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Birmingham, September 19 Pakistan relied on the heroics of Yousuf Youhana to edge out India by three wickets in a nerve-wracking contest and move into the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy here today.
SA blown over by strong Windies
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Harmison pulls out of
Zimbabwe tour
London, September 19 England paceman Steve Harmison has reportedly pulled out of the team’s tour of Zimbabwe in November, disturbed by the political situation in the country and the sacking of 15 of its top players.
Vaughan hopes to end miserable run
Oscar De La Hoya looks dejected after being knocked out by Bernard Hopkins in their WBC/WBA/IBF middleweight title fight in Las Vegas, the USA, on Saturday. Hopkins retained his titles with the victory. — Reuters
photo
Chanu still hopes to regain honour
Jugraj was missed at Athens: Zafar
Hockey team to reach Karachi on Sept 22
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Pak subdue India to enter semis
Birmingham, September 19 After bundling out India for a modest 200, the Pakistanis found themselves in the pit before Youhana produced an unbeaten 81 to steer them to victory with four balls to spare in a highly surcharged encounter between the bitter rivals which stretched to the wire. India raised hopes of a spirited fightback by reducing Pakistan to 127 for five at one stage before Youhana pulled the team out of trouble to not only record their third consecutive win but also their first triumph in a major tournament. Pakistan will now meet group B winners the West Indies in the second semifinal at the Rose Bowl, Southampton, on Wednesday. Pakistan made heavy weather of a small target of 201 before Shahid Afridi (25) clouted two sixes off Irfan Pathan in the 43rd over to pave way for the win. Well as Afridi did in shifting the momentum, Pakistan's batting hero was vice-captain Yousuf Youhana, who took the team out of stormy weather with 81 unbeaten runs, an innings full of character. Youhana twisted his ankle and batted with a runner in a courageous innings of 114 balls which included five fours and a six. Pakistan were no better than India in their batting plight and had slumped to 27 for three in the 11th over before the recovery was launched. Skipper Inzamam-ul Haq (41) and Youhana put on 74 for the fourth wicket before Pakistan once again floundered and gave away some cheap wickets. Inzamam left at 102 for four when his cut off Ajit Agarkar went into the gloves of Rahul Dravid. Abdul Razzaq (9) was bowled by Virender Sehwag and Moin Khan’s furious running between the wickets did not go beyond 10 runs. Pakistan soon were down to 152 for six and at one time required 45 from the last nine overs before Afridi, batting at No 8, took the centrestage. Rahul Dravid struck a gritty half century as India recovered from a top order collapse to post a modest 200. Put into bat, India slumped to 73 for five before Dravid rose to the occasion with a well-paced 67 from 108 balls to give the total a semblance of respectability in a must-win match at the Edgbaston. Ajit Agarkar provided ample support to his vice-captain as he struck an enterprising 47 off 50 balls aided by three fours and a six on what appeared to be a good batting track. Coming together at 106 for six, Dravid and Agarkar added 82 runs for the eighth wicket to lead the Indian fightback, which saw 69 runs come in the last 10 overs. Pakistani pacemen continued to hold a grip over the Indian batsmen, who put up an insipid batting display to lose half their side by the 20th over. All other batsmen, except Mohammad Kaif, showed little application and were out to poor strokes. Kaif, coming in at No 4, seemed to carry his good form of the NatWest Challenge into the match as he played some confident shots. Pakistan's new-ball bowlers Mohammad Sami and Naved-ul-Hasan took three wickets to set the stage for Shoaib Akhtar, whose two wickets from five balls ensured there was no recovery for the Indians. Akhtar had both Mohammad Kaif (28) and Yuvraj Singh (0) caught behind the wicket in his third over after being brought in as first change and starting his spell with a no-ball. Akhtar struck when hopes had started to take roots for the Indians in the form of a 45-run, 64-ball fourth-wicket stand between Kaif and Rahul Dravid (67) who came together at 28 for three. Indian captain Sourav Ganguly played a nothing shot off Mohammad Sami and a thin edge off his flailing bat was picked up by Moin Khan, the first of his four catches. The next two wickets went to Naved-ul-Hasan who had both VVS Laxman (3) and Virender Sehwag (10) caught by Shoaib Malik at square leg. India: Ganguly c Moin b Sami 0 Sehwag c Malik b Naved 10 Laxman c Malik b Naved 3 Kaif c Moin b Akhtar 27 Dravid c and b Naved 67 Yuvraj c Moin b Akhtar 0 Gavaskar c Moin b Razzaq 13 Agarkar c Youhana b Naved 47 Pathan c Youhana b Akhtar 6 Harbhajan not out 3 Nehra c Afridi b Akhtar 0 Extras (lb-10, w-3, nb-11) 24 Total (all out, 49.5 overs) 200 FoW: 1-1, 2-10, 3-28, 4-73, 5-73, 6-106, 7-188, 8-193, 9-199 Bowling: Sami 9-1-50-1, Naved 9-1-25-4, Razzaq 10-0-27-1, Akhtar 9.5-1-36-4, Afridi 2-0-23-0, Malik 10-0-29-0. Pakistan: Hameed c Nehra b Pathan 15 Farhat c Dravid b Pathan 0 Malik c Dravid b Pathan 5 Inzamam c Dravid b Agarkar 41 Youhana not out 81 Razzaq b Sehwag 9 Moin c Yuvraj b Nehra 10 Afridi c Sehwag b Yuvraj 25 Hasan not out 5 Extras (b-2 lb-5 w-3) 10 Total (7 wkts, 49.2 overs) 201 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-10, 3-27, 4-102, 5-127, 6-152, 7-187 Bowling: Pathan 9-1-34-3, Nehra 10-0-45-1, Agarkar 10-2-33-1, Harbhajan10-1-37-0, Ganguly 4-0-17-0, Sehwag 4-0-22-1, Yuvraj Singh 2.2-0-6-1. — PTI
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SA blown over by strong Windies
London, September 19 Set 247 to win the West Indies reply was interrupted by rain yesterday and they resumed on 20 for 0. They passed their target with seven balls to spare and now look forward to the semi-finals
against Pakistan on Wednesday. Ramnaresh Sarwan (75), Brian Lara (49) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (51 not out) were the main contributors to the run chase but is was a 10-ball cameo from Ricardo Powell which proved the difference between the sides. Powell, who made 16, came in at 214 for 4 with four overs left but turned the contest with two successive sixes off Shaun Pollock full-tosses that he planted into the stands over mid-wickets. Chanderpaul made 51 from 52 balls with six fours and had to enlist the help of a runner for the last five overs when he appeared to be suffering from cramp. Lara had stressed the importance of keeping wickets in hand yesterday night but openers Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds were soon back in the pavilion. Gayle attempted a pull from the last ball of the first over of the day from Pollock but edged the ball onto his stumps and Hinds, who thrashed Charl Langeveldt for two fours in the next over, was undone leg before by Pollock's next delivery. Lara came in on 33 for 2 and survived the hat-trick ball pushing it to short mid-wicket before setting off for a run only for Pollock's attempted shy at the stumps to narrowly miss with the batsman well short of his ground. Lara and Sarwan adopted a studious approach as Lance
Klusener bowled an impressively tight spell of 0-32 from ten overs whilst Jacques Kallis went for just 14 from four overs. The West Indians did not hit a boundary for 15 overs until Sarwan inside-edged Klusener to the fence then he threw off the shackles by hoisting Nicky Boje for a straight six. Lara attempted to follow suit and dashed down the pitch to the spinner but was bowled by a ball that turned through his shot and hit the off-stump. He made 49 from 85 balls with all of his five fours coming in his first 31 deliveries. With the West Indian captain gone the onus fell on Sarwan, who took 78 minutes and 38 balls to get to double figures, and Chanderpaul to up the scoring rate. The Guyanese pair did this impressively with the fourth 50 of the West Indian innings coming up in 37 balls. When Sarwan was bowled by Makhaya Ntini with 33 runs still needed for victory the game was in the balance but Powell's fireworks ensured the West Indies got home. Scoreboard
South Africa: 246 West Indies (overnight 20-0 from six overs) Gayle b Pollock 16 Hinds lbw Pollock 15 Sarwan b Ntini 75 Lara b Boje 49 Chanderpaul not out 51 Powell b Ntini 16 Bravo not out 4 Extras:
(lb-10, w-8, nb-5) 23 Total: (5 wkts, 48.5 overs) 249 Fall of wickets:
1-24, 2-33, 3-131, 4-214, 5-237 Bowling: Pollock 10-0-56-2, Langeveldt 7.5-2-41-0, Ntini 5-0-26-2, Klusener 10-1-32-0, Kallis 6-1-32-0, Boje 10-0-52-1.
—AFP |
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Harmison pulls out of
Zimbabwe tour
London, September 19 England is scheduled to play five one-day internationals in Zimbabwe. But
Harmison, now rated one of the best fast bowlers in the world, recalls the team turmoil when England refused to play its World Cup game in Harare in February last year, forfeited four points and was knocked out in the first round. “In all honesty, my decision was made in Cape Town over 18 months ago when England’s World Cup squad spent horrendous four days before finally deciding not to go to Harare,” Harmison told the ‘News of the World’. “Nothing has changed for me. The situation there is worse now — that’s what the official reports say — and Zimbabwe’s top players have been sacked.” The Zimbabwe Cricket Union fired 15 players after they went on strike in support of their captain, Heath Streak. Streak had complained that the union’s cricket selectors were not fielding the strongest Zimbabwe team by omitting experienced white players and was fired for the games against Sri Lanka in April.
— AP |
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Vaughan hopes to end miserable run
Southampton, September 19 Australia have beaten England in their last 14 meetings in one-day matches and will be the overwhelming favourites to make it 15 at Edgbaston on Tuesday. “Australia are the best team in the world and are playing some good stuff. They have just beaten a very good New Zealand side and we are looking forward to testing ourselves against the best team around,” said Vaughan after England had made the last four with a 49-run (D/L) win against Sri Lanka yesterday. “We will try to play in a positive fashion. Many of our players have not appeared against Australia before so it will be a big experience. The Australians have been playing cricket on a different level and it is up to the rest of the world to catch up. “We are looking forward to a big, tough game.” Not for the first time this summer, Andrew Flintoff was England’s saviour with a blistering century against the Lankans and the all-rounder said his heroics were achieved with a new bat. “I get a new bat every three weeks,” said
Flintoff. “There was something wrong with the last one I used. At the moment I am enjoying it all. I rode my luck early on against Sri Lanka when the ball was nipping about but it seems to be that sort of summer when everything is going right for me.” England, resuming from their overnight 118 for 3 after Friday’s play was disrupted, went on to make a formidable 251 for 7 with
Flintoff, dropped at one and 25, making 104. In reply, Sri Lanka had struggled to 95 for 5 from 24 overs when rain ruined a potentially exciting finish though by then England were firmly in control. “It is always disappointing when rain interrupts but we felt we were in command. To score 250 on that wicket was tremendous,” said Vaughan. “To get an extra 132 from our final 18 overs was fantastic and Freddie Flintoff deserves a lot of the credit. His was a perfectly timed one-day innings and I hope he can continue that for a couple more innings at least. “Steve Harmison and Darren Gough put the top order under pressure when they batted, as they always do, and I know Sri Lanka would have fancied their chances if it had not rained but we were confident of winning.” Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu also hailed Flintoff’s monumental innings during which he went from 50 to 100 in 19 balls and in total hit three sixes and nine fours. “Flintoff was fabulous. He did a tremendous job getting England to 251. We felt 200 would have been a chaseable score and perhaps 220,” said
Atapattu. “We would have preferred the full 50 overs obviously but we had lost five wickets by the time the rain came again and it would have been a hard task.”
— AFP |
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Bernard Hopkins knocks out De La Hoya
New York, September 19 The tentative contest came to a sudden end 1:38 into the round when Hopkins hit De La Hoya with two body shots, knocking the challenger to the canvas in obvious pain. When De La Hoya rolled over onto his back, referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight, which had been fairly uneventful until the knockout. Both men appeared conservative in the early going, with neither willing to take any risks until Hopkins connected with his two shots to the liver area to end the bout. De La Hoya never came close to beating the count, giving Hopkins the biggest win of his career and his biggest payday. However, the challenger earned the lion’s share of a purse believed to be worth around $ 40 million, the richest non-heavyweight fight in boxing history. While Hopkins celebrated in the ring, De La Hoya pounded on the canvas in frustration after being knocked out for the first time in his career. He was fighting as a middleweight for just the second time. “I felt the urgency,” Hopkins said. “I knew Oscar was boxing a good boxing game, and I knew I had to turn it on. I give him credit, he didn’t run and he came to box. It surprised me.” Two judges had Hopkins ahead (79-73 and 78-74) on their scorecards at the time of the knockout while the other judge had De La Hoya in front (77-75). The 39-year-old Hopkins remains undefeated in the past 11 years and justified his tag as hot favourite. He improved his record to 45-2-1 with 32 knockouts while the 31-year-old De La Hoya fell to 37-4 with 29 knockouts.
— Reuters |
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Chanu still hopes to regain honour
New Delhi, September 19 Chanu's case was declared "open and shut" by an IOA appointed medical inquiry committee yesterday since her B sample had also tested positive for a banned drug. “It is but natural that my ‘B’ has also tested positive because they fill the same sample in two separate bottles and name them ‘A’ and ‘B’,” the 25-year-old Manipuri said here today. Chanu, who tested positive for diuretic ‘furosemide’ after finishing fourth in the 53kg class at the Athens games, however, said all was not over as yet for her. “I want to check if the recovery drip, which I was given on August 13, was laced with the banned substance. “Foreign coach Leonid Taranenko had sent the drip with Kunjarani (Devi) and I was urinating unusually after using the drip,” she said. “Earlier also I had used such recovery drips but never faced any problem, so I kept the drip bottle in my bag. I have given it (drip) to the inquiry committee Chairman KP Singh Deo but I have no idea if that has been tested in laboratory, as yet.” Chanu said if the recovery drip tested positive for the diuretic, she would fight to regain her honour. She also denied that she had been asked to return her diploma of participation in the Olympics as claimed by Singh Deo. “I have not been asked to return my diploma or anything as the papers have reported. The inquiry committee may have discussed it among themselves,” she said. The lifter hoped that she would not be slapped with a life ban by the International Weightlifting Federation as it was her first ever doping offence for which the punishment was a two-year ban. “I do not think they (IWF) can slap a life ban on me because this is my first instance of testing positive in any international event,” she said. On the new set of sanctions formulated by the Indian Weightlifting Federation, she said those would be applicable only from future events. The committee, which has almost completed its inquiry, has not drawn any conclusive evidence against the other lifter Pratima Kumari as her ‘B’ sample is yet to be tested.
— PTI |
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Jugraj was missed at Athens: Zafar
New Delhi, September 19 Speaking at the launch of the Indian Airlines Trophy U-16 Commonwealth Cricket Series, to be organised by the Commonwealth Youth Sports Development Council in Delhi from September 28 to October 10, Zafar Iqbal said, “in the absence of Jugraj Singh, we did not have a single player who could take up his position. We need players of Jugraj’s calibre to win matches at the Olympic level”. Zafar lamented that hockey was dying at the grass-root level and a drastic overhaul was required to revive the game in the country. He said India would not be able to regain the old magic unless hockey was revived at the block and district levels, which had always been the nursery of new talent. He said India needed to produce a number of players of class to enable the country to take on the best in the world. He harped on the ‘negative side’ of administration by the Indian Hockey Federation for the plight of the game in the country. He said the way the team prepared for the Olympic campaign did not send out positive signals as the national coach was sacked barely 21 days before the games began. Zafar said whatever action required to be taken to firm up the team should had been carried out well before the Olympic Games, and not at the eleventh hour. He said a retrograde mindset and petty politics was killing the game in the country. Meanwhile, president of the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Trust Vikram Kaul said an international hockey tournament would be held in India in March next year in collaboration with the Indian Hockey Federation. He said the necessary clearance had been obtained from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for holding the tournament. Teams from Australia, Malaysia and India would compete in the Commonwealth U-16 Cricket Tournament. |
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Hockey team to reach Karachi on Sept 22
Lahore, September 19 According to the new schedule, the visitors would reach Karachi on September 22 to play the first match at the Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP) Stadium on September 24, a Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) spokesman said. After four matches here, Pakistan would visit India on a reciprocal tour to play the rest four of the eight-match series there. The PHF officials attributed the change in the schedule to the visitors’ request to get some practice before the first match. Quetta will host the second match on September 27, followed by Peshawar (September 28) and Lahore (October 1). Meanwhile, more than 1000 security personnel will be deployed to ensure safety for the visitors at stadium and the hotel in Karachi where the Indian team will be staying. PHF top brass met officials of various law
enforcement agencies at Karachi on Wednesday to finalise the security arrangements for the match. Besides PHF president General Aziz Khan and secretary Brig Musharatullah Khan, Inspector-General, Sindh, Syed Kamal Shah also attended the meeting to discuss the issue. The IG said a top security officials would accompany the team right after they arrived at the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport till their departure for Quetta on September 26.
— UNI |
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Kuznetsova wins Bali title
Bali, Indonesia, September 19 The Russian’s 6-1 6-4 victory against an unseeded opponent earned her the fifth singles title of her career, and her third this year after she won in Eastbourne and New York. The second-seeded Russian began slowly, as she had all week, but a nervous Weingartner was playing in her first career final and was unable to take advantage. The German won more points on Kuznetsova’s serve than she did on her own in the first set, but the world number six was able to stave off several break point opportunities. Weingartner rallied well and did enough to keep the contest interesting, especially in the second set when she produced some spectacular winners. She earned a break point to lead 4-2 but Kuznetsova saved that with a fierce backhand volley. It was Kuznetsova who claimed the only break of the second set, for 4-3, when Weingartner netted a weak double-handed backhand. The Russian duly closed out the match. “It was tough to go all the way through after coming from the US Open,’’ said Kuznetsova. “I was just doing my best and didn’t want to lose. I was just trying to get into form. I played well today. “Today the key was to just stay in the match. I didn’t play my best, definitely. “I played well the first set, but Marlene couldn’t find anything to play against me. In the second set she played better. She ran much more, but I was still making her run to see if she could handle it.’’
— Reuters |
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Former Indian captain Zafar Iqbal, doing some plain speaking here today, said the country needed players of the class and calibre of Jugraj Singh to recapture the old magic. He said Jugraj Singh was sorely missed as India could not find a replacement of his class as penalty corner specialist in the Olympic Games at Athens.
