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Ganguly’s men desperate
for victory
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Australian batsman Justin Langer raises his bat after reaching his double century on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand in Adelaide on Saturday. — AP/PTI
photo
Mongia’s century puts Punjab on top
Amit Bhandari, Sanjay Gill derail Railways
Depleted India face uphill task against Spain
Pak Punjab v’ball team arrives
Jharkhand crush J&K by 10 wickets
HP-Saurashtra tie poised for exciting finish
ONGC, PNB win in Shastri hockey
Punjab men win basketball title
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Ganguly’s men desperate
for victory
Kolkata, November 27 The uncertainty over Ganguly's availability finally over, India would be looking to their skipper -- much relaxed after a two-week ordeal -- to inspire the team at his home ground and outsmart the visitors who have proved that they are no pushovers. A 500-plus score as well as a first innings lead in the drawn Kanpur Test is bound to have boosted the confidence of the visitors as India's coach John Wright remarked. In contrast, the desperation in the Indian ranks is evident from Ganguly's comments. "This is a very important match for us, and we need to win and take the series," he said. For the Indians, the biggest gain from Kanpur is the performance of openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who were involved in a rollicking 218-run stand at the Green Park, raising hopes that India's worries in this department could be finally over. Sehwag, who has already amassed more than a thousand runs in this calendar year, would definitely want to continue from where he left in the first Test to give a flying start to the Indian innings at the Eden Gardens. But more than any other batsman, the Kolkata crowd would be rooting for their hero Ganguly and hoping to see the southpaw wield the willow in style to lead the team from the front. A big innings is also due from Sachin Tendulkar, who has managed only 73 runs in the last five innings at an average of 14.6. The majestic Eden Gardens may well be witness to another historic moment if the veteran leg spinner Anil Kumble succeeds in adding five more wickets to his tally to surpass Kapil Dev's haul of 434 victims, the highest by an Indian in Test cricket. Wright hinted that India could go into the match with two pacers and two spinners, a change from the strategy from Kanpur where India went in with one pacer and three spinners, resulting in Ganguly sharing the new ball with Zaheer Khan. Off spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has pleasant memories of the venue where he got a hat-trick against the mighty Australians in 2001, is likely to partner Kumble, forcing left arm spinner Murali Kartik to sit out. Pacer Irfan Pathan, who missed the last two Tests against Australia following an injury and was not considered for the Kanpur Test, might be inducted as the second pacer as was indicated by Wright. For the young South Africa side, Andrew Hall has been a revelation. Pushed up to the crucial opener's slot, Hall justified his skipper's confidence by hitting his maiden ton (163), an effort which drew praise from one and all including skipper Graeme Smith. In the pace department, South Africa have the seasoned warhorse Shaun Pollock ably supported by Makhaya Ntini. Smith injured
in freak mishap
South African captain Graeme Smith sustained injuries on his left foot in a freak accident while he was returning to the team hotel after a practice session at the Eden Gardens today. Smith was boarding a Quallis along with other team-mates when he slipped and fell on the metalled road. An X-ray was conducted and mild cracks in the bone were detected. He will be again examined in the evening and tomorrow morning to ascertain his fitness for tomorrow’s match.
— PTI, OC |
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Bouquets, good wishes for Sourav
KOLKATA: For Sourav Ganguly, it is a day of receiving bouquets and wishes from his numerous well-wishers and fans. He is now free to lead the team at the Eden Gardens against South Africa. He is happy and he has responded to his callers with thanks and gratitude.
He is, particularly, grateful to the learned lawyer, Siddhartha Sankar Ray, former Bengal Chief Minister and Punjab Governor, whom he called as Siddhartha uncle in private, who he felt, played a major role in bailing him out. Last night, Sourav conveyed his deep respect, thanks and gratitude to Ray and expressed his desire to see him at the Eden on Sunday. * * *
Kolkata’s “Maharaja” received a call from Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen from the capital, congratulating him for his “victory” at the trial at Tim Castle’s court. Only yesterday, both met in Kolkata at a function when Sen forecast his ‘victory’ at the trial which came true within next few hours and She, however, had one condition with “Maharaja” that he should in return score a century at the Eden. “Maharaja” says he is preparing for that. “Maharaja” has failed to score a century at the Eden in a Test so far. * * * Indian coach John Wright says he is relaxed now that Sourav has been exonerated. He is now busy in preparing the team for a victory against South Africa. Throughout the day, Wright was seen in the practice session with his “boys”, giving instructions to them. In the field he was with physio Andrew Leipus all through. * * * South Africa’s former captain Shaum Pollock, who has been replaced by Graeme Smith, is now in the city in a new capacity. Pollock admits he had never had the chance to play at the Eden though the speedster has scalped 300 Test wickets and is just 24 short of 3,000 runs in Tests. Now he is happy that his long cherished ambition of playing at Eden will be fulfilled on Sunday. He said that he had been told by Sachin Tendulkar that playing at the Eden had been a thrilling experience for him, which Pollock wants to experience himself, doing well in bowling and batting in front of stadium full of spectators at Eden Gardens. * * * For Jagmohan Dalmiya, Maharaj’s “victory” at
ICC’s trial court, has been a victory over injustice and arrogance, which match
referee Clive Loyed had exhibited in his judgment (Dalmiya calls mis-judgment!). Dalmiya said no sensible cricketer could have pronounced such atrocious
judgment as he did in case of Sourav Ganguly. He said he knew it was going to be reversed after speaking to the learned lawyer Siddhartha Sankar Ray. However, Dalmiya said he did not bear any ill feeling towards Clive Lloyd. |
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Langer slams 215 as Aussies post 575
Adelaide, November 27 Scoreboard Australia (1st innings): Langer c Oram
b Vettori 215 Hayden c and b Wiseman 70 Ponting st McCullum b Vettori 68
Martyn c Fleming b Wiseman 7 Lehmann b Wiseman 81 Clarke lbw b Vettori 7 Gilchrist c and b Vettori 50 Warne not out 53 Gillespie c Richardson
b Vettori 12 Extras: (4b, 4nb, 4lb) 12 Total: (for 8 wkts
dec, 155.2 overs) 575 Fall of wickets: 1-137, 2-240, 3-261, 4-445, 5-457, 6-465, 7-543, 8-575. Bowling:
Martin 27-4-118-0, Franklin 17-2-102-0, Oram 24-7-55-0, Vettori 55.2-10-152-5, Wiseman 32-7-140-3. New Zealand (1st innings): Richardson b Kasprowicz 9 Sinclair c Warne
b Gillespie 0 Fleming batting 38 Wiseman batting 4 Extras:
(nb 5) 5 Total: (2 wkts, 22 overs) 56 Fall of wkts:
1-2, 2-44. Bowling: McGrath 6-1-9-0, Gillespie 6-2-9-1, Warne 5-1-13-0, Kasprowicz 5-1-25-1.
— AP |
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Mongia’s century puts Punjab on top
Chandigarh, November 27 Punjab skipper and Test aspirant Dinesh Mongia led from the front and slammed an authoritative century while Pankaj Dharmani and Ankur Kakkar were on the verge of completing their three-figure knocks as Punjab finished the day at a highly satisfying 370 runs for the loss of four wickets. On a day when Punjab batting blossomed beautifully, Yuvraj’s early dismissal was the only sore point for the hosts. Yuvraj disappointed for the second time in the match. The left-handed batsman, a regular in the India’s one-day squad, added just one runs to his overnight score before being trapped lbw by left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan Sr. Binwant Singh’s cautious stay at the wicket was cut short by Rajesh Pawar after the batsman had scored 41. After the fall of these two wickets, it was a virtual fruitless toil for the visitors as the hosts batsmen led by Mongia prospered facing the rival bowling attack. Mongia was in fine nick and scored runs on a fast clip. When he was consumed by seamer Rakesh Patel at the team’s score of 186, Mongia’s contribution was 108. His 160-ball knock was studded with 15 boundaries. After the fall of Mongia’s wicket, Dharmani and Kakkar took charge. Both have added 184 runs to their unbroken fifth wicket stand so far. At close, Dharmani was unbeaten on 92, while Kakkar was at the crease on 90. With 20-run first innings lead in their kitty, Punjab are now 390 runs ahead. Scoreboard Punjab (1st innings)
175 Baroda (1st innings) 155 Punjab (2nd innings) Ricky lbw Patel 5 Binwant lbw Pawar 41 Yuvraj lbw IS Pathan 11 Mongia c YK Pathan b Patel 108 Dharmani batting 92 Kakkar batting 90 Extras
(b-10, lb-4, w-2, nb-7) 23 Total (4 wkts, 102 overs) 370 Fall of wickets:
1-5, 2-28, 3-118, 4-186. Bowling: Rakesh Patel 27-3-101-2, IS Pathan 27-8-66-1, Shekhar Joshi 9-0-38-0, Rajesh Pawar 25-4-88-1, YK Pathan 17-2-63-0. |
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Amit Bhandari, Sanjay Gill derail Railways
New Delhi, November 27 After putting up 216 in their first innings, Delhi bowled out Railways for 201 and scored 101 for one in their second innings when bad light stopped play. Promising youngster Shikhar Dhawan (55 not out) celebrated winning the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year award with an unbeaten half century and was accompanied by Rajat Bhatia (14 not out) as Delhi stretched their lead to 116 runs when bad light stopped the play. Earlier this morning, Bhandari and Gill ran through the Railways middle order. Resuming at their overnight score of 147 for five, Railways witnessed a batting collapse triggered by Gill who castled Yere Goud (8) with just one run added to the team tally. In their second essay, Delhi openers Aakash Chopra (31) and Shikhar Dhawan put up a decent show and put on 73 runs before Parida trapped the former. Dhawan and Rajat Bhatia mixed caution with aggression to ensure no further damage was done to their side. Scoreboard Delhi (1st innings):
216 Railways (1st
innings): Pagnis run out 49 Bangar c Bali b Gill 0 T.P. Singh c and
b Sanghvi 23 Ali c and b Sanghvi 16 Verma not out 44 Yadav lbw Bhandari
23 Goud b Gill 8 Rao lbw Bhandari 5 Harvinder c Kumar b Gill 9 Wankhede lbw Bhandari
4 Parida run out 7 Extras: (lb-1 nb-7, penalty-5) 13 Total:
(all out, 84.3 overs) 201 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-67, 3-94, 4-99, 5-126, 6-148, 7-165, 8-176, 9-181. Bowling:
Bhandari 23-3-55-3, Gill 25-11-48-3, Sarandeep 16-2-47-0, Sanghvi 16.3-3-37-2, Bhatia 4-2-8-0. Delhi 2nd innings: Chopra lbw Parida 31 Dhawan batting 55 Bhatia batting 14 Extras
(lb-1) 1 Total (1
wkt, 52.5 overs) 101 Fall of wickets: 1-73 Bowling: Harvinder 4-1-8-0, Yadav 7-4-6-0, Rao 17.5-7-33-0, Bangar 8-3-25-0, Parida 156-5-24-1, Tejinder Pal Singh 1-0-4-0. Hyderabad win
HYDERABAD: A fiery six-wicket haul by speedster Narender Pal Singh enabled hosts Hyderabad to record an 85-run victory over Maharashtra and win full four points in the Ranji Elite B match played at Gymkhana grounds. Resuming at 168 for nine, the hosts lost Shahnawaz by adding two runs and set a winning target of 318 but visitors could notch up only 233 despite the splendid effort of Dheeraj Jadhav who compiled an unbeaten 124. Narender Pal Singh accounted for six wickets for 87 runs on a chilly day and hosts opened their account in Group B with four points while Maharashtra is yet to add a point to its credit. Haryana gain lead
GURGAON: Haryana gained a 128-run first innings lead over Goa after bundling out the visitors for a paltry 165 in the Ranji Trophy Plate match here on Saturday. Resuming at 130 for six, Goa lost their remaining four wickets inside the morning session with Jitender Malik (3-36) running through the tail. At stumps on the third day, Haryana were 188 for six in their second essay with Shafiq Khan batting on 63. Brief scores:
Haryana 293 and 188 for 6 in 68.4 overs
(Ishan Ganda 36, Joginder Sharma 27, Shafiq Khan 63 n.o; Naryan Kambli 2-35). Goa 165 all out in 73 overs (Vivek Kolambkar 34, J Harish 27; Joginder Sharma 3-30, Jitender Malik 3-36, Gaurav Vashisht 3-26). AP face defeat
MUMBAI: Andhra Pradesh, shot out for a meagre 116 in the first innings in reply to Mumbai’s mammoth 515 for 9 declared, put up a much better display following on but still faced a huge task to save an innings defeat on the third day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Division Group A tie on Saturday. At stumps, Andhra had battled their way to 133 for 4 in 65 overs in their second innings, still 266 runs short of making reigning champions and hosts bat for the second time. Andhra, bundled out in only 55.3 overs — 53 minutes before lunch — to concede a big 399-run first innings lead to the home team, started well after following on by putting on 78 runs for the first wicket before losing four wickets for 16 runs. Brief scores:
Mumbai
(Ist innings) 515 for 9 dec. Andhra Pradesh (Ist innings)116 (Prasad 32; Bahutule 3 for 43) Andhra Pradesh (2nd innings) 133 for 4 (Reddy 33, Amit Pathak batting 59, Y Gnaneswara Rao batting 16, Kulkarni 4 for 32). UP crush Assam
KANPUR: Uttar Pradesh thrashed Assam by eight wickets riding on fine half-centuries by skipper Jyoti Yadav and Suresh Raina on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match here on Saturday. Resuming at their overnight score of 77 for one, Uttar Pradesh needed 83 runs to register their first win of Ranji competition and they sailed to the target without many hiccups. A solid partnership of 111 runs between skipper Yadav and Raina was the highpoint of the UP innings. Raina remained unbeaten on 89 with the help of fifteen boundaries and a huge six. Brief scores:
Assam 184 and 107. Uttar Pradesh: 132 and 163 for two. Orissa take
lead
Palakkad: Former Test opener Shiv Sundar Das’s 141 and his two huge partnerships helped Orissa score 334 in their first innings and clinch vital lead of 10 runs against Kerala on the third day of their Plate A Ranji Trophy cricket match at the Fort Maidan here on Saturday. Kerala were 14 for one in their second innings when stumps were drawn. Resuming at 142 for no loss, Orissa lost opener Subrat Behera (60) after adding 10 more to the total. However, Rashmi Ranjan
Parida, who joined Das (unbeaten at 72 yesterday) batted sensibly. MP stay afloat
Bangalore: A century by opener Sachin Dholpure helped Madhya Pradesh post 296 for four in the first innings against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A encounter on the third day here today. Madhya Pradesh, resuming at 120 for one, were aided by poor fielding and dropped catches by the
hosts. Dholpure was dropped twice, first by Robin Uthappa at second slip and then by Sunil Joshi at gully, before he reached his ton. He was dismissed for 107, caught behind by VS Tilak Naidu off Stuart
Binny. — PTI, UNI |
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Depleted India face uphill task against Spain
Chandigarh, November 27 Both India and Spain are preparing their teams for the Champions Trophy to be played at Lahore from December 4. Incidentally, they clash on the opening day of the tournament. While Spain has brought a new look team here, making it a blend of experience and youth, India would be relying on the new team it had fielded against the eight-Test series against Pakistan after the Athens Olympic debacle. Indian team officials are keeping their fingers crossed about the injuries to their skipper and deep defender Dilip Tirkey and linkman Vikram Pillay. While the possibility of Dilip playing in the second Test on November 30 cannot be ruled out, chances of Vikram Pillay even making it to Champions Trophy are remote as doctors think that it would take him a minimum of eight to 10 days to recover. While on paper and as per international ratings, Spain enjoy a slight edge over India. Though Spaniards were known for their strong penalty corner conversions, of late they have improved their field scoring so much that they had given all top teams in the Athens Olympic a good run for their money. The visitors do not want to take new look Indian team lightly as virtually the same team had beaten Pakistan in Pakistan during the last series. "You cannot take chances against India," remarked their manager Jordi Oliva. Incidentally, this will be for the first time that umpires for the game - Rashad Mahmood Butt and Syed Zulfiqar Haider - are from Pakistan. India, says its assistant coach Jagbir Singh, nothing to lose. "We had little time to prepare for the Lahore tournament as we got our entry only after withdrawal by Australia was confirmed. And w are fielding the same team as we did against Pakistan, he added. India would field Harpal for injured Dilip Tirkey with Xalco, Ignace, Girish Pimpale, Viren, Tushar, Vivek and Arjun forming the nucleus of the team for the first game tomorrow, which starts at 1.30 p.m. |
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Pak Punjab v’ball team arrives
Wagah, November 27 Major Afzal said it was first time since 1947 that the volleyball teams of the two Punjabs would play. He said the first match of the friendly series would be played at Ferozepore tomorrow, followed by Sangrur (November 29), Faridkot (November 30), Noormahal (December 1) and Amritsar (December 3). Thereafter, the team would proceed to Patiala on December 4. Mohammad Elahi, captain, said the players had been looking forward to this visit and had prepared accordingly. He said the team had eight national players. He said the Pakistan Punjab volleyball team had a good track record in the national championships. “We are currently ranked sixth in Pakistan,” he said. The team was accorded a warm welcome by the Punjab Volleyball Association led by its secretary-general Raj Kumar and the District Volleyball Association under its convener Rajinder Bhalla. |
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Jharkhand crush J&K by 10 wickets
Jamshedpur, November 27 The visitors, who had made just 79 in their first innings, managed 176 in their second essay but that was hardly enough as it left Jharkhand needing to score just 11 runs for a win. Jharkhand, who made 245 in the first innings, scored the required runs without losing any wicket. Earlier, resuming at 59 for five, J and K skipper Dhruv Mahajan, who was batting on 20 overnight, failed to add any score to his kitty as left arm spinner Shahid Khan had him bowled in the very first over of the morning. Scoreboard J and K (1st innings):
79 Jharkhand (1st innings): 245 J and K (2nd innings):
Asif Jeelani c Dhoni b Diwakar 3, Sheikh Sajjad c Sunil Kumar b S S Rao 21, S Salaria lbw Diwakar 9 Kavaljit Singh c Rajiv Kumar b Panda 5, D Mahajan b S Khan 20, S Khajuria c Dhoni b S Khan 32, Arshad Bhat c Dhoni b S S Rao 0, Majid Dar not out 60, J Singh c Ratan Kumar b S Khan 4, Abid Nabi c Dhoni b Panda 8, Pranab Mahajan b Panda 4 Extras
(b-2, lb-2, nb-6) 10 Total (all out in 80 overs) 176 Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-20, 3-33, 4-51, 5-51, 6-60, 7-126, 8-143, 9-172. Bowling:
Sumit Panda 18-4-36-3, M Diwakar 11-2-20-2, S S Rao 15-3-43-2, S Gupta 8-1-31-0, S Khan 22-11-33-3, M Vardhan 3-1-9-0, Ratan Kumar 3-3-0-0. Jharkhand (2nd innings):
Manish Vardhan not out 5 Ratan Kumar not out 4 Extras (lb-1, nb-1) 2 Total (for no loss off 3.4 over) 11 Bowling: A Nabi 2-1-4-0, P Mahajan 1-0-5-0, K Singh 0.4-0-1-0.
— PTI |
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HP-Saurashtra tie poised for exciting finish
Dharamsala, November 27 On the third day here today, Saurashtra, after gaining a vital first inning lead of 128 runs, were all out for a paltry 153 in their second innings. In reply, the hosts, requiring 282 for a win, were 135 for the loss of three wickets in their second innings. Saurashtra, resuming at the overnight score of 45 for two, were all out after lunch. For Himachal, medium pacer Ashok Kumar and spinner Kuldeep picked up three wickets apiece. Brief Scores:
HP (first innings): 140 (all out)/2nd innings 135 for three. Saurashtra:(1st innings)--268 (all out) and 153 (all
out). — UNI |
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ONGC, PNB win in Shastri hockey
New Delhi, November 27 After a goalless regulation period, the tie-breaker rule was applied with ONGC just about scraping past the fighting Namdhari boys. In another match, Punjab National Bank (PNB) defeated Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 2-1. After a barren first half, Gagandeep Singh put PNB ahead three minutes into the second session and Satpal consolidated the lead 10 minutes later. Balkar Singh reduced the margin for CRPF inthe 67th minute. |
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Punjab men win basketball title
Chandigarh, November 27 Punjab men defeated Delhi 80-60 in a pulsating affair. Prabhjot (21), Yadwinder (16), Sukhpal (13), Vijay (11) and Snehpal (11) were the architects of Punjab’s win while for Delhi, the main scorers were Sanjay (16), Vinod (10), and Surinder (9). In the women’s final, Chhattisgarh beat Punjab 76-65. Bhartove (19), Kawaljeet (19), Pushpa (18), and Aakansha (eight) were the main scorers for Chhattisgarh while Aashna (21), Paamjit (17), Taran (10), and Rajanpal (7) did the bulk of scoring for the home team. |
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Chandigarh, November 27
