THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
S P O R T S

Tendulkar puts India in control
Sydney, January 2
Sachin Tendulkar batted his way out of a prolonged form slump with a defiant unbeaten 73 as India laid the foundation for a big first innings total in the series-deciding cricket Test against Australia here today.




Sachin Tendulkar plays a bouncer on the first day of the fourth Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
— AP/PTI photo

Sachin Tendulkar plays a bouncer on the first day of the fourth Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Chopra happy to do his bit for team
Sydney, January 2
Indian opener Aakash Chopra today said he did not really mind missing out on a big knock as long as he was contributing to the team’s cause by weathering the Australian new-ball attack. Chopra has been one of the finds for the Indian team on this tour although he is yet to score a half century in the four-Test series so far.


Akash Chopra is bowled by Brett Lee during the first day of the fourth Test. — Reuters photo
Akash Chopra is bowled by Brett Lee during the first day of the fourth Test


Australian captain Steve Waugh walks past the members stand as he makes his way out for the toss on the first day of the fourth Test against India

Australian captain Steve Waugh walks past the members stand as he makes his way out for the toss on the first day of the fourth Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. This is Steve Waugh's final test match. — AP/PTI photo





Australian bowler Jason Gillespie appeals successfully to dismiss Virender Sehwag for 72 runs on the first day of the fourth Test
Australian bowler Jason Gillespie appeals successfully to dismiss Virender Sehwag for 72 runs on the first day of the fourth Test. — AP/PTI


EARLIER STORIES
 

Injured Kaif ruled out of tri-series
Mumbai, January 2
Dashing middle order batsman Mohammad Kaif has been ruled out for the one-day international triangular series in Australia from January 9. Kaif, who was included into the 16-member team announced by the cricket board on December 28 last, has been ruled out due to a thumb injury, a top BCCI source told PTI here today.

Pak hold all aces against Kiwis
Auckland, January 2
The cricketing gods have dealt Pakistan all the aces for the one-day series against New Zealand starting here tomorrow. Not only do the tourists bring enterprising top-order batting and a more than useful lower-order into play, they have a bowling attack with strengths across the board.

Rudolph hits ton but Windies hit back
Cape Town, January 2
Jacques Rudolph struck a stylish century against the West Indies but South Africa lost a clatter of late wickets as honours were shared on day one of the third Test at Newlands today.
Rudolph's second Test hundred was his first on home soil and helped the home side close on 308 for six after deciding to make first use of a pristine batting track.

 


West Indies bowler Adam Sanford celebrates taking the wicket of South African batsman Graeme Smith for 42 on the first day of the third Test at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town on Friday. — Reuters photo

West Indies bowler Adam Sanford celebrates taking the wicket of South African batsman Graeme Smith for 42

India meet Germany in opener
Hyderabad, January 2
India will meet Germany on January 8 in their opening match of the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament to be held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Pakistan, Korea, Germany, Australia, Spain and Malaysia are the other teams in fray in the 11-day tournament.

Punjab rout HP by 8 wickets
New Delhi, January 2
A quickfire 49 by skipper Dinesh Mongia and an unbeaten 37 by Reetinder Sodhi helped Punjab rout Himachal Pradesh by eight wickets in their first limited-over one-day Ranji Trophy league match at the Harbaksh Singh stadium here today.

Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt (L) and his fiancée Kim Clijsters of Belgium arrive at the airport in Perth
Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt (L) and his fiancée Kim Clijsters of Belgium arrive at the airport in Perth on Friday. The couple is in Perth to compete in the Hopman Cup. — Reuters

Salgaocar shock Mohun Bagan
Margao, January 2
Salgaocar held on gamely in the second half as they beat Mohun Bagan by a solitary goal to move to fifth place in the eighth National Football League here today.

Signals rout PAP; ITBP lose
Mandi, January 2
Spirited Corps of Signals routed Punjab Armed Police 3-0 while Himachal Police managed to beat Himachal Red 1-0 on the third day of the 11th All-India Him Gold Cup Hockey Tournament being played here at Paddal Stadium today.







 

Tendulkar puts India in control

Virender Sehwag hits a four on the first day of the fourth cricket Test
Virender Sehwag hits a four on the first day of the fourth cricket Test against Australia on Friday. — AP/PTI photo

Steve Waugh bowls during the first day of the fourth Test
Australia's captain Steve Waugh bowls during the first day of the fourth Test against India and his last Test match before his retirement. — Reuters photo

Sydney, January 2
Sachin Tendulkar batted his way out of a prolonged form slump with a defiant unbeaten 73 as India laid the foundation for a big first innings total in the series-deciding cricket Test against Australia here today.

Tendulkar began the new year with better luck as he notched up his first half century of the series to steer India to a comfortable 284 for three at close on the opening day after Virender Sehwag provided the momentum with a scintillating 72.

Electing to bat, the Indian batsmen fought a battle of attrition against a determined Aussie bowling attack and were again well-served by their openers Sehwag and Aakash Chopra (45), who put on a 123-run partnership to steal the limelight in Steve Waugh’s farewell Test.

The stylish V.V.S. Laxman was giving Tendulkar company on 29 at stumps on a rewarding day for the visitors, looking to create history by winning their first-ever series on Australian soil.

But the Australians would like to take a positive note from the fact that they sent back the in form Rahul Dravid for a relatively low score of 38.

More importantly, the hosts managed to pull back the Indians, who were off to a flying start when Chopra and Sehwag added 98 runs in the morning session.

Jason Gillespie, after an indifferent new ball spell, returned to bowl an impeccable line and length in the post-lunch session, which saw the tourists score just 53 runs for the loss of the two openers.

The Indians were not short of any tactics of their own. Sourav Ganguly pulled a punch or two when he promoted Laxman up the order and the run-a- minute scoring rate in the third session helped his team sustain the momentum.

Only their survival instincts against the second new ball towards the end of the day prevented the Indians from reaching the 300-mark for the day.

Earlier, Australia almost had a spectacular start, but the Lee delivery off which Chopra was caught behind turned out to be a no ball and Simon Katich at gully dropped a sitter off the next. Chopra was on 8 then.

The tide, however, quickly changed in Lee’s sixth over when Sehwag cut him over point boundary off another no ball and then followed it up with two fours to collect 18 runs off the over.

India’s 50 came in the 13th over and Sehwag, who hit a swashbuckling 195 on the opening day of the third Test at Melbourne, reached his half century with a lofted drive against leg-spinner Stuart MacGill.

Then Waugh’s men ploughed their way back into the match, removing Sehwag and Chopra within five runs.

Sehwag was out caught behind off Jason Gillespie after a 115-ball 72, which contained 10 fours and a six.

Chopra, after having faced 139 balls in 192 minutes for his 45, fell to Brett Lee with an expansive drive to a full length delivery that took an inside edge before disturbing the timber.

Tendulkar began with an on drive to long-on off Lee, but the rival bowlers stuck to their game plan of testing his patience with a steady line outside the off-stump.

The master batsman was keen to get some runs under his belt and lived dangerously in the initial stages. Although he flicked the seamers off his pads and swept MacGill, he looked quite unconvincing in his off-side strokes.

Tendulkar was living dangerously when he padded up against the leg-spinner and was lucky not to be given out. Then, a thick edge fell short of the slip fielder off the same bowler.

Dravid then came to Tendulkar’s rescue and took the pressure off him with some fluent boundaries after the tea break. Unfortunately, the Indian vice-captain had to contend with Gillespie at his best.

The South Australian fast bowler, returning to the team from a groin injury, brought one back in sharply to trap Dravid plumb in front to break the third wicket partnership which was worth 66 runs. Tendulkar and Laxman then continued the brisk scoring rate before they were bogged down by the second new ball.

Tendulkar began to play his shots with more confidence while Laxman was less troubled at the other end.

But the day was not over without some drama when Tendulkar awkwardly ducked into a shorts-pitched delivery from Lee and was hit on the elbow. It brought back the memories of the blows to Waugh and Ganguly at Melbourne, but Tendulkar batted on without any sign of trouble.

The Indian batsmen might have shown extra caution towards the end of the day, but the ghosts of two late- order collapses in the second Test could have haunted them.

In the end, the unbroken 90-run stand between Tendulkar and Laxman might have made it a more satisfying day for Ganguly than Waugh.

India (First innings):

Chopra b Lee 45

Sehwag c Gilchrist b Gillespie 72

Dravid lbw b Gillespie 38

Tendulkar batting 73

Laxman batting 29

Extras (b-4, lb-2, w-2, nb-19) 27

Total (3 wkts, 90 overs) 284

Fall of wickets: 1/123, 2/128, 3/194

Bowling: Lee 21-3-80-1, Gillespie 23-7-51-2, Bracken 23-9-60-0, MacGill 18-3-65-0, Waugh 2-0-6-0, Katich 2-0-13-0, Martyn 1-0-3-0. — PTI
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Sachin joins 9,000-run club

Sydney, January 2
Sachin Tendulkar today became only the fourth cricketer in the world to score 9,000 Test runs when he reached 36 in the fourth and final cricket Test between India and Australia here.

Tendulkar achieved the milestone when he took a single off Jason Gillespie during India’s first innings on the opening day of the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The 30-year-old, a veteran of 111 Tests, is now fourth on the all-time Test scorers’ list, behind Allan Border (11,174), Steve Waugh (10,807) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122). — PTI
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Chopra happy to do his bit for team

Sydney, January 2
Indian opener Aakash Chopra today said he did not really mind missing out on a big knock as long as he was contributing to the team’s cause by weathering the Australian new-ball attack.

Chopra has been one of the finds for the Indian team on this tour although he is yet to score a half century in the four-Test series so far.

He again missed the bus by stopping short of the elusive 50-run mark by five runs on the opening day of the fourth cricket Test against Australia here.

"It is a bit frustrating not getting to 50’s and then carrying on. But definitely if you can do your bit for the team, it is okay," said Chopra whose stand for the opening wicket with Virender Sehwag fetched 123 runs.

The duo have braved the hostile new ball attack on most occasions in the series so far and acted as a cushion for the middle order.

Chopra said the seniors had been encouraging him in the dressing room although he did feel that a big score was due now.

"It is nice to hear seniors telling you that you did a good job but at the end of the day you need to have a big score under your belt."

The right-handed batsman, who made his debut against New Zealand in a home series late last year, admitted that batting had been tough in the morning session.

"It was previously decided that we would bat first if we won the toss. But there was something in the wicket. They also bowled well. The kookaburra ball also does something more when it is new," Chopra said.

"We knew that we had to stick around and let the first hour go by.

"Also we decided to rotate the strike by taking singles as boundaries were not easy to come by," said the Delhi player adding that he had a good understanding with Sehwag as both of them had played junior cricket together and knew each other well.

Chopra praised Lee for bowling very well in his second spell which could have brought about his dismissal. He was first caught off a no-ball and then dropped by Simon Katich in the very next ball.

"He (Lee) was tough. The ball was doing a bit. When I survived (the two chances) and that phase passed out, I realised that perhaps it was my day."

Chopra said the tour has been a good learning experience for him.

"It is the early stage of my career. I am learning to adapt to the conditions and to cope with the new ball. I am playing against a very good bowling attack and a good fielding team. It has been a good learning experience for me." — PTI
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Injured Kaif ruled out of tri-series

Mumbai, January 2
Dashing middle order batsman Mohammad Kaif has been ruled out for the one-day international triangular series in Australia from January 9.

Kaif, who was included into the 16-member team announced by the cricket board on December 28 last, has been ruled out due to a thumb injury, a top BCCI source told PTI here today.

India ‘A’ coach Sandeep Patil and Dr Vaibhav Daga took Kaif to renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr Anant Joshi for his suggestion, who after examining Kaif, declared him unfit to play in the tri-series, the source said.

Kaif’s replacement will be named by the selectors within a couple of days, he added.

The middle-order batsman suffered the injury during a league match of the recently concluded Kenstar Asian A teams one-day championship at Kolkata.

Kaif was included into the Indian team as per orthopaedic report and the opinion of the team physio which said he was expected to be fit within a week. — PTI
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Pak hold all aces against Kiwis

Auckland, January 2
The cricketing gods have dealt Pakistan all the aces for the one-day series against New Zealand starting here tomorrow.

Not only do the tourists bring enterprising top-order batting and a more than useful lower-order into play, they have a bowling attack with strengths across the board.

In the just completed Test series won by Pakistan 1-0, the New Zealand batsmen had no answer to the lethal pace and reverse swing of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, and the problem will be compounded with the need for instant runs in one-day matches. Pakistan have an impressive recent record against New Zealand in one-day internationals, having won 13 of the past 15 encounters, including a 5-0 whitewash in last month’s series.

New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns gave a blunt summation of the problems facing the Black Caps in the five one-day matches: "It is pretty hard trying to hit 150kmh reverse-swinging yorkers all over the park."

Cairns, who is expected to play after being struck by a virus that sidelined him from the second Test, said New Zealand would have to produce a healthy run rate right from the start of the innings before the strike power of Akhtar and Sami return at the death. — AFP
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Rudolph hits ton but Windies hit back

Cape Town, January 2
Jacques Rudolph struck a stylish century against the West Indies but South Africa lost a clatter of late wickets as honours were shared on day one of the third Test at Newlands today.

Rudolph's second Test hundred was his first on home soil and helped the home side close on 308 for six after deciding to make first use of a pristine batting track.

The left-hander was dismissed shortly before stumps when he was trapped lbw for 101 by debutant left-arm spinner Dave Mohammed.

He received fine support from Neil McKenzie, who was 76 at the close, the pair adding 142 for the fourth wicket.

But three wickets in the last four overs of the day brought the West Indies back into the game, Mohammed also bowling McKenzie off the inside edge.

South Africa's other concern was the retirement of all-rounder Jacques Kallis after he was struck on the right elbow by a bouncer from Fidel Edwards.

X-rays revealed only bruising and swelling. Kallis will return to the crease if required.

Scoreboard

South Africa (Ist innings:)

Smith c Lara b Sanford 42

Gibbs c Jacobs b Sanford 33

Rudolph lbw b Mohammed 101

Kallis retired hurt 23

Kirsten c Sanford b Edwards 16

McKenzie b Mohammed 76

Adams b Edwards 0

Boucher not out 0

Pollock not out 2

Extras (b-2, lb-3, nb-10) 15

Total (6 wkts, 90 overs) 308

Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-90, 3-162, 4-304, 5-305, 6-305

Bowling: Drakes 18-5-39-0, Edwards 18-3-69-2, Sanford 21-3-82-2, Smith 2-0-4-0, Mohammed 21-4-70-2, Gayle 10-0-39-0. — Reuters
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India meet Germany in opener

Hyderabad, January 2
India will meet Germany on January 8 in their opening match of the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament to be held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Pakistan, Korea, Germany, Australia, Spain and Malaysia are the other teams in fray in the 11-day tournament.

Veteran defender Lazarus Barla is the only notable omission in the 18-member Indian hockey squad.

Announcing the team here today, IHF Secretary-General K. Jyothikumaran said the emphasis was on youth, retaining most of the members of the victorious Junior World Cup team.

Squad: goalkeepers: Kamaldeep Singh (IOC), Adrain D’Souza (BPCL); Fullbacks: Harpal Singh (Namdhari), William Xalxo (Air India Academy), Sandeep Singh (CEO, Patiala); midfielders: Vikram Pillai (IA), Ignace Tirkey (Services), Len Aiyappa (BPCL), Prabhdeep Singh (Punjab Police), V S Vinay (IA) and Girish Pimpale (IA); forwards: Dhanraj Pillay (IA), Baljeet Dhillon (Punjab Police), Sandeep Michael (BPCL), Tushar Khandkar (BPCL), Arjun Halappa (IA), Hari Prasad (IA) and Rajpal Singh (IOC). The schedule (Kuala Lumpur timings):

Jan 8: Korea vs Pakistan (4:05 pm) India vs Germany (6:05 pm)

Malaysia vs Spain (8:05 pm)

Jan 9: India vs Pak (4:05 pm) Spain vs Australia (6:05 pm)

Germany vs Malaysia (8:05 pm)

Jan 10: Australia vs Korea (6:05 pm)

Jan 11: Korea vs Germany (4:05 pm)

India vs Malaysia (6:05 pm)

Pakistan vs Spain (8:05 pm)

Jan 12: Malaysia vs Australia (6:05 pm)

Pakistan vs Germany (8:05 pm)

Jan 13: Korea vs Spain (6:05 pm)

India vs Australia (8:05 pm)

Jan 14: Spain vs Germany (4:15 pm)

Pakistan vs Malaysia (6:05 pm)

India v Korea (8:05 pm)

Jan 15: Australia vs Pakistan (6:05 pm)

Jan 16: India vs Spain (4:05 pm)

Germany vs Australia (6:05 pm)

Malaysia vs Korea (8:05 pm)

Jan 17: Rest day.

Jan 18: 5-6 Classification match: (8:05 am )

3-4 Classification Match: (3:35 pm)

Final: 16:05 pm.

Reeling under two successive defeats — in the Asia Cup and in the Afro-Asian Games — Pakistan have recalled experienced players and picked three goalkeepers in their 18-member squad.

Defending champions Pakistan are desperate to retain the title because victory in this tourney will be a big morale booster for the team before the crucial Olympic qualifier in Madrid in March.

According to information received here, the Pakistani selectors have included veteran keeper Ahmad Alam along with Mohamed Qasim and Salman Akbar.

Also in the team are penalty corner expert Sohail Abbas and Waseem Ahemed. — UNI
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Punjab rout HP by 8 wickets

New Delhi, January 2
A quickfire 49 by skipper Dinesh Mongia and an unbeaten 37 by Reetinder Sodhi helped Punjab rout Himachal Pradesh by eight wickets in their first limited-over one-day Ranji Trophy league match at the Harbaksh Singh stadium here today.

In a match which was reduced to 35-overs-a-side due to 165 minutes’ delay in the start because of poor visibility, Punjab put Himachal Pradesh to bat and bundled them out for a paltry 111 runs in 31.5 overs.

Punjab scored 112 for two in 21.4 overs, that fetched them a bonus point, and they finished the tie with five points. Dinesh Mongia won the toss and elected to field and his decision paid off as Himachal batting collapsed like a house of cards.

Barring opener Sandeep Sharma, 26 runs (6x4, 31 b), Nischal Gaur, 21 (2x4, 49 b), and Virender Sharma 17 (2x4,39 b), no other Himachal batsman could face Punjab bowling with confidence and threw away their wickets.

Scoreboard

Himachal Pradesh: Maninder Bisla c Pankaj Dharmani b Gagandeep 1, Sandeep Sharma c Pankaj Dharmani b V.R.V. Singh 26, Sangram Singh b Gagandeep 6, Nishchal Gaur c V.R.V Singh b Dinesh Mongia 21, Virender Sharma c Pankaj Dharmani b Amit Unyal 17, Ajay Manu b Vipul Sharma 2, Saurab Rattan b Vipul Sharma 11, Rahul Panta b V.R.V. Singh 5, Vinod Manhas c and b Dinesh Mongia 1, Vishal Bhatia run out 6, Ashok Thakur not out 5. Extras: (lb-5, nb-3, w-2) 10. Total: (in 31.5 overs) 111 all out. Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-36, 3-42, 4-72, 5-79, 6-93, 7-93, 8-94, 9-101. Bowling: Gagandeep Singh 7-1-22-2, V.R.V. Singh 5.5-1-30-2, Sanjay Mahajan 3-0-9-0, Amit Unyal 6-0-19-1, Vipul Sharma 7-2-17-2, Dinesh Mongia 3-0-9-2.

Punjab: Dinesh Mongia run out 49, Gaurav Gupta lbw Nischal Gaur 14, Reetinder Sodhi not out 37, Sanjay Mahajan not out 8. Extras: (lb-1, nb-1, w-2) 4. Total: (in 21.4 overs) 112 for 2. Fall of wickets: 1-56, 2-98. Bowling: Ashok Thakur 4-1-20-0, Vinod Manhas 4-0-29-0, Nischal Gaur 6-0-34-1, Vishal Bhatia 6.4-0-17-0, Saurav Rattan 1-0-11-0.

Delhi beat Services

New Delhi: A breezy unbeaten 46 by Varun Kumar and solid 50 by skipper Mithun Manhas powered Delhi to a 55-run victory over Services at Palam Ground here today.

Heavy fog and poor visibility delayed the start of match by three overs and the tie was reduced to 33 overs for each side.

Delhi made 165 for five in the allotted overs and in reply Services could only score 110 for six.

Delhi skipper Mithun Manhas won the toss and elected to bat but his side had a poor start as they lost two wickets for 12 runs. However, three good stands later helped them to reach to a respectable total.

A 34-run third wicket partnership between Vijay Dahiya and Manhas, followed by 40-run stand between Manhas and Ajay Jadeja and then 60 run contribution for the fifth wicket by Manhas and Varun Kumar took the Delhi score to 165 for five.

Scoreboard

Delhi: Gautam Ghambir c Jasbir Singh b S V Ghag 6, Rajat Bhatia b Fazil Mohd 6, Vijay Dahiya lbw Arun Sharma 11, Mithun Manhas c (Sub) S Mishra b Fazil Mohd 50, Ajay Jadeja c Fazil Mohd b A K Mohanty 18, Varun Kumar not out 46, N.S. Negi not out 2. Extras: (b 12, lb 3, w 8 nb 3) 26. Total: (In 33 overs, 152 minutes) 165 for 5. Fall of Wickets: 1/12, 2/12, 3/46, 4/86, 5/143. Bowling: S V Ghag: 7-0-36-1, Fazil Mohd 6-0-36-2, Manish Jha 7-1-30-0, Arun Sharma 7-0-21-1, A K Mohanty 4-0-15-1, Yashpal Singh 2-0-12-0.

Services: Amit Pal Singh b Ajay Jadeja 53, Sarabjit Singh b Sanjay Gill 1, K G Chawda b Sanjay Gill 12, Yashpal Singh Vijay Dahiya b Sanjay Gill 0, Sanjay Verma b Sanjay Gill 1, Jasbir Singh c Vijay Dahiya b Rahul Sanghvi 26, A K Mohanty not out 10, Arun Sharma not out 2, Extras: (lb 2, w 2, nb 1) 5. Total: (in 33 overs, 123 minutes) 110 for 6. Fall of wickets: 1/3, 2/23, 3/23, 4/25, 5/89, 6/104. Bowling: Amit Bhandari 4-0-13-0, Sanjay Gill 6-1-11-4, N S Negi 3-1-6-0, Sarandeep Singh 7-0-33-0, Rahul Sanghvi 7-0-28-1, Gautam Ghambir 3-0-8-0, Ajay Jadeja 3-1-9-1. — UNI
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Salgaocar shock Mohun Bagan

Margao, January 2
Salgaocar held on gamely in the second half as they beat Mohun Bagan by a solitary goal to move to fifth place in the eighth National Football League here today.

Salgaocar, who controlled the midfield with more ball possession in the first half, scored the all-important goal in the 34th minute when Climax Lawrence from the right gave a long pass to Felix Ibrebru who chested the ball inside the box and unleased a right-footer off the second attempt to find the far post.

Bagan pressed hard in the second half and held more of the exchanges but met stiff resistance from the rival defence where Bello Rasaq stood tall to deny them the equaliser.

The win will be a morale booster for Salgaocar who had a lean patch losing three successive matches after beating Kolkata’s East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting. — PTI
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Signals rout PAP; ITBP lose
Our Correspondent

Mandi, January 2
Spirited Corps of Signals routed Punjab Armed Police 3-0 while Himachal Police managed to beat Himachal Red 1-0 on the third day of the 11th All-India Him Gold Cup Hockey Tournament being played here at Paddal Stadium today. In another match Himachal Blue XI beat ITBP 1-0.

Corps of signals opened their account on the second minute of the match through C. Lakara, the star player of signals. They continued their attacks on rivals’ defence and sounded the board for the second goal in the 17th minute when Jagdave netted the ball. The score was 2-0 at half time.

After the break the match remained in Signals’ favour and J.Das consolidated the lead through another goal in the 51st minute.

In the second match both Himachal teams were neck-and-neck. Though Himachal Red were awarded two penalty corners in the first half but they couldn’t convert any. Police men also met the same fate for the lone penalty corner they earned in the first half. The teams were locked goal-less at half time. After the breather both the teams played attacking hockey and Ashok of Himachal Police stole the match 1-0 for his team.

In the third match ITBP and Himachal Blue XI fought for a goal but none could score. Satwinder of ITBP was shown a green card, the second of the tournament.

After the breather Himachal Blue XI boys displayed fine temperament and sealed ITBP’s fate in the 41st minute when Sunil scored an excellent field goal.
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 BRIEFLY

TATA TO SET UP ATHLETICS ACADEMY
JAMSHEDPUR:
The country’s first athletics academy, to be set up by Tata Steel, would come up in the steel city by the end of this financial year.
Announcing this, TISCO Managing Director B Muthuraman said the academy would be set up on the lines of the Tata Football Academy and Tata Archery Academy and would have residential facilities. The academy would be housed in the JRD Tata Sport Complex which boasts of a synthetic track. — PTI

PHAGWARA FOOTBALL
PHAGWARA:
BSF Jalandhar retained the little at the Phagwara Cup Football Tournament by defeating RCF Kapurthala 1-0 here on Friday. The lone goal was scored in the first half by Santosh. The winners got Rs 25,000 for the win. The runners-up received Rs 11,000.
In the college category, Layallpur Khalsa College Jalandhar defeated local Guru Nanak College via the tie-breaker 4-3. Both the teams jailed to score in regular time. The winners were given Rs 11,000 while the runners-up got Rs 5,000. — OC

TATA OPEN
MUMBAI:
The Tata Open Tennis Championships, India’s only ATP International Series event which begins in Chennai from January 5, will be telecast live on Star Sports.
Defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand is expected to face stiff competition from Sjeng Schalken (Holland), Anthony Dupuis (France), and quite a few Spaniards, a press note issued here on Friday said. Prakash Amritraj will lead the Indian challenge. He has earned a wildcard by his consistent showing. — UNI

CROFT RETIRES
LONDON:
England off-spinner Robert Croft today announced his retirement from international cricket.
However, the 33-year-old bowler, who played 21 Tests and 55 one-day internationals, will remain in the first-class game as Glamorgan captain. Croft was called up for the Sri Lanka leg of England’s pre-Christmas tour, but failed to make it into the Test team. “I have come to the conclusion that I will no longer offer myself for selection for any future England Test or one-day side,” Croft said. — AFP
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