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We will not play for draw: Ganguly
MCD threatens to refuse
permission
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Anand beats Kramnik
IOA delegation meets PM
Vasco rout Tollygunge 5-0
Chandigarh, Railways in super league
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India look to wrap up series
Bangalore, March 23 The thumping victory in the second Test has clearly boosted the morale of Sourav Ganguly’s men, who are keen to keep up the momentum and deny the tourists any leeway to salvage the series. “It’s a good situation to be in. Boys have the hunger to win. We are looking for another good performance,” said Indian coach John Wright as India is sitting pretty with 1-0 lead. The visitors appeared a transformed side after the first Test with a remarkable rearguard action by their lower order to force a draw in a dramatic fashion on the final day. But a batting collapse from a position of strength in the first innings of the second Test to let the game slip away and failing to rise up to the occasion in the second knock has led to the home team gaining the upper hand and a position of domination going into the crucial encounter. Pakistan, who are facing a must-win situation, would have to raise their game to stop the hosts from clinching the series, which would be the first since 1979 when Asif Iqbal’s team were beaten 0-2 in a six-Test series by Sunil Gavaskar’s men. The hosts go into the match with Harbhajan Singh being reported for a suspect bowling action yet again and it remains to be seen whether the fresh controversy will have any effect on the off-spinner. Pakistan, however, can take comfort from the fact that it was at this very venue that Pakistan had won a Test to clinch the series in 1986. But there seems to be no comparison as the inexperienced team under captain Inzamam is fighting with their backs to wall against a gangling home team determined to maintain the pressure. Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer seems unnerved by the reverse at Kolkata and believes all is not over for his team but clearly knows that his men need to bowl and bat a lot better to put it across India. “I don’t think it (losing the Kolkata Test) was a disaster. We expect to bounce back. That’s the whole team effort. We have to be optimistic. We are very positive going into this Test match,” Woolmer said. But it’s going to be tough for the tourists as their batting and bowling woes are a matter of worry. Experienced seamer Mohammed Sami overstepping the line repeatedly has not gone down well with the team management. Their move to go in with only one specialist spinner, Danish Kaneria, in the Kolkata Test has also received flak. Pakistan are certain to go in with a double spin attack by including off-spinner Arshad Khan in place of Mohammad Khalil for tomorrow’s match. A fired-up India is expected to retain the side that came up trumps at Kolkata. Eden Gardens heroes Rahul Dravid, who hit twin centuries, and spinner Anil Kumble, who finished with 10 wickets, including a deadly 7-63 in the second innings, would be again expected to turn the tide in the home team’s favour in their own backyard. Pakistan skipper Inzamam is set for a major milestone of his career as he plays his 100th Test and he made no secret of his desire that the best gift the team members could give him was a win here to level the series. Inzamam considers it as a rare honour and a special moment. Only three other Pakistanis, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad and Salim Malik have played 100 Tests. Thirty-five-year-old Inzamam lost the toss in the first two games but is hoping that luck would not elude him this time as the team is keen to bat first and post a 500-plus score. Teams (from): India:
Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Dinesh Kaarthick (wicketkeeper), Yuvraj Singh, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra and Laxmipathy Balaji. Pakistan:
Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Taufeeq Umar, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Asim Kamal, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Arshad Khan, Danish Kaneria, Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Khalil and Abdul Razzaq.
— PTI
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We will not play for draw: Ganguly
Bangalore, March 23 “Obviously, we will try and win this game. I don’t think we need to go with the mindset that win (in the second Test at Kolkata) was enough. We will try and play the way we played in the last two matches,” he said at a pre-match press conference. India won the Kolkata Test by 195 runs while the first Test at Mohali was drawn. Ganguly described the wicket at M. Chinnaswamy stadium as good and said it would help spinners. Asked if he was “surprised” by a below par performance by Pakistani bowlers, he said he did not want to talk about the visiting side at this stage and probably make comments after the series. “Anything can happen. They have talented players,” he said. Ganguly did not believe that tension and intensity, that have been a part of the India-Pakistan encounters, have come down in the present series compared to the earlier times. “I don’t think so. There was tension in both dressing rooms (during the first two Tests). I think competitiveness will never go. Two Test matches got over very quickly. India-Pakistan matches will always be India-Pakistan matches,” he said. Ganguly said he was keen to end his recent poor run with the bat and wanted to come out with a big innings. “I need to get runs. I have not scored in the last two to three innings. I understand that I need to get runs. I will try my best.” Regarding his 3-1 combination in bowling in the first Test at Mohali he said “it’s not easy to read wickets”. “We missed a spinner on the final day. The wicket had moisture. We had the idea of putting Pakistan in a difficult zone after scoring 300-350 runs on the first day. “We could not have gone in with two spinners in the first Test. Six out of 10 times, you manage to read it (the pitch right),” he said. Asked to comment on the Indian cricket coach’s tenure which is coming to an end after this series, he described John Wright as outstanding and noted, that the Indian coach was with the team since he had been the captain. “We had a relationship over the last five years. The boys have liked him ...the way he approaches the game, job ...very very good.” On India set to become number two among Test playing countries, Ganguly said “it’s a big achievement and very, very satisfying” that the country is only second to Australia. “It’s a great thing for Indian cricket.”
— PTI |
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Do-or-die affair for Pak, says Haq
Bangalore, March 23 Trailing the series 0-1, after their loss at Kolkata, Pakistan need to win the match, beginning tomorrow, to avoid their first series loss in India in 25 years. Pointing out that the toss would play an important role, Inzamam also hinted that he would make at least two changes to the side which lost at Kolkata. We would most likely make one change each in batting and bowling, he added. Inzamam said the controversy surrounding off-spinner Harbhajan Singh’s ‘doosra’ delivery, would not be a great advantage. Harbhajan being reported to the ICC may give some “psychological benefit” but it was Anil Kumble who did most of the damage in the series, he noted. Asked whether he feared that his captaincy would be at stake if the side lost the series against India, Inzamam said such things (talks) happen from time to time. “It’s important to focus on the task at hand; to win the match.” Inzamam said Pakistan’s batsmen needed to take more responsibility as the bowling attack was inexperienced. The Pakistan skipper expressed the view that if the two countries played often, the intensity of onfield rivalry between them may come down and cricket fans on both sides of the border would increasingly realise that winning and losing was part of the game. Inzamam ruled out any “tension” in the team and said his “arguments” with Shahid Afridi could not be described as “tension”. To a question, he said his most unforgettable moment was when he was part of the Pakistan team that won the World Cup in 1992. And the most regrettable one was that he scored a mere 19 runs from six matches in the 2003 edition. It will be a momentous occasion for Inzamam when he walks out to play his 100th Test match at the M Chinnaswamy stadium tomorrow. Inzamam, who made his Test debut against England at Birmingham in 1992, said he never thought of achieving the feat when he had started his career over a decade back. “I never ever thought that I would play 100 Tests. I am definitely happy. I thank God. It’s the unstinted support of my colleagues and friends that is responsible for this feat,” the 35-year-old Inzamam said. The Pakistan captain said winning the final Test, which would enable his team to square the series 1-1, was more
important than his personal milestone. — PTI |
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MCD threatens to refuse
permission
New Delhi, March 23 Though the Delhi and District Cricket Association officials were racing against time to make the stadium ready for the high-profile match, the MCD has said it would not issue any temporary occupancy certificate until the construction works were completed. "No temporary occupancy certificate can be issued unless the work is completed," MCD
Chairman Rakesh Mehta told PTI today. The MCD chief made it clear that even if construction was not completed till April 17, date of the match, the MCD would not issue any certificate. Though the renovation plans are to turn Kotla into a 50,000-capacity stadium, the DDCA had reduced the capacity to 30,000 for the match, saying spectators will be allowed to occupy only the lower half of the two-tiered galleries. But without the certificate, the DDCA will not get police and fire safety clearance, a pre-requisite for hosting the match. — PTI
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Anand beats Kramnik
Monaco, March 23 Anand, with an inimitable 7/7 score, maintained his all-win record in the tournament and appeared unstoppable in his quest for his fourth Amber chess title here. The victory also helped Anand stretch his lead to 2.5 points against his nearest rivals — Hungarian Peter Leko, Russian Alexander Morozevich and Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk — who were on joint second spot in the unique tournament with 4.5 points apiece. The trio could have boasted about their score which was very good after the intriguing fourth round but for Anand’s heroics in the tournament so far. Besides, the win also helped Anand in securing the sole lead in the blindfold section as well where Kramnik had been giving him company so far.
— PTI |
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IOA delegation meets PM
New Delhi, March 23 The Prime Minister is learnt to have "responded very positively" to the demands of the IOA as he was of the view that now that the country had opted to host the Commonwealth Games "we must fully support the players in their training and development to ensure that our athletes win medals and give boost to Olympic sports in the country". The IOA memorandum impressed upon Dr Manmohan Singh to allocate Rs 200 crore per year to get medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games till the conclusion of the games. The memorandum pointed out that the allocation for sports in the budget — Rs 312.79 crore — included Rs 45.5 crore for the Commonwealth Games as against the amount of Rs 269.48 crore earmarked in the 2004-05 budget. The IOA delegation also brought to the notice of the Prime Minister that the budget for the national sports federations had been brought down to 48 crore from 50.31 crore last year. The other members of the delegation included chairman of the Minorities Commission and vice-president of the IOA Tarlochan Singh, National Rifle Association of India president Digvijay Singh, R K Anand, Navin Jindal, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar and V Rajagopal. |
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Vasco rout Tollygunge 5-0
Margao, March 23 Vasco, who put a dazzling display in the first half, held complete sway over the proceedings and were leading by 4-0 at the breather. Goals came through Sidney Rodrigues in the 15th and 36th minutes, K Aseem in the 28th minute, Samson Fernandes in the 31st minute and Anees once again scoring in the in the 56th minute. With today's win, Vasco moved one step ahead increasing their points tally to 12 from 13 matches, relegating SBT to the bottom with 9 points. Tollygunge remained on same 14 points from an equal number of outings.
— UNI |
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Chandigarh, Railways in super league
Hyderabad, March 23 Indian Airlines and Railways also had an easy journey into the super league by defeating their respective rivals with convincing margins. Parkash put Tamil Nadu ahead in the 23rd minute and Bengal’s efforts to draw parity came in the 66th minute with R
Xalco slamming home a cross from the flank. With both teams locked 1-1, the match slipped into extra time where the players passed through tense moments before Bagra netted the winner in the 83rd minute to knock Tamil Nadu out of the tournament. In the other pre-quarterfinal match, Andhra dominated the first half of the match with Sairaj Singh (17th) and Bharat Kumar Rao (40) scoring to go up 2-0 at the breather. Chandigarh came strongly from behind with Gurtej Singh converting a penalty corner (64th) and breathing life into the game. One more foul in the strike zone was well utilised by Chandigarh as Chandra Paul drew parity in the 67th minute and the match slipped into extra time. Gurtej netted the winner in the 79th minute to take his team into the super league. In the other matches, L. Barla and Brojen Singh scored a brace while Arjun Halappa converted a penalty corner for Indian Airlines after Xavier Soreng netted the lone goal for Jharkhand, who went down 1-5. Railways’ pre-quarter match was on the right track as they blanked Kerala 7-0. Vinay Alfanso netted three of the seven goals. Eight winners of the knockout phase will be joined by four institutional teams in the super league beginning on March 25.
— PTI |
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Jawaharlal trust enter semis
New Delhi, March 23 Scores: Canadian High Commission:
30 (Parveen Thapar 5 for 7, Rajender Madan 5 for 14). JNST: 32 for no loss. In another match, Delhi Doordarshan defeated World Bank by two runs. Scores: DD: 152 in 26.3 overs (Ravi Pandey 28, Manoj 20, Rajesh 20, Deepak 3 for 39, Puran Singh 2 for 18, Pankaj 2 for 20, Dharmender 2 for 39). World Bank: 150 for 8 in 30 overs (Dharmender 27, Deepak 22, Satyender 2 for 17, Manoj 2 for 20, Gurbachan Singh 2 for 34).
— OSR |
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Percept lift cup
New Delhi, March 23 In reply, Triton were shot out for 146. Suresh Solanki and S. Mullah of Percept were declared the best batsman and best bowler, respectively. Former Indian wicket-keeper Vijay Yadav gave away the prizes. |
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