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Inzaman, Farhat put Pak on top
Inzamam looks to bat India out of Test Parthiv Patel
reported for excessive appealing BCCI to decide on Ganguly |
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Pak players miffed by criticism
Moin faces uncertain future
Pakistan fans
keeping away Notes from Pakistan
Australia ignore
Bevan, Bichel Jaspal Rana shoots seventh gold Pak stun India, lift soccer crown
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Inzaman, Farhat put Pak on top Lahore, April 6 After 22-year-old Farhat laid the platform with a sparkling 101, Inzamam led from the front with an unbeaten 118 as Pakistan reached 355 for three at stumps in reply to India’s first innings score of 287. Inzamam’s unbroken 150-run partnership with his deputy Yousuf Youhana, batting on 62, saw the hosts gain the upperhand over the visitors for the first time in the series, which Pakistan trail 1-0, with a lead of 68. After the historic innings and 52-run victory in the first Test, Rahul Dravid and his men were at the receiving end for most part of the day, claiming only two wickets on a track which had lost its juice and gave little support to the Indian bowlers who toiled without much luck. There were three close
decisions which went in Pakistan’s favour in the final session of the day. First it was young Irfan Pathan whose luck ran out when his incoming deliveries to Inzamam and Youhana rapped them on the pads but Umpire Steve Bucknor shot down the appeals. The skipper was on 65 and his deputy on 35 then. Youhana again survived a confident appeal for caught behind off Anil Kumble three runs later with umpire Simon Taufel ruling in favour of the batsman. Inzamam curbed his natural strokeplay to notch up his 19th Test century while Farhat (101) also brought the spotlight on himself with his second century before a small but boisterous crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium. It turned out to be a nightmarish day for the visitors as all the Pakistani batsmen, seeking to make amends for the Multan debacle, played with a sense of responsibility and caution. The Indians managed to get the wicket of Taufiq Umar (24) in the first hour of play but Inzamam’s third-wicket stand of 110 runs with Farhat followed by his association with Youhana virtually took the game away from the visitors. The right-handed Inzamam showed superb application and concentration during his 320-minute vigil at the crease and very rarely played a loose shot to record his first century as captain and also the first against India. His 242-ball unfinished knock contained 14 fours. Another remarkable feature of this run-out prone batsman today was his good running between the wickets. Resuming at the overnight score of 61 for one, Farhat and Yasir Hameed (19) played cautiously in the initial stages, leaving deliveries pitched outside the off stump. Leg spinner Anil Kumble began the bowling operations and Farhat, who seemed to continue from where he had left yesterday, pulled a short delivery to the square leg boundary. Farhat was the more aggressive of the two batsmen as he glided Pathan to the third man boundary and then produced an elegant cover drive to the fence off the same bowler to help the home team consolidate its position. Just when it looked that the two overnight bastmen would play out the crucial first hour of play, Ajit Agarkar struck in his very first over of the morning by getting rid of Taufiq Umar who had himself to blame for his dismissal. Umar played away from his body to a wide outside-the-off-stump ball and only succeeded in edging it to captain Rahul Dravid at first slip. The dismissal of Umar brought Inzamam to the crease and the in-form batsman immediately got into business by producing a delectable square cut to the point boundary to open his account. Farhat and Inzamam continued to frustrate the visitors who looked desperate to break the partnership and stop the home team from taking a big first innings lead. Kumble, the bowling hero in India’s historic Test triumph in Multan about a week ago, also failed to make much of an impact with the track easing out considerably. In fact, he gave away quite a few runs as Inzamam
square cut him to the point boundary and then Farhat spanked him for two boundaries in the same over to bring off 150 on the board. The left-handed Farhat survived a confident shout for caught behind off Balaji when on 99 but completed his second Test century a few balls later by taking a quick single. But Farhat’s luck ran out a few minutes later when L Balaji claimed his wicket to terminate the 110-run third-wicket partnership. The opener fished at a widish delivery, edging it to Parthiv Patel behind the stumps. Farhat’s 204-ball knock spanned 266 minutes and was laced with 14 boundaries. Youhana, who had scored a century in the Multan Test, joined the action after Farhat’s dismissal and appeared a trifle tentative in the initial stages of his innings but grew in confidence with time, clobbering Agarkar for two consecutive boundaries twice. The Indian captain Rahul Dravid claimed the second new ball as soon as it was due but without much luck as Pathan and Agarkar bowled their hearts out but could not give the team the breakthrough.
— PTI Scoreboard India (1st innings): 287 Pakistan 1st innings (overnight 61-1): Farhat c Patel b Balaji 101 Umar b Balaji 24 Hameed c Dravid b Agarkar 19 Inzamam-ul Haq batting 118 Youhana batting 62 Extras:
(lb-15, w-3, nb-13) 31 Total: (3 wkts, 113 overs) 355 FoW:
1-47, 2-95, 3-205. Bowling: Pathan 30-10-68-0, Balaji 26-9-63-2, Agarkar 18-2-68-1, Kumble 28-2-106-0, Tendulkar 7-1-20-0, Yuvraj 3-0-7-0, Sehwag 1-0-8-0.
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Inzamam looks to bat India out of Test Lahore, April 6 Pakistan managed to turn around their fortunes in the three-Test series with centuries from opener Imran Farhat and Inzamam which helped them reach 355 for three on the second day in reply to India’s 287. “The first session tomorrow will be very important. If we keep our wickets intact, we could put up 500 or 600 on the board,” said the skipper who was unbeaten on 118. The total gave the hosts a lead of 68 runs over India, a dramatic change in tides after the innings and 52-run defeat in the first Test . Nevertheless, the skipper said tomorrow would be another crucial day and the batsmen would have to “continue their good work”. The Pakistani captain, who hit his first Test hundred against India, said “it was a very important day” for his team. “The boys were very confident, they had workd hard in the nets. Umar Gul gave us a very good session yesterday.” He praised Farhat whose 101 off 204 balls was his second century in Tests. “He batted very well,” he said, adding “we had to work hard (at the crease) because Indians were bowling a very good line.” “Batting was difficult (today), it was one of the best knocks I had played,” he said. Farhat said he very much enjoyed his hundred, coming as it was against arch-rivals India.
The 22-year old left-hander said he “worked hard after the Multan Test” where he got good starts but failed to build on them. (Coach) Javed bhai told me to be mentally prepared. He said leave alone the good balls and wait for the loose deliveries,” he said.
— PTI |
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Parthiv Patel reported for excessive appealing
Lahore, April 6 The two umpires Steve Bucknor and Simon Taufel reported Patel to the referee after the day’s play which witnessed quite a few close decisions being awarded in batsmen’s favour. Bucknor turned down two loud shouts for leg before wicket, one against skipper Inzamam-ul Haq on 65 and the other against Yousuf Youhana on 35, off the bowling of Irfan Pathan. Youhana also survived an appeal for caught behind on 38 off leg-spinner Anil Kumble, the umpire being Taufel. Patel will appear for the hearing
later in the night.
However, Madugalle’s verdict is expected to be
announced only tomorrow.
The 19-year-old Patel, playing his 15th
Test, was not the only one who appeared to get carried away by the
intese battle on a crucial second day’s play of the match which saw
the hosts gain an upperhand. With a number of appeals being turned
down, the disappointed Indians seemed to lose their cool as the
usually unmoved Anil Kumble threw back the ball to the keeper forcing
Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul Haq to duck. As Kumble walked back after
completing his over, the burly Inzamam approached the leggie but
before the two of them could get locked in a confrontation, Indian
captain Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar intervened. — PTI |
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Kolkata, April 6 Ganguly’s fitness certificate issued by an orthopaedic here along with his MRI scan, X-ray report and other related papers were being sent to board’s chief medical consultant Dr Anand Joshi in Mumbai for his opinion, BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya told PTI here today. The left-handed batsman, who suffered a back injury and was keen to rejoin the Indian team in Pakistan where the third Test begins in Rawalpindi on April 13, was today issued a fitness certificate by Dr Kalyan Mukherjee, a specialist orthopaedic, who treated him here. Dalmiya said: “Ganguly will be sent back to Pakistan provided Dr Joshi confirms his match fitness. A decision will be taken only after receiving a feedback from him on this.” To a query the board chief said that it was a normal practice to refer all injury cases to Dr Joshi and the same procedure was being followed in case of the Indian skipper. “Since Dr Joshi has examined all injury-related cases in the Indian team in recent times, we will wait for his OK certificate for Ganguly as well before sending him back to Pakistan,” Dalmiya said. Ganguly, who missed the first two Tests of the ongoing series against Pakistan after hurting his back while fielding in the fifth and final one-dayer on March 25 at Lahore, flew back here on April 1 for treatment by his specialist consultant. Ganguly started workouts from yesterday and spent some time at his personal gym today. He also ran 12 laps at a nearby ground. Dr Mukherjee was confident that Ganguly had fully recovered and achieved match fitness. “I had a talk with Ganguly this morning. He says he is 100 per cent okay. A physio who saw him also says he is completely fit. So I feel that he is physically fit,” Dr Kalyan Mukherjee, who had been treating Ganguly since his return to the city, told PTI here. He want on to add, “his (Ganguly’s) pain has completely vanished. The stiffness has gone. Mobility is perfect. He is now raring to go and put up a splendid performance in the third Test.” Mukherjee was also expected to accompany Ganguly up to New Delhi on his way back to Pakistan as requsted by the cricketer and his family. — PTI
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Pak players miffed by criticism Lahore, April 6 Local daily ‘Dawn’ said in a report that the players were miffed by stinging criticism by skipper Inzamam-ul Haq in his syndicated column recently where he blamed the bowlers for the team’s debacle in Multan. Claiming that “cracks within the team were widening after the debacle at Multan”, it said, Razzaq and Shabbir had pulled out of the crucial second Test despite having declared themselves fit on Sunday evening. “The factor that puzzles everyone involved with the game is how the two fast bowlers suffered the mysterious injuries,” it said. Their “integrity” and “sincerity” was also under question, it said, adding that even if they were really injured on Sunday evening, why did they not inform the team management so that some reinforcements could be called up. The daily also cited pace spearhead Shoaib’s reluctance to play the second Test in its report. “Shoaib told the team management that he would not play in the second Test as he was struggling for form and fitness. He was included in the squad for the second Test after a lot of persuasion by coach Javed Miandad.” In his column, Inzamam had said, “our bowlers are not really world class, as the ‘experts’ would have us believe. Moreover, the pre-series hype about our pace bowling versus India’s batting seems to have gone straight into their heads, as a result, they have forgotten how to bowl straight. Right from the start of the one-day series, it is our bowlers who have let the side down.” Shoaib bowled below-par during the Indian innings yesterday when he was struck all over the park on a seamer-friendly pitch at Lahore. Also disappointing was Mohammad Sami as Pakistan failed to capitalise on Umar Gul’s burst when he reduced India to 147 for seven soon after lunch, the newspaper said. “After the Multan Test, the pitch came under a lot of criticism. But nobody questioned the commitment of the players. Now it is time that some soul-searching of the players be done as nobody is bigger than the game,” it said. — PTI
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Moin faces uncertain future Lahore, April 6 Since the Multan Test where Moin was sent on a “google search” by the batting genius off the last ball of the day, the selectors have been running anti-Moin campaign and are also trying to convince the top hierarchy of the Pakistan Cricket Board to sideline the former skipper once and for ever, local daily ‘Dawn’ said quoting PCB officials. “The selectors have complained against Moin’s attitude and body language. They also claim that Moin lacks the required level of fitness to excel at international level,” the officials were quoted as saying. The Selection Committee, headed by Wasim Bari, had pressed for the exclusion of Moin after the first Test but Inzamam managed to convince them by arguing that he was experienced and was also getting back to his best. However, luck deserted Moin when he was forced to miss the second Test with a groin injury and youngster Kamran Akmal was included in the side.
— PTI |
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Pakistan
fans keeping away LAHORE: Even the prospect of Pakistani batsmen
making merry against India and avenging the humiliating defeat at
Multan in the second cricket Test could not lure locals to the Gaddafi
Stadium today. With the fans, who had crossed the border in huge numbers to watch the one-day series, having mostly retreated, the colour seems to have suddenly faded from the stands. But
some of the Indians have stayed back and outnumbered a handful of
Pakistani fans who came to watch the second day’s play. The poor
public response was evident as barely 1,200 spectators watched the
game in contrary to expectations that a big crowd would come to watch
their stars bat in the first innings after they bundled out India for
287 yesterday.
LAHORE: For once, the Indian and Pakistani cricketers seemed on the same side when they urged the people in both the countries to “bowl out polio.” After the toss on Monday, rival skippers Rahul Dravid and Inzamam-ul Haq were seen accompanying children holding “Bowl out polio” banners at the Gaddafi Stadium here. Both the captains have urged the parents in both the countries to ensure that their children received the polio drops during the immunisation programmes. India and Pakistan are two of the six polio endemic countries. During the Rawalpindi one-dayer, polio eradication messages from cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Inzamam-ul Haq and Shoaib Akhtar were recorded and those are being aired on Pakistan television. There are plans to telecast the messages in India too-according to a UNICEF release here. Back home, Tendulkar already features in a television campaign with Amitabh Bachchan, urging people to get their children administered the polio drops. — UNI
A golden goose LAHORE: India-Pakistan encounter is always a golden goose but greed should not kill the bird and there is no point playing each other in venues like Sharjah, Toronto or Cassablanca only because of money, feels Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan.
— UNI |
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Notes from Pakistan Cricketer-turned-commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu says he has a wealth of cricket tales to tell but can’t find time now to write a book. “I have so much to write that it will make a very interesting book written in just 20 days flat,” says the man known for his rib-tickling one-liners, or “Sidhuisms” as they are called. “I can write a book on India’s 1996 tour of England alone.” “I am not keen on it right now, also because I’m too occupied with other things,” Sidhu, who is here as a television commentator for the ongoing India-Pakistan cricket series, told IANS. “Do you think one should write an autobiography once his playing days are over?” asked the former opening batsman. “I think a player should write when he is playing because there is no point in writing a book after retirement.” But Sidhu, who played 51 Tests and 136 one-day internationals, clarified he was not saying that because he was short of material. The 1996 tour became famous when Sidhu opted to return midway through the tour after a tiff with captain Mohammad Azharuddin. Even coach Sandip Patil failed to dissuade him from returning home. He, however, later returned to the Indian team. * India-born former England pace bowler Robin Jackman is passionate about crosswords. For Jackman, who is here as a television commentator, poring over a crossword is a familiar sight. The English bowler, who played four Tests and 15 one-day internationals in 1970s and 80s, is not satisfied with just one crossword a day and has a bunch of photocopies of crosswords, which appear in different newspapers and magazines. And when he is not on television one can find him in a corner of the room wracking his brains over a crossword. Jackman, who was born in Shimla, is so passionate about this pastime that his wife faxes his favourite crosswords to him wherever he travels. Jackman did not play much Test cricket as some countries like the West Indies objected to his South Africa connection. On England’s 1980 tour of the West Indies, one Test match had to be scrapped because the Antigua government did not allow him to enter the island but the England team insisted on playing him. South Africa was readmitted into the International Cricket Council in 1991, but by then Jackman had long retired. * With a lively pitch prepared for the ongoing second Test between India and Pakistan, the match is predicted to get over in four days instead of five. And plans are afoot on what to do on Friday, the fifth day of the Test. Some Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials are so confident of the match getting over in four days that they are talking of a friendly match against an Indian journalists’ XI at Gaddafi Stadium. “The Test will surely be over in four days, so we can easily play a 20-over per side match Friday,” said a PCB functionary. Indian journalists, here to cover the series, have been sounded out about the match. Even coloured kits for the two teams have been ordered and so are the souvenirs, informed the PCB official. — IANS
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Australia ignore
Bevan, Bichel Sydney, April 6 Nathan Bracken, Ashley Noffke and Nathan Hauritz were also not offered new contracts while Brad Hodge and Shaun Tait have been included in the list. Left-handed batsman Matthew Elliott has been awarded his first contract since 2000-01 while both Michael Kasprowicz and Simon Katich have been upgraded to full-year contracts. Justifying the decision to drop Bevan and Bichel, national selection panel chairman Trevor Hohns said: “Michael Bevan has been a wonderful player for Australia over many years, particularly in the one-day arena.” “With the fast bowlers currently representing Australia and the emerging fast-bowling talent around the country, we couldn’t find a place for Andy on the list,” he said.
— PTI |
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Jaspal Rana shoots seventh gold
Islamabad, April 6 Out of his seven gold, Rana got three individual gold in centre firepistol, 25m rapid fire pistol and 25m standard pistol. He was also a member of the Indian squad that won the team events in these categories.
Besides, he was also part of the gold winning team in 10m air pistol where he also bagged a silver in the individual category. In the 25m standard pistol, Rana emerged the best today with a score of 571, followed by compatriot Samresh Jung (570) and Kashif Riaz (559) from Pakistan. The team event in the same category saw the Indian trio of Jaspal Rana (571), Samresh Jung( 570) and Ashok Pandit (559) totaling 1700 to take the gold. The silver went to Pakistan who tallied 1648 and Bangladesh got the bronze with 1576. With all the shooting events over, India finally tallied 26 gold, nine silver and seven bronze and are followed by Pakistan with two gold, 14 silver and eight bronze. India had 15 gold, six silver and three bronze at the last SAF Games at Kathmandu in 1999 where only 16 shooting events were held comapred to 30 events here.
Athletes on top Indian athletes established their supremacy with a tally of 15 gold, out of the 32 that were at stake, as all the competitions in this event came to a close on the penultimate day. India, however, faced some stiff challenge from Sri Lanka who garnered 12 gold while the rest five were bagged by hosts Pakistan. Out of the nine events which were billed for the last day, India picked up four titles and were followed by Sri Lanka and Pakistan who took three and two titles, respectively. India’s gold today came through Lijesh Kumar in javelin, Maha Singh in long jump and the team’s winning men’s 4x100m relay and women’s 4x400 relay. The three titles which the Lankan athletes won today were in women’s 100 hurdles, women’s 4x100 relay and men’s 4x400 relay. Meanwhile, Abdul Rashid and Atta Miran got a gold each for Pakistan winning the 110m hurdles and 1500m, respectively. Lijesh Kumar started the Indian campaign winning the javelin with a distance of 75.71m which he cleared in his first attempt. The other Indian entry Jagadish Kumar finished fourth with 70.23m. In long jump, both Maha Singh of India and Gulam Abbas of Pakistan started on a slow note and were placed third and sixth, respectively after the first three jumps where Ravindra Lalith and David Sampath were leading initially. Maha and Gulam overtook them in the next three with the Indian finally settling for the gold with 7.70m which he got in his fifth attempt. Gulam cleared a distance of 7.6m in his sixth effort to take the silver while India’s Amrit Pal Singh got the bronze with 7.59m which he got in his fifth jump. The Indian sprint quartet of Nagraj, Sandeep Sarkaria, Piyush Kumar and Vilas Nalgunde lived up to the expectation and took the relay gold clocking 39.91 seconds.
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Pak stun India, lift soccer crown
Islamabad, April 6 After a series of exchanges between the rival players, the ball was in front of Indian defenders Gurpreet and Subash Mondal who took a long time in clearing it. Pakistani striker Aziz, lurking around, took advantage of the situation latching on to the ball and flicking it in. India, coming to the tournament with a second-string team, were favourites to win the match but they played without any plan in the whole of the first half. The Pakistanis, on the other hand, were in an attacking mood right from the beginning. Earlier, Sri Lanka defeated Bhutan 4-3 via tie breaker in the bronze medal match. India went to the half time trailing 0-1 and as the game resumed after the break they stepped on the gas in a bid to score the equaliser. — PTI
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Lahore, April 6
