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Tuesday,
February 4, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Players under tight security Kenyans appeal to Kiwis India’s hat-trick of wins against Pakistan
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West Indies not among favourites Salgaocar upset Bagan 2-0 Paes joins Davis Cup squad Sriram dashes Punjab hopes Delhi on top Rlys 149 for
1 Kila Raipur rural games conclude Punjab eves win
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Players under tight security Durban, February 3 The Indian players, who are based here preparing for the tournament, enjoy very close protection. Their every move is watched by plain clothes Indian-origin police officers and uniformed policemen have been posted at their beachfront hotel 24 hours a day. Anyone wishing to talk to the players or seeking autographs is prohibited and kept as far as possible. And journalists seeking interviews have to go through all formalities and frisked by plain clothes security policemen. In addition, when the tournament proper starts on February 9 in Cape Town, the ICC will employ a string of security measures over players and officials to keep out bookies who are understood to be already operating in London and South Africa. CWC spokesperson, Rodney Hartman, confirmed the measures and added that the authorities would be keeping a close watch on book-makers trying to enter the country. A dossier has been compiled of known book-makers who had been involved in match-fixing during the Hansie Cronje saga and South Africa’s immigration officials had been informed to keep them out. Some of these book-makers include Indian nationals and Indian-origin bookies based in London. Hartman said the ICC’s anti-corruption unit was aware of the methods employed by bookies and therefore stringent measures would be employed to ensure that even insignificant information would not be passed on to bookies. Officials were aware that innocuous information such as the form of players and injury to key players were “gold” to bookies. In addition to strict security measures, there would also be guards outside player dressing rooms; closed circuit television cameras inside and outside dressing rooms; players would not be allowed to carry cell phones and they would only be allowed use of a cell phone carried by team managers for urgent matters. Media managers would also be allowed to carry cell phones but would not be allowed to use them in team areas. One of the five regional security managers would also attend every match.
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Kenyans appeal to Kiwis
Nairobi, February 3 “Boycotting the Nairobi matches and attempting to have it moved to South Africa is simply handing victory to the terrorists and justifying their worthless, inhuman cause,” the leading independent Daily Nation newspaper warned in its editorial. New Zealand announced on Friday they would not play their World Cup match in Kenya on February 21 due to fears for the safety and security of players. Sri Lanka, which is also due to play one of the two matches scheduled for Nairobi, said it would honour its fixture. But the paper stressed that “Kenya remains firm, despite bearing the scars inflicted by acts of terrorism, and in the same spirit, should not let the terrorists dictate our lives.” The East African Standard newspaper warned that any consideration by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to move New Zealand’s World Cup fixtures from Nairobi would be ‘bizarre’ and would set a ‘very bad precedent for the future.’ “Now the question is, would the ICC be talking the same language if it was about Kenya, or is it because we are a Third World country? Kenya must not allow the ICC to toss it around,” the Standard’s editorial said. The People newspaper pointed out that if history of attacks by terrorists were to be used as a benchmark for hosting international tournaments, “then the term international tournaments would surely take its place in the dustbin of history.” “The New Zealanders have quite clearly opted to give yet another victory to Osama bin Laden and other murderous cowards of his ilk,” it added. The opposition Kenya African National Union (KANU) party newspaper, Kenya Times, said it was not too late for New Zealand to reconsider their boycott decision and travel to Nairobi so that cricket lovers in this country were not denied a chance to watch the game at its highest level.
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India’s hat-trick
of wins against Pakistan World Cup nostalgia will be incomplete without recalling India’s hat-trick. In a span of seven years, the hat-trick was achieved from Sydney through Bangalore to Manchester. Yes, three wins over Pakistan that mark a singular achievement means the traditional rival from the Subcontinent has never beaten India in a World Cup. A fourth meeting comes up on March 1 at Centurion Park in which India will probably be favoured to extend its run of success. While South Africa’s collapses are well recongised as the pattern of ‘chokers’ India’s wins over Pakistan have somehow never got due recognition. That could be because Pakistan went on to win the World Cup in 1992 and marched into the finals in 1999 while India never quite made it to the summit in those World Cups. Still, the truth is Pakistan has been seen to choke against India on three major occasions. This stands out in contrast to performance in most other series, including those played in India, which Pakistan has invariably dominated. The World Cup has proved to be a different kettle of crab. The teams crossed paths in a World Cup for the first time in 1992. The Indians may have begun the competition on a losing streak, going down narrowly to England and Australia but ahead of the big clash at the SCG, they were a confident bunch. The gut feeling was they would put it across Pakistan. Having taken the ticklish decision of dropping Ravi Shastri for his snail-like pace at the top of the order, the Indians were lifted by his replacement Jadeja who made 46 off 81 balls. The emerging all-round talent of Sachin Tendulkar ensured that the match was India’s despite a none too healthy looking total of 216. Such a high tension clash was bound to stir up feelings inside the arena and Javed Miandad’s kangaroo leaps in aping the appealing antics of Kiran More was a flash point. The umpires gained control of the situation and there was not be another hint of the tensions that clouded cricket relations between neighbours. A group of men wearing the orange turban of Khalistanis brought the inevitable touch of politics to the event. The members of the International Sikh Youth Federation made no bones about which country they supported that evening but no one bothered too much about such maverick behaviour. Jadeja, much in the news these days, was to play a leading role in another resounding win in 1996 when the whole of India seemed to have descended on Bangalore. He waded into Waqar Younis as he made 45 in 25 balls to take India to a respectable 287 in the stipulated overs. The angry young man Aamir Sohail was to lose his cool in a drama of high passions and in throwing away his wicket to the feisty Venkatesh Prasad allowed the home side to come back strongly into the game. One fan in Pakistan shot his television set and then himself in a bizarre climax to the longest evening in the Subcontinent. Two out of two seemed good enough a performance. But that not to be enough. The meeting in rainy Manchester was touted as the ultimate clash of Asian cricketing giants whose nations were also at war in snowy Kargil in the summer of 1999. Security was tight as Geoff Boycott’s defence but scalpers were a disappointed lot as the predicted insatiable demand for tickets just did not materialise. Three arrests and nine ejections constituted the police count on the law and order front at Old Trafford that Thursday. Of greater significance was that India defended a target for the third time in three World Cup meetings and, strangely, Pakistan folded up for the third time in a row. What a hat-trick! The result itself may have been insignificant but the late night drive to London was euphoric even on a crowded motorway. India was never in the hunt for a spot in the last four after the collapse against Australia at the Oval in its first match in the Super Six. And Pakistan was anyway headed for the semis and then the final. The pattern of wins is astounding. It appears cocky Pakistani cricketers are not quite that gung-ho when they face up to India in the World Cup. The Indians seem able to raise their game when it comes to playing their big foes even if they had not been hitting their straps in other games. The noisy flag-waving, whistle bowling, chanting crowds at India-Pakistan meetings create a unique atmosphere. Cricket comes alive at these encounters in faraway lands where security is not such an obsessive, all-consuming issue and there is always banter but never fisticuffs even amidst fans of deeply divided national loyalties. These World Cup games have represented relative islands of calm in an otherwise troubled horizon of soured diplomatic relations and nuclear-speak. Sometimes, sport does point the way to life. It is the eternal metaphor.
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Point counterpoint London, February 3 “The more time Sachin would get to spend on the wicket, better would be his score. If he comes in when just four-five overs are left, what can he do?” Madan Lal, who has also coached the Indian team, said. “Even in New Zealand when Sourav was not getting runs, he should have got Sachin to open the innings. Had Sachin opened and scored well in New Zealand, that would have been better for his confidence,” Madal Lal said in a BBC Hindi weekly phone-in-programme. The former all-rounder said India should not be rigid regarding the batting order. “When you have the best batsman in your team you should do all that is possible to restore his confidence. What is the use of this rigidity that he should bat at number four only. According to situation, India should shuffle the batting order and there should be no hard and fast rule.” While Tendulkar has expressed the willingness to open the innings, Ganguly said the team would decide the order only after assessing the conditions before any match. Madan Lal was in favour of a right-left opening combination. “There should be flexibility in the batting order. The team has to play one day cricket according to situation. What is the use then of having the greatest batsman of the world in your team?” Madal Lal asked. Madan Lal was also not too keen about Rahul Dravid doubling up a wicketkeeper in one-dayers. “The decision on Rahul Dravid keeping the wickets was taken by the team captain and the coach keeping in mind the team balance.” “But I feel that a lot in a one-day depends on the keeper, and a specialist keeper should be in the team, as even a single error can prove costly,” he added. “This talk on Rahul keeping the wickets has been going on ever since I was a selector, and the risk has been taken to accommodate an extra bowler or a batsman,” he said. PTI Sachin can bat at any position: Kapil New Delhi, February 3 “A batsman of Tendulkar’s class can bat at any position be it at No. 1 or No. 11. Since he is the best he should not bother about his position,” Kapil told reporters here on the sidelines of Kinetic launching the cricket variant of ‘Boss’ motor cycle. Ever since skipper Sourav Ganguly pushed Tendulkar down the Order last season and propelled Virender Sehwag to open along side him, there were reports that the master batsman was more comfortable at the top of order dictating terms to the opposition. Kapil also said skipper Sourav Ganguly was passing through a lean patch but hastened to add that rough patches were part of every cricketer’s career. “His performance can be doubted in the last series (against New Zealand). But he is a class player with 19 hundreds. In 1983, the whole team together did not have 19 tons,” said Kapil, who had also worked as team coach. Asked to pick a player who would star for India, the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the
Century, said: “All 15 players are stars to me. It was the same in 1983 when we played and won as a team,” he said. “If we can win in ‘83 when we were given only a 66 to 1 chance, this team which is given a 3 to 1 or 5 to 1 rating, have more chances. They just have to play with passion. “We may pray, wish but in the end it all depends on how the 15 players wearing the Indian shirts pull up... for themselves and for every body,” said Kapil.
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Sehwag to play his natural game
Durban, February 3 “I will play my game as I always do. I know that sometimes people say I play rash shots and get out quickly. But in this tournament, although I will be taking precautions, I will, however, play my natural game,” Sehwag told PTI here. “It’s a very proud moment for me to represent my country,” said the 24-year-old Sehwag, who will be joining the English County side Leicestershire in April. Sehwag said he had modelled his game on his hero Sachin Tendulkar and had learnt a lot from him after being selected in the national team. “He is my hero and role model. I’ve admired Sachin ever since I was a schoolboy and since I started playing at the age of 15, I have always wanted to play like him,” said the unassuming young star. “Sachin is a legend and I want to follow in his footsteps,” he added. The young right handed batsman has notched up five centuries and eight 50s in one-day internationals and three centuries and seven half-centuries in Tests since his international debut in 1999.
PTI |
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West Indies not among favourites The form of the West Indies on overseas tours has not been anything to write home about in recent years and they didn’t even get to the Super Six Stage in the last World Cup in the UK so they are obviously not among the favourites for the 2003 tournament in South Africa. But they must take heart from their latest one-day performances away from home in India and Bangladesh. Bangladesh is not a team one should beat and boast about but their beating of India in India was a pretty good performance. That win in the seven-match series was very much due more to the strength of the batting than the bowling. The bowling department, mainly fast bowlers, should be a bit more effective on the harder, quicker South African pitches and it has been strengthened by the addition of Nixon McLean who has experience of South African conditions but the batsmen again will be the main focus. They have already had a bit of bad luck with the late withdrawal from the squad of Marlon Samuels due to injury but Brian Lara, who wasn’t available in India should more than make up for his absence. That’s providing of course his absence from the game hasn’t dulled his form or enthusiasm too much. His last innings for the West Indies, saw him getting a century in the ICC Trophy in Sri Lanka and no one needs too much reminding of his ability. His 15 centuries, 48 half centuries with a strike rate of just over 78 runs per hundred balls received, makes him a match winner. He has over 200 one day games under his belt and the other member of the team with over 200 games is the captain Carl Hooper. His record isn’t quite as impressive as Lara’s, seven centuries and 29 half centuries, but Lara is Lara and considering that these days he is content to put himself a bit lower in the order, it’s his strike rate that will be more important as the innings winds down and in that sphere he is comparable with just over 76 runs per 100 balls faced. That’s the top end of the tree as far as experience is concerned but some of the younger brigade came very much to the fore in India and are expected to play major roles in South Africa as well. Hinds and Gayle, gave the team solid platforms more times than never at the top of the innings with Gayle in particular, not just getting big scores but getting them at a phenomenal rate. His strike rate currently stands at over 80 runs per 100 balls with four centuries and 14 half centuries in just 62 games, while Hinds has one century only but 10 half centuries which verifies the story of more good starts than bad. These two will more than likely be followed by Ramnaresh Sarwan. He and the now missing Samuels were really impressive in India. Sarwan only has 29 one-day games under his belt but has a century and five half centuries with a strike rate of just over 79 runs per 100 balls and undoubtedly is on the way up. Don’t forget also the ever reliable Shivnarine Chanderpaul capable of playing his part anywhere in the batting order and usually the man for a crisis with his cool head and calculated thinking. That without doubt is a strong batting lineup and if they adopt similar tactics to those that proved so successful in India, that is, chase targets instead of setting them, they could surprise a few skeptics in this 2003 tournament.
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Salgaocar
upset Bagan 2-0
Kolkata, February 3 Bagan, a pale shadow of the team that demolished Indian Bank and Dempo in their last two matches, lacked any thrust and penetration and surrendered to the Goans as the match wore on. Ghanaian Bello Rasaq drew first blood to give Salgaocar an early lead in the 15th minute while medio Climax Lawrence increased the scoreline, converting a penalty in the 73rd minute, to seal the fate of Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium.
East Bengal defeat
Dempo 3-2 KOLKATA: IFA Shield winners East Bengal pipped a spirited Dempo Sports Club from Goa 3-2 in an absorbing 11th round match of the NFL at the Salt Lake Stadium here today. After Dempo’s E.B. Channa scored a suicidal goal in the very third minute, Dempo restored parity in the very next minute through Raman Vijayan. Dempo, who earlier lost to Mohun Bagan 1-5, was a transformed lot today as they snatched the lead for quite some time when Channa made amends for his lapse and scored with a fine volley to put Dempo in the lead in the 14th minute. East Bengal strikers, especially Okoro and Suley Musah, moved in tandem displaying fine form and drew level through Okoro nine minutes after the second half. The Red-Yellow brigade regained lead midway through the second half as Okoro again found the target through a fine header.
HAL find winning
touch BANGALORE: Injury-plagued local league champions Hindustan Aeronautics Limited found their winning touch again as they beat Indian Bank 1-0 in the OIL PSU seventh edition of the National Football League here today. The match winner came through a header by Nigerian striker Keneth Onu in the 37th minute. It was totally a refreshing game by HAL, who dominated the proceedings right from the word go. “The long-awaited win will certainly boost the morale of the players,’’ said a beaming HAL coach
Chandrashekar after the match. UNI,
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Paes joins Davis Cup squad New Delhi, February 3 Though Mahesh Bhupathi is expected to join the squad only tomorrow or day after, Leander’s arrival set the tempo for taking on Japan in the Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association centre court from February 7 to 9. The Indian squad had two sessions of practice at the National Sports Club of India grass courts. The Japanese squad, who arrived on Saturday night, also had a long workout. The Japanese, who boast of “four good singles players” were hoping to reverse the losing trend as out of their 18 previous Davis Cup clashes against India, they have won the tie only twice, both at neutral venues, in 1921 at Chicago and in 1930 in London. Leander Paes, who made his sensational Davis Cup debut against Japan at Chandigarh in 1990, is eagerly looking forward to the tie, as the home conditions give the hosts a head start. Beating Japan in the Davis Cup has become a habit with Leander, but still, he does not underestimate their rivals, and hopes that players like Rohan Bopanna and Harsh Mankad come good, in the second singles. Leander was all praise for the talent of Bopanna, who, he feels, can mature into a class player if he puts his heart and soul into his game. Bopanna had to sit out in the tie against Australia last year, as the team management preferred Delhi’s Vishal Uppal to Bopanna. But this time around, non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan, who kept a watchful eye when the players sweated it out, is likely to blood the tall Bopanna. Though Leander and Mahesh have split as a doubles pair in the professional circuit, Leander was confident that the pair would regain their chemistry to wrap up the Davis Cup tie without hiccups, unless the Japanese have some ace up their sleeves. Leander and Mahesh had last teamed up in the Asian Games at Busan to lift the doubles gold, and they hope to play an encore in the Davis Cup. Mahesh had pulled out of the Cup tie against Australia, due to a shoulder injury. |
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Sriram
dashes Punjab hopes Chandigarh, February 3 In fact, nothing went Punjab’s way during the day. They should blame only themselves for the situation they are in. They fielded shoddily and bowled without purpose. The bowling of the seamer Vineet Sharma, who claimed four wickets besides inducing a couple of snicks, was the only bright spot for the hosts. Punjab, defending a meagre total of 233 runs, could not get an early breakthrough. And when they finally got one, when skipper S. Suresh was consumed by left-arm pacer Amit Uniyal nearly 60 runs were already there on the board. Sriram looked solid and kept on scoring runs to bring the total near to the 100-run mark when Vineet dealt a double blow in the same over, claiming the crucial wickets of former India players Sadagopan Ramesh and Hemang Badani to bring cheers to the Punjab camp. It was at this stage that the hosts could have turned the corner. They had the opportunity to push the visitors further on the back foot but they were let down by poor fielding as S Sharath was twice grassed, first by Pankaj Dharmani behind the stump off Reetinder Sodhi and then by substitute Harish Puri at mid on. The bowler to suffer on this occasion was Uniyal. Sharath and Sriram made them pay for the lapses. Sriram looked solid throughout his stay at the wickets and kept the scoreboard moving rotating the strike and hitting boundaries. He was in full cry, clobbering Sodhi for four successive fours. Both combined well to add 123 runs to the total for the fourth-wicket partnership. And when the fourth wicket fell in the shape of Sharath the visitors were on top, needing only 18 runs more to overhaul Punjab’s first innings total. Though there were minor alarms, Sriram ensured that the target was overtaken without major hiccups. M.R. Shrinivas then joined with Sriram and frustrated the Punjab bowling attack. And by the time the play ended both had added 93 runs to the total for the unbeaten eight-wicket stand to take the lead to 101 runs. Except for a miracle Punjab are now out of the championship. SCOREBOARD Punjab (Ist innings): 233 Tamil Nadu (Ist Innings): Suresh C Dharmani b Uniyal 32, Ramesh b Vineet 39, Sriram batting 160, Badani lbw Vineet 0, Sharath c Ricky b Sawal 35, Badrinath lbw Vineet 0, Sarvanan c Uniyal b Sawal 0, Gokul c Dharmani b Vineet 11, Srinivas batting 30,
Extras: (b-4,lb-10, NB-13) 27, Total: (for 7) 334, FoW:
1/39, 2/92, 3/92, 4/215, 5/222, 6/223, 7/241. Bowling: Gagandeep 28-6-68-0, Vineet Sharma 28-2-98-4, Amit Uniyal 20-3-63-1, R. Sodhi 7-1-35-0, S. Sawal 15-1-56-2. |
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Delhi on top
New Delhi, February 3 SCOREBOARD Hyderabad:
Nand Kishore c Dahiya b Rawat 17, Manohar c A. Chopra b Bhandari 0, Vinay c S. Oberoi b Bhandari 96. Laxman c M. Manhas b R. Sanghvi 76, A.T. Ryadu c Bhandari b Sanghvi 11, S. Yadav lbw 1, A.Yadav c S. Oberoi b Bhandari 35, Khaleel not out 30. Vishnu c Bhandari b S. Singh 8, N.P. Singh c Gambhir b S. Singh 6, Raju n.o. 7.
Extras: (lb-1, nb-4, penalty runs-5) 10. Total: (dec in 103 overs) 297.
FoW: 1-1, 2-32, 3-150, 4-168, 5-173, 6-235, 7-246, 8-268, 9-274.
Bowling: Bhandari 23-2-80-4, Rawat 19-7-48-1, Sarandeep 30-6-69-2, Sanghvi 30-6-87-2, Manhas 1-0-7-0, Delhi: Akash Chopra lbw N.P. Singh 0, Gautam Gambhir not out 140, Salil Oberoi c D. Manohar b V. Raju 64, Mithun Manhas c and b S. Yadav 34, Varun Kumar not out 12.
Extras: (b-2, lb-1, w-1, nb-6) 10. Total: (in 68 overs) 260.
FoW: 1-0, 2-150, 3-227. Bowling: N.P. Singh 9-1-31-1 (nb-4, w-1), Vishnu Vardhan 14-3-43-0, Daniel Manohar 5-0-22-0 (nb-2), V. Raju 23-4-74-1, Shivaji Yadav 16-2-82-1, Arjun Yadav 1-0-5-0.
UNI |
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Rlys 149 for
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New Delhi, February 3 After two full days’ play lost to bad weather, play finally began today at 3.00pm. Railways won the toss and
promptly elected to bat. The hosts went past the half-century mark before losing J P Yadav (24, 55m, 36b, 5x4) at 56. SCOREBOARD Railways (1st innings): |
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Kila Raipur rural games conclude
Kila Raipur, February 3 There were some spectacular events and super human displays of physical strength. Bhim Singh, a physically challenged youth (one arm) bent an iron rod, 70-year-old Jagir Singh from Patiala rotated a ‘mungli’ weighing 45 kg around his head for five minutes while Daan Singh of Kila Raipur broke a brick with a tumbler (glass). Another physically-challenged youth, Kaur Singh displayed his shooting skill while Naresh Kumar of Patiala flew 151 kites tied with one rope. A Nihang, Maghar Singh of Buddha Dal, exhibited superb control while riding two horses. In bullock cart-race, Gurjant Singh of Bath emerged victorious to win the Hero Honda motorbike while Harjinder Singh of Sarihn finished runner up to get a scooter. Labh Singh and Jiwan Singh both of Jandali finished third and fourth, respectively. In hockey (junior), Grewal Academy, Kila Raipur beat PAP Academy, Jalandhar 2-1 and in the women’s section, DAV College, Amritsar pipped Government College, Ludhiana, 1-0 while in the senior men’s section, PAP, Jalandhar, drubbed Ropar Hawks, 3-0. Other results: Athletics: 400 m (men): Gurmit Singh (Ldh) 1, Gurmit Singh, (Chd) 2, Sukhwinder Singh (Jal) 3. (Women) Ramla Devi (Punjab Police) 1, Rupinder Kaur (Ldh) 2, Sharanjit Kaur (Kalakh) 3. 100 m (men) : Diljot Singh (Ldh) 1, Harman Singh (Machhiwara) 2, Gurmit Singh (Ldh) 3. (Women)- Rupinder Kaur (Ldh) 1, Sharanjit Kaur (Kalakh) 2 Bhawanjit Kaur (Samrala) 3. One-mile cycling race (u-19 years): Harpreet Singh (Mohali) 1, Iqbal Singh 2, Kamalpreet Singh (Mohali) 3. 100 m (school boys): Iqbal Singh (Assi Kalan) 1, Harchand Singh (Sayan) 2 Manpreet Singh (Narangwal) 3. 800 m (u-19 ) : Pradeepinder Singh (Ptl) 1, Sukhwinder Singh (Jal) 2, Raju Joshi (Ldh) 3.  |
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Punjab eves win Sangrur, February 3 With seven points Haryana have already qualified for the Junior Nationals. If Punjab win last match against J&K tomorrow they will also qualify. Haryana defeated Delhi by six wickets today. Batting first Delhi was bundled out for 87. In reply Haryana scored the required runs in 19.4 overs for the lose of six
wickets. Punjab had no difficulty in beating Chandigarh in another league match. Chandigarh could score only 39. In reply Punjab scored the 40 runs for the loss of four wickets. Haryana beat J&K by a narrow margin. J&K scored only 52 runs. Haryana lost eight wickets before scoring 53 runs for victory. |
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