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Brett Lee strums a guitar during a party in Mumbai on Wednesday. — Reuters
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Lanka fight back against Pakistan
Thilan Samaraweera acknowledges his century against Pakistan during the second day of the first cricket Test in Faisalabad on Thursday. — AP/PTI
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McCullum’s ton puts
Rafique feat to shade
Gibss, Boje doubtful for India tour
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Kerala (top) and Railways players in action during the quarterfinal match of the Santosh Trophy at Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi, on Thursday. — Tribune
photo by Mukesh Aggarwal
Paragliding: foreign pilots set to dominate
Top drivers for Shimla rally
Indian men win, eves held
Lakshmi Sahiti, Rajesh clinch chess titles
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Brett Lee not in scheme of things, says Ponting
Sydney, October 21 Ponting, who will leave for India tomorrow after recovering from a thumb injury, said Lee would probably have to wait till the home season before he gets to play a Test match. "Unfortunately, he (Lee) is not getting a crack at the moment but we have got a lot of Test matches to play in Australia this summer and I am sure he will play a part in those," the Aussie skipper said. The 27-year-old paceman has been languishing on the sidelines after Michael Kasprowicz was preferred ahead of him in the two of the four Tests Australia have played against India so far. With the Australia not scheduled to tour India again till 2010, Ponting's comments means subcontinent fans would have to satisfy themselves with seeing Lee only on television commercials and billboards. "Lee has been out of the side for a long time and the guys who have been in the side when he has been out have done very, very well," Ponting said. "Michael Kasprowicz has been absolutely outstanding in both forms of the game since he has been back in the side," said Ponting. "Jason Gillespie has recently been picked in both World XI teams and Glenn McGrath has obviously been bowling very well at the moment. "Someone is always going to be unlucky, Brett is the unlucky one at the moment," he added. Ponting, who missed the first two Tests and would also sit out of the third match in Nagpur from Tuesday, is expected to be back in the team for the fourth Test starting in Mumbai on November 3. Sachin bats for underfire Patel
New Delhi: Batting ace Sachin Tendulkar has thrown his weight behind underfire wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel saying the cricketer needs support and not criticism for his performance behind the stumps. “I think Parthiv has done a good job. I know there were plenty of guys criticising his wicketkeeping. But we have just got to understand that the ups and downs are always going to be there in everybody’s career, and you need support when the chips are down,” Tendulkar said. “Nobody wants support when you’re doing well. Parthiv also has been able to play some crucial innings for us, like in the Nottingham Test in 2002, when he saved the match for us,” he said. “Everyone went gaga over Parthiv then and the same people are now criticising him. I don’t agree with that,” the batting star said. Patel has come under much criticism for his shoddy performance behind the wickets in the first two Tests against Australia but has been supported by captain Sourav Ganguly as well. The selectors also decided to give him a ‘last chance’ by retaining him in the side for the third Test beginning in Nagpur on October 26. Tendulkar, who missed the first two Tests due to injury, said he was solely going by the advice of the doctors. “It’s getting better. I know it sounds strange that after every seven days I say ‘Yeah it’s getting better’. But I am not quite there yet. “These kind of injuries are quite tricky and the decision (to return) has to be absolutely precise. I am just going by what the doctors have told me. It takes a long time for a normal person, so it’s even longer for a batsman.” On the shockwave treatment he took in England for his injury, Tendulkar said, “I’ve never ever gone through so much physical pain. I think nothing can match that. It’s probably made me tougher mentally. I am prepared to take any kind of physical pain now. “I’ve had a couple of injections (after that) and they go very deep and while I was getting them I was normal. Normally, I’m scared of needles but after that treatment nothing really bothers me.”
— PTI |
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Lanka fight back against Pakistan
Faisalabad, October 21 Pakistan, bidding for their first home series win over Sri Lanka since 1995-96, lead by just 13 runs on an increasingly docile pitch. Pakistan lost their way after rapid moving on to 85 for one at lunch, losing three wickets before tea and four in the final session. Inzamam-ul-Haq (32), Shoaib Malik (48), Moin Khan (5) and Abdul Razzaq (39) fell in the final session to hand the tourists the initiative. Moin was bowled by Sanath Jayasuriya with seven overs remaining and Razzaq was caught in the slips off Chaminda Vaas. Pakistan mustered only two notable partnerships, Yasir Hameed (58) and Asim Kamal (17) putting on 66 for the second wicket and Inzamam and Malik adding 54 for the fifth. Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st innings): Atapattu lbw Akhtar 0 Jayasuriya c Kamal b Sami 38 Sangakkara c Farhat b Akhtar 2 Jayawardene c Moin b Sami 0 Samaraweera c Sami b
Akhtar 100 Mubarak c Inzamam b Sami 34 Kaluwitharana c & b Kaneria 4 Vaas c Youhana b Akhtar 22 Herath not out 33 Fernando b Akhtar 0 Malinga b Sami 1 Extras
(lb-3 nb-6) 9 Total (all out, 81.4 overs) 243 Fall of wickets:
1-0 2-6 3-9 4-77 5-142 6-147 7-180 8-237 9-242 Bowling: Shoaib Akhtar 19-3-60-5, Mohammad Sami 21.4-5-71-4, Abdul Razzaq 15-5-33-0, Danish Kaneria 18-3-53-1, Shoaib Malik 8-1-23-0 Pakistan (1st innings): Hameed c Mubarak b
Fernando 58 Farhat c Mubarak b Malinga 11 Kamal c Jayawardene
b Fernando 17 Inzamam c Malinga b Herath 32 Youhana c Kaluwitharana b Herath 17 Malik run out (Vaas) 48 Razzaq c Jayawardene b Vaas 39 Moin b Jayasuriya 5 Sami not out 2 Akhtar not out 6 Extras
(b-6 lb-4 nb-11) 21 Total (8 wickets, 77 overs): 256 Fall of wickets:
1-28 2-94 3-109 4-134 5-188 6-227 7-246 8-248 Bowling: Vaas 22-5-56-1, Malinga 10-1-50-1, Fernando 16-0-65-2, Herath 24-4-66-2, Samaraweera 1-0-5-0, Jayasuriya 4-1-4-1.
— Reuters |
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McCullum’s ton puts
Rafique feat to shade
Dhaka, October 21 Left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique claimed six dismissals as he became the first Bangladeshi bowler to take 50 Test wickets. Scoreboard Bangladesh (1st innings):
177 New Zealand (1st innings) Richardson c Mashud b Rafique 15 Sinclair lbw b Rafique 76 Fleming c Mashud b Rana 29 Styris c Saleh b Rana 2 Astle c Rana b Rafique 11 Oram c Rana b Rafique 23 McCullum c Sarkar
b Rafique 143 Vettori c Iqbal b Rana 23 Franklin c Saleh b Baisya 23 Wiseman b Rafique 28 Butler not out 15 Extras
(nb-2 lb-5 w-4 b-3) 14 Total (all out, 145.1 overs) 402 FoW:
1-34 2-97 3-99 4-122 5-139 6-223 7-294 8-351 9-371. Bowling: Baisya 28-4-112-1, Aziz 12-1-59-0, Rafique 59.1-18-122-6, Islam Rana 42-12-84-3, Saleh 1-0-4-0, Kapali 2-0-6-0, Ashraful 1-0-7-0 Bangladesh (2nd innings): Iqbal not out 24 Omar c McCullum b Vettori 14 Sarkar c & b Vettori 1 Saleh not out 0 Extras
(b-1 nb-1) 2 Total (2 wickets, 21 overs) 41 FoW:
1-27 2-33 Bowling: Oram 5-2-6-0, Franklin 5-1-14-0, Butler 4-1-8-0, Vettori 5-3-4-2, Wiseman 2-0-8-0.
— AP |
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Gibss, Boje doubtful for India tour
Durban, October 21 “We have not yet heard anything from India,” United Cricket Board spokesman Moabi Litheko said today.
— PTI |
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Contrasting wins for Manipur, Kerala
New Delhi, October 21 Manipur doused the fire of Karnataka 3-1 in group B while Kerala derailed Railways 4-1 in group C. Hosts Delhi also joined the group C quarterfinal league as Assam did them a favour, stunning Madhya Pradesh (MP) 8-1, in the last cluster II match. Had Madhta Pradesh scored a similar verdict, Delhi would have been out of the fray. The Manipur-Karnataka match provided engrossing fare. Manipur played with, short, crisp passes and moved fast to take the Karnataka defence by surprise. But Karnataka also mounted quick counter raids to put pressure on the Manipur goal, though they failed to translate their chances into goals. Though Manipur also squandered some easy chances, they made up by scoring three flashy goals. Manipur took the lead in the 16th minute through S Dharamjit Singh, who headed in on the run, following a ‘floater’ from James Singh on the right (1-0). Former international W Tomba Singh put Sukumar Singh through, and the latter lobbed over the head of custodian TAS Ramesh, for Manipur’s second goal five minutes before half time. On resumption, Karnataka pulled one back in the 75th minute. Xavier
Vijayakumar, the fulcrum of the Karanataka attack, gave a neat dodge to a defender to blast the ball home (1-2). Manipur further enhanced the lead in the 87th minute when Tikken Singh found the net (3-1). L James Singh, the live wire of the Manipur game plan was adjudged the man of the match. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5000. Kerala, who arrived in Delhi on Tuesday, took time to settle down, and looked in danger of allowing Railways to get even. Four-time winners and seven-time runners-up, Kerala had won their first Santosh Trophy title in 1971, defeating Railways 3-2 in the final in
Ernakulam. Since then, Kerala have had a good run in the championship, while Railways have rolled onto the periphery. Kerala took the lead in the 10th minute when captain Ignatious S dribbled into the box to shoot home (1-0). After missing a couple of chances, Kerala added the second goal in the 32nd minute through Abdul Naushad. On resumption, Kerala looked a little complacent and tired, allowing more space to the Railway players to mount attacks. And one such attack fetched Railways a consolation goal in the 56th minute as Kasif Jamal booted the ball in (1-2). Stung by the reverse, Kerala pressed hard, and got their third goal in the 73rd minute when Abdul Naushad’s long-range shot, off a pass from
Usman, zoomed in (3-1). And Usman scored the fourth goal five minutes before time (4-1), off a counter-assault, following an abortive corner kick by Railways. In the Assam-Madhya Pradesh match, Akum Ao (2), Sanjeva
Rongpi, BK Sonwal, B Mushhary, Paduman Rabha (2) and C Sushil Singh scored the goals for Assam while Ammasha reduced the margin for Madhya Pradesh. Services will meet Uttar Pradesh and Goa will play Tamil Nadu in tomorrow’s quarterfinal matches. |
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Paragliding: foreign pilots set to dominate
Bir-Billing, October 21 Only those Indian pilots who had successfully participated in last year’s contest can take part in the contest. Even though the number of seats has been increased to 75 this year, there is only one applicant from Bir, seven from Himachal and 15 from across the country. The rest are all foreigners, informed Gurpreet Dhindsa, member of the organising committee. “No applications by Indian pilots have been rejected so far. It is just that the local pilots have still to put in enough time to practice so that they are able to participate in the competition. We cannot compromise on knowledge of air traffic rules and equipment quality to include just about anybody,” he said. Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Baijnath, Mr Sandeep Kumar, said that as per the conditions, either a pilot should have level three certification from International Pilots’ Proficiency Instrument (IPPI) or its equivalent, or should have successfully displayed flight of 35 kilometers twice during the competition last year. He agreed that lack of a licensing agency would keep the local pilots away as they will not have the IPPI certification. Only those who took part in the last year’s contest are eligible. Jyoti, the only local pilot from Bir, says, "Last year, I made it to the first six in the pre-World Cup event. But this year the event is expected to be more exciting as a host of professional flyers from different countries have sent in their entries. This time we would be competing with world-class pilots from England, France, Poland and other European countries and it is going to be a really exciting contest,” he says. Five seats have been reserved for wild cards (top rankers in the world) and 15 for Indians. Mr Dhinda further said that a group of Army personnel is also taking part in the contest. Nearly 70 pilots can be seen practicing at the launching site. He, however, rued that the local pilots have not even formed an association to put forth their issues in an organised manner. Chander Kumar, another pilot, said that paragliding was still being taken up more for commercial purpose in this region. "It is still not learnt with the right sporting spirit and pilots are interested in Tandem rides instead, where they have a bigger glider, with a novice by the side,” he says. Also, there is lack of qualified trainers in the area. “But the way it is catching up, the state government has been forced to give more attention to paragliding through its Tourism Department,” he said. |
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Top drivers for Shimla rally
Chandigarh, October 21 As many as 22 top drivers will compete in the rally. Vikram Mathias was runner-up last year while Sameer Thapar was third. The rally will be flagged off on October 29 at 4pm from Fun Republic, Manimajra, and will head for Shimla. On October 30 the rally will be flagged off from Hotel Peterhoff, Shimla, at 7 am for Subathu via Solan and Vaknaghat. The prize distribution function will be held on October 31. Participants: Naren Kumar (Baleno) Coimbatore, Arjun Belu (Baleno) Coimbatore (international participation), Karandeep Singh (Baleno) Chandigarh, Vikram Mathias (Baleno) Bangalore, Lohith Urs (Esteem) Mysore, Ranjith Belae (Esteem) Bangalore, Sanjay Aggarwal (Esteem) Bangalore, Phillipose Mathia (Esteem) Delhi, Arjun Rao (Esteem) Mangalore, Rajesh Gohak (Esteem) Nasik, Ryan D’Souza (Honda City) Goa, Along Ayer (Gypsy) Nagaland, Jasbir Singh (Esteem) Dehra Dun, Gaurav Chirpal (Gypsy) Delhi, Ashok Aggarwal (Esteem) Nagaland, Nitin Betre (Esteem) Delhi, Udit Singh (Baleno) Delhi, Sandeep Sharma (Esteem) Delhi, Bharatvir (Esteem) Chandigarh, Anil Wadia (Gypsy) Delhi, Purujit Singh (Esteem) Shimla, Sanjay Sinkand (Gypsy) Delhi. |
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Indian men win, eves held
Mallorca, October 21 In the women’s section India suffered a setback when grandmaster Koneru Humpy lost to IM Vajda Szidonia of Hungary. However, S Vijayalaksmi won against Anita Gara and equalised the loss. With Nisha Mohota drawing her game, India could manage to equalise. Indian eves are on joint third spot. “I was never worse in this game but I think I was helped by Van Wely as he could have drawn the game, he just panicked under time pressure and I just had to find the right moves thereafter", Anand said. Grandmaster Surya Sekhar Ganguly once again came out with flying colours when he crushed Eric van dan Doel. This is his third victory out of four games he has played so far for India. “I tried Berlin, which I wanted to try in the world championship at Triopli against Nielson but unfortunately he did not play Berlin. First 15 moves were just my preparations and initially I have worked out bishop sacrifice which over the board I thought was not necessary, Eventually my opponent blundered a piece and could not recover. It was a clean game.” India with 17 point are joint third with Bulgaria. Ukraine with 19 points are leading followed by China on 18 points. Chinese women beat Russia 2-1 and are still leading with 16 points followed by Russia with 13 points.
— UNI |
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Lakshmi Sahiti, Rajesh clinch chess titles
New Delhi, October 21 Lakshmi pocketed her ninth consecutive game, defeating Divyasri, also of Andhra, in the final round. Manipur lad Sanjoy Singh took the second spot in the boys section, with a convincing victory over Vishal Thakre of Maharashtra. Sanjoy is scheduled to represent India in the world championship in the U-10 category in Greece next month. Andhra won the winners and runners-up trophies in the girls section and the first and third place in the boys section. Lakshmi and Rajesh received cash prizes of Rs 5400 each. |
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Faisalabad, October 21
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