 |
|
Sunday,
October
12, 2003,
Chandigarh, India  
|
Chance for bowlers to force win
Mohali wicket to be seamer friendly Aussies inch closer to big victory Raid
de Himalaya
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Prakash Amritraj out of singles Rupesh-Sumit duo clinches doubles title Ajeetesh emerges junior
golf champion
CRPF enters final Saurav, Arjun
clinch titles
Sahil, Rohan in last four Amritsar restrict Ludhiana Sports schedule
announced Judo meet begins Veteran wrestler Lila Ram dead
|
|
Chance for bowlers to force win
Ahmedabad, October 11 By close of play, the Kiwis had shaved 48 runs off the target while losing the wicket of Mark Richardson for 21 and would now have to bat the entire day tomorrow to avert a defeat. Opener Lou Vincent was batting on 21 while nightwatchman Daryl Tuffey was yet to open his account when stumps were drawn for the day on a pitch which was still showing no signs of deteriorating. After having allowed India to pile on 500 runs in the first knock, New Zealand did well to avoid the follow on mainly due to the gutsy show by their tailenders especially Daniel Vettori who scored a fine 60 runs before their innings folded on 340. But India came back with a vengeance and did not let go the initiative scoring 209 runs in 44.1 overs, built around another brilliant knock by first innings double centurion Rahul Dravid (73) and VVS Laxman who scored an equally impressive 35-ball 44. Captain Sourav Ganguly also chipped in hitting two sixes and one four in his 23-ball 25 to make up for a very entertaining second session for the sizeable crowd at the Motera Stadium here. The Indians, who came in for flak for their slow batting on the first two days of the Test, made ample amends today, unleashing beautifully driven fours and even huge sixes to ensure not much time was wasted. But their desperation to get quick runs also cost them a few cheap wickets including that of batting mainstay Sachin Tendulkar (7) and Virender Sehwag (17). It was Dravid who again came to the rescue of his team and it was a pure delight to see him in action as he cut, drove and pulled all around the wicket especially once he reached his 50. It was not a chanceless knock though for ‘The Wall’ in his second knock as he was dropped twice including once when he was on 71 off Vettori. But the stylish right-hander did not prove to be third time lucky when he departed two runs later on 73, Vincent taking a catch off spinner Paul Wiseman near the fence. His 86-ball knock included six fours, two of which came in one over by Jacob Oram who was hit for as many as 39 runs off eight overs. Debutant Akash Chopra also tried to open up but his knock was cut short by Vettori who had him caught by Scott Styris for 31. However, it was Wiseman who turned out be most successful bowler for the Kiwis picking four wickets including the prized scalp of Tendulkar. Tendulkar, who was out for eight in the first innings, was expected to go all out with India needing to score quickly so as to be able to declare with ample time remaining for the Kiwis to bat again. But the batting star looked off-colour during his brief 15-ball stay at the wicket and was dismissed for seven when he failed to middle the ball off Wiseman to gift a catch to Vettori who was superb in the field today. However, making up for Tendulkar’s failure was the 35-ball 44 by the wristy Hyderabadi V V S Laxman who seemed to have shed his inhibitions as he rotated the strike well in company of Dravid and also punished the odd ball by despatching it to the boundary. He also hit a huge six besides six fours. Scoreboard India (1st innings): 500 for 5 dec New Zealand (1st innings): Richardson b Zaheer 6 Vincent c Patel b Zaheer 7 Fleming b Zaheer 1 Styris c Chopra b Harbhajan 34 Astle st Patel b Harbhajan 103 McMillan c Chopra b Sehwag 54 Oram c Dravid b Kumble 5 Hart lbw b Balaji 15 Vettori c Dravid b Kumble 60 Wiseman c Laxman b Zaheer 27 Tuffey not out 2 Extras:
(b-4, lb-18, nb-4) 26 Total: (all out, 131.1 overs) 340 Fall of wickets:
1-11, 2-16, 3-17, 4-108, 5-199, 6-223,
Bowling: Zaheer 23-3-68-4, Balaji 26-7-84-1, Kumble 35.1-11-58-2, Harbhajan 36-8-86-2, Sehwag 8-2-17-1, Tendulkar 3-2-5-0. India (IInd inngs): Chopra c Styris b Vettori 31 Sehwag c Hart b Oram 17 Dravid c Vincent b Wiseman 73 Tendulkar c Vettori b Wiseman 7 Laxman c Vettori b Wiseman 44 Ganguly b Wiseman 25 Patel not out 5 Extras:
(b-4, lb-3) 7 Total: (for 6 wkts dec in 44.5 overs) 209 Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-97, 3-118, 4/166, 5/177, 6/209 Bowling: Tuffey 9-2-18-0, Oram 8-0-39-1, Vettori 16-0-81-1, Wiseman 11.5-0-64-4. New Zealand (IInd inngs): Richardson c Chopra b Kumble 21 Vincent batting 21 Tuffey batting 0 Extras:
(lb-5, nb-1) 6 Total: (for 1 wkt in 20 overs) 48 Fall of wicket:
1-44. Bowling: Zaheer Khan 4-0-17-0, Balaji 4-1-9-0, Harbhajan Singh 5-0-10-0, Kumble 5-3-7-1.
— PTI |
|
Onus is on Kumble and Harbhajan As the match enters its final day, I feel the two umpires in the middle are key to what promises to be a fantastic day of cricket at the Sardar Patel Stadium. I can already foresee a crowded batting square, fielders going up for just about everything while the batsmen strive hard to get things under control. Under these circumstances, it’s the umpires who are under constant pressure and one momentary lapse from their part and spell doom for any team. Both David Shepard and Rudi Keortzen are highly respected figures in this line and without keeping a shadow of doubt over their abilities, I expect them to stand firm. Yet again, we are faced with a situation where the onus is on Kumble and Harbhajan to bowl the opposition out on the last day and help India keep their home Test win record intact. They have done it exceedingly well and mind you, consistently also, but Kiwis are not the one to give in easily like we found out on Saturday. Quite known for their resolute performances with the bat in sticky situations, Stephan Fleming’s side have emerged with their heads held high quite a number of times. The wicket too will play a lot of role in the match’s decisiveness and from the looks of it, the batsman should not have any major problems from that 22 yard strip. I would say the match is still pretty much balanced, though I may be tempted to weigh in favour of the home side. However, first things first. Indians wasted a golden opportunity to walk away with the match in their pocket. By allowing Daniel Vettori’s willow to dictate terms in the morning session, Indians not only failed to enforce a follow-on but also lost out on crucial time, trying to put up a competitive total on board before asking New Zealand to make a match of it. It is quite unlikely the Kiwis would get their adrenaline pumping and gun for a victory, especially after their show in the first innings. A draw should please Fleming no less than it would haunt his rival counterpart. Coming back to Indian batting, I feel Sourav had to make a big decision — play with the confidence of Aakash Chopra and drop him down the order or risk a slow and steady batting approach. I would have opted for Sachin Tendulkar walking out with Sehwag and see the scorecard multiplying every ball. Sachin, in fact, never looked to take control on this sluggish wicket, failing to get his timing right in both innings. Sachin likes to ball to come on to his bat and by asking Sachin to face the new ball things would have worked well for every concerned party. Rahul Dravid once again showed he is an adaptable cricketer by playing some lovely innovative shots round the park and boosted of a good strike rate too. V.V.S Laxman always looks elegant, never mind what shot he plays. His inside-out cover drives off Vettori had a stamp of class all over it and his breezy innings set the Indian innings sailing through. The declaration, I must say, came quite sportingly and at an appropriate time also. Ninety overs to go, nine wickets intact, Kumble and Harbhajan fighting it out against Fleming and Astle. I can’t ask for a better Sunday!
|
|
Mohali wicket to be seamer friendly Chandigarh, October 11 A plan is afoot under which a specially fabricated “canopy-like” structure, first of its kind at any cricket stadium in the country, is being prepared in the PCA, Mr Daljit Singh, who is overseeing the preparation of the wickets at the PCA stadium as also other venues for international as well as domestic matches for years, revealed during an exclusive chat with The Tribune today. The structure would be designed in such a way that it would leave space over the wicket wide open. The whole device would have three parts. When joined together it would be able to cover the wicket as well as the adjoining area. Each structure made of iron bars would have scooter wheels on either side and two fans fitted in between would be manually pulled and stationed over the wicket. “The idea is to ensure that the wicket is not covered at the top. It gets its supply of fresh air so that it retains its moisture and freshness,” Mr Daljit Singh, who is on the five-member BCCI’s Grounds and Pitches Committee, revealed. “As per the existing practice, the wicket is covered with tarpaulin having durries underneath it. This results in the formation of pores in the wicket which in turn leads to sweating on the surface.” If the things fall in place as per the plans chalked out, the Mohali stadium would be the first venue the country to have such a device, Mr Daljit Singh said adding that the idea behind is that the wicket did not become lifeless for seam bowlers after first two or three days. “One or two Test match centres in England have structures somewhat similar to what is being fabricated in the PCA. An effort is being made to ensure that the wicket has something for the seamers early on all days,” Mr M P Pandove, secretary of the PCA, stated. Some alterations were suggested and carried out in the map of the structure as prepared by the PTL, Mohali, by a local company being run by Col T S Plaha, which is executing the work. Meanwhile, the sale of tickets for the Test has picked up considerably. “All general block seasonal wickets have been sold out,” Mr Pandove stated. “If need be, we will order printing of more general block tickets,” he revealed. Besides, 40 per cent of the tickets meant for the VIP block, terrace block and the AC lounge have also been sold out. “But tickets for the students are still available,” he said. Elaborating further, Mr Pandove revealed the equipment worth nearly Rs 30 lakh meant for the proper maintenance of outfield has been imported from the USA. It includes specially designed aerators meant to ensure that the outfield remained fresh through the injection of air in the soil. Health and fitness centre, comparable with the best in the world, was ready for the benefit of players, he said. The state-of-the-art fitness centres having the latest features have been created incurring an expenditure of Rs 1 crore. |
|
Aussies
inch closer to big victory
Perth, October 11 SCOREBOARD Australia (first innings): 735-6 declared. Zimbabwe (first innings overnight
79-1) Ebrahim b Gillespie 29 Gripper c Lehmann b Lee 53 Vermeulen c Hayden b MacGill 38 Carlisle c Hayden b MacGill 2 Wishart c Gilchrist b Bichel 46 Evans b Bichel
22 Taibu lbw b Gillespie 15 Streak b Lee 9 Ervine c Waugh b Gillespie
6 Blignaut lbw b Lee 0 Price not out 2 Extras (lb-10 w-2 nb-5) 17 Total
(all out, 89.3 overs) 239 Fall of wickets: 1-61 2-105 3-120 4-131 5-199 6-200 7-231 8-231 9-231. Bowling:
Lee 15-4-48-3 (nb-2 w-1), Gillespie 25.3-9-52-3, Bichel 21-2-62-2 (nb-3 w-1), MacGill 21-4-54-2, Lehmann 2-1-3-0, Waugh 5-1-10-0. Zimbabwe (second
innings): Ebrahim b Gillespie 4 Gripper c Gilchrist
Vermeulen not out 50 Carlisle not out 26 Extras (lb-3 w-1 nb-3) 7 Total
(for 2 wickets, 31 overs) 87 Fall of wickets: 1-2 2-11. Bowling:
Lee 7-2-16-0 (nb-1 w-1), Gillespie 3-0-6-2, MacGill 3.4-1-10-0, Bichel 4-0-14-0 (nb-2), Lehmann 7.2-2-18-0, Martyn 6-1-20-0.
— Reuters |
||
|
Raid
de Himalaya Manali, October 11 The prize distribution function was held here today with Major Vijay Singh Mankotia, Minister for Tourism, Himachal Pradesh, as the chief guest. Sukhjinder Singh Rana, riding a Fiero F2, came first among the motorcyclists. He also swept the trophies for being the fastest in five of six stages. The lad from Anandpur Sahib also won the John Mark James trophy for the best motorcyclist, who embodies the spirit of Raid de Himalaya. Overall, Anuj Mohan, also from Chandigarh, came second, followed by H.K. Pradeep and Karanbir Singh Bedi. The motorcyclists’ guts and determination came in for much comment and appreciation during the function held at the Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports here. Sunny Sidhu got a round of applause when it was announced that the N.L. Chaudhary and Jasminder Pal trophy for sportsmanship was being awarded to him for helping a fellow competitor in a competitive stage. He had stopped his car, thereby losing time, to help Sandeep Sharma whose car had gone off the road on Day 1 of the raid. In the newly introduced Reliability category, a first in India, the first prize in cars went to Sirish Chandran and Yogendra Pratap, with Rohit Michel and Girija Raghav in second place. Rakesh Virender Handa and Sameer Surash Kakokdar got the third prize. In the SUVs Anila Khirme and Jaishree Rajni Varadarajan got the first prize, while the second prize went to Pranav Desai and Dhaval Desai, while in the third place were Anupam Thapa, Rohit Wadhwani and Sumeet Inder Singh. The Minister, in a witty speech, said that as a politician he had attended many a rally but this was by far the best. He said Himachal Pradesh was committed to helping the motor sports in the state. |
|
Prakash Amritraj out of singles
Dharwad, October 11 Amritraj lost to Yue-Tzuoo Wang of Taipei in the singles semifinals 3-6, 1-6, while top seed Thailand’s Dannai Udomchoke had to sweat it out for 110 minutes to overcome Rik De Voest 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the other last four match. The final will be played tomorrow. The doubles semifinals was a one sided affair with Amritraj and De Voest, winners of the Tumkur leg of the ATP Challenger, cruising past with ease against Danai Udomchoke (Thailand) and Toshihide Matsui (Japan) 6-3, 6-2. Ratiwatana brothers — Sanchai and Sonchat — beat Michal Mertinak (SVK) and Branislav Secak (SVK) 7-6, (7-4), 7-5 in the other semifinal. Amritraj began well against Wang, but lost control over his game midway to surrender the fifth game to his opponent, giving Wang the crucial break. Leading 3-2, Wang went on to win the set 6-3. Amritraj, in a bid to stage a comeback, saved five set points. He even had two break points, but Wang finally wrapped up the set. Amritraj’s strategy of rushing to the net and forcing the opponent to commit mistakes was paying off, but it was too late. The second set saw Amritraj losing his temper and the third game provided Wang the break, with Amritraj surrendering the game straight. The Indian faltered twice again and offered the set and the match on a platter. The match between Udmochoke, who is top seeded here, and Rik De Voest was a treat to watch as both the players hit some powerful deep shots. The match that lasted 110 minutes saw De Voest breaking his opponent in the very second game of the first set to take it 6-3 in 29 minutes. Fighting back in the second, Udomchoke broke De Voest in the fifth game and again in the eighth game to win the set 6-2 and equalise at 1-1. The decider was a cliffhanger. Udomchoke, breaking De Voest in the second game had gained the crucial lead. But the ninth game saw De Voest breaking Udomchoke and equalling the score at 5-5 in the tenth game. Udomchoke held his serve in the eleventh to lead 6-5 and then succeeded in breaking De Voest again in the 12th game to clinch the issue. — PTI
|
|
Rupesh-Sumit duo clinches doubles title New Delhi, October 11 Rupesh and Sumit, the top seeds, overcame a sluggish start to defeat compatriot Vivek Shokeen and his Sri Lankan partner Nishindaran Sivendaran 2-6, 6-3. 6-3 in the final, according to information received here. The girls singles title was annexed by Punjaporn Ditthim of Thailand who won 6-4, 6-2 against Shweta.
— PTI |
|
Ajeetesh
emerges junior golf champion Chandigarh, October 11 And the margin of victory shows that this St John’s School student is improving with every national meet. He beat his nearest rival, Aditya Singh, by a margin of 11 strokes. He finished with a four-day aggregate of 286 and his best round was on the second day when he returned a five under card of 67.
Ajeetesh had won the junior title three times earlier this year. With yesterday’s win Ajeetesh has emerged as the undisputed junior champion of the country. Mizuno, a Japanese sports company, has sponsored
Ajeetesh. Scores: Category A: Ajeetesh Sandhu 286, Aditya j Singh 297, Gaganjit Bhullar 297, Amanjyot Singh 299. Category B:
Amanjyot Singh 299, Fatehbir Dhaliwal 311, Raghav Wahi 312. Category C: Kanishk Madan 318, Madhav Soi 322, Abhijit Chadha 322. Category D: V. Badhwar 207, K. Raghav Bhandari 223, Hemdndra Choudhary 231. |
|
|
CRPF enters final Patiala, October 11 CRPF had to slug it out against a tenacious Punjab Police before beating them by a 4-3 margin by taking the tie breaker route while JCT mills had a comparatively easy time in recording a 2-0 win against Shri Guru Gobind Singh Society (SGGSS), Jalandhar. After a barren first half, Punjab police nearly scored after medio Parveen collected a loose ball but, much to his ignominy, his power packed shot hit the horizontal before ricocheting back into play. However, the cops’s attackers were slow to capitalise on the stray ball which was cleared to safety by the goal tender P. Rajan, who is having an outstanding tournament. With the teams dead-locked the match was decided by the tie-breaker in which Punjab Police flunked two of their kicks while CRPF missed just one.
|
|
Saurav, Arjun
clinch titles Patiala, October 11 In the under-12 boys section, Arjun Sehgal of Punjab downed his state colleague Ketan Gupta 6-0, 6-0 to clinch the title. This is the talented Arjun’s third title in a row in the last fortnight including the All-India Inter Public School tournament which he won at the Doon school, Dehra Dun last week. In the under -14 doubles, Ankit and Ujwal downed Yuvresh and Sidharth of Chandigarh 6-1,7-5. In the girls (u-12) category, Mehak of Chandigarh had to fight hard to get past Heena Kumari of Delhi 6-4, 7-5 to lay her hands on the title. The prizes were distributed by Mr
R.P. Devgan, Principal of YPS. |
|
|
Sahil, Rohan in last four Sangrur, October 11 Punjab champion Sahil faced no resistance from Varun of Amritsar in the quarter-finals. Sahil won 15-9, 15-3 in just 15 minutes. But second seed Rohan of Jalandhar was fully stretched by the upcoming Amritsar player Sandeep. Sandeep won the first game 15-12 but in the last two games Sandeep looked tired and he tamely surrendered 4-15, 0-15. Mohamined Salim of PSEB and Harinder Singh of Patiala also qualified for the semifinals. Results (men’s singles quarter-finals) Sahil Arora (JAL) b Varun Gulati (ASR) 15-9, 15-3, Mohd. Salim (PSEB) b Rajiv Verma (ASR) 15-8, 15-8, Harinder Singh (PTA) b Rohit Kapoor (JAL) 16-17, 15-11, 15-8, Rohan Kapoor (JAL) b Sandeep (ASR) 12-15, 15-4, 15-0. (Men’s doubles quarter-finals) Navdeep and Salim (PSEB) b Varun and Varun (ASR) 15-5, 17-15, Narinder and Harinder (PTA) b Navjot and Puneet (ASR) 15-4, 15-4, Sahil and Sandeep (JAL & ASR) b Rajiv and Kunal (ASR) 8-15, 15-10, 15-11, Rohan and Rohit (JAL) b Gurdeep and Mitesh (15-3, 15-5 Sang) (Women’s singles quarter-finals) Komal Preet (PTA) b Shruti Bansal (Ropar) 6-11,11-5, 11-8, Puneet Sharma (PTA) b Sarbjit (ASR) 13-12, 11-2, Shehnaaz (Sang) b Sukhman (PTA) 11-7,11-4 (Women’s doubles semi-finals) Jaspreet and Amritpal (PTA) beat Komalpreet and Sukhman (PTA) 5-3, 15-11 Yogita and Puneet (PTA) beat Shahnaaz and Shruti (Sang) 17-14, 15-13. |
|
Amritsar
restrict Ludhiana Amritsar, October 11 For the hosts, right arm off-spinner Baljit Singh claimed three wickets while giving 53 runs. Another spinner Mukesh took two wickets and gave 59 runs. S.P. Singh and Yadwinder grabbed one wicket each. Earlier, Ludhiana won the toss and elected to bat first. However, opener Jasmit Singh lost his wicket without opening his account. Ashish, the other opener carried forward the innings with partnership with Karan Goel, Ashish and Karan contributed 33 and 32 runs, respectively. Thereafter, Ankur Kakkar (43) Gaurav Marwaha (62) and Gagandeep Singh (32) played well as Ludhiana reached 252 for 9. |
|
|
Sports
schedule announced Fatehgarh Sahib, October 11 A meeting of the council was held here under the chairmanship of Dr Dilbag Singh Hira, Principal of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering
(BBSBE) College. The college will host badminton (men and women) on November 7 and 8, volleyball (men and women) on November 21 and 22, and athletics on March 26 and 27, 2004. The
GNE, Ludhiana, will host football (men) on November 14 and 15, lawn tennis (men and women) on November 14 and 15. The Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sangrur, will host table tennis (men and women) on October 22 and 23, while the Sukhmani Institute of Engineering and Technology, Dera Bassi, will host kabaddi (men) on October 22 and 23. The SBS College of Engineering and Technology, Ferozepore, will host hockey (men) on October 31 and November 1. The Malout Institute of Management and Information Technology will host basketball (men and women) on November 7 and 8. Schedule for the PTU cricket championship: semifinal will be held on January 30 and 31, 2004 at GNE College, Ludhiana, and the GZS College of Engineering and Technology, Bathinda. The final will held be on February 6 and 7, 2004 at
SLIET, Longowal.
|
|
|
Judo meet begins Ambala, October 11 It was introduced in India in 1929 through the efforts of Mr Rabindra Nath Tagore. He said judo helps in self-defence and teaches restraint to the sportsperson. The judo players, who had done well at the national sub-junior championship held at Guwahati, were honoured. Those who were honoured include Ravi Kumar, Anoop, Amit
Pawar, Amarjeet, Rupinder, Priyanka and Sarita Punia. Among others, Mr Sudarshan Bansal, Mr Sumer Singh
Nandal, Ms Anita Sehgal, Ms Reena Nagrath, Mr Subhash Dhiman, Mr Devendra Saini and Mr Surendra Juneja were present.
|
|
Veteran
wrestler Lila Ram dead Chandigarh, October 11 The legendary wrestler of Haryana was the first Indian to win a gold medal for the country in the Commonwealth Games. The president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and Haryana’s Director-General of Police M S Malik in a condolence message described Lila Ram as the “Bisham Pitamah” of the Indian wrestling.
— UNI |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
