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Lee powers Aussies to dramatic win
India fail to break the Sydney jinx
Lloyd gives Dravid benefit of doubt |
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Pak ready for tough series against India Karachi, January 22 Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam-ul Haq and coach Javed Miandad said today that their team was ready to take India head on in their upcoming deadlock breaking home series.
Paes-Cibulec duo loses in first round
Punjab Games scheduled for Nov at Patiala East Bengal down Mohun Bagan 2-1
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Lee powers Aussies to dramatic win
Sydney, January 22 After career-best knocks by Yuvraj Singh (139) and V.V.S. Laxman (106 not out) propelled the visitors to 296 for four in 50 overs, Australia benefited from a rain interruption which reduced their target to 225 in 34 overs. The world champions were cruising along comfortable at 150 for one in 21 overs with Adam Gilchrist (95) and captain Ricky Ponting (42) plundering runs at will before the visitors effected a dramatic turnaround with four quick wickets to set the stage for an exciting finish. Needing 11 runs in the last over with just two wickets in hand, Brett Lee tilted the scale in Australia’s favour by clobbering paceman Laxmipathy Balaji for a six in the fourth ball to tie to score. Lee then took a single off the next ball to seal the fate of the Indians in a what turned out to be a nail-biting contest. The loss also dashed Sourav Ganguly’s hopes of breaking the Sydney Cricket Ground jinx, where India have never won a one-day match against the Australians in nine attempts so far. The visitors appeared in a solid position when they posted a healthy total after electing to bat, and then snared the wicket of new opener Simon Katich, playing in place of Matthew Hayden, in the third over. Katich was caught by Ganguly at short mid-wicket off Pathan as Australia lost their first wicket on 24. But Gilchrist and Ponting ensured India’s joy was shortlived with blazing shots all around the park as Australia raced to 73 for one in 9.2 overs. The rain interruption failed to stem the run flow as the duo continued in the same vein even after the forced break as an overcast sky threatened to open up any moment. They put the inexperienced bowling attack to sword as Australia posted their 100 in just 12.2 overs and 150 in 21 overs. At that stage, the visitors looked almost out of the match but then Pathan changed the complexion of the game with a double strike in his seventh and last over. The target seemed an easy one with Gilchrist (95 off 72 balls) on fire but Pathan removed Ponting and Damien Martyn off successive balls to bring back the Indians back into the match. Murali Kartik struck from the other end removing the dangerous Gilchrist who made his runs with 14 fours and a six. The visitors then created a flutter in the opposition camp when Ganguly had Andrew Symonds (16) caught in the deep off Ajit Agarkar to have Australia reeling at 176 for five. Ganguly picked up another wicket, clean bowling Michael Bevan (12) and then broke the non-striker’s stumps off a throw from the deep to send Ian Harvey (1) packing to leave the home side staggering at 210 for eight with 15 required from the final two overs. Ajit Agarkar conceded only four runs from the penultimate over but Balaji failed from the other end as Lee smacked him for 11 runs in the final over. India, despite the loss, had enough reasons to be pleased with themselves as Yuvraj Singh and V.V.S. Laxman hit centuries and the absence of top guns like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag was not felt too badly. Then in the field they stood up gallantly and pulled the game to the wire before a missed stumping probably cost them the game. Earlier, Yuvraj and Laxman toyed with the world champions’ bowling attack to put on a record fourth-wicket partnership of 213 runs to help India post a challenging total. Joining hands at the fall of Rahul Dravid (12) with India 80 for three in the 16th over, the pair played sensibly accumulating the runs before stepping up the run rate in the final overs with some dashing stroke play. Yuvraj, who came to the crease when Laxman was on 35 was more severe in the death displaying some imperious shots. Yuvraj’s 122-ball knock, containing 16 fours and two towering sixes, later earned him the man of the match award. Laxman, on the otherhand, took his time in compiling his fourth century - all against Australia, taking 126 balls to reach the landmark. His 130-ball innings was studded with five boundaries. With today’s knock, Laxman bettered his previous best of 103 not out scored against Australia at Brisbane on Sunday. Scoreboard India: Ganguly c Gilchrist b Lee 1 Patel c Gilchrist b Gillespie 28 Laxman not out 106 Dravid c Gilchrist b Bichel 12 Yuvraj b Lee 139 Gavaskar not out 2 Extras: (b-1, w-5, nb-2) 8 Total:
(4 wkts in 50 overs) 296 FoW: 1-1, 2-63, 3-80, 4-293 Bowling:
Gillespie 10-0-50-1, Lee 9-0-46-2, Bichel 9-0-60-1, Harvey 10-0-68-0, Symonds 7-0-42-0, Clarke 5-0-29-0. Australia:
(revised target: 225 runs from 34 overs) Gilchrist c and b Kartik 95 Katich c Ganguly b Pathan 2 Ponting c Patel b Pathan 42 Martyn c Patel b Pathan 0 Symonds c Agarkar b Ganguly 16 Bevan b Ganguly 12 Clarke c Badani b Ganguly 21 Harvey run out 1 Bichel not out 2 Lee not out 12 Extras:
(lb-7, w-15) 22 Total: (8 wkts, 33.5 overs) 225 Fall of wickets:
1-24, 2-150, 3-150, 4-154, 5-176, 6-195, 7-202, 8-210. Bowling: Ajit Agarkar 7-1-47-0, Irfan Pathan 7-1-51-3, Laxmipathi Balaji 5.5-0-40-0, Sourav Ganguly 7-0-41-3, Murali Kartik 7-0-39-1.
— PTI |
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India fail to break the Sydney jinx There are three kinds of lies — lies, damned lies and statistics. That is a quote attributed to Benjamin Disraeli. Modern homilies poke fun at statistics in a more humorous kind of way, often being compared to a bikini that hides more than it reveals or vice versa. The very funny side of statistics was on show at the Sydney Cricket Ground, eternally a venue notoriously unlucky for India so far as playing Australia is concerned. The team had beaten Pakistan in a memorable World Cup match there and beaten New Zealand in the WCC semifinal and so on. But never had India beaten Australia in eight previous ODI outings there although it came as close as seven runs in a tri-series final. The team has also won only one Test there on seven tours, that too against a second string Australian side during the Packer crisis days. Which way would the match have gone on today when it resumed after a typically spectacular Sydney thunderstorm drenched the SCG was anybody’s guess. India nearly exorcised the eternal ODI jinx that stretches back 22 years to 1981 when, on their second appearance at the SCG, they were bowled out for 63 by Greg Chappells gentle seamers. India lost this match despite the conditions changing dramatically after the storm to convince a flat belter to offer something for the bowlers by way of moisture. In losing thus, India did no justice to our ‘desi Bevan’, Yuvraj Singh, who made his finest one-day hundred in an innings that will go down among the many classics by Indian batsmen. The defeat was not fair either to Vangiparuppu Laxman who seems to have made a specialty of compiling centuries against the best team in the world in both forms of the game. Do teams lose an ODI after two of its batsmen have made compelling centuries? India have previous experience of the horror of losing a match despite two batsmen making centuries. Both Azharuddin and Jadeja made hundreds in the chase against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium in 1997-98 but India, making 300, lost by two runs. Of those two gentlemen it can be said, tongue in cheek of course, that no one ever knew whether they were batting so to win or to lose. Having endured such a rarity as losing an ODI with two centuries going in vain, India could hardly complain about another such threat. Especially so since Gilchrist made a mockery of the early bowling with the kind of attacking prowess that carries his trademark firing of tracer bullets through cover and point. However, much India tried to pull the game back through Pathan who handled the wearing ball better and Ganguly bowling his golden-armed wicket-taking balls, too much ground had been given away. Only this Indian team’s faith in miracles kept it going as it fought all the way, down to the last over in which Lee struck a six and then snatched the winning run as Yuvraj dropped him at cover. Long before Gilchrist lit up the evening with an assault on Agarkar, the young batsman Yuvraj exhibited how much he has matured. This sterling effort from him was virtually flawless. And if anyone complains about the French Cut for four off Bichel to reach his century, he should be told off with the homily that fortune tends to favour the brave. There is another endearing piece of statistics about Yuvraj’s contributions to the team which are always so valuable that they seldom come in a losing cause. Only once before has a Yuvraj (13x50s and 2x100s) half century or more been in vain and that was in the deciding match of the series against the West Indies at Vijayawada two seasons ago when he made 68. Cricket is at its most gripping when an all-conquering regime begins to be threatened. The Australians who may have been distracted this season in the long farewell to Steve Waugh are still a formidable team. But they are looking mortal. And as India’s batsmen go on a fabulous rampage, the Australian one-day team is also beginning to show cracks.
— UNI |
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Lloyd gives Dravid benefit of doubt
Sydney, January 22 “He could have meant it or he might not have, but as a match referee I could not have acted any differently. If I overlook this, I would have to overlook other similar issues,” Lloyd said today. A section of the Australian media attributed the word “deliberate” to Lloyd’s reaction to Dravid’s action though the ICC match-referee never claimed to have used the word. Lloyd also felt sorry for the media-hounding of the Indian vice-captain, saying senior cricketers like Dravid should have been careful because of the publicity the game generates these days. Former Australian paceman Geoff Lawson slammed the action initiated against Dravid and said the rules must include “the intent”. “As a fast bowler, I would like the white ball to be scruffed, not make it shiny. If I am bowling, the last thing I want is something sticky on the ball,” Lawson said. “It just cannot be proved that it changed the condition of the ball, did it swing more, move more?” Lawson called upon the authorities to look at more fundamental issues confronting the game rather than handle “a storm in a tea cup”. “It is ridiculous that there is lack of attention paid to fundamentals of the game, those who throw the ball. Some people think it is not a big issue,” Lawson said. Former Australian batman Dean Jones described Dravid’s action as “brain-fade” and said the senior cricketer should have been more alert to his actions. “He had a brain fade. He ought to have known (about) it and he probably knows he has made a mistake,” Jones said. — PTI
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Pak ready for tough series against India
Karachi, January 22 “We are ready for the home series against India, which will be a really tough series,” said Inzamam on his team’s return from New Zealand. He said his young team would spare no efforts to win against arch rivals India after a gruelling series against the Black Caps. Pakistan won the two-match Test series 1-0 but were tamed 4-1 in the one-dayers and in a week’s time start their preparations for the first India-Pakistan series in Pakistan for 14 years. “Our young team played well in New Zealand and with a superior bowling attack we think we can stop the Indian batting which has been performing very well in Australia,” said Inzamam, who is likely to retain the captaincy. India is due to arrive in the first week of March for three Test matches and five-match one-day series. A final itinerary is expected to be announced at the weekend. “We will rely on our pacers and with Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami we have two match winners,” Inzamam said. Inzamam dismissed as baseless media reports that Shoaib and he developed differences during the New Zealand tour. The reports suggested Shoaib wanted to take over captaincy from Inzamam. “We lost the one-day series and that allowed baseless rumours to float and once we start winning, all this will die down,” the burly Pakistani captain said. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) under new chairman Shaharyar Khan has shown uncertainty over whether to disband the selection committee headed by former captain Aamir Sohail before the Indian series. Sohail came under criticism after an under-17 team he selected was suspended by the PCB chairman and press reports here said a new selection committee would be announced shortly to choose probables for the vital series against India. Inzamam was confident the same team can take on India. “The team which won the Test series in New Zealand needs no changes and it has been shaping up well since we won a Test series against South Africa last year.” Coach Miandad said he had noted grey areas in the team and would try to improve on them before the series against India. “We lost the one-day series to New Zealand mainly because of absence of Shoaib due to injury in the first two games and due to poor fielding,” said Miandad, who was appointed coach after Pakistan’s World Cup debacle in March last year. “It would be a tough series against India but if we play to our potential we can win the series,” said Miandad, under whose coaching Pakistan won two out of three Tests on their last tour to India in 1998-99. — AFP
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Clijsters, Venus advance third round
Melbourne, January 22 Australian 19-year-old Todd Reid then triumphed in a marathon five-set duel with the experienced Armenian Sargis Sargsian. But there were no shocks at the pointy end of the competition as pre-tournament favourites continued to romp over outclassed rivals in straight sets. World No 2 Kim Clijsters and third seed Venus Williams won both their second round matches in under an hour on their way to a likely semifinal clash. The other main favourites — world No 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne and Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo — did the same yesterday in the other half of the draw. Back-in-form Clijsters barely broke a sweat in demoli- shing world No 92 Maria Elena Camerin of Italy 6-0, 6-0. The 20-year-old Belgian said she had no problem with the left ankle that she injured early this month at the Hopman Cup in Perth and that had bothered her in the first-round match on Tuesday. “I felt very sharp ... really doing with the ball whatever I wanted,” she said. Williams, returning to competition after a six-month injury break, then blasted 17-year-old Russian debutante Vera Douchevina 6-4, 6-2. World No 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero overcame an injury scare on the way to a straight sets passage into the third round. The Spaniard took an injury time-out in the third set for treatment for a left forearm injury before clinching a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 victory over 46th-ranked Italian Filippo Volandri in two hours 18 minutes on centre court. Ferrero was also inconvenienced by back spasms during the first set, but said afterwards that he would be okay to play young Swede Joachim Johansson on Saturday. “Everything is okay and the injury is here (pointing high up on his forearm) and I pushed my arm up I felt some pain, so I went to the doctor,” Ferrero said. The French Open champion is on a course of anti-inflammatories and is confident he will be right to play his next match. “We’ll see how it is tomorrow, but the doctor thinks everything is going to be okay.... I feel alright at the moment, but I have a little pain in the back,” he said. Sixth seed Anastasia Myskina swept past Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the third round. The Russian, who reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne and at the US Open last year, raced through the first set and secured the vital break in the seventh game of the second set after a wild forehand from her Swiss opponent. Myskina squandered her first two match points, the second on a nervous double-fault, but another forehand error from Gagliardi wrapped up a comfortable victory for the 22-year-old from Moscow. She next plays compatriot Maria Sharapova. Saori Obata scored the biggest win of her largely uneventful career when she upset eighth seed Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 6-4 in an all-Japanese battle to reach the third round. — AFP/Reuters
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Paes-Cibulec duo loses in first round New Delhi, January 22 The 10th seeds Paes and Cibulec were upset 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 3-6 in the first round by Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela and Spaniard Oscar Hernandez, according to information received here. Paes will also feature in the mixed doubles along with the legendary Martina Navratilova. The duo, also the defending champions, have been seeded fourth. The Indian Davis Cup hero was undergoing treatment for a lesion in the brain detected in August last year.
— PTI |
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Punjab Games scheduled for Nov at Patiala New Delhi, January 22 Mr Randhir Singh said the All-Punjab Games would be held on the pattern of the inaugural Afro-Asian Games at Hyderabad, and a tentative list of around 10 sports disciplines has been drawn up for the Games. The shortlisted sports disciplines are: athletics, swimming, kabaddi, hockey, vollyeball, basketball, weightlifting, boxing, football and cricket. Mr Randhir Singh, who is also the Secretary-General of the Olympic Council of Asia, said the hosts would provide the local hospitality to the Pakistani sportspersons and officials, as well as transport from the Wagha border to Patiala. He said both the Punjabs would be allowed to field three sportspersons each in individual disciplines. Mr Randhir Singh informed that the Games would be conducted under the rules and regulations of the international federations concerned. Meanwhile, the SAF Games, slated to be held in Pakistan from March 29 to April 7, may encounter a major hitch regarding India’s participation if the Lok Sabha elections are held during this period in India. But Mr Randhir Singh assured that the Indian contingent would definitely participate in the games, and former director-general of NIS, Patiala, Dr R.L. Anand, has already been named as the Chef-de-Mission of the Indian contingent.
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East Bengal down Mohun Bagan 2-1
Kolkata, January 22 While Dipankar Roy and Mike Okoro scored once in each half for the defending champions, Ashim Biswas reduced the margin for the green and maroon outfit. With this victory, East Bengal finished the first leg of the NFL jointly at the top with Dempo Sports Club with 21 points, while Bagan remained stuck on 14. — UNI
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