SPORTS

Oriental Bank, DTC run away with full points
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, June 8
Oriental Bank of Commerce and Delhi Transport Corporation garnered full points with convincing victories in the Delhi Soccer Association Institutional League Championship at the Ambedkar Stadium on Sunday.

In a Group A Senior Division match, Oriental Bank trounced Urban Development Ministry (UDM) 4-1, after leading by 2-1 at half time.

Himanshu Sharma put the Bank in the lead in the 11th minute while mid-fielder Anil Negi consolidated the position nine minutes later. Ruben Ekka pulled one back for Urban Development Ministry in the 27th minute.

Oriental Bank could have added two more goals, but Dharmender Kharola and Arjun Negi muffed penalty kicks.

However, after crossing over, the Bankmen struck twice more through Vivek Sharma and Sanjeev Sharma to record an emphatic victory.

Oriental Bank have collected three points from as many matches while the Ministry have not yet garnered a point after three matches.

In a Group A match of A Division, DTC beat Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd 2-0. Raj Virender Sharma and Rajesh Bisht were the goal-getters. DTC have earned three points from two games while BSNL have drawn a blank.

Monday’s fixtures: Customs and Central Excise vs Railway Board (4 pm); Central Secretariat vs Punjab National Bank (5.15 pm)— Ambedkar Stadium.

Lanka have much to show under new captain
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, June 8
The three-match series between Sri Lanka and West Indies will be telecast live by Star Sports. West Indies recently hosted world champions Australia for a gruelling seven-match series. Though West Indies lost the series to Australia, they came away a mentally stronger outfit under Brian Lara. With three wins against the Australians, the West Indians cannot be taken lightly.

Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels and Ricardo Powell bat with typical Calypso flair. The Windies, however, will be hoping for some consistency from them to reduce the pressure on Lara. The bowling department needs some work, but Dillon, Drakes and Lawson can produce lethal spells from time to time.

The Sri Lankans have had their ups and downs in the recent past. They can be match-winners one day and abject failures the next day. Marvan Atapattu is resolute but will have to pull his weight around now that he is the captain.

Kumara Sangakarra and Mahela Jayawardene will play crucial roles as there is not much experience around them in the heart of the batting. Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan are the hosts’ biggest threats. While Chaminda is brilliant with the new ball, Murali’s magic in spin bowling leaves many a batsman clueless.

Murali’s record-breaking figures will tease and torment the best West Indies have to offer and this should be a cracking contest in itself. The three one-day internationals are being played at Barbados (two) and St. Vincent.

Sonnet, Dena Bank enter semi-final
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, June 8
A half century by Saket Bhatia helped Sonnet Club defeat Malviya Club by three wickets and entered the semi-final of the DDCA Hot Weather Cricket Tournament at the Harbaksh Singh Stadium. Despite a fine knock of 71 by Sachin Khurana, Malviya Club failed to post a challenging total.

In another match, Dena Bank defeated Darling Club by 50 runs and entered the semi-final. Soumik Chatterjee scored a strokeful 89, Varun Kumar hit 53 and Mahesh Sood claimed four wickets for 30 runs to help Dena Bank win at the Jamia Millia ground.

Scores: Malviya Club: 180 for 9 in 40 overs (Sachin Khurana 71, Satender Yadav 28, Deepak Joon 3 for 32).

Sonnet Club: 181 for 7 in 39.1 overs (Saket Bhatia 50, Salil Oberai 26, Suhail Sharma 21 n o, Rohit Mehra 2 for 35).

Dena Bank: 238 for 8 in 40 overs (Soumik Chatterjee 89, Varun Kumar 53, Nitin Kashyap 2 for 50, Tara Chand 2 for 53). Darling Club: 188 all out in 36 overs (Rohan Kumar 44, Sandeep Rana 34, Farman Ahmad 30, Mahesh Sood 4 for 30, Kartar Nath 2 for 24, Vikas Vij 2 for 38).

Sidharth, Ankush shine in Under-13 cricket
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, June 8
Sidharth Sharma cracked a stroke-filled 77, which contained ten boundaries and two sixes, and an all-round display by Ankush (35 and 2 for 18), helped Sonnet Club defeat Rohtak Road Gymkhana by seven wickets and entered the final of the Peacock Under-13 Cricket Tournament at the Gargi College ground.

Scores: Rohtak Road Gymkhana: 121 for 6 in 30 overs (Karan Preet Singh 32, Vinod Chugh 24, Gourav 3 for 18, Ankush 2 for 18).

Sonnet Club: 122 for 3 in 25 overs (Sidharth Sharma 77 n o, Ankush 35, Pankaj 2 for 18).

Manish Adhikari hits century for Alpine
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, June 8
Manish Adhikari hit a century (115), Kamal Sharma slammed a half century and Dig Vijay Rawat took four wickets for ten runs to help Alpine Club beat Vidya Jain School by 129 runs in the DDCA Under-15 Cricket Tournament at the Vikaspuri school ground.

Alpine Club made 304 for 5 in 40 overs.

Scores: Alpine Club: 304 for 5 in 40 overs (Manish Adhikari 115, Kamal Sharma 65, Tarun Kumar 3 for 50).

Vidya Jain School: 175 all out in 40 overs (Nitin Kumar 65, Digvijay Rawat 4 for 10, Lakshay Chaturvedi 4 for 71).