things work out as perfectly as they did at Wellington. As a team, we generally like to do our homework well since it helps us focus better. In Hamilton we will use our home advantage and go all out for a 2-0 series win. We will be sticking to the same team, though we might discuss Michael Mason. The Black Caps are a conservative lot and it is unlikely that we will meddle with a side that won in less than three days. We are aware that the Indians will not only be better prepared, they will also be eager to make amends for their poor showing at Wellington. We believe that a team that possesses their experience and a thinking coach like John Wright will take the steps necessary to make the batsmen fare better. Wright is a greatly respected figure in New Zealand, where he is considered a quality person — something that comes through in the success he has had with various teams, including India. Coaching the Indian cricket team is a high-pressure job, and he has done a marvelous job in the last 18 months or so. Hopefully, New Zealand cricket will be able to benefit from his coaching expertise some day. (Gameplan) |
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Das, Bangar should open One of the things the Indians must be grappling with in New Zealand will be the combination for the second Test. Invariably, as it has happened in the past, much of it will be centered around the pair of opening
batsmen. In the Wellington Test, Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar didn’t quite live upto the expectations, failing to do the job in either innings, so some people are suggesting it may be a good idea to break up the partnership. Even though I don’t really blame both Sehwag and Bangar for the fiasco because even the star studded middle-order came a cropper against the New Zealand fast bowlers, getting back Shiv Sundar Das in the next Test won’t be a bad idea. If Das could be fitted in the side without dropping Bangar or Sehwag, it can be tried because Das is a specialist opener who has better chances of succeeding on seaming pitches. What I am saying is that instead of Sehwag, India should open with Das and Bangar, and Sehwag can bat in the middle-order. You will then ask me which player to drop to get Das in the side, well, I would maybe drop a fast bowler for him and strengthen our batting line-up. That may sound crazy but the need of the hour is horses for courses and I can explain the rationale behind my idea. Going by the way Ajit Agarkar and Ashish Nehra bowled in the last Test, I would drop both and replace one with Tinu Yohannan. Since Bangar can also bowl useful medium-pace, which is so effective in those conditions, it would make three seamers for India _ Zaheer, Bangar and Yohannan. Also, Harbhajan Singh can surprise the New Zealand batting, I suppose the luxury of the fourth seamer can be avoided because both Agarkar and Nehra have looked out of sorts so far. Since the pitch at Hamilton will again be seamer friendly, an extra batsman can come in handy there. If the Indians start believing in themselves, it is not beyond them because even the New Zealand batting appeared shaky in the first Test. Had India batted with more discipline in the second innings, maybe the result could have been different. Let’s see whether they can make a comeback in the second Test. |
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Cup probables to be named today Kolkata, December 17 The senior national selection committee headed by Brijesh Patel would meet here to select both the squads, cricket board sources said here today. The seven-match one-day series against New Zealand beginning on December 26 is India’s last engagement before the World Cup which starts from February 8. BCCI secretary S K Nair as well as other selectors -Kiran More (WZ), Kirti Azad (NZ), Pranab Roy (EZ) and Sanjay Jagdele (CZ) - will reach here by this evening for the meeting. The national selectors are expected to make some changes in the Indian side, now in New Zealand, with veteran spinner Anil Kumble and young batsman Yuvraj Singh in all probablity making it to the one-day side.
PTI |
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England end losing streak
Brisbane, December 17 Skipper Nasser Hussain won the toss and elected to bat, then notched 79 off 106 balls and shared a 72-run stand with Alec Stewart, who blazed 64 from 61 balls, as England posted 292 from their 50 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka reached 249 for six and were never ahead of the run-rate required after losing Sanath Jayasuriya (13) and Romesh Kaluwitharana (6) to slump to 25 for two in the eighth over. Scoreboard England Trescothick c Mubarak b Vaas 27 Knight c Jayawardene b
Fernando 29 Irani c Mubarak b Gunaratne 1 Hussain run out 79 Collingwood c
Jayawardene b Arnold 37 Stewart b Jayasuriya 64 Blackwell c and b
Fernando 24 White run out 1 Caddick c Fernando b Gunaratne 11 Anderson b Fernando 0 Harmison not out 2 Extras:
(b-1, w-10, nb-6) 17 Total: (all out, 50 overs): 292 FoW:
1-47, 2-48, 3-73, 4-155, 5-227, 6-278, 7-278, 8-280, 9-284. Bowling:
Vaas 10-1-49-1, Gunaratne 10-1-55-2, Fernando 10-0-68-3, Samaraweera, 7-0-44-0, Jayasuriya 10-0-58-1, Arnold 3-0-17-1. Sri Lanka: Kaluwitharana c Stewart
b Caddick 6 Jayasuriya c Hussain b Anderson 13 Atapattu c Knight b Harmison 38 Sangakkara c Collingwood
b Harmison 11 Jayawardene c Stewart b White 71 Arnold not out 60 Mubarak c Harmison
b Anderson 13 Samaraweera not out 28 Extras: (lb-3 nb-2 w-4) 9 Total: (6 wkts, 50 overs): 249 FoW: 1-19, 2-25, 3-63, 4-101, 5-176, 6-192 Bowling: Caddick 10-0-53-1 (nb-2), Anderson 10-1-48-2 (w-2), Harmison 10-1-39-2 (w-1), Irani 10-0-58-0, White 10-1-48-1 (w-1).
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B’desh restrict Windies Chittagong, December 17 The 20-year-old right-arm paceman collected three more wickets on Tuesday after dismissing the Caribbean opener Wavell Hinds on the first day. It was the first time Bangladesh had dismissed any Test opponents for fewer than 300. Daren Ganga (63) and skipper Ridley Jacobs (59) hit half centuries to lead a West Indies recovery after the tourists had resumed at 38 for one in reply to Bangladesh’s 194. Ganga struck 10 boundaries from 106 balls with 10 fours before he hit part-time spinner Sanwar Hossain straight to Baisya at mid-wicket. Scoreboard Bangladesh (1st innings): 194 West Indies (1st innings): Gayle b Zubair 38 Hinds c Masud b Baisya 14 Sarwan c Masud b Islam 17 Chanderpaul c Masud b
Haque 16 Samuels c Shahriar b Zubair 31 Ganga c Baisya b Hossain 63 Jacobs c Masud b Baisya 59 Drakes run out 26 Powell b Baisya 1 Collins not out 12 Lawson c Bashar b Baisya 6 Extras
(b-8, lb-4, nb-1) 13 Total (all out, 93.3 overs) 296 Fall of wickets:
1-16, 2-53, 3-74, 4-99, 5-127, 6-226, 7-264, 8-278, 9-279. Bowling:
Islam 21-11-34-1, Baisya 21.3-2-72-4, Zubair 20-6-58-2, Haque 19-3-62-1, Ashraful 5-0-29-0, Hossain 7-1-29-1. Bangladesh (2nd innings): Sarkar batting 12 Al Shahriar batting 21 Extras
(lb-3, nb-4) 7 Total (no loss, 12 overs) 40 Bowling:
Collins 5-2-13-0, Drakes 3-0-15-0, Lawson 4-2-9-0.
AP |
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Haryana
eves whip Punjab
Hyderabad, December 17 In an inconsequential pool B match, Chandigarh, who had already qualified for the semis, defeated Delhi 1-0 Earlier in the morning, Maharashtra booked their place in the semifinal from pool B defeating Orissa by the odd goal in three while Haryana toyed with Punjab to register the biggest victory so far in the tournament winning by seven goals to nil. In the semifinals tomorrow pool A toppers Haryana will clash with pool B runners up Maharashtra, while pool B toppers Chandigarh will clash with pool B runners-up. In the match between, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand, the hosts who had still not managed to score a goal began in fine fashion scoring in the first minute itself through a penalty corner taken by Subhadra. Orissa, who needed a win against Maharashtra in their last match for a ticket to the semi-finals, started off badly conceding a goal in the 15th minute. Suraj Lata from the left flank relayed the ball to Papki Devi through the centre of the box and her shot from the top of the circle gave no chance to the Orissa goalkeeper Amrita Tete. Orissa, however, fought back and five minutes later found the equaliser in a goal mouth melee. Maharashtra defence was guilty of not clearing the ball and Pravasini Bage put it into the box to make it 1-1. After this goal, it was Maharashtra all the way, but they were guilty of wasting a few golden chances to take the lead. Finally, with 12 minutes of play remaining Maharashtra got the all-important goal scored by Sanggi Chanu. It was once again Maharashtra’s captain Suraj Lata who had a part to play as her pass found Sanggi in perfect position inside the box to convert it into a goal. In the other match of the morning, Haryana toyed with the Punjab defence pumping in seven goals. Haryana started the goal glut in the 10th minute with Balwinder, who added another goal to register a brace later, scoring from top of the box. Punjab, however, managed to keep the defending champions quiet, not allowing them to score any more goals. But it was a totally different story in the second half with Haryana pumping in six goals to give them a comprehensive victory. Simarjeet, star forward Mamta Kharab, Jasjeet Kaur and Sarvjeet were the goal scorers.
UNI |
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Haryana judokas to retain medals Visakhapatnam, December 17 Yesterday, the organisers and the Games Technical Conduct Committee had debarred the Haryana team for their misbehaviour while leaving the issue of withdrawal of medals to the IOA. The decision brought cheer in the Haryana camp and they are richer by four gold, four silver and three bronze medals and they finished second behind champions Punjab. They were not allowed to participate in the last two events yesterday as their reaction led to the debarring of the team. IOA vice-president and a member of the disciplinary committee K. Murugan said the association did not wish to penalise the players for the officials’ mistakes who had “completely failed in controlling their players that created a bad scene and marred the atmosphere.” The IOA has informed the Haryana Olympic Association and the Judo Federation of India to take strong action against the erring officials in this connection, said Mr Murugan, who is also in-charge of the 32nd National Games here. The committee, which also
included IOA committee member Balbir Singh, observed that the Haryana contingent behaviour was a “gross violation” of the code of conduct and justified the decision to debar entire Haryana. It had recommended withdrawal of medals also.
UNI |
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Haryana men,
women win
Hyderabad, December 17 In another Pool A match, Service beat Maharashtra 38-16. In the men’s Pool B encounters, runners-up Haryana comfortably beat Andhra Pradesh 31-15, while Rajasthan registered a 46-33 victory over Uttar Pradesh. In the distaff side, hosts Andhra Pradesh drubbed West Bengal 42-22 in a Pool A match, while Maharashtra beat Tamil Nadu 33-15 in the same pool. The scoring rate in the women’s Pool B matches reached new heights with Haryana beating Uttar Pradesh 50-25 and Karnataka turning the tables on Punjab 46-16.
UNI |
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Rajani picks double gold
Hyderabad, December 17 Vikas emerged top in parallel bars to make it a memorable quadruple gold. Rajani emerged the rythmic all-round gymnastic champion, totalling 55.40 points after winning the ribbon final with a healthy score of 18.70 and finishing second in the rope. Her teammate Sonia Sharma (54.30) took the silver and Jammu and Kashmir’s Sonia Sharma (54.05) setteld for the bronze. Punjab found another gold medal winner in Dimple who wrested hoop event while Harleen Singh earned a second gold for J and K, taking the top slot in rope. The results: Women: Rope event: Harleen Singh (J&K) 17.10 points-gold, Rajni Sharma (Punjab) 17.05 points-silver, Sonia Sharma (J&K) 16.90 points-bronze.
Ball event: Sonia Sharma (J&K) 16.90 points-gold, Lalitha Thapa (Chandigarh) 16.60 points-silver, Pooja Chauhan (Haryana) 16.55 points-bronze.
UNI
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Bengal, Services in soccer semis
Hyderabad, December 17 Services rode on a Saroj Gurung strike to put it across Goa and finish their group B quarter-final league engagements with seven points, the same as Bengal. However, Services topped the group on better goal difference to set up a last four clash with Group A runners-up Punjab. Bengal, on the other hand, will play Group A winners Tamil Nadu. Both the semifinals are slated for Thursday. Kaushik Prasad, Pradip Indu and Dipendu Biswas struck for Bengal while Anthony Fernandes scored both the goals for Maharashtra.
PTI |
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Dempo trounce Tollygung 4-1 Margao, December 17 Dempo’s ace striker Francise Silveira, who struck a brace in the 90th and the injury time of the second half, was today adjudged the Man of the Match. The other two goals came through Majek Bolaji in the 20th minute and Wilton Gomes in the 25th minute. Tollygung reduced the margin in the 48th minute through Awoyemi Akeem. With this win, Dempo moved on to the second place with 13 points from four wins, a draw and a defeat below table-topper East Bengal with 16 points. Vasco was relegated to the third spot with 11 points from six outings. Tollygung remained on the same tenth place with four points. Dempo’s forward Francise Silveira and Uzbekistan recruit Sergei Andrew tore open the Tollygung defence repeatedly in the opening half to help their side hold complete sway over the proceedings, barring a brief spell in the second half. Dempo in fact could have won by a better score going by their dominance over the match. The local side came near to scoring in the very 10th minute when Clifford Miranda from the left flank passed the ball to Sergei, who in quick succession switched over to Francise Silveira but his header sailed over the bar.
UNI |
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5-1 win for Railway XI Jalandhar, December 17 Railway XI, dominated the proceedings throughout the match. In the 10th minute, W. Lakra of Railway XI caught hold of the ball near the circle and sounded the board with a powerful shot (1-0). Jashpal Jutla of England Gymkhana equalised the score with a field goal in the 19th minute. S.Barla scored for Railway XI in the 20th minute from a beautiful pass from his team-mate J.Singh (2-1). In the 31st minute L.Ekka of Railways converted a penalty corner and consolidated the lead of his team (3-1). At lemon break Railway XI were leading by 3-1. After the breather, in the 42nd minute W.Lakra of Railways got a
diagonal pass from his team-mate N.Singh and put the ball in box with a powerful shot (4-1). In the 43rd minute B.Singh of Railways scored a field goal by deflecting a shot from his team-mate (5-1). In the second match of men’s section defending champions Punjab & Sind Bank started the game as favourites. In the 7th minute, Rajvinder Singh of PSB deflected a powerful shot from his team-mate Sandeep Singh in the box (1-0). After that PSB raided the CISF goal post many times, but were not able to score. At the lemon break score was 1-0 in favour of the PSB. In the 43rd minute Harpreet Singh of the PSB consolidated the lead through a field goal (2-0). Match ended in the favour of PSB 2-0. In the Boy’s section the ERCMA crushed ASR Hocket Club 4-0 in a one sided match. In the last match of the day Boys of Ropar Hawk got the lead when in the 27th minute Verinderjeet converted a penalty corner (1-0). In the first half only one goal was scored. After the breather Punjab & Sind Bank Academy boys played more aggressively and in the 51st minute Sanjeev Kumar got a pass from his team-mate Gurpreet Singh and put the ball in the box with a powerful shot and scored a equaliser (1-1). At the final whistle score remained 1-1. |
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AIFF to discuss affiliation issue Chandigarh, December 17 However, more important than the issue of affiliation, the meeting will discuss the preparation of the national team for the 2004 Olympic Games and the 2006 World Cup. Also, the allocation of the various tournaments conducted by the federation will be done at the meeting. Although India’s performance at the international level is dismal, to make an understatement, the federation has drawn up a blueprint to coach the national squad for these two international commitments where India will have to qualify from the continent level. How they go about the job and what is the blueprint will be unveiled at the Delhi meeting. But logically it makes sense for the federation to draw up a step-by-step approach. The various tournaments conducted by the federation include the zonal rounds for the under-21, under-19 and under-16 tournaments as also the final rounds of these tournaments, the National Football Championship for Women and the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy. In the case of the tournaments for under-21, under-19 and under-16 as also the women’s national championship, the federation pays a lot of subsidy to the hosting association, including travelling costs of the various participating teams, daily allowance to the players, match referees and AIFF officials as also Rs 5,000, subsidy per participating teams. In spite of this subsidy there are no ready takers for these tournament, according to information available here. For the Santosh Trophy the federation gives a subsidy of Rs 20 lakh as also the prize money for the winners and runners-up. The agenda circulated for the Delhi meeting also talks of drawing up an integrated calendar for the AIFF. This is of utmost importance since it seems that the teams and the federation are working at cross-purposes. Otherwise how can the federation explain the composition of the teams taking part at the Hyderabad National Games when the National Football League is also in progress? |
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Cricket
tourney Patiala, December 17 The teams which have confirmed their participation are Delhi (Blues), Panchkula Cricket Club, Patiala Cricket Association Club, Yadvindera Public School and MES Coaching Centre. Dhruv Pandove, son of Mr M.P. Pandove, secretary, PCA, was the youngest cricketer in the country when he made his debut for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy during the 1987-88 session. Dhruv was just 13-year-and-10-month old when he donned Punjab colours against Himachal Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy league match played at Amritsar in 1987. |
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Orissa
score 132 Patiala, December 17 Earlier, Orissa were bundled out for a meagre 132 in their first essay mainly due to some incisive bowling by Sachin Rana (4 for 42) and Pardeep Sahu 2 for 35). Brief scores: Orissa (1st innings): 132 all out
(Savan Kumar 23, Pravat Nayak 38, Haldahar Dass 28, S. Rana 4 for 42, Sunny 1 for 14, Manvinder Bisla 1 for 8, Pardeep Sahu 2 for 35, Aprajeet Singh 1 for 19). Haryana (1st innings): 70 for 1
(Manvinder Bisla 37, Vishal Sahni 35 n.o.). |
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Haryana
wrestling Chandigarh, December 17 While stating this here today, the president of the association, Mr M.S. Malik said that the competitions would be held at Subhash Stadium, Sonipat where 400 boys, and nearly 125 girls would take part in the Greco-Roman and Free Style wrestling competitions.
TNS |
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Punjab
badminton from Dec 28 Jalandhar, December 17 Mr Rajinder
Kalsi, secretary, Punjab Badminton Association, in a press note issued here on Sunday, said the championship was rescheduled since the dates announced earlier (December 21 to 23) were found clashing with the inter-university badminton championships being held at Delhi. He further said 14 teams from 13 districts of the state had already confirmed their participation in the championship. They had decided to select outstanding players for the Senior National Badminton Championship to be held at Guwahati next year. |
KIWIS RETAIN WINNING SQUAD KIWIS’ REQUEST WORLD CUP WARNE’S VOW GERMANY WIN |
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