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Yuvraj may open, Kaif to replace Chopra
Shane Warne desperate to break record
Rain may play spoilsport
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Collier England cricket chief
Oscar Bansal, Bob Sharma enter pre-quarterfinals
Haryana wrestlers bag
overall trophy
Santosh Trophy begins today
PF staff meet results
Ranchi girls hold Amritsar
Ashok Kumar takes lead
Pinegrove school to host hockey meet
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Yuvraj may open, Kaif to replace Chopra
Chennai, October 13 Addressing reporters, he said Yuvraj Singh was likely to open the innings with Virender Sehwag, adding that Mohammad Kaif was set to replace Aakash Chopra in the eleven. However, he said all possible combinations would be discussed with the selectors before announcing the team tomorrow morning. “We need to have a discussion with the selectors on the matter,” he said. Ruling out VVS Laxman at the number three spot, he said, “Rahul Dravid will be at No. 3.” Regarding Sachin Tendulkar not being able to make it for the match, Ganguly commented, “We all miss him. It is a big blow not to have Sachin around, but the others have to stand up and be counted.” He urged his batsmen to think positively and get runs, indicating that those who failed would be axed.“It is high time the batsmen realise they have to come good.” “These are players who have got double centuries against the best bowling attacks and on fast wickets. Their records speak for themselves. I have faith in my batsmen but one can’t wait for ever.” The Indian captain opined that the toss was not a factor and felt his team had to make a comeback after being down 0-1 in the series. Ganguly was against having three spinners in the team, even as India is contemplating replacing Zaheer Khan, who took only one wicket in the Bangalore Test, with right-arm seamer Ajit Agarkar. Agarkar has a good record against Australia, having claimed 29 wickets in eight Tests, including a career-best 6-41 in India’s win at Adelaide last season. Regarding the pitch at Chepauk, Ganguly said, “This is a better wicket than what we got at Bangalore, It is good for batting for the first three days.” PTI adds:
The 217-run demolition in Bangalore has put India in the same situation they were in three years ago. The team is hoping that its batting machinery fires in time and as efficiently as it did in 2001 to pull them out of trouble. “We are in the same situation like in 2001. What happened in Kolkata was also a tough situation on the first two days but the two players (Laxman and Dravid) turned around the series,” coach John Wright said. “We got to do it this time too. We have the players to do it. That is what needs to happen and the boys understand that,” he said. But with Tendulkar not around this time and most of the top-order batsmen woefully out of form, the Indians face a daunting task to stop the Australians, who are seeking to record their first series win on Indian soil in close to four decades. Chepauk has been a happy hunting ground for Tendulkar. He has hit four centuries in the six matches he has played in Chennai, and scored 714 runs at an average of 102.00. But it is high time that at least a couple of batsmen get a big knock and put up a big score on the board to put some pressure on the visitors. It was clear from the performance in Bangalore that the team was not only less prepared but also had too many weaknesses that could be erased in the gap of three days. A brittle opening combination and a top order that has failed to show any application have been the most glaring of them all. But the shoddy wicketkeeping of Parthiv Patel and the ordinary bowling by Zaheer Khan could not have gone unnoticed either. Sehwag and Chopra, who had seemed impregnable in Australia, looked inadequate on home turf. It has again brought to light India’s perennial problem of finding a stable opening pair. The diminutive Patel might have done himself a favour with a plucky knock in Bangalore but his glovework brought back memories of his disastrous tour Down Under last year. The Indian team seems to have hit such a psychological low that Ganguly asked them to watch a documentary on Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, to imbibe the fighting spirit of the American in the remaining matches of the series. “Few sportsmen inspire as much as the great man. His determination and single-minded devotion to his sport is what anyone would want to emulate,” Ganguly said. Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan have been the glimmer of hope. That the brightest phase of Indian batting should involve these two reflects the sorry tale of other top-order batsmen. Spinning the ball on home track, the ‘Turbanator’ has taunted the Aussies once again. Not only with the ball, but with his verbal volleys too. Pathan has regained the swerve and verve that was missing in England. On the bouncy Chennai pitch, with sea breeze to back him, the 20-year-old speedster could be more than a handful.
— PTI |
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Shane Warne desperate to break record
Sydney, October 13 The 35-year-old has so far scalped 531 Test wickets and needs just two more to claim the record from Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan. Warne, who was six short of breaking the record when he stepped on Indian soil and has been insisting ever since that he was not overly bothered by the historic milestone, finally admitted that the record was playing on his mind. “Human nature takes over,” said Warne, who took four wickets in 60 overs in the first Test but failed to eclipse the record on the final day when four Indian wickets were up for grabs. He was in fact smashed by the Indian tail and was forced to wait for another shot at Muralitharan’s mark. “You tell yourself you’ll be relaxed and patient, and I was for 55 overs. But as soon as the game was there to be won — we all knew we’d win on the last day — my own expectation and everybody else’s, the team’s, the spectators’, was that I’d get the last two wickets and get the record.” The Australian will now bid for the record in the second Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, a ground of which he does not have a very fond memory. He had returned figures of 2-181 from 48 overs in the last Test which India won by two wickets to seal the series.
— PTI |
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Rain may play spoilsport
Chennai, October 13 Various parts of the city have been experiencing scattered rain since yesterday, though there have not been much showers at Chepauk, where the MA Chidambaram Stadium is situated. Met office sources said a trough of low pressure had formed over the bay and the adjoining Tamil Nadu coast. Under its influence, various parts of Tamil Nadu would receive scattered rainfall during the next 48 hours.
— UNI |
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Collier England cricket chief
LONDON: Nottinghamshire county boss David Collier has been named England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive in succession to Tim Lamb. He has been assistant secretary at Essex, secretary at Gloucestershire and chief executive at Leicestershire. He has spent the past four years at Trent Bridge. Lamb, who held the post for six years, completed his period in office earlier this month after initially announcing his resignation in May.
— AFP |
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Oscar Bansal, Bob Sharma enter pre-quarterfinals
Chandigarh, October 13 Oscar demolished Kunal Bora
Dev of Assam in the sub-junior boys section while Punjab champion Bob
had a tough time against Nripendra Singh of Uttar Pradesh in the mini
boys section. Oscar will now take on N Arun of Andhra Pradesh in the
pre-quarterfinals. In the sub-junior girls singles, fifth seed
Karnataka’ s Nitya Sosale, a trainee of Prakash Padukone Badminton
Academy, Bangalore, outplayed Akanksha Nehra of Delhi in straight games.
Promising sixth seed Kannu Priya from Haryana trounced Aastha of
Chandigarh to reach the pre-quarterfinals. In mini girls singles,
Punjab’s Steffi Kala and Komalpreet also moved into the
pre-quarterfinals. Today’s results: Sub-junior boys
singles (U-16): 3rd round: Samrudha Rathod (Mah) b Vipul Saini
(J&K) 15-3,15-0; Guru Sai Dutt (AP) b Eshan Naqvi (UP) 15-9,15-2;
Aslam (Pun) b Sarfaraz Azam (Bih) 6-15,15-5,15-4; Suranjan Bhobora (Asm)
b Darshan Vernekar (Ktk) 15-6,15-6; Parit Bhargava (Del) b Sunil Mahala
(Chd) 15-10,15-6; Srujan Nandaluri (AP) b Niket Karnatak (UP) 15-3,15-4;
Abhidnya Sawant (Mah) b Navin Prasad (TN) 15-7,15-4; Rohit Ranawat (Uth)
b Prateek Singh (MP) 15-2,15-4; N Arun (AP) b Parin Chopda (Mah)
15-6,15-11; Oscar Bansal (Chd) b Kunal Bora Dev (Asm) 15-9,15-6; Aditya
Prakash (Ktk) b Balbir Rawat (Uth) 15-12,15-9; Anurag Sharma (UP) b
Guranshu Chopra (Del) 15-8,15-2; Anuj BJ (Ktk) b T Tarun Reddy (AP)
15-7,10-15,15-7; Aditya Elango (TN) b Avish Mukul (Pun)
15-6,16-17,15-13; Dinyajyoti Bora (Asm) b Pratil Mittal (Har)
15-12,15-10; Akshay Dewalkar (Mah) b Anjan Majumdar (Tpr) 15-4,15-4. Doubles:
Elvis & Niranjan (AP) b Ankur & Munish (Chd) 15-12,15-13;
Darshan Vernekar & Anoop Kiran (Ktk) b Prem Singh & Mohit Sharma
(Raj) 15-4,15-10; RM Guru Sai Dutt & K Tarun Reddy (AP) b Rati Kant
Saha & Ashutosh Tiwari (WB) 15-9,15-7; Shoyeb Aizaz & MD Sahan
Ahmed (UP) b Somarjit & N Mohan (Mnp) 15-3,15-10; P Vinay Reddy
& G Anish Reddy (AP) b A Babu & R Mahapatra (Prs) 15-3,15-6; K
Anish Anand & Vikranth (AP) b Navin Prasad & Ajay Aditya (TN)
15-9,6-15,17-14; Rohit & Satinder (Har) b Hirak Jyoti Neogi &
Nayan Dutta (Asm) 15-11,15-3. Sub-junior girls singles (U-16):
Gayatri Vartak (Mah) b Yashika Punnacha (Ktk) 11-0,11-3; Pallavi (Har) b
Alka Kumari (Bhr) 11-3,11-3; Monisha Vinayak (Ktk) b N Susweta (AP)
11-7,11-2; J Shruthi (AP) b Purnika (Chd) 11-1,11-3; Ashwini Ponnapa (Ktk)
b Kadambari Chheda (Mah) 11-4,11-8; Parsha Naqvi (UP) b Manasi Pandit (Guj)
11-2,11-4; Nitya Sosale (Ktk) b Akanksha Nehra (Dli) 11-6,11-1; Pradnya
Gadre (Mah) b M Shruthi (Ker) 11-9,11-9; Aswathy Mary Mathew (TN) b CH
Raamya Teja (AP) 11-4,8-11,11-2; Kannu Priya (Har) b Aastha (Chd)
11-0,11-0; Mudra Dhainje (Mah) b Moharmala Mukherjee (WB) 11-2,11-1;
Arundhati Pantawane (Mah) b Meenakshi (Del) 11-1,11-2; Trupti Lavanya
(MP) b N Sikki Reddy (AP) 11-3,11-0; V Ruth Misha (Ktk) b Neha Verma
(UP) 11-3,11-4. Doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa & Nitya Sosale (Ktk)
b P Jyotsana & N Susweta (AP) 15-6,15-10; Shweta Kelkar &
Pradnya Gadre (Mah) b Meenakshi & Radhinka (Del) 15-5,15-6; J
Shruthi & Ch Raamya Teja (AP) b Trupti Lavanya & Sachi Rege (MP)
15-3,15-9; Kannu Priya & Pallavi (Har) b Aastha & Purnika (Chd)
15-2,15-8; Gayatri Vartak (Mah) & GM Nishchita (Ktk) b Vinita Ghate
& Arundhati Pantawane (Mah) 15-3,15-9; Aswathy Mary Mathew & A
Priya (TN) b Dikshika & Sheetal (Utr) 15-2,15-4; V Ruth Misha &
Shruti Sridhar (Ktk) b Seema & Akriti (Chd) 15-1,15-0. Mini
girls singles (U-13): 2nd round: Ankita Ashok (Ktk) b
Saloni Jain (UP) 11-3,11-1; Daya Elsa Jacob (Ker) b Anuradha (Har)
11-7,11-6; G Divya (AP) b Amrita Thakur (Bhr) 13-10,11-1; Vijeta Bhagan
(MP) b Kumari Sanju (Utr) 11-4,11-4; Manmita (Asm) b Sikki Reddy (AP)
11-4,4-11,11-5; Megha Rawat (Guj) b Jyoti (Har) 11-5,11-6; Vaibhavi
Sabnis (Mah) b L Hriatpui (Miz) 11-3,11-1; Steffi Kala (Pun) b Joyshree
Chanu (Mnp) 1-11,13-11,11-9; Priyadarshini (Asm) b Kumari Puja (Utr)
13-11,11-2; Saili Rane (Mah) b Sajia Khan (MP) 11-6,11-6; Komalpreet
(Pun) b Richa Naik (Goa) 8-11,11-4,11-1; Utkarsha Deokar (Mah) b Isha
Imam (Jhr) 11-1,11-0. Mini boys singles (U-13): 3rd round:
Saurabh Varma (MP) b Sarfaraz Ahmed (Bhr) 15-6,15-3; Sarab Chaterjee
(WB) b Nilav Dutta (Asm) 15-1,15-2; Bob Sharma (Pun) b Nripendra Singh
(UP) 8-15,15-4,15-2; Hirakjyoti Neogi (Asm) b Bharat Bajaj (Del)
15-5,15-2; N Satyanarayan Rao (TN) b Pranav Chopda (Pun) 15-1,15-5;
Dipak Bhisht (Utr) b Kunal Bhide (Mah) 15-11,15-13; Sai Praneet (AP) b
Sunny Sawant (Goa) 15-1,15-8; B Avinesh (AP) b Aman Sethi (Chd)
15-11,15-4; K Nanadagopal (AP) b Tejas Shah (Guj) 15-3,15-4; Eshan Naqvi
(UP) b Pratyul Joshi (Utr) 15-6,15-4; Pratik (Har) b Ramis Alam (Jhr)
15-1,15-3; Nikhilesh Sharma (Asm) b Ajay Kumar (AP) 12-15,15-3,15-4; B
Ashok (TN) b Debashish Mishra (Mah) 15-13,15-12; P.Naveen (AP) b Bisal
Kumar Das (Mah) 15-9,15-9; Akshit Mahajan (Har) b Ankit Arora (Raj)
10-15,15-12,15-11; Rajkumar (Pun) b Zothan Sanga (Miz) 15-2,15-2.
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Haryana wrestlers bag
overall trophy
Chandigarh, October 13 The results: Freestyle: 50kg: Vinod (Har)
1, Vikas (WB) 2, Uttam Patel (SSCB) and Satyawan (Chd) 3; 55kg:
Devinder (Har) 1, Kishan Kumar (Del) 2, Narinder (Chd) and Rohtas (Del)
3; 61kg: Narinder (Chd) 1, Anoop Singh (Nidani) 2, Anuj Malik
(UP) and Narsingh Yadav (Mah) 3; 69kg: Somvir (Har) 1, Mukesh
(NCR) 2, Jaibir (Ker) and Kulbir (TN) 3; 74kg: Vinod Kumar (Chd)
1, Raj Kumar (Del) 2, Rajesh (NCR) and Ram Prakash (SSCB) 3; 84kg:
Ravinder (Del) 1, Jaibir (Nidani) 2, Manjit (SSCB) and Narinder (UP) 3; 96kg:
Navin Kumar (Har) 1, Gurdev Singh (Pun) 2, Vijaypal (UP) and Pardeep
(Uttranchal) 3. Greco-Roman: 50kg: Jaiveer (Nidani) 1,
Satyawan (Del) 2, Deepak Kamble (Mah) and Joginder (Har) 3; 55kg:
1 Rajinder (Har) 1, Vikash Kumar (WB) 2, Ram Payare Yadav (Pond) and Ram
Bir (Har) 3; 60kg: Sukhbir (Har) 1, Anil (Nidani) 2, Bajarang
Yadav (Mah) and Ajit Singh (SSCB) 3; 74kg: Rajesh Kumar (Pond)
1, Arvind (SSCB) 2, Sanjay (Del) and Rajbir (Har) 3; 84kg:
Manjit (Pond) 1, Mahipal Singh (Del) 2, Phool Kumar (Ker) and Rajesh
(SSCB) 3; 96kg:
1 Joginder (Har) 1, Om Parkash (SSCB) 2, Sandeep Gaur (Mah) and
Dhirender (Chd) 3; 120kg: Suresh (WB) 1, Ravinder (Har) 2,
Davinder (Nidani) and Satish Kumar (NCR) 3. — UNI |
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Santosh Trophy begins today
New Delhi, October 13 Thirtythree teams, including four of last year’s semifinalists who have been seeded directly into the quarterfinal league, are competing in the championship. Twentyfour teams, including holders Manipur, have already arrived in Delhi. Most states have brought their best players, and six of the players, who did duty for the country in the pre-Olympic qualifier against Singapore today, will join various teams. Runners-up Kerala, who were beaten by Manipur 1-2 through a controversial goal at Imphal last year, have discarded two of their star players — IM Vijayan and Joe Paul Ancheri — to field a young and talented team. Former champions Punjab, Bengal and Maharashtra have the ignominy of fighting their way through the cluster matches to qualify for the quarterfinal league, which will begin on October 21. Any team who win two matches in the cluster can hope to qualify for the quarterfinal league. Meanwhile, AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco clarified that the federation had issued a letter to former India player Brahamanand Sangawalkar as the goalkeeping coach of the team. (Brahmanand was reportedly turned away from the coaching camp by chief coach Stephan Constantine on the plea that he had no information about his appointment). Bengal, Goa, Kerala, Manipur, Karnataka and Maharashtra start favourites to win the title. Goa, Kerala and Manipur have been seeded directly into the quarterfinal league, being the semifinalists of the 58th edition. Delhi play Gujarat in the opening match at 3 pm. |
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PF staff meet results
Karnal, October 13 Sushma Rawat of Uttaranchal won the women’s carrom final defeating Seema Gulati of Haryana. Rakesh and Sushma Rawat of Uttaranchal won the carrom mixed doubles title by defeating Narinder and Surjit Kaur of the Central office in the final. In women’s badminton final, Kamla of the Central office defeated Sushma Rawat of Uttaranchal 13-11,11-9, 11-4. In men’s badminton final, Ravi Kalra of Haryana defeated Sanjiv of Delhi 15-2, 15-7. In the men’s doubles final, Ravi Kalra and Manish of Haryana defeated Vishwanath and SP Dube of the Central office 15-8, 15-7. In the badminton mixed doubles final, Ravi Kalra and Karuna of Haryana defeated Kamla and Vishwanath of the Central office 15-13, 15-9. VP Singh of Delhi won the chess final, defeating RK Maheshwari of Uttar Pradesh.
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GND varsity tennis team in finals
Amritsar, October 13 The four-member team, comprising Arjun Talwar, Kushagra Mahajan, Vipul Nivetia and Nikhil Sharma, finished runners-up in the North-East inter-university championship held recently at Ranchi. Arjun Talwar, playing his maiden inter-university tournament, remained unbeaten in the singles. In the doubles’ final, he and Kushagra Mahajan were defeated by the Delhi University pair. Last year, Arjun claimed the gold medal in the AITA tournament and silver and bronze medals in the team and individual events, respectively, in the school nationals. Kushagra was the bronze medallist in the school nationals last year. |
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Ranchi girls hold Amritsar
New Delhi, October 13 In other matches, St Mary’s School, Sundergarh, defeated Karamat Hussain Muslim Girls Inter-College, Lucknow, 2-1 while Birsa Munda Vidyapitha, Rourkela (Orissa), defeated School Girls team, Sri Lanka, 6-1.
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Ashok Kumar takes lead
New Delhi, October 13 One stroke behind the leader, tied at second position at four-under 68, were his arch-rival Shiv Kapur, Chandigarh’s Ranjit Singh and amateur Gagan Verma. The quartet of Mukesh Kumar, Digvijay Singh, S Madhaiah and Mohd Nawab were tied fifth at 69 apiece. |
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Pinegrove school to host hockey meet
Subathu, October 13 Six teams from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh will participate in the three-day tournament. Lawrence School, Sanawar, had instituted this tournament in 1998 with the aim of giving an opportunity to schoolchildren to get formal training and tournament exposure. |
Chess Olympiad World squash meet Pak team arrives MDU win |
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In video: Sachin to miss second Test against Australia, Warne eyes world record.
Sydney, October 13
