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Friday,
January 10, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Ganguly blames it on home pitches Out-of-form Ganguly should sit out Astle to miss one-dayer |
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East Bengal hold edge in Durand Cup final
TFA hold Vasco
in IFA Shield Chopra fashions NZ win East Zone in final Airlines, PSB in last four Haryana champs
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Lanka upset Aussies
Sydney, January 9 Winless in three earlier games in the contest and coming off the embarrassment of being rolled for 65 by Australia A, Sri Lanka outgunned the world champions in all areas. Sri Lanka pummeled the home team’s attack in making 343 for five wickets before dismissing the opposition for 264 in 49.3 overs. Captain Sanath Jayasuriya (122 from 105 balls) and Marvan Atapattu (101 from 124) rattled up a 237-run opening stand, the highest ever one-day international partnership in Australia and the highest for Sri Lanka for any wicket. Man-of-the-match Jayasuriya then chipped in with a superb four for 39 with his probing spinners. Sri Lanka’s total was the biggest at the ground and the highest against Australia, eclipsing the 326 for three wickets made by South Africa at Port Elizabeth last year. Australia were never seriously in the hunt for victory after prolific opener Adam Gilchrist fell for six. Captain Ricky Ponting soon followed for 15 and the game was all but lost at 36 for two. Star Test opener Matthew Hayden (35) departed at 78 for three. Damien Martyn (40) and Michael Bevan (41) piled on 65 runs but that was not enough to keep the side’s hopes alive. Australia slumped to 188 for eight before adding a modicum of respectability with two late, meaningless partnerships. Sri Lanka rolled through the Australian batsmen despite the reluctance of Zimbabwean umpire Russell Tiffin to give leg before wicket decisions. He appeared to have over-reacted after being roundly criticised for being a “trigger finger” in the last two Ashes Tests. Star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, having his first match bowl since his hernia operation, snapped up a valuable two for 44 from 10 impressive overs to take his career tally to 299. During their rampaging opening stand, Jayasuriya and Atapattu were blessed with good fortune as edges fell into open spaces. Jayasuriya was also bowled off a no-ball by Brett Lee when he had made two. A simple catch off Jayasuriya on 26 was muffed by Brad Hogg at gully. SCOREBOARD Sri Lanka: Atapattu run out 101 Jayasuriya b Watson 122 De Silva b Watson 13 Jayawardene not out 37 Arnold st Gilchrist b Symonds 0 Sangakkara c Maher b Bichel 25 Vaas not out 5 Extras: (lb-12 w-20 nb-8) 40 Total: (5 wkts, 50 overs) 343 Fall of wickets: 1-237, 2-267, 3-283, 4-284, 5-329. Bowling: Lee 7-0-41-0, Bichel 10-0-70-1, Watson 10-0-72-2 , Symonds 9-0-50-1, Hogg 9-0-75-0, Martyn 5-0-23-0. Australia: Gilchrist b Vaas 6 Hayden c Jayawardene b Fernando 35 Ponting c Tillakaratne b Gunaratne 15 Martyn b Jayasuriya 40 Bevan c Tillakaratne b Jayasuriya 41 Symonds c Tillakaratne b Muralitharan 4 Lee b Jayasuriya 20 Maher c Jayawardene b Jayasuriya 15 Watson not out 35 Hogg st Sangakkara b Muralitharan 4 Bichel c Sangakkara b De Silva 28 Extras: (lb-12 w-4 nb-5) 21 Total: (all out, 49.3 overs) 264 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-35, 3-78, 4-143, 5-150, 6-152, 7-188, 8-188, 9-201. Bowling: Vaas 6-0-29-1, Gunaratne 8.3-0-54-2, Fernando 9-0-46-1, De Silva 6-0-40-0, Muralitharan 10-1-44-2, Jayasuriya 10-1-39-4.
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Ganguly blames it on home pitches Auckland, January 9 The 30-year-old stylish left-hander, arguably the most combative captain to have led India, said that he was no longer “impulsive and angry” when faced with demands that he be sacked from the job. “It’s a policy these days when a team tours and a captain struggles a bit, they get after the captain. Same thing has happened to Nasser Hussain in Australia. But no longer do I get impulsive and angry. I prefer to ignore such reactions,” Ganguly told PTI in an exclusive interview. “Records and statistics can’t always be wrong. It is not always right but are correct at least to the extent of 80 per cent.” Ganguly said he firmly believes a captain is as good as his team and anyone who suggests things worked to a plan is lying. “I am a firm believer in Richie Benaud’s adage - a captain is as good as his team. If everyone says it worked according to a plan, it’s a bullshit. “If any captain says he has spent two days in chalking out plans to get (Sachin) Tendulkar and Ganguly out and it’s happened exactly - he’s lying.” Ganguly said his guiding philosophy as a captain was to be honest at all times and go by instinct on a cricket field. “Nobody is a born captain. Most of the time, I’ve gone on instinct. Like against the West Indies in Chennai (Test), John (Wright) sent me a message to bowl (Anil) Kumble and have spinners from both ends. Just by instinct I brought back Zaheer Khan and he got four wickets and won us the Test. “It wasn’t a plan. With the ball spinning and West Indies struggling against slow bowlers, anyone would’ve got spinners from both ends. “I have tried in my tenure as captain to be honest. If somebody is good he should play. I try to do what is good for the team and the country.” Ganguly considered captaincy as a huge honour but confessed the constant spotlight at times could be exasperating. Ganguly was worried that Indian cricket is producing only spinner all-rounders and blamed it to the type of pitches used for Ranji Trophy matches. “Most of our all-rounders are spinner all-rounders. But that’s because of pitches. If the wickets were green and batsmen were getting out cheaply, a cricketer would realise he has to develop his bowling to stay in the team. It would have given us seamer all-rounders.
PTI |
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Out-of-form Ganguly should sit out There was a win at last for the Indian team, but only after a great deal of
huffing and puffing. It was left to a tail ender, Zaheer khan, to hold his nerve and take the side to victory after the top order batsmen had made a hash of chasing a
smallish target yet again. Nevertheless, this victory should spur Sourav and his boys to win the remaining two matches. Though the series has been lost, there is pride to be salvaged. I have maintained right through this tour that the New Zealand batting is vulnerable and score of 180-200 would help win most matches, if not all, As it happened, New Zealand batting first bowled out for 169, and this in spite of the presence of Chris Cairns. With the bowlers, led by Zaheer, doing a marvelous job again, the batsmen had it on a platter, and one that they almost dropped. Saurav’s poor of score continues, and this must be weighing on his mind. I believed he should sit out a couple of games and sort his mind out. He is a class act, and it would be to India’s disadvantage if he goes into the World Cup in a worried and tense frame of mind. Tendulkar, playing his first game of the series, got a terrible decision, but that again was no reason for the Indian batting to struggle so badly. Again, shot selection was poor and the innings stumbled badly till Yuvraj and Zaheer got together in a rescue act that saved the team the blushes. I am not entirely convinced about the tactics of the Indian think-tank. There has been too much experimentation in the batting order, which does not make too much sense with the big tournament less than a month away. By now the top four in the order should be fairly established, and it does not take too much thought to know who these should be. New Zealand missed Oram who has had such a wonderful time against the Indians. I thought Shane Bond bowled superbly yet again, and he will be one of the players to watch out for in the World Cup. But the pick of the day was
undoubtedly Zaheer Khan who left his impact on the match with a fantastic all-round performance. He had three early wickets to knock the wind out of the sails of the New Zealand batting, from which they could never recover completely. And when it seemed that the Indian batting would surrender ignominiously again, he played a gem of an
innings. It was full of courage and character, two attributes that have been missing from India’s performance over the past few weeks.
Gameplan |
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ECB-govt talks deadlocked
London, January 9 Sports Minister Tessa Jowell told reporters the government opposed the match but said it was up to the cricket authorities to make the final decision. “At the end of the day the decision is with the ECB,” she said. Jowell made it clear the ECB could expect no compensation from the government if it now decided it would not play in Zimbabwe. International Cricket Council President Malcolm Gray has said England would face a £ 1 million ($1.6 million) bill if they did not play the fixture. “We explored very thoroughly the ECB’s major concern which is the cost to them,” Jowell said. “Because it is a decision for them there can be no question of compensation from the taxpayer.” Jowell said she had re-emphasised during the meeting the government’s view that England should not visit Zimbabwe for both security reasons and because of the country’s “appalling” human rights record. The ECB has been under increasing pressure to boycott the February 13 match in Harare as a show of opposition to Robert Mugabe’s leadership. The government is strongly opposed to England playing in Harare but has said it cannot make the final decision. The ECB says the decision is a political one and should be made by the government.
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Astle to miss one-dayer Auckland, January 9 Astle returned to his Christchurch home after the fifth one-dayer in Wellington, which India won, rather than travel with the team to Auckland. Team manager Jeff Crowe said it was the same injury Astle suffered during last April’s tour of Pakistan and he would be having an ultrasound scan later today to determine the extent of the injury. Lou Vincent, dropped for the last two matches, has been recalled as Astle’s replacement. New Zealand hold an unassailable 4-1 lead in the seven-match series.
Reuters |
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Baseball techniques to improve fielding Auckland, January 9 |
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Lara ready Port Of Spain, January 9 |
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East Bengal hold edge in Durand Cup final New Delhi, January 9 Army XI, who would be making their maiden Durand Cup challenge round, progressed this far with gritty performances, including an upset victory against another Kolkata giant, Mohammedan Sporting, in the semi-final. Army XI dropped a bombshell, as it were, when they pulled off the equaliser during injury time, and then bested Sporting in the tie-breaker shoot-out, with custodian Abun Gopi Singh bringing off a brilliant save to baulk Amandeep Singh off the very first spot kick of Mohammedans. Gobi Singh became an instant hero and the Army team will be looking forward to an encore performance from the custodian to see them through to the crown, provided the East Bengal defenders allow them too many liberties near their goal box. The Army team, who made it to the main draw through the qualification route, played steady soccer, sans flourish frills, but with a sense of pointed purpose. They have a well-rounded team with Raghu Kumar, Ignatious and Johny Gangmei proving to be crafty shooters. But it is a different proposition whether their strategy would work against the seasoned East Bengal, though the
Kolkata team could bare their true potential only once, when they decimated Air-India 4-0 in the group B quarter-final league match. They then lost to MEG, Bangalore, by a lone goal but the defeat did not affect the Kolkata team’s prospects of
qualifying for the semifinal, which they had ensured with their facile victory against Air-India. East Bengal were far from impressive in the semifinal match against Salgaocar Club too, though they managed to slot in the match-winner through their Nigerian import, Mike Okoro, when the match was meandering towards a meaningless direction. Okoro’s opportunistic goal was one of the salient features of East Bengal’s victory, as they demonstrated with a degree of conviction that they could score from any situation, unlike most other teams. And that will be their strength when they take on Army XI in the final. East Bengal have an impressive line-up, though some of their key players are away in Dhaka, to don the India colours in the SAFF Tournament. But the Kolkata club’s bench
strength is so impressive that coach Subhas Bhowmik, a former international, has no worry on this score. Bhowmik has featured in East Bengal’s many a memorable victory in the Durand Cup, and he hopes to lead the club to the summit once again, this time from the sidelines, tomorrow. East Bengal have a formidable forwardline, comprising
Malsawmtluanga, Shasty Duley, K Kulothungan and Mike Okoro. Amjad Ali Khan, Tushar Rakshit, Sangram Mukherjee, Arun Malhotra and S Roy
Chowdhury make up for some of the other dependable players in their line-up, who can create the necessary moves to
knot up the best of defence. The Army XI defence is competent by normal yardstick, but how they would fare when pitted
against the skilful forwards of East Bengal is something to be watched tomorrow. On paper, East Bengal definitely start as overwhelming favourites, and they are itching to inscribe their name on the winners’ trophy for the 15th time, which would still be one short of their formidable rivals, Mohun Bagan’s collection of 16 Durand Cup titles. |
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Kolkata, January 9 The team from Jamshedpur went all out to beat their rival, but lack of finish stood in their way when they muffed at least three gilt-edged chances. The trainees also saw their advancing medio Jehry Zirsanga sending the ball into the net off a Naoba Singh centre from extreme right flank but the goal was nullified due to off side in the 81st minute. Earlier in the 12th minute a stinging Subhas Mandal shot went off the mark, while Zirsanga fumbled and mispassed in front of the Vasco goalmouth failing to shot home following a measured attack in the midway of the second half of play. On the other hand experienced Vasco boys had to cope with the young rivals when their striker Rui Wanderlei, who had been displaying a fine performance in the NFL, failed to rise on the occasion. The Goans, who had made some sporadic moves, were, however, thwarted by the rival defence. Two academy players Debabrata Roy and Zirsana were shown yellow cards during the match. In another match, Indian Bank defeated Tollygunge Agragami 1-0.
UNI |
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Chopra fashions NZ win Panaji, January 9 Set 217 for victory, North Zone reached the target with seven wickets and 4.4 overs to spare. The match was delayed by one hour in the morning as the wicket was wet due to heavy early morning dew and play was curtailed to 47 overs. Earlier, Central having been put into bat made 216 for nine in the allotted 47 overs. North chasing the target of 217 runs for a victory carried out the task losing only three wickets with 4.4 overs to spare on the strength of masterly unbeaten knock of 105 by Akash Chopra. His 105 was studded with eleven hits to the fence and came in 136 balls and 190 minutes. He was ably supported by Gautam Gambhir and both added 72 runs for the first wicket before Gambhir was trapped leg before wicket by Nikhil Chopra for 43. His 43 was laced with eight hits to the fence and came in 39 balls. North Zone lost two quick wickets of Pankaj Dharmani (19) and Mithun Minhas (5) to be 130 for 3. However, captain Reetindeer Singh Sodhi and Chopra dug themselves in to surpass the target without further loss adding 88 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket. With this victory, North Zone took their tally to 9 points with two wins from two matches, while Central Zone it was their second successive defeat.
UNI |
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East
Zone in final Rohtak, January 9 SCOREBOARD West Zone (first innings):
162 East Zone (first innings): Abhishek c Shatrunjay b Pathan 37, Avik c Sahil Kukreja b Pathan 28, Rakesh Mohanty lbw Pathan 0, Sumit Biswal c Swapnil b Timil 40, Tushar c Harshad b Bochare 3, Niranjan b Harshad 39, Dinesh Mohanta not out 56, Das c Harshad b Shatunjay 15, P. Nayak run out
9. Extras: (b-6, lb-1, nb-4, w-5) 16; Total: (for 8 wickets):
243;
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Airlines, PSB in last four
Kota, January 9 After conceding a goal, PSB equalised through Damandeep before Gaganpreet scored the winner converting a penalty stroke in the second half. PSB joined CRPF and Sikh Regimental Centre both of whom had registered wins in the quarter-finals yesterday, as the third team in the last four stage of the competition. Defensive lapses proved costly for EME as they, despite taking the lead through perfect penalty stroke conversion by Avtar Singh, gave too much open space near the goalmouth to their opposition. PSB scored the equaliser from a
penalty corner. Star-studded Indian Airlines also romped into the semifinals defeating Central Railway
4-2 via tie-breaker after being locked 1-1 at the end of the scheduled time. Indian Airlines will now lock horns with Central Reserve Police Force in the first semi-final while PSB will clash with Sikh Regimental Centre in the second semi-final tomorrow. Despite the presence of a number of star players, including the mercurial Dhanraj Pillay, the airlines team struggled to get past their spirited opponents who gave very little room for the famed rival forwards to
manoeuvre. After a barren first half, Airlines shot into the lead with Arjun Hallapa converting a penalty stroke but the railwaymen fought back with a goal from Dheeraj. In the tie-breaker, Mohd Riaz, Mukesh Kumar and Halappa scored the goals for Airlines while Mehraz was the lone scorer for Central Railway.
PTI |
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Haryana champs Ambala, January 9 In gymnastics, Haryana scored a total of 142.90 points. Punjab stood second with a score of 136.40 points while West Bengal was third with a score of 129.40 points. Renu Arya, a Haryana gymnast, was adjudged the best allround woman gymnast. With a score of 30.80 points while Rohika of Punjab stood second with 29.65 points. Sukhbir of Punjab stood third with 29.30 points. While Banshri of Tripura stood fourth with 28.10 points. Amrita of West Bengal stood fifth with 27.15 points. In the sixth position was Rekha of Haryana with 26.85 points. In basketball, Punjab beat Karnataka, Karnataka beat Gujarat and
Chhattisgarh beat Punjab. Later Haryana beat Orissa, UP beat Goa, Delhi beat MP while Kerala beat Tripura. In other matches, West Bengal beat Chandigarh. Tamil Nadu beat Bihar and
Chandigarh beat J&K. In kho-kho, Karnataka beat Jharkhand, West Bengal beat Bihar, Punjab beat Chandigarh, Maharashtra beat Tamil Nadu, Delhi beat J&K, MP beat Goa, UP beat Tripura, Haryana beat Orrisa, Kerala beat Tamil Nadu, Karnataka beat Gujarat, Punjab beat
Chhattisgarh and West Bengal beat Assam. In the evening J&K beat Jharkhand, MP beat Bihar, Chandigarh beat Tripura, Haryana beat Maharashtra, West Bengal beat Goa, Punjab beat Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka beat Delhi and Kerala beat Orissa. In hockey, Punjab beat Karnataka, Orissa beat Gujarat, Jharkhand beat Karnataka and Manipur beat Madhya Pradesh. The match between West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh was drawn while Jharkhand beat
Kerala, Punjab beat Kerala, Gujarat beat Bihar and Chhattisgarh beat Kerala. Later, Delhi beat Tamil Nadu, UP beat Manipur, Delhi beat Chandigarh and Haryana beat Orissa. |
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Bathinda
badminton Chandigarh, January 9 |
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