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Ganguly fined for
slow over-rate Australia will have to reorganise themselves Warne likely for
Lanka Test series |
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3-wicket win for Sri Lanka ‘A’
Gaurav to lead NZ u-19 squad Punjab 287 for 8 against Delhi JCT clash with East Bengal in NFL today No sportsperson to be demoted: CM
Punjab eves beat Maharashtra Boxers selected Annual athletics meet Kabaddi tourney
concludes Yoga expert honoured
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Brisbane, December 8 Set an improbable target of 199 in 23 possible overs, India lost two quick wickets but pulled up their socks in time to reach 73 for 2 in their second innings to earn a commendable draw against the world champions. Dravid remained unbeaten on 43 and Laxman on 24 at close on the fifth and final day. The teams will now clash in the second Test at Adelaide from Friday. While India could claim a morale victory after gaining the first innings lead and also dominating the hosts during a crucial phase of the game, Australia would take heart from the fact that their batsmen found their much-vaunted form on the last day and toyed with the inept Indian bowling. After the Indian tail wagged a bit longer to make 409 — a first innings lead of 86 — in the morning, Australian batsmen made the most of lackadaisical bowling performance by the tourists to post 283 for three before captain Steve Waugh declared the innings in an attempt to score some psychological points over the rivals.
Sourav Ganguly and his men might have accepted draw as a foregone conclusion but the way their bowlers struggled to keep a check on hosts batting must worry the Indian captain. Waugh (56 no), after the ignominious first innings performance, joined hands with Martyn (66 no) to score runs at a frenetic pace of more than 4.5 runs an over. The 38-year old veteran of 165 Tests might have also hoped to pick a hole in the tourists batting with his declaration since Sachin Tendulkar rendered himself ineligible to take to the field for 48 minutes of the Indian chase after being substituted in the post-lunch session. His plans seemed to come to fruition when Virender Sehwag played an innocuous shot to become a victim of Bracken once again and Chopra poked outside the off stump for a catch behind. It was four for two and the Kangaroos had their tails up. Dravid and Laxman, however, not only prevented further disaster but scored runs at will, indicating the nature of the Gabber track. Whatever upperhand the Indians enjoyed then was reduced to the morning session of the day when the tailenders frustrated the Australian bowling for well more than an hour and their bowlers dismissed first innings centurion Justin Langer for no score. Resuming at their overnight score of 362 for 6, India notched up 409 in their first innings with Zaheer Khan (27) and Harbhajan Singh (19 no) sharing a vital 41-run stand for the ninth wicket. Scoreboard Australia (1st innings): 323 India (1st innings): Chopra c Hayden b Gillespie 36 Sehwag c Hayden b Bracken 45 Dravid c Hayden b Gillespie 1 Tendulkar lbw Gillespie 0 Ganguly c Gillespie b MacGill 144 Laxman c Katich b MacGill 75 Patel c Bichel b Gillespie 37 Agarkar c Hayden b Bichel 12 Harbhajan not out 19 Zaheer b MacGill 27 Nehra lbw MacGill 0 Extras
(lb-6, w-1, nb-6) 13 Total (all out,120.1 overs): 409 Fall of wickets:
1-61, 2-62, 3-62, 4-127, 5-273, 6-329, 7-362, 8-362, 9-403. Bowling:
Jason Gillespie 31-12-65-4, Nathan Bracken 26-5-90-1, Andy Bichel 28-6-130-1, Stuart MacGill 26.1-4-86-4, Steve Waugh 7-3-16-0, Simon Katich 2-0-16-0. Australia (2nd innings): Hayden c Sehwag b Harbhajan 99 Langer c Patel b Agarkar 0 Ponting c Sehwag b Nehra 50 Martyn not out 66 Waugh not out 56 Extras
(b-4, nb-9) 13 Total (3 wkts decl., 62 overs) 284 Fall of wickets:
1-6, 2-146, 3-156. Bowling: Zaheer Khan 3-0-15-0, Ajit Agarkar 12-3-45-1, Ashish Nehra 19-1-89-1, Harbhajan Singh 21-1-101-1, Sachin Tendulkar 2-0-9-0, Virender Sehwag 5-1-21-0. India (2nd innings): Chopra c Langer b Bracken 4 Sehwag c Martyn b Bracken 0 Dravid not out 43 Laxman not out 24 Extras
(nb-2) 2 Total (for 2 wkts,16 overs) 73 Fall of wickets:
1-4, 2-4. Bowling: Jason Gillespie 5-1-17-0, Nathan Bracken 4-1-12-2, Stuart MacGill 4-0-32-0, Andy Bichel 3-0-12-0.
PTI |
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Ganguly fined for
slow over-rate BRISBANE: Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly was today fined 10 per cent of his match fee by match-referee Mike Procter for a slow over-rate in the drawn first cricket Test against Australia at
Gabber. According to an official announcement, Procter also fined the rest of the Indian team members five per cent of their match fees. However, the decision must have still been met with some relief by the Indian camp as it turned out to be far less than feared. The Indians were nine overs short in Australia’s first innings. But the fielders rushed between the overs in Australia’s second knock and a fair bit of bowl was given to spinners Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag as quite a bit of the deficit was made up by the team on the final day today.
— PTI
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Australia will have to reorganise themselves India’s performance in the first Test must have silenced quite a few of those doubting Thomases. Not many of these people could predict such a fine show by India. Rather, they forecasted gloomy five days and sheer embarrassment for the Ganguly’s boys. These critics based their views mainly on the results in the recently concluded triangular series in India and India’s performance in the previous tours of Australia. So, most of them decided to write off the Indian team. Now at the end of the fifth day these cynical minds must be scurrying for cover. The match might have ended without a result, but from India’s point of view this is something more than just a draw. The Indians have taken a big leap with a lot of good things coming their way, whereas the Australians will have to reorganise themselves to keep their home record intact. Usually, the Australians have almost made it a habit to score a thumping win over their opponents in the first game, when the visitors would be still looking to come to terms with the wickets. The hosts always took the advantage of the first Test result, which would have had huge bearing on the psychological side of the touring team. Ganguly played an innings of character. The skipper coming ahead VVS Laxman was itself a true indicator that he was intending to lead from the front. Being an aggressive player, Sourav never allowed the Australian bowlers to settle down to their line and length. The strength of his batting was that even the good balls bowled in the right areas were also put to sword. His way of handling the short pitch balls was superb as the Australian bowlers delivered too many of those, only to get a good measure of the wicket. Captain’s good form, always lifts the team’s morale to a great deal. The skipper attitude and body language on the field convey more important messages to the opponents than with his verbal communication at times. Sourav is a kind of player who goes from strength to strength. He needed those runs badly to restructure his career and to carry on the good work of captaincy. Akash Chopra looked compact enough to negotiate the new ball. Sound temperament, which is a necessity at this level, seems to be his strength. I am sure the team management would want him to
capitalise the good start to make big scores. After all the opener has the most difficult job in hand. Laxman’s affinity to score runs against the Australians continued at the
Gabber, too. He is in tremendous form from the beginning of the season and scored heavily against the Kiwis back home. Laxman coming in at number 6 also shows the batting depth of the team. But his missing the three-figure mark here will pinch Laxman later in the career .He got to be more resolute once he gets close to the magic figure. A century throws a different light on a batsman’s career. Those landmarks are not only confidence-building but also inspire the teammate to set high standards for each other. While I appreciate his great habit of scoring against the Australian, I also feel that not scoring the hundred after having done all the hard work is too costly a miss. As often spoken about the importance of partnerships, Sourav-Laxman partnership had a telling effect on the Australian bowling attack. There wasn’t much substance in the fact that the Aussie bowling was mediocre. Actually, the high quality batting made the hosts’ bowlers look pedestrian. Parthiv and Ajit did continue the good work to torment the hosts. The biggest point of this Test match from the Indian point of view was the team taking the lead without Rahul and Sachin contributing. That makes the Indian batting look more formidable. And now I am sure, the best two players will strongly bid to contribute their might in the rest of the Test matches. The Australians played typically aggressive cricket both while batting and bowling in the second innings to make some dent on the psychological advantage that India had gained in this Test. But Rahul and classy Laxman replied very well to leave the Indians having an edge over the hosts. Finally Indians did have a strong hold on the entire Test match. Though some are of the opinion that the first day’s honours belonged to the Australians, I beg to differ. The first day’s effort by our bowlers was only the investments to reap rewards for the next day. At least, I would like to look at it that way.
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Aussie
squad unchanged Brisbane, December 8
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Warne
likely for Lanka Test series Brisbane, December 8 Warne, 34, completes the ban on February 10, 10 days before Australia is due to tour Sri Lanka for five one-day internationals and three Tests. Hohns told Channel Nine television that Warne will not be available for the one-day series starting on February 10, but would be considered for Test side that would be picked later for the first Test on March 8 in Galle. “There is a little bit of period before we pick the Test match side to go to Sri Lanka,” said Hohns. “There’s time for him to play a couple of matches for Victoria. Then it’s to us to make the assessment whether he’s bowling well enough to be included in the side.”
— AP |
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3-wicket win for Sri Lanka ‘A’ Mumbai, December 8 Resuming at their overnight second innings score of six for no loss, chasing a target of 153, the visitors made heavy weather losing five wickets for 57 runs before Anushka Polonowita (22) and Kandamby (63 no) steadied the rocking boat with a 53-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Polonowita was dropped by substitute fielder S. Sriram at slips off left-arm spinner Murali Kartik when on eight with the side's total on 78 for five. Another wicket at this juncture would have cost the Lankans dearly but the sixth wicket partnership flourished cashing on India's fielding lapses before they lost two quick wickets of Polonowita and Rangan Herath (0). However, Kandamby found an able ally in Omesh Wijiesiriwardene (12 not out) and the two added 44 run.
—PTI |
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Gaurav to lead NZ u-19 squad Patiala, December 8 The 15-member squad was selected by the North Zone selection committee at the Dhruv Pandove Stadium yesterday. The team: Gaurav Gupta (captain, Punjab), Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi), Ankur Bassi (HP), Uday Kaul (Punjab), Saurav Rattan (HP), V.R.V Singh (Punjab), Mayank Tehlan (Delhi), Sunny Singh (Haryana), Wilkins Victor (Delhi), Gaurav Chabbra (Delhi), Naresh Gogian (Punjab), Abhishek Sharma (Delhi), Pardeep Sahu (Haryana), Abid Nabi (J&K) and Mohinder Sharma (HP). Standbyes:
Asim Gupta (Punjab), Mahesh Rawat (Haryana), Hardavinder Singh (Punjab), Abhinav Bali (Delhi) and Sachin Rana (Haryana). |
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Punjab 287 for 8 against Delhi Patiala, December 8 Opting to bat on a sporting track, the hosts started off well and local lad Binwant Singh, who scored a century in Punjab’s previous encounter against Himachal Pradesh played at Dharamsala last week, and Amardeep Singh got engaged in a 91-run first wicket stand. Four quick wickets, including those of both the openers and that of batsman S.P Singh, saw the hosts slithering to an uncomfortable 103 for 4. However, fine batting by the middle order duo of Gaurav Marwaha (37) and Kuldeep Dhiman (40) ensured that there were no more hiccups for the hosts as they raced to 287 for 8 at the draw of stumps. For the visitors, both their spinners Vivek Khurana and Sohal Sharma bowled well to finish the days proceedings pocketing four wickets apiece conceding 79 and 46 runs, respectively. Brief scores: Punjab: (1st innings): 287 for 8 (Sandeep Sanwal 63 n.o, Amardeep Singh 38, Binwant Singh 40, Gaurav Marwaha 37, Kuldeep Dhiman 40, Love Abhlish 24 n.o, Vivek Khurana 4 for 79, Sohal Sharma 4 for 46). |
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JCT clash with East Bengal in NFL today Chandigarh, December 8 Having earned the unique distinction of becoming the first Indian club to win a title on foreign soil in the ASEAN Club Championship at Jakarta on July 26 this year, Kolkata's red and gold brigade experienced a sudden reversal in fortune thereafter. First they lost the battle for the Super Cup and then in the Durand Cup final they lost to Goa's Salgaocar SC in the penalty shootout. But on paper, East Bengal with former international Subhas Bhowmick as coach, appear formidable. While Ghanian stopper back Suleh Musah and international Mahesh Gawli are pillars of strength in the defence, midfielders Sashti Duley and Kulothunga provide back-up support to the attack. East Bengal's forwardline is perhaps the most fearsome. Baichung Bhutia, Mike Okoro, Alvito D' Cunha, Malsawmtluga and Bijen Singh can wreack havoc on any outfit when in peak form. On the eve of the tie against JCT, the only worrying factor for coach Bhowmick is the injury sustained on the right leg by Brazilian forward Douglas da Silva, who scored the only goal for his team against Salgaocar in the opening tie. With Douglas ruled out for tomorrow's tie, the responsibility will rest with Bhutia and Okoro to spearhead the attack. JCT ,on the other hand, also suffered a setback as veteran Nigerian striker Stephan Abarowei has been ruled out due to injury. But coach Sukhwinder Singh can draw solace from the fact that star midfielder Joe Paul Ancheri will be back in action after missing the first two ties. Ancheri alone has the capability to split any defence and he has been an asset for the Indian team on numerous occasions. In Nigerian stopper back Musa Aliu, JCT have a solid defender who will be assisted by KV Dhanesh, formerly of ITI while goalkeeper Mansuru Mohammed,who performed creditably last season, is likely to do duty under the bar. Sukhjinder Singh and Charanjit Kumar, who scored a goal each against Indian Bank at Chennai on December 1, are expected to lend support to international IM Vijayan and Ancheri in the attack. The role of winger Jaswinder also canot be under-estimated as his lightning runs on the flank have often thrown rival teams into disarray. On the whole, it is expected to be a close affair and JCT will be keen to repeat the feat of March 5,2003, when they had beaten East Bengal 2-0 on this very ground with goals through Ancheri and Vijayan in the previous league.
The following are the latest standings of the teams in the eighth National Football League (read under teams, matches played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, and points) :
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No sportsperson to be demoted: CM Talwandi Bhai, December 8 Announcing this on the occasion of formal inauguration of 49th National School Games (hockey) here today, Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, said the decision had been taken in a meeting of council of ministers to safeguard the interest of sports community, including the sportspersons in the police department. While declaring the 49th National School Games open, Capt Amarinder Singh said the Punjab Government had also decided in principle to honour the sportspersons from Punjab for their outstanding performances at international level competitions with cash awards besides providing suitable
employment opportunity in different departments. Capt Amarinder Singh, who took salute from the marchpast taken out by the participating teams of Andhara Paradesh, Chandigarh, Haryana, Pondicherry, Punjab, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, said Punjab Government was committed to providing excellent sports infrastructure to the players in the state so that they could excel at the national and international levels. Mr C.L. Negi, President, School Games Federation of India, said that federation had been organising block level competitions to bring improvement in the sports activities in the country. |
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Punjab eves beat Maharashtra Amritsar, December 8 In basketball league matches of the boys (u-19) category, Andhra Pradesh trounced Maharashtra 70-68. Sohail Khan and K. Harkrishna of Andhra Pradesh scored 20 and 13 goals, respectively. In another match Punjab defeated Pondicherry 150-22. |
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Boxers
selected Sangrur, December 8 Light Wt: Amandeep Singh (Bang). Fly Wt: Surinder Singh (Sang). Bantem wt: Sandeep Dutta (PTA), Feather wt: Kulwinder Singh (Sang) Light wt: Rakesh Kumar (HSP) Light welter wt: Sikander Singh (PTA), Welter wt: Jasbir Singh (Sang); Middle wt: Gautam (HSP), Light Heavy wt: Sanjiv Kumar (HSP_ Heavy wt: Bhalinder Singh (Sang), Super heavy wt: Harpreet Singh (Sang). |
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Annual
athletics meet Ambala, December 8 Among others, Mr K.K. Trehan, Mr Jagdish Arya, Mr Viresh Shandilya and Ms Bedi were present. A cultural programme was organised. Vandana was declared the best athlete. In 100 metres, Vandana was first, Pooja was second while Aarti was third. In high jump, Pooja was first, Vandana was second while Rekha was third. In discus throw, Riki was first, Preeti was second and Randeep was third. In the three-legged race, Kanchan & Amanpreet were first, Parul & Neetu were second while Paramjeet & Princy were third. In 200 m, Vandana was first first, Reena was second and Aarti was third. In the obstacle race, Pushpa was first, Vanit was second while Amita stood third. In skipping, Sudipta was first, Gagandeep stood second while Rekha was third. In javelin throw, Pooja was first, Sudipta was second and Parveen was third. In slow cycling, Sangeeta was first, Sudipta was second and Amanpreet was third. In the sack race, Sangeet was first, Arti was second while Vanita was third. In spoon race, Kanchan was first, Amanpreet was second while Pushpa was third. In 400 metres, Vandana was first, Pooja stood second and Palwinder was third. In 100 metre back race, Pooja was first, Sheela was second and Vandana stood third.
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Kabaddi
tourney concludes Sangrur, December 8 Mr Romesh Chander Dogra, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Punjab, gave away the prizes. |
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Yoga expert honoured Patiala,
December 8 Munni Lal Kumra was honoured by
the trust chairman, Mr K.K. Sharma and the Inspector General of Police
(IGP), Mr Shashikant. Apart from cash awards he was also
presented with mementos. Munni Lal Kumra, who won a series of medals
in the Punjab Veteran Athletic Championship which concluded at Sangrur
recently, has been invited by the Punjab Police to impart yoga
training to its employees here and at the PAP complex in Jalandhar.
In the past too, the Punjab Police has requisitioned his services
and he has held many camps which have proved beneficial to the
policemen. Employees and students of Punjabi University have also
benefited from the techniques of yoga as imparted by Munni Lal Kumra
during a camp held here last week. |
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PSEB
in semis NAWANSHAHR: JCT Phagwara beat PSEB Hoshiarpur 1-0 and BSF, Jalandhar beat Sikh Welfare Society, Hoshiarpur 2-0 to enter the semifinals of the sixth Sardar Bhagat Singh Memorial Football Tournament here on Monday.
— OC |
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Brisbane, December 8
