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Langer cracks ton in drawn match
Team preparing to face Australia: Dravid
Australia ready for spin: Gilchrist
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Why all this confusion on TV coverage ?
Zee delays launch of sports channel
Rach happy with team performance
Amritsar ready to host India-Pak hockey match
Pak player gets top billing
World Half Marathon in Delhi
9-ball snooker at Ludhiana
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Langer cracks ton in drawn match
Mumbai, October 2 Langer made 108 with two sixes and 12 fours after Glenn McGrath's four-wicket haul had helped the visitors bowl out Mumbai for 255 in reply to Australia's 302 for seven declared in the first innings. Australians finished the day at a strong 207 for one for an overall lead of 254 runs when play was called off by mutual agreement after the first of 15 mandatory overs in the last hour of play. The unbeaten batsmen at the end were Brad Hodge (29) and Simon Katich (7). It was Langer who personified Australia's domination over the match as he toyed with the Mumbai spin attack with ease in the only warm-up game for the tourists ahead of the four-Test series against India commencing on October 6. Langer, who put on a breezy stand of 142 for the first wicket with makeshift opener Michael Clarke, completed his century in just over three hours and off 149 balls. He raced to his half century in 63 balls with nine hits to the fence. The only time the 34-year-old left-hander looked in some spot of bother was when he faced Ajit Agarkar, who got rid off him in the first innings after taking the Aussie opener's wicket five times in the series in Australia. Clarke too used some valuable time in the middle by using his feet well to tackle the spinning ball in his 145-minute innings studded with 8 fours before he was declared caught at short leg off Powar by umpire T K Handu though the batsman indicated the ball had gone off his hip. Earlier, McGrath warmed up nicely for the Test series by snaring three top order Mumbai batsmen in his superb figures of four for 25 in hot and humid conditions. The fast bowler made light of the slowness of the pitch with sustained spells of fast bowling to help the visitors bundle out the Ranji Trophy champions soon after lunch, 47 runs short of the Australian tally after the hosts had resumed at their overnight 150 for 4. He started the slide of Mumbai's first innings by trapping overnight not out batsman Amol Muzumdar leg before for 52, off the eighth ball of the day. McGrath added the scalp of last man Avishkar Salvi, who was clean bowled, in the post-lunch session to terminate the Mumbai innings 12 minutes into the second session. Brett Lee, wicket-less yesterday, finished with two while Shane Watson added one more victim to also finish with a two-wicket haul for Australia. The fact that McGrath, who had played only two Tests after his long lay-off from the game following an ankle surgery, scythed through the top order of Mumbai by taking three of the top four batsmen must have pleased the Aussie team management. The pace bowler's victims were openers Wasim Jaffer and Vinayak Mane, Amol Muzumdar, who was the lone half centurion in the Mumbai innings with his knock of 52 in 135 minutes, and Salvi. Muzumdar added only two runs to his overnight score as Mumbai lost three quick wickets in the morning before useful tailend batting by Ajit Agarkar, who made 37 with six fours. Vinayak Samant and Nilesh Kulkarni helped the home team cross 250 after they were 179 for seven before the end of the first hour of play. Scoreboard Australia (1st innings): Mumbai (1st innings): Jaffer lbw b McGrath 48 Mane c sub b McGrath 3 Indulkar lbw Huaritz 13 Muzumdar lbw McGrath 52 Kambli lbw Watson 26 Powar c Huaritz b Watson 4 Bahutule c Gilchrist b Lee 8 Agarkar c McGrath b Clarke 37 Samant c Gilchrist b Lee 20 Kulkarni not out 15 Salvi b McGrath 7 Extras
(b-4, lb-4, nb-14) 22 Total (all out in 92.2 overs) 255 Fall of wickets:
1-6, 2-64, 3-80, 4-150, 5-152, 6-156, 7-179, 8-213, 9-248 Bowling:
McGrath 21.2-8-25-4, Lee 21-4-53-2, Watson 10-1-23-2, Clarke 11-1-56-1, Hauritz 21-4-62-1, Katich 3-0-18-0, Hodge 5-0-10-0. Australia (2nd innings): Langer retired 108 Clarke c Indulkar b Powar 52 Hodge not out 29 Katich not out 7 Extras
(b 3, lb 6, nb 2) 11 Total (1 wkt, in 54 overs) 207 Fall of wicket:
1-142. Bowling: Agarkar 5-2-14-0, Salvi 9-4-13-0, Kulkarni 19-0-69-0, Powar 16-1-85-1, Mane 4-1-15-0, Indulkar
1-0-2-0.—PTI |
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Team preparing to face Australia: Dravid
Bangalore, October 2 Despite coach John Wright announcing an off day for the players, Dravid along with V.V.S. Laxman, Aakash Chopra and wicket keeper-batsman Parthiv Patel had a batting practice session. India ‘A’ team seamers Amit Bhandari, Joginder Sharma, S.S. Paul and S. Trivedi, who had
severely tested the Seniors in the four-day match, bowled for the batsmen. Captain Saurav Ganguly, who left for Kolkata yesterday, is expected to return tomorrow. Australians, who are currently playing against Ranji champions at Mumbai, are expected to arrive here tomorrow afternoon. Dravid said though absence of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar in the team was felt, the team was preparing itself to put up a better show in the series against Australia. Talking to newsmen here, “The Wall” said: “Yes, the team felt the absence of Tendulkar, but it is preparing itself to take on Australia.” Doubts existed about Sachin playing in the first Test, despite being named among the 15-member squad, as the doctors attending on him have adviced against due to ‘tennis elbow’. Replying to a question, Dravid welcomed recently introduced graded system by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He said that the system would encourage players and there would be more
understanding between players and the Board. To another question, he said that the preparations are going on well for the first Test match beginning here on October 6. Earlier, Dravid inaugurated Emami National Institute for Bone Marrow at the Narayana Hrudayalaya here.
— UNI |
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Australia ready for spin: Gilchrist
Mumbai, October 2 "We had a quality time out in the middle against the spinners. Now it depends on how we take this lesson into the series. We have come with a game plan on tackling the Indian spinners. It depends on how we execute it," the flamboyant left-handed batsman said. Gilchrist said he was happy with his team's outing against Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai, especially his top order batsmen's ability to tackle the spinning ball, in the three-day match that ended in a draw here today. "It was good to start the tour like this. We lost half a day due to rains. Otherwise, there could have been a result. Still we had a few good days here. We also got to do what we set out to do at the beginning. We are pretty happy," he told reporters after the match. Australia dominated Mumbai, taking a lead of 47 runs over the hosts and then rattling up 207 for one in quick time in the second innings before the game ended. Gilchrist was also pleased with the way the two pace bowlers - Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee - bowled in the match. "Both Glenn and Brett are coming out of one-day cricket and we are pretty pleased with the way they bowled here. The more they bowl the better it would be for them," Gilchrist said.
— PTI |
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Why all this confusion on TV coverage ?
Chandigarh, October 2 Both Doordarshan and Zee have moved the apex court and their petitions are to come up for hearing less than 24 hours before the start of the first Test match between India and Australia on Wednesday. Taj Entertainment (Ten Sports), which will produce the feed, has a five-year contract with both Pakistan and Sri Lanka and as such will have little or no difficulty in managing the equipment in time to start the coverage which, in turn would be telecast by Sony Entertainment Network. If one looks back, the television coverage of cricket, which started in the early 90s, has not only changed the game of cricket but has given the sport a new commercial dimension. As of date, the number of companies specialising in TV coverage of cricket can be counted on fingertips. They are World Tel, Trans World International (TWI), World Sport (NIMBUS), Sunset & Cine and Trade Mark. The latest entrant is Ten Sports. Interestingly, most of these companies have been depending upon Charter Broadcast or Gear House for equipment. While the controversy over television coverage of India-Australia was going on, Charter Broadcast, a London-based company, has kept its equipment packed in anticipation that NIMBUS will produce the feed on behalf of Doordarshan. The BCCI had entered into an agreement with Doordarshan for coverage for two years in 2000. Doordarshan floated Channel IX exclusively for cricket coverage and engaged NIMBUS for the production of the feed. In 2002, three companies---World Tel, WWI and NIMBUS---again made the bid for producing the feed. Since NIMBUS offered the lowest rates, it got the contract which ended only in September this year. Confusion started because the BCCI expected the series against Australia to start in September within the previous contract period. But since the ICC Championship came in between, the start of the series has been delayed till October 6. Initially, both the BCCI and Doordarshan were hopeful of extending the contract till the end of the current calendar year so that the next contract for TV coverage becomes effective from New Year Day of 2005. Since television coverage generates so much of revenue, even Doordarshan, inspite of criticism of producing five-ball an over coverage of international cricket, made money. Doordarshan doubled the time between two overs for commercial slots to make extra money. Though this was not liked by cricket fans, yet it continued unabated. Interestingly, transportation of equipment for coverage to different stations is a mammoth
task. This is why the production companies normally go for chartered transport aircraft. Initially, when the TV coverage of cricket started, nine cameras were used. But now, the standardised requirement is 20-camera coverage for any international cricket match. As such, the equipment used at any venue is about 17.5 tonnes.TWI has four specialised designed trucks which are transported in IL-76 directly to the venue of the event. Now some of the companies, including TWI, have gone for 32-camera coverage of cricket. TWI has a five-year contract with the West Indies. For a normal two-month charter of a transport aircraft like Russian IL-76, the cost of the production unit is anything between US $ 2,00,000 to $ 3,00,000. Besides the equipment, the production unit of 45 professionals also travels in the same aircraft. Wg Cdr C.S. Grewal, who retired as a transport pilot from the Indian Air Force, has perhaps the longest association with TV companies engaged in cricket coverage of flying their equipment. In 1993, when the TWI engaged IAF AN 32 aircraft for transporting its equipment within India for the England series, Wing Commander Grewal had made his debut. Since then, there has been hardly any cricket series in India where he has not been associated with the transportation of equipment. |
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Zee delays launch of sports channel
New Delhi, October 2 The broadcaster has deferred the launch by a few days, pending its litigation over cricket telecast rights in the Supreme Court, a senior official said. However, Zee insisted that it would go ahead with the sports channel’s launch, even if the court verdict was not in its favour. “We are hopeful that the Supreme Court would rule in our favour. However, the launch of the channel is not contingent upon our getting the cricket telecast rights,” Essel Group vice-president (Corporate Brand Development) Ashish Kaul said from Mumbai. Test signals for the channel have already started and the company is currently in the process of gathering content of sports programmes, other than cricket. Zee Telefilms had said it would invest around Rs 200 crore for the launch of the channel. However, industry sources say the investment would fall to as low as Rs 30 crore if it failed to get cricket telecast rights. Kaul said if Zee finally won the case in the apex court, it would not require any programming for its channel for the next six months or so with hectic cricket season ahead. “However, if we do not get the cricket rights, we will procure programming of other sports like football, golf, hockey and basketball which would be shown on the channel,” he said.
— PTI |
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Rach happy with team performance
New Delhi, October 2 “It’s too early to judge them. I did not get enough time to prepare the team. So we can’t say that the team has been transformed,” Rach told reporters here after the team’s return from Pakistan. “The best thing about this side is that the team is playing to a plan and nobody is refusing to do what he has been asked to. We are happy to see these guys playing this way,” he said. India went to Pakistan less than a month after a disastrous showing in the Athens Olympics, where they finished seventh. Though no one gave the side, without several senior players, a chance, it surprised all by winning a Test and drawing another in the four-match series. The Indians, trailing the series 1-2, would play the remaining four matches of the series in India from Monday. Rach said the team has overcame certain problems which were responsible for its lacklustre show at recent international meets. “The team had more problems before but now they have a very few. Short corner is one such area where we must work on. This is an important aspect of the game as short corners are deciding the fate of the match these days.” Captain Dilip Tirkey said he was glad to see the way his boys performed in the Pakistan series and hoped they would continue in the same vein in India. “Honestly speaking, I was a little surprised to see the way the boys performed. But I must say that I had complete faith in them and knew that they can do justice to their talent at the highest level. “Several players had never played in a big series before, so I was happy to seem them doing so well.” Tirkey said the Pakistan trip had provided a great exposure to the young members of the side who must carry forward the good work. “The result is secondary, but we must give our best and try hard to win the series. We have raised expectations of people and would try to justify their faith in us,” the 27-year-old defender said. Tirkey was overwhelmed with the way the side was treated during the tour of Pakistan. “I had gone their before in 1999. This time too it was a great feeling going there. It was a great experience, not just for me but for all the players. “In Quetta (where India thrashed Pakistan 4-1), people were cheering for us and rooting for our win. It was nice to see some carrying Indian and Pakistani flags side by side and hailing both the teams.” The Indian captain also did not forget to mention about the spectator turn-out during the matches. “Thousands of people came to the stadium to watch the matches. It is really good for hockey.” he said.
— PTI |
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Amritsar ready to host India-Pak hockey match
Amritsar, October 2
The stadium was packed to capacity and the district administration had a tough time handling the crowd.
But times have changed since then. Unlike the 1965 match, this time the third Test match for the second leg of the India-Pakistan hockey series will be played in genial conditions.
Kapur Singh (76), an international hockey player, who was the honorary secretary of the District Hockey Association for a record 40 years from 1952 to 1992 said the 1965 match had generated a tremendous response but failed to recall the result of the match despite his best effort. He hopes the October 8 Test match would help to revive hockey in the region, which is on the wane. The city has hosted a number of international hockey matches. The last match before militancy intensified in Punjab was held between India and Russia in 1981. After the return of peace in the state, the Fifth Indira Gandhi Gold Cup International Women’s Hockey Tournament was held in January 1994. It was also the first international tournament to be played on Astro-turf ground of Guru Nanak Dev University in which teams from Uzbekistan, Italy, Kazakhstan and Korea participated. Seven months later the 25th Maharaja Ranjit Singh Gold Cup International Hockey Tournament was played on the same venue. In 1964 India played three international matches against France, Malaysia and Japan. In 1968 two matches were played by the Indian team against East Germany and Poland. The first match to be played in the city was between India and Kenya in 1956. Hockey lovers are anticipating a nail-biting contest. Balwinder Shammi, who participated in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, said the Test match would give boost to the hockey in the region.
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Pak player gets top billing
New Delhi, October 2 The tournament will feature India’s top men and women players like Vinod Sridhar, Kamala Kannan, Ajay Ramaswami and Prahlad Srinath besides another Pakistani player, Nomee Qamar. The total prize money at stake will be Rs 7.22 lakh and the women’s title winner will earn Rs 80,000. The DSCL chairman and senior managing director Ajay S. Shriram said the championship, over the years, has provided the platform to be the launching pad for many a talented junior in the country, and former national champions like Sunil Kumar Sipaeya and Sania Mirza had cut their teeth, as it were, at the DSCL Open Championships. Mr Shriram said the women’s field consists of the best players, including defending champion Ankita Bhambri, Sana Bhambri, Sonal Phadke, Archna Venkatraman, Lisa Pereira, Parul Goswami, Sheetal Goutham, Poonam S Reddy and Isha Lakhani. He said in a bid to give a dash of international flavour to the championship, a couple of Pakistani players have been invited to participate as they had done well on the ITF circuit in India and Pakistan recently. |
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World Half Marathon in Delhi
New Delhi, October 2 Two new individual champions will be crowned in this 13th edition of the prestigious championships as the capital becomes the first Asian city to hold the event with a record number of 64 countries taking part. With women’s marathon world record holder and defending champion Paula Radcliffe of Britain and Kenyan Martin Kel, who won the men’s race in last year’s championships held in Portugal absent, the focus will be on veteran Irish star Sonia O’Sullivan and China’s Sun Yingjee, who finished sixth in 10,000 metres in Athens Olympics. Amid all these big names, the Indians may only end up as also rans but would be aiming to put up a decent show on home turf led by 19-year-old Mukesh Yadav. The Allahabadi is a fine road-runner and has a personal best of 1:08.30 in half marathon clocked in the JRD Tata Half Marathon in July this year. Other runners in the Indian men’s team are Mohan Chandra Kapri, P. Nagender Rao, Raj Kumar, Sandeep Kumar, R.B. Subba and Ajit Singh. In the women’s section, Pushpa Devi of Delhi will lead the challenge. Pushpa ran in the last World Championship where she clocked her personal best of 1:22:09.
— PTI |
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9-ball snooker at Ludhiana
Chandigarh, October 2 This is the first time ever that the national championship of any cue sports is being held in Punjab and is a feather in the cap of the new Executive Committee which took over the reins of the PBSA recently. In a unique move aimed at enhancing the popularity of the game, the restriction on the number of entries per state has been removed by the organising committee of the tournament. The players to represent India in all international events next year will be picked from this tournament. According to Mr Sandeep Jalota, Treasurer of the PBSA, around 200 players from over 15 states are expected to participate in the championship. |
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