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India look to regain top form against Kenya
Sehwag to improve
shot selection
Balaji ruled out of Champions Trophy
Astle plunders 145 in easy New Zealand win
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Rain halts play between England, Zimbabwe London, September 10 Opener Vikram Solanki struck a watchful 62 but Zimbabwe's young bowlers had restricted England to 198 for five before play was abandoned for the day in the ICC Champions Trophy clash at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Friday.
Johansson sends
Roddick packing; Federer overcomes Agassi
Young Russians take on US veterans
Paes-Rikl lose in final
Mandora wrecks Minor Districts
Amby Valley golf title for Shiv
CRPF set two records
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India look to regain top
form against Kenya
Southampton, September 10 India want their batting engine to rev up and pick momentum which would serve then well in the second half of the tournament, the week where many reputations would bite the dust in the sudden death format. India are in the midst of a collective batting crisis and the only silver lining in the fortnight or so of stay in England has been half centuries by Sourav Ganguly, Mohammad Kaif and Rahul Dravid. Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman and young gun Yuvraj Singh have invited some harsh reactions from even their fans and this is one game where they could turn the corner. After the desperate experiment in the final game of the NatWest Challenge, Sehwag is likely to be restored to the top and Laxman shifted to number three as India try to rediscover their old balance. India are also likely to provide young Dinesh Kaarthik with his second game behind the wicket though it is his performance in front of it which would decide his immediate future in the team. Kaarthik, in all likelihood, would be preferred ahead of Rohan Gavaskar and he must fulfil the role of a seventh batsman in the line-up because of Sachin Tendulkar's injury-induced absence. India would also like their spin twin to rediscover the art of bowling in tandem and the balance currently is in favour of two medium-pacers and two spinners in the attack. Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble are likely to take up the middle overs and hopefully, when Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra have made early inroads. Kenya have lately been inviting the wrong kind of attention because of the Maurice Odumbe affair and a look at their line-up shows that they are still relying too much on Hitesh Modi and Ravindu Shah. Still, they carry the tag of World Cup semi-finalists and their disciplined bowlers and fielders could still catch a careless international team off guard. India know it all too well as two of Kenya's wins from one-day internationals have come at their expense, once at Gwalior in 1999 and then in Port Elizabeth during their South African tour of 2001-2002. Summer in this country is ready to take its leave and the cold evenings and the resultant early morning dew implies most of the teams would be hoping to win the toss and insert the opposition in to bat. The weather forecast is unlikely to cheer up the two teams as rain is forecast on the day of the match. But thankfully there is a reserve day for each of the matches. The game could be watched by Australia from the sidelines as they are already in the city ahead of their clash against the USA in Rose Bowl on Monday. Teams (from): India:
Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Rohan Gavaskar, Dinesh Kaarthik, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Ashish Nehra and Irfan Pathan. Kenya:
Steve Tikolo, Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah, Hitesh Modi, Brijal Patel, Malhar Patel, Thomas Odoyo, Ragheb Aga, Martin Suji, Peter Ongondo, Lameck Onyango, Tony Suji, Marice Ouma and Josephat
Ababu.— PTI |
Sehwag to improve shot selection
Southampton, September 10 Admitting he has not been in great form and failed to give the
side the explosive starts that he is capable of, he said, ''I have to spend time at the crease and improve my shot
selection.'' Looking back at his recent dismissals, the swashbuckling opener said, ''I have been dismissed in some innings because of poor shots and in others by good deliveries.'' Saying that he had come to terms with the bad patch, Sehwag said, ''It is something that I have to live with. I can't wish it away. It only makes me even more aware that I need to help the team with my batting. That's the only way all this can end. I want the team to win.'' When asked about how he felt after being dropped down the order in the last NatWest Challenge match, Sehwag said, '' I can bat
anywhere that my team wants me to but I would like to return as opener and make contributions
to the team. All my six hundreds in one-day internationals have come as opener.'' The Delhi batsman also thanked skipper Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright for backing him in his ''bad times''. ''(I would like to thank both,) especially the captain for backing me even after so many flops. Their faith in me makes me want to do something special for them when I bat next. I am desperate to make things happen. I am spending more time at the nets and focussing on shot selection.'' Admitting that the consistency factor remains a reason for concern, Sehwag said, ''My average in one-day cricket has not been much to write home about. I average between 30 and 34 run in this form of the game. It shows I have been inconsistent, unlike my seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. It may seem okay now but even when one of these players retires, I will need to be as consistent as him if the team is not to face a
problem.'' When asked if shot selection would see him going the Sachin Tendulkar way in eliminating risk from his approach
to the game and stop being explosive and entertaining at the same time, Sehwag said, ''A certain amount of risk
is necessary in one-day cricket and elemental to my game. I will play the same game that I
have been playing over the last few years now. I will not go into a shell. I will play my shots. I believe I should play in my natural style and I don't think I can
perform well if I change that.'' —UNI |
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Balaji ruled out of Champions Trophy
London, September 10 "The Indian team physio Andrew Leipus reported to us that Balaji would be out of action for the mini-World Cup at London due to a groin injury and at the request of the Indian team management and after consultation with the senior selection committee, we have decided to send Bhandari as replacement at the earliest," cricket board (BCCI) secretary SK Nair said . Ganguly said Balaji was given an injection in London on September 7 but his condition "has not improved at all since then." Balaji is the second key member of the team to be ruled out after Sachin Tendulkar who had to withdraw because of a tennis elbow. Meanwhile the event technical committee has approved a request from the Indian cricket board to replace injured batting ace Sachin Tendulkar with Rohan Gavaskar. Gavaskar, part of the 15-member Indian squad that was fielded for the Holland tri-series and the NatWest Challenge, was retained in the side after Tendulkar was ruled out.
— PTI |
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Astle plunders 145 in easy New Zealand win
London, September 10 A sprinkling of spectators on a cool, overcast day watched New Zealand's most successful one-day batsman score his country's second highest individual score in a total of 347 for four. The win was also New Zealand's biggest in a one-day match. The USA made a bright start in reply, reaching 52 without loss before the tall Jacob Oram, who finished with five for 36, struck with three wickets in an over. Wickets fell at regular intervals thereafter, with the USA finally struggling to 137 all out in the 43rd over. Former West Indies opener Clayton Lambert was the highest scorer with 39 from 84 deliveries. New Zealand started quietly, losing captain Stephen Fleming (15) and Hamish Marshall (11) within the first 15 overs. Astle, who hit 13 fours and six fours from 151 deliveries, and Scott Styris (75 from 78 balls) turned the innings round with a third-wicket partnership of 163. Chris Cairns made only three but Craig McMillan played an innings of calculated brutality with 64 from 27 balls, including seven sixes. New Zealand struck 122 runs from the final six overs to post the third-highest total in a one-day international in England. US all-rounder Charles Reid, who nearly missed the game after being stuck in Florida because of Hurricane Frances, was the most economical of the US bowlers with one for 37 from his 10 overs. The USA, who qualified for the 12-nation tournament through the ICC Six Nations Challenge, are a collection of part-timers with 42-year-old Lambert their best-known player. Scoreboard New Zealand Fleming c Romero Astle not out 145 Marshall c Desai b Styris c Aijaz Ali b Staple 75 Cairns c sub b Staple 3 McMillan not out 64 Extras
(lb-10 w-21 nb-3) 34 Total (4 wkts, 50 overs) 347 Fall of wickets:
1-25, 2-43, 3-206, 4-211 Bowling: Johnson 7-1-43-0, Reid 10-0-37-1, Romero 4-0-52-1, Lambert 10-0-66-0, Rashid Zia 9-1-63-0, Staple 10-0-76-2. USA Alexander lbw b Oram 26 Johnson c McCullum Romero c Styris b Oram 0 Massiah c McCullum Staple lbw b Cairns 0 Lambert c Cairns Desai lbw b Vettori 16 Ali c Styris b Harris 4 Zia c Cairns b Oram 8 Reid b Vettori 6 Johnson not out 0 Extras
(lb-3 w-15) 18 Total (all out, 42.4 overs) 137 Fall of wickets:
1-52, 2-52, 3-52, 4-55, 5-63, 6-99, 7-114, 8-122, 9-132 Bowling: Tuffey 8-0-39-0, Oram 9.4-1-36-5, Cairns 5-0-16-1, Harris 10-2-29-1, Vettori 10-3-14-3.
— Reuters |
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Rain halts play between England, Zimbabwe
London, September 10 The players will return to complete the 50-over Group D match on Saturday as play had started four hours late because of heavy rain. Solanki fell lbw to Vusi Sibanda to leave Paul Collingwood and Geraint Jones at the crease when more drizzle began to fall. Zimbabwe took advantage of winning the toss in overcast conditions with neat bowling and fielding, though the England batsmen's choice of shot was often to blame for their dismissals. World one-day player of the year Andrew Flintoff fell cheaply, caught by Douglas Hondo after getting underneath a heave to long off. Hondo had first removed Marcus Trescothick for 10 when the opener played away from his body and edged a catch to Brendan Taylor at slip. Edward Rainsford then tempted Michael Vaughan (17) to edge a drive to Mark Vermeulen, and he grabbed his second wicket when captain and wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu took a superb one-handed diving catch to dismiss Andrew Strauss for 25. Scoreboard England: Trescothick c Taylor b
Hondo 10 Solanki lbw b Sibanda 62 Vaughan c Vermuelen Strauss c Taibu Flintoff c Hondo Collingwood not out 35 Jones not out 23 Extras
(lb-4 w-11 nb-5) 20 Total (5 wkts, 38 overs) 198 Fall of wickets:
1-21, 2-54, 3-114, 4-123, 5-159 Bowling: Panyangara 7-0-55-1, Hondo 4-0-21-1, Rainsford 10-0-43-2, Chigumbura 3-1-20-0, Utseya 8-0-27-0, Sibanda 3-0-12-1, Matsikenyeri 3-0-16-0.
— Reuters
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Johansson sends Roddick packing;
New York, September 10 The unheralded Johansson won the highly-anticipated battle of the big servers and now faces one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour, Lleyton Hewitt, for a spot in Sunday’s final. “I lost in the first round at centre court last year and I beat Roddick on centre court in the quarterfinals, so this is huge,” Johansson said of the two hour, 55 minutes match that was punctuated by a 50-minute rain delay. It is the biggest win of the 22-year-old Swede’s career and he advances to face Australian Hewitt, who happens to be the older brother of Johansson’s girlfriend, Jaslyn. Hewitt took the court earlier in the day, overpowering Tommy Haas of Germany 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, and then spoke briefly to Johansson on the phone. “We are good friends, hopefully we will be good friends after Saturday,” Johansson said. In other men’s quarterfinals yesterday, Swiss world number one Roger Federer survived a scare from Andre Agassi and will face Britain’s Tim Henman for a place in the final. Johansson beat Roddick for the first time in five tries, dating back to when they were juniors. The 1.98 metre (6ft, 6in) Johansson showed that he was one of the few players in the $17.8 million tournament who could match Roddick’s power as he blasted 23 forehand winners and unleashed one serve at 227 kph. Johansson is in his first Grand Slam semifinal and didn’t expect to get this far. He had plans to spend this week in Scotland playing golf as a birthday present for his father. In yesterday’s match, Roddick started poorly, dropping the first two sets but rebounded to take the next two, setting the stage for a dramatic 44-minute fifth set. Asked who his girlfriend would be cheering for in the semis, Johansson looked towards her seat in the stands and quipped, “She can pick the boyfriend, but she can’t pick the brother, so she’s going to cheer for me for sure.” Johansson said he was looking forward to the challenge of playing Hewitt as they had practised often at the Hewitt family home in Adelaide but never as professionals. Roddick gave credit to Johansson for the win and then joked about getting out of town quickly. “If there was a flight leaving La Guardia (airport) I would go,” Roddick said. “You tap it, I will pump it.” Federer, seeking his third Grand Slam title of the year, put on an impressive display of serving and shot making to beat Agassi 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Federer had his hands full with Agassi yesterday but managed to break the eight-time Grand Slam winner’s serve in the eighth game of the fifth set to take a crucial 5-3 lead. Federer fired 16 aces and blasted 54 winners in the three-hour, two-minute quarterfinal match which was played over two days after heavy rain washed out a good portion of Wednesday’s schedule. The match was played under much different conditions than Wednesday as winds swirled and gusted around Arthur Ashe stadium, a legacy of Hurricane Frances, which was passing over New York. The wind forced the players to step back several times from the service line and dodge paper and plastic debris blowing on to the court from the stands. Meanwhile, fifth seed Henman defeated Hrbaty 6-1, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 under equally tough daytime conditions to reach the semifinal.
— AFP |
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Young Russians take on US veterans
New York, September 10 Sixth seed Dementieva takes on three-time Grand Slam winner Jennifer Capriati and ninth seed Kuznetsova meets the hottest player on the WTA Tour, Lindsay Davenport, for a spot in tomorrow’s
final. Dementieva is trying to become the third Russian woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final this year but first she must get past
Capriati, who will be out to put last year’s crushing semifinal loss behind her. “I have played her a couple of times and lost them all,” Dementieva said. “She just beat Serena Williams, so she’s in great shape.” Heading into the US Open there were 15 Russian women ranked in the top 100 of the world and five in the top 10. Six other Russian women were seeded in the draw besides Dementieva and
Kuznetsova, including No. 4 Anastasia Myskina and No. 7 Maria Sharapova, who both exited
early. Kuznetsova was just eight years old when Davenport made her pro debut in 1993. Since then Davenport has won 44 singles titles and two Grand Slams. By contrast, the 19-year-old Kuznetsova is debuting in the semifinals of a major. What is most startling is the path she took to get here — without conceding a
set. Kuznetsova has never played Davenport before, but she boasts a win earlier this season over former world No.1 Justine
Henin-Hardenne. Speaking of the No. 1 ranking, winning the US Open would allow Davenport to take over the lofty perch from
Henin-Hardenne, who crashed out in the fourth round to another Russian, Nadia
Petrova. Davenport has appeared almost unbeatable in recent weeks and is riding a 22-match win streak going into the
semifinals. She has dropped only one set in her last 18 matches. — AFP |
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Paes-Rikl lose in final
New Delhi, September 10 The Indo-Czech Republic pair were broken three times while Nestor and Knowles, the 2002 Australian Open champions, were not threatened at any point in the match. It was double heart break for the India's Davis Cup star, who lost in the mixed doubles with the legendary Martina Navratilova 4-6, 6-3, 3-10 in a third set super tie-breaker to Australia's Todd Woodbridge and Alicia Molik in the semifinal. Paes and Rikl upset the top seeds and last year's champions Todd Woodbridge of Australia and Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman in the quarterfinals. Paes and Rikl beat Spain's Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-3 while Knowles and Nestor overcame the French pair of Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5) last night in the semifinals. The Aussies will now take on fourth seeds Bob Bryan of the USA and Russian Vera Zvonareva, who ousted top seeds Nestor and Rennae Stubbs of Australia 7-5, 6-3. — PTI |
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Mandora wrecks Minor Districts
Patiala, September 10 In reply, Patiala were 179 for 1 at draw of stumps, thanks to an unbeaten 63 by Binwant Singh and 37 by Reetinder Sodhi. The hosts started well with a 130-run opening stand between Ravinder Kumar (54) and Binwant Singh. Brief scores: Minor Districts:
157 all out ( Shahid Khan 31, Gagan 27, Bharat Bhushan 24; Gautam Mandora 5 for 16, Hardavinder Singh 2 for 46, Maninder Bhardwaj 2 for 34) Patiala:
179 for 1 (Ravinder Kumar 54, Binwant Singh 63 n.o., Reetinder Sodhi 37 n.o.) Amritsar:
Gaurav Sharma (80) and Sunny Gandhi (59) helped Jalandhar post a respectable score of 295 in 94.2 overs against Minor Districts Zone B on the first day of the three-day Katoch Shield match at Gandhi Grounds here on Friday. On the directions of the Punjab Cricket Association, the innings was extended to 95 overs in the tournament instead of the earlier 90 overs. Batting first, Jalandhar were all out just four deliveries before the conclusion of the stipulated overs. Gaurav hit nine shots to the fence during his first outing of the season. Sunny’s knock was laced with seven fours and two sixes. Brief scores: Jalandhar:
295 all out (Gaurav Sharma 80, Sunny Gandhi 59, Sumit Kalia 30; Gurdeep Singh 4 for 99, Jagat Jeet Singh 2 for 42). Ludhiana:
Ludhiana skipper Ankur Kakkar led from the front, grabbing five wickets as Amritsar were restricted to 151 runs in their first innings of the Katoch Shield match at the Satish Chander Dhawan Government College for Boys ground here on Friday. Right-arm spinner Karan Goel scalped three wickets. At draw of stumps, the hosts were well placed at 88 for 2 after 28 overs. The visitors, after winning the toss, were soon in dire straits, losing wickets at regular intervals. Despite having star players such as Ravneet Ricky, Munish Sharma, Chandan Madan and SP Singh in their ranks, Amritsar batsmen failed to cope with the devastating bowling of spinners Ankur Kakkar and Karan Goel. Brief scores: Amritsar:
151 all out in 64.5 overs (Ravneet Ricky 32, SP Singh 13, Vipan Chauhan 44, Baljeet Singh 21; Ankur Kakkar 5 for 21, Karan Goel 3 for 65, Luv Abhlish 1 for 12). Ludhiana:
88 for 2 after 28 overs (Gaurav Marwaha 32 n.o., Ankur Kakkar 24 n.o.; Sandeep Sanwal 2 for 24). |
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Amby Valley golf title for Shiv
New Delhi, September 10 Shiv Kapur totalled a tournament score of 16-under 264. In a battle between youth and experience, Shiv Kapur and Mukesh Kumar began the day tied for the lead. It was Kapur who called the first shots when he birdied the opening hole. However, the gain was frittered away with a bogey on the fifth. That was his only mistake of the day as he never looked back after that, firing birdies on the seventh and eighth to lead by two strokes after the first nine holes. Mukesh Kumar, on the other hand, struggled with his putting. Once he was in the lead, Shiv Kapur, who plans to play on the Asian Tour next, made two more birdies and nullified Mukesh's good show on the back nine. Amritinder Singh did not have the best starts as he bogeyed the second and fifth, but made amends scoring successive birdies on the seventh and eighth. One more bogey on the last hole let go of his hopes even further. |
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CRPF set two records
New Delhi, September 10 Amar Muralidharan, who had earlier created a new national record, finished second in the 1500m free style. Elvis Ali Hazarika and Deepak Kumar Singh finished first and second in the 50m butterfly event. Madan Jawalekar was first in high board diving. |
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