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Saturday,
April 19, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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SA coming to terms with themselves West Indies can level series: Brian Lara |
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Azharuddin planning world class academy Bobby Charlton’s memorabilia stolen Constantine hopeful of India’s chances Bonanza for
volleyball
players Kahlon wrests lead in Hero Golf Mini Basketball meet results
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India lose by 5 wickets Dhaka, April 18 Chasing a modest 216 for victory, the South Africans rode on Neil McKenzie’s controlled 84-run knock to reach the target in 48.4 overs with five wickets in hand to halt India’s winning streak in the tournament in a thrilling floodlit contest at the Bangabandhu Stadium. The Proteas did well to recover from the early jolts which had raised hopes of an Indian fightback as McKenzie turned the tables against the World Cup finalists in a sensible knock which came off 110 balls and contained five hits to the fence. McKenzie put on 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Mark Boucher who remained unbeaten on 44. Jacques Rudolph was the other notable contributor, scoring 37 runs. McKenzie was dismissed in the 48th over with South Africa needing just four more runs to victory, when he was caught by Avishkar Salvi to become Harbhajan Singh’s 100th one-day victim. Earlier, the Indian batting faltered for the first time in the tournament and could manage only a modest score of 215 before being all out in 49.1 overs. Saurav Ganguly top-scored with 61 but the other batsmen had nothing much to offer. For South Africa, Allan Dawson claimed four wickets while Makhaya Ntini took three. In what was seen as a dress rehearsal before the two teams meet again in the final on Sunday, the South Africans outplayed the Indians in all departments of the game to gain a psychological advantage ahead of the title clash. The South Africans received a big jolt early in the innings with captain Graeme Smith, who never really looked comfortable during his brief stay at the crease, falling in the fifth over to Salvi. Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel held on to the faint inside edge to send Smith back to the pavillion for just two. Gibbs struck two consecutive boundaries in Agarkar’s third over and another couple boundaries in a subsequent over. SCOREBOARD India: Sehwag c Smith b Hall 25 Gambhir c Hall b Ntini 2 Ganguly c Pollock b Adams 61 Kaif b Dawson 30 Mongia c McKenzie b Dawson 29 Bangar lbw b Ntini 9 Agarkar c Hall b Ntini 17 Patel run out 6 Harbhajan c Boucher b Dawson 1 Sarandeep c Smith Dawson 19 Salvi not out 4 Extras (lb-2, w-2, nb-8)
12 Total (all out, 49.1 overs) 215 FOW: 1-7, 2-96, 3-124, 4-146, 5-160, 6-182, 7-184, 8-186,
9-192 Bowling: Pollock 10-1-48-0, Ntini 10-0-37-3, Dawson 9.1-1-49-4, Hall 10-0-36-1, Adams 10-0-43-1. South Africa: G Smith c Patel b Salvi 2 H Gibbs lbw B Dippenaar J Rudolph c Kaif N McKenzie c Salvi M Boucher not out 44 S Pollock not out 2 Extras
(lb-1, w-6, nb-8) 15 Total (5 wkts, 48.4 overs) 216 FOW: 1-11, 2-41, 3-42, 4-105, 6-212 Bowling: Salvi 8.4-2-31-1, Agarkar 6-2-34-0, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-43-3, Sarandeep Singh 10-0-32-0, Ganguly 3-0-13-0, Sehwag 8-0-43-1, Mongia 3-0-19-0.
PTI
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SA coming to terms with themselves South Africa’s facile victory over Bangladesh on Thursday showed that they are gradually coming to terms with themselves. Their performance, without being flamboyant, was focused and efficient, which means that India will have to be wary in the climax of this tournament. This improvement in performance could be linked to proper selection. Both Paul Adams and Andrew Hall can be of good value on these tracks, as they showed, and if the batsmen learn to play the slow and turning deliveries, Grame Smith’s side could pose a stiff challenge to India. The young South African captain himself is learning rapidly, and with some runs under his belt, looking that much more confident. He has shown himself to be flexible, which is always a good sign, and I can see him acquiring authority over his players. The decision to hand the new ball to Shaun Pollock was a wise one, but even more significant here considering that Smith had used him in the middle overs in the previous games. He may have had his reasons, but he showed that he was willing to change if the tactic does not work. I was one of those who believed that Smith had got the captaincy earlier than necessary. But he is a young man full of confidence and the willingness to accept his errors. If he can win over the respect of his colleagues, Smith can make a difference to South African cricket. Pollock, of course, remains the key player in this side, apart from being the most experienced. He is a wonderful team man and human being. It is not easy to keep your equanimity in such situations, but Pollock has been remarkably resilient, as player and person. He has gone past Allan Donald as the highest wicket-taker for his country, which is high achievement, but I also believe he should bat higher for he can be a wonderful striker of the ball. The Bangladesh bowlers had kept the South African batting on a leash till the last five overs when they relaxed their grip for no good reason. Pollock, who is coming into his own, struck some huge blows in the company of Neil McKenzie and Bangladesh were left to chose more than 250 runs, something which they have not
shown the ability for. Bangladesh cricket lacks self-belief and hence consistency. The authorities now have some serious thinking to do to improve the standards. There are some fine talents like Ashraful Haque and Alok Kapali, but not enough depth overall. I think they need some god coaches who will put the young players through their paces without compromise. And if Bangladesh cricket has to improve, politicians have to keep out of it.
TCM |
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West Indies can level series: Brian Lara
Port Of Spain, April 18 Lara, who has vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan back after injury but will be without first-choice wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs and fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, was optimistic of a good result against an Australia side who will again field five bowlers. “Before the series began I said I wanted us to compete and we did that in Guyana, when we lost because of the first session on the first day,” he said. “In Trinidad, we expect to go the distance. We want to play good cricket and compete and if we can do that and get a bit of luck, I think there’s a good possibility that we can win the test match.” “I know we lost the first match but we came out with three centuries and a lot of positive things.” “The team is still fresh, mentally strong and looking forward to the challenge.” West Indies are certainly in a more comfortable situation when they were before the Georgetown Test, when the players had only one practice together after a chaotic build-up. In the two weeks before the first Test, Carl Hooper was sacked as captain and then pulled out of the side altogether, Lara was hastily reappointed for a second stint in the job and Jamaican opener Chris Gayle was ruled ineligible to play. Four players were then sent backtracking to Jamaica after playing the final of the Carib Beer International Challenge final in Barbados four days before the start of the first Test instead of making the short hop direct to Guyana. West Indies are likely to make several changes to the side. Sarwan, who missed the first Test with a fractured finger, is fit again but Lawson has gone down with a bout of chicken pox and Jacobs is still suffering from the effects of his brave first innings, when he batted on despite tearing a muscle in his groin. Carlton Baugh is in line to make his debut as Jacobs’ replacement while 21-year-old Barbadian Tino Best has been named to take Lawson’s place in the squad. The squad includes 20-year-old off-spinner Omari Banks, the first player from the island of Anguilla to be called up to the senior West Indies side. The replacements have brought the average age of the squad down to around 25, which Lara says is one of the lowest in West Indies history. “I think this has to be one of the youngest West Indies sides in a very, very long time,” he said. “As long as we compete and give a good account of ourselves, I think we can say we have won.” “I feel very upbeat and very confident.” Australia, who will go back to the top of the world Test rankings if they win the series, have named an unchanged side for the match with captain Steve Waugh’s presence confirmed. That means they will once again field a five-man bowling attack — Brad Hogg, Andy Bichel, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Stuart MacGill. There had been a minor doubt over Waugh, after he had six stitches in a hand injury during the first Test in Georgetown. Waugh, who made a world record 157th Test appearance in Georgetown, injured the webbing between the fingers of his right hand fielding a shot from Devon Smith. Reuters
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Australia announce unchanged squad
Sydney, April 18 All the players named were part of the World Cup winning team though Jason Gillespie, who missed out the tournament in South Africa due to injury, replaced his cover Nathan Bracken for the series staring on May 17. Team: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Andrew Bichel, Jason Gillespie, Nathan Hauritz, Ian Harvey, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symonds. PTI
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Azharuddin planning world class academy
Hyderabad, April 17 Apart from the ignoramus exit from cricket, he regrets having not been able to play his 100th Test. He is still reticent to talk about his future cricket plans. “I can’t say anything about my cricket future now. I am facing a life ban and the case is sub-judice. I will speak at the appropriate time,” he said in an interview to PTI when asked about his plans are in the event of his being cleared by the court of match-fixing allegations. The stylish Hyderabadi batsman is more comfortable talking about his glamorous pursuits, which include plans of producing “some innovative films and teleserials”. But setting up a “world class” cricket academy is the dream closest to his heart. “I hope to start the academy this year with the primary intention of producing players of international standard. I have requested the state government to allow me to use the existing facilities at one of the stadiums or allot land to go for a new facility,” Azharuddin said. “I dreamt of such a project right from the initial days of my career. I had also submitted a proposal to the government in 1996 but had to put it on the back-burner as there was no response from the government. However, now I am hopeful of a favourable response,” he said. PTI
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Bobby Charlton’s memorabilia stolen London, April 18 Thieves stole items of football memorabilia from the England World Cup winner’s home in Cheshire, northwest England, during the raid yesterday as Charlton watched the crunch game 320 km away in north London. A spokesman for Cheshire police said the stolen items included a fair play award dated 1973 and a gold plaque depicting the 1966 World Cup. Charlton, a director at United, was part of the England side that beat West Germany to lift the World Cup that year. “The intruders entered via the patio doors and escaped with a number of items,” a police spokesman said. United drew 2-2 at Arsenal after trailing 2-1, leaving the Manchester club three points clear of their London rivals with four games to play in the race for the Premiership title. Arsenal have five games remaining.
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Constantine hopeful of India’s chances Margao, April 18 Having lost 0-2 in the away match, India need to win by at least three goal margin in order to advance further in the next round where they will meet Malaysia. The Indian team, ranked 13 notches above Turkmenistan in the FIFA rankings, have undergone strenuous practice for the last couple of days and coach Stephan Constantine is confident that his boys have enough firepower to win the match and move in to the next round. Constantine was not fully satisfied with India’s performance in Ashkabad and said he would have preferred a solitary goal loss as against conceding a last minute penalty that stretched Turkmenistan’s lead by another goal. “I thought the 93rd minute penalty was most unwarranted. The 2-0 result was unfair. We would have been happier had we drawn the match or lost 0-1. Our boys who created couple of scoring chances gave anxious movements before we conceded the first goal. Had our boys utilised the early chances that came our way, the story would have been different”, he said. “We will field the same team that played last. Crowd support will also play vital role in our success,” he said. Tomba Singh, who played a vital role in Salgaocar’s big win against Mahidras, will form the midfield along with Jatin Bist, Dipankar Roy and Harpreet Singh. Skipper Satish Bharti, Vinu Jose, Arun Molhotra and Manitombi Singh will form the defence and Sangram Mukherjee will guard the goal, he said. The visitors, who arrived here yesterday, had a practise session last evening to get the feel of the heat and humidity of Goa. Coach Rovshan Muhadov said the core of his team was formed only a few months back and he was pretty confident of winning against India. “Having taken the second spot at home in an eight nation tournament, which bolstered our confidence, we are determined to play attacking football against India”, said Muhadov, who played for the erstwhile Soviet Union and top scored with 35 goals in the Moscow League in the 1991 season. Muhadov said his team had played friendly matches with Lokomotiv Moscow, Atlanata Club, Lithuania and Estonia XI before coming to India. PTI
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Bonanza
for volleyball players Chandigarh, April 18 Mr Randhir Singh revealed that Sanjay Kumar, who was in fine nick, was declared the most valuable player and the best blocker of the tournament, Dinesh Kumar Singh and Darshan Kumar also contributed well as four players from HSIDC were part of the victorious squad. Each HSIDC player was likely to be given Rs 51,000 for their efforts, he said. The Indian team had finished seventh in the last edition of the championship held in Iran in 2001. Elaborating further, he said as part of the Haryana Government policy concerning adoption of various sports nurseries by corporate houses, the HSIDC had chosen to promote volleyball in July 2001. The corporation was contributing Rs 8 to Rs 9 lakh annually to the Haryana Sports Department for the benefit of budding talent in volleyball in various nurseries being run in the state, he said. “We have contributed nearly Rs 22 lakh for the promotion of talented volleyball players so far,” he stated. The HSIDC was giving employment to players on a regular basis. “They are part of the sports cadre as long as players play, while after their playing career was over they were absorbed in general cadre,” he said. Om Prakash, captain of the Indian squad in 1992-93, and the person looking after the game as well as the players, said as the corporation was providing excellent facilities it was attracting talented players to its fold. |
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Kahlon wrests lead in Hero Golf Another Chandigarh golfer Amandeep Johl, was placed second at six-under 138. The trio of Vijay Kumar and Bhoop Singh (both Lucknow) and Delhi’s Ajay Gupta were placed third at three-under 141. Overnight leader Amritinder Singh was out of sorts as he returned a three-over 75 today. He was tied at two-under 142 with Gaurav Ghei, who shot a four-under 68 today. The cut was applied at seven-over 151. A total of 50 professional golfers made it to the week-end rounds. Among the top golfers to miss the cut was Delhi’s Vivek Bhandari. Spectacular is the very adjective that can be used to describe Harmeet Kahlon’s round of five-under 67 today. The India Cements-sponsored Kahlon scorched the golf course with as many as seven birdies. A birdie on the second was the first sign of things to come but a bogey soon after on the sixth set the 2002 Hero Honda Masters winner back a bit. A birdie on the ninth was offset by a bogey on the tenth. But thereafter, Kahlon recovered his Midas touch to return a splurge of birdies on the 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 18th. “I putted really well today,” he said after returning 24 putts in comparison to his opening round tally of 30. “I was mentally a little off colour in the front nine but regained my composure on my return journey,” added the 32-year old. Till as recently as two-months ago, Amandeep Johl wondered if at all he would ever win a golf tournament again. Eight years without a win on either the Hero Honda Golf Tour or the Asian PGA circuit were the cause for his negative state of mind. Then in February, 2003, Johl won the Sir Padampat Singhania Open at the Noida Golf Course. “That was a huge relief. It changed my entire thought process and my belief patterns,” said the bearded pro. Today, that newly acquired belief, translated into a fine round of four-under 68 and left Johl within sight of what could be his second title of the season. Johl struck gold, early in his second round with an eagle on the second hole. On that hole, he used a driver, 6-iron combination to place his ball 15 feet from the pin and then drained the putt. Ten-footer birdies on the third and sixth were interspersed by a bogey on the fifth. Birdies on the eighth and ninth saw him make the turn at five-under. “Luck favoured me on my front nine but totally deserted me on the back-nine,” said the Asian PGA Tour regular. True enough, a bogey on the 12th amid a sea of pars was all Johl could manage on his return journey. Virk, Dullet assume amateur lead: Girish Virk and Jaskirat Dullet each shot a one-under 71 to tie for the amateur lead at two-over 146. The duo of 14-year old Ajitesh Sandhu and Anitya Chand were tied third at four-over 148. SCORES (after 36 holes): 136 — Harmeet Kahlon ( 69,67); 138 — Amandeep Johl (70,68); 141 — Vijay Kumar (73,68), Ajay Gupta (71,70), Bhoop Singh (70,71) 142 — Gaurav Ghei (74,68); Mohd Salim (72,70), Rafiq Ali (73,69), Jaiveer Virk (70,72), Amritinder Singh (67,75); 143 — Mohd Islam (72,71), Arjun Singh (69,74). AMATEURS:
148 — Girish Virk (75,71), Jaskirat Dullet (75,71); 148 — Ajitesh Sandhu (74,74), Anitya Chand (74,74). |
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Mini Basketball meet results Chandigarh, April 18 In the first semifinal, Bathinda girls will meet Muktsar and in the second semifinal last year’s champions Gurdaspur girls will play Jalandhar. Bathinda reached the semifinals beating Ludhiana 34-14 and Muktsar defeated Kapurthala 40-10. In the boys section Muktsar and Mansa reached semifinals. Muktsar boys reached the semifinals beating Amritsar 40-29 and Mansa reached the last four beating Kapurthala 35-19 points. Bathinda reached the semifinals beating Hoshiarpur 58-26. Results:
Boys-Ludhiana b Moga 35-18; Mansa b Gurdaspur 49-28; Muktsar b Amritsar 40-29; Mansa b Kapurthala 35-19. Girls: Muktsar b Faridkot 29-9; Ludhiana b Ropar 14-13; Jalandhar b Mansa 26-4; Bathinda b Ludhiana 34-14; Muktsar b Kapurthala 40-10. |
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Chandigarh, April 18
