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Gordon counsels patience, discipline
Lee back to bolster
Aussie attack
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Gambhir’s ton in vain as Lanka A win
Badani blames it on poor bowling Lanka ready to
ambush Aussies Anand’s caution against over dependence on computer
JCT clash with Vasco in NFL today
Artillery Centre win Coaching Centre win by 10 wkts New records in
junior national athletics Soccer tourney gets underway Rural football results
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Gordon counsels patience, discipline
Melbourne, December 22 “The key to their win was patience and discipline. At the team level it was outstanding,” Gordon said. “Now they need a big effort to sustain it for the next 15 days. They got to do it session by session. They have to get around doing the same again and again, to apply the process of Adelaide.” Gordon, who has helped the Indian team in the past, including the Gabba Test, wants the team to have individual as well as a collective plan. “All the team members must have individual as well as a collective gameplan. They should have a plan for each session, each day.” Gordon urged the Indians to repeat the Adelaide example and take a leaf out of what Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have been able to achieve on this tour. “The discipline and patience of Dravid has been exemplary. He has shown a wonderful temperament, an unflappable and even personality. “I am glad he has been able to imbibe the lessons so well. For example, he has been able to switch on when the delivery is to be bowled, switch down when he negotiates it and switch off after he has dealt with it.” Gordon also cited the example of VVS Laxman and how the stylish right-handed batsman has been able to make a distinction between aggression and decisiveness. “He has learnt the difference between being aggressive and decisive. He has learnt to be definitive. Aggression is not always the best option, decisiveness, at all times, is. “When you start chasing deliveries outside the off-stump, you are not aggressive. You are just not definitive in your methods.” Gordon felt the key to Dravid and Laxman’s success has been their discipline and good understanding. “Both Dravid and Laxman enjoy good understanding. We discussed things in Brisbane but they were able to execute plans and facilitate its success. Sure, it takes a lot of discipline. “Similarly, Ajit Agarkar has been very good in learning from his mistakes. He has now matured and knows what is best for him.” Gordon is due to join the team before the Sydney Test but is not sure if the perception of the Indian board on the best way to use his services is the right way. “I am available to the team before the Sydney Test. But the irony of my association with the Indian cricket team is I have not seen them play in the middle! “Whenever I have been required to assist the team it has been either before a game or after the match has finished. I have never seen them in action. Unless you are there, you cannot really help in the best possible way.” Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar today got a vote of confidence from his vice-captain Rahul Dravid who said the batting genius was in “great touch” and would soon end all the talk that was being made of his lean patch. “A lot has been said unnecessarily about his form — we believe he is in great touch and hitting the ball really well,” said Dravid after arriving here with the rest of the team for the third Test beginning on Friday. “We are looking out for a big score for him here. But having said that, we don’t want to put any additional pressure on him,” said the middle-order bat who is in the midst of a purple patch in his career. — PTI
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Sachin can be dangerous: Gordon Melbourne: Smarting under his recent failures, Sachin Tendulkar could be a dangerous customer for the Australian bowlers in the next two Test matches, according to the Indian team’s psychologist Sandy Gordon who advises the batting maestro to stay positive. Tendulkar has not “got his rhythm back after the shocking decision” by West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor in the first Test at Brisbane when he wrongly ruled the bastman leg before to a rising delivery, Gordon said today, adding that Tendulkar could expect a very hostile environment at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) with Brett Lee coming back.
“There are two ways he could bring himself back to scoring ways - either by visualising and staying mentally very positive or watching the old tapes where he has got runs, especially against Lee. “He will benefit if he sees his own video tapes where he has been successful,” Gordon said.
— PTI
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Lee back to bolster
Aussie attack Melbourne, December 22 Lee, who missed the first two Tests at Brisbane and Adelaide due to an abdominal injury, replaces injured Jason Gillespie in the 12-member squad. The tearaway fast bowler proved his fitness by picking a five-wicket haul in a Pura Cup match this weekend. The rest of the 12-member squad remained unchanged, as contrary to speculation, the selectors decided against trying a raw paceman to rein in the Indians who recorded a historic win in the Adelaide Test for a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said Lee had proved his fitness in two domestic games. “Brett is an established Test player and has demonstrated that he is back to full fitness following injury,” said Hohns. Matthew Nicholson, who impressed immensely in the drawn match between Australia ‘A’ and India, missed out on a berth as rookie left-arm speedster Nathan Bracken, the 12th man in Adelaide Test, was retained in the squad. Squad: Steve Waugh (captain), Ricky Ponting, Andy Bichel, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Damien Martyn, Brad Williams, Nathan Bracken.
— PTI |
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Hamilton, December 22 The tourists eventually reached 463 all out in their first innings, a deficit of 100 and at the close New Zealand were four without loss in their second innings. Moin came to wicket at the fall of Inzamam-ul Haq for 51, with 108 runs still needed to avoid the follow-on. When Abdul Razzaq went for 48 at 285, there was still a long way to go but Moin and Sami got on the front foot and batted aggressively. Sami passed his highest Test score of 22, but fell soon after for 25, giving Robbie Hart behind the stumps his third catch of the innings. Sami’s part in the recovery lasted 171 minutes and 115 balls. Moin’s century came off just 129 balls and when he was eighth out for 137, his highest Test score, he had faced 174 balls and hit 20 fours and two sixes. Earlier, Inzamam succumbed for 51, lbw to Daryl Tuffey, and Razzaq was caught behind off the same bowler to give the New Zealand bowler a five-wicket bag. Scoreboard New Zealand (1st innings): 563 Pakistan (1st Innings): Farhat c Hart b Oram 20 Umar c Butler b Tuffey 27 Hameed lbw by Tuffey 80 Youhana c Vincent b Tuffey 28 Inzam lbw Tuffey 51 Razzaq c Hart b Tuffey 48 M Khan lbw b Oram 137 Sami c Hart b Vettori 25 Shabbir c Hart b Butler 8 Gul c Vettori b Butler 3 Kaneria not out 0 Extras
36 Total (all out, 144.4 overs) 463 FoW: 1-47, 2-55, 3-134, 4-209, 5-256, 6-285, 7-437, 8-453, 9-462 Bowling:
Tuffey 33-8-87-5, Butler 23.4-6-113-2, Oram 23-7-55-2, Cairns 17-0-60-0, Vettori 36-3-117-1, Styris 12-4-27-0. New Zealand (2nd innings): Richardson batting 4 Vincent batting 0 Extras
0 Total (2 overs) 4 Bowling: Sami 1-0-4-0, Shabbir 1-1-0-0.
— Reuters
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Gambhir’s ton in vain as Lanka A win
Kolkata, December 22 Set to score a challenging 301 in 50 overs for victory at a high asking rate of 6.02, the visitors rode on emphatic batting displays by skipper Russel Arnold (96 not out) and opener Samana Jayantha (92) to reach the target losing only three wickets and with two overs to spare at the Eden Gardens. Jayantha and the man-of-the-match Arnold put on 126 runs for the third wicket to take the game away from the Indians after the tourists lost opener Kalavitigoda (18) and Jehan Mubarrak (25) to be in a spot of bother at 76 for two. Jayantha returned to the pavilion eight short of his hundred, caught at deep mid wicket by Sairaj Bahutule of Dinesh Mongia with the score reading 202. Arnold and his deputy Naveed Nawaz (57 not out; 44b, 4x4, 3x6) then stitched together a rollicking 99-run unbroken stand in only 56 minutes to take Sri Lanka A to 301 for three in 48 overs. However, both Jayantha and Arnold got ‘lives’ as they were dropped by the Indian fielders. Jayantha, who moved from 47 to 53 with a straight field six of Bahutule, was dropped by Munaf Patel at backward square leg with his personal score standing at 58. Jayantha tried to pull offie Sarandeep and only succeeded in getting a top edge, and the ball ballooned to Patel, who failed to latch on to the ball. Arnold, on the other hand, survived a caught behind chance, when Ratra failed to glove an easy catch. The Lankan skipper was then on 2, and the unlucky bowler was Sarandeep. SCOREBOARD India A: S. Bangar b T. Lakshita 21, G. Gambhir lbw b Kulasekara 113, M. Kaif c Jayantha b Herath 71, Y. Singh c Jayantha b R. Arnold 6, H. Badani c Arnold b Zoysa 18, D. Mongia not out 23, S. Bahutule lbw b Zoysa 1, A. Ratra c Jayawardane b Kalusekara 1. S. Singh run out 3. A. Bhandari not out 3. Extras (nb-22, w-13, lb-5) 40. Total (8 wkts in 50 overs) 300. Fall of wickets: 1/64, 2/223, 3/237, 4/261, 5/265, 6/267, 7/271, 8/292. Bowling: Zoysa 10-0-81-2, Lakshita 9-1-50-1, Kalusekara 10-1-50-2, Herath 10-0-45-1, Jayantha 5-0-33-0, Arnold 6-0-36-1. Sri Lanka A: S. Kalavitigoda b Bangar 18, J. Jayantha c Bahutule b Mongia 92, Jehan Mubarrak lbw b Bahutule 25, R. Arnold not out 96, N. Nwaz not out 57. Extras (1b7, w-6). Total (for three wickets in 48 overs) 301. Fall of wickets: 1/2, 2/76, 3/202. Bowling: A. Bhandari 6-0-44-0, S. Bangar 8-0-41-1, M. Patel 5-0-49-0, Bahutule 9-1-40-1, S. Singh 10-0-54-0, D. Mongia 8-0-48-1, H. Badani 2-0-18-0. — PTI
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Badani blames it on poor bowling Kolkata, December 22 “I thought 300 is quite a good target for us to defend. But our bowling, catching and fielding were very poor. Honestly it was a bad day on the field,” Badani said. “Nobody bowled the right line. Since all the seamers — (Sanjay) Bangar, (Amit) Bhandari and Munaf (Patel) were hit for runs, I had to depend on the spinners,” the skipper said. While he was satisfied with the performance of opener Gautam Gambhir and Kaif, Badani was also not happy about the collapse in the middle order. “I am happy at the way Gautam and Kaif batted. But we lost wickets in a hurry thereafter. Otherwise we could have added 15-20 runs more to the innings,” Badani said but admitted that those extra runs would have only a ‘marginal impact’ on the game. “After all, 300 is a score you don’t get everyday. It was a good target”. Sri Lanka captain Russel Arnold, who top scored for the visitors win an unbeaten 96, agreed that India had put up a big target for them and expressed satisfaction at the way his side staged a comeback to win the match. “At the beginning it seemed to be difficult. We thought 300 is a big target. But we played positive cricket and it was nice that we reached the target,” he said.
— PTI |
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Kolkata, December 22 Minhas, who was fielding as substitute in the opening match of the tournament today, suffered a crack in his left index finger and the doctors, who examined him later, ruled him out of the rest of the tournament, a statement issued by the cricket board said. — PTI
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Colombo, December 22 Sri Lanka scored their biggest triumph against England on Sunday, thrashing the tourists by an innings and 215 runs in the third and final Test. Dyson, a former Australian Test cricketer, is now preparing to ambush Australia during their February-March tour of Sri Lanka. New captain Ricky Ponting will take charge of the world’s top-ranked Test team after Steve Waugh retires at the end of Australia’s current series against India. “The series against Australia won’t be an easy one, but we’re ready for the contest. We’ll be prepared for a tough contest,” Dyson said after his team broke English’s stubborn resistance to clinch the series. He said Australia had “recently shown that they are vulnerable at this point of time”. — AP
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Anand’s caution against over dependence on computer New Delhi, December 22 Anand, who answered a varitey of questions at a felicitation function organised by his Indian sponsors NIIT here today, said India was “beginning to take centre state, sports included, and it’s nice to be part of that setup”. Anand, who is in line for his third Chess Oscar award, said the year 2003 has been specially great for Indian sports as Mahesh Bhupathi (tennis), Narayanan Kartikeyan (car racing) and Anju Bobby George (long jump, athletics) had done the country proud. Anand won five of the six rapid chess events he played this year before striking the World Rapid Chess crown just before his birthday in October. He said cricket had a prominent place in the country, and he clubbed chess along with some other sports like hockey, football, tennis and athletics in the second category of prominent sports. “India is really beginning to move forward”, he observed. Anand and Peter Svidler of Russia are the two strong contenders for the Chess Oscar this year, but Anand’s achievements in the year 2003 have been so good that he holds the edge. Anand, whose idols are chess greats like Michael Tal of Russia and Bobby Fischer of the United states, disclosed that he was in the process of completing his auto biography and a book on “How to Play Chess”, which would familiarise the reader with the A to Z of chess, not only to the practisioners of the game, but also to the uninitiated. The chess maestro said physical fitness, sharpness of mind and a healthy diet were essential requirements to succeed at the highest level. He told a large number of chess-playing children to take chess as a fun game. Anand said in his very first tournament, he lost the first two games, and the third he “won” because his opponent did not turn up! He said he used to get worked up after losing matches in his younger days. But not anymore. “Never lose sight of the fact that chess is fun. Never get too worked up”, he advised the young chess fans. “Enjoy the game as chess is great fun”, he said. Anand disclosed that he always planned four to five moves ahead in tournaments, and took things easy. Anand advised the young not to be too addictive with computer chess as the machine will restrict the thinking capacity of the human brain. “Yes, practice with a computer by all means, but not all the time”, he cautioned. Anand said at the moment, the best human mind and the computer were “balanced.” “Whether machine is stronger or not, there is no definite answer”, he noted, adding that Deep Blue, the computer which beat Gary Kasparov, had now “retired” and was perhaps doing “weather forecasting”. |
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JCT clash with Vasco in NFL today Chandigarh, December 22 Every encounter against the Goans is unpredictable. Last year JCT held Vasco to a goal-less draw at Ludhiana while the away match at Goa was won by Vasco with a 2-1 verdict. Incidentally, both the goals were scored by dashing forward Marcos Pereira, who is no longer in the team. However, coach Derrick Pereira has enough ammunition at his disposal to pose problems for JCT. In Rogerio Ramos, Vasco have a dependable goalkeeper while Selwyn Fernandes and Seby Dias are reliable defenders. It is Vasco's midfield which appears to be the only vulnerable link. With Brazilian Edson ruled out for having earned a red card in the match against Mohun Bagan at Kolkata on December 18 which Vasco lost 0-2, Derrick Pereira will be looking to Dennis Cabral, Minino Fernandes, Kamal Thapa, and S. Mathew to provide back-up support to the attack spearheaded by Nigerian Amaechi Tochukwa, Agnelo Gomes and Carlos Barreto. In the current league, Vasco have recorded only one victory so far when they beat Salgaocar through a goal scored by Amaechi Tochukwa at Goa on December 10. They have drawn three matches and lost one. For JCT the setback against Dempo against whom they lost 0-2 the other day was more due to their own mistakes and coaches Sukhwinder Singh and Parminder Singh will be keen to plug the loopholes, particularly in the defence. The absence of wing -back Daljit Singh, who is nursing a ligament injury is being felt although stopper backs KV Dhanesh and Musa Aliu can rise to the occasion when the situation demands. Central midfielder Joe Paul Ancheri will have to shoulder added responsibility by not only bolstering the attack but also falling back to defend. In the attack, JCT do lack a sharp-shooter after the exit of Hardip Gill, who is assisting Mohun Bagan this season. Nevertheless, Nigerian forward Stephan Abarowei and international IM Vijayan do have the capability to come up with some bright ideas and with right winger Jaswinder Singh lending support from the flanks, the JCT attack can get going under challenging circumstances. Medio Ram Pal and forward Charanjit Kumar can also be expected to chip in with some valuable contributions. Mansuru Mohammed under the bar may also be extra-cautious after the two goals conceded against Dempo. Overall, the match is expected to be a close affair although JCT will seek to capitalise on home conditions. The kick-off is at 2 pm. 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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Punjab Police, BSF post wins Jalandhar, December 22 The match between Punjab Police and Namdhari XI started at fast pace. Though the policemen raided the rivals’ half right from the beginning of the game but young Namdhari XI team displayed good technique to thwart their strategy. Namdhari XI missed an opportunity in the seventh minute by failing to convert a penalty corner and Punjab Police opened their account in the 25th minute through a penalty corner conversion by Daljeet Singh (1-0). Policemen then consolidated their lead in the 32nd minute, when Sukhpal Singh scored an impressive field goal (2-0). In the second half, Namdhari XI reduced the lead in the 38th minute as Gurvinder Singh dodged the defence to net the ball (2-1). Though Namdhari XI were awarded a penalty corner in the 67th minute, but they failed to capitalise on the opportunity. BSF defeated Army XI 1-0 to keep their hopes alive for the title. In the first half, BSF failed to open their account as its strikers failed to convert two penalty corners awarded in the 12th and 33rd minutes. Both the teams were goal-less till the lemon break. In the second half, Army XI tried to score but were unsuccessful in their attempts. Finally, BSF emerged as the winners as Habil Topno, after getting a pass from Sandeep, put the ball straight into box to lock the fate of opponents (1-0). Meanwhile, Punjab and Sind Bank defeated CISF 2-0, while in the under-19 category Punjab National Bank Academy trounced Amritsar XI 6-1. In the women’s section, Sukhjit Startch Mills, Phagwara, crushed Himachal Pradesh 7-0 to clash with Haryana in the final.
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India face Belgium in hockey New Delhi, December 22 India are in pool ‘B’ along with arch-rivals Pakistan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Canada and Belgium.
— UNI |
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Artillery Centre win Nabha, December 22 In the other match of the day, Jagraon Police tamed fancied Punjabi University, Patiala, 3-1 and set up a second round clash with Air-India Academy. Artillery Centre will now take on Indian Postal XI for a spot in the pre-quarterfinals. In the opening match, it was the fitness and agility of the armymen against the experience of the Punjab powermen, who were handicapped by the fact that they had to take the field with an ageing squad due to a recruitment ban on sportspersons clamped by the management. The powermen held on gamely in the first half, which turned out to be barren, and even came closing to scoring on a couple of occasions. However, after a gritty first half display their hopes were sunk midway into the second half when their citadel fell twice in two successive minutes. Hyderabad’s centre half P.Lakra, who had a splendid outing, sent in a crisp pass to winger Balwinder Singh, who in turn relayed the ball to unmarked centre forward Dung Dung. The striker dodged two defenders before slipping the ball past the badly positioned goalkeeper to enable Artillery Centre take a 1-0 lead. A minute later, PSEB’s hopes of making a match out of it faded when, much against the run of play, the armymen’s striker Jaswinder Singh latched on to a pass from the right and tapped the ball home to make it a comfortable 2-0 for Artillery Centre. Two goals in the first half by Jagraon Police were enough to send the Punjabi University lads into a tizzy and when Gurdeep Singh finally managed to score for the students, the cops were firmly in the drivers seat. The issue for the policemen was finally settled when full back Simarjeet Singh scored off an indirect penalty corner to make it 3-1 for his team. |
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Coaching Centre
win by 10 wkts Sangrur, December 22 In the second match Malerkotla defeated Dhuri by seven wickets. Dhuri won the toss and decided to bat. They scored 89 runs for the loss of six wickets. Jinder and Azam scored 20 and 14 runs, respectively. In reply Malerkot scored 91 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. Lalit and Kunal scored 17 and 20 runs, respectively. |
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New records in junior national athletics Kollam, December 22 Niksy Joseph and Liksy Jospeh of Kerala shattered the records in triathlon +B+ and +C+ sections of under-14 girls, respectively, this morning. Niksy Joseph set a meet record of 2170 points, breaking the 1890-points-record of Pallavi Sukumar of Karnataka set at Shimoga in 2003. Liksy Joseph set a record of 2215 points in triathlon +C+ section, breaking the 2066-points-record of Natasha Sagar of Karnataka set at the previous meet at Shimoga. — PTI
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Soccer tourney gets underway Fatehgarh Sahib, December 22 In the opening match, City Young Club, Dehra Dun, beat Young Star Club, Kalka, by three goals to one. In the second match, Guru Gobind Singh Society beat DFA, Patiala, by five goals to four. The match was decided through penalty kicks. In the third and last match of the day, Mata Gujri College beat Coaching Centre, Ambala, by one goal to nil. |
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Chandigarh, December 22 Bharta defeated Mukho Majra 2-0; Kherar beat Pansra 2-0 while Maili got a walk over against Langeri Green. In other matches played on a foggy day, Sarangwal beat Khera 1-0 and Mazara Dingrian outplayed Jaitpur 2-0. — TNS
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