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India make disastrous start on rain-hit day
Sachin ready to open bowling
Boje pulls out
Thornely breaks Aussie sixes record
Bhupathi-Mirnyi win
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Airlines, Punjab cops enter semis
4th successive win for Punjab
Top cueists fight back
13 riders in finals
Punjab, Chandigarh retain titles
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India make disastrous start on rain-hit day
Mumbai, November 3 The home team lost both their openers cheaply and struggled to fend off the Aussie new-ball bowlers before reaching 22 for two when play was called off due to bad light. Unseasonal rains since early morning had delayed the start of the match by nearly four hours and a few other interruptions allowed just 49 minutes of play in the entire day. Choosing to bat first in overcast conditions after stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss, India lost Virender Sehwag (8) and debutant Gautam Gambhir (3) off successive balls. At stumps, Sachin Tendulkar and stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid were unbeaten with two (32 minutes) and nine (35 minutes), respectively, after bad light stopped play with only seven overs out of the 17 scheduled having been bowled in the final session of play. The duo had to negotiate a tricky 27 minutes in gloomy conditions with the floodlights on and against two of the top pace bowlers in the world - Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie -- before the batsmen were offered the option to go off and the two Indians accepted it. Earlier, Sehwag, who has been the lone top order batsman to be among the runs in the series which Australia have already pocketed with a 2-0 advantage, was dropped when on zero by debutant Nathan Huaritz off a slash to gully off Glenn McGrath. However, the pace ace bowled the flamboyant opener off the last ball in his very next over through the gate as the batsman aimed to play a very ambitious drive away from his body. India, 11 for one at Sehwag's fall, suffered another blow when the left-handed Gambhir, also from Delhi like his senior partner Sehwag, played down the wrong line to the first ball of Jason Gillespie's new over, the fourth of the innings, and was trapped leg before. But rains came back after only 22 minutes of play out of the scheduled 40 before tea to interrupt play which resumed only after a break of 108 minutes with the two umpires -- Rudi Koertzen and Aleem Dar -- deciding to extend play to accommodate 17 more overs to be bowled. As per the Test match playing conditions, to make up for loss of play on the opening day play will start half an hour early on the next four days. The playing hours would also be extended by one hour daily. The two umpires had made inspections of the ground at 12 noon and 12:45 pm before deciding to start the match at 2 pm. When the players went off when rain interrupted play, India were tottering at 12 for two in four overs before Dravid and Tendulkar prevented further damage. The toss of the coin went in favour of India for the first time in the series, but the hosts having decided to go in with only one frontline paceman in Zaheer Khan had no option but to bat first in conditions ideal for seam bowling. And the Australian bowlers McGrath and Gillespie made full use of the conditions to prise out the openers. But Tendulkar and Dravid stayed put at the wicket with determination and skill to resume the battle on the morrow. India made three changes in the eleven that lost by the massive margin of 342 runs in the third Test at Nagpur. Debutants Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthick came into the side in place of Aakash Chopra and Parthiv Patel as the 249th and 250th Test players for India, while Ajit Agarkar was replaced by Harbhajan Singh. Australia brought in their fit-again skipper Ricky Ponting to fill in for the injured Darren Lehmann and also awarded the baggy green cap to off spin bowler Nathan Huaritz, the 390th from his country to play in the highest form of the game, who replaced the injured Shane Warne. Scoreboard: India (1st Inngs): Gambhir lbw b Gillespie 3 Sehwag b McGrath 8 Dravid batting 9 Tendulkar batting 2 Total: (for 2 wkts in 11 overs) 22 FoW:
1-11, 2-11. Bowling: McGrath 6-4-9-1, Gillespie 5-0-13-1.
— PTI |
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Sachin ready to open bowling
Dubai, November 3 "I haven't bowled with a new ball in Tests before. But it doesn't mean I will never do it. I will do anything which the team wants me to do," Tendulkar was quoted as saying in the 'The Khaleej Times'. Tendulkar has picked 35 wickets from 73 Tests, his best being 3 for 10 and in one-day internationals he has claimed as many as 128 scalps, with 5-32 being his best figures. The star batsman also appealed to fans back home to be patient with the team as all the members were trying their best. "Just be with us. We are trying our best. If we play to our potential, we can win at least a Test from this series." Australia have already clinched the four-match Test series, their first series triumph on India soil, after a gap of 35 years.
— PTI |
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Boje pulls out
Durban, November 3 Left-arm spinner Boje, who was named as vice-captain in the tour squad, was undecided about the tour because he wanted an assurance that he would not be detained in connection with the Delhi investigation.
— Reuters |
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Thornely breaks Aussie sixes record
Sydney, November 3 Thornely made 261 not out, clouting 11 sixes, and joined former Test leg-spinner Stuart MacGill in a 10th wicket partnership of 219 that helped NSW to 419 on the second day of their match. In reply, WA were bowled out for 137 and were 23 without loss following on, still trailing by 259 runs with two days to play. Thornely broke the record held by the late David Hookes for the most sixes in a first-class innings in Australia, Hookes having hit 10 for South Australia against NSW at Adelaide in 1985-86. Andrew Symonds holds the world record for the most sixes in a first-class innings, smashing 16 for Gloucestershire against Glamorgan in 1995. After Thornely’s heroics with the bat, the NSW pace trio of Stuart Clark (4-24), Matthew Nicholson (3-18), and Nathan Bracken (1-22) cleaned up the
visitors. |
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Bhupathi-Mirnyi win
India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi of Belarus moved into the men’s doubles second round of the 2.425 million-euro Paris Masters Tennis Tournament beating Andrei Pavel of Romania and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia & Montenegro in straight sets.
The fourth seeds defeated Pavel-Zimonjic 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) in a closely contested duel late on Tuesday night, according to information received here on Wednesday. They will next take on the Chilean duo of Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu, who beat French wildcard entrants Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the second round. Leander Paes and Czech Republic’s David Rikl have already bowed out of the tournament after their first round defeat against Czech Martin Damm and Cyril Suk in straight sets.
— PTI |
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Airlines, Punjab cops enter semis
Jalandhar, November 3 In the first quarterfinal, Indian Airlines and Indian Oil played good game. In the 27th minute, international Bimal Lakra, sounded the board from a calculated pass off Dhanraj Pillay from left flank for the Indian Airlines. After that, Oilmen put pressure on the rivals as they got four penalty corner in the 28th, 30th, 33rd and 35th minutes but all went in vain. At half time, Airlines were leading by 1-0. In the second half, Olympian Deepak Thakur restored parity for the Indian Oil via penalty corner. The match was decided by tie-breaker and Airlines won by 6-4. In the second quarter finals, Bharat Petroleum and Punjab Police played well. In the fifth minute of the play, penalty corner expert of Bharat Petroleum, Len Ayappa converted the first penalty corner. Three minutes later, Olympian Baljit Singh Dhillon converted the first penalty corner for policeman. In the 28th minute, Dhillon scored through second penalty corner, making 2-1. In the 48th minute Olympian Gaganajit Singh scored the field goal for the police. In the 64th minute, Sarabjit Singh scored the fourth goal for Punjab Police. In the 65th minute Bharat Petroleum’s Ayappa converted the second penalty corner to reduce the margin to 2-4. In pre-quarter finals, match of group three, Shadman Hockey Club Pakistan played two league matches today. In their first match, the club defeated the Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala by 3-2. They went ahead in the 14th minute when Shaid Rubani converted the penalty corner. In the 40th minute, Zakir Ullah scored a field goal. In the 56th minute, Babbar Abdullah scored the third goal for Pakistan. In the 65th and 69th minute, the RCF reduced the margin by two goals by Yadwinder Singh and Jarnail Singh. The Pakistani club defeated BSF by 3-2 to top the pool. In girls’ section, Northern Railways Delhi stormed into finals after beating spirited RCF girls. Surinder Kaur from the Northern Railways scored the lone goal in the match in the 39th minute. Both teams wasted several penalty corners. |
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4th successive win for Punjab
Rohtak, November 3 The fifth-wicket partnership worth 123 runs between Udai Kaul (75 runs, 99 balls) and Sumit Sharma (76 runs 74 balls) was enough to put Punjab on the victory path today. The duo scored at a brisk pace to add 123 runs in just 71 minutes facing 123 balls. Vipin Chauhan contributed 37. Punjab scored 246 for 9 in stipulated 50 overs. Neeraj Chauhan and Ashok Kumar took 3 and 2 wickets, respectively. Chasing the victory target of 247, Himachal Pradesh could score 190 for 9 in the allotted 50 overs. Lakshay Raj (49), Abhinish Sharma (32) and Varun Sharma (34) showed some resistance but could not avert defeat. Karan Goel bagged 3 wickets for 22 runs in 10 overs whereas Sumit Kalia dismissed three batsmen giving away 43 runs in 9 overs. Delhi versus Haryana tie to be played at Gurgaon on November 5 will decide the other qualifier. For the knock out stage of the under-19 limited over tourney which will be held at Udaipur from November 24. |
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BSF bow out of Durand Cup
New Delhi, November 3 BSF, the Group I qualifiers, had lost to Air India in their opening Group A quarterfinal league match to finish on one point from two matches. Salgaocar will have to beat Air India to ensure a place in the semifinal. Salgaocar took the lead in the 34th minute when Samson Singh volleyed in. But BSF pulled off the equaliser seconds before half time when Santosh Singh put the ball past advancing custodian Juje Siddi. BSF forged ahead in the 17th minute of the second half when Boy Singh found the mark (2-1). BSF could have retained the lead and won the match but for a major blunder by Kameshwar Singh, who had done a splendid job under the bar for Punjab in the Santosh Trophy recently. He charged out to tackle a free kick, only to get stranded on the top of the box when Marcos Pereira lobbed over the keeper and Jyoti Kumar ran in to tap the ball into the net. In a Group C match, Mohun Bagan, Kolkata, pounded Assam Rifles 5-0, scoring four goals in the first half. Delhi boy Sunil Chetri opened the scoring for Mohun Bagan in the 17th minute, and also added the fourth goal in the 41st minute. In between, Mehtab Hussain booted in the second goal in the 20th minute while Brazilian Eduwardo Chacon headed home the third goal in the 36th minute. Mohun Bagan completed their tally in the 36th minute of the second half through Dharamjit, due to the lapse of custodian Lokeshwar Singh. Assam Rifles, who had earlier lost to State Bank of Travancore, have now crashed out of the tournament.
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Top cueists fight back
Ludhiana, November 3 After his tough match on Monday, talented cueist Dhruv Verma of Ludhiana faced little challenge from Deepak Sekhri of Delhi, whom he pipped by five frames to two. Similarly, Joy Mehra, also of Punjab, registered a comfortable 5-2 win over fellow state player Sanjeev Vohra. After losing to young Imran Khan from Uttar Pradesh, Asian Games gold medallist Rafath Habib must have breathed a sigh of relief today as he got a walkover from Mohit Gupta of Punjab. However, Punjab number 3 Sandeep Jalota went down 2-5 to Sameer Singh from Chandigarh. The two players were tied at 2-2 when Jalota muffed an easy shot on the ninth ball, allowing Sameer to take a 3-2 lead. Jalota again missed an easy chance and Sameer wrapped up the match 5-2. Third day’s results: Amit Makkar (UP) b Sanjeev Bharti (Pb) 5-2; Sagheer Ahmed (UP) b Sunny (Pb) 5-3; Saurabh Sikri (UP) b MS Sandeep (Kar) 5-1; Gagandeep Singh (HP) b Sandeep Jain (UP) 5-4; Shyamal Sharma (Bihar) b Chirag Thakkar (Guj) 5-3; Ashish Dhanda (Pb) b Jasmeet Singh (Pb) 5-0; Kapil Kheja (Har) b Sachin (Cha) 5-3; S. Siddiqui (UP) b Sidharath Sharma (Pb) 5-4; Harbinder (Pb) b Vikram Anand (TN) 5-3; Angelo Johnson (TN) b Simrat (Har) 5-0; Naveen b Gaurav Joshi 5-4. Joes M (Pb) b Kamal Chhabra (Har) 5-2; Sameer Bhalla (Har) b Rajan Sehgal (Pb) 5-0; Brijesh Damani (WB) b Romy (Pb) 5-0; Bhim Singh (Del) b Ayush Kumar (Pb) 5-3; Karan Sharda (Mah) b Romy Malik (Pb) 5-3; H. Singh Grover (Del) b R Singhania (Pb) 5-2; Vinayak Anand (UP) b Alpesh Vaghela (Guj) 5-3; Sunil Rastogi (UP) b Pushpinder Singh (Pb) 5-4; Varun Kumar (TN) b M Verma (Pb) 5-1; Sameer Singh (Cha) b Sandeep Jalota (Pb) 5-2. Abdul Rehman (UP) got walkover from BS Pandya (Guj); Piyush Goel (Pb) b Ajay Bhushan (Kar) 5-3; Mohit Aggarwal (Del) b Manish Behal (UP) 5-1; Divya Sharma (Har) b Neeraj Kumar (Bihar) 5-4; Joy Mehra (Pb) b Sanjeev Vohra (Pb) 5-2; Dhruv Verma (PB) b Deepak Sekhri (Del) 5-2; Gagandeep Singh (HP) b R Sekhri (Del) 5-4; Shyamal Sharma (Bihar) got walkover from Rajan Sehgal (Pb); David (TN) got walkover from K. Zubari (UP); Murli Krishna (TN) b Navneet (Pb) 5-3; Anish Kumar (Pb) b Sandeep Jain (PB) 5-2; and Rafath Habib got walkover from Mohit Gupta (Pb). |
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Army hires German riding coach
Chandigarh, November 3 Stating this while talking to The Tribune here today, one of India’s top riders, Major Deep Ahlawat, said about 15 riders, including a few select civilians, had been shortlisted to begin training at the camp. Major Ahlawat is here to participate in the Chandigarh Horse Show, the preliminaries of which began here today. “Though the Army has good trainers, we require coaches who are able to orient and guide our teams according to the prevailing international norms and conventions,” he said. For the previous Asian Games, the Army had engaged an Austrian coach, but that was for a short duration a little while before the event. “This time we have made a good beginning by starting two years ahead,” he said. The Army has also started breeding the Hanover breed of horses. Considered to be among the finest steeds, the Army imported 16 mares and four studs from Germany recently. In about four years, indigenously bred Hanovers would be ready to serve the Army. Commissioned into the RVC in 1990, Major Ahlawat took to riding in 1994. He also underwent the two-month International Equitation Course in Ireland, where he was awarded a distinction. He has represented India at a host of international events and has won 125 medals in the past few years. Talking about the sport in India, he said, “Though we have talent and the basic skills, we lack good coaches and trainers who can spot young talent. We need to send our own riders abroad to learn how to coach effectively and also invite foreign coaches to conduct training programmes here for longer durations.” Stating that equestrian sports were gaining popularity, especially in South India and the metros, he said easy access to horses and related facilities in these areas over the past few years had helped to boost interest in the sport. Army clubs, too, have opened doors to civilian riders. He admitted that riding was an expensive sport. A good horse costs about Rs 1 lakh and any good club should have at least 10-12 horses. Then there is the cost of land of setting up the training arenas, constructing stables and employing trainers and other staff. There is also the requirement of having trails for riding exercises, which need to be a little away from cities. The cost of setting up a decent riding club in a city comes to about Rs 1 crore. |
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13 riders in finals
Chandigarh, November 3 Teams from all over the country, including the Army, paramilitary forces, state police forces and civilian riding schools are participating in the show. An added feature this year is the participation of schools. A host of events and competitions would be held over the next four days, with finals scheduled to be held on November 6 and 7. In the national preliminary jumping fault and out round, 77 riders took part, out of which 13, who had a clear round, made it to the finals. In the open tent pegging elimination round, 22 riders qualified for the finals out of the 55 who competed. Results
(in the order of merit) Sub-juniors show jumping : Anant Raj Purohit (SRPC) , Gurjap Singh (PPS Nabha), Simranjit Singh (PPS Nabha) and Balpreet SIngh (NCC Ludhiana). Children’s pole bending race: Nilay (SRPC), Narain Dev (Aspen Crew), Anmol (SRPC) and Pukhraj (CHRS). |
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Punjab, Chandigarh retain titles
New Delhi, November 3 Results:
Men (final): Punjab defeated Chandigarh 29-18, 29-11. Third place: Delhi b Himachal Pradesh 29-18, 29-13. Women (final): Chandigarh b Punjab 14-29, 29-22, 29-16. Third place: Haryana B b Haryana A 29-22, 17-29, 29-10. Rajnish Sharma of Punjab and Monu Dhiman of Chandigarh were adjudged as the best player among men and women, respectively. |
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