 |
|
|
Nehra dropped for remaining ties
A rude welcome for Ashish Nehra Aussies batting almost touched perfection Zimbabwe struggle as Lara hits 191 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Bhupathi-Mirnyi crash out; Bryan twins No 1
India hope to win Commonwealth Games bid
NR eves retain hockey title Astroturf for
Sansarpur?
Punjab cagers win
|
|
Nehra dropped for remaining ties
Bangalore, November 13 “We have included Salvi in place of Ashish Nehra for the next match against New Zealand in Hyderabad on Saturday. If India qualifies for the final, Salvi will be retained in the squad,” cricket board secretary S.K. Nair told reporters here. Nehra, who played in his first match after a seven-month lay-off due to an ankle injury, against Australia here yesterday, went wicketless and conceded 80 runs from 10 overs as the world champions scored a 61-run victory over the hosts. Squad for the Hyderabad ODI: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, V.V.S. Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Murali Kartik, Hemang Badani, Avishkar Salvi, Parthiv Patel. Pathan among probables Meanwhile, Young Baroda paceman Irfan Pathan was today rewarded for his consistency in the Under-19 Asia Cup campaign with a berth in the 20-member list of probables for the upcoming four-Test series in Australia. The 19-year-old left-arm seamer was the only newcomer in the list which also included Tamil Nadu opener Sadagoppan Ramesh, Bengal wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta and Railways left-arm spinner Murali Kartik. Delhi opener Aakash Chopra, who had impressive Test debut against New Zealand last month, and Mumbai paceman Avishkar Salvi were also named among the probables announced by cricket board secretary S.K. Nair here. Nair said the final 16-member squad for the tour would be announced after India’s last league match against New Zealand in the tri-series in Hyderabad on Saturday. “The selectors want to see the performance of the players on Saturday before finalising the team. The team management also wants to wait till Hyderabad match,” Nair said. Nair said the team would leave for Australia on November 21 from Chennai. The Indians are scheduled to play four Tests in Brisbane (Dec 4 to 8), Adelaide (Dec 12 to 16), Melbourne (Dec 26 to 30) and Sydney (Jan 2 to 6). Probables: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Aakash Chopra, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Avishkar Salvi, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan singh, Murali Kartik, Anil Kumble, Lakshmipathy Balaji, S Ramesh, Yuvraj Singh, Hemang Badani, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra and Deep Dasgupta. Sanjay Bangar, who opened the innings with Virender Sehwag on India’s last overseas tour of New Zealand in December-January, was the only notable omission. The announcement was made after a two-hour meeting which also reviewed India’s “unsatisfactory” performance in the on-going triangular series. “The selectors are dissatisfied with the team’s performance in the tri-series. They discussed various aspects but were generally not satisfied with the bowling and fielding,” Nair said. The probables list includes five pacemen taking into account the fast and boucy Australian wickets while Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Murali Kartik are the three specialist spinners.
— PTI |
|
A rude welcome for Ashish Nehra I must say Javagal Srinath looked chic and smart in the formal outfit on Wednesday but we would still love to see him in those blue pyjamas, running in hard with the ball in hand, over after over. Time flies for sure. It wasn’t long before when a pencil thin figure, who took great pride in calling himself a vegetarian, dreamt of becoming India’s premier fast bowler. Watching the match from the stands at the Chinaswamy Stadium, Sri has every right to enjoy that sense of accomplishment. Definitely, this gentleman from Mysore left the game a couple of years early but that’s the price he had to pay for bending his back on our dustbowls uncomplaining for more than a decade. If Sri thought it’s time to pass on the baton to Zaheer and Co, then so be it. The only problem is that our pace battery is still discovering the nuances of fast bowling and learning it the hard way. Our opening bowlers did everything what they shouldn’t be doing to Gilchrist and Hayden within the first 15 overs. It was rude welcome for Nehra after a honey sweet trip to South Africa. The left-armer must have realised that eight months is a huge gap in international cricket and he needs to shrug off his rustiness well ahead of boarding the flight Down Under. Given that Nehra’s complete spell cost us 80 runs, Zaheer’s analysis of 10-0-67 -0 earns a compliment. Sarcastic? Maybe. But why is that our seamers can’t achieve what a Michael Kasprowicz can do coming into a team after nearly five years. That is, stick to line and length bowling. Kasprowicz bowled exceedingly well and reiterated that not everything is averse to fast bowlers on the track, which looked, on the whole, conducive for strokeplay. The Aussie is a much-changed, much-improved bowler. He bowls in with a shorter run-up, has developed a good slower one and started using off-cutters to good effect. His wrist position at the time of delivery is not cocked up, giving the impression that he’s bowling an off-cutter every time but surprisingly, he gets the ball to land on seam and move around. One thing that hasn’t changed till date is his commitment on field. I think Dravid would be in a better position to verify my statement. That was an excellent return catch, diving to his right on his follow-through and holding on to the chance Dravid offered him. Coming on to the Aussie batting, Gilchrist and Ponting simply gorged on the feeble bowling line-up. It’s quite incredible to see someone getting just two boundaries in his century knock and make seven successful attempts in clearing the rope but Ponting just showed it’s possible. His blistering innings defied the fact that he failed to get bat on ball in the initial stages of his innings and literally survived by generosity shown by us in the field. Martyn is a classy player, more stereotype when compared to Glichrist and Hayden but no less effective when it comes to scoring runs. He’s a delight to watch every time he hits the ball inside out over the cover fieldsman. The only one to walk with his head up to the dressing room after the Aussie innings is Murali Kartik. Except for his last over, the left-arm spinner was impressive, making life difficult for batsmen at a situation where the run rate hovered around the six per over mark. I admit being one of those many optimistic characters who thought 347 is gettable. Sachin’s early onslaught and an opening century partnership gave us reasons to expect a miracle under lights. Ganguly and Dravid too chipped in with valiant efforts but slowly and steadily the match slipped away from us. To such a distance from where we can only stand and pray. Pray, that Hyderabad will be different.
— Dronacharya Sports Promoters Association |
|
Aussies batting almost touched perfection One of the aims of the Australian team has been to register wins in all types of conditions and surfaces. Sure, we enjoy our successes at home, but when we are overseas our victories have always been sweeter. In this context, India has a crucial role to play. We know that this is a country where very few teams have beaten the hosts, and as a team we see next year’s tour to India as one that has to be won to achieve our aim of succeeding in all conditions. There have always been those who say that our batsmen can’t play spin too well, and tend to struggle on pitches with no pace and little bounce. However, in the last two games against India, we have proved that we can cope with the spinners, and looking at the larger picture this augurs well for our team. The other important factor to emerge over the last couple of weeks has been the depth of Australian cricket. All three teams have been affected by injury — our bowling is affected, the Kiwis are without Shane Bond, Nathan Astle and at times, Chris Cairns, and India were without Ganguly, Nehra and for one game without Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag. However, we have been the ones who have ensured that the absentees are not missed. Nathan Bracken and Brad Williams have been superb right through the tournament, and when he got a chance, so was Michael Kasprowiz. This trend has been maintained right through the year, and thanks to Cricket Australia’s vision, we have ensured that the wear and tear of modern cricket has minimal impact on our consistency and winning percentage. Coming back to the TVS Cup, it has been amazing to see how we have been improving with every outing, and as far as the batting is concerned, we almost touched perfection yesterday. I can sympathise with the Indians for having to relive the World Cup final once again, for the batting performance and the main protagonists were exactly the same as the ones in Wanderers on March 23. Both Gilly and Punter were superb once again, and Matt and Marto played wonderful cameos. When the batsmen reach such a zone, the bowlers really have a relatively relaxed time since the weight of the target almost always breaks the resolve of the team batting second. On the Indian side, Sachin Tendulkar looks in good touch, and seems to be getting to the peak of his powers as he approaches the Australian tour. We have great regard for what he, along with Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman are capable of. As a bowler it’s been a great challenge to bowl to these guys who together make one of the most formidable line-ups in cricket today. Right now, the whole of India will be looking to these stars to get them through to the final. As a spectator I guess an India-Australia finals would make for the most dramatic finale, but if the Kiwis get through, I think that we will be happy to see that the opponents don’t enjoy crowd support as well as a home advantage. In that sense we stand to gain, no matter who the finalist is. I have been in touch with the guys in India through text messages, and all of them seem to be enjoying this short Indian tour immensely.
(Gameplan) |
Threat
call to Kiwis Hyderabad: Barely a couple of days ahead of the crucial league encounter in the TVS Cup triangular one-day series, the New Zealand cricket squad was in for some shocking news as a threatening call, to face serious repercussions on its tour to Pakistan, which is scheduled to commence after the Indian assignment, has been
recieved. Already four of the top players — Craig McMillan, Scot
Styris, Ian Butler and Vincent Louis — have pulled out of the tour. Another player Jack Hitchkock joined them on Thursday. The call, an anonymous one, was received by the New Zealand Consulate in Teheran last week.
— UNI |
||
|
Zimbabwe struggle as Lara hits 191
Bulawayo, November 13 Lara’s 191 out of a total of 481, however, could not stop Zimbabwe fighting their way back into the game as they recovered from 31 for three to close the second day on 173 without further loss. Craig Wishart was unbeaten on 86 with Mark Vermeulen 60 not out after an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 142. Zimbabwe also took the last seven West Indies wickets for 130. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings): Gayle c Taibu b Blignaut 47 Hinds st Taibu b Price 81 Ganga c Matsikenyere b Price 23 Lara c Wishart b Blignaut 191 Sarwan lbw b Price 65 Chanderpaul c Wishart b Price 15 Jacobs c Gripper b Streak 1 Banks lbw b Blignaut 3 Dillon c Matsikenyere b Price 19 Collymore not out 13 Edwards c Taibu b Blignaut 3 Extras:
(b-5, lb-8, nb-5, w-2) 20 Total: (all out, 107 overs) 481 Fall of wicket:
1-73, 2-146, 3-161, 4-351, 5-389, 6-394, 7-422, 8-449, 9-475 Bowling:
Blignaut 20-4-86-4, Streak 24-4-87-1, Mahwire 15-3-79-0, Price 43-1-199-5, Gripper 5-1-17-0. Zimbabwe (first innings): V. Sibanda c & b Edwards 2 T. Gripper b Dillon 1 M. Vermeulen not out 60 S. Carlisle b Edwards 11 C. Wishart not out 86 Extras:
(b-5 nb-7 w-1) 13 Total: (3 wickets, 59 overs) 173 Fall of wickets:
1-5 2-10 3-31 Bowling: Hinds 3-0-14-0, Edwards 11-3-32-2, Dillon 15-6-20-1, Collymore 7-1-21-0, Banks 13-2-36-0, Gayle 5-1-18-0, Sarwan 5-0-27-0.
— Reuters
|
|
Bhupathi-Mirnyi crash out; Bryan twins No 1 Houston (USA), November 13 The Bryans, who captured their first Grand Slam title at this year’s French Open, sealed the crown without lifting a racquet after another loss by second-ranked Mirnyi and
Bhupathi. “We’re happy to be the first brothers team to finish No 1,” Mike Bryan said. “That was our biggest dream in the world along with playing Davis Cup. We’ve accomplished both goals this year. We hope to finish here with a title.” Canada’s Daniel Nestor and Mark Knowles of Bahamas defeated Bhupathi and Mirnyi 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/4) in a Blue Group round-robin match to book a semifinal date with Frenchmen Fabrice Santoro and Michael Llodra today. The Bryans will face Argentina’s Gaston Etlis and Martin Rodriguez in tomorrow’s semifinal with the final set for Saturday in the season-ending showdown of the year’s eight top doubles teams. “All the hard work we put in through the years has paid off this year,” Bob Bryan said. “Coming in we knew we had to play well and we worked hard to prepare.”
— AFP |
|
|
India hope to win Commonwealth Games bid
Montego Bay (Jamaica), November 13 The “tactical” battle between the two bidders to win the honour will be over tomorrow early morning when the members of the bid committee cast their vote in this Caribbean country. So far, by all counts it was a war of words between the two contenders and it remains to be seen whether the Indian theme that “2010 — Great Games For Sure” or the Canadian phrase “In 2010 We Will Go Beyond Your Wildest Imagination” gets the nod to stage the games. Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi was, however, cautious in his statement that Delhi has the edge over Hamilton. “We surely have the edge over Hamilton to host the games. The number of supporters have been on the rise since we started our work towards the bid. The rival group have put man-to-man approach and in fact they have also offered sops for the voters,” Kalmadi said. As for the factors that weigh in favour of India, Kalmadi said. “Our government has given financial assistance that cannot be matched by Canada. And, the Afro-Asian Games held at short notice has definitely helped us to get the support of African nations,” he said. Kalmadi was confident of India’s chances since “most of the African officials had stayed back in Delhi after the Hyderabad games and were flown to Jamaica for the meeting. “Even this has sent shock waves to the rival group,” he said. “Such factors definitely work in our way during bids for international events. However, we need to be cautious and should not be complacent as the scene might change.” Kalmadi, Randhir Singh, Secretary-General of both IOA and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), and Sports Minister Vikram Verma have been busy along with officials from India in interacting with the delegates from other countries. Kalmadi informed the voters, who attended a luncheon meeting of the IOA, that sport was an important tool in driving economic growth, particularly in developing countries like India. “Delhi’s bid for 2010 Commonwealth Games continued to receive support and that was seen last week at the end of the Hyderabad games. “From the reigning Commonwealth and world 100 metres champion, Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis to Lord Sebastian Coe, the IAAF council member, have said that India has the facilities and wherewithals to host the games.” — PTI
|
|
Irina tightens grip Chandigarh, November 13 The young Indian Oil sports officer was eight strokes ahead of Delhi’s Shruti Khanna, who returned a card of 73 today. Vandana Aggarwal of Kolkata, who had maintained her second spot till yesterday, fell by the wayside shooting a disastrous nine-over card of 81. Irina’s resolve was evident from the very first hole when she sank a monster 15-foot downhill putt for a par. On the third hole she fell foul of the infamous CGC bunkers. Rather than battle with the heavy bunker sand she elected to declare her ball unplayable and returned to the tee and made a brilliant bogey, which she redressed in short order with a birdie on the sixth. Playing steady determined golf thereafter, she made nine straight pars, missing birdie opportunities on the eight, 13th and 14th. The 16th finally gave her another opportunity, and she made no mistake making easy work of the short birdie putt. She went on to finish neatly with two more pars to card a one under 71. Shruti Khanna, who steadied her wayward drives earlier in the day, produced a steady round of one over 73, thanks largely to her excellent chipping and putting. Vandana Agarwal’s round on the other hand started badly and finished even worse with a terrible triple on the 18th where her drive was unlucky to find the woods, as did two more attempts to get out of them. The other sensational performance of the day came from 13-year-old subjunior Vaishavi Sinha who shot a brilliant 3 over 75. She played a near impeccable round, matching every bogey with a birdie till the 16th hole. The pressure of making her first ever par round in a tournament finally got to the youngster and she three-putted the closing holes with literally shaking hands to finish a still extremely creditable round of 75. In the juniors, Meghna Bal stole a march over Bhavna Shetty with a gutsy 5 over 77 that she salvaged with birdies on the third, 14th and 16th holes. Shruti Naik and Sharmila N. continued their neck and neck race for honours in the Silver Division both shooting scores below their handicaps. Results of third day’s play : Championship Trophy (Gross):
Irina Brar 218, Shruti Khanna 226. Silver Salver (nett) : Dimple Minocha 210, Shrishti Dhaon 213. Challenge Bowl (13-24): Gross — Shruti Naik 255, Sharmila N. 256; Nett — Shruti Naik 195, Sharmila N. 217. Bronze Plate :
Gross — Neelu Chopra 1, Bubble Singh 2; Nett — Neelu Chopra 1, Bubble Singh 2. Juniors’ Shield: Gross — Vaishavi Sinha 238, Meghna Bal 241; Nett — Vaishvi Sinha 213, Meghna Bal 214. Subjunior Shield: Gross — Vaishavi Sinha 238, Shruti Naik 255; Nett — Shruti Naik 195, Sharmila N. 217. Senior Challenge :
Gross — Renuka Philips 240, S. Raitia 266; Nett — Renuka Phillips 213, Kiran B.M. Singh 217. |
|
NR eves retain hockey title Jalandhar, November 13 Earlier, Northern Railway and Chandigarh XI displayed excellent stick work to maintain control over the ball. Chandigarh eves took an early lead in the fifth minute of the first half as Usha, after getting a pass from Parkash Devi, easily dodged the defence to score a field goal from the left flank. Northern Railway scored the equaliser in the 14th minute as Kiranbala scored a field (1-1). Railway eves totally dominated the proceedings and further consolidated the lead in the 26th minute through a field goal by Surinder Kaur (2-1). In the 34th minute, Neha Singh of Northern Railway netted the ball to sound the board (3-1). The score was 3-1 till the lemon break. In the second half, Northern Railway were awarded seven penalty corners but of no avail. In the 69th minute, Chandigarh XI reduced the margin as Parkash Devi struck from the rival “D”. In the men’s section, Bharat Petroleum and BSF, Jalandhar won their matches against Punjab and Sind Bank and Punjab Police respectively to secure a place in the final. In the first semifinal six time winners Punjab and Sind Bank lost to Bharat Petroleum (3-5) paving the way for the latter to enter the finals. The match stated at a very fast note. In the 11th minute, Punjab and Sind Bank opened their account through a penalty corner converted by Jatinderpal Singh (1-0). The equaliser for Bharat Petroleum came in the 20th minute, when Len Ayiappa made no mistake in converting a penalty corner (1-1). In the 31st minute, bank man Ajitpal Singh easily converted a penalty stroke to boost the lead (2-1). Now, it was turn of Len Aiyappa, who struck again and netted the ball to score the equaliser in 35th minute (2-2). In the second half, Bharat Petroleum displayed nice stickwork and made some hostile attempts. In the 37th minute Pamdalik of Bharat Petroleum scored a field goal from the left flank to sound the board (2-3). Pamdalik struck again in the 43rd minute to further consolidate the lead (2-4). Bharat Petroleum almost wrecked the defence of the rivals when its Amar Ayiama scored a field goal in 60th minute (2-5). The bankmen managed to reduce the margin in the 67th minute through a penalty corner conversion by Baljeet Singh Chandi (3-5). In the second semifinal, BSF, Jalandhar defeated favourites Punjab Police by a solitary goal. In a keenly contested game, BSF and Punjab Police displayed good hockey although they failed to score a goal in the first half. In the second half, Punjab Police made some hostile attempts but BSF goal keeper thwarted their attempts. It was only in the 48th minute, that Peter Tirkey of the BSF dodged the policemen to score an impressive field goal. The policemen failed to convert five penalty corners during the second half, thus, resulting in their ouster from the tournament. |
|
Astroturf for Sansarpur? Mr Jasraj Singh, son of late Colonel Gurmeet Singh, the first Olympian from Sansarpur, has offered entire proceeds from the sale of his 2-kanal plot in the village for Astro-Turf. The market value of the land being donated by Mr Jasraj Singh is more than Rs 30 lakh. “There has been a tradition in our family. My grandfather, Dr Jaswant Singh Kular, who was a physician and worked in Africa, contributed for the school in the village. My father played in Olympics and captained Sikh Club of Sansarpur for a number of years. Now it is my duty to do something for the village. Since they need an astroturf for the hockey academy, I have given this piece of land to the SHA so that it can sell this land and raise money for the stadium to be named after my father, Col Gurmeet Singh, “ said Mr Jasraj Singh. His donation is perhaps the biggest single contribution by an individual for a synthetic surface in the country. Besides Mr Jasraj Singh, all 14 Olympians or their families from the village, have also offered to contribute Rs 11,000 each for the Astro-Turf project. Many others from the village, who could not play for the country, but played for Punjab, Panjab University, Services and other states and institutions and even other countries, including Canada, have also come out in support of the project. “We hope to raise our share of Rs 65 lakh for the Astro-Turf which at present costs Rs 1.30 crore. Of the remaining cost of Rs 65 lakh is to be shared by both the Central Government and the Punjab Government,” says Colonel Balbir Singh, President of the SHA. Former Indian captain and captain of the 1975 World Cup champion team, Ajit Pal Singh, who persuaded former Indian cricket captain and President of the Arjuna Awardees Association, Bishen Bedi, is hopeful that financial support will come from other institutions and individuals also. Even Bishen Bedi has promised full support for the Astro-Turf project and he will galvanise support from various quarters in the union capital. Once Sansarpur gets the synthetic surface, it will be the second centre in private sector in the country to have Astro-Turf. Namdharis have already got the first one at Bhaini Sahib, near Ludhiana. Only Ludhiana in Punjab has two synthetic surfaces, one at Punjab Agricultural University and the other at Bhaini Sahib. After sansarpur gets it, Jalandhar will become the second Punjab district to have two Astroturf pitches. |
|
Punjab cagers win Chandigarh, November 13 At the end of third quarter, Rest of India were leading by 18 points (50-32). In the fourth quarter Punjab girls, playing a fast game, not only wiped out the deficit of 18 points through captain Paramjit Kaur and Nampreet but also took a four-point lead. At this moment few mistakes cost Punjab the game as they lost 56-57. For Rest of India, Renuka (15), Sophia (11), Anjana (13), Siji (7) and for Punjab Paramjeet (25), Reena (15) and Nampreet (6) were the main scorers. Punjab men had better luck as they thrashed Rajasthan 87-32. For Punjab, Amit Prashar (18), Jagdeep (11), Gurpal Singh (16) and for Rajasthan, Rakesh Kumar (10) were the main scorers. In another match, Delhi girls beat Chandigarh 74-39. Delhi with three international players in their team, did not face any resistance from the young Chandigarh squad. For Delhi Savitra (25), Prashant (12), Asha Aegde (16), Shakun (10) and for Chandigarh, Gurjeet (17) and Shalu (9) were the main scorers. In the last match, Delhi men overcame Rest of India (Rred) 75-67. Delhi led in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter Rest of India fought well and scored 14 points more than Delhi which were not sufficient for them to take the match. For Delhi, Bisandas (20), Satwinder (19) and Vinod (15) and for Rest of India, Amitesh (16) and Kamal Singh (8) were the main scorers.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | National Capital | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Bulawayo, November 13
Anju to run for social cause
Video
Chandigarh, November 13
