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Tuesday,
February 11, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Jayasuriya inspires Lanka win Craig Wishart sets up Zimbabwe victory Flower, Olonga wear
black armbands Pak need to jell together as a side |
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Bowlers hold the key Johannesburg, February 10 The showdown between the two fastest bowlers in the business — Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee is expected to hog the limelight when defending champions Australia take on a revenge-seeking Pakistan in their opening World Cup match here tomorrow. Cometh the hour, cometh Lara Klusener ‘top finisher’ South Africa in mourning
Healy against Dravid keeping wickets Wives are ‘great help’ on tours Chance for Bangladesh to
end losing streak Mbeki flays Australia, England Marriages put off due to cricket World Cup
Double crown for
Mayank, Shahnaaz
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Jayasuriya inspires Lanka
win
Bloemfontein, February 10 The Sri Lanka captain blasted 120 off 125 balls to help the 1996 champions amass a daunting total of 272 for seven before New Zealand, despite a magnificent 141 by Scott Styris, collapsed to 225 all out in front of a sparse crowd at Goodyear Park. Styris’s swashbuckling knock, his first one-day international hundred, included six sixes before he threw his wicket away at the death after running out of partners. Hashan Tillakaratne chipped in with an unbeaten 81 and shared a 170-run partnership with Jayasuriya before the Kiwi bowlers struck back to capture six late wickets and restrict the Sri Lankans. But New Zealand, desperately needing to win the match after announcing they plan to boycott their game against Kenya because of security concerns, made a disastrous start to their reply when they lost their top three batsmen in the first six overs. Styris scored almost two-thirds of his team’s runs with only all rounder Chris Cairns (32) offering any other sustained resistance as Sri Lanka cruised to their 14th victory in their last 17 one-day games against New Zealand. Jayasuriya registered his 16th one-day hundred and first in the World Cup after a typically flamboyant innings that featured 14 boundaries and a large slice of good fortune. Scoreboard Sri Lanka: Atapattu c Styris b Bond 6 Jayasuriya lbw b Astle 120 Tillakaratne
not out 81 Jayawardene lbw b Adams 1 De Silva c Styris b Astle 12 Sangakkara c Adams
b Astle 13 Arnold b Bond 12 Vaas b Adams 5 Muralitharan not out 4 Extras:
(b-3, lb-6, nb-5, w-4) 18 Total: (for 7 wkts, 50 overs) 272 Fall of wickets:
1-23, 2-193, 3-196, 4-213, 5-240, 6-256, 7-263. Bowling: Tuffey 5-0-36-0, Bond 10-1-44-2, Oram 10-0-37-0, Adams 9-0-58-2, Harris 4-0-26-0, Styris 5-0-28-0, Astle 7-0-34-3. New Zealand: Fleming c Sangakkara b
Gunaratne 1 Astle run out 0 McMillan c Sangakkara b
Gunaratne 3 Styris c Vaas b Arnold 141 Cairns c and b De Silva 32 Vincent c Muralitharan
b Jayasuriya 1 Harris b Muralitharan 13 Oram st Sangakkara b
Muralitharan 12 Adams c sub b Arnold 1 Tuffey
c Sangakkara b Arnold 4 Bond not out 2 Extras: (w-5 lb-10) 15 Total: (all out, 45.3 overs) 225 Fall of wickets:
1-1, 2-2, 3-15, 4-93, 5-94, 6-150, 7-179, 8-182, 9-200. Bowling:
Vaas 7-0-22-0, Gunaratne 5-0-24-2, Fernando 3-1-19-0, Muralitharan 9-1-42-2, Jayasuriya 8-0-32-1, De Silva 5-0-29-1, Arnold 8.3-0-47-3.
Reuters
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Craig Wishart sets up Zimbabwe victory Harare, February 10 Rain halted play for the second time at 1410 GMT and, with no chance of a resumption, the match was abandoned. Facing a revised victory target of 325 in 46 overs, Namibia slipped from a flying start to 104 for five when rain intervened after 25.1 overs, well behind on the Duckworth/Lewis scoring method for interrupted matches. Former captain Danie Keulder was Namibia’s top scorer, striking three fours in his 27 before he was brilliantly caught off a full-blooded cover drive by a leaping Dion Ebrahim. The tournament minnows, playing in their first World Cup, won the toss but could do very little to stem the flow of runs as Zimbabwe piled up an imposing 340 for two in their 50 overs. Opener Wishart narrowly missed out on the highest individual World Cup score as Zimbabwe cashed in on a good batting pitch and an inexperienced Namibia attack. Wishart’s 172 was the highest total by a Zimbabwe batsman in one-day internationals but fell short of Gary Kirsten’s 188 not out for South Africa against the United Arab Emirates in the 1996 World Cup. Grant Flower finished unbeaten on 78. After Namibia captain Deon Koeze won the toss and elected to field, runs flowed at the Harare Sports Club as the Zimbabwe batsmen hit 32 fours and six sixes to set up a near impossible target. Wishart went straight into overdrive and at the end he returned unconquered after hitting 18 fours and three sixes. Fellow opener Mark Vermeulen played the anchor role scoring 39 in 66 balls. The two put on 107 before Vermeulen departed, caught and bowled by Louw. Star batsman Andy Flower missed out a chance to record a big score when he was out for 39 caught by Karg off J.L. Louw. Scoreboard Zimbabwe: Wishart not out 172 Vermeulen c and b Louw 39 A. Flower c Karg
b J. Burger 39 G. Flower not out 78 Extras: (lb-7 nb-1 w-4) 12 Total:
(for two wickets, 50 overs) 340 Fall of wickets: 1-107 2-174. Bowling:
Snyman 10-0-49-0, L. Burger 10-1-70-0, B. Kotze 10-1-75-0, Louw 10-0-60-1, D. Kotze 7-0-56-0, J. Burger 3-0-23-1. Namibia: Walters c Taibu b Streak 0 Swanepeol c Streak
b Whittall 23 Burger c A. Flower b Streak 26 Keulder c Ebrahim
b Whittall 27 Murgatroyed c Wishart b G. Flower 10 Burger not out 4 Kotze not out 5 Extras: (w-8 lb-1) 9 Total: (for five wickets,
25.1 overs) 104 Fall of wickets: 0-1 2-40 3-80 4-94 5-98 Bowling: Streak 5-0-35-2, Hondo 6-1-20-0, Olonga 3-1-8-0, Murphy 1-0-7-0,
G. Flower 5.1-1-13-1, Whittall 5-0-20-2. Reuters
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Flower, Olonga wear
black armbands
Harare, February 10 In a joint statement issued just before the start of today’s match against Namibia here, the two players - Andy Flower and Henry Olonga - said “we cannot in good conscience take to the field and ignore the fact that millions of our compatriots are starving, unemployed and oppressed. “We are aware that hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans may even die in the coming months through a combination of starvation, poverty and Aids. We are aware that many people have been unjustly imprisoned and tortured simply for expressing their opinions about what is happening in the country. “We have heard a torrent of racist hate speech directed at minority groups. ...Thousands of Zimbabweans are routinely denied their right to freedom of expression. People have been murdered, raped, beaten and had their homes destroyed because of their beliefs and that many of those responsible have not been prosecuted,” the statement said. Flower, Zimbabwe’s best batsman ever, and fast bowler Olonga are part of the team in the first match against Namibia. Besides Olonga, Zimbabwe has fielded two more black players — Douglas Hondo and Tatendu Taibu — for the match. “In all the circumstances we have decided that we will each wear a black armband for the duration of the World Cup. “In doing so we are mourning the death of democracy in our beloved Zimbabwe. We are making a silent plea to those responsible to stop the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe. We pray that our small action may help to restore sanity and dignity to our nation,” the statement said.
PTI |
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Pak need to jell together as a side
Ever since the finals of the last World Cup, every encounter between Australia and Pakistan is seen as an opportunity for us to avenge that loss at Lord’s. That is yet to happen, but what better place for “badla” than in our next World Cup encounter. Many players in this Pakistan team, including me, were around last time as well, and the disappointment of that loss still hurts us. The players may be the same, but I think we have improved individually, because most of us now have experience to go with our talent. Guys who were inexperienced then, like Shoaib, Youhana, Afridi and Saqlain are now well-accustomed to handling pressure, and this might be a crucial factor. All we need now is to jell together as a side, and seeing us practice and train, I think it is happening at the right time. There is a feeling that playing the defending champions is not the easiest way to begin a World Cup campaign, but I disagree. The pressure of beginning their title defence will lead to some nerves in the Australian camp as they come into the first game, and this is perhaps our chance to make the most of it. Moreover, there are no expectations from us, and everybody thinks Australia will win, so the pressure is firmly on their team. If this Pakistan team does win, it will be a huge boost to our confidence, and we will be pretty dangerous after that. There is no arguing that over the last four years, the Australians have cemented their place on as the top side in both Tests and one-dayers. Their style of cricket is exciting, and their relentless attack makes it very difficult for the opposition to make up for lost time once they are in the driver’s seat. Their batting is extremely strong with Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist forming a very destructive opening pair, and their bowling has a great deal of variety. However, I cannot help but feel that they will miss Steve Waugh during their title defence. He was the one who bailed them out whenever they were under pressure, last time. In 2003, while I see plenty of exciting players in their side, I also see the lack of a crisis man. It will, therefore, be interesting to see how the Australians react this time round, when they are in a crisis. The other factor in our favour is that Michael Bevan, who finishes off so many games for the Australians will also be unavailable for tomorrow’s match. Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, who form the core of the bowling department, are also short on big match practice, so our batsmen have an opportunity to play them before they get into their stride. The Pakistan team did not have a very good tour of South Africa in December-January, but I still think the match practice we gained then will hold us in good stead this time. We also came here pretty early, so we are well acclimatized. We are also fresh from a month-long break, and this could be important, because Australia were involved in a tough tri-series less than three weeks ago. I know that in the hurly-burly of modern-day cricket, players are supposed to be fresh and fit at all times, but that is often not possible. In fact, match fitness might be something the Australians might find tough to achieve in this tournament.
Gameplan |
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Bowlers hold the key
Johannesburg, February 10 Pakistan have an old axe to grind having suffered a humiliating loss to Australia in the summit clash when the two teams last met in the World Cup arena in England in 1999. And while Australia have lived up to their reputation since the last World Cup Pakistan, seem to have done nothing to get rid of their unpredictable and under-achievers’ tags. The match tomorrow offers an opportunity to Pakistan to settle scores and with Shoaib expected to go full throttle, they can eye for a win against the mighty Australians. But Australia have already put a strategy in place to tame the speed demon and also know that they have an answer to the volatile Shoaib in Lee. Both captains agreed that bowling would hold the key to tomorrow’s game and whichever team excels in this department would pull off a victory. “Both sides have world class bowlers. You name the variety and it’s there,” said Australian skipper Ricky Ponting ahead of the match here. “Shoaib is a very dangerous bowler and we know we need to get through those tough spells and make sure he doesn’t do much damage,” Ponting said. Pakistan do not only have Lee to worry about in the Australian bowling attack which also boasts of one of world’s top spinner in Shane Warne, playing his last World Cup. Pakistan coach Richard Pybus conceded his boys would be eager to see of the threat of Warne. “The batsmen must not only play the fast bowlers well but also tackle Shane Warne,” Pybus said. But he hoped Warne may just be short of his peak form following the shoulder injury which saw him miss the greater part of the one-day tri-series at home. Pybus too conceded that better bowling display would determine the winner tomorrow. Australia can rest assured of their batting strength despite missing the services of Waugh brothers Steve and Waugh, key players in the 1999 edition. They will also miss the services of Darren Lehmann who is serving a five-match suspension for charges of racial abuse beside one-day specialist Michael Bevan on account of injury. But all that is made up by the presence of one of the world’s leading batsmen Matthew Hayden, the flamboyant Adam Gilchrist besides Damien Martin, Andrew Symonds and skipper Ponting himself. Pakistan have also been bogged by injury scare to veteran Saeed Anwar, recalled in the World Cup squad after a long absence. PTI
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Cometh the hour, cometh Lara Cometh the hour, cometh the man is what Brian Lara certainly achieved at the opening match of the World Cup 2003.
It was a game billed as a likely South African victory except that no one told Lara. His century was scored at a time when his team had started poorly and where in desperate trouble. The strategy upfront looked incorrect as Pollock and Ntini got through their opening overs almost without a shot in anger being played at them. This all changed when Lara and Chanderpaul got together and put some momentum into the innings. Hooper continued after Chanderpaul got out and at the end of the innings, some mighty blows were struck by the new “young guns” Powell and Sarwan who took the total to a formidable 278 for 5. The South African bowling attack stuttered along after the initial bursts and with Donald not finding a good gait early on, Pollock was forced to make changes and not settle into a pattern. Boje found the going tough with Lara in full tilt. Pollock’s use of Boje so late in the innings created a problem in that he wasn’t allowed to settle due to the batsmen being “in” when he was brought into the attack. Taking wickets in the middle sessions is what all successful teams are able to do and the Proteas weren’t able to do it when it counted. However, nothing must be taken away from the fact that Lara played an innings that will long be remembered by the Newlands faithful. As his innings progressed, so did his timing and placement of the ball. The South African innings started well with Kirsten and Gibbs establishing a solid foundation early on. Gibbs was the first to go after he played a stroke that had the hallmark of laziness with the front foot. Dippenaar, Rhodes and Kallis all succumbed to shots that they will want to forget. Whether it was the huge score that needed to be scored or high-class bowling, the dismissals were very soft. Boucher and Kirsten steadied the ship and managed an important partnership until Kirsten was out to Dillon. Once Pollock had failed to make an impact, it was left to Lance Klusener. If there was ever any doubt that he can still win matches almost on his own, it will have been dispelled. As usual he started off slowly and then climbed in. Power-hitting by Klusener got the Proteas to a position that they really should have chased down a total that almost looked too many. Carl Hooper employed a strategy of not bowling his fifth bowler until it was almost too late. It meant that his three strike bowlers and himself were landed with the task of taking wickets early and thereby not allow the long batting lineup of South Africa to be in a position where they could attack at will with wickets in the bag. This victory for the Windies cannot ever be valued. It will surely give them the confidence to know that they can beat the more fancied teams from now on. The Proteas move on to Potchefstroom to play Kenya next. They will leave Cape Town knowing that the tournament is wide open and that any one of four or five teams can win it. The West Indies deserved every credit. Against all odds they achieved a victory that many of their players will remember for a long time.
TCM |
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Klusener
‘top finisher’ Melbourne, February 10 Klusener blasted 57 in just 48 balls, including five sixes and a four, at Newlands but was caught in the deep in the final over for the main tournament hosts to lose by three runs. “He’s probably the hardest guy to bowl to at the death,’’ Fleming told Reuters in a telephone interview from his Adelaide home today. It was Fleming who bowled the final over to the big-hitting Klusener at Edgbaston in the 1999 World Cup semifinal which ended in a tie. With the scores level and South Africa nine wickets down, Klusener tried to run a quick single but Allan Donald was run out in a farcical mix-up for Australia to book their place in the final. Klusener, the player of the 1999 World Cup, could only look on as bowler Fleming rolled the ball gently to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who ran out Donald by several metres. The big-hitting South African had struck 31 not out from 16 balls, having smashed a 21-ball 36 in a losing cause against Australia earlier in the tournament. “You traditionally bowl yorkers at the end of an innings and we always felt you could bowl six yorkers and only go for about six runs an over,’’ added Fleming.
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Pretoria, February 10 Although skipper Shaun Pollock accepted the loss gracefully saying “it was a close shave”, cricket fans were not amused. They have inundated national and local radio stations throughout the country claiming they were robbed by “the docking of one over,” the team “did not perform to their best” and “some of the players should not be in the team”. “Alan Donald is like an old duck. He should not be in the team. He gave away a lot of runs at a time when the team was in the front,” one of the fans said quite bluntly while urging selectors to drop the fast bowler from the squad for the rest of the matches. Another cricket fan said it was a “big let down” especially after “so much” was expected of the team. South African coach Eric Simons responded to the criticism by saying that he would be doing some “tough talking” with the players in preparation for their next game against Kenya on February 12. “We made some mistakes,” Simons said. “We need to rectify the mistakes and move forward.” CAPE TOWN: South Africa is in mourning. The first defeat against West Indies in the World Cup has left the fans stunned and shocked. “It was so unexpected,” said one of them outside the stadium, “it is simply shocking.” The South African fans have reason to be upset. For months prior to the start of the campaign, they have been fed with the stuff that their side was unbeatable. The pool ‘B’ was termed as easy and lucky for the hosts. West Indies were described as a ragtag combination which had nothing to show barring Brian Lara. The records were in favour of the hosts. Till last night’s match, South Africa had beaten the West Indies 18 times and lost only eight against the
Caribbeans. South Africans had a jungle training, a military and commando practice prior to their World Cup campaign. West Indies had returned from India with a narrow 4-3 one day win and their star batsman Brian Lara was injured. But last night, they proved that what matters was on the field performance and not off-the-field hype. After the game, South African skipper Shaun Pollock had to defend his team’s showing. He heaped praise on Lance Klusener saying that he played a superb knock.
PTI, UNI
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Healy against Dravid keeping wickets Cape Town, February 10 “I am worried about it. I wouldn’t have been worried if it was a Test series but in an event as important as World Cup, a specialist wicketkeeper is a must,” Healy said. “If Dravid drops one crucial catch, it could keep India out of a critical game. It might keep India out of the competition,” he said. Healy, who took part in three World Cups for Australia and has a record 397 dismissals in his long career of 119 Tests, said he had never seen Parthiv Patel in action but felt the reserve wicketkeeper would be a far better proposition than Dravid only because he is a specialist choice. “I haven’t seen Patel but a specialist wicketkeeper is a far better choice than a makeshift one.” Healy dismissed the notion that Dravid’s double role allows India to go into a one-day international with seven batsmen. “I don’t think it’s a balance. I think his batting on whole has suffered because of his wicketkeeping. If he drops a batsman of Tendulkar or Lara’s class in an important stage of the innings and he goes on to get a big score, then you need 11 batsmen and not just one,” said Healy. “As far as I can see, it is affecting Dravid’s batting. He faces double pressure and it’s not good for the team,” Healy said. He said though it was preferable if a wicketkeeper also has batting prowess, it must be taken as an additional feature for a wicketkeeper rather than be the main reason for him to be in the side. “I agree wicketkeeping is not rigorous in one-dayers as batsmen don’t leave too many balls and the keeper doesn’t have to do much. “But it’s a critical area and one which needs to be stressed. A batsmen may succeed with gloves but it’s unrealistic to expect them to be either a Adam Gilchrist or Andy Flower.” Healy rated Gilchrist as an excellent wicketkeeper but considered South Africa’s Mark Boucher as more solid and consistent. “Gilchrist had an average summer with the gloves last year but when he is in form, he is very good. “But in my opinion, Mark Boucher is consistently a very good wicketkeeper. He is very solid and works hard. Next to them is a young breed of wicketkeepers who are talented but would take at least two years to make the grade.” Healy rated Australia as the team to beat in this World Cup but felt the nature of one-day cricket implies an upset could happen any day. “Australia looks to me the team to go all through, but then if you could get the wrong side of toss, and the wrong side of a Tendulkar or a Sehwag, the game could be over before you realize it.” “It is hard to make a tip on the winner but Australia and South Africa appear favourites with India, Pakistan and New Zealand looking the best of the rest. I would feel one of these five teams would be triumphant but then West Indies and Sri Lanka on a good day could be winners.” Healy also said it was pointless to debate upon Steve Waugh’s omission in the Australian side especially since his successor Ricky Ponting is doing so well. “It’s time the talk on Ricky stops. Waugh is no longer on the scene, he was left-out of the one-day squad against New Zealand at least a year ago. Ponting seems to have settled well in his new role.”
PTI |
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Wives are ‘great help’ on tours
New Delhi, February 10 That’s because the Indian cricket board thinks the cricketers will be able to concentrate on the game better if their family members are not around. India is perhaps the only country among the 14 participating teams that will not be accompanied by the players’ wives, girlfriends or kids at the 44-day World Cup that will last until March 23. Some former Indian Test players, however, do not agree. They believe the presence of spouses does not necessarily distract the players. “It does not really matter to a player,” says Yashpal Sharma, a key member of India’s World Cup-winning team of 1983. “If you are a true professional, you will still concentrate with the same intensity even when your wife is around.” Agrees Abbas Ali Baig, one of the finest Test openers that the country has ever produced. “Wives can be a great help,” he says. “Lots of players had their wives on the 1992 tour of Australia, when I was the cricket manager, but they still concentrated on their game.” Although former left-arm spinner Maninder Singh never toured with his wife because he was still a bachelor, he feels wives or girlfriends can only help their cricketer-husbands. “It is indeed a comforting thought to have your spouses around,” says Maninder. “When you are through a hard day’s play, it is helpful to have your wife in the room,” he says. “It is a nice way to take the mind off the game.” The best example can, perhaps, be had from Kapil Dev’s 1983 India team that won the World Cup against all expectations. Kapil himself was accompanied by wife Romi to England. Romi’s good friend Anu, wife of ace all-rounder Madan Lal, was also there. Their presence, as was evident from the results, only helped the two all-rounders focus on their game in a better way. Another good example is Sunil Gavaskar’s wife Marshneil. She is believed to have travelled the most among cricketers’ wives. But her presence obviously never distracted the country’s most successful opener Gavaskar from his main job —giving the team a sound start. It is evident from the number of world batting records the right-hander from Mumbai still holds. “Don’t the players’ families travel with them during home series?” asks Yashpal. “So why don’t they get distracted when playing at home?” “The question is not whether the Indian board gives permission to wives to accompany players, but how much they are focussed,” he says. Baig agrees, adding, “It also depends on how demanding are the spouses. If they are ready to give space to their husbands, there is no harm (in travelling together).” His wife Venu went to Australia in 1992 and Baig found her to be a great help. Besides helping him professionally, Venu often cooked Indian food for the players, especially strict vegetarians like pacer Javagal Srinath. Her gesture instilled a feeling of togetherness among the players. “Vinod Kambli even used to call her ‘mummy’!” discloses Baig. But the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after allowing the spouses to accompany their husbands on previous tours, put its foot down. It will take a fresh look at its decision if India qualifies for the Super Six, the second stage of the tournament, informed sources said.
IANS |
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Chance for Bangladesh to end losing streak
Durban, February 10 The confidence stems from the fact that their opponents in the day-night encounter are Canada, who came through the qualifying ranks to take part in only their second World Cup. Victory, however, cannot be taken for granted since the Canadians, comprising mainly West Indian and Asian immigrants, did win one of their two matches against Bangladesh so far. Bangladesh have struggled to compete with the big boys, having succeeded in just three of their 61 one-day matches since being granted one-day international status in 1985-86. And one of those victories was marred in controversy when they toppled mighty Pakistan in the previous World Cup in England four years ago amidst cries of foul play. Bangladesh’s confidence has been lifted by a 4-1 win over fellow World Cuppers Namibia in a warm-up series last month, which featured an astonishing innings of 177 off 145 balls by opener Al Sahariar in the last game. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, those matches did not have one-day international status. A bigger morale-booster was the five-wicket win Bangladesh managed in a practice match against South African provincial side KwaZulu-Natal last week following Ehsanul Haque’s 92 and 68 from Sahariar. The same KwaZulu side defeated India the following day. “The wins over Namibia and KwaZulu-Natal has put us in the right frame of mind for the World Cup,” said captain Khaled Mashud. “We know our limitations. We are expected to compete only against Kenya and Canada, but I am confident we will put up a good fight against the fancied teams as well.” Bangladesh, Canada and Kenya are placed in group B which also includes hosts South Africa, New Zealand, the West Indies and Sri Lanka. AFP
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Mbeki flays Australia, England Pretoria, February 10 Mbeki, writing in his weekly column in the ANC website, made a stinging attack on the three nations, saying while no previous sports sanctions were imposed on Kenya and Zimbabwe, the three were now trying to impose their own sanctions. The President’s criticism of Australia, England and New Zealand contrasted sharply with the warm welcome that South Africa extended to all the cricket teams and officials during last night’s official opening ceremony in Cape Town. Details of his stinging criticism were carried widely in South African newspapers yesterday at a time when the teams were geared up for the showdown.
PTI |
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Marriages
put off due to cricket World Cup
Kolkata, February 10 According to Hindu almanac as many as 10 marriage dates clash with important World Cup matches. The dates clashing are February 12 (India-Holland), February 15 (India-Australia), February 16 (South Africa- New Zealand), February 18 (West Indies-Bangladesh), February 23 (India-Namibia), March 1 (India-Pakistan) and the semifinals and finals. Various marriage registration offices have received
postponement applications citing World Cup to be the reason. “This is most strange,” said Mrs T. Gupta adding, “In the past 15 years that I have been a marriage registration officer I have never faced such requests. Its not only the grooms but also the brides who want the marriages to be deferred.” Mr Swapan Bhattacharjee, Managing Director of one of the biggest catering houses of the city, said, “This is usually a hectic season with several marriage orders. But this time the season is lean as the people are postponing celebrations till the
end of the World Cup.” “We are normally booked between mid February and end of March. But this time the season will peak after March,” he added.
UNI
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Double
crown for
Mayank, Shahnaaz Sangrur, February 10 The boys doubles was an all-Amritsar affair, with Mayank and Dineshwar taking on Akshay and Sandeep. The match was well fought and was extended to three games. Mayank and Dineshwar won the match 15-4, 6-15, 17-15. Rajan Kumar of Amritsar retained the veteran singles title when he defeated Jai Parkash of Ludhiana 15-8, 15-4. He also won doubles title pairing with Chander Mohan. They defeated Parmod Mittal and K.K. Garg of Bathinda 14-17, 15-12, 15-6. |
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Bloemfontein, February 10
Harare, February 10
