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Australia in sight of victory
‘Absence of Sachin, Sourav not to |
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Ganguly hits half century
Isinbayeva breaks five-metre barrier
Sania loses in singles, wins in doubles
Anju finishes fourth
Easy wins for Indians
Indian athletes high on dope: NIS report
Tirkey to
lead India: Gill
Punjab cyclists dominate
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Australia in sight of victory
London, July 23 Warne gave a mesmerising display of wrist spin, punctuated by a series of full-throated, theatrical appeals. He finished the day with three for 46 from 15 overs while Lee, bounding in with undiminished enthusiasm, captured two for 58. Kevin Pietersen, England’s first innings hero, played another fearless and intelligent innings, taking the attack to the Australian bowlers on the way to 42 not out. Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss gave England a deceptively smooth start, taking the total to 80 without loss before Lee struck to remove Strauss. Earlier, Simon Katich’s maiden Test fifty against England strengthened Australia’s grip on the first Test. Winners of the last eight Ashes series and unbeaten in Tests at Lord’s for 71 years, Australia were all out for 384 shortly after lunch, with Katich holding the tail together to score 67. Only three teams in history — West Indies with 418 for seven against Australia at St John’s in 2002-03, India with 406 for four against West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1975-76 and Australia with 404 for three against England at Headingley in 1948 — have scored more than 400 runs in the fourth innings to win a Test. Australia resumed on 279 for seven, a lead of 314, and went on to score 93 runs in the first session. Lee got off the mark first ball, edging Harmison through the slips for four. But Australia’s quickest bowler was soon run out for eight. Lee’s exit left Australia 289 for eight. Jason Gillespie, a resolute tailender, then glanced Harmison for four. The first delivery with the new ball, taken by England as soon as it was available after 80 overs, saw Katich pull Harmison to the square-leg fence. Scoreboard
Australia (1st innings) 190 England (1st innings) 155 Australia (2nd innings) Langer run out 6 Hayden b Flintoff 34 Ponting c sub b Hoggard 42 Martyn lbw b Harmison 65 Clarke b Hoggard 91 Katich c S. Jones b Harmison 67 Gilchrist b Flintoff 10 Warne c Giles b Harmison 2 Lee run out 8 Gillespie b S. Jones 13 McGrath not out 20 Extras:
(b-10, lb-8, nb-8) 26 Total: (all out, 100.4 overs) 384 Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-54, 3-100, 4-255, 5-255, 274-6, 7-279, 8-289, 9-341. Bowling:
Harmison 27.4-6-54-3, Hoggard 16-1-56-2, Flintoff 27-4-123-2, S. Jones 18-1-69-1, Giles 11-1-56-0, Bell 1-0-8-0. England
(2nd innings) Trescothick c Hayden b Warne 44 Strauss c and b Lee 37 Vaughan b Lee 4 Bell lbw b Warne 8 Pietersen not out 42 Flintoff c Gilchrist b Warne 3 Jones not out 6 Extras
(b-4, lb-5, nb-3) 12 Total (five wickets, 48 overs) 156 Fall of wickets:
1-80, 2-96, 3-104, 4-112, 5-119. Bowling: McGrath 12-1-25-0, Lee 15-3-58-2, Gillespie 6-0-18-0, Warne 15-2-46-3.
— Reuters |
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Lanka seize initiative
Kandy, July 23 Sri Lanka, leading by two runs after bowling out the West Indies for 148 in the morning, made amends for their poor performance in the first innings with 146-2 in the second, finishing with a lead of 148 at the close. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene capitalised on a 55-run opening stand from Sanath Jayasuriya (36) and Marvan Atapattu (19) with an unbroken 89-run partnership on a difficult batting pitch. Sangakkara batted for nearly two hours for his unbeaten 46, an innings that included seven stylish boundaries, and Jayawardene was 38 not out having hit five fours. Vaas was in ominous form in the morning, snapping up two wickets in his first over of the day to finish with 6-22 from 15 overs. Vaas needed just three balls to trap wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin lbw for 13 with an inswinger. Three balls later, Daren Powell (0) ended up chopping on to his leg stump. Left-arm spinner Jayasuriya broke through in the opening over of the day as Narsingh Deonarine added just four runs to his overnight score before he was caught and bowled for 40. The West Indies had lost three wickets in 12 balls to leave them in danger of conceding a significant first innings deficit on 101-8. But off spinner Omari Banks and Tino Best frustrated Sri Lanka after Vaas left the field for treatment and added 21 runs in 46 balls for the ninth wicket. Off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, still struggling with a flu virus and not bowling at his best, eventually had Banks caught at short leg for 17. Best, however, continued to be aggressive and hit 26 not out, including five boundaries. He added 26 for the last wicket before Jermaine Lawson was bowled. Atapattu and Jayasuriya survived a potentially tricky 23-minute session before the lunch break and then played confidently in the afternoon, adding 55 in 73 balls. Jayasuriya cracked seven boundaries in his 43-ball knock and Atapattu stroked a couple of imperious strokes off the back foot to suggest a return to form. But Atapattu then creamed a square cut straight to Banks at backward point and Jayasuriya was surprised by some extra bounce and caught in the slips off Lawson to leave Sri Lanka 57-2. Pace bowler Best then produced a hostile and fast spell before the tea interval, forcing Jayawardene and Sangakkara to take evasive action on several occasions. Jayawardene needed medical attention after being struck on his top hand by one bouncer. However, after Best’s five-over spell, the batsmen settled and started to score freely to leave Sri Lanka in control when heavy rain forced play to be called off early with 29.5 overs still to be bowled. Sri Lanka won the first Test in Colombo by six wickets. Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st innings) 150 West Indies (1st innings) Marshall c Atapattu b Vaas 4 Ramdass run out 3 Morton b Vaas 1 Chanderpaul lbw b Vaas 13 Joseph c Dilshan b Vaas 18 Deonarine c&b Jayasuriya 40 Ramdin lbw b Vaas 13 Banks c Dilshan b Murali 17 D. Powell b Vaas 0 Best not out 26 Lawson b Murali 3 Extras
(b-4, lb-2, nb-4) 10 Total (all out, 58.1 overs) 148 Fall of wickets:
1-9, 2-9, 3-12, 4-27, 5-75, 6-97, 7-101, 8-101, 9-122. Bowling:
Vaas 15-6-22-6, Malinga 9-3-22-0, Wijekoon 5-2-9-0, Muralitharan 9.1-0-37-2, Herath 9-0-26-0, Jayasuriya 11-3-26-1. Sri Lanka (2nd innings) Jayasuriya c Morton b Lawson 36 Atapattu c Banks b D. Powell 19 Sangakkara not out 46 Jayawardene not out 38 Extras
(b-4, nb-3) 7 Total (2 wickets, 41.1 overs) 146 Fall of wickets:
1-55, 2-57. Bowling: D. Powell 12-0-45-1, Lawson 9-1-36-1, Best 9-2-27-0, Banks 7-2-19-0, Deonarine 1-0-6-0, Morton
3.1-0-9-0.— Reuters |
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‘Absence of Sachin, Sourav not to affect team’
Chennai, July 23 Replying to a question whether the batting order would feel shaky in the absence of these two top Indian batsmen, Dravid said, “Both Sachin and Sourav are great players, with a lot of experience in international cricket. This will give an opportunity to many good youngsters whom we have in the team to show their talent.” Dravid and coach Greg Chappell addressed the media here before the Indian team left for Colombo. Asked whether Anil Kumble would make it to the final eleven, Dravid said, “The final selection depends on the conditions on the morning of the play. It is not easy to accommodate all 15 players in the squad. We will also decide on the basis of pitch condition. Anil has played a lot of cricket.” COLOMBO: The Indian team arrived here on Saturday to take part in a triangular one-day series against Sri Lanka and the West Indies. The Indians will travel to Dambulla to play their first match against Sri Lanka on July 30. |
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London: Sourav Ganguly hit a patient half century for Glamorgan in the County Championship Division One match against Middlesex at Cardiff on Saturday.
Ganguly’s 92-ball 55 with 10 fours propped up the hosts’ second innings after they had slipped to 153 for four as he added 53 runs for the fifth wicket with Mike Powell before falling leg before to New Zealand pacer Scott Styris on the third day of the four-day match. Glamorgan followed on after conceding a lead of 302 runs. |
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Isinbayeva breaks five-metre barrier
London, July 23 The American stormed to victory in 9.89 seconds while Jamaica’s Powell was left collapsed on the Crystal Palace track after just 10 metres. He was left feeling a groin injury which puts a huge question mark over his participation at the world championships in Helsinki which start in two weeks’ time. Isinbayeva’s giant leap came just minutes after she had set another new world record of 4.96 m, which had in turn bettered the previous best of 4.95 also set by her at the Super Grand Prix in Madrid on
July 16. The two quickfire leaps — witnessed by men’s pole vault world record holder Sergei Bubka — were the 16th and 17th world records of her career. Her record-shattering performance came eight years and nine days after Bubka became the first man to go over six metres. “To be the first woman to go to five metres is very important,” said Isinbayeva. “It has always been my dream since I started pole vaulting. It’s amazing and I am very happy. Now I want to go even higher. I think I can make 5.5 metres.” Isinbayeva, the reigning Olympic champion, will also be a lot richer after her exploits. A prize of $ 50,000 is given every time a world record is set. Bubka, who holds the men’s record of 6.14m, paid tribute to Isinbayeva, saying: “I reckon five metres for women is the same as six metres for men.” Gatlin struck a powerful blow ahead of the world championships when he won the eagerly anticipated 100 m race. It was his second win over Powell this season following his triumph in Oregon. Gatlin had also defeated Powell in the Olympic final in Athens last August when the Jamaican had started favourite. America’s Leonard Scott was second, with Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis, the reigning world champion, taking third place. Powell had been absent from the track in recent weeks because of an adductor injury and former world champion Maurice Greene, who watched the race from the sidelines, believed the Jamaican may have rushed his comeback. “I think he wanted to return too quickly,” said Greene. “I think it was an error of judgement. I hope that the injury will not rule him out of Helsinki.”
— AFP |
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Sania loses in singles, wins in doubles
New Delhi, July 23 The win was sweet revenge for Akiko who had lost to Sania in the first round of Wimbledon hardly a month ago. In other matches, fourth seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia reached the semifinal with a 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 6-1 triumph over South Korean Yoon Jeong Cho. She will now take on Morigami for a place in the final, according to information received
here today. The other semifinal will be between qualifier Bethanie Mattek, who stunned third seed Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 0-6, 6-2, and top seed Patty Schnyder. Switzerland’s Schnyder defeated Israeli’s Shahar Peer 7-6 (7/1), 6-2. In doubles, Sania and Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine advanced into the semifinal, beating the local duo of Angela Haynes and Bethanie Mattek 6-3, 6-2. They will play Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and M Emilia Salerni of Argentina in the semis.
— PTI |
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Anju finishes fourth
New Delhi, July 23 Anju, who will next month defend her bronze medal in the World Athletics Championship, continued her below-par form as she managed a best of only 6.41 metres yesterday, according to information received here. American Rose Richmond won the gold with a leap of 6.62m pipping Jackie Edwards of Bahamas, who also touched the same distance, on count back. Another American, Grace Upshaw, took the bronze with an effort of 6.56 metres. Anju will now compete in the D N Galan Grand Prix in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 26.
— PTI |
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Easy wins for Indians
Pardubice (Czech Republic), July 23 The Indians generally had a great day with 10 of them scoring smooth victories. Only Eesha Karavade and Krutika Nadig were held to draws, by Markus Schaefer of Germany and Ondrej Korinek of the Czceh Republic, respectively. It turned out to be a good first day for sixth seed Chanda as he cruised past Jan Lerch of the Czech Republic without much ado. With white pieces, the Kolkata-based was certainly superior to his opponent in all departments of the game. Also winning with ease were International Master Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury and Grandmaster norm holder S. Kidambi. While Chowdhury got the better of Romanian Marin Ramesa, who played white, Kidambi’s white pieces came good against Jan Barts of the Czech Republic. Grandmaster Tejas Bakre accounted for Stefan Fruebing of Germany with black pieces. The German was outdone in the middle game quite easily. Woman-Grandmaster-in-waiting Tania Sachdev, however, had to work a bit harder against Erina Grigorova of Russia who played black. However, once Tania got on top, she gave little chances of a comeback to her rival and wrapped up the issue quickly. Belfort (France): National under-9 champion Sahaj Grover, Y Sandeep, VAV Rajesh and N Srinath continued their excellent run with smashing victories to top their respective groups in the fourth round of the World Youth Chess championships here. Sahaj, with his fourth victory on the trot, jumped into a two-way lead in the under-10 boys section. Sandeep leads the under-14 section, while Rajesh and Srinath are also among the toppers in the under-12 boys section, registering four wins each.
— PTI |
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Indian athletes high on dope: NIS report
Patiala, July 23 The biochemical tests, conducted on senior national camp attenders in March this year by the institute’s faculty of sports sciences, have thrown up some alarming results. The report is in possession of this correspondent and the names of the athletes have been deliberately withheld. The serum HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol level of certain athletes, which for a normal person should be more than 40 mg per cent, was found to be as low as 6.9 mg per cent . The value of C/H (cholesterol-high density lipoprotein) ratio, which under normal circumstances should strictly be less than 6 mg per cent, was found to be as high as 40.6 mg per cent in some of the athletes. In some cases, the serum cholesterol level turned out to be as high as 308.33 mg per cent as against the normal level of 240. The level of serum triglycerides in certain cases was found to be as high as 459.26 mg per cent against the normal level of 140 mg per cent. The Chairman of the Indian Olympic Association Anti-Doping Commission, Dr Manmohan Singh, said the values were “alarming and highly disturbing”. Such extreme levels, he added, could lead to sportspersons being inflicted with severe coronary heart diseases, kidney abnormalities, hypertension and sometimes could even prove to be fatal. A renowned cardiologist, not willing to be identified, said he could not understand how these athletes managed to lead normal, healthy lives. Senior doctors disclosed that such alarming levels were normally found in sportspersons who regularly used anabolic and androgenic steroids. The most common forms of IOC-banned drugs, normally used by athletes, are winstrol, menabol, neurobol (which, in injection form, is nandrolone), nuvir, biosoft, creatine, proteine, ciplal M, fezol Z, astimin-3 injection, chromium picolonate, raricap, inosin and astimin forte. Before taking the blood samples of the national campers, which were taken from anticubal vein and analysed on the computerised auto-analyser, the athletes were clinically examined by experts and all of them were found not to be inflicted with any organic disease, particularly hormonal dysfunction, due to which sometimes the levels of serum cholesterol and serum HDL
cholesterol can increase naturally. The athletes, when spoken to by NIS medical staff prior to the tests, denied that they were taking any medication or supplements. However, later when officials interviewed them elaborately, some of the athletes disclosed on the condition of anonymity that they were indeed taking anabolic steroids to enhance their performance. NIS sources revealed that since it was a research project on humans, permission from the ethical committee was taken prior to commencement of the testing. Coaches at the NIS said there were sufficient grounds that foreign experts attached with the national training programmes could be behind the large-scale doping of athletes. Experts pointed out that after the Busan Asian Games, middle-distance runner Sunita Rani, when faced with a doping charge and an inquiry, had told a high-ranking IOA official that a Russian doctor gave her an injection
a couple of hours before the race. Some senior coaches, preferring anonymity, also pointedout that most of the athletes attending national camps at the NIS were given medicines and injections which have Russian labels. During the domestic circuit athletics meet held at the NIS in May this year, foreign experts could be seen administering injections bearing labels in foreign languages to many top-level athletes just when they were warming up for their events. Earlier, the national athletics camp, held prior to the Athens Olympics, witnessed a doping chart doing the rounds, a development which had snowballed into a major controversy. |
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Tirkey to
lead India: Gill Chandigarh, July 23 “Dilip will remain the captain and there is no plan for the replacement of the injured Inderjit Chaddha,” said Mr Gill. He said the game was picking up and had started attracting spectators. He said, “We still depend on government and the Sports Authority of India to meet the expenditure. The federation gets Rs 2 crore annually from Sahara as sponsorship. ESPN has signed a contract with us to telecast a certain number of international matches for three years.”
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Punjab cyclists dominate
Hyderabad, July 23 In the girls under-19 one-lap time trial, Gurpreet Kaur (Punjab) finished well ahead of Mahita Mohan and S Sarita (both Kerala).
— PTI |
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India to concentrate for consistency: Chappell (
London, July 23
