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PCB rules out further postponement of tour
Pak team looks like ‘club team’: ex-captain Mushtaq
HC orders on live telecast today
Sale of tickets
from Feb 26
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JCT Mills rally to hold Tollygunge
Air India ground Sikh Regiment
PSEB win b’ball, wrestling titles
Ranjit Singh awards revived
Islam leads in Singhania golf
Haryana postal team beat TN
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PCB rules out further postponement of tour
Lahore, February 23 In a press statement here, the Pakistan Cricket Board said the tour had already witnessed a postponement and delaying it further would not only disappoint cricket fans in both countries but also incur huge loss for both boards. With a crammed itinerary ahead, it would not be possible for Pakistan either to defer the tour. ‘The ‘PCB was perturbed to learn from Indian news reports that the series could be postponed if a High Court decision did not permit the BCCI to decide on television rights for the series. The PCB felt that cricket fans on both sides of the border were eagerly awaiting the series and that another postponement would be highly disappointing for the public.” “It would also lead to severe loss of revenue for both boards and dislocation in logistics for a postponed tour. Moreover, a further postponement of the tour would be difficult because Pakistan would be touring the West Indies in early May. The PCB hopes that the television rights issue would be resolved expeditiously so that the tour can proceed on schedule,” it said. Meanwhile, the PCB may seek compensation from the BCCI if the team’s proposed tour of India gets scrapped because of telecast rights row. Quoting a top official of the PCB, The News reported that the board was worried over the fate of the series. Saying that the PCB would like the tour to go ahead as per the schedule, the anonymous PCB official said, “At present, we view it as a purely internal matter of the Indian Board but in case the tour does not come off because of the TV rights issue then in such circumstances we can claim compensation from the BCCI.” “If a tour is called off on non-security grounds then the board of the touring team has the option of claiming compensation from the host board through the ICC. We are hopeful that the BCCI will get the chance to sell the broadcast rights for the series because it’s in the interest of both boards that the matches are held on schedule,” he said. Citing that there had been instances when compensation had been paid by the host board, he said Pakistan might ask for the same. The PCB had approached the ICC for compensation from South Africa in 2003 when the visitors threatened to cancel its tour of Pakistan. PCB Director, Cricket Operations Saleem Altaf, however, tried to play down the TV rights issue. “We’ve no concern with that. Solving the problem is their (BCCI) internal matter and we are not coming into it,” he said. “The tour is very much on and the Pakistan team is to leave for India on February 28. It is for the BCCI to take care of the TV row. We are going to India and that’s all we can say now,” Altaf added.
— UNI |
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Pak team looks like ‘club team’: ex-captain Mushtaq
Karachi, February 23 The former player said after learning about the make-up of the Pakistani squad, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly “must be laughing” while Inzamam-ul-Haq must be having his fingers crossed. “This is the weakest-ever Pakistan team selected for any tour. The team that visited England in 1978-79 under Wasim Bari was definitely weak but it was because of unavoidable reasons as there was ban on cricketers who had signed for Kerry Packer,” Mushtaq said in an interview to PTI. “But I am sorry to say that this Pakistan team looks like a club team to me,” he said as Pakistan gear up for their first full-fledged series, involving three Tests and six one-day internationals, in India in six years. “Sourav must be laughing and feeling very confident because he has seen most of the players in Pakistan last year and knows their weaknesses. As far as Inzamam is concerned, he must have his fingers crossed. He will be hoping that his boys put up a better performance than what they showed in Australia.” Mushtaq was unsparing in his comments on the Pakistani batsmen saying that “barring a couple of them, there are no quality batsmen in the side. They have faulty techniques, are too flashy, have no footwork, no temperament and consequently they are inconsistent,” he said. Other than Inzamam and Yousuf Youhana, there were no batsmen in the team who could survive two sessions, the 62-year-old Mushtaq said. “The little that I have seen of the Pakistan batsmen, I have noticed that they put their bat behind the pads. They need to put their bat in front of the pad. That is the basic.” Equally unimpressed by the bowlers, Mushtaq said, “To win Test matches, you need to take 20 wickets and I don’t see any bowler capable of running through the innings. Danish Kaneria has been bowling well recently but he needs support. Besides, figures of five for 140 will not win you Tests. You need to have figures of five for 50 to win you a Test. And how regularly Danish can do this?” Nevertheless, Mushtaq hoped that his assessment of the team would prove wrong and Pakistan would come out with flying colours. “I desperately want my country to do well in India and win the Test series because this series means a lot to the people of Pakistan. But sadly, cricket is not played with emotions. It is played with talent and skill. I hope my assessment about the team is incorrect and if they (Pakistan team) prove me wrong, I will be the happiest man on this planet.” Adjudged Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1963, Mushtaq was the Pakistan captain on the ice-breaking 1978-79 series against India at home, the first cricket series between the two countries in nearly 18 years. Mushtaq’s men beat Bishen Bedi’s team 2-0 in that three-Test series. But a year later, he was elbowed out by Asif Iqbal as captain in controversial circumstances for the return tour that eventually brought the downfall of Iqbal after Pakistan returned vanquished.
— PTI |
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HC orders on live telecast today
Chennai, February 23 Reserving orders on a writ petition filed by ZEE challenging BCCI's decision cancelling the tender process, Justice K P Sivasubramanian said he will deliver orders tomorrow on live telecast of one-day as well as Test matches between the two sides. The Judge will deliver orders on the main petition later. Close on the heels of ZEE informing the High Court yesterday that it had made an offer to the board pertaining to live telecast of the matches, ESS also in a written offer to the BCCI in Madras High Court said, subject to judicial orders, it would provide production services to the Board for the Indo-Pak series in accordance with international standards and "at a minimum as required by the BCCI's invitation to tender of August 7 last."
— PTI |
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Sale of tickets
from Feb 26 Mohali, February 23 Tickets can be purchased from all branches of the ICICI Bank, the official banker of the PCA, Mr G.S. Walia, treasurer, PCA, said. A counter of the bank would also be set up at PCA premises for the convenience of people. Students would get 40 per cent discount on tickets of general blocks on showing their identity cards. The price of a ticket for the general block is Rs 100. A VIP block ticket will be priced at Rs 1000, terrace block ticket at Rs 3000 while entry to the air conditioned lounge could be had at the rate of Rs 10,000 per person, said Mr Walia. In Pakistan, tickets will be sold through special counters to be set up at the Gadaffi stadium in Lahore. Special counters for visa have been set at Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.
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Bangladesh XI on verge of defeat
Nagpur, February 23 After East Zone declared their first innings at 454 for six, thanks to a belligerant ton by Team India skipper Sourav Ganguly (170 runs, 203b, 21x4, 4x6), BCB XI wilted under some incisive bowling by Shiv Shankar Paul (six for 45) and their first innings collapsed at 142. Their second essay was hardly better as the BCB XI crawled to 132 for eight at close of play—still trailing by 189 runs with two wickets in hand. Earlier, resuming on their overnight score of 365 for five, East Zone batsmen Sourav and Sanjib Sanyal (39) played aggressive cricket. Sourav was more harsh on the Bangla bowlers and he added 60 runs to his overnight score of 110, with three lusty sixes and seven more boundaries in the 54 balls he faced today. Though Manjurul Islam finally had the southpaw caught by Abdur Razzak, it was too late and East declared their first innings at 454 for six. Paul (six for 45) started the rot for BCB XI in the first innings with the scalp of Saghir Hossain and struck at regular intervals. Only Al Sahariar (33) and captain Mohammad Ashraful (40) could offer some resistance. Scoreboard:
East Zone (1st innings): (overnight 365 for five) SS Das c Hossain b Monir 4 A Das c Hossain b Razzak 43 Dhoni c Ahmed b Razzak 51 Gavaskar c Ashraful b Razzak 13 Ganguly c Razzak b Rana 170 Shukla lbw b Jubair 123 Sanyal not out 39 Shahid Khan not out 0 Extras
(b-1,lb-7,w-2, nb-1) 11. Total (6 wkts, 103 overs) dec. 454 Fall of wickets: 1/10 2/72 3/100 4/126 5/331 6/445 . Bowling: Anwar Hossain Monir 24-5-76-1 Mohammad Shahzada 17-2-92-0 Talha Jubair 15-3-58-1 Aftab Ahmed 1-0-7-0 Abdur Razzak 32-3-131-3 Shabbir Khan 5-0-23-0 Manjural Islam Rana 7-0-38-1 Mohammad Ashraful 2-0-21-0. Bangladesh XI (1st innings): Sahariar c Dhoni b Bose 33 Hossain c sub b Paul 4 Ahmed lbw b Sanyal 24 Ashraful c Shukla b Mangaraj 40 Kapali c A Das b Paul 13 Rana c Shukla b Paul 0 Shabbir Khan c Dhoni b Paul 8 Razzak c Dhoni b Paul 9 Shahzada c Dhoni b Paul 0 Monir lbw b Mangaraj 2 Jubair not out 0 Extras
(LB-6, NB-3) 9 Total (All out in 41.1 overs) 142 Fall of wickets: 1/23 2/65 3/65 4/100 5/100 6/125 7/135 8/136 9-141. Bowling: SS Paul 15-2-45-6 (2nb) Ranadeb Bose 13-5-47-1 DK Mangaraj 7.1-2-24-2 Sanjib Sanyal 6-2-20-1. Bangladesh XI (2nd innings following on): Sahariar lbw b Paul 0 Khan lbw b Sanyal 0 Ahmed b Paul 8 Ashraful c Das b Bose 1 Kapali lbw b Sanyal 13 Rana lbw b Sanyal 26 Hossain c Das b Shahid Khan 34 Razzak not out 32 Shahzada lbw b Bose 0 Monir not out 0 Extras
(b-1, lb-2, nb-6) 9 Total (8 wkts in 33 overs) 123 Fall of wickets: 1/0 2/9 3/10 4/14 5/44 6/65 7/122 8/123 Bowling:
SS Paul 8-2-21-2 Ranadeb Bose 10-6-25-2 Sanjib Sanyal 7-0-34-3 DK Mangaraj 6-0-35-0 Shahid Khan 2-1-5-1.
— UNI |
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South tottering at 141 for 5
Hyderabad, February 23 South recovered through good knocks by Robin Utthappa, S. Sriram and Venugopala Rao as they batted for a second time after restricting West to 207 in their first innings. South began their second innings on a promising note, but slumped to 79 for four as their star batsmen V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid failed again. South went in for tea at 41 for the loss of opener Rowland Barrington’s wicket. The Karnataka batsman fell to India paceman Irfan Pathan. Laxman disappointed the local crowd again, this time losing his off stump to speedster Zaheer Khan for 13 runs. The South Zone skipper Rahul Dravid was out to a catch again by Niraj Patel. But Andhra batsman Venugopala Rao added 54 runs for the fifth wicket in the company of Tamil Nadu’s Sriram, who after scoring 23 runs off 58 balls with one four, edged left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar to Parthiv Patel. Venugopala Rao who hit 37 runs off 67 balls with the help of five boundaries enabled South to gain an overall lead of 121 runs. The match is interestingly poised with South having five
wickets in hand and fighting to post a big score, with two days of play remaining. Scoreboard
South Zone (Ist innings) 187 West Zone (Ist innings): Jadhav C Karthik B Balaji 30 Parab lbw b Kumble 13 Jaffar c Sriram b Vinay 13 Pawar b Kumble 0 Tendulkar b Kumble 4 Patel c Laxman b Balaji 43 Patel lbw Vinay 25 Powar c Dravid b Vinay 31 Agarkar lbw b Vinay 15 Pathan (not out) 1 Zaheer lbw b Kumble 1 Extras: (b1, lb13, nb12, w5) 31 Total: (All out in 68 overs) 207 Fall of Wickets: 1-34, 2-67, 3-71, 4-75, 5-75, 6-137, 7-171, 8-197, 9-204 Bowling: L. Balaji 19-6-57-2, R. Jesuraj 11-2-37-0, Anil Kumble 23-4-69-4, R. Vinay Kumar 13-3-22-4, Venugopala Rao 2-0- 8-0. South Zone (IInd innings): Utappa c Jaffar b Pathan 40 Barrington lbw b Pathan 11 Laxman b Zaheer 13 Dravid c Nira b Powar 5 Sriram c Parthiv b Pawar 23 Venugopala Rao batting 37 Dinesh Karthik batting 3 Extras: (nb 9) 9 Total: (5 wkts, 44 overs) 141 Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-58, 3-69, 4-78, 5-132. Bowling: Agarkar 10-2-41-0, Pathan 12-1-43-2, Zaheer 7-0-20-1, Ramesh Powar 9-2-24-1, Rajesh Pawar 5-2-11-1, S. Tendulkar 1-0- 2-0.
— UNI |
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JCT Mills rally to hold Tollygunge
Ludhiana, February 23 The match began on a fast note with players of both the sides trying to establish their supremacy on respective rivals. JCT players dominated the proceedings right from the word go but failed to translate the chances into goal. The visitors too fumbled near the goalmouth. With only three mintues to go for the half-time, Kolkata forward Suley Mussah and midfielder Saumik Dey weaved a good move and managed to invade the rival’s territory. At the top of the striking circle, Dey despatched a sizzler which was blocked by JCT’s Harpreet Singh but the ball deflected off his foot and went over the head of goalkeeper Mansuru Mohammed’s head into the net. Thus the hosts were unlucky to concede one goal lead at half time. After changing the ends, JCT players went allout for the equaliser. They made repeated attacks on Tollygunge’s citadel but failed to get the desired results. They wasted as many as one dozen scoring chances midway through the second session. Jaswinder Singh was the pale shadow of himself , missing a couple of sitters during this period. The home side, however continued with the pressure tactics which ultimately yielded results. In the 83rd minute, captain Ram Paul attemped a powerful footer in the danger zone. His kick hit Tollygunge custodian Arindam Ghosh’s gloves but he failed to grab it. The ball went towards the advancing Sukhwinder Singh who made no mistake and sent the header in to net to restore parity. During the dying minutes, the encounter witnessed some fierce battle between the two sides. The attacks and counter attacks, initiated by players of both the teams failed to cut much ice and the issue remained unresolved. Sukhwinder Singh, coach of the home side, expressed his diappointment over the result. “The boys played extremely well and were in control of the proceedings, but squandered away the scoring chances which came their way. We would have won by four-five goals,” he said. Meanwhile, Tollygunge coach, Biswajit Das too expressed his displeasure when he said after establishing lead, we could not hang on to it and allowed the home side to level the score. JCT Mill, now take on State Bank of Travancore, Trivandrum, here on February 28 while Tollygunge will travel to Kolkata to meet Vasco Sports Club of
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Air India ground Sikh Regiment
New Delhi, February 23 In a close fight, Sikh Regiment forged ahead in the 19th minute through a goal by A Imam, but a minute later, Air India earned a penalty corner which was converted by Davinder Kumar (1-1). After sharing honours in the first half, there was keen fight for the match-winner on resumption which came at the fag end of the contest when Surinder Singh struck off a penalty corner for Air India. In another match, Bharat Petroleum notched up their second successive victory when they humbled Namdhari XI 5-3. In a see-saw tie, Namdharis went ahead in the second minute through a goal by Sher Singh, which was equalised by Len Aiyappa for Bharat Petroleum when he converted a penalty corner seven minutes later. Anmolak Singh regained the lead for the Namdharis in the 16th minute but Amar Aiyamma levelled the score for the Petroleum team. Sandeep Michael then hit the mark to put Bharat Petroleum in the lead (3-2) at the stroke of half time. But the Namdharis equalised immediately on resumption. Then the petroleum team scored two goals through Amar Aiyamma and Len Aiyappa to settle the match in their favour. |
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PSEB win b’ball, wrestling titles
Patiala, February 23 In basketball, the hosts never had to strain much as they downed an insipid looking Tamil Nadu State Electricity Board 66-41 while the third spot was taken by BBMB who beat Kerala State Electricity Board. In wrestling, PSEB accumulated 66 points to emerge overall winners while Haryana, with 59 points to their credit, came second. The third spot was taken by Uttar Pradesh who managed 52 points. The hosts started on a confident note when Gurdeep Singh clinched the first spot in the 60 kg weight class. Gurdeep Singh nipped in the bud the strong challenge of Haryana matman Kishori Lal. In the 96 kg class, the hosts again triumphed when Kuldeep Singh pinned down Satish Kumar of Haryana. The hosts bagged two more gold medals in the 74 kg and 84 kg weight categories when Pushottam Lal and Rawail Singh beat their respective opponents. The 55 kg weight class saw and intense fight between Bijendera Singh of UP and Suresh Kumar of Haryana before the former eventually won. In the 96 kg plus class, Satpal Singh of Haryana downed Salwinder Singh of PSEB to bag the first place. The prizes were distributed by the Chairman of PSEB Mr
Y.S. Ratra. |
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Ranjit Singh awards revived
Jalandhar, February 23 Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Sports and Youth Affairs), revealed this after formally inaugurating open Punjab State Games at Olympian Surjit Hockey stadium here today. Sodhi announced that the prize money of the award has been raised to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 21000. “A sports committee has been constituted to recommend the names of deserving players for the award. It has also been decided to set up special academies for athletics, wrestling and hockey. As many as 20 players will be selected for imparting training at these academies,” maintained Mr Sodhi. He also gave away a cash prize of Rs 51000 to Malkiat Singh for his contribution in imparting training to budding hockey players. He also gave away a cash prize of Rs 4000 each to 13 junior players and Rs 6000 each to 13 players of sub-junior age group. Earlier, as many as 1600 players from all over the state and 500 officails participated in marchpast. The Director, sports department, Punjab, Mr Kartar Singh also announced that the coaches would be soon engaged on contract basis for different games. A controversy arose as Ropar hockey team refused to play their inaugural match with Ferozepur at Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium here. The incident occurred when Ferozepur players allegedly failed to report on time and as a result the sports department officials organised a show match between Jalandhar and Ropar. When Ferozepur players reported, around 20 minutes of the show match was over. They were not allowed to play and later Ropar refused to play again with Ferozepur. “Its mismanagement on the part of sports officials concerned,” said Manmeet Singh, coach of Ferozepur hockey team. Results: Athletics: 800 mtrs: Subash Chander (Kapurthala) — 1st, Kashmir Singh (Amritsar) — 2nd, Nirvair Singh (Ludhiana) — 3rd. 400 mtrs: Jagbir Singh (Patiala) — 1st, Jagdev Singh (Ludhiana) — 2nd, Vishal Pathak (Sangrur) — 3rd. Handball: Sangrur beat Faridkot 29-19, Patiala beat Hoshiarpur 28-11. |
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Islam leads in Singhania golf
New Delhi, February
23 The Chandigarh duo of Gurbazz Mann and Amritinder Singh impressed with rounds of four-under 68 each which tied them at the second position, ahead of Gaurav Diwan of
Bangalore. S P Chowrasia of Kolkata and S Madhaiah of Bangalore were tied at the fifth position at two-under 70.
Fortyone-year-old Islam, who fired a six-under 66 in the Royal Challenge Open in Kolkata last month, putted really well today, and played overall nicely to jump into
lead. Gurbaaz and Amritinder too played well, but some lapses on the way put them behind at the second position.
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Haryana postal team beat TN Ambala, February 23 In the second match, the Punjab postal circle team won its match against Rajasthan 49-31 points. Rajesh Kumar and Mr Paramjit were top scorers for Punjab. In the third match, there was a tough contest between Gujarat and the West Bengal. The West Bengal team won 82-76 points against Gujarat. Mr Amitabh of West Bengal was the top scorer for his team. In the fourth match, the Tamil Nadu circle team won its match against Orissa by 49-40 points. Sunny from the Tamil Nadu team was the top scorer for his team. In the last match of the day, the Punjab Postal circle beat the Gujarat circle team by 68-25 points. Mr Rajesh Kumar of Punjab again emerged as the top scorer for his team.
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Inter-varsity kayaking begins
Nurpur, February 23 Eighty students from Punjabi University, Patiala, Panjab University, Chandigarh, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Warktullah University, Bhopal, Kumaon University, Nainital, and Osmania University, Hyderabad, are taking part in the water sports event. Dubai, February 23
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Baljinder adjudged
best athlete Dera Bassi, February 23 Earlier college principal Mrs Shankutla declared the meet open in the morning while Mr Amrit Pal Singh, president of Dera Bassi Municipal Council, was the chide guest of the closing ceremony. Mrs Narinder Sangha, SDM Dera Bassi, also inaugurated a Computer Laboratory in the college premises. As many as 106 students, Including 32 girls, of various classes participated with enthusiasm in various events to mark the meet. The winners were also given certificates of merit and mementoes. Besides students and teachers, parents and distinguished personalities of the area were also present on the occasion.
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