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Sunday,
May 4, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Keen tussle likely in Ranji final Waugh eclipses Bradman’s mark Bangladesh on verge of innings defeat Opening day’s play washed out
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Asian wrestling meet in Delhi Turkmenistan refuses to play pre-Olympic tie
Heuberger lifts title Narrow victories for Amritsar, Hoshiarpur Pinegrove School lift title
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Keen tussle likely in Ranji final
Mumbai, May 3 Mumbai, who have won the trophy a record 34 times in 38 attempts, might hold a slight edge as they are playing on their home pitch against a youthful and determined Tamil Nadu, who are in search of their third title. They have entered the final eight times. Former Indian speedster Paras Mhambrey, who has led Mumbai
magnificently despite their top order batsmen failing time and again, will be hoping that the likes of Wasim Jaffer, Vinayak Mane and Amol Mazumdar strike form in the title clash and the semi-final heroes Bhavin Thakkar and Nishit Shetty and allrounders Sairaj Bahutule, Ramesh Powar and Ajit Agarkar continue with their good form. Mumbai’s wicketkeeper-batsman Vinayak Samant is another player to take note as he has bailed out his several times in the company of lower order batsmen Mhambrey, Powar and Shetty. However, the man whose performance would be watched keenly, specially by their rivals, would be the new Indian speedster Avishkar Salvi, who had a good debut tournament in recent Dhaka tri-series. Left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni and allrounder Robin Morris may not even find a place in the playing eleven as coach Chandrakant Pandit is likely to retain the same eleven which beat Baroda in the semis. The new ball would be in the hands of Agarkar and Salvi while the more experienced Mhambrey will be the one change bowler. The two spinners — vice-captain Sairaj Bahutule and offie Ramesh Powar — pick themselves automatically as both can bat with considerable consistency. Tamil Nadu, too, have a young fast bowler in L Balaji, who will be raring to go after his fine show against Delhi in the semifinal. The wicket here has always helped new ball bowlers initially and if Balaji is let loose on the Mumbai top order batsmen, who are struggling to regain form, the hosts could be pushed on the back foot straightaway. Apart from Balaji, the team from the south have M R Sriniwas, skipper S Suresh and the two spinners Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and D Dandapani, who could turn out to be totally new commodities for the Mumbai batsmen. The Tamil Nadu batting also looks quite impressive especially with Test discard Sadagopan Ramesh, S Sriram, S Sharath, Hemang Badani and S Suresh — all hoping to make a big impact in the final match of the domestic season before the New Zealanders arrive in September. Vasant Sarvanan and Raaju are the two newcomers in the side and it will be interesting to see them play under pressure situations in a big final. The two umpires for the match are V K Chopra from Delhi and Narendra Menon from Madhya Pradesh while Bhairav Ganguly of Kolkata will be the BCCI’s match referee. The teams (from): Mumbai:
Paras Mhambrey (captain), Sairaj Bahutule (vice-capt), Wasim Jaffer, Vinayak Mane, Bhavin Thakkar, Amol Mazumdar, Nishit Shetty, Ramesh Powar, Vinayak Samant (WK), Ajit Agarkar, Avishkar Salvi, Nilesh Kulkarni, Swapnil Hazare, Robin Morris and Vinit Indulkar. Tamil Nadu:
S Suresh (captain), S Ramesh, S Sriram, Hemang Badani, S Sharath, S Vasant Sarvanan, M R Sriniwas, L Balaji, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, D Dandapani,
Raaju (WK), S Badrinath, S J Gokulakrishnan, Dinesh Karthik, J R Madan Gopal and R Ramkumar.
PTI |
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Waugh eclipses Bradman’s mark
Bridgetown, May 3 The wickets would have added to the misery of West Indian skipper Brian Lara who was confined to bed at the team hotel having been diagnosed with suspected chicken pox. Gillespie bowled Gayle for 71 and then in his next over removed Smith for 59 when he edged to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist to leave the West Indies 142 for two in reply to Australia's massive first innings of 605 for nine declared. Gayle and Smith had shared in a 139-run opening stand before Gillespie struck in the 24th over of the day. Gayle, who had been dropped on 50 by Gillespie diving forward at mid-on off leg-spinner Stuart MacGill early in the session, looked in ominous touch hitting 12 boundaries. But Gillespie got one to straighten and hit the top of off-stump to end his 189-minute knock. Steve Waugh set more personal milestones to become the second-highest run-getter in Test history. The 37-year-old Australian skipper scored his 30th Test hundred yesterday to overtake Don Bradman as Australia’s greatest Test century-maker and lie second only to another famous compatriot Allan Border in most runs scored in Test cricket. Waugh survived three dropped catches on his way to scoring 115 as Australia battered the West Indian bowlers for 154.3 overs to amass the country’s fifth-highest score of 605 for nine declared in Tests against the Caribbean islands. SCOREBOARD Australia (1st Innings): Langer c Chanderpaul
b Banks 78 Hayden c Gayle b Drakes 27 Ponting run out 113 Lehmann lbw b Drakes 96 Waugh b Lawson 115 Gilchrist c Smith b Banks 65 Bichel c Lara b Banks 71 Lee b Lawson 11 Gillespie not out 18 MacGill b Lawson 0 Extras
(b-3, lb-3, w-3, nb-2): 11 Total (9 wkts declared, 154.3 overs):
605 FoW: 1-43, 2-151, 3-292, 4-331, 5-444, 6-568, 7-580, 8-605, 9-605 Bowling:
Lawson 32.3-2-131-3, Best 20-1-99-0, Drakes 30-2-85-2, Banks 40-2-204-3, Gayle 31-5-79-0, Sarwan 1-0-1-0. West Indies (1st innings): Gayle b Gillespie 71 Smith c Gilchrist
b Gillespie 59 Ganga batting 1 Sarwan batting 1 Extras (b-3, lb-8, nb-6):
17 Total (for 2 wkts, 52 overs): 149 FoW: 1-139, 2-142. Bowling:
McGrath 11-3-20-0, Gillespie 12-5-18-2, Lee 10-2-40-0, MacGill 16-1-46-0, Lehmann 3-1-14-0.
AFP |
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Waugh slams pitches Bridgetown, May 3 "I’m just a caretaker, I’m sure (fellow Australian) Ricky Ponting will take over one day" the 37-year-old told reporters after breaking Donald Bradman’s record of 29. "I’ve played a few more Tests than him (Bradman) so that puts it into perspective." Waugh was equally low-key about passing Sunil Gavaskar’s total of 10,122 runs to became the second highest scorer in Test history. Asked what it meant, he replied: "Not much, really. It’s nice but I haven’t thought about it at all." Waugh then turned his attention to the Kensington Oval pitch, where 694 runs have been scored in two days’ cricket in the third Test and only nine wickets taken. "This has not been a typical West Indies tour," he said. "Usually, when you come to the West Indies, balls are flying around your ears and the crowd are getting excited." "This time, it’s low, flat and slow and it’s difficult for the crowd to get involved in the game." "We heard it was going to be pacy and bouncy but I’ve played 159 tests and this is the slowest pitch I’ve ever played on." "It’s disappointing to play on a pitch like this." Waugh had been hoping that Australia could become the first team to pull off a whitewash in the Caribbean after winning the first two Test matches but was less confident after the first two days in Bridgetown.
Reuters |
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Bangladesh on verge of innings defeat
Dhaka, May 3 Bangladesh resumed today at four without loss in its first innings and were skittled for 102 on the last ball before lunch on day three, 28 runs short of the follow-on target. At stumps, Bangladesh had two wickets in hand and still needed 24 runs to avoid another embarrassing innings defeat. South Africa posted 330 after winning the toss and electing to bat first. No. 1-ranked South Africa won the first Test by an innings and 60 runs and should secure a 2-0 sweep on day four. The play was extended by 30 minutes following request from South African captain Graeme Smith, who hoped to wrap up the Test on the third day. The Proteas will have to take to field on the fourth day tomorrow. Wicketkeeper Mohammad Salim’s unbeaten 14-run ninth wicket stand with tailender Tapash Baishya (8) stalled South Africa’s looming win. Salim was unbeaten on 24 in a day when most Bangladesh batsmen made a start, but failed to capitalise. In its second innings, Bangladesh lost openers Javed Omar (27) and Mehrab Hossain (14) and was 66 for two at the tea interval, still needing 162 runs to make South Africa bat again. After the break, Habibul Bashar threw away his wicket after he tried a cut a tossed-up delivery from rookie spinner Robin Peterson, but edged it to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher. Ashraful (23) became Peterson’s second victim - caught by Shaun Pollock at first slip - and the spinner dismissed captain Khaled Mahmud for a duck - his sixth victim of the day. Senior batsman Akram Khan entertained the fans for a while after driving three consecutive boundaries off pacer Makhya Ntini. Ntini got revenge when he had Khan caught by Jacques Rudolph at leg gully in the same over. Khan departed on 23. Bangladesh launched its second innings solidly until Mehrab Hossain let cover-point fielder Boeta Dippenaar run him out in a superb throw. The dismissal reduced Bangladesh to 46 for one and the second blow came without the addition of a run when spinner Paul Adams - who took career-best 10 wickets in the first Test - forced Omar to edge to first slip Shaun Pollock. SCOREBOARD SA (Ist innings): 330 Bangladesh (Ist innings): Omar c sub b Ntini 11 Hossain c Smith b Pollock 8 Bashar lbw Pollock 14 Ashraful c sub b Ntini 15 Khan c Boucher b Ntini 13 Kapali run out 1 Mahmud not out 20 Salim c Boucher b Peterson 7 Rafique c Pollock b Dawson 0 Baisya b Dawson 4 Mortaza c Dippenaar b Peterson 1 Extras (lb-4, nb-3, w-1): 8 Total (all out, 35.5 overs): 102 FoW: 1-22 2-22 3-37 4-53 5-62 6-66 7-73 8-77 9-85. Bowling: Pollock 8-3-21-2 (nb-3), Ntini 11-4-32-3 (w-1), Dawson 7-2-20-2, Peterson 8.5-1-22-2, Adams 1-0-3-0. Bangladesh (IInd innings): Omar c Pollock b Adams 27 Hossain run out 14 Bashar c Boucher b Peterson 33 Ashraful c Pollock b Peterson 23 Khan c Rudolph b Ntini 23 Kapali c Ntini b Dawson 23 Mahmud c sub b Peterson 0 Salim not out 24 Rafique c Boucher b Adams 18 Baisya not out 8 Extras (b-5, nb-4, w-2): 11 Total (8wickets,80 overs): 204 FoW: 1-46 2-46 3-93 4-119 5-131 6-139 7-163 8-190. Bowling:
Pollock 6-1-16-0 (nb-2), Ntini 11-2-36-1 (nb-2 w-2), Peterson 27-13-46-3, Dawson 10-5-12-1, Adams 19-3-70-2, Smith 7-0-19-0.
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Opening day’s play washed out Kandy, May 3 Umpires Daryl Harper and Simon Taufel, both from Australia, had one look at the conditions an hour before the toss to abandon play for the day. "It does not look good at all," Harper said. "Let’s hope for the best tomorrow." Inclement weather over this popular hill resort for the past week and the
forecast of heavy rain ahead has threatened to make the decisive Test a non-starter.
AFP |
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INDO-PAK MATCHES Dubai, May 3 “There has been some very positive signals from the government regarding resumption of bilateral cricket ties. I am hopeful that India and Pakistan will again play against each other,” Dalmiya told reporters after the Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) meeting here. He said the BCCI has been in contact with the government regarding resumption of cricketing ties with Pakistan and will abide by any decision the government takes on the matter since “it is a major policy issue.” “The BCCI was always willing to resume cricket ties with Pakistan but the government will have to take the final decision”, he said. But Dalmiya said it may take some time before the two countries can actually resume bilateral ties. “It may take until early next year because of a variety of reasons. Many of the players are injured, while we have also allowed some of our players to play county cricket in England”, he said. He said the ACF meeting decided to hold the Asia Cup in March or April next year with six teams taking part. Apart from the four Test playing nations in the region — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — Hong Kong and UAE will be the two other teams. In a bid to facilitate resumption of ties, Pakistan cricket board president Lt-Gen Tauqir Zia had already said that Pakistan would agree to play at neutral venues if India was so willing. The Indian board, in a letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, has requested the government to allow its team to play Pakistan at neutral venues.
PTI |
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Asian wrestling meet in Delhi New Delhi, May 3 Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president M.S. Malik said seven foreign countries — Japan, Bangladesh, Korea, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iran and Chinese Taipei have already confirmed their participation. Mr Malik said the Asian Championship will have competitions in Greco-Roman and freestyle in the men’s section and free style in the women’s section. "Women’s wrestling, which made its debut at the Asian Games in Busan (Korea), is likely to be included as a competitive event in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens", Mr Malik said. He said competitions will be held in seven weight categories in women’s freestyle. The weight categories are: 48kg, 51kg, 55kg, 59kg, 63kg, 67kg and 72kg. The men’s competitions, Greco-Roman and free style, will be held in 55kg, 60kg, 66kg, 74kg, 84kg, 96kg and 120kg. Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Vikram Verma will inaugurate the championship while Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala will give away the prizes. Though India had hosted the Asian Cadet and Asian Junior Wrestling Championships in 2000 and 2001, respectively, the senior event, however, is being held in the country after a long gap as the last time India hosted the championship was in 1987 in Mumbai. India first hosted the Asian Championship at Jalandhar way back in 1970. Mr Malik informed that during the past two years, the Indian grapplers, both male and female, have brought home 16 gold, 22 silver and 16 bronze medals from international competitions. India had won three gold and as many silver medals in the Commonwealth Championship held in Manchester last year. The Indian women won four gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the fifth International Victory Wrestling Tournament at Samsun (Turkey). Mr Malik said the government had cleared the appointment of two foreign coaches--Andrej Malina of Poland in Greco-Roman and Vladimir Mestvirishvili of Georgia in freestyle. The WFI has asked these coaches to join coaching camps in Delhi and Patiala, respectively. |
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Turkmenistan refuses to play pre-Olympic tie Kuala Lumpur, May 3 Turkmenistan’s decision gave Malaysia an automatic 3-0 win, and probably a berth in the final rounds of the Asian Olympics qualifying tournament in March next year. Mr Ahmad Khawari, spokesman for the Football Association of Malaysia, said the 3-0 win was provided for under FIFA rules following Turkmenistan’s no-show. He said Turkmenistan soccer officials informed their Malaysia counterparts yesterday that the team was staying home on government orders. Mr Khawari said FIFA, soccer’s governing body, had rejected Turkmenistan’s appeal last month to postpone today’s match, citing concerns over severe acute respiratory syndrome. In Malaysia, the flu-like disease has claimed two lives. Four others have been infected. Mr Khawari said despite FIFA’s ruling to go ahead with the match, Turkmenistan’s government ordered its national team to stay home.
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Venus fights back to reach semis Warsaw, May 3 Looking completely at sea, Williams lost the opening four games to an opponent who refused to be overawed by the occasion. Schiavone attacked from the first ball, using a big forehand and some fine serves to keep Williams off-balance. "When Schiavone broke serve twice to earn a 3-0 lead in the second set, allowing Williams just two points, an upset seemed certain. But the American finally reduced her errors and turned the match round by claiming the next eight games. "She started really well and was really trying to take the game to me," said Williams. "And of course my errors contributed to the situation. I just kept thinking how I could get into the match. "Then I started picking up on some of the patterns of her play. At first she was wrong-footing me and I really had to get my feet moving. I tried coming in a little bit more, because I think my volleys are working well nowadays. I was just fighting, because she was playing well." Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the final set, Williams still struggled to close out the match. Schiavone continued to chase every ball and struck some spectacular passes to level at 2-2. She then fought off six break points before a desperate winning return from Williams earned the American a crucial 4-3 lead. Williams will next play unseeded Czech Denisa Chladkov, who edged past Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia 7-5, 7-5. The second semi-final will see second seed Amelie Mauresmo of France take on fourth-seeded Yugoslav Jelena Dokic. Mauresmo struggled to find any consistency, and had to recover from a set and 0-2 down to get past seventh seeded Anna Pistolesi of Israel, taking two hours 33 minutes to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Dokic also made a poor start against Spain’s Magui Serna — and was eventually rescued by a bee in winning 7-5, 6-2. Serna, who had collected two titles while winning her last 14 matches, took advantage of her error-prone opponent, breaking to lead 3-2 and serving for the set at 5-4. But the left-hander allowed Dokic to level at 5-5, and was then unable to win two break points at 5-5. Dokic then broke a second time for the set. Serna was then treated for a bee sting in her left armpit, and was clearly hindered as the second set got underway, losing the first four games to put a relieved Dokic well on the way to victory.
AFP |
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Heuberger lifts title New Delhi, May 3 Heuberger thus bagged 59 ATP points along with $ 3600. The 376th ranked Thai player could not match up to the 161st ranked Heuberger who took one hour and 24 minutes to dispose of his rival. With his efficient net charges, Heuberger took command of the game right from the start delivering back hand cross couret volleys at will. In the 4th game of the final set, a backhand rally from Heuberger, saw him getting the break. Thereafter, it was just a cakewalk for tall and lankey Swiss who played the serve and volley game with great finesse. Udomchoke managed only 35 ATP points and a cash purse of $ 2120. In the first set, Heuberger broke his oponent's service in the sixth and eighth game.
UNI |
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Narrow victories for Amritsar, Hoshiarpur Amritsar, May 3 In other matches of the boys section, Hoshiarpur defeated Ferozepore by 39-31 points, Ludhiana trounced Ropar by 52-32, Kapurthala beat Sangrur by 48-20 points and Hoshiarpur defeated Fatehgarh Sahib by 24-19 points. Bathinda got a walk-over from Nawanshahr. In the eves' section Amritsar defeated Mansa by 35-12, Faridkot routed Patiala by 38-11, Gurdaspur thrashed Sangrur by 40-21, Kapurthala vanquished Muktsar by 50-31, Jalandhar defeated Ropar by 41-18 points and Ludhiana beat Ferozepore by 31-14 points. |
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Pinegrove School lift title Chandigarh, May 3 Punjab Public School, Nabha, lifted the trophy in the girls section defeating Lawrence School, Sanawar, 21-09. Harsimran scored seven points for PPS, Nabha, and Eshana scored six points for Sanawar. In the first cliff-hanger semifinal, Pinegrove School shattered the dreams of YPS, Mohali, of entering the finals by defeating them by a single point (18-17). Ashish Thakur scored 11 points for Pinegrove while Waseem scored eight points for YPS. In the second semifinal Lawrence School, Sanawar also recorded a solitary-point point victory over Bishop Cotton School, Shimla ( 25-24) . R. Chimni scored 11 points for Lawrence School while Angad potted nine points for the BCS. In the play- off for the third position in the girls section, Pinegrove School defeated YPS 10-07 to clinch the third position . Kirat Bajwa scored six points for Pinegrove School and Gumaim scored six points for YPS, Mohali. Ashish Thakur of Pinegrove School and Tejinderpal Kaur of PPS, Nabha, were the highest scorers in the boys and girls sections, respectively. Mohammed Wasim of YPS, Mohali , was adjudged the Best Player among boys and Rhea Cheema of Lawrence School among girls. |
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Kangra beat Chamba Chamba, May 3 Chamba started badly when they lost three quick wickets when the score was only 20. It was Umesh and Deepak Soni who batted well and took the score to 170. Soni scored 40 and Umesh 70. Chadha got 3 for 28. Kangra started well and the first wicket fell at 60. They scored 171. Scores: Chamba: 170 (Deepak Soni 40, Umesh 70, Chandan 12, Sunil Chadha 3 for 28, Anil Sharma 2 for 34). Kangra 171: (Rajeev 60, Sachin 30, Paras Dogra 25, Maninder 20, Umesh 2 for 37, Deepak Soni 1 for 22, Deepak Soni 1 for 24, Sohan 1 for 19). |
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Chess results Amritsar, May 3 Other winners in the girls section in different age groups were Rubina Gill
(U-13) and Rhythm Bhatia (U-9). In the boys category, toppers in separate age groups were Anirudh Garg
(U-15), Karan Kapoor (U-13), Sidharth Mahindru (U-11) and Amarvansh
(U-9). |
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Bridgetown, May 3
