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Aussies level
series with Zaheer should
have waited till Sydney Tendulkar’s
form slump worst ever Pak complete
7-wicket win |
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Gautam Gambhir reacts after he was
declared out during the Kenstar Asian ‘A’ teams' tournament
final against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday. — PTI photo Punjab Police win
Liberals hockey HOA calendar
released FLASHBACK ‘03: HARYANA
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Aussies level series with nine-wicket win
Melbourne, December 30 Needing 95 runs for victory on the final day, the world champions lost opener Justin Langer cheaply but the in-form Matthew Hayden (53) and Ricky Ponting (31) took the team comfortably home just before the lunch break. Man-of-the-match Ponting hit the winning runs, a boundary off Anil Kumble, to send a crowd of nearly 30,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground into a frenzy. The hosts scored 97 for one to overhaul the modest target in just 22.2 overs. The Aussies, who had drawn a lot of flak for their “soulless” performance in Adelaide, will now head to Sydney for the series-decider hoping to give their captain Steve Waugh a befitting send-off at his home ground. The visitors raised hopes of a spirited fightback by removing Langer (2) in the fifth over but the two batting heroes of the first innings —Hayden and Ponting — pounded the depleted Indian bowling attack to complete the formalities without much fuss. “It was a gutsy win. India let a major chance slip away after the first day. It was a tremendous turnaround,” Australian captain Waugh said. The Australians, who have never lost a home series since going down to the West Indies in 1992-93, outplayed the Indians in all departments of the game after the visitors surrendered the initiative on the second day with a pathetic batting display. The Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said the team paid the price for not scoring enough runs in the first innings. “We did not capitalise on the good start, and we lost Zaheer Khan due to injury,” Ganguly said, promising to put up an intense fight in the final Test in Sydney beginning on Friday. “This is the best performance by us in Australia. We have matured during the series against a tough side, and we have shown we can stand up to pressure,” said Ganguly. The result of the match was a foregone conclusion after the Indians were bundled out for 286 in their second innings, leaving one of the world’s best batting line-ups to score just 95 runs. The Indians, handicapped by the injury-induced absence of speedster Zaheer Khan, could not obtain much assistance from the fifth day track as Hayden and Ponting collected the runs with ease. Ponting, who takes over as Test skipper after Waugh’s retirement next week, finished the calendar year as the leading run scorer in Test cricket with 1503 runs. His teammate Hayden was third with 1312 runs with West Indian skipper Brian Lara (1344) taking the second spot. It was only apt that the two prolific scorers — Hayden and Ponting — were in the middle to cap a remarkable win for their side with two full sessions to spare. Ajit Agarkar had Justin Langer leg before wicket for two but India’s hopes of repeating the 1981 glory at the same venue when they bundled out Australia for 83 on the fifth day quickly faded once the record breaking Hayden began to play his attacking shots. Hayden, with a first innings century under his belt, survived a loud shot for leg before off Ashish Nehra but from the moment he flicked the left-arm seamer off his pad to square leg fence, he began scoring boundaries at will. The left-hander pulled a short pitched delivery from Agarkar in front of square leg and then drove Nehra again through the cover for a scorching four. The introduction of leg-spinner Anil Kumble failed to produce a breakthrough, although there were a couple of close calls. A huge leg break spun past Hayden’s front foot and beat the keeper for an agonising four down the leg side. Kumble then induced an outside edge from Hayden with a well deceived googly but the ball bisected the keeper and the fielder at first slip. But Hayden soon asserted himself when he picked three couples in the same over and then drove him through the offside. Ponting at the other end was keeping the scoreboard ticking with sharp singles. At times his running between the wickets was too cheeky but the Indians failed to hit the target on a couple of occasions. Scoreboard India (1st innings): 366 Australia (1st innings): 558 India (2nd innings): 286 Australia (2nd innings): Langer LBW b Agarkar 2 Hayden not out 53 Ponting not out 31 Extras (b-4, lb-2, w-1, nb-4) 11 Total (1 wkt in 22.2 overs) 97 Fall of wickets: 1-9. Bowling: Ajit Agarkar 7-2- 25-1, Ashish Nehra 6-3-16-0, Anil Kumble 6.2-0-43-0, Virender Sehwag 3-0-7-0.
— PTI |
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Ganguly blames batsmen for defeat
Melbourne, December 30 Ganguly said many of the batsmen got off to a good start but failed to capitalise and also urged his tailenders to show more courage. “We were in a good position but did not capitalise. That is where we lost the game a bit,” said Ganguly after Australia levelled the series 1-1 by scoring the required 95 runs comfortably. “Our tail did not wag and a lot of our batsmen did not convert a good start into big innings,” he said. The Indians suffered reverses in both innings of the match after lower order collapses with the last six wickets falling for 16 and 33 runs in the two knocks. Also, quite a few batsmen, including Aakash Chopra, Rahul Dravid and Ganguly in the first innings and Sachin Tendulkar in the second, wasted good starts. Despite the defeat, Ganguly was looking at a lot of positives for this Indian side which he rated as the best he has ever played with abroad. “I thought we played well in England but compared to them Australia is a tougher side. Yes, this has been a very good tour for us.”
— PTI |
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Gillespie likely for Sydney Test
Sydney, December 30 However, Gillespie, who missed the Melbourne Test which Australia won by nine wickets today due to a groin injury, would have to prove his fitness first before making it to the playing eleven. The paceman travelled with the Australian squad to Melbourne to undergo rehabilitation and would continue to be monitored by a team of medical staff.
— PTI |
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Zaheer should have waited till Sydney Opportunity came knocking at the doors of Indians to win the series. The visitors only let it fall on the lap of Australians at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. At the beginning of the third Test, the Indians had the options of pocketing the series by either winning or drawing this Test. That would have allowed the Indians to arrive in Sydney with a positive chance of winning the series or at least to keep it level. The very fashion of bouncing back is one of the main weapons in the armory of the world champions and that exactly they did at Melbourne. After the demoralising loss at the Adelaide, Australians fought their way in this Test to prove that the defeat in the previous game was nothing but just a hiccup. Zaheer’s fitness proved fatal for the Indians, although he tired his best. But it was pretty evident that either the injury had not healed completely or it was a reoccurrence. Even, if there were an element of doubt in his recovery, it would have been pragmatic on his part to have skipped this game and be fully fit to the next one at Sydney. Indians would not only have had a fit Zaheer for the crucial tie at the SCG but also to figure in the VB one-day series. The team physio can only do his best to put him back shape but the ultimate decision depends on the player. Zaheer’s unavailability for the rest of the series is not only a big blow for the team but is detrimental in slowing down the progress of his own career. The stage was perfect for him to grow from strength to strength and a wait till the Sydney Test would have been a win-win situation of him as well as the team. It’s a learning curve for him and hope he realises that cricket for him is not only bowling fast but also understanding the physiological side of cricket too. If Sehwag’s dream knock seemed to have put India in an invincible position on the opening day,
Zaheer's fitness weakened the Indian attack and immensely helped the Australians to capitalise on it. Bowler’s work in groups and the strength of every bowler is heavily dependent on how well the other bowlers complement each other’s effort. Zaheer’s inefficiency obviously put unnecessary workload on Ajit, Ashish and Anil. Overloading Ajit and Ashish made them look innocuous and harmless only for the Australians to take the advantage of it. A hint of reverse swing by the Australians bowlers in the second innings undid the Indian batsmen. Defiant Rahul Dravid did his level best along with skipper Sourav Ganguly to hold the innings, but the Australians bowlers worked hard and kept pegging in and around the off stump throughout the innings. Brad
Williams and Nathan Bracken bowled better than more famous Brett Lee. Both relatively inexperienced bowlers bowled a containment lines to play on the patience of the Indian batmen. It called for another famous Calcutta or Adelaide partnership to recreate history. But the cricketing gods smiled on the hosts this time to make the Sydney Test more interesting where both the teams will have equal chance. The relief on the face of Ricky Ponting and Mathew Hayden after scoring runs showed how much they wanted to win this one to salvage their pride and prestige. The grimace and the sign of relief on the faces of the hosts is so far a true indication of the up surging performance graph of the Indian team. The Indians might have allowed the Australians to come back in the series, but the crunch match in Sydney remains very much open. The nature of the wicket tilt towards the Indians and spinners should come at the crucial stages. Anil and Karthik should be the men in charge at Sydney. And the Indian batting, regarded the best in recent times, will have to really play cricket of their life to Win the Test. Like millions of Indian fans, I am also looking forward to enjoy those moment of glory for Indian cricket in the new year.
— Chivach Media |
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Tendulkar’s form slump worst ever
Melbourne, December 30 The meagre run flow from the blade of a willower, who has to his credit 8,964 runs from 110 Tests, has raised doubts whether the best is now behind the maestro.
Only the preceding year saw Tendulkar notching up 1392 runs from 16 Tests for an average of 55.68. But this year the story ran different. His unflattering statistics in 2003, which certainly do not do justice to his immense talent, appear in stark contrast to the fortunes of Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden and Graeme Smith who have scored runs in tons to emerge as the top four run-getters. While the foursome have scored in excess of 1000 runs, the 30-year-old Tendulkar, regarded as the best batsman in the world, ended 2003 with 153 runs at an average of 17 from five Tests. The Little Master has also failed to reach double figures in eight of his last 13 Test innings. The only redeeming feature for Tendulkar was that he emerged as the highest scorer in the World Cup in February-March in South Africa with a tally of 673 runs. But his one-day form did not extend to the Test arena. His scores of 0, 1, 37, 0 and 44 in the on-going Test series against Australia has left his supporters disappointed but more than this string of poor scores, it is the manner in which he has been dismissed which is causing greater concern. It has not been the bowler’s handiwork, but rather the poor shot selection which has led to Tendulkar’s dismissals mostly so far. While he fell victim to a dubious leg before decision in the first Test at Brisbane, in the second Test at Adelaide, he misjudged the line of a ball to be caught behind in the first innings and perished offering no stroke to a leg spinner in the second. In Melbourne, he was a trifle unlucky when his first-ball glance on the leg side was well taken by the wicketkeeper. But in the second essay, he squandered an opportunity to score the big one by swishing at an away going delivery when on 44. The only other year when Tendulkar failed to impress was 1991 when he averaged 19.90, but then the master had played just two Test matches. His best so far has been a phenomenal average of 91.42 in 1993 when he played eight Tests collecting 640 runs. He has scored 1000 or more runs in a year four times in his 14-year-career.
— PTI |
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Wellington, December 30 Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq (72) and Yousuf Youhana (88) continued where they left off yesterday and quickly scored the 28 runs needed to round out an improbable win. Rain, which twice delayed the start of play today, couldn’t save New Zealand from an embarrassing match and series defeat, its first test loss in 10 matches. New Zealand had seemed in a strong position when it took a 170-run first innings lead, dismissing Pakistan for 196 in reply to its first innings of 366. It was still in charge of the match when it led by 245 with seven second-innings wickets in hands at the start of the fourth day. But Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar destroyed New Zealand’s batting with an impeccable period of reverse-swing bowling yesterday, rushing them out for 103 and leaving his team only 274 to win. That win was a formality when Pakistan reached 246 for 3 by the end of the fourth day with its most experienced batsmen, Inzamam and Youhana, on top of the New Zealand attack. An apparent misunderstanding of the rules prevented Pakistan from calling for an extra half hour or eight overs at the end of play yesterday which would have allowed them to end the match inside four days. Scoreboard NZ (1st innings): 366 Pakistan (1st innings): 196 NZ (2nd innings): 103 Pakistan (2nd innings): Farhat c Hart b Oram 14 Umar lbw b Vettori 34 Hameed c Hart b Butler 59 Youhana not out 88 Inzamam not out 72 Extras: (b-4 lb-2 nb-4) 10 Total: (3 wkts, 74.5 overs) 277 Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-75, 3-156. Bowling: Daryl Tuffey 14-5-41-0 (2nb), Ian Butler 18.5-1-100-1 (1nb), Jacob Oram 9-1-34-1, Scott Styris
6-1-26-0, Daniel Vettori 23-5-59-1, Craig McMillan 4-0-11-0 (1nb).
— AP |
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Kolkata, December 30 The visitors skittled out India for a paltry 197 in 44.4 overs, with Man of the Match Pervez Maharoof returning figures of four for 30, and then rode on fine knocks by Jehan Mubarrak (61), P. Jayawardane (54) and skipper Russel Arnold (35 not out) to reach the target of 198 and close the issue in 33.4 overs at the Eden Gardens. Watched in dismay by a crowd of around 50,000, the indians missed easy catches and conceded several overthrows as the Lankans looked in complete control throughout their chase, which centred around a 104-run second wicket partnership between Mubarrak and Jayawardane which took the game away from the home side. Mubarrak, who compiled his 50 from just 57 balls, was lucky to survive at his personal score of 19 when he edged off-spinner Sarandeep Singh to slip, but India A skipper Hemang Badani, instead of going for the catch, took evasive action. India A: Gambhir b Zoysa 24 Bangar c Mubarrak b Maharoof 26 Sriram run out 65 Badani c Jayawardane b Herath 23 Yuvraj c Silva b Mubarrak 18 Mongia c Mubarrak b Herath 5 Ratra b Maharoof 15 Bahutule run out 1 Sarandeep lbw b Maharoof 0 Bhandari lbw b Maharoof 5 Patel not out 1 Extras: (lb-3, nb-9, w-2) 14 Total: (all out, 44.4 overs) 197 FoW: 1/44, 2/66, 3/112, 4/140, 5/153, 6/182, 7/184, 8/184, 9/196 Bowling: N. Zoysa 8-1-30-1, T. Lakshitha 8-0-43-0, P. Maharoof 9.4-0-30-4, J. Mubarrak 9-0-45-1, R. Herath 10-0-46-2. Sri Lanka ‘A’: Kalavitigoda lbw b Bhandari 18 Mubarrak c Patel b Sarandeep 61 Jayawardane lbw b Bahutule 54 Arnold not out 35 Nawaz not out 18 Extras (lb-9, w-3) 12 Total: (3 wkts, 33.4 overs) 198 FoW: 1/35, 2/139, 3/148 Bowling: A. Bhandari 6-0-23-1, M Patel 4-0-20-0, Sarandeep Singh 9.4-0-60-1, S. Bangar 3-0-19-0, D. Mongia 3-0-16-0, S Bahutule 8-0-51-1.
— PTI |
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Punjab Police win Liberals hockey Nabha, December 30 The cops gave the shock treatment in the first minute of the match itself when an unchecked Kuljit Singh made a solo run down the middle and sent in a drive which, much to the dismay of the bankmen, hit the vertical before it rolled into the goal. Minutes later, Kuljit fed Sarabjit with a long but measured pass and the cops center forward passed the ball to Sukhpal Singh who sounded the board to hoist his teams second goal. It was not until the entry of substitute M. Senthil that the IOB’s attack started gaining ascendancy. Whenever the fast moving but ageing Senthil surged ahead there was a flutter in the rival defense and off one such foray he managed to reduce the margin by scoring off an acute angle. Sensing that their rivals may soon claw their way back into the match, Punjab Police struck again when they made the best of a set piece situation as Sarabjit Singh slotted the ball home off a corner making it a comfortable 3-1 for the cops. In the last couple of minutes IOB, sensing the inevitable, started attacking relentlessly and managed to score in the last minute when L. Anandan put the ball home off a goal mouth melee but this effort was not enough. |
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HOA calendar released Chandigarh, December 30 The main features of the calendar are holding of the 3rd State Rural Games at Bahadurgarh from March 1 to 4, celebration of international Olympic Day at Sirsa on June 23, celebration of birthday of hockey wizard Late Major Dhyan Chand at Faridabad on August 29 and the 20th state level games at Panchkula from October 17 to 20. The rural and panchayat tournaments will be held at all block levels between January 24 to 31 rural and panchayat tournaments at all the district headquarters between February 10 and 16 district championship for junior by district sports associations between July 18 and 31, district championship of various games for seniors by district sports associations between August 1 and 14, state championship of each game for seniors by the state sports association between September 1 and 15, district Olympic games to be organised by district Olympic association between October 1 and 8 and state championship for juniors to be organised by state sports association between November 15 and 25. A seminar on doping in sports will be organised at HAU, Hisar from April 16 to 18. Off-season coaching camps of the selected sportspersons particularly juniors for various games would be organised with the help of sports department at Sundarnagar or Silaru between May 4 and 31. The national championship in various games in Haryana and participation in various national championship would be organised in the month of December. |
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FLASHBACK ‘03:
Haryana Chandigarh, December 30 Athletes from Haryana did the country proud, winning 10 gold, one silver and one bronze in the inaugural Afro-Asian Games held in Hyderabad in October. Forty-year-old Shakti Singh of Bhiwani proved that age was no barrier for him as the hardworking athlete, working as Deputy Director, Sports, showed that anything could be achieved through sheer hard work. Winning the shot put gold medal in the Afro-Asian Games must be the crowning moment in the illustrious career of Shakti Singh. Anil Kumar of Bhiwani and Neelam J. Singh of Jind (both discus throwers) also won gold medals in Hyderabad as Haryana athletes won three gold out of five won by Indian athletes. That Haryana had a good crop of young athletes was proved when the state athletes won the overall championship in the boys (under-16) section in the 19th Junior National Athletics Championships which concluded recently at Kollam last week. Boys and girls (both under-18) emerged runners-up as Haryana athletes reaped a rich harvest of medals, winning 36 medals (12 gold, 15 silver, 9 bronze). The state athletes had earlier proved their domination, winning 28 medals (12 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze) in the 15th National Inter-Zonal Athletics Championships held in Bhopal from September 13 to 15. Rajesh of Hisar (high jump) and Indu Bala of Bhiwani (discus throw) were adjudged best athletes in boys and girls (both under-18) sections, respectively. Pugilists Jitender Kumar of Rohtak and Akhil Kumar of Bhiwani took top honours, while the women quartet of Gurpreet Kaur, Suman Bala, Jasjit Kaur and Surender Kaur played a crucial role in India winning the coveted hockey gold in the Afro-Asia Games. All the four girls hailing from humble background are from Shahbad. Sanjay Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Darhan Singh and Rampal Singh (all working with the HSIDC) and Satish Kumar from Kurukshetra showcased their talent, winning gold in the highly competitive Asian Youth Volleyball Championships held in Vishakhapatnam in April, 2003. The first four players again gave stunning performance in the prestigious World Youth Volleyball Championship held in Thailand in July 2003. Upsetting formidable teams from so many countries, Indian spikers again kept the Tricolour flying with their sterling efforts which fetched them a silver. In the Senior Asian Volleyball Championship in September the Indian team was led by Amir Singh from the HSIDC. Haryana judokas displayed their prowess in international championship in Vietnam where Aruna (48 kg) and Arvind (66 kg) did the country proud, winning a gold and a silver, respectively. Wrestler Sohan Singh won three bronze and one silver in various national and international meets, while Bijender, Jagbir Singh and Brij Pal, all working in Haryana Police, distinguished themselves in the wrestling arena. The Haryana police basketball team cornered glory, finishing runners-up in the All- India Police Games at Thiruvananthapuram. Haryana cyclists made their presence felt on the national scene. Mohan Singh won a silver, while Kulbir Singh (in the junior section) bagged a bronze medal in the six-lap massed start race. Among women, Rajni won a silver in the same discipline. Sarvjit Singh clinched a bronze in time trial event. The Haryana Olympic Association with Mr Abhey Chautala and Mr M.S. Malik at the helm took certain concrete steps for the betterment of sports. In keeping with the state government’s policy of giving impressive cash awards as incentives to its medal winners, gold medal winners in the Afro-Asian Games were awarded Rs 10 lakh, while silver and bronze medal winners got Rs 7 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively. The award distribution function, which was attended, among others, by Union Sports Minister Vikram Verma was held in Gurgaon last month where a sum of Rs 1.12 crore was distributed among 12 medal winners of the Afro-Asian Games. The efforts won appreciation even from the union minister. A sum of Rs 1.61 crore overall was awarded among medal winners during the year. Progress was also made on the infrastructural front. Gurgaon became the first place in the state to have an Astro-turf , while the spadework for the setting up second synthetic surface at Government Senior Secondary School, Shahbad, has been completed. The grant from the Central government has been received as the work is about to get under way soon. A multi-purpose sports complex has come up at Sector 3, Panchkula, while a similar complex is being constructed by HUDA in Gurgaon. A sum of Rs 70 lakh has already been spent on the construction of Olympic Bhavan in Sector 2, Panchkula, while a modern athletic stadium has been completed in Tejli sports complex in Yamunanagar. Thanks to the efforts of Mr M.S. Malik, Haryana Director-General of Police, who heads the Indian wrestling federation, Haryana has produced several wrestlers who have excelled at various national and international levels. To further promote wrestling in the state, the foundation stone of a modern wrestling indoor hall was laid in Nidani in Jind district in November. To be built at an estimated cost of Rs 1.5 crore, the indoor hall will have training facilities for handball, basketball and kabaddi also. Nidani is emerging as a major wrestling promotion centre. It has already hosted three national wrestling championships, the last being held in 2001. Once the upcoming infrastructure is complete, it would be reasonable to expect richer harvest of medals from Haryana players. |
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Rajni declared best overall SAS Nagar, December 30 In the men’s section, Mayank Srivastava of Uttar Pradesh and the winner of silver medal in the junior Asian gymnastics meet on Korea, gathered two gold medals, one each in pommel horse and vaulting table. He secured 8.575 points on the Pommel horse and 9.00 on the Vaulting table. Gaurav Sharma of Punjab clinched the gold medal in the Roman rings securing 9.375 points while Lalit Kumar, also of Punjab, grabbed the silver medal. Karan Bahadur of Chandigarh brought laurels for Chandigarh when he clinched silver medals in horizontal bar and vaulting table. The prize distribution function will be held tomorrow at 3.30 pm. Results: Finals: Horizontal bars:
M Shinoj (SSCB) 1, Karan Bahadur (Chd) 2, Kapil (Har) 3, Sarath Chandra (IR) — Mohit (UP) 5, Raja Roy (SSCB) 6. Vaulting table:
Mayank Srivastava (UP) 1, Karan Bahadur (Chd) 2, Manoj Bera (WB) 3, Krishen (Har) 4, Sharath Chandra (IR) 5, S Vinay Kumar (AP) 6. Roman rings:
Gaurav Sharma (Pb) 1, Lalit Kumar (Pb) 2, Sarfraj Ahmed (IR) 3, Parimal Mallick (Raj) 4, Sandeepanck (SSCB) 5, Prosenjit Bhadra (IR) 6. Floor exercise:
Abhinav Dixit (UP) 1, Vikas Pandey (UP) 2, Kapil (Har) 3,YIbomcha Singh (Chd) 4, Somveer Raghuvanshi (IR) 5, Prosenjit Bhadra (IR) 6. Pommel horse:
Mayank Srivastava (UP) 1,Vikas Pandey (UP) 2, BN Shiva Kumar (AP) 3, Gaurav Shah (IR), Prosenjit Bhadra (IR) 5, Ramesh Behara (SSCB) 6. Parallel Bars:
Raja Ray (SSCB) 1, Mohit (UP) 2, Krishen (Har) 3. Women: All-round rythmic gymnastics: Rajni (PB) 1, Amrita Hazarika (Delhi) 2, Harleen (J&K) 3, Sonal (J&K) 4, Dimple (Pb) 5, Pallavi (Mah) 6. Balancing beam:
Rohika (Pb) 1, Rupali (WB) 2, Monika (Pb) 3. Vaulting table:
Sundari (IR) 1,Tumpa Debnath (IR) 2, Rupali (WB) 3. |
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Opportunity came knocking at the
doors of Indians to win the series. The visitors only let it fall on the lap of
Australians at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. At the beginning of the third Test,
the Indians had the options of pocketing the series by either winning or drawing
this Test.
Wellington, December 30
