 |
|
Fleming’s pullout boosts Indian hopes
Test team being held to ransom Vermeulen hits ton |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Leander to replace Ramesh as captain
Amandeep clinches gold for Bathinda Bharat Petroleum win hockey title Rock Rovers lose in
hockey
|
|
Fleming’s pullout boosts Indian hopes
Hyderabad, November 14 The inspirational Kiwi captain pulled out because of an abdominal strain and the Indians will try to capitalise on his absence in what promises to be a pulsating floodlit encounter at the Lal Bahadur Stadium. Fleming, who was suffering from the strain for nearly a month, aggravated the injury this week forcing him to sit out the crucial match. All-rounder Chris Cairns will lead the side in his absence. But Sourav Ganguly and his men, who have been far from impressive in the series, can hardly afford to be complacent against the spirited Kiwis who are quite capable of springing a surprise. The home team will be under enormous pressure going into the crucial match, billed as a virtual semifinal, as the winner will travel to the majestic Eden Gardens in Kolkata to clash with world champions Australia in the final on November 18. The Indians, who have so far 10 points from five matches like the Kiwis, have no option but to win the match tomorrow while even a tie would allow the Black Caps to scrape through due to a better head-to-head ratio. The batting line-up looks very formidable for the hosts but their bowling still remains a matter of serious concern. Unless the Indian bowlers pulled up their socks, the home team may find the going tough against the Kiwis who have a very good depth in batting. The bowling failure in home conditions has left captain Ganguly and coach John Wright a trifle worried and the duo must have had a word or two with the bowlers to fire them up for the crucial match. “Scores say everything. What do I have to say after this, I don’t think we bowled well in this series. We have to put up an improved performance” Ganguly said. With the bowling department faring badly, the national selectors dropped comeback-man Ashish Nehra, bringing back Avishkar Salvi into the squad. The left-arm seamer was totally clueless against the marauding Aussies in the last match in Bangalore on Wednesday. Ajit Agarkar, who was dropped from the team in the last match, was likely to be included in the eleven with Rahul Dravid continuing to don the wicketkeeping gloves despite being rather unimpressive. The Lal Bahadur stadium has proved to be a happy hunting ground for the Indians having posted a mammoth 376 for two in the last match against the Kiwis in 1999. The Indians had won the match with an emphatic 174-run margin and it remains to be seen whether they can come anywhere near that performance this time around. The Indians will be relying on Sachin Tendulkar, who recorded his highest one-day score of 186 not out at this venue, to deliver the goods for the team. The batting maestro has been in tremendous form throughout the tournament, while skipper Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have come up with useful contributions. The form of opener Virender Sehwag has been disappointing and the hosts will be hoping for a far more substantial contribution from the Delhi player who is quite capable of tearing any attack to shreds. The Kiwis have taken the help of their psychologist to boost the morale of the team after they failed to beat Australia from a comfortable position. To add to their woes, the team has also received threats ahead of its tour of Pakistan forcing at least four players to opt out of the tour. The team management believes that it would not have any bearing on tomorrow’s game. Teams (from): India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Murali Kartik, Hemang Badani, Avishkar Salvi and Parthiv Patel. New Zealand:
Chris Cairns (captain), Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Chris Harris, Jacob Oram, Scot Styris, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Chris Nevin, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Paul Hitchcock and Ian Butler.
— PTI  |
|
Kumble available Hyderabad, November 14 Contrary to earlier reports that Kumble had opted out of tomorrow's match, the Indian team management clarified that the ace leg spinner would reach here tonight. Kumble's father died in Bangalore on November 3 forcing the spinner to miss the Cuttack tri-series match against New Zealand on November 6.
— PTI |
|
Test team being held to ransom As the whole nation pays tribute to former Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary, I remember his famous words: “Children are the future of the nation.” I think we can relate this particularly in Irfan Pathan jr’s case. The young left-arm seamer is in the reckoning for the tour Down Under, riding on the back of his tremendous show in the Asian U-19 tournament a week before. It’s good to see young players coming through to the top level and highlighting Pathan’s case study, let’s join hands and nurture talent from grass-roots level and put them into a more systematic training programme. Though I am delighted over Pathan’s inclusion in the list of 20 probables, I am still trying to figure out the logic behind holding the final Test team to ransom in exchange of improved performance in the Hyderabad one-day encounter. Does that mean if Sehwag falters again trying to force the pace in the initial overs, he would be dropped? Or if Hemang Badani or Yuvraj Singh bowl 10 overs for 20, they will be called in as specialist Test bowlers? These questions never qualify to receive answers but I am sorry that’s the signal the selectors have given by their actions. It’s quite ironical that Nehra’s return was eagerly anticipated to simplify matters in the pace department but after the hammering at the hands of Aussies, the Delhi speedster is found licking his wounds in the Ranji Trophy matches. Nehra has every right to feel ditched by the team management but then he can’t let that feeling weigh too much on him. After all, he hasn’t been cold-shouldered totally. He’s there in the 20 named and a ticket to Australia is only a ‘five-wicket haul’ away. Then there is Sanjay Bangar and Ajay Ratra, wondering why the world changed upside down. That’s how the Indian team has been selected over the years and it will remain so. Getting onto some on-field action now, India have their backs to the wall. They need to pick up every bit of their shattered morale and regroup for one major showdown. That Stephen Fleming would be missing the action might gladden hearts but Cairns inclusion should even it out for the Black Caps. India would hope that Kiwis’ top order batting woes continue for just another match while Kiwis would click a similar deal with our new-ball attack. Everything that happened so far in the series is past. Nothing matters on Saturday except those seven hours of cricket at the Lal Bahudur Stadium. An even contest, that’s where I would like to end it. — Dronacharya Sports Promoters Association |
|
Vermeulen
hits ton BULAWAYO: Mark Vermeulen scored his maiden Test century to ease Zimbabwe's woes on the third day of the second Test against the West Indies on Friday. West Indies were 13 for one, a lead of 117, in their second innings when bad light ended play 18 overs early. Wavell Hinds was five not out with Daren Ganga on eight after Chris Gayle was out first ball, lbw to Heath Streak. Zimbabwe were dismissed for 377 in reply to the West Indies' first innings of 481, paceman Corey Collymore proving the most penetrative of the bowlers with four for 70 from 24 overs. Vermeulen brought up his 100 with an uncharacteristic slashing edge over the wicketkeeper. He struck 12 fours. In the first Test at Harare, Vermeulen failed twice with scores of eight and two. He had a lucky escape when he was yorked by Corey Collymore after scoring 61. But umpire Simon Taufel signalled a no-ball.
|
|
|
Vermeulen steers Zimbabwe to safety Bulawayo, November 14 It was mostly down to overnight batsman Mark Vermeulen, who patiently carved out his maiden Test century just before the break after five hours at the crease. Resuming from their overnight 173 for three in response to the West Indies first innings total of 481, Zimbabwe had to reach 282 to make the West Indies bat again. It seemed a relatively easy target but Craig Wishart, whose starting point of 86 put him in sight of a second Test century, was four runs short of that when he was dismissed leg before by Cory Collymore. With Vermeulen he figured in a partnership of 154 for the fourth wicket. Stuart Matsikenyere had his bails removed by Collymore for eight, and suddenly Zimbabwe were on the back foot at 201 for five, leaving them 81 still to get. |
|
Leander to replace Ramesh as captain New Delhi, November 14 The AITA general body meeting, which was also held along with the executive committee meeting, has decided to introduce an “AITA award of excellence” to be given to the state tennis association “which achieves outstanding results in the development of tennis” every year. This year, the award will be presented to the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association. |
|
Anna hopes to be
back in March MUMBAI: Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova on Friday said she was hopeful of coming back to competitive tennis by March next year. Speaking at the ‘I Love Amby Valley’ function, Kournikova told reporters here that it was difficult to say when she would fully recover from the back injury that forced her out of tennis a few months back. “I’m hoping to be fully fit by March next year,” she said. Kournikova, who is here on an
invitation from Sahara Pariwar said she was being busy visiting different countries and knowing their culture. “It has been a very fascinating experience for me and I have enjoyed the hospitality of Indians and their culture has really interested me,” Kournikova, clad in a blue saree, said. She also said she enjoyed the glamour part of tennis though she liked to be remembered as a tennis player than a model. Asked about her failure to win a WTA singles title, Kournikova said “there were all sorts of circumstances for me not to have won a singles WTA title so far.” “Initiatlly, I was inexperienced and now I am injured and I am sure things will work out for me in near future,” she said adding “I’ve always been a tennis player and never a full time model.”
— PTI |
|
Irina lifts trophy for fifth time Chandigarh, November 14 Irina started the day with six straight pars, though missing birdie chances on the second and sixth holes. Then misjudged putts on the 7th had her making a shocking double bogey. She slipped again on the 10th but balanced that immediately with a birdie on the 11th hole. She dropped the another stroke at 15th and went on to finish with a three over 75, comfortably ahead of the field. The other contenders had lackluster rounds today except the late-charging Mayali Talwar of Delhi who finally had a good round of 2 over 74 to finish two strokes wide of a 3rd place finish taken by Shalini Malik. The find of the tournament, 12 year-old Vaishavi Sinha of Noida played another rock sold round of four over to mop up the subjuniors as well as juniors trophies and finish an amazing 5th overall in the open championship. Meghna Bal and Shruti Naik had thus to be content with the nett prizes in the junior and subjunior divisions respectively. The Silver Division was dominated by youngsters Sharmil and Shruti Naik on all four days and they respectively claimed the gross and nett prizes with ease. In the bronze division Neelu Chopra won the gross with Bubbles Singh claiming the runners-up prize. The Senior Division prizes were claimed by Renuka Phillips of Bangalore for the gross and Kiran BM Singh of Chandigarh, the nett. In a glittering ceremony held on the lawn of the Chandigarh Golf Club Markfed Managing Director, S.S. Channy gave away the prizes. In her closing speech the ladies captain Gaitri MM Singh gave her special thanks to Mr Channy and Mr Davinder Singh MD, HAFED, for their sponsorships and all members of her team who helped to make the tournament a success. The final results: Championship Trophy: Gross:
Irina Brar 293, Shruti Khanna 305, Shalini Malik 310, Mayali Talwar 312. Silver Salver (nett): Shrishti Dhaon 279, Dimple Minocha 283. Challenge Bowl: Gross:
— Sharmila N. 339, Shruti Naik 348; Nett S. Ratia 292, Saanya Sharma 293. Bronze Plate: Gross: — Neelu Chopra 1, Bubbles Singh 2; Nett — Kiran BM Singh 1. Junior Shield: Gross — Vaishavi Sinha 314, Meghna Bal 284. Subjunior Shield: Gross: — Vaishavi Sinha 314; Nett Shruti Naik 268. Senior Challenge: Gross: — Renuka Philip 322; Nett — Kiran B.M. Singh 28. Super Senior Special: Gross: — Dalbir Sahi 1; Nett — Saroj Joti. |
|
Amandeep clinches gold for Bathinda Sangrur, November 14 In boys shot put Manpreet secured the first place by hurling the shot put to a distance of 10.7 metres Deepak Honda and Pushpinder Pal both from Sangrur got the second and third position respectively. Earlier the tournament was inaugurated by Mr D.S. Bains, Secretary Sports, Mr Kartar Singh, Director Sports, Punjab and Mr Sarjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner, were also present. A cultural programme was also presented on the occasion. Results: Athletics: 1500 m final (boys: 1 Kamalpreet Singh (Hoshiarpur); 2 Rajiv Kumar (Hoshiarpur); 3 Maninder Singh (Patiala). 100m final (boys):
1 Manjit Singh (Patiala); 2 Harjinder Singh (Sangrur); 3 Malkit Singh (Sangrur). 100m final (Girls):
1 Rajwinder Kaur (Patiala); 2 Rajpreet Kaur (Jalandhar); 3 Sukhmanpreet Kaur (Sangrur). Wrestling (Boys): 38 kg:
Surjit Singh (Nawanshahr) b Jatinder Kumar (Sangrur); Gaurav Kumar (Jalandhar) b Rajesh Kumar (Amritsar); Simranjit Singh (Gurdaspur) b Ramandeep Singh (Bathinda); Sunny Kumar (Kapurthala) b Manwinder Singh (Moga). 40 kg:
Inderjit Singh (Kapurthala) b Gurnirbhai Singh (Bathinda); Jagmeet Singh (Faridkot) b Karan Kumar (Amritsar); Harwinder Singh (Ropar) b Simrandeep Singh (Ludhiana); Karamjit Singh (Ferozepore) b Jatinder Singh (Nawanshahr); Sabi (Jalandhar) b Gurjant Singh (Mansa). 42 kg:
Lakhwinder Singh (Jalandhar) b Lakhvir Singh (Ludhiana); Ashok Kumar (Kapurthala) b Vicky Singh (Patiala); Shebaz Singh (Sangrur) b Gurdas Singh; Akash Verma (Gurdaspur) b Manpreet Singh (Faridkot). 45 kg:
Rakesh Kumar (Kapurthala) b Sunny Kumar (Hoshiarpur); Paramjit Singh (Jalandhar) b Arvinder Kumar (Nawanshahr); Malkit Singh (Gurdaspur) b Manpreet Singh (Mansa); Budh Singh (Faridkot) b Khalil Mohd (Ropar); Harish Kumar (Amritsar) b Amandeep Singh (Ludhiana). 48 kg:
Simranjit Singh (Ludhiana) b Harsharan Singh (Moga); Raj Kumar (Amritsar) b Gurbaksh Singh (Bathinda); Sandeep (Kapurthala) b Kuldip Singh (Mansa); Ranjit Singh (Hoshiarpur) b Harpreet Singh (Nawanshahr); Mohinder Kumar (Ferozepore) b Jaspal Singh (Patiala). 52 kg: Mohd. Yaseem (Sangrur) b Gurjant Singh (Faridkot); Gurwinder Singh (Gurdaspur) b Balwinder Singh (Jalandhar); Barinder Singh (Ludhiana) b Manpreet Singh (Ropar); Boota Singh (Mansa) b Krishan Singh (Patiala); Gagandeep Singh (Ferozepore) b Baljeet Singh (Kapurthala); Gurjit Singh (Amritsar) b Barinder Singh (Nawanshahr). Kho-Kho (Boys):
Nawanshahr b Amritsar 5 -3; Kapurthala b Ropar 5 - 4; Hoshiarpur b Mansa 8-1; Jalandhar b Gurdaspur 10-1; Ludhiana b Moga 6-5; Sangrur b Bathinda 11-2; Muktsar got a walkover. Kho-Kho (Girls):
Amritsar b Fatehgarh Sahib 4-3 and 1 turn; Faridkot b Mansa 10-4 and 1 turn; Patiala b Nawanshahr 9-0 and 1 turn; Sangrur b Gurdaspur 16-1 and 1 turn; Jalandhar b Bathinda 8-1 and 1 turn; Hoshiarpur got a walkover; Ropar b Moga 9-1 and 1 turn; Ludhiana b Kapurthala 15-1 and 1 turn. Kabaddi (Boys):
Gurdaspur b Amritsar 50-43; Moga got walkover from Muktsar; Ferozepore b Nawanshahr 60-44; Ropar b Kapurthala 66-34; Sangrur b Mansa 63-40. Kabaddi (Girls):
Kapurthala b Hoshiarpur 66-12; Sangrur b Patiala 52-24; Amritsar b Gurdaspur 51-32; Faridkot b Nawanshahr 25-09; Ludhiana b Ropar 48-25. Hockey (girls):
Bathinda b Sangrur 2-1; Ludhiana b Ropar 3-0. Hockey (boys):
Kapurthala b Moga 5-4; Ludhiana b Amritsar 4-2; Fatehgarh Sahib b Ferozepore 1-0; Sangrur b 3-0; Patiala b Faridkot 2-1. |
|
Bharat Petroleum win hockey title Jalandhar, November 14 Confident looking Bharat Petroleum started attacking the rival goal post from the very beginning forcing the BSF to go on the defensive. Amar Aiyamma of Bharat Petroleum dodged the defence and aimed a straight hit but goalkeeper Jasjit Singh thwarted the attempt by diving to his left and saved a possible goal. Changing his strategy, Amar Aiyamma again retained control of the ball and scored the first goal in the 18th minute. In the 25th minute, Pumdlik of Bharat Petroleum displayed nice stickwork and managed to move the ball near the box and tried to push it but missed the target. The lead was further consolidated in the 28th minute when Aiyamma, after getting a pass from Olympian Sabu Verkey, scored an impressive field goal (2-0). Bharat Petroleum were leading by two goals till the lemon break. In the second half, BSF tried their best to come back into the game, but the strong defence and attacking techniques of the rivals frustrated the hostile attempts of the former to open their account. The star player Amar Aiyamma completed his hat-trick through an impressive field goal in the 52nd minute even as the goal keeper was standing helpless. BSF, however, lost the opportunity to capitalise on three penalty corners awarded in the 56th, 59th and 61st minutes. Bharat Petroleum won the tournament for the second time in a row. Later, Indian hockey coach Rajinder Singh was honoured with a cash prize of Rs 50,000 by the Surjit Hockey Society while former hockey player and Punjabi singer Satwinder Bitti was felicitated with a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 11,000. Coach Rajinder Singh also received Rs 1 lakh cash prize on behalf of the Indian hockey team, who won the Asia Cup in Malaysia. The winners Bharat Petroleum were awarded the trophy and a cash prize of Rs 60,000, while runners-up BSF earned a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 40,000. |
|
Rock Rovers lose in hockey New Delhi, November 14 Navbir Singh scored twice in FCI’s 3-1 triumph over ASC while Sikh Regimental Centre beat Indian Ports 4-2 with I Minz netting a brace for the winners. The Navy vs Rock Rovers match saw the latter taking the lead in the 45th minute through a penalty corner by Vikram Saini. But Navy bounced back well in time scoring three goals in the space of 20 minutes to emerge victors.
— PTI |
|
DAVC Jalandhar, SGGS College win Amritsar, November 14 The only match played in the girls’ section was won by Sport Wing, Kairon who thrashed Amritsar XI 6-0. |
|
|
Cultural programme
marks sports day Patiala, November 14 The students enthralled the gathering with their performance in PT excerises and Dumb-bells. Besides this, a cultural programme was also presented by them. The Vigyan House bagged the trophy of the best house. Anil
Narula, a student of class XII, was presented the Lavjot Memorial Trophy for being the best Table Tennis player in the session. Manpreet Kaur was awarded the trophy of the best sportsgirl and Gurbir Singh for the best sports boy. |
| 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:
Mark Vermeulen scored his maiden Test century to ease Zimbabwe's woes on the third day of the second Test against the West Indies on Friday.
West Indies were 13 for one, a lead of 117, in their second innings when bad light ended play 18 overs early.
New Delhi, November 14
