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Injured Agarkar doubtful for today’s tie I have come back stronger after lay-off Razzaq fails to take Pakistan home
Gibbs, Kallis set new records as SA dominate Pak favourites in Azlan hockey final |
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India’s poor showing disappoints fans Old-timers were hard pressed to recall an occasion when an Indian hockey team failed to win even a single match in an international competition while finishing last, as they did in the seven-nation 13th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Tournament here.
Atwal makes cut in Sony Open Bhupathi-Santoro win at Auckland
SGFI plans to hold more Commonwealth meets JCT(B) sail into semis Churchill Bros down Mahindras CM inaugurates swimming pool
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Injured Agarkar doubtful for today’s tie
Brisbane, January 17 Agarkar is suffering from a stiff calf muscle, which is the result of the workload he has undertaken in the present series, and his unavailability could upset India’s plans to make amends for their 18-run defeat in the tri-series opener to the hosts. But Indian captain Sourav Ganguly put up a brave front and promised to “pick up overall intensity” against the world champions in the floodlit encounter at the Gabba. Australia put India up on notice with a record 344 for seven against a hapless Zimbabwe yesterday but India have proved they are made of tougher stuff and would look to give a fitting reply to the hosts who are unbeaten in the tournament so far. The Aussies are perched atop the table with 17 points from three outings while India have 7 points from a win and a defeat. Zimbabwe are yet to open their account. Ganguly also appeared unperturbed by the return of form of big-hitter Adam Gilchrist and did not think that the Aussies hold an edge over them in one-day competition. “We have to pick our overall intensity which served us so well in the past one year. We have to play up to our standards and fire as best as we could tomorrow,” said the skipper as he inspected the pitch at the Gabba. It has been raining for the past one week and even today there was a fresh spell of showers but Ganguly admitted he was surprised to see the wicket was still dry. It had a spread of fresh grass and should assist seamers, he felt. But more than anything it is the injury worry to Agarkar which has been troubling Ganguly the most on the eve of the match. Agarkar’s woes are a result of the workload he has undertaken in the present series, including 154 overs in the Tests and 16-odd in the two tri-series games. The wiry medium-pacer has been very much the pick of Indian bowlers, alongside Anil Kumble, and his bowling share, compared to Zaheer Khan (51), Ashish Nehra (101) and Irfan Pathan (68) is a testimony to how much Ganguly has come to rely on this bowler from Mumbai. He also has the wickets to justify Ganguly’s reliance on him, 16 scalps in the Tests and six in the two one-dayers. But Indian batting is still booming and the openers, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, have so far given an almost perfect start to the innings. In fact, India’s batting has the potential to cover up for bowling and fielding woes, as it nearly did at Melbourne but it would not happen everyday. The Indian camp had a relaxed air about it all today in the nets, more so since they know they are almost assured of a berth in the finals. Zimbabweans have looked out-of-sorts and it looks unlikely they would be able to throw up a real challenge to the World Cup 2003 finalists. India’s fifth bowler’s slot worked nicely in Hobart and Virender Sehwag, Hemang Badani, Tendulkar and Ganguly are quite capable of taking care of 10 or more overs. Australians bat very deep and even when their top order fails, the rest can significantly lift their game. They were 88 for four at one stage against India and still made 288, thanks to the pugnacity of their lower half. Keeping this factor in mind, India are once again expected to go into the match with seven batsmen and Rahul Dravid would continue to keep wickets. Teams (from): Australia: Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Michael Bevan, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Brad Williams, Andrew Bichel and Ian Harvey. India: Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Hemang Badani, Yuvraj Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Laxmipathy Balaji, Irfan Pathan and Amit Bhandari. — PTI
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I have come back stronger after lay-off Weather is the greatest concern at Brisbane as India and Australia get ready for their second encounter in the VB Series. Unfortunately, the weatherman does not have very good news, but both teams are preparing for the game as usual. Like in most Test venues in Australia, clouds and sunshine can follow each other in quick succession, so it’s no point speculating on what the weather gods plan tomorrow. The plan to rotate bowlers a bit will continue tomorrow, and in all probability, Jason Gillespie will be back in the side while one of the pacemen will get a day off. At present, we are treating the squad as a playing thirteen with substitutions taking place at regular intervals so that all of us last out through a fairly hectic triseries. There is plenty of cricket to follow as well, and since we have a good pool of talent it makes sense to give everybody a breather regularly. I think I have come back stronger after my two-match lay-off at the start of the tournament. I had just been through one of my toughest weeks in cricket during the Sydney Test, and Ricky Ponting and I had a chat about how a break for a week would help me recharge my batteries. I had had plenty of cricket from mid-December till the Sydney Test, and looking back, though I would have loved to play at Melbourne against India, the rest did me a world of good. I felt a lot stronger during the game against Zimbabwe at Hobart, and was happy to return with figures of one for 29 in my 10 overs. I was happy with the pace I was able to generate, and the rhythm in my run-up was pretty good. Looking ahead to the game at the Gabba, I always look forward to bowling at this venue. It always helps fast bowlers, more so when there has been some rain around the time of the match. Some grass and moisture will really liven things up, and it will be a good contest between the in-form Indian batsmen and our pace attack. The last one-dayer I played against India was the World Cup final. I have good memories of the way I bowled on that day at the Bull Ring, and hopefully I’ll be able to replicate some of that form. There has been a lot written about many Australian players, including me, after the Test series. I usually look at criticism from the press as constructive, and will strive to prove them wrong with my bowling. While there is plenty of scrutiny in the media over the form of some of the players, in my case it does not translate into pressure. I have always felt that pressure is something only a player can put upon himself, and a pro must never get affected by what is said or written about him. Two other blokes who were really under media scrutiny recently were Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn. Both are proven performers, but a few low scores resulted in many in the media questioning their form. However, both players emerged with flying colours against Zimbabwe at Hobart, proving that performance alone can silence detractors. Hopefully I can do something similar in the coming games to contribute to the success of the team. I made a good beginning at Hobart, and things can only get better from here on.
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Razzaq
fails to take Pakistan home
Wellington, January 17 Earlier, Hamish Marshall had made 84 and Craig McMillan 81 from as many balls as New Zealand reached 307 for eight, their highest one-day score at home and their biggest against Pakistan. For much of Pakistan’s innings, New Zealand looked in no danger of defeat. But after Moin Khan and Inzamam-ul Haq had added 98 for the fifth wicket, Razzaq took charge and blasted Pakistan close to victory. Razzaq smashed his first 50 runs from only 23 balls with six fours and two sixes and was finally out in the 49th over. Razzaq hit boundaries to every part of the ground as he sprinted towards one of the fastest half centuries in Pakistan’s one-day history. When he was trapped in a running mix-up with Inzamam in the 46th over, the Pakistan captain sacrificed himself to keep Razzaq at the wicket. Inzamam was out for 67, having added 92 with Razzaq in only eight over, and Pakistan needed 43 runs for victory which 27 balls remaining. Razzaq kept up his relentless attack, hitting two sixes and two fours among 24 runs from the 43rd over, then 11 runs from the 46th and 17 from the 47th overs. Earlier, a late innings of 36 from 20 balls from Chris Carins, who hit five fours and a six, and 18 from nine balls by Jacob Oram, who hit two sixes in the final over, completed New Zealand’s domination of a powerful Pakistan attack. New Zealand Cumming b Sami 31 Fleming c Malik b Sami 16 Marshall run out 84 Styris c Moin b Mahmood 10 McMillan c Shabbir
b Mahmood 81 Cairns run out 36 McCullum b Akhtar 9 Adams b akhtar 5 Oram not out 18 Vettori not out 0 Extras:
(3lb, 1w, 13nb) 17 Total: (for 8 wkts, 50 overs) 307 FoW:
1-47, 2-57, 3-73, 4-230, 5-244, 6-284, 7-288, 8-291. Bowling: Akhtar 10-1-46-2, Ahmed 10-0-63-0, Sami 10-0-73-2, Mahmood 6-0-38-2, Malik 10-0-55-0, Razzaq 4-0-29-0. Pakistan Hameed c McCullum b Oram 48 Farhat c Mills b Oram 8 Mahmood b Mills 2 Youhana c McCullum b Mills 0 Inzamam run out 67 Moin b Styris 52 Razzaq c Marshall b Adams 89 Malik St McCullum b Vettori 0 Akhtar run out 9 Sami not out 3 Ahmed run out 2 Extras:
(4b, 6 lb, 11w, 2nb) 23 Total: (all out, 49.3 overs) 303 FoW: 1-34, 2-53, 3-57, 4-73, 5-171, 6-265, 7-266, 8-294, 9-294. Bowling:
Mills 9.3-1-65-2, Oram 10-2-28-2, Adams 9-0-69-1, Cairns 3-0-16-0, Vettori 10-0-62-1, Styris 8-0-53-1.
— AP |
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Gibbs, Kallis set new records as SA dominate Centurion, South Africa, January 17 Gibbs made 192, the highest score by a South African in Tests against West Indies, while Kallis became the first South African to score centuries in four consecutive Tests with an unbeaten 130. South Africa (1st innings): Smith c Jacobs b Gibbs c Ganga Rudolph b Edwards 37 Kallis not out 130 Kirsten c and b Sarwan 10 McKenzie c Lara b Dillon 40 Boucher c Edwards Pollock not out 1 Extras:
(b-1 lb-17 w-12 Total:
(for 6 wickets Fall of wickets:
1-301, 2-373, 3-422, 4-446, 5-532, 6-567. Bowling: Dillon 31-6-109-1, Edwards 24-2-128-1, Drakes 33-5-101-0, Collymore 26-5-91-1, Gayle 7-0-39-0, Sarwan 14-0-55-2, Smith 13-1-42-1, Ganga 10-0-21-0. West
Indies (1st innings): Gayle not out 4 Ganga not out 2 Extras:
(nb-1) 1 Total: (for no loss, 5 overs) 7 Bowling:
Pollock 3-7-5-0 (nb-1), Ntini 2-1-2-0. — Reuters
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Pak favourites in Azlan hockey final
Kuala Lumpur, January 17 In the league assignment, Australia and Pakistan played a 2-2 draw and thus there is unfinished business to take care off for both the sides and they will go all out to secure a win. For Australia, champions in 1983 and 1998, it will be a golden chance to win for a third time while a win will give Pakistan the title for the fourth time. Australian coach Barry Dancer’s tactics will clash with newly appointed coach of Pakistan team, Dutchman Roelant Oltmans in a final for the first time. Thus the tactical aspect will prove to be a crucial element in the final. Pakistan has a trump card in penalty corner master-blaster Sohail Abbas. But the Aussies can also claim to have a top flicker in Troy Elder. No two teams can be as different as Pakistan and Australia as they have totally different ways of playing. Oltmans has not made too many changes to the playing style of the Pakistanis since taking over in December. But his influence in the team is easily recognisable in that there is a distinctive structure and discipline in the way they play. The Pakistanis are now more alert and hardly make a mistake. Mohamed Nadeem, Shabbir Ahmad, Waseem Ahmad and Kashif Jawad are playing with greater confidence and their moves are well structured. “I plan to blend the Pakistanis’ style with the others so that we can come up with the right mix to take Pakistan back to the top. We will continue to experiment and as I have said earlier, losing in the final is not a problem. We did not come here to win but to learn and develop a team for the Olympics. The final is a bonus and if we retain the title then it will further boost the morale of the players,” said Oltmans. For Dancer, the final is also the start of their Olympic dream. The Aussies have, since the first day, improved with each match. They also have adapted well to the humid conditions and are performing to their best. Besides Elder, the other players in the team who hold the key to their title ambitions are forward Grant Schubert, Michael McCann, Mathew Wells and Brent Livermore. They have an experience set of players who can last the duration of the match. “For me the improvement in each game has been a pleasing and important aspect of play here. The players have slowly settled down and are also gaining in confidence. “The final will be a good match and for us another quality game to depend on for team building. There is no question that the better team will win. Hopefully we can show another improved showing and take the fight to the Pakistanis,” Dancer said. All said and done, the final will be an absorbing encounter and one that will show different styles clashing. — UNI
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India’s poor showing disappoints fans
Kuala Lumpur, January 17 Back in 1986, at the World Cup in Willesden, a suburb of London, India had ended up 12th and last, a rung below Pakistan. In that tournament India had managed to score just one win (2-0 vs Canada) and a draw (2-2 vs Germany), while losing five, including 2-3 in extra-time to Pakistan when the two faced for 11-12 positions. In the light of this, India’s record in the 13th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup that concludes tomorrow, indeed is quite miserable, though coach Harendra Singh repeatedly pointed out that a majority of the players in the squad were juniors and making their debut at the senior level. Excuses apart, the irrefutable fact is that the Indian team did not endear itself to its legion of fans with its performance here. Many felt that the five defeats and a draw only served to check the momentum Indian hockey had gained in 2003 when they won four of the six tournaments they took part in. The team to Azlan Shah Cup contained just three senior players — skipper Dhanraj Pillay, Baljeet Singh Dhillon and Ignace Tirkey. The rest were inexperienced players, untried and untested at the senior level. — PTI
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New Delhi, January 17 The tournament is being played at the par-70, Waialae Country Club, Honolulu. Daniel Chopra, the India-born Swede, also into his first season on the PGA Tour, slipped out of contention despite tying for the ninth position in his opening round. Chopra, followed up his day one 67, with a 73 today, there by slipping to a tally of level-par 140. Meanwhile, Australian Steve Allen fired a superb eight under 62 to assume a one-stroke lead at 11-under 129. American, Harrison Frazer was placed second at 130, with South Africa’s Ernie Els occupying the third place at 131. The 31-year-old Atwal started on the 10th tee and after a series of pars, suffered setbacks in the form of bogeys on the 15th and 17th. Atwal held his nerve to birdie the 18th. One over on the first tee box, the resolute golfer steeled himself, pulled his game together and fired birdies on the third, fifth and one on his closing hole to earn himself a place in the week-end rounds. “It was one of the most mentally challenging rounds of golf I have played,” said the Asian PGA Tour 2003 Order of Merit winner. “Yesterday, I struggled a bit but today I hit the ball really well. The early bogeys were unsettling but I was determined to put in my best effort and it paid off. Now I want to finish as high up the leader-board as I can,” he said. — PTI
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Bhupathi-Santoro win at Auckland
New Delhi, January 17 The top seeded Indo-French pair defeated jiri novak and Radek Stepanek of the Czech republic 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the final. Bhupathi and Santoro had earlier defeated Jean Michael Gambill and Brian MacPhie 7-6, (7/1), 6-1 and Jared Palmer and Pavel Vizner 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals and quarterfinals. It was the 32nd career title for Bhupathi who lost in the first round at the ATP event in Chennai after striking an ad hoc partnership with Russian Dmitry Tursunov. Bhupathi was expected to revert to his regular partner Max Mirnyi of Belarus at the Australian Open beginning Monday. Australian Open is the only Grand Slam crown that is missing from Bhupathi’s trophy cupboard that is decked with two French Open (1999 and 2001 with Paes), a Wimbledon (1999 with Paes), and a US Open (2002 with Mirnyi) titles besides a mixed doubles trophy each at the three said events with various partners in 1997, 2002 and 1999, respectively. Meanwhile, Prakash Amritraj had the agony of missing the cut for the Australian Open men’s qualifying draw by one rank. Amritraj’s new year ranking on the ATP list placed him at 280 while the qualifying draw for the year’s first Grand Slam closed at 279.
Unfortunately for the Indian, all the entries turned up for the matches at Melbourne, meaning his hopes of entering the field as lucky loser did not come to be.
— PTI
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Nalbandian shocks Agassi Melbourne, January 17 SYDNEY:
Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt won the Sydney International singles crown while fellow countryman Todd Woodbridge landed a record 79th men’s doubles title on Saturday.
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SGFI plans to hold more Commonwealth meets Rohtak, January 17 Giving an indication of the scheme of events to follow, the President of the School Games Federation of India
(SGFI), Mr C.L. Negi, told The Tribune that the inaugural Commonwealth cricket tourney for under-19 was the beginning of a new chapter. “A body has been formed which would now organise big tournaments at least once in every two years for school boys of Commonwealth countries.” Negi is also the Vice-President of the Asian Schools Sports Federation. Mr Vikram Kaul, President of the Jawahar Lal Sports Trust — a body which worked in alliance with the SGFI to provide the launching pad for the first under-19 Commonwealth tournament said, “We are planning to start tournaments for other games also ”. Negi conceded that more coordination was needed to stage such events in the future, especially from respective sports federations. Referring to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he said the SGFI fielded a team in the under-15 World Cup Cricket Tournament in 1996 which returned triumphant and youngsters like Ritender Sodhi and Mohammad Kaif were the finds of that tournament. However, the SGFI was denied the privilege of fielding a team as the BCCI sent a team. |
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JCT(B) sail into semis Chandigarh, January 17 In the JCT-CRPF tie, the former controlled the game and a snap shot by Sandeep Sharma early went out. Due to pressure by JCT, CRPF appeared shaky. Sandeep Sharma of JCT finally scored a goal in the 15th minute. Later Gyan Moin of JCT receive the ball and dodged one defender but his shot sailed over bar. JCT hung on to the lead and eventually emerged triumphant. In another match, PSEB and Harbhajan Sporting Club were evenly matched. In the 49th minute Jatinder of PSEB beat the entire defence before sending a cross to Jasbir who failed to push it in. Harbhajan Sporting initiated a good move through right half Nirmal who passed the ball to Lucky, who made no mistake in putting the ball in the net (1-0). PSEB pressed hard for the equalise but
Harbhajan Sporting defenders did not allow them to be make a close call. Earlier, in the college category, DAV College, Hoshiarpur, mobilised all their resources to down Football Academy, Mahilpur, by a solitary goal. The Mahilpur boys enjoyed an edge and had better possession. Harmanjot got a pass from Navtej and dribbled past one defender. He only had to beat the goalkeeper but shot high over the bar. Later, Sakatar Singh also shot wide. In the 48th minute DAV Hoshiarpur initiated a good move through Sukhjit in the 13th minute but in vain. Then Gurpreet crossed the ball to Surjit who beat the rival goalkeeper in the 80th minute to keep his team’s hopes alive. In the semifinals tomorrow JCT will meet Punjab Police while BSF will clash with harbhajan Sporting Club, Mahilpur.
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Churchill Bros down Mahindras Margao, January 17 With this win Churchill Brothers, from eighth spot jumped to the fourth place with 17 points, below league leaders Dempo with 20 points, followed by East Bengal and JCT with 18 points each and relegating Salgaocar and Mahindra United to fifth and sixth place respectively, with 16 points each.
— UNI |
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Haryana cross country meet Chandigarh, January 17 She informed that entries from Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Panchkula, Jhajjar, Karnal, Panipat, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Haryana Police, Shah Satnam School, Sirsa, SAI Centre, Kurukshetra have been received. The route for 12 km, 8 km, 6 km and 4 km have been finalised. The events for men are — 12 km, short races, 4 km; for women — 8 km, short races, 4 km; for jr men (under 20) 8 km and for jr. women (under 20) — 6 km. The route will be shown to the participants on January 18. Adequate police arrangements have been made. Mr H.S. Bhadu, secretary, HSAAA, informed that the selection of Haryana cross country team would be made on the performance of the athletes during this championship. The selected team will take part in the National Cross Country Championship being held at Shimla on February 1.
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CM inaugurates swimming pool Sangrur, January 17 The pool has been built at total cost of Rs 32 lakh in a record time of about four months. This is the second indoor pool of the state. The other pool is also located in Sangrur at General Gurnam Singh Public School. The pool is of international standard. |
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