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Spinners bowl India to series victory
Sourav praises Kumble, Harbhajan
I am lucky to have equalled record: Kumble
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Mongia, Joginder, Doni in ODI squad
SC to hear BCCI case on Dec 9
Logos of tier 1 hockey teams unveiled
Embarrassing start to torch relay
Stage set for Punjab Games
Sangrur eves lift overall trophy
Harbhajan soccer prize money hiked
Sukhchain Academy, Namdhari XI in final
Hamirpur college boys win trophy
Airlines, BPCL, PNB enter semis
Ajeetesh is junior golf champion Patiala cyclist shines
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Spinners bowl India to series victory
Kolkata, December 2 Chasing a victory target of 117 runs on a difficult track, the hosts lost Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir before they romped home 10 minutes before the tea interval to break a rather prolonged winless streak at home. Sachin Tendulkar slammed a boundary to take India to victory and send a vociferous home crowd into a frenzy on the final day after off-spinner Harbhajan Singh quickly put the lid on the South African second innings with figures of 7 for 87. Rahul Dravid (47) and Tendulkar (32) were at the crease to bring about the much-awaited series triumph, with the home team scoring 120 for two on a pitch which provided plenty of assistance to the slow bowlers. The Indians did well to wrap up the South African second innings for 222 within 72 minutes this morning, polishing off the last five wickets for just 50 runs, with Harbhajan and Anil Kumble (3-82) accounting for all 10 wickets. The last time India won a home series was in 2002-03, when they defeated the West Indies with a 2-0 verdict, but drew a series against New Zealand in 2003-04 and lost to Australia 1-2 this season. The 1-0 series victory following the drawn first Test in Kanpur was also India’s first series win over the South Africans in eight years since their 2-1 victory at home in 1996. Resuming at 172 for five, South Africa lost their premier batsman Jacques Kallis (55) in the fourth over of the morning. Kallis was surprised by Harbhajan’s extra bounce and offered a simple return catch to bring an end to his 135-minute vigil, during which he hit four boundaries. Harbhajan then dealt a double blow, when he had Shaun Pollock and Justin Ontong dismissed in three balls. Pollock was unfortunate as he padded up and the ball hit the knee roll before Gautam Gambhir scooped it up at short leg. Television replays showed no contact between bat and ball, but Daryl Harper, who rejected a similar appeal against Kallis yesterday, raised his finger after some deliberation, much to the joy of the Indians. Two balls later, Ontong missed a sweep off Harbhajan and the ball climbed up after hitting his wrist for a simple catch to the wicketkeeper. Kumble then beat Thami Tsolekile’s defence to knock his off-stump before Ntini edged him to Dravid at first slip. Tsolekile had no clue to the sharp turn from Kumble and ended up playing inside the line. Last man Ntini was adventurous while De Bruyn at the other end too decided to play his shots. De Bruyn was successful in his reverse sweep off Harbhajan, but the partnership ended when Ntini fell to Kumble. Sehwag (10) fell to Ntini for the second time in the match, but Gambhir and Dravid were bold in playing their shots and quickly took the momentum away from the visitors. Gambhir (26) was ruled leg before when he offered no stroke to a Rudolph delivery that hardly rose above the ankle. Tendulkar then joined Dravid at the crease and although he seemed hesitant in the beginning, began to play his shots once he got his eye in. Tendulkar was lucky when a low delivery from Andrew Hall missed the off stump, but he asserted himself by lofting Ontong over the long-on ropes. Dravid at the other end was sure in his touch. He did not miss out on loose balls either, whipping the full tosses from makeshift slow bowlers to the boundary with disdain. The vice-captain was unlucky not to reach his half-century as Tendulkar turned Ontong to the third man fence before bringing up the winning runs by pulling a long hop to midwicket. Scoreboard South Africa (1st innings) 305 India (1st innings) 411 South Africa (2nd Innings) Smith c Laxman b Harbhajan 71 Hall c Kaarthik b Harbhajan 21 Rudolph lbw b Harbhajan 3 Kallis c and b Harbhajan 55 Amla c Laxman b Harbhajan 2 Dippenaar c Sehwag b Kumble 2 De Bruyn not out 32 Pollock c Gambhir b Harbhajan 6 Ontong c Kaarthik b Harbhajan 0 Tsolekile b Kumble 1 Ntini c Dravid b Kumble 12 Extras: (b-12, lb-2, nb-3) 17 Total: (all out in 74.4 overs) 222 Fall of wickets:
1-77, 2-81, 3-126, 4-138, 5-147, 6-183, 7-193, 8-193, 9-194. Bowling:
Pathan 5-1-17-0, Zaheer 5-0-22-0, Kumble 34.4-8-82-3, Harbhajan 30-3-87-7. India (2nd innings) Sehwag c Smith b Ntini 10 Gambhir lbw Rudolph 26 Dravid not out 47 Tendulkar not out 32 Extras: (lb-1, nb-4) 5 Total:
(2 wkts, 39.4 overs) 120 Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-60. Bowling:
Pollock 7-1-22-0, Ntini 4-0-11-1, Ontong 10.4-1-44-0, Rudoph 8-1-24-1, Smith 7-1-16-0, Hall 3-2-2-0.
— PTI |
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Sourav praises Kumble, Harbhajan
Kolkata, December 2 The lawyer, Siddhartha Sankar Ray, who had recently ‘bailed’ Sourav out also rang up from New Delhi to congratulate him. At the award-giving ceremony, the captain said he was glad that the team was again returning to winning ways and he was confident that India would win the forthcoming Test matches against Bangladesh in Dhaka. South African captain, Graeme Smith said they had played a fantastic match series against India under Ganguly’s leadership. He admitted that like many of his teammates, it was his first experience of playing at the Eden Gardens and he found himself fortunate that he could play on such a ground with cheerful cricket fans around. He said they had learnt a lot playing at the Eden. After the match was over, Sourav said he was specially thankful to Anil Kumble and the spinner, Harbhajan Singh whose stupendous bowling was instrumental in India’s victory. Kumble was awarded the player of the series trophy, a cash award of Rs 50,000 and Videocon TV set by the match
sponsor. He equalled the record of Kapil Dev (434 wickets) 434 in 90 Test matches. Harbhajan Singh, the Jalandhar boy, also created a history by picking 9 wickets in the Test matches for which he received the Man of the Match trophy and a cash award of Rs 50,000. He also received a TV from the sponsor. Harbhajan said he was glad that he could help the team to win the match. He said the Eden had always been a lucky ground for him and, it was proved true once again. |
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I am lucky to have equalled record: Kumble
Kolkata, December 2 Kumble, who made his Test debut in 1990, achieved the milestone in his 90th Test match. Kapil Dev had taken the same number of wickets in 131 Test matches. The legendary all-rounder made the record in 1994. Speaking to reporters at the hotel lobby here after the match, Kumble said, ‘’Playing for India is a motivation. Wickets come my way. I am very lucky to have touched the record of Kapil Dev at Eden Gardens. It is a great feeling to equal a legend’s record.’’ Asked whether he received a record from Kapil, Kumble said, ‘’He called me after I got 400 wickets, but I haven not received his call now.’’ After India won the second Test and the home series against South Africa, the leggie said he was looking forward to the Bangladesh tour. ‘’I have never played in Bangladesh and I am looking forward to playing the Test series there,” he said. The 34-year-old leggie toiled lucklessly throughout the Test with only two wickets till this morning. But his moment of reckoning came when he picked up Thami Tsolekile with a fast leg-break that spun, bounced and castled the rookie keeper as he tried to put everything behind the ball. Some of the highlights of Kumble’s career include a perfect 10 against arch-rivals Pakistan to equal Jim Laker’s record. Again in 2003-04, he got phenomenal success, taking 24 wickets from three Test matches in Australia. During India’s last tour to Pakistan, he propelled India to the first-ever Test win there with an effort of six for 71 on a flat Multan track. Kumble has 28 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket and 321 wickets in 259 one-day internationals at an average of 30. Kumble made his debut in 1990 against England in Manchester.
—UNI |
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Mongia, Joginder, Doni in ODI squad
Kolkata, December 2 While Laxman and Kumble were "rested", Haryana pacer Joginder Sharma and Bihar wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni were the two new faces in the 15-member squad announced by Cricket Board Joint Secretary Gautam Dasgupta here. Punjab left-hander Dinesh Mongia earned a recall since being dropped after the World Cup in 2003 while Tamil Nadu middle order batsman Sridharan Sriram also found a berth in the squad. Dhoni, who has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit, got the nod ahead of Dinesh Kaarthick by virtue of his better batting record. "The name of Kaarthick also came up for discussion. But ultimately the selectors to include Dhoni because of his batting and his consistent performance in the domestic matches and the India 'A' series," Dasgupta said. He said that Dhoni will be the first option for the wicketkeeping slot but the final decision will be taken by the team management. The squad:
Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Murali Kartik, Dinesh Mongia, Sridharan Sriram, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Joginder Sharma.
— PTI |
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SC to hear BCCI case on Dec 9
New Delhi, December 2 A Bench of Mr Justice N Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice S.B. Sinha, while fixing the date, advised the BCCI to refrain from taking any decision on telecast contract during the pendency of its appeal. Accusing the new BCCI President Ranbir Singh Mahendra and former President Jagmohan Dalmiya of trying to award the contract for forthcoming India-Pakistan series to some parties, senior advocate F.S. Nariman, appearing for former board member from Maharashtra, C.D. Agashe, said the fate of the board has to be decided early. |
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Logos of tier 1 hockey teams unveiled
New Delhi, December 2 The launch was mounted on a lavish scale by ESPN Star Sports in association with the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) to give Indian hockey a never-before kind of image makeover, to attune it to modern trend. But the purists grimaced at the ‘trivilisation’ of the glorious legacy of Indian hockey by injecting pointless glitz and glamour to the event. “Let the players scale the heights at the world stage before glorifying and idolising them. We need to first retrieve the lost glory of Indian hockey, which has hit the nadir now, before making a song and dance about the PHL,” remarked a former Olympian, after watching the launch ‘tamasha’. The Indian hockey team, bound for the Champions Trophy Tournament in Lahore, along with a host of high-flyers, were present at the formal launch of the logos and outfits of the five PHL teams—Maratha Warriors (captain Viren Rasquinha), Hyderabad Sultans (Dilip Tirkey), Chennai Veerans (Ignace Tirkey), Bangalore High-Flyers (Arjun Halappa) and Sher-e-Jalandhar (Gagan Ajit Singh). Rasqinha walked the ramp like a manner born, and got the maximum applause while the announcement that Gagan Ajit Singh was a DSP with the Punjab Police came as a revelation (at such a young age). A roaring lion exemplifies the ferocious spirit of the logo of Sher-e-Jalandhar while Char Minar, the landmark of Hyderabad, bordered with a long sword in a sheath, captures the image of a bygone era of the Hyderabad Sultans. A prancing horse is the motif of the Maratha Warriors, signifying the martial traditions, power and conquests of the Marathas, while a hawk-eyed eagle head denotes the high-flying status of Bangalore High-Flyers. A black shield bordered with blue captures the fighting spirit and resilience of the Chennai Veerans, who are led by Armyman Ignace Tirkey, who has come up the hockey ladder the hard way. J. Walter Thomson, a leading advertising agency, has designed the team logos while fashion designer Aparna Chandra has helped give the outfits of the players a “contemporary look”. “This is a defining moment for Indian hockey, an idea whose time has come”, said IHF president K.P.S. Gill, exuding confidence that the PHL would take the game past the bend in the country. He said the innovate manner in which the PHL would be launched would recapture interest in the game. “The prospects look very good”, he added. Indian hockey was never before packaged in such a grandiose manner and Gill hoped that “a strong domestic league will make a really good national team”. Though the Tier I of the PHL, starting at the Gachhibowli Stadium in Hyderabad on January 13 next, would have only five teams this year, the IHF president said “the enthusiastic response to the PHL has made us think of merging the two tiers (Tier I and II) from next year, to make it a larger league with 10 teams”. Gill said the PHL idea had been appreciated across the world, and even the International Hockey Federation was “looking up with a lot of interest”. “We have had lean periods and heart-breaking moments. The PHL will make India a superpower in hockey, as we were once”, observed Gill. “The PHL will provide the much-needed exposure to the game and the players, and we are planning innovative campaigns to market the league”, disclosed R.C. Venkateish of ESPN Star Sports. |
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Embarrassing start to torch relay
Wagah, December 2 The torch was handed over by Sports Minister of Pakistani Punjab Naeem-Ullah-Ussani, accompanied by Idris Haider, Secretary General, Olympic Association, Pakistan, and Mohammad Bashir Bholla, wrestler. After putting some efforts, the Indian torch was eventually lit and Milkha Singh in turn offered the Indian torch to the minister of Pakistan. Despite being in the mid-seventies, athlete Milkha Singh displayed his running skill as he led 28 prominent sportspersons, including seven women, and ADGP G. S Aujla. After running a bit, Milkha Singh asked photographers, coming in his way, in a lighter vein to move away from his way as he had warmed up now. Before the handing over of the flame, sportsmen from Pakistan lined up on the either side of the road in front of the zero line gate while a Pakistani band played their patriotic song. From the Swarn Jayanti gate, the flame was carried in a special jeep, on which sportspersons also climbed up. Ahead of the jeep were a Punjab Police band attired in colourful dresses and mounted policemen. Thereafter, the flame was taken through a selected route of the holy city. At several places on the way, schoolchildren stood to cheer the torch relay while waving the national flags of India and Pakistan. KAPURTHALA: The Pakistani contigent of sportmen that arrived in India for the first Indo-Pak Punjab Games was accorded a warm welcome at Dhilwan in Kapurthala here on Thursday. The contingent arrived from Amritsar through the Wagah border and was on its way to Kartarpur and Jalandhar. The sports torch, held by Dr G.S. Aujla, was received by seven emient sportspersons — Balwant Singh, wrestler, Baldev Raj, Balwinder Singh, Anil Punj and Parminder Singh, basketball players and Sarvan Singh and Shiv Dev, kabaddi players. JALANDHAR:
The torch of the first-ever Indo-Pak Punjab Games was received with enthusiasm as it reached Kartarpur in the district on Thursday evening. Senior district administration and police officials, along with a large number of Olympians, Arjuna awardees and international sportspersons of the region, greeted the torch when it reached near the Magnolia Tourist Complex on GT Road. Three-time Olympian and Padmashree awardee Pargat Singh, Arjuna awardees Gurdev Singh, Parminder Singh and Surinder Singh Sodhi, besides Rajwinder Kaur, Manjit Kaur, Baljit Singh Dhillon, Tejbir Singh and Jugraj Singh, greeted the torch. |
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Stage set for Punjab Games
Patiala, December 2 With Mr Elahi reportedly on the hit list of some terrorist outfits, the city has been virtually put on high alert. More than 3,000 cops have been requisitioned from various districts for the games. This reflects the organisers’ concerns for their guests coming from across the border. Two bullet-proof Mercedes Benz cars have been placed at the disposal of Mr Elahi, who is also scheduled to address a joint press conference with Capt Amarinder Singh on December 6 at the Mini-Secretariat. Not an iota of information is being provided by the organisers about the movements of Mr Elahi due to security concerns. Various development works have been undertaken swiftly to beautify the city. The beautification committee, whose chairperson is the Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, has gone on an overdrive and has done an elaborate job. The roads around the main venues, the NIS, the YPS and the Polo Ground, now rechristened the Bhalinder Singh sports complex, have been recarpeted and widened to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic. Some works have still to be completed, but the grandeur of the games is expected to mask minor irritants. Floodlights have been installed at the YPS stadium, where both the opening and closing ceremonies are scheduled to be held. The Baradari Gardens are being given a massive facelift, for which the State Bank of Patiala has provided Rs 1 crore. The organisers have not made it clear as to who will light the torch. Some prominent names which have surfaced are those of hockey Olympians Pargat Singh, Harmeek Singh, Ajit Pal Singh, Balkishen Singh and Balbir Singh (Senior). |
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Sangrur eves lift overall trophy
Bathinda, December 2 In volleyball, Ludhiana defeated Bathinda by 3-1 to win the title, in kabaddi, Jalandhar outclassed Faridkot by 57-27 and in hockey Sangrur defeated Gurdaspur 1-0 to get first place. The hockey match between Sangrur and Gurdaspur was well contested. The third position in hockey went to Ludhiana. Archery event was totally dominated by the Ferozepore district as archers from this district got all the positions in 40 meters and 30 meters category apart from retaining team title. Second and third position went to Muktsar and Sangrur districts, respectively. Ms Narinder Kaur of Patiala came first in the 400 meters race while Ms Ramandeep Kaur of Sangrur and Ms Rajpreet Kaur of Jalandhar got second and third positions respectively. Again a Patiala girl, Ms Rajwinder Kaur got the first position in 200 meters race while the second and third positions went to Ms Jaspreet of Sangrur and Ms Rajwinder Kaur of Muktsar respectively. In 3000 meters race, Sawita Kumari of Gurdaspur bagged the first position, Ms Baljeet Kaur of Sangrur got second place while the third place went to Ms Navneet Kaur of same district. The Sangrur girls kept their domination in 4x100 meters relay race and bagged first position while the second and third positions went to Jalandhar and Patiala, respectively. In javelin final, first position was taken by Gurpreet of Patiala, Reeta Rani and Ramanpreet Kaur of Ropar and Kapurthala districts got second and third position. In weightlifting 63 kg category, Ms Harminder Pal Kaur of Gurdaspur got first position while the second and third positions went to Ms Ramanpreet Kaur and Ms Amandeep Kaur of Amritsar district. In 69 kg category, Rajveer Kaur of Sangrur got first position while the second position was obtained by Rajwinder Kaur of Bathinda. |
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Harbhajan soccer prize money hiked
Chandigarh, December 2 While the winners in the club category will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 50,000, the runners-up will receive Rs 40,000. Last year the amount was Rs 40,000 for winners and Rs 35,000 for runners-up. A meeting of the organising committee held under the chairmanship of Mr H.S. Bains, president, Principal Harbhajan Singh Memorial Sporting Club, also decided to award cash prizes of Rs 20,000 and Rs 15,000 to the winners and runners-up in the college category. The scholarship amount in the college category has been increased to Rs 3000. According to the Mr Ali Hassan, secretary of the club, a school category is also being introduced in the tournament. All prominent clubs and colleges of Punjab are expected to participate in the tournament next month.
— TNS |
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Sukhchain Academy, Namdhari XI in final
Ludhiana, December 2 The final is slated for Friday. In the first semifinal, Faridkot lads gave a sterling performance to outclass the reigning champions. Full back Raminder Singh of Sukhchain Academy converted a penalty corner in the 25th minute. |
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Hamirpur college boys win trophy
Hamirpur, December 2 In all, Hamirpur college had won the trophy 15 times in the last 17 years Hamirpur boys won three gold, five silver and six bronze medals. Hamirpur also got the runners-up trophy in the girls’ section. Members of the winning team were felicitated by the college Principal, Dr Lalit Mohan Sharma, at the college ground today. |
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Airlines, BPCL, PNB enter semis
New Delhi, December 2 Later, in Pool B, Punjab National Bank (PNB) defeated Border Security Force (BSF) 4-3 to qualify for the semi-final. In an inconsequential Pool B match, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) trounced Russian XI 4-2.
— OSR |
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Ajeetesh
is junior golf champion
Chandigarh, December 2 Ajeetesh played a round of 70 today to finish with a three-round aggregate of 218. His nearest rival, Gaganjeet Bhullar of Kapurthala, finished six strokes behind to finish second. With today's victory, the Class X student of St John's School finished with five victories in the junior circuit. This performance should fetch him the junior champion title Another Chandigarh boy, Rahul Bakshi, lost to Amanjyot Singh of Jaipur, in the playoff after the two under-16 golfers had tied with 229 scores after three rounds.
— TNS
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Patiala cyclist shines Patiala, December 2 Gurdeepak, while turning out for the Punjab squad, won a gold medal in the 500m time trial event. He also bettered the previous national record of 42.53 seconds set by Kevin of Karnataka in 2002. Gurdeepak clocked a timing of 42.35 seconds. He is a trainee of SAI cycling coach Jagdev Singh.
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