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Kumble, Pathan leave Aussies struggling
Great chance to win Test: Kumble
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History in making at Sydney Party time for Indians; gloom in Aussie camp India-Pak cricket series in
March-April BCCI hikes match fee of domestic players Brian Lara hits century Afghan cricket chief
expects good show Punjab beat Services Sandeep fashions Himachal win
NFL: Haywards down Tollygunge 'Vision India' soccer conference
IOB, EME in hockey final 
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Kumble, Pathan leave Aussies struggling
Sydney, January 4 Langer launched an uncharacteristic assault to record his second century of the series with a blazing 117 but the world champions failed to capitalise on a solid start to reach 342 for six at close on the third day in response to India’s mammoth first innings total of 705 for seven mainly built around Sachin Tendulkar’s career-best unbeaten 241. Simon Katich (51), the only recognised batsman, and Bret Lee (0) were at the crease at stumps with Australia still needing 164 runs to avoid the follow-on with two days still to go in Steve Waugh’s farewell Test. The experienced Anil Kumble mixed his deliveries well to claim the first four wickets to rein in the formidable Australian batting line up after Langer and Matthew Hayden (67) put on a brisk 147-run opening partnership on a good batting track which saw India post their highest-ever Test total in the morning. Tendulkar scored the second-highest Test score by an Indian as he remained unconquered on 241 which came in 633 minutes before Sourav Ganguly called a halt to the massive run-collection after 40 minutes of play. The Australians were now in real danger of losing a home rubber for the first time under the outgoing captain Steve Waugh as they trail the Indian total by 363 runs. They lost their last five wickets for 127 runs, a luxury given the daunting task ahead of them. The Sunday crowd expected a
typically resilient innings from their ‘Ice Man’ but Waugh was done in by a beauty of an away swinger from young paceman Irfan Pathan. Pathan later swung one into left-hander Adam Gilchrist to return with 2 for 46 but India’s hero of the day was very much the old warhorse Kumble. The leg-spinner was at his best and compensated for the disappointing performance of left arm spinner Murali Kartik who conceded 101 runs in his 16 overs. Kumble rediscovered his fastish top spinner that had been his wicket-taking delivery and had so far remained under wraps on the tour. The bowler with the world record 10-wicket haul first defeated the rampaging Hayden in flight and then beat Langer with the turn. Then he produced the killer ball that caught a slow moving Ricky Ponting (25) in front of the stumps before foxing Damien Martyn (7) with a googly for a return catch. Waugh was lucky when he edged Kartik through the slips but the delivery was also a no ball. The 38-year old veteran, playing in his final and a record 168th Test, looked sharp and cut Kartik through the off-side for a couple of boundaries. The middle order batsman had once again undone the good work of the openers who scored at an exhilarating pace that rattled the Indians a little bit at the start. Between lunch and tea, the Australians added 161 runs as they raced from 49 no loss to 210 for one with Langer doing the bulk of the scoring to notch up his 17th Test century. His partner Hayden was also in a punishing mood as he singled out Kartik for special treatment to unsettle the left arm spinner. Hayden cracked 12 boundaries and a huge six during his 88-ball 67. Kartik’s first two overs cost him 33 runs and, after Hayden’s dismissal to Kumble, Langer took charge to torment him. Langer reached his century, the second of the series with a contemptuous reverse sweep of Kartik from 124 balls and his 117 contained 17 fours and a six. Earlier, resuming at 650 for five, India declared their innings after 40 minutes into the mornings session but not before posting their highest-ever Test score, bettering their 676 for 7 against Sri Lanka at Kanpur in 1986. Tendulkar’s unbeaten 241 was the highest individual score by an Indian overseas, improving on Rahul Dravid’s 233 at Adelaide in the second Test this series, and his highest in first-class cricket as well. In all Tendulkar, faced 436 balls and hit 33 fours in his more than 10-hour stay at the crease. Parthiv Patel continued with his flurry of shots he played yesterday. After converting his overnight 45 to his maiden half century, the young left hander took four fours from a Brett Lee over. But he fell to the same bowler when he tried to hook a short pitched delivery and gloved it to Adam Gilchrist for 62.
Scoreboard India (first Innings): Chopra b Lee 45 Sehwag c Gilchrist b Gillespie 72 Dravid lbw b Gillespie 38 Tendulkar not out 241 Laxman b Gillespie 178 Ganguly b Lee 16 Patel c Gilchrist b Lee 62 Agarkar b Lee 2 Pathan not out 13 Extras:
(b-4, lb-5, w-4, nb-25) 38 Total: (7 wkts decl.
Fall of wickets: 1-123, 2-128, 3-194, 4-547, 5-570, 6-671, 7-678. Bowling:
Brett Lee 39.3-5-201-4, Jason Gillespie 45-11-135-3, Nathan Bracken 37-13-97-0, Stuart MacGill 38-5-146-0, Stephen Waugh 2-0-6-0, Simon Katich 17-1-84-0, Damien Martyn 9-1-27-0. Australia (first Innings): Langer c Patel b Kumble 117 Hayden c Ganguly b Kumble 67 Ponting lbw b Kumble 25 Martyn c & b Kumble 7 Waugh c Patel b Pathan 40 Katich batting 51 Gilchrist b Pathan 6 Lee batting 0 Extras: (b-5, lb-5,
Total: (6 wkts, 80 overs) 342 Fall of wickets:
1-147, 2-214, 3-229, 4-261, 5-311, 6-341. Bowling: Agarkar 18-3-82-0, Pathan 15-3-46-2, Kumble 31-5-103-4, Kartik 16-1-101-0.
— PTI |
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Great chance to win Test: Kumble Sydney, January 4 "I think we have a great chance to win the Test. If we bowl with discipline, the result would take care of itself," said the ace spinner who claimed four of the top-order Aussie batsmen on the third day of the match here. "The wicket would only get harder on the final two days and it would keep low," said Kumble. The veteran leggie felt his performance in the series was just the kind of "lift" he needed in the autumn of his career. "Everyone needs some kind of lift in some stage of his career. I am happy that it has come at this stage in my career. "A lot of people had said a lot of things. I don’t think I need to mention those names — everybody knows them." Kumble could have been taking a potshot at national selectors who needed two meetings and several hours to prefer him ahead of youngster Murali Kartik for the tour.
— PTI |
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History in making at Sydney While India are on the doorsteps of creating history, Australians are truly all at sea. The world champions have slowly succumbed to the guile of the tourists. Steve Waugh’s wonderful career is all set for a derailment at his final destination, at least so it looks at the end of the third day at Sydney. If maestro Sachin Tendulkar and an elegant VVS Laxman have played their career’s best knocks, it was Anil Kumble and Irfan Pathan who have set up the game for the Indians. The logic of the game is simple. If the batsmen have to excel on a good bowling track, it’s the bowlers who are going to win matches on a good bating strip. The Sydney strip initially looked so good for batting that it appeared the game was heading for a tame draw. But stupendous efforts by Anil Kumble and Irfan Pathan on the final hours have turned the tables in favour of the Indians. The debate and speculations about Sachin’s form finally came to an end when he displayed his class on the first day and translated it into a glorious hundred early on the second day. He not only beat his own expectation but also completely demoralised his detractors when he returned with his career best 241 not out. The champion’s cautious approach paid off as he really dissected the Australian attack .The changes he made in his batting in this innings was very much evident. Nothing was driven through the covers on the rise or on the full, thereby avoiding the extravagant shots that cost him on a couple of occasions earlier. The only shots he played on the off side were glide through the third man area and the cut short. “Avoiding mistake is as good as being innovating,” goes the saying. Sachin followed it in ditto by seldom committing any mistake in this innings. It was the Hyderabadi Laxman, who set the pace for a long innings. The magician mesmerised the Australians with his brilliant batting. Laxman’s silken touch and measured aggression not only made the Australian attack look pedestrian, but also overshadowed his partner Sachin by and large. In my opinion, Laxman has played the best cricket amongst the Indians so far in this tour. Laxman is a born again hero in this tour of Australia. The maiden 50 has exonerated the diminutive wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, whose credentials as a batman was always doubted. In fact, he attacked the Australian bowlers disdainfully to send clear signals that he was here to stay. It was a good decision to score 700 plus runs to play the Australians out of the series. Sachin’s reigning supremacy as the best ever batsman produced by India was yet again reiterated with his unbeaten 241. That takes him only next to VVS Laxman as the highest Indian run-getter in a Test innings. To those people for whom record books are the claim to fame, the innings declared while Sachin at 241, is a clear message that this team is all set to erase a lot of such records very soon. Anil has to be handled very well for the next two days. He must bowl a lot of overs and keep pegging at the hosts. The first job on hand is to get them out and enforce the follow-on. The Indian bowlers surely have a tiring task ahead. So far, Irfan has been brilliant in this innings .The wicket of Steve Waugh was the ball to remember and the stunning dismissal of Gilchrsit will only augment confidence of the youngster. Murali Kartik is perhaps realising the difference between the domestic and international cricket. I hope he comes to terms with it very soon to be an able ally in the battle with Anil. Knowing the tenacity of the Australians, the last two days will be a gripping contest .The time, I am sure, is not too far away from watching the Indian players turning into true heroes overseas.
— Chivach Media |
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Party time for Indians; gloom in Aussie camp
Sydney, January 4 “The best seats had been sold out as early as August and booking the tickets then, I had never expected to be part of history and records being created on the SCG by India,” says Christine D’mello, a former Mumbai-based journalist now living in Sydney. However, the windfall for the Indian fans has turned out to be agony for the home crowd which had been waiting to celebrate their loved skipper Steve Waugh’s farewell in a fitting fashion ever since the announcement of retirement by Australia’s most successful captain ever. In the sweltering sun at the SCG, almost 90,000 fans have paid more than over $ 2 million over the first two days to watch Waugh but it was not to be. Dignitaries, including Australian Prime Minister John Howard and the Waugh family, also waited for a fitting moment as it was generally expected that the captain would get to bat at least on the second day. In the stands, while the Australian fans booed and even threw plastic cups after tea on the ground yesterday, frustrated by their team’s poor fielding and dropped catches, they were also generous with loud applause at every classic shot and records set by the Indian batsmen. As this correspondent was driving out of the ground, a group of youth clad in the Australian national colours stopped to give thumbs up saying, “Sachin (Tendulkar) is the king. He is great”. For some Australian-Indians, it has been a tough match “emotionally”. “While I want India to do well, I also want Steve to have a great farewell innings. One feels torn apart between loyalty to the home country and the adopted country,” says Rekha Bhattacharjee, who migrated to Australia over 30 years ago. The mixed emotions were expressed by many as the historic Indian innings unfolded. — PTI
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India-Pak cricket series in
March-April Kolkata, January 4 Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Jagmohan Dalmiya said here that the working committee had decided to go ahead with India’s tour to Pakistan and accordingly the dates of early March to mid April has been proposed to the Pakistan Cricket Board. It has been learnt that initially Pakistan has proposed five Tests and seven one dayers which has been modified by the BCCI. Asked if any of the venues in Pakistan were off-limit for the Indian team, Mr Dalmiya said, ‘’Venues will not be a problem.” Mr Dalmiya further said the series would begin with the ODIs. “Immediately after the Pakistan tour the Indian team would leave for Bangladesh where they are scheduled to play a full series under the 10-year programme,’’ he said. India will play two Tests and three ODIs in Bangladesh. Mr Dalmiya also announced that the Asia Cup would be held in July and the venue of Pakistan looks uncertain since the date has been deferred by a couple of months.
— UNI |
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BCCI hikes match fee of domestic players
Kolkata, January 4 The BCCI, which had earlier announced that it would offer 26 per cent of its gross earnings to the cricketers, decided to increase the match fees payable to both the senior and junior cricketers. “The senior cricketers would receive a total of about Rs 30,000-35,000 per match, out of which Rs 16,000 would be given to them in hand while the rest would be kept in their benevolent fund accounts,” Mr Dalmiya told newspersons after a day-long working committee meeting of the board here. The match fee for senior cricketers in the first class cricket tournaments like Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Irani Trophy and one-day matches was enhanced, but the fee payable to non-playing members of a team would be reduced to 50 per cent, he said. Since players should be given incentive to be picked in the team, it was decided that the non-playing members, who had so far got the full amount of the match fee, would now be entitled to 50 per cent of the amount, he said. However, at the junior level, all members of a team would be paid uniform fees. Besides, the BCCI also decided that the match fees for India A on their tour abroad would be Rs 6,000 per match day, while in case of India under-19 team, it would be Rs 1,500 per match day. In case of home matches against any touring side, the India A players would get Rs 4,000 per match day. India would propose that China be included as an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council at the world body’s next annual conference. Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya told newspersons that the move was aimed at encouraging cricketing activities in China, which has shown a keen interest to make a big foray into the game. Regarding the bribery scandal involving Maharashtra batsman Abhijit Kale, the BCCI today said it was in “no hurry” to arrive at a conclusion and would strive to ensure that the “principle of natural justice” prevailed in the case.— PTI
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Cape Town, January 4 Lara’s 115 helped his side reach 427 in reply to South Africa’s 532, a deficit of 105. By stumps South Africa were 38 without loss in their second innings. Shortly after tea Lara had glided Andre Nel to the third man boundary to become the fastest man to 9,000 runs in test-match history. He reached the landmark in his 177th innings, two innings fewer than India’s Sachin Tendulkar who passed 9,000 during his unbeaten double century against Australia in Sydney on Saturday. Lara is the fifth to reach 9,000 Test runs, joining Tendulkar, Allan Border, Sunil Gavaskar and Steve Waugh in an elite club. The captain was last out when he was bowled by Nel after nearly five and a half hours at the crease. Nel celebrated his first five-wicket haul in tests wildly, ending with five for 87. Scoreboard South Africa (1st innings):
532 West Indies (1st innings overnight 178-1) Gayle lbw b Pollock 116 Ganga b Nel 17 Sarwan c McKenzie b Nel 44 Lara b Nel 115 Hinds c Boucher b Kallis 13 Smith c Kallis b Nel 20 Jacobs c Pollock b Ntini 23 Drakes c Boucher b Nel 20 Mohammed c Kallis b Pollock 36 Sanford run out 0 Edwards not out 0 Extras (b-6, lb-7, nb-10) 23 Total (all out in 112.1 overs) 427 Falls of wickets: 1-126, 2-183, 3-187, 4-224, 5-252, 6-306, 7-361, 8-409, 9-427 Bowling: Pollock 24-6-88-2, Ntini 20-1-105-1, Nel 28,1-8-87-5, Kallis 21-8-64-1, Adams 19-1-70-0. South Africa (2nd Innings): Smith batting 18 Gibbs batting 19 Extras: (nb-1) 1 Total: (for no loss in 10 overs) 38 Bowling: Fidel Edwards 3-0-18-0, Adam Sanford 2-0-13-0, Chris Gayle 3-2-1-0, Vasbert Drakes 2-0-6-0. —AFP
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Afghan cricket chief
expects good show Chandigarh, January 4 “I want to wean away the youth of Afghanistan from the culture of gun and fighting,” Mr Noori explained as the reason behind youngsters being made to take to cricket in his country. “Afghanistan has been ravaged by large-scale violence for the past 23 years. Through cricket, efforts would be made to ensure that the youth have better ways to spend the time. Sports is an ambassador of peace,” he said. Afghanistan cricketers will be at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium at Mohali for 10 days and get specialised coaching. The PCA has also decided to provide free board and lodging facilities to the 20-member squad. World Cricket Academy, a Mumbai-based subsidiary of the World Sport Institute, London, are the sponsors. The daily schedule includes warming-up exercises, stretching and practice under the watchful eyes of the PCA coaches. The coaching clinic, which commenced on January 2, would continue up to January 11. Mr Noori stated that he had full support of the government in promoting the game which was the most popular sport in the country after soccer. A mobile phone company was sponsoring the team in Afghanistan. “When I took over there was hardly anybody who played the game. But now we have 340 associated clubs playing cricket in Afghanistan. Two provincial school tournaments are organised in Kabul and Jalalabad,” he added. Mr Noori expressed his gratitude to the BCCI which promised all help to him for the promotion of game in Afghanistan. He also thanked the PCA and the WCA for making coaching for players possible. “I hope the WCA would continue to help us in similar fashion.” The WCA is engaged in organising specialised coaching clinics for cricketers as well as umpires. “Our aim basically is promotion of cricket. We will focus on using cricket as a vehicle for social change and hope for the youth of Afghanistan. The WCA is footing the bill for the trip,” Mr Sachin Bajaj, Director, WCA, said. “Last year, players from six England counties visited at the CCI, Mumbai, where they were provided expert guidance by coaches like Erapalli Prasanna and Hanumant Singh. Two of the players later represented England,” he added. |
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Punjab beat Services
New Delhi, January 4 Punjab: Dinesh Mongia c Krishna Chanda b Sudhakar Ghag 4 Ravneet Rickey b Fazil Mohd 7 Ritender Sodhi run out 60 Pankaj Dharmani c Amitpal b Sudhakar Ghag 3 Gaurav Guprta c Mishrab b Yashpal Singh 58 Amit Kataria b C D Thompson 7 Sanjay Mahasan run out 3 Ankur Kakkar st K Chawla b Arun Sharma 3 Amit Unyal c Jasbir Singh b Sudhakar Ghag 7 Vipul Sharma c Manish Jha b Sudhakar Ghag 9 V R Singh not out 3 Extras: (b-1, lb-2, nb-1, w-4) 8 Total (all outg in 42.1) 169. Bowling: Sudhakar Garg 7.1-0-19-4 Fazil Mohd 9-1-35-1 Manish Jha 5-0-19-0 C D Thompson 9-0-36-0 Arun Sharma 9-0-44-0 Yashpal Singh 3-0-13-0 Services: Amit Pal Singh c Pankaj Dharmani b Amit Uniyal 4 Krishan Chawda b Amit Uniyal 3 Jasbir Singh run out 31 Yashpal Singh run out 35 Sanjay Verma b Vipul Sharma 4 Sudhakar Ghag c A Kakkar b Dinesh Mongia 12 Sarabjeet Singh c Pankaj Dharmani b Dinesh Mongia 11 C D Thomson c Amit Kakaria b Dinesh Mongia 6 Arun Sharma lbw Vipul Sharma 9 Fazil Mohd st Pankaj Dharmani b Vipul Sharma 1 Manish Jha not out 1 Extras: (b-4, lb-3, nb-1, w-6) 10 Total: (all out in 40.2 overs) 127. Bowling:Amit Uniyal 5-0-11-2 U R V Singh 5-0-17-0 Sanjay Mahajan 7-1-19-0 R S Sodhi 1-0-9-0 Amit Kakaria 9-0-23-0 Vipul Sharma 8.2-0-26-3 Dinesh Mongia 5-0-19-3. Haryana lose
A fine 75 runs by skipper Mithun Manhas helped Delhi register a seven-wicket victory over Haryana in a North Zone Ranji Trophy one-day league match here today. Haryana: Jitender Singh lbw b Bhandari 7, Sanjay Bansal run out Bhandari 41, Sunny Singh b Bhandari 4, Shapiq Khan c Dahiya b Sarandeep 29, Ishan Ganda c and b Rahul 2, Ajay Ratra not out 22, Joginder Sharma c Dahiya b Sarandeep 0, Sachin Rana c Dahiya b Bhandari 54, Amit Mishra c Manhash b Negi 0, Gaurav Vashisht not out 2.
Extras: (lb-4, w-3) 7. Total: (for nine wickets) 170.
Bowling: Amit Bhandari 8-0-38-3, Sanjay Gill 9-1-24-0, N.S. Negi 8-0-34-2, Sarandeep Singh 2-0-33-2, Rajat Bhatia 1-0-05-0, Rahul Sanghvi 7-0-32-1. Delhi:
Gautam Gambhir c A Ratra b S. Virmani 3, Rajat Bhatia c S. Rana b Joginder 13, Vijay Dahiya c sub b Amit Mishra 37, Mithun Manhas not out 75, Ajay Jadeja not out 22.
Extras: 21. Total: (for 3 wickets in 38.2 overs) 171. Bowling: Joginder Sharma 8-0-37-1, Saurav Virmani 5-0-29-1, Sunny Virmani 3-0-13-0, Sachin Rana 5-0-25-0, Amit Mishra 9-0-27-1, Gaurav Vashist 8-0-32-0.
— UNI
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New Delhi, January 4 Himachal skipper Sangram Singh put Jammu and Kashmir to bat first after winning the toss and restricted them to 181 for seven in the stipulated 39 overs. Scoreboard: Jammu and Kashmir: Qaiser Ahmed b Vinod Minhas 0, Wajjat b Sangram Singh 35, Kanwaljeet c Manwinder Bisla b Sangram 30, Ashiwini Gupta run out 48, Dhruv Mahajan c Manwinder Bisla b Pankaj Chaddha 19, Sashikumar b Vinod Minhas 7, Majid Dar c Sandeep Sharma b Vishal Bhati 2, Sanjay Sharma not out 8, Sameer Khajuria not out 7. Extras: (b-9, lb-9, nb-2, w-5) 25. Total: (for seven wickets in 39 overs) 181. Fall of wickets: 1/0, 2/66, 3/90, 4/134, 5/153, 6/158, 7/159. Bowling: Vinod Minhas 8-1-36-2, Pankaj Chaddha 7-0-31-1, Sangram Singh 8-1-23-2, Vishal Bhatia 8-0-45-1, Saurav Ratan 8-2-28-0. Himachal: Anil Sharma c Kanwaljit b Sanjay Sharma 16, Sandeep Sharma c and b Sameer Khajuria 76, Sangram Singh c Qaiser b Sanjay Sharma 39, Manvinder Bisla b Surinder Singh 18, Rahul Panta run out 3, Virender Sharma not out 8, Ajay Manu not out 5. Extras: (b-1, lb-4, nb-2, w-10) 17 Total: (for five wickets in 37.2 overs) 182 Fall of wickets: 56/1, 130/2, 154/3, 163/4, 173/5. Bowling: Surinder Singh 8-0-42-1, Abid Salam 4-0-23-0, Sanjay Sharma 8-0-27-2, Sashi Kumar 5-0-22-0, Sameer Khajuria 8-0-37-1, Ashwani Gupta 4.2-0-26-0. — UNI
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Moya leads strong Tata Open field Chennai, January 4 In the absence of a true tennis icon in fray, No 5 in the 2002 ATP champions race and No 7 in the current rankings, Carlos Moya is the top seed, heading a formidable Spanish armageddon of 13 players in the singles draw of 32. His three title wins in 2003, Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Umag and a total of 14 ATP singles titles, made him the obvious choice for conferring the top seeding on him.
— UNI |
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Margao, January 4 The all-important goal for winners come in the 75th minute.
The home team could have romped home by a much bigger margin had they utilised the gilt edged chances before them specially in the first half. Sporting registered their third win out of seven matches and came on par with Mohun Bagan, Churchill Brothers, JCT and East Bengal with 11 points relegating Salgaocar to seventh place with 10 points. Tollygunge remained on same tenth place with 6 points. It was a tale of missed chances for Sporting in the first half, which had upper hand right from the word go and could have been up by at least two goals in the first session. The home team should be blamed for not winning by a bigger margin not converting their superiority into goals. Their ace striker Dudu Omagbemi, who played reasonably well in the earlier matches, was off colour in both the halves, though their midfield kept on feeding the ball well to the strikers. Sporting’s first chance came as early as in the 10th minute when Avinash Thapa from the left flank sent a cross to Dudu, whose feeble header went wide. In the 23rd minute Avinash Thapa’s powerpacked shot missed the target by inches off a pass from Dudu. Sporting were further frustrated in the 30th minute of the first half when Francis Andrade pass to Dudu, who after dodging past rival defender and needing only to beat the rival goalkeeper Chinmoy Banerejee, wasted an open chance before him. Not a single noteworthy move was seen from Tollygunge in the first half. After a barren first half, Haywards played with renewed vigour and could have surged ahead in the 50th minute when Abdul Latif Seriki gave a well measured pass to Dudu, who only had to beat the rival goalkeeper but his attempt missed by a whisker. Then in the 57th minute the home team had almost taken a lead had not rival defender Kabijit Khotel made a goal line save off a shot from Francis Andrade off a pass from Dudu. The home team had to wait till 75th minute to score the match winner, which came through medio Jerose Oliveira off a well measured pass from Avinash Thapa.
— UNI |
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'Vision India' soccer conference New Delhi, January 4 AFC general secretary and Vision Asia project director Peter Velappan will present a detailed paper. AFC vice-president Manilal Fernando, FIFA development project director Urs Zaniti and GOAL project development officer Paul Monny will also be attending the conference. During their five-day stay in Delhi, the AFC experts will meet administrators, club officials, coaches, technical experts, doctors, referees, media persons, sponsors and others involved in football to assess what is required for the development of football in India. The delegation will conclude its visit with a presentation of the future programme for India before the representatives of all State associations on January 10. AFC president Mohammed Bin Hammam will address the session. |
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IOB, EME in hockey final Mandi, January 4 After the breather C. Lakra and Chanderjeet were shown the yellow and green cards respectively. Signals’ chances of an equaliser were dashed in the 46th minute when a rival player deflected the ball just outside the net. The bank boys displayed character and fine temperament and consolidated the score to 2-0 through a penalty corner conversion by D. Fax in the 52nd minute. Signals came back roaring towards the end of the match and were successful in reducing the margin through Charanjit. IOB won the match 2-1. In the second semifinal the dice rolled favourably for EME, who after some initial hiccups prevailed over fancied ITBP 4-3 via the tie breaker. The umpires had a tough time and the match ended 1-1 in the allotted time. Both the teams failed to convert any of the penalty corners during the first 10 minutes of the game. After the breather ITBP sounded the board through a penalty corner conversion by William in the 41st minute. After this goal EME adopted a defensive posture and managed a penalty corner which was successfully converted in the dying minutes.
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