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Murali the best bowler in world: Kumble |
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Jugraj uncertain for Olympics
Martina to play at French Open Sunaina asks for ‘B’ sample test Negi showers praise on
Sandeep Singh Sporting relegated Cricket academy at Bathinda
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Harare, May 14 Ebrahim was seventh out for 70, which he scored in more than 3-1/2 hours at the crease from 172 balls with 12 fours. The patient Ebrahim featured in partnerships of 51 for the third wicket with Stuart Matsikenyeri (45) and 52 for the fourth with captain Tatenda Taibu (27). Left-arm pace bowler Chaminda Vaas took three for 41. Scoreboard Zimbabwe (Ist innings): Matsikenyeri run out 45 Taylor c Jayawardene Vermeulen c Murali Ebrahim c Dilshan Taibu c Samaraweera Meregwede run out 24 Chigumbura c Nkala c Sangakarra Panyangara c Vaas Mupariwa not out 1 Hondo b Murali 11 Extras: (lb-2 nb-10 w-3) 15 Total:
(all out, 75 overs) 228 Fall of wickets: 1-24 2-31 3-82 4-134 5-176 6-176 7-193 8-211 9-216 Bowling:
Vaas 19-8-41-3 (nb-1 w-2), Zoysa 14-0-50-1 (nb-1 w-1), Maharoof 16-2-62-2 (nb-8), Muralitharan 22-3-58-2, Jayasuriya 4-0-15-0. Sri Lanka (Ist innings): Atapattu not out 7 Jayasuriya not out 11 Extras:
0 Total: (for no wicket Bowling:
Hondo 7-2-11-0, Panyangara 6-3-7-0. — Reuters
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Murali the best bowler in world: Kumble
Dubai, May 14 Kumble, here for a talk show of a private broadcaster, said Muralitharan, who overtook the record for the highest number of Test wickets last week, was undoubtedly the “number one” bowler in the world. “I think he is the number one Test bowler in the world at this point of time. All the controversy around him is unfortunate and unnecessary,” the 34-year-old was quoted as saying in local daily ‘Khaleej Times’. “Whatever needed to be done should have been done much earlier. You can’t keep pointing fingers at Murali every time he takes a wicket,” said the bowler who has picked 397 wickets in 84 Tests. The cricket committee playing of the ICC, which is chaired by the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, is deliberating on illegal bowling action at a meeting which began here yesterday. Muralitharan, who has been banned from bowling his ‘doosra’ — the delivery that spins away from the right handers, has reportedly said that he may continue bowling it as he felt the ICC was discriminating against him. Kumble brushed aside speculation that he was planning to quit one-day cricket to concentrate on Tests, saying, “I don’t think there is any truth to it (speculation). I am not considering any such thing.” The Karnataka leggie also sought to put behind the disappointment of not being the first choice bowler during the 2003 World Cup final. “As a team we did really well in the World Cup, but unfortunately we couldn’t cross the final hurdle. Yes, it was disappointing not to be a regular in the World Cup, but I stuck to the task and am happy with my performance over the past season,” said Kumble who had a remarkable run in the last season, taking 48 wickets from eight Tests. Indian vice-captain Rahul Dravid, also here for the talk show, said India would have to sort out the second opener’s slot and the issue of wicketkeeping in the one-day series ahead of the coming season. “As the team keeps developing, things like these will crop up and will have to be sorted out. I am sure we will look into these areas when we sit down to plan for the season ahead and I am positive the people concerned will take decisions that will be in the best interest of the team,” Dravid told the daily. On whether he was in favour of Yuvraj Singh opening in the Tests, he said it was for the selectors to decide whether Yuvraj was good enough for the job. “That’s what they (selectors) are there for, to make decisions and judgements.” Dravid also said playing well against Australians gave him more satisfaction than playing against other sides including Pakistan. — PTI
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Shoaib can do a lot more: Raja
Dubai, May 14 In an interview to a local newspaper here, Raja said," Sacking someone like Shoaib, who is our star bowler won’t solve the problem. What we have to do is to bring him on board and get the best out of him. It’s a question of man-management.” “Being the CEO, it would be very easy for me to throw him out, but we have to look into what he can contribute to the team. Certainly, he can do a lot more. We need to develop an environment where he can perform to his potential. There will always be difficult individuals in the team, but we need to listen to them and guide them into becoming an asset for the country,” he added. The PCB chief also reiterated that the Board was not out on a witch-hunt after the twin series defeat against arch-rival India. “We are not looking for scapegoats. In fact, Shoaib’s credibility was on the line since he was accused of feigning injury during the crucial Rawalpindi Test. But we gave him an opportunity to clear his name. If we wanted a scapegoat, we would have accepted the MRI scan which showed that Shoaib had no injury, but we went beyond and got a bone test done which revealed the bowler actually had an injury,” Raja said. Meanwhile, he rued that Pakistan did not have enough quality batsmen. Talking about the grey areas, he said,” We don’t have good quality batsmen. We have to work on the fitness of players and our bowlers need to be more disciplined. But this is something which isn’t beyond us. We are trying out new players and results will soon follow.” — UNI
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Jugraj uncertain
for Olympics Barog, May 14 In an exclusive chat with The Tribune here the coach while expressing satisfaction over his miraculously fast recovery maintained that since the Athens Olympics were only three months away Jugraj’s inclusion appeared improbable. While this had created a void in the team no player matching his caliber had yet been identified. The camp, however, would help him in building his fitness level. While observing that Jugraj’s absence in the team was severely felt, he emphasized that the endeavours of the Indian Hockey Federation were now focused on training other players for penalty corner conversion. This weakness manifested time and again in the team’s performance in all key international tournaments. Spelling out the IHF’s strategy, he said Jitender Singh from Jalandhar and Sandeep Singh from Shahabad in Haryana were being specially trained for penalty corner conversion. They were now playing in a four-nation tournament in Japan. The federation hoped to train more players and young players were under constant observation, he quipped. While asserting that Gaganajit Singh and Deepak Thakur, the key strikers of the team, were the main strength of the team, the coach said the success of the team was attributed to tackling their weaknesses effectively at the right time. A hectic hockey season besides keeping the team busy throughout the year provided little time to iron out their weaknesses. This conditional camp besides giving the players an opportunity to relax in the cool environment enabled them to build their strength and endurance. Focus during the camp would be on relaxing the tired team before a busy schedule ahead. The squad, excluding former captain Dhanraj Pillay and Baljeet Dhillon will leave for Chandigarh on May 27. Some players would then be sent to a training camp in Germany while the rest would undergo training at Chandigarh. The national coach and the team’s physical trainer Sampat Kumar were finalising the team’s schedule for the two-week camp. The team left for some high-altitude exercises at Army Public School ground at Dagshai later in the evening from
Barog. |
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Korea set up title clash with China
Jakarta, May 14 The South Koreans had looked dead and buried after former world No 1 Camilla Martin and team-mate Tine Rasmussen put the Danes 2-0 up. However, Camilla Sorensen was beaten by Lee Yun Hwa and the game was settled by two nail-biting doubles encounters which both went to three games. Lee Kyung Won and Lee Yun Hwa leaped into each other’s arms after they came back from 3-9 down in the last game to triumph 15-13, 5-15, 15-10 against Mette Schjoldager and Pernille Harder, ending the five-and-a-half-hour marathon. Earlier, China’s world No 1 Gong Ruina dropped only four points to 11th-ranked Kanako Yonekura in a quick-fire first game before Gao Ling and Huang Sui, badminton’s second best doubles pairing, beat Shizuka Yamamoto-Seiko Yamada 15-3 15-2. World No 2 Zhang Ning encountered greater difficulty against Kaori Mori, ranked 13, but still wrapped up the tie 11-7, 11-7. “Today the first singles and first doubles played very well but the second singles was not very good,” said China’s head coach Li Yongbo. “She didn’t play as well as she can. Japan played quite well — they are all hard-running and showed good fighting spirit but China was still the better team.” Shuji Matsuno, head coach of Japan’s women, tipped China to lift the trophy in Saturday’s final. “China is very strong but we tried our best to win this game,” he said. He added that Japan were happy with the bronze medal awarded to both losing semifinalists. “Our target was to get a medal here, which we had already achieved before this game. But we also wanted to challenge the Chinese team and show what we can do against them,” he said. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s team manager has warned his men face a tough task in turning over second seeds Denmark for a chance to extend their 10-year reign in the concurrent Thomas Cup. Speaking after Indonesia’s quarterfinal triumph over arch-rivals Malaysia, Christian Hadinata said the Danes were a balanced team with strong players throughout. “Denmark have balance and quality in all players, doubles and singles, so we are just going to tell our players to do our best,” Hadinata said yesterday. “We played well today but we are still expecting more improvement. But we are still hoping that the players can give their best in the next game,” he added.
— AFP
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Martina to play at French Open
Rome, May 14 Navratilova, who crashed out in the first round at Roland Garros 10 years ago, yesterday said she took the decision to apply for the wildcard on Wednesday. “I asked for it yesterday, but I don’t really want to talk about the French Open,” she said after her second round doubles defeat here at the Rome Masters. “I figured I can’t do any worse than I did in 1994!” Navratilova said one of the reasons for wanting to play in Paris was to improve her doubles game. “Just practicing for the singles helps my doubles,” she said. “So that’s the idea behind it, I just wanted to get more match play and this is one way to do it. “I would have played here (in the singles in Rome) actually, but I didn’t have time to prepare properly. I had too many commitments in the USA in my two weeks off between the Fed Cup and coming here, so I didn’t have enough time to play.” “If I had a week where I could have practiced and prepared properly, I would have played singles here, but I didn’t.” Navratilova said she would prepare for the French Open in Europe, but refused to reveal where. “I don’t want to tell you because then you’ll write about it,” she said. “I want to keep it quiet. I’ll be practicing on clay in Europe. Not that it’s a big secret, but there’s no need for anyone to know where I will be next week.” Serena Williams, the top seed in the singles tournament, welcomed Navratilova’s return. “It’s great for her, amazing,” said the six-time Grand Slam winner. “If I’m still playing at that age, it would be unbelievable.” However, Jennifer Capriati, winner of three Grand Slams, was not so enthusiastic. — AFP
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Sunaina
asks for ‘B’ sample test
New Delhi, May 14 The 24-year-old, who tested positive in the Asian championships held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, last month, was also stripped of the two bronze medals she won there in the 58-kg category by the IWF. “Sunaina, who was called to our Delhi office today, has requested for the ‘B’ sample test,” IWF secretary Balbir Singh Bhatia said. Expressing surprise at the positive result of Sunaina’s ‘A’ sample Bhatia said the lifter, a contender to make the Indian team for Athens Olympics, would not resort to dope. “Sunaina knew that she was a strong contender for the Olympics team and would not resort to any such thing,” Bhatia said.
— PTI
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Negi showers
praise on Sandeep Singh Barog, May 14 Mr M.R. Negi, team coach, said during the camp, the sessions on increasing physical endurance would be held besides sessions on heavy weight and light weight and agility. The physical fitness was a basic requirement to compete at world level and camp would help the players to raise their fitness level well ahead of Athens Olympics, he asserted. Mr Negi, who joined as a coach recently, said the things were shaping well from the Indian team. The good performance of junior hockey team in Asia Cup in Pakistan last month had motivated their senior counterparts to perform well in Athens, the coach said. Showering praise on Sandeep Singh, who created sensation through his record 16 goals in Junior Asia Cup mostly through penalty corners, the coach said emergence of player like him augur well for the future of Indian hockey. Some of the players who had performed superbly at junior level might make their way to senior team soon, the coach pointed out. Tushar Khandekar, the left winger of junior team who had scored a hat-trick in Junior Asia Cup final against Pakistan, would join the players at Chandigarh for another fitness camp immediately after the Barog camp, he said, adding that the absence of Jugraj Singh from team had badly affected the penalty corner conversion rate of the team. Mr Negi appreciated the junior team whose penalty corner conversion in Junior Asia Cup was 50 per cent. The coach avoided the questions on Dhanraj Pillay. The players would leave Barog on May 27. |
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Sporting relegated Margao, May 14 Sporting, who needed to win here and hope that Tollygunge Agragrami slip up against Mahindra United, failed to rise to the occasion and were trailing by two goals into the breather. After Ishfaq Ahamad (12th, 55th) and substitute Alex Ambrose (69th) to put Dempo 3-0 ahead, Syed Nabi scored a brace (77th and 85th) to reduced the margin for the visitors but the late effort was in vain. Thus Mohammedan Sporting, who finished with 19 points from 22 matches were relegated along with Indian Bank. Dempo, who finished runners-up behind champion East Bengal managed 45 points from as many matches. Dempo dominated the match and drew first blood in the 12th minute when Ishfaq Ahamad beat the Mohammedan custodian after dribbling past a host of rival defender off a pass from Mohammed Gafari. Dempo could have easily led by 3-0 margin in the first half itself had it not for Sunday Seah wasting two open chances from close with only keeper Gumpe Rime to beat. Dempo increased the lead in the 55th minute when Ishfaq Ahamad scored off a fine move between Mohammed Gafari and substitute Alex Ambrose. Ambrose then made the issue safe when he scored from close off defender John Barreto pass.
Jeepmen way
laid Tollygunge Mumbai: Former Durand Cup champions Mahindra United, Mumbai, sidelined Kolkata outfit Tollygunge Agragami 3-2 to finish third in the 8th National Football League at the Cooperage here today. At half time the jeepmen, who finished third with 41 points behind champions East Bengal of Kolkata (49 points) and Goan outfit Dempo (45), were leading 3-1. Despite the loss Tollygunge, who have 20 points to their credit, managed to avert relegation as Mohammedan Sporting became the second team to be relegated after losing to Dempo 3-2 at Margoa today. Mahindra United winger Syed Altafuddin opened the account for the hosts when he found the mark off medio S Venkatesh cross in the 20th minute.
— PTI |
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Cricket academy at Bathinda Bathinda, May 14 Mr O.D. Sharma, general secretary, Bathinda District Cricket Association, said the academy would train the cricketers free of cost. He added that the foundation would also organise a two-day cricket mela at local Government Rajindra College sports grounds on May 15 and 16. The mela would start at 7.30 am where entry would be free. Under-15, under-17 and under-19 age group players can join. Besides skill games, a quiz competition would be held. Some historic matches of Indian cricket team would also be shown.
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