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Record-breaking tons by Haq, Younis
Inzamam lauds Younis efforts |
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India need win to improve
Test ranking
Shoaib unlikely for ODIs
ICC in a legal tangle over Dalmiya
Ranji captains to meet in Mumbai
Mankad enters semis
Jeev, Johl for Indian Open
Anand looking to continue dream run
Prabodh Tirkey to lead jr hockey team
Cheema Academy win hockey titles
Kalmadi’s plea to industry
Nalwari fair concludes
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Record-breaking tons by Haq, Younis
Bangalore, March 24 Surviving a disastrous start with both the openers out for a mere seven runs, Inzamam and Younis Khan thwarted the Indian bowling to pile a record 316 for the
unfinished third-wicket partnership in 357-minutes and 526 balls. Hitting an unbeaten 184, the highest individual score at this venue, overtaking the previous best of 177 scored by Sachin Tendulkar against
Australia in the 1997-98 series, Inzamam made his milestone a memorable one. In his 357-minute stay so far he has faced 263 deliveries and hit 25 boundaries. Playing virtually the entire day, the pair created a new ground record for the highest partnership with the previous record being 207 for the fourth wicket between Gordon Greenidge and Clive Lloyd in the inaugural Test here between West Indies and India in 1974-75. Younis in the process got his second century of the series, having scored 147 in the first innings at the Kolkota Test. He has hit 12 fours and a six in his 361-minute stay at the crease hitting 267 deliveries. Inzamam in the morning won a crucial toss and opted to bat. While the home team retained the same Kolkata winning combination, Pakistan made two changes bringing in Yasir Hameed for Taufeeq Umar and spinner Arshad Khan instead of fast medium pacer Mohammad Khalil. Medium Pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji dislodged hard hitting Shahid Afridi in his first over. Afridi edged a catch to Rahul Dravid in first slip with only four runs on board in the second over of the day. In the very next over Irfan Pathan had Yasir Hameed caught behind by Dinesh Khartick and Pakistan were reduced to seven for two. But thereafter the Indian party ended as Inzamam and Younis Khan took charge of the Indian bowling. Both Balaji and Pathan troubled the batsmen initially, but the man from Multan rose to the occasion to make his 100th Test a memorable one and he became the fifth batsman in cricket history to crack a century on 100th Test. The others to achieve the feat were Gordon Greenidge, Javed Miandad, Colin Cowdry and Alec Stewart. Recording his 21st century, his second against India, Inzamam was in irresistible form as he sent the Indian bowlers on a leather hunt. Before the match he said Pakistan should learn to score against Kumble and he did exactly the same at the home turf of the ace leggie who did on few occasions beat Inzamam. The Indian bowling looked very ordinary against the class exhibited by both Inzamam and Younis Khan, Inzamam had made a match-saving 86 in the first Test at Mohali and followed it with a 57 in the second Test at Kolkata. Runs flowed with consumate ease on either side of the wicket. After the early debacle, both Inzamam and Younis Khan put their head down and took very short time to settle down before gaining ascendancy over the bowling. Sourav brought the spinners early in an attempt to secure a breakthrough. But both Inzamam and Younis never looked back and retired for lunch with the side total on 93 for two. The pair continued their lusty stay in the post lunch session which saw runs coming in thick and fast and at the second break the visitors were 202 for two with Inzamam on 119 and Younis Khan on 72. Sourav shuffled his limited bowling resource but the Pakistan pair did not fold in. The batsmen scored on and on. Younis, completed his second century of the series, coming in 284 minutes and 209 balls. Playing effortlessly the pair hoisted the 300 of the innings in 83.5 overs with Inzamam at 174 and Younis Khan 115, Ganguly took the second new ball after 84 overs with Irfan Pathan on the attack and just six overs left in the day. Scoreboard Pakistan (1st innings) Hameed c Kaarthick b Pathan 6 Afridi c Dravid b Balaji 0 Younis Khan not out 127 Inzamam not out 184 Extras:
(lb-2, nb-2, w-2) 6 Total: (2 wickets, 90 overs) 323 Fall of wickets:
1-4, 2-7. Bowling: Pathan 21-2-67-1, Balaji 20-3-74-1, Kumble 24-3-93-0, Harbhajan 22-2-73-0, Tendulkar 3-0-14-0.
— UNI |
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Inzamam joins elite group
Bangalore, March 24 Inzamam slammed an unbeaten 119 to become only the fifth in Test history to notch up a hundred in his centenary match. He was also the fourth Pakistani to have played in 100 or more Tests, and the first from his country to have captained the side in 100th match. Colin Cowdrey (England), Gordon Greenidge (West Indies), Javed Miandad (Pakistan) and Alec Stewart (England) were the other four players with a century to their name in their hundredth Test. Miandad
(124), Wasim Akram (104) and Salim Malik (103) are Inzamam’s
compatriots to have played in 100 or more Tests. Inzamam was given a
hearty congratulation by the members of the Indian team on the field
before the start of the day’s play. The 35-year old visiting skipper was also presented a crystal bowl by Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan in honour of the feat. Skipper Sourav Ganguly equalled the record of maximum Test for India as captain, leading the team for the 47th time. Sunil
Gavaskar and Mohd Azharuddin had led India in 47 Tests each. Dedicates century to father Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq today dedicated his memorable century in the 100th Test to his father
Intazar-ul-Haq. The Sultan of
Multan, who remained unbeaten on 184 at the end of the first day of the
third and final Test against India here, said ‘’I am happy that my
performance has been cheered by the fans. I am dedicating the century to
my father.’’ Inzamam’s family members, including his parents,
wife and son, are here to witness the match. Incidently, this was
Inzamam’s 21st century, second against India.— PTI |
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Pakistan will not repeat the Kolkata blunder: Inzamam
Bangalore, March 24 "We will try to score 500-plus", he told reporters after Pakistan ended the first day of the third and final Test at 323 for the loss of two wickets at the Chinnaswamy stadium here. Inzamam was batting on 184, only the fifth batsman in history to register a century in 100th Test, and vice-captain Younis Khan on 127. Pakistan had been in a similarly strong position of 211 for two at close on the second day at Eden Gardens but then suffered a middle order collapse to concede the first innings lead and eventually the match. The 35-year-old from Multan said he was dedicating his innings to his father Intazam-ul-Haq who has come from Pakistan to watch his son's momentous feat. Expressing happiness about Pakistan's and his own performance on day one, Inzamam said the team would now look to consolidate the innings and look to post a huge total. "I am also looking to stay at the wicket longer and get more runs". — PTI
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Inzamam lauds Younis efforts
Bangalore, March 24 In his post-match comments after the opening day of the third and final Test here this evening, Inzamam said that losing two quick wickets early in the innings had put a lot of pressure on him to perform. ‘’I am happy over my performance and that of Younis Khan,’’ he said adding that the team would try to take full advantage of the opportunity. ‘’It’s a crucial match, we will fight to end’’. He said the early behaviour of the pitch indicated that it was good for batsmen and would not aid spinners. ‘’However, we have to wait and watch how it behaved on the fourth and fifth days’’ he added. Asked about his health conditions he said though the weather was hot and team physio Darryn Lifson
provided him medicine to sustain the day. When asked about the performance of the Indian bowlers he said all of them did well. On the support extended by Younis khan, the vice captain, he said ‘’Younis played well and this sort of game is necessary for the team.’’
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India need win to improve
Test ranking
New Delhi, March 24 Though Australia top the table unchallenged on 132 points, just two points separate India from the second-placed England, who are on 110 points. Sri Lanka are on the fourth position with 103 points while Pakistan are placed fifth on 101 points. South Africa (99), New Zealand (93), West Indies (73), Zimbabwe (41) and Bangladesh (6) occupy the minor positions. India have never been ranked higher than their current third place in the official LG ICC Test table since it was launched in May, 2001. But a 2-0 series win will be enough to see them leapfrog past England into second place. If the Bangalore Test ends in a draw, India will catch up with England on points (110) but would be still behind in the table when the rating is recalculated to three decimal places. If Pakistan win the third Test, they will improve their rating by one point, but if the series is drawn or Pakistan lose, then they will slump to the sixth slot, behind South Africa.
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Shoaib unlikely for ODIs
Lahore, March 24 Bari was quoted by the Dawn as saying that Pakistan Cricket Board’s trainer Grant Compton has told him that the Rawalpindi Express would need another two weeks to become match fit. Half the one-day series would be over by then. The last ODI is slated for April 17. “I cannot rule out Shoaib for the entire One-day series, but it is not fair to give a chance to a player in international cricket soon after he got the match-fitness,” he said. On the other pacer under injury-cloud, Bari said, “Shabbir sent down five to six overs at the PCB Academy in Karachi today but that were not enough to test his fitness.”
— UNI |
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ICC in a legal tangle over Dalmiya
Chennai, March 24 Sixth Assistant City Civil Court Judge M Mohideen Pitchai ordered notice asking Mr Mani and Mr Mahendra why they should not be directed to appear before the court on two separate contempt applications filed by the Sir Theagaraya Recreation Club. In its
application, the club submitted that this court had earlier restrained the BCCI from appointing Mr Dalmiya as its representative to participate in the ICC meeting. Despite this order, Mr Dalmiya was allowed to participate in the meeting on March 17 at New Delhi. Thus, the BCCI and the ICC had violated and disobeyed the orders of this court, the club added. It may be recalled that the club had earlier initiated contempt proceedings against Mr Dalmiya and the court had also issued notice asking him and BCCI Honorary Secretary, S K Nair, to appear before it on March 21. However, counsel for them appeared before the court on that day and submitted that they were not served with the notice. If the notice was served, they would file the counter. Following this, the court had adjourned the case to March 28.
— UNI |
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Ranji captains to meet in Mumbai
Mumbai, March 24 The meeting is being held annually over the last few years to get feedback from the captains and coaches about the conduct of various domestic tournaments, especially their views on umpiring, pitches, formats and scheduling of tournaments. Last year’s meeting was chaired by Sunil Gavaskar, the chairman of the board’s technical committee.
— PTI |
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Mankad enters semis
Chennai, March 24 Mankad, seeded seventh, halted the winning streak of lucky loser Wang Cheng Hsieh of Taipei with a methodical 6-2, 6-0 win. Rastogi, who toppled second-seeded Simon Gruel of Germany yesterday, was involved in a grim battle before winning in three tough sets against Uzbek Deni Istomin. After dropping the first set, the 18-year-old Indian came back strongly to win the next two 6-3, 6-4 in a gruelling contest that lasted more than two hours under sweltering heat. In other quarterfinal matches, third-seeded Englishman Jamie Delgado subdued Aqeel Khan of Pakistan 6-3, 6-1 and unseeded Kamil Capkovic of Slovakia put paid to the hopes of Boppana winning 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) in a long-drawn affair. In the semifinals tomorrow, Mankad will meet Delgado, while Capkovic would take on Rastogi.
— UNI |
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Jeev, Johl for Indian Open
New Delhi, March 24 The 17th leg of the Amby Valley PGAI Tour will witness a strong field of 110 players who will vie for the top cash prize of Rs 8.1 lakh, the biggest-ever winner’s prize on offer in the history of Indian golf. The runner-up will earn Rs 5.6 lakh. The Indian Open had looked a doubtful starter after Hero Honda pulled out of the title sponsorship. But thanks to the initiative of the Delhi Golf Club and Tiger Sports Marketing, PSPB stepped in to save the prestigious championship. PSPB joint secretary VK Bawa said every golfer who made the cut (to be applied after two rounds at the top-50 position plus ties) would earn a cash prize, with the least amount on offer being Rs 23,000. The field for the event will be one of the strongest to participate in an Indian PGA Tour event for a long time as some of the other top names who have entered for the competition are Shiv Kapur, Gaurav Ghei, Arjun Singh, Uttam Singh Mundy, Ashok Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Rahil Gangjee, Feroz Ali, Amritinder Singh, Gurbaaz Maan, Indrajit Bhalotia and Vivek Bhandari and Indian Tour regulars like Vijay Kumar, Rafiq Ali, Harinder Gupta, Ranjit Singh and Ali Sher. Tiger Sports Marketing managing director Brandon D’Souza informed that besides top Indian players, leading Malaysian players like Atthapphon Prathumanee, Wisut Artjanawat, Chapchai Nirat and Ronnachai Jamnong would take part. He said the Delhi Golf Club course had been spruced up for the tournament. |
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Anand looking to continue dream run
Monaco, March 24 The Indian ace, who has a comfortable two points lead over his nearest rivals, would taken on Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in the fifth round and given his form in the tournament so far Anand would surely be looking at claiming full points from the encounter. This has been a tremendous comeback by Anand after finishing second in the Corus chess tournament in January and third at the Linares Super Grandmasters tournament, which preceded this event. Interestingly enough, Bulgarian Veselin Topalov who finished ahead of Anand in Linares is reeling at the bottom of the tables with just 1.5 points and the 6-points difference between the two is quite suggestive of a definite gap in strength in this rapid form of the game. The widely followed 12-players double round-robin tournament has thus far seen everything. There have been some brilliant moves as well as some horrifying blunders apart from a few fine technical performances by various players. And this is precisely what makes this event quite unique when compared to classical chess where the draws are rampant. The event clubs together as many as three tournaments in one - the rapid, blindfold and combined - and there are cash prizes in every section in a total prize pool of Euros 193250. Anand success here has been nothing short of phenomenal. Starting with a 2-0 whitewash of Spaniard Alexei Shirov, the Indian scored similar victories against Topalov and Francisco Pons Vallejo of Spain and had a smooth 1.5-0.5 victory over Russian Vladimir Kramnik in the previous round. With the two point cushion going into the fifth round, Anand is expected to win the title even if he has an average outing in the remaining rounds but given his incredible form it looks as though Anand is all set to make a record here. With seven rounds still to be played, Russian Alexander Morozevich and Ivanchuk are in a joint second spot and another half point behind are two Peters of the tournament - Russian champion Svidler and Corus champion Leko. Classical champion Kramnik finds himself a distant sixth with 4.5 points in his bag and will look forward to redeem pride in the rounds to come.
— PTI |
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Prabodh Tirkey to lead jr hockey team
New Delhi, March 24 The team includes among other Olympian Sandeep Singh, Tushar Khandekar, Adam Sinclair and Adrian D’Souza. Five of the players who were part of the team which played in four-nation tournament at Lahore early this month do not find place in this squad. They are Swinder Singh, V. Raja, Chitranjan Singh, Gurbachan Singh and William Xalco. India will play Korea in their opening match on March 27. The team: Srejesh, Adrian D’Souza, Avtar Singh, Sandeep Singh, Ajmer Singh, Anup Kullu, V S Vinay, Prabodh Tirkey (Capt), Senthil, Vikram Kant, Vivek Gupta, Gurbaj Singh, Nitin Kumar, Tushar Khandekar, Hari Prasad, Birinder Lakra, Ajitesh Roy, Adam Sinclair. Officials: Chief Coach:
Harendra Singh. |
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Cheema Academy win hockey titles
Batala, March-24 In the junior section, Cheema Hockey Academy defeated Hawk Club, Ropar, 2-1. Gagandeep and Satbir Singh scored one goal each while Satnam Singh scored the goal for the losers. In the senior section, Cheema Hockey Academy defeated Hawk Club, Ropar, 2-0. Heera and Mr Rajbir Singh scored one goal each. The chief guest, Mr Jagdish Sawhney, a former MLA from Batala, gave away prizes to the winning and losing teams. Earlier, the tournament was inaugurated by Navjot Singh Sidhu, MP and former cricketer, on Tuesday. Sidhu announced an ex gratia grant of Rs 10 lakh for the Cheema Hockey Academy, Shahbad, from his discretionary quota to lay an Astro-turf in the village. |
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Kalmadi’s plea to industry New Delhi, March 24 Mr
Kalmadi, speaking at a seminar titled “Commonwealth Games 2010: Opportunities for Delhi”, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries, said the 2010 games would be a golden opportunity for India to showcase its organisational and sporting abilities. Mr Kalmadi exhorted the industries to come forward in a big way to sponsor the Indian teams as India would be able to win several gold medals only if the industry adopted sports disciplines.
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Shimla, March 24
Jagdish of Himachal received the third prize a cash award of Rs 3,000.
Jhonny Chaudhary of Sundernagar was adjudged ‘Him Kumar’ and was presented with a ‘Gurj’ and a cash prize of Rs 7,000. While addressing the gathering on the conclusion of the week-long state level fair, Mr Singh said that Bilaspur was fast emerging as a sports centre of the state.
— UNI |
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