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Champions Trophy: India face daunting task
Cricket goes hi-tech
HC asks ESPN, Zee to submit fresh bids
Lee, Clarke in Aussie squad
for India tour
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Davenport, Kuznetsova cruise into semis
Rain interrupts Agassi-Federer clash New York, September 9 The remnants of Hurricane Frances swept into New York to leave the eagerly-awaited US Open quarterfinal between top seed Roger Federer and twice former champion Andre Agassi hanging in the balance.
Organisers say sorry to Serena
Paes-Rikl duo enters semis
England bounce back with win over Poland
Officials ‘smell rat’ in power cut
Peshawar cricket team to play in Delhi
Mukesh Kumar, Shiv Kapur share lead
Haryana games from October 7
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Champions Trophy: India face daunting task
London, September 9 Tendulkar will be missing a major tournament for the first time since making his debut in 1989 and his absence has come as a huge blow for a beleaguered India, desperate to make a mark in the 12-team championship beginning here tomorrow with the hosts taking on Zimbabwe at Edgbaston. Joint holders India will open their campaign in the tournament, billed as the ‘mini World Cup’, with a match against Kenya on Saturday in Pool ‘C’ before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan on September 19. While India’s performance graph has taken a downward plunge in recent times, the spotlight will be on world champions Australia who would be looking to add the one missing title to their cupboard. Tomorrow’s other fixture will see New Zealand take on newcomers the USA at The Oval. Australia were upset by India in the first round in the first two editions of the tournament in Dhaka and Nairobi while they lost to hosts Sri Lanka in 2002. But this time Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is determined to win the prestigious title. “We are pretty disappointed with the way we played in the Champions Trophy as this is the second biggest one-day tournament,” Ponting said. “We have won the World Cup and it would be nice to win the Champions Trophy as well. If we perform to our potential, we should be able to win,” he said. Two of Australia’s main rivals — India and Sri Lanka — who were declared joint winners in 2002 after rains washed out the final, will be without their key players, Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan. While Tendulkar, the world’s highest run getter in ODIs is out with an elbow injury, Muralitharan, who has the most number of Test wickets at 532, will miss the action as he is recovering from a shoulder injury. Sourav Ganguly’s side would now be looking for inspiration from Rahul Dravid, voted as the world’s best player by the ICC, and pace bowler Irfan Pathan, winner of the emerging talent award. The team has done precious little to boost their confidence after their historic triumph in Pakistan in March-April, suffering a string of defeats in the Asia Cup, the tri-series in Holland and the NatWest Challenge. The four-match losing streak finally came to a halt at the Lord’s when they beat England by 23 runs but only to lose the series 1-2. In Pool C, India’s real hurdle will be Pakistan, who beat them convincingly in the last two outings in Sri Lanka and Holland. Pools Pool A:
Australia, New Zealand, the USA. Pool B: Bangladesh, South Africa, West Indies. Pool C:
India, Kenya, Pakistan. Pool D: England, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe. All matches will start at 2:45 pm IST.
— PTI |
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Cricket goes hi-tech
London, September 9 Umpires at the tournament will be fitted with earpieces which will be connected to stump microphone, designed to help them detect whether or not the ball had touched the bat. This will be the first test of earpieces at elite level, following trials in South Africa’s domestic cricket in March this year. It is also planned for the third umpires to rule on no-balls, using dedicated cameras. This initiative was trialled during the recent tri-series in Holland between India, Australia and Pakistan. Special filming of slow bowlers’ action will take place too during the tournament, as a further aid to research being carried out by the ICC in the wake of the controversy involving Sri Lankan record-breaking spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. The ICC has also recently confirmed stringent anti-drug controls to be put in place for the event.
— PTI |
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HC asks ESPN, Zee to submit fresh bids
Mumbai, September 9 The Bench comprising Chief Justice D.S. Bhandari and Mr Justice D.Y. Chandrachud asked Zee Television to decide on a fresh bid by Tuesday. The Zee Board will meet on Monday to decide if they will make a fresh bid for telecast rights. The case was filed by ESPN-Star Sports after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) awarded the satellite broadcast rights of all cricket matches to be played in India between October 2004 and September 2008 to Zee Television. Zee had bid $ 308 million while rival ESPN-Star Sports followed with a bid of $ 230 million. But, ESPN-Star Sports disputed the decision, saying that Zee was not qualified as it did not have any experience of broadcasting or producing live International cricket events as specified in the tender. ESPN-Star Sports also accused the BCCI of violating the rules of bidding set by itself, besides highlighting its own achievements and expertise in Live broadcasting of sports around the world. After hearing the parties, the judges told Zee TV network to inform the BCCI and ESPN-Star Sports on September 14 about their decision to the court’s suggestion of offering fresh bids. The judges also ruled that if Zee decided to agree to the court’s suggestion, it should submit fresh bid and the court would sit on September 15 to open the bids and declare the highest bidder. But if Zee TV network did not agree to the court’s suggestion of submitting fresh bids, the Bench would hear arguments of both the parties on September 16. The Bench suggested submission of fresh bids after both the parties showed their willingness to do so following the BCCI’s contention that Zee as well as ESPN were equally eligible to bag the telecast rights. Earlier during the day, Zee TV sought time for few hours to respond to the court’s suggestion. After the lunch recess, Zee TV told the court that it would consult its board. The High Court had earlier asked the cricket board to produce its file on awarding of the telecast rights to Zee Network for the period October 2004 to September 2008. The petition said that ESPN-Star was not given an opportunity to improve its bid after the BCCI had negotiated the price with Zee. |
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Lee, Clarke in Aussie squad
for India tour
Sydney, September 9 Cricket Australia also added Shane Watson and Cameron White to the squad which defeated Sri Lanka 1-0 in the recent Test Series in Darwin and Cairns, while Shaun Tait and leg-spinner Stuart MacGill were omitted. The squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist (vice-captain), Michael Clarke, Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, Nathan Hauritz, Simon Katich, Michael Kasprowicz, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Shane Warne, Shane Watson and Cameron White.
— PTI |
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Davenport, Kuznetsova cruise into semis
New York, September 9 Former champion Lindsay Davenport and ninth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova dodged the showers to set up a semifinal clash in the women’s singles but the rain returned to interrupt Federer and Agassi yesterday with the Swiss player 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 up. Fifth seed Tim Henman was also on the verge of a first US Open semifinal appearance, leading 22nd seed Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia 6-1, 7-5, 4-5. When play finally began on the Arthur Ashe Court, Federer and Agassi were greeted by a half-empty stadium. The predicted electric atmosphere did not take long to materialise though as world No 1 Federer, looking to become the first man to win three Grand Slam titles in the same year since Swede Mats Wilander in 1988, took the opening set. But as the stadium filled up, so Agassi, the darling of the New York crowd, lifted his game. The 34-year-old, champion in 1994 and 1999, began to target Federer’s backhand and it paid dividends when the American broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set. Roared on by the crowd, Agassi had a chance in the second game of the third set but Federer saved a break point with an ace and though the veteran American continued to play the better tennis, he was unable to press home his advantage. The two players were level at deuce on the Agassi serve in the opening game of the fourth set when the rain returned. The few fans who ventured on to the Louis Armstrong Court witnessed a demolition job from fifth seed Davenport as she dismissed unseeded Japanese Shinobu Asagoe 6-1, 6-1 in 45 minutes. Despatched to Court 11 where only a smattering of spectators greeted them, ninth seed Kuznetsova trailed 0-2 against fellow Russian Nadia Petrova, the 14th seed who beat defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne in round four. But Kuznetsova hit back to seize the first-set tie-break and an early break in the second helped her clinch her first grand slam semi-final appearance with a 7-6, 6-3 triumph.
— Reuters |
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Organisers say sorry to Serena
NEW YORK: US Open organisers have apologised to Serena Williams for a controversial line call in her quarterfinal loss to Jennifer Capriati on Tuesday. The third seed, who lost the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, initially thought Alves had simply called the score wrongly, but the Portuguese confirmed to USTA officials that she had overruled. “I called Serena,” said Arlen Kantarian, the Chief Executive of Professional Tennis. “I apologised for the call, the overrule — which was a clear mistake — and told her how important she was to the US Open, how she was a class act and how well she handled the situation last night.
— Reuters
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Paes-Rikl duo enters semis
New Delhi, September 9 The 13th-seeded duo beat Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco of Spain in straight sets 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to enter the last four. Paes and Rikl will now take on another Spainish pair of Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo for a place in the final. In the quarterfinals, Nadal and Robredo defeated Robbie Koenig of South Africa and Travis Parrott of the USA 7-5, 7-5. —
PTI |
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Sania enters last eight
New Delhi, September 9 Sania will meet top seed Mi-Ra Jeon of Korea, who had beaten Sania in their earlier meeting during the Federation Cup zonal qualifiers here in April. Mi-Ra got the better of Amina Rakhim of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-3, according to information received here today. In doubles, Sania, partnering Rushmi Chakravarthi, saw off Amina Rakhim and Madina Rakhim 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 to reach the semis.
— UNI
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Chadha among probables for Pakistan tour
Chandigarh, September 9 Mr Gill said the India-Australia junior Test series would also provide exposure to another string of youngsters. Mr Gill hinted that Dhanraj Pillay’s career was over. The final 18-member Indian team for the Pakistan tour would be selected by the coaches, who had been given a free hand. German coach Gerhard Rach would reach Chandigarh next week to accompany the team to Pakistan. Till then, Jagbir Singh would be with the probables. When questioned about former Indian captain Pargat Singh’s allegation that the IHF did not have a proper national calendar, Mr Gill said Pargat had never spoken to him on the issue. Jugraj Singh has not been chosen on medical grounds while Gagan Ajit Singh and Baljit Dhillon had opted out earlier. Inderjit Chadha is the lone city player selected in the senior probables list. The 22 probables are: Goalkeepers:Adrian D’Souza, Devesh Chauhan, Bharat Chhetri. Fullbacks:
Dilip Tirkey, Sandeep Singh, Harpal Singh, Raghunath and Samuel Nag. Halfbacks:
Viren Rasquinha,Vikram Pillay, Ignace Tirkey, VS Vinay, Girish Pimpale, Prabodh Tirkey and Vivek Gupta. Forwards:
Adam Sinclair, Arjun Hallappa, Sandeep Michael, Tushar Khandekar, Inderjeet Chadha, Hari Prasad and Birender Lakra. The 24 junior probables for the Australia tour are: Goalkeepers:
Harjit Singh, Suraikanta and Shreajeesh. Fullbacks: Khushwant Singh Bajwa, Anil Lakra, Rajneesh Panday, Jatinder Pal Singh and Sivabalan. Halfbacks:
Rupinder Singh, Nitin Kumar, Ajmer Singh, Bikramjit Singh, Vikram Kant, Sentuil and Gurbaz Singh. Forwards:
Sardara Singh, Gurvinder Chandi, Pramod Kumar, Suresh Kanta Singh, Raja, Sukhpal Singh, Vikas Toppo, Shashi Toppo and Jalwinder Singh. |
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England bounce back with win over Poland
London, September 9 Slovakia were the biggest winners of the night, beating Liechtenstein 7-0 while Romania maintained their perfect start in Group One by taking another positive step on the way to the finals in Germany in 2006 with a 5-1 win over little Andorra — their third win in three matches. However, the Netherlands, in the same group and playing their first competitive match under new coach Marco van Basten, served notice of their intentions with a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in Amsterdam — with Pierre van Hooijdonk scoring both goals to avenge their 2-3 defeat to the Czechs at Euro 2004. Elsewhere, Latvia were made to fight hard for a 4-3 win over usual fall-guys Luxembourg while Croatia brought Sweden crashing back down to earth after the Swedes beat Malta 7-0 on Saturday. Croatia won 1-0 in Gothenburg to take pole position in Group Eight with six points from two matches with Darijo Srna scoring the only goal midway through the second half. France, held to a 0-0 draw by Israel in their opening Group Four match in Paris on Saturday, did not play all that well but did enough to beat the Faroe Islands 2-0 in Torshavn thanks to goals from Ludovic Giuly and Djibril Cisse, a ninth minute substitute for the injured Louis Saha. England, who came in for a deluge of criticism from the English media after throwing away a 0-2 lead to draw 2-2 with Austria on Saturday, bounced back with a 2-1 win over Poland in Chorzow with Jermain Defoe scoring a delightful goal to set them on their way after 37 minutes — his first for his country. Italy also won away to make it six points out of six, after a 1-0 victory in Moldova.
— Reuters |
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Officials ‘smell rat’ in power cut
Kolkata, September 9 While state Power Minister Mrinal Banerje refused to make any comment saying that he was ascertaining facts, a WBSEB official said that engineers on duty at the stadium switched of the 132-KV sub-station supplying power to the stadium after they detected smoke billowing out of it. On inspection, the engineers found that a rat, which had come in contact with a live wire, had been electrocuted leading to the smoke. Power supply was restored after they brought out the dead rat, the official said.
— PTI |
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Peshawar cricket team to play in Delhi
New Delhi, September 9 DDCA sports secretary Sunil Dev announced here today that during the Indian cricket team’s tour of Pakistan early this year, former Pakistan players, belonging to the Peshawar District Cricket Association, had expressed a desire to play matches in Delhi. Mr Dev said bowing to this wish, the DDCA had decided to play host to a team from Peshawar in the first week of October, 2004. He said the tour had been scheduled before the Ranji Trophy and also before the first class season of Pakistan. The tour would be an annual feature, on a reciprocal basis. He said after the successful tour of the DDCA President’s XI to England this summer, the sports committee has suggested to the DDCA executive committee to make it an annual affair. Mr Dev said there was no plan as yet to replace former Test player Madan Lal as the coach of the Delhi senior team as “he has been given a two-year contract”. Meanwhile, construction work on the new stadium at the DDCA was progressing at a measured pace, and the stadium would be fit to host an international match only when the Pakistan cricket team tour India early next year. DDCA Vice-President C.K. Khanna, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the National Cricket Academy, said the Delhi league matches would be held at various venues of the capital as the Ferozeshah Kotla ground would be out of bounds. Mr Khanna said for the first time in the country, third umpire would be employed during the Delhi league matches. League matches would be conducted both in longer and limited-over versions. The 14 teams of the premier division would play two-day league matches wherein the rules and regulations would be applicable as in Ranji Trophy matches. Thereafter, the top eight teams would play one-day matches. |
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Mukesh Kumar, Shiv Kapur share lead
New Delhi, September 9 Overnight leader Amritinder Singh failed to capitalise on the two-stroke advantage to slip to third position. Digvijay Singh submitted a third successive sub-par score to be placed fourth with a total of 10-under 200 while Vijay Kumar and Sanjay Kumar were tied for the fifth position with a tally of 203. Shiv Kapur, making his debut on the Amby Valley PGAI Tour as a professional, was five-under for the day after 14 holes and was leading by three strokes. But he made a hat-trick of bogeys when he overshot on the par-3 17th. |
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Haryana games from October 7
Chandigarh, September 9 The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex, Panchkula, on October 7 and 10, respectively. First eight teams or individuals in respective disciplines will be able to participate in these competitions. The last date for entries is September 20. |
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In video: McGill and Symonds left out by Australia for India tour (
