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This century means lot to me, says Yuvraj
Defining moment of Yuvraj’s career
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Batting treat for parents Lahore: Parents of young seamer Irfan Pathan were treated to a roller-coaster ride on their first ever outing to a cricket ground to watch a Test match where they saw their son perform this time with the bat in the midst of a batting collapse. What unfolded at the Gaddafi Stadium was not what the elderly couple would have hoped for as the Indians lost wickets in a heap to be skittled out for 287 by an Umar Gul-inspired Pakistan.
Atkinson ‘shaves off’ moustache, blames Inzy
Saving Huba Notes from Pakistan
India, Pak shooters share glory Kartar
Singh is SAAWF Secy
Army Western Command athletics meet begins
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This century means lot to me, says Yuvraj
Lahore, April 5 Yuvraj, a one-day specialist drafted into the side due to the injury-induced absence of Ganguly, said he concentrates on just playing the game. “I am not worried about these things. Whatever cricket I get to play, I will try to score the runs. So these things don’t trouble me,” said Yuvraj, who hit a brilliant 129-ball 112 in India’s first innings score of 287 on a lively track at the Gaddafi Stadium. The stylish left hander from Punjab has cemented his place in the one-day team with match-winning knocks but has struggled to break into the Test team which is crowded with talented batsmen. And it is only a stroke of luck which has helped him gain a middle order slot in the first and second Tests. Nevertheless, Yuvraj was excited to have scored his first Test hundred. “This century means a lot to me. It is a proud feeling to achieve this milestone,” he said. Dedicating the hundred to his parents, he said, “this knock will give me a lot of confidence whenever I get to play Test cricket.” He said it did not take a lot to adjust his batting to Test cricket from one-dayers. “It doesn’t need a lot of adjustments but we get time to settle down in Tests,” Yuvraj said. “Today I tried to hang around as long as possible. The idea was to get India to a decent total.” Yuvraj shared a 117-run stand with Irfan Pathan for the eighth wicket which boosted India’s total, which was 147 for 7 at one stage. “I just thought of staying till the end. Obviously there was pressure but Pathan batted very well and gave me good company,” he said in praise of his partner. “I told him to play straight, look at the ball and play. He did a good job.” He said it was a combination of pitch conditions and poor batting that led to India’s low score. “There was a bit on the wicket but we also did not bat as well as we could have. “It (the total) is not big. We have to bowl really well, there is lot of cricket left in this game. It remains to be seen how we play in the remaining four days,” he said. Yuvraj also held Umar Gul out as good prospect for Pakistan. Gul captured a career best 5-31 to rip through the Indian top order. “He capitalised on the conditions and is a good prospect for Pakistan.” — PTI
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Yuvraj puts selectors
in dilemma Lahore, April 5 Yuvraj, a one-day specialist, filled in for injured Ganguly in the first Test at Multan and the current match here. He made 59 in the only innings at Multan and 112 here which will put the selectors in a quandary. In the star-studded Indian batting line-up, players like Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are absolute certainties. After his performance in Australia and in the one-day series final against Pakistan here when he hit a crucial hundred, VVS Laxman will fall into the same category. The fifth batsman’s slot was occupied by Ganguly who was replaced by Yuvraj. The only other specialist batting position is that of Aakash Chopra who is an apt foil for his opening partner, the swashbuckling Sehwag. The team will need four specialist bowlers, plus of course a wicketkeeper. The selectors may lose sleep over this problem of plenty but the aggressive left-handed Yuvraj Singh was least worried over his place being taken away by Ganguly. “I am not worried about such things. Whatever cricket I will get to play, I will try to score the runs,” said the flamboyant batsman whose 112 off 129 balls lent some respectability to the Indian total after the visitors were gasping at 147 for seven at one stage. Chopra has not had the big knocks under his belt since he made his debut against New Zealand late last year but has shown good temperament as an opener. One possible option for the selectors would be to drop Chopra and have Ganguly open with all his experience as a one-day opener.
— PTI
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Defining moment of Yuvraj’s career Indian cricket’s continued success at the international level in recent times is certainly an indication of the historic changes it has gone through. Its over-dependence on a few individuals in the past did not help much and only encouraged developing a strange culture in the side. There was a time when the newcomers in the side remained as non-performers for too long and were only left to idol worship their seniors. Frankly, it did not help either. We used to watch some great individual performances but rarely did we see the desired results that come from combined team efforts. Thankfully, things have changed. The seniors now are cautious enough not to mix emotions with professional requirements. This attitude has reaped rich dividends for the team. In the present team, a youngster can only make an impression with his attitude to learn and his performance. What we saw today from Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan after the Pakistan bowlers threatened to run through the Indian batting line up was a clear example of the dramatic changes that has come about in the Indian team in the last few years. Yuvraj’s innings not only saved India a lot of embarrassments, but also lifted him to a much greater heights as a batsman. This was certainly the most defining moment of his career. An effort like this at this crucial juncture has made his century a more valuable one than any ordinary hundred. Irfan Pathan once again showed (this time with the bat) that he is here to stay a long time as an all-rounder. But for Yuvraj and Pathan, Rahul, Dravid’s decision to bat first would have backfired completely. Now that India have put up a fighting total, I am sure, the bowlers will do a decent job. Rahul Dravid has made it very clear that the team is there to win the match. Electing to bat was yet another brave decision on a good track that is offering a fair amount of bounce and pace. Rahul must have judged the wicket before the toss and knew what it holds for the first couple of hours. It is important for the batsmen to come to terms with the wicket before the start of the match. Rahul must have surprised the Pakistani camp with his decision. But a winning team should spring surprises to keep the opponents guessing. Many may argue that Rahul should not have batted first. The wicket was very sporting and our batting, I feel, was little too aggressive in the pre-lunch session. Actually, we should have defended a bit more to negate the initial movement of the ball. Laxman played too far away from the body, while Sachin was bit unlucky. Sehwag’s natural flow put the Pakistan bowlers in disarray. Rahul and Laxman missed out on a great opportunity to settle down and develop a big partnership. Umar Gul was the most successful bowler in the first session. In fact, he bowled the best line that was just short of length. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ looked as if he was under pressure. His length has never been right with the new ball in the entire series. In order to live up to his reputation of being the fastest bowler, Shoaib Akhtar is missing out on the basic line and length. Sami, too, was guilty of pitching it too up. Our team, of late, has somehow dished out very ordinary performances after an emphatic win. I can recall the 2001 series in Zimbabwe where we won the first Test and then lost the second at Harare. Similar thing happened in the West Indies. In the recently concluded Australian series, we clinched a great victory in Adelaide only to court a humiliating defeat in Melbourne. Its high time, the team takes guard against this trend of complacency.
— Chivach Sports |
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Batting treat for parents Lahore: Parents of young seamer Irfan Pathan were treated to a roller-coaster ride on their first ever outing to a cricket ground to watch a Test match where they saw their son perform this time with the bat in the midst of a batting collapse. What unfolded at the Gaddafi Stadium was not what the elderly couple would have hoped for as the Indians lost wickets in a heap to be skittled out for 287 by an Umar Gul-inspired Pakistan. But their spirits were
definitely lifted when they saw their 19-year-old son fighting it out in the middle against all odds like a man. With India staring down the barrel at 147 for seven, Pathan joined hands with centurion Yuvraj Singh to lend some respectability to the Indian total. The gutsy left-arm seamer showed his skills with the bat on a track where his more illustrious team-mates were dismissed cheaply. The Baroda boy, however, missed a deserving first-ever half century when he was caught and bowled by leg-spinner Danish Kaneria for 49. His parents — Mehboob Khan Pathan and Shamima Bano — watched in dismay the fall of their heroic son. Also keeping the cameramen busy were the wives of captain Rahul Dravid, Ajit Agarkar, VVS Laxman and Murali Kartik, who joined their spouses on the historic tour three days back.
— PTI |
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Squash’s loss, cricket’s gain Lahore, April 5 The lanky seamer hails from the same north-western Pakistani village of
Nawa-e-Kali that threw up legendary squash champions, Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan and Qamar
Zaman. It was Zaman, a former British Open champion, who introduced Gul to cricket by buying him a cricket ball when the young lad had no money to play with his friends in the village. Gul, who turns 20 on April 14, was picked for the talent search programme of Pakistan International Airlines
(PIA), where he was groomed by fast bowling great Wasim Akram and former international Rashid Khan. “I saw Gul bowl at the PIA nets and I was immediately struck by the lad’s height and his natural bowling action,” Akram recalled. “I thought we had someone here who could make it big and ensured Gul got all the help and facilities from
PIA.” Gul, who made his Test debut against Bangladesh last August, made an impression in the third Test of that series where he bagged four wickets in each innings. He was, however, ignored for the first part of India’s long-awaited tour of Pakistan, missing both the one-day series and the first Test at Multan last week which the tourists won by an innings and 52 runs. But a shin injury to Shabbir Ahmed hastened Gul’s return for the second Test here as Pakistan prepared a seaming wicket to hit back at the Indians. And Akram’s advice to Pakistani bowlers — bowl straight, not fast — which was published in today’s newspapers rang in Gul’s ears as he marked his run-up at the Gaddafi stadium. Gul dismissed first Test heroes Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in the space of six deliveries, and had stand-in captain Rahul Dravid and Venkatsai Laxman caught in the slips. His only regret was that Akram, who was away in Singapore, was not around to see him bowl. “When Wasim bhai was playing for
PIA, I used to watch him more instead of bowling myself and the coach had to remind me that I was not there as a fan, but as a player,” Gul said. Now, Gul is bowling and others are watching him.
— AFP |
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Atkinson ‘shaves off’ moustache, blames Inzy
Lahore, April 5 The jocular protest may not cut ice with the cricket establishment and the local media who continued to blame Atkinson for preparing a “grassless” pitch at Multan despite the burly curator’s clarification that it was Inzamam who had asked for the grass to be removed. When asked about his “missing moustache” by a reporter on the eve of the second Test here, the Englishman replied in jest: “Inzy asked me to shave it off”. Interestingly, even four days after the home team’s loss in the Multan Test, the curator was still at the receiving end of local media which has now kicked off a fresh row over Atkinson’s chat with Indian cricketers. “Is Atkinson pro-India?” read a headline in local daily ‘The Nation’ today. The newspaper said Atkinson refused to talk to the media about the nature of Lahore pitch stating that he was banned by the PCB but at the same time he was seen speaking freely to Indian cricketers. The newspaper also reported an interview of Atkinson in which he blamed the decision to shave the grass off Multan pitch on Inzamam. “Inzy has met me just twice in the series, once when I congratulated him for the Karachi hundred and the second time when he asked me to shave off the grass. “He can’t look me in the eye. He is a coward. Calling Inzamam a coward may be right because his batting line up fell like house of cards twice at Multan,” the newspaper quoted Atkinson as saying. — PTI
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Saving Huba Lahore: The Indian cricket team today appealed to cancer specialists back home to help save a 10-year-old Lahore girl’s life.
Chhina is keen that his daughter gets the treatment done in India soon. Indian team manager R.S. Shetty expressed the hope that the doctors would respond to the appeal and facilitate little Huba’s treatment at the earliest as time is running out for the child.
— UNI
Angry Imtiaz Lahore: The dissent among the Pakistani cricketers of the yesteryear seem far from over with former skipper Imtiaz Ahmed deciding to return 10 tickets offered to him by the board for the second Test. According to media reports, Imtiaz took the decision of returning the tickets of Rs 500 denomination each because he found it a “disgrace” for himself. The former skipper, however, won’t back out from his commitment made to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to be the chief guest on the third day of the ongoing Test here. Former player Mohammad Ilyas has also returned the complimentary tickets offered by the PCB citing the tickets’ value was below his status. —
UNI
Cricket fans Amritsar: As many as 354 cricket fans left for Pakistan through the Wagh joint check post and the Samjhauta Express here on Monday to see the second Test in Lahore. Manjit Singh from Jalandhar said though they were granted visa for seeing the entire match but they could not see the first day’s play as they would reach Lahore in the evening.
— OSR |
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Notes from Pakistan Popular Indian ghazal singer Jagjit Singh performed in Lahore last week and young and popular Sonu Nigam is set now to perform at a live concert in Pakistan, titled “Sur Se Sur Milao”. Nigam will have the company of popular Pakistani singers Amjad Sabri and Farih Pervaiz. The three will perform in a tribute to legendary Pakistani and Indian singers Noor Jehan, Mehdi Hasan, Ahmed Rushdi, Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. The exact dates and the venue, however, are yet to be announced. * That Pakistanis are cross with their national cricket team can be seen at virtually every step here — whether it is in the disgust shown by people or in write-ups in newspapers or through cartoons. On Monday, the daily News came out with a front-page cartoon that shows Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and coach Javed Miandad pleading with team members with folded hands to raise the standard of their game in the second Test against India that started at Gaddafi Stadium here Monday. Sitting on their knees, Inzamam and Miandad were shown saying: “Please, this is the last chance,” even as the players are standing in a line withsarcastic titles given to them. One player has words “wide bowler” written on his shirt, while others are called “no bowler”, “catch dropper”, and “few scores”. * The general disappointment of the Pakistani masses is also reflected in the poor response of ticket sales for the second Test that began at Gaddafi Stadium here Monday. The sale of tickets started at Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) booths and Bank Alfalah branches Saturday, but there have been few takers. Tickets are available for Rs100 and Rs 75 at the PCB booths, while the bank is selling tickets worth Rs 400, Rs.500 and Rs 250. Several reasons are being cited for the poor response to the match. They vary from staging the one-day internationals ahead of the Test matches, to Pakistan’s heavy defeat in the first Test at Multan, to the most bizarre one that the matches have been “fixed” by the two governments to promote goodwill between the countries. Government officials and the PCB mandarins are doing their best to deny this public view. —IANS
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Chris Cairns to quit Test cricket
Wellington, April 5 His last Test appearance for New Zealand may be in the third Test against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham from June 10 to 14. “I have some great memories from Trent Bridge and I feel it is the appropriate time and place to finish my Test career,” Cairns said. Cairns played county cricket for Nottingham regularly between 1989 and 1996 and later, on a short contract, in 2003. He has made 59 Test appearances for New Zealand since 1989, scoring 3,160 runs at 33.97 and taking 206 wickets at 26.27. He is one of only six players to have scored 3,000 runs and taken 200 wickets in Test matches. New Zealand Cricket said Cairns would continue to play one-day matches for New Zealand. “Chris’ achievements in Test cricket cannot be underestimated,” NZC chief executive Martin Snedden said. “In the recent series against South Africa he became one of only six players to ever reach 3,000 runs and 200 wickets. “He was the second fastest cricketer to achieve this milestone next to England’s Ian Botham. This achievement is even greater when you consider his career has on several occasions been adversely affected by injury.” — AP
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India, Pak shooters share glory
Islamabad, April 5 In the team event, Shweta scored 381 and was followed by Annu and Anisa with 375 and 366, respectively. Sri Lanka and Pakistan came second and third in women team event with 1093 and 1084 points, respectively. For Pakistan, Mohammad Shafique took the individual gold in skeet for men with a score of 138. Another Pakistani, Khuram Inam with 137 and Bangladeshs Nuruddin Salim with 133 got the silver and the bronze, respectively. Indian entries in this event, Amerdeep Singh and Naveen Zindal could finish 5th and 6th scoring 128 and 122, respectively. Shafique earlier teamed up with Khuram Inam and Ahmed Sultan to take the first position in the team event of the same category tallying 342 points. The Indian trio of Baba Prthirajender Singh Bedi (106), Amerdeep Singh Rai (104) and Naveen Zindal (103) could total 313 which earned them the silver. Bangladesh took the bronze with a tally of 303 points. In the women’s 10m air rifle Individual event, India also collected the silver through Annu Raj who scored 471.9 while Hemantha of Sri Lanka bagged the bronze with 468. The other Indian entry in the event, Anisa, ended fifth with 461. Out of the total 28 shooting events completed so far, India have got the lions share collecting 24 titles while Bangladesh and Pakistan got two gold each.
Badminton gold Top seed Trupti Murugunde beat B.R. Meenakshi clinching the gold in an all-Indian women’s singles final in the badminton event . Jaseel Ismail and Jwala Gutta also posted an easy 15-6, 15-3 win over compatriots Markose Bristow and Manjusha Kanwar in the mixed doubles finals for a clean sweep in the badminton event. Initially, Murgunde dropped a game as Meenakshi began with an attacking game but won next two games to emerge winner 9-11, 11-7, 13-10. Meenakshi rose to a 7-0 lead but Murgunde steadied her game and in fact led 8-7 before losing the first game. However, the two showed excellent temperament and neither was giving away anything as the game progressed evoking a lot of interest. Most of the rallies were won by Murgunde, who was swift in her finishes for points. In the second game, Meenakshi took a quick lead of 8-1 but surrendered the initiative as Murgunde fought her way back to narrow the lead and won the game.
— Agencies |
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Kartar
Singh is SAAWF Secy Chandigarh, April 5 Mr Kartar Singh represented the country in the SAF Games in wresting held at Islamabad from March 29 to April 4. At the meeting soon after his election as Secretary-General, Mr Kartar Singh announced that the inaugural South Asian Wrestling Championship would be held in Jalandhar in October or November, 2005, The following other office-bearers were elected: Senior Vice-President — Tabe-ur-Rehman (Bangladesh), Vice-President —
J.R. Mendis (Sri Lanka), Bidhya Sagar Pokhrrel (Nepal) and Baba Jallandin (Afghanistan); Assistant Secretary — Jagat P. Ratina (Sri Lanka) and Treasurer — PremNath (India) |
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Army Western Command athletics meet begins Ambala, April 5 A torch was lit by Naib Subedar Heera Singh of 7 Kumaon Bn and Hav Kasturi Lal of 1 JAK LI. Both these athletes have represented the country in different international events. Thirteen teams from different formations of Western Command are participating. About 1,000 Army men will take part in various events which will be held till April 10.
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