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Australia keen on improved show Bhandari to boost India’s pace attack The tail crumbled again under pressure Delhi NZ Ranji champs Fleming leads Kiwis to 7-wicket win
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Indian hockey coach exudes confidence Srichaphan, Moya in final
Barreto threatens to quit Bagan Velappan pulls up AIFF Wrestling squads for pre-Olympics meets
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Australia keen on improved show Sydney, January 10 The Aussies overcame some anxious moments before suppressing the Indians in the opening match at Melbourne but may find the going easy against the Zimbabweans, who lack the firepower to counter the world champions in the floodlit contest. Despite starting as clear favourites, the hosts will not be taking their opponents lightly and will try to garner full six points to keep themselves ahead on the points table. Though satisfied with his team's overall performance in the opening match against India, Australian captain Ricky Ponting wants his players to keep improving, particularly in the fielding department which was a big disappointment in the recent Test series. "We did pretty well in the last match, but we were not quite our best in the field... We still let go two chances and a few half chances but overall it was an improved fielding display," Ponting said. "We need to keep improving. I am looking forward for a better show tomorrow", he said. The Australians will be relying on their batting depth which played a key role in their victory against India in the lung-opener. The world champions recovered from a top order collapse as Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke pulled the team out of the woods with a 143-run partnership. The Zimbabwe skipper Heath Streak, who has a rather weak bowling attack at his disposal, will face a daunting task of containing the formidable Australian batting line up. Apart from the in-form Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn and Michael Bevan were capable of tearing any bowling attack to shreds while the late order batsmen like Symonds, Clarke and Ian Harvey were also quite dangerous. "It will be a big challenge for us. To beat Australia or India in the series will be a big achievement for Zimbabwean cricket," Streak said. Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Michael Bevan, Ian Harvey, Andy Bichel, Jason Gillespie, Brad Williams, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee. Zimbabwe:
Heath Streak (captain), Vusimuzi Sibanda, Stuart Carlisle, Mark Vermeulen, Grant Flower, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Tatenda Taibu, Sean Ervine, Andy Blignaut, Ray Price, Douglas Hondo.
— PTI |
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Bhandari to boost India’s pace attack Kolkata, January 10 The decision to send Bhandari to Australia was taken after a request was received from the Indian team management in Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement. Bhandari was selected by the members of the senior national selection committee, following a telephonic discussion, after the cricket board advised the committee headed by Syed Kirmani to pick up a pace bowler following request from the Indian team, the statement said. Arrangements are being made to send Bhandari immediately to Australia.
— PTI |
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The tail crumbled again under pressure The VB one-day tri-series series has already started with a roller coaster effect. Both India and Australia are experiencing equal number of highs and lows, the Australians, though they lost early wickets, still managed to put on a decent score whereas the Indians, who were lucky at the start of the innings succumbed to the pressure created by the Australian fieldsmen. A good fielding display, like belligerent batting or some brilliant bowling, can also change the course of the match. In the end, the Australians snatched away the certainly seeming victory from the Indians by stopping and catching the ball in a far better manner. The gruelling Test matches have surely taken its toll on the Indian players. The only fresh faces being Bangar and Yuvraj, it was difficult for Ganguly’s boys to pick up from where they left in the SCG. The hosts had the luxury pushing in a few more fresh and fit players. The hosts’ strategy, it was quite evident, was to remain aggressive despite losing wickets at regular intervals. Relatively early exit of Gilchrist and Hayden coupled with some good spells by the Indian bowlers saw Australian struggling at 89 for 4. But the introduction of Andrew Symonds and Clark at the crease gave their team much the needed facelift. I had the opportunity to represent Gloucestershire county in England with Symonds when he was only 17. Playing the county circuit for the first time on his birthright, Symonds had to make the hardest decision of his life when he was picked to play for England the same year. Symonds, still unheard in Australia then, rejected the offer and chose to wait in the wings to pledge his loyalty to his foster country. He did not disappoint the selectors when he was picked to play for Australia. Ever since his debut, Symonds has been on the performers list all the while. A match-winning hundred in the 2000 World Cup against Pakistan imprinted him as one of the match winners of the side. Symonds was little tentative in the early part of his innings but didn’t take too long to change gears. Ever-improving Clark and Ian Harvey made good partnership to keep the run rate hovering around 6 runs per over. Gillespie was extremely unlucky. Despite beating both the batsmen repeatedly, luck remained cruel to the bowler as batsmen edged his deliveries for 4s and 6s. Both Sehwag and Tendulkar played a scratchy innings though they maintained a decent run rate. Ganguly, coming in at number three, played some lusty strokes to keep the match alive for the Indians. The exit of Yuvraj and Ganguly’s misjudged run out called for the curtains to fall on the tourists. Ganguly’s call for the non-existent run cost his wicket. Bangar was never ready for the run and one would think that had he sacrificed his wicket, India could have registered a victory. But if Sanjay had left the crease, who knows the fielder would have hit the stumps at the striker’s end, and still dismissed Ganguly. The tail again crumbled under the pressure. Ajit with his best one-day figures of 6 for 42 in the earlier part of the innings didn’t do any justice to his immense batting potential. In the end it was the fitness level and its direct derivative, which is fielding prowess, bailed the Australians out of this game. The Australians needed the win real badly to salvage some prestige that took a bit of beating in the Test series. The Indian think-tank would certainly have to look for good finishers in the side. A relatively easy game against the Zimbabweans would be the right platform for them to experiment.
— Chivach Media |
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Delhi NZ Ranji champs New Delhi, January 10 Winning the toss and electing to field, Delhi bundled out the visitors for a paltry 93 in 30.5 overs, with off-spinner Sarandeep Singh starring with five for 11 from 3.5 overs. Only wicketkeeper batsman Sameer Malik managed a decent score of 34 from 65 balls. The defending champions then overcame some initial hiccups when they were reduced to 36 for three to knock off the required runs in 26.5 overs. France Test batsman Ajay Jadeja remained unbeaten on 23 and captain Mithun Manhas was 26 not out as they carried Delhi home with an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 69 runs. Delhi gained maximum five points from the match to finish with 23 ahead of Punjab (20), Services (12), Haryana (7) and Himachal Pradesh (1) in that order. Jammu had the ignominy of ending up with three negative points. At the Harbaksh stadium, Punjab owed their 79-run victory against Haryana to the 101-run sixth wicket association between Reetinder Singh Sodhi (81) and Amit Uniyal (49). But Haryana were to blame themselves for allowing Punjab to recover from 96 for five to post 210 for 8 in their allotted 50 overs. First Jogindher Singh failed to hold on to a return catch of Sodhi when the batsman was on nine. Then Chetan Sharma reprieved Uniyal on three in the deep off Mahesh Rawat. Sodhi’s 81 came off 113 balls and contained four fours while Uniyal needed 74 balls and hit three fours for his 49. Punjab were 110 then. Haryana’s chase was never on as no partnership materialised and were eventually bowled out for 131 in 41.1 overs. In the other match at Palam ‘B’ ground, right-arm seamer Fazil Mohammad’s six-wicket haul helped Services wallop Himachal for a seven-wicket win. After skittling out Himachal Pradesh for 149 in 41 overs with Fazil grabbing 6 for 38, Services cantered home with six overs left. Brief scores: At Palam ‘A’: Jammu and Kashmir 93 in 30.5 overs (Sameer Malik 34; Sarandeep Singh 5-11, Rahul Sanghvi 2-28) lost to Delhi 95 for 3 in 26.5 overs (A Jadeja 23 no, M Manhas 26 no; Parab Mahajan 2-39). Points: Delhi 5, J and K (-1). At Palam ‘B’: Himachal Pradesh 149 in 41 overs (Sandeep Sharma 27, Ajay Manny 38; Fazil Mohammad 6-38) lost to Services 50 for 3 in 44 overs (Jasbir Singh 35, Yashpal Singh 39 no, Sarabjeet Singh 30 no). Points: Services 4, HP 0. At Harbaksh: Punjab 210 for 8 (Reetinder Singh Sodhi 81, Amit Uniyal 49; Joginder Sharma 2-48, Sachin Rana 2-41, Gaurav Vasisht 2-25) beat Haryana 131 in 41.1 overs (Chetan Sharma 43; Vineet Sharma 2-23, R S Sodhi 2-23, Vipul Sharma 2-17). Points:
Punjab 5, Haryana (-1). — PTI |
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Fleming leads Kiwis to 7-wicket win
Wellington, Jan 10 Pakistan: Hameed c Styris b Oram 44 Farhat c McCullum b Mills 17 Elahi c Fleming b Styris 80 Youhana run out 36 Inzamam
c McCullum b Tuffey 0 Malik c Fleming b Tuffey 0 Moin c Mills by Styris 10 Razzaq not out 50 Mahmood run out 11 Akhtar run out 2 Sami not out 0 Extras:
(lb2, w2, nb1) 5 Total: (9 wkts, 50 overs) 255 FoW:
1-50, 2-72, 3-144, 4-144, 5-152, 6-186, 7-190, 8-234, 9-247. Bowling:
Tuffey 10-2-45-2, Mills 10-0-58-1, Oram 10-0-48-1, Cairns 9-0-54-0, Vettori 8-0-34-0, Styris 3-0-14-2. New Zealand: Cumming c Hameed b Sami 3 Fleming not out 115 Marshall c Sami b Malik 64 Styris b Akhtar 20 McMillan not out 35 Extras:
(lb-14, w-5, nb-3) 22 Total: (3 wkts, 46.2 overs) 259 FoW:
1-10, 2-158, 3-188. Bowling: Akhtar 10-0-43-1, Sami 10-0-67-1, Mahmood 10-0-43-0, Razzaq 8-0-47-0, Malik 8-0-40-1, Farhat 0.2-0-5-0.
— AFP |
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Indian hockey coach exudes confidence Kuala Lumpur, January 10 However, the fact is that India have their backs to the wall. If they lose the match against Malaysia, they could well end up with the wooden spoon. The Indian coach, however, insists that his boys had not done all that bad. The defeats against Germany and Pakistan were no reflection on Indian team’s potential, coach Harendra Singh has asserted. "We have fielded a new look team, with 10 players from the junior squad and still we have not conceded any field goal against two very experienced sides," the coach said. Talking to UNI, Harendra Singh said he was satisfied the way his boys faced the might of Germany and Pakistan. "We have our gray areas, we have conceded far too many penalty corners and have not been able to defend them but it still will not take away the fighting spirit displayed by the youngsters," he observed. The Indians also have another good reason to win the match. They have been branded as bringing a second rate outfit and winning the match would prove that they deserved to be here with this team. "Yes, there is this bit of resentment among our players that the Malaysians did not give us the due respect. So I’m sure that itself will be a major motivator for the players. The question is can we turn this to our advantage?," asked Harendra. Malaysia too needs three points as it seeks to shrug off their poor outings over a year where they have finished last in three tournaments, including the last edition of this tournament. Thus, both teams plan to go all out to secure a win and at the same time and gain a psychological advantage over the other as they would also meet each other in the all-important Olympic qualifiers in March. Harendra admitted that they would need to be careful with the Malaysians as they had made some changes. The last meeting between the two teams in the Afro-Asian Games last October ended in a 1-1 draw at the semi-final stage. But the Indians prevailed in the penalty shootout to make the final. Malaysian coach Paul Lissek was candid enough to admit that India would be a dangerous team to play and there was no such thing as fielding a second team. The India-Malaysia match will be telecast live on Ten Sports at 3 p.m. |
Kuala Lumpur, January 10 A 61st minute penalty corner conversion by veteran Troy Elder put Australia in front, but the Asian Games winners caught up soon after with a Lee Jung Seon goal. Seon sounded the board in the 66th minute from a penalty corner. In the scrappy encounter, the Koreans were a trifle unlucky. In the first half, a penalty corner attempt by Yeo Woon Kon came off the post and in the second session, Australian goalkeeper Stephen Mowlam brought off a couple of terrific saves. But the Australians nearly came a cropper in the dying moments when the Asian team launched a couple of dangerous moves only to fumble with sitters. The draw gave the two teams their first points from two outings each. Australia had lost their opening game to Spain 1-3 while the Koreans were beaten 4-2 by Pakistan. Tomorrow is a rest day for Australia while the Koreans will take on Germany. Jolt for Spain Meanwile, title aspirants Spain today suffered a big jolt when their prolific goal scorer Eduard Tubau was ruled out of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey because of a hamstring injury. Spain have another big reason to worry as Tubau is likely to be out of the Olympic qualifiers in Madrid this March as well. Tubau’s injury has put a spanner in the works for the Spanish team that is on an upward trend under the guidance of Maurit Hendriks.
— UNI |
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Srichaphan, Moya in final Chennai, January 10 Moya defeated Schalken 6-3, 6-4 in an hour as the third seed served poorly in the second semifinals. Earlier, second seed Srichaphan staged a remarkable recovery to defeat Tommy Robredo of Spain 1-6, 7-6 (12-10), 7-5 in the 133-minute ding-dong battle.
— UNI |
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Davenport shines in USA’s Hopman Cup win Perth, January 10 Davenport was the only player in the tournament not to lose a set in her singles matches, dispatching Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1 in the final to set up the victory, making the USA the first team to win the title three times. Karol Kucera then levelled the tie in the men’s singles, fending-off an athletic James Blake 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) in a thrilling encounter before the American pair regrouped to take out the mixed doubles. It was a brave effort from the Slovaks who were only drafted into the final following the forced withdrawal of Belgium and Australia - both of which were ahead of them in their qualifying group. Hantuchova had not won a set all week and was only awarded the match against Australian Alicia Molik when the latter was forced to withdraw with injury while leading by a set and 3-0. Despite her efforts, Davenport, who is coming back from injury, said she didn’t want to read too much into her form leading up to the Australian Open, the season’s first Grand Slam event, which starts in Melbourne on January 19. She said she was disappointed to hear world number-three Serena Williams would not be available to play in the Open because she was still training after suffering a knee injury last August. “It’s really unfortunate. You always want the best players to play in a tournament but you know, I really don’t know what to expect anymore,” Davenport said. The world’s fifth-ranked woman said Belgian number one Justine Henin-Hardenne deserved to be favourite for the event. “I think Justine is still a clear favourite - I mean it’s been four years since I won a Slam so it’s been a little while,” Davenport said. “Venus (Williams), I’m sure is going to return in good form. I still have a lot of work to do.
— AFP |
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Barreto threatens to quit Bagan Kolkata, January 10 “Some club officials insulted me in Goa recently, alleging that I am not doing justice to the payment made to me,” the highest paid foreign footballer in the country told PTI. “After having given so much to the club, I’m now being accused of under-performing. Enough is enough. I don’t want to play for Bagan now. I’ll go back to Brazil,” Barreto, who has stopped attending the club’s practice sessions, said. Bagan have had a lean patch in the current edition of the league so far, though the Brazilian has emerged the team’s highest scorer by firing in five goals in seven ties. The development comes as the latest blow for Bagan, already beleaguered by incessant factional feuds among club officials. A section of Bagan members felt that Barreto was being ‘prompted’ by the group owing allegiance to club general secretary Anjan Mitra, who has been denied a role in the soccer affairs after the Calcutta High Court appointed three special officers to run the show.
— PTI |
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Velappan pulls up AIFF New Delhi, January 10 Addressing the delegates on the concluding day of the six-day Vision India seminar, Mr Velappan said “the current structure does not match the vision which envisages to modernise the football structure in the country to a professional management”. “We are ready to help change the structure by sufficiently training the officials,” he said. Identifying the other liabilities that plague Indian football, Mr Velappan said “many state football associations and district FA’s were not proactive”. “Hardly 1 per cent of the players are professional. He also said the present set up lacked professionals. “We need professionals to drive Indian football forward.” Mr Velappan also pointed out the deficiencies of the clubs and the National Football League and said “football in India lacks a brand image”. He also said soccer could be a unifying force and pointed to several instances when a football match led to thaw in relations. Mr Velappan cautioned the AIFF against moving forward at the present pace as “many are waiting outside to take charge of Indian football for it is such a big goldmine”. Prescribing some quick remedial measures, Mr Velappan said a lot of things need to be done in the next two years. “First is the need to have a permanent location for the AIFF in Delhi. There is no point with the president sitting in Delhi and the secretary in Goa,” he said looking forward to the early completion of the ‘Football House’ in the Capital. “Only then we can establish a Vision Asia Department here. This will be followed by the appointment of key staff for various divisions who have expertise.”
— PTI |
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Wrestling squads for pre-Olympics meets Chandigarh, January 10 Free style pre-Olympic meet will be held at the Slovakia on February 1 and 2, while Grecco-Roman at Colarado Spring (USA) from February 6 to 8. Free style team: Yogeshwar Dutt — 55 kg, Ramesh Kumar — 66 kg (RSCB), Anuj Kumar — 84 kg (UP) Rakesh — 96 kg (West Bengal) and Palwinder Cheema — 120 kg (Pb). Grecco-Roman team: Mukesh Khatri — 55 kg (RSCB), Ravinder Kumar — 60 kg (RSCB), Gurbinder Singh — 66 kg (Pb), Sanjay — 74 kg (Hr) and Kulbeer — 120 kg (Chd). |
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Manav wins tennis titles Amritsar, January 10 First seeded Alisha Talwar outplayed Mallika Babbar 6-2, 6-2 in the girls’ final. There was intense competition in the boys doubles. Harman Bir Singh and Manav Dhawan got the better of Keshav Mahajan and Satvir Singh 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. |
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Mumbai, January 10 The 28-year-old from Noida, a Special officer in Oil India Ltd, who had finished runner-up last year, came up with a consistent performance that saw him finish on five-under par, hitting a total of 19 birdies over four days.
— PTI |
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Ropar, January 10 The team selected after the trials
will represent the district state-level tournaments. |
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