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Ganguly’s fate to be known tomorrow
Dalmiya, Vajpai brace up for CAB contest
Irfan’s father loses his job
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McGrath’s new ‘bunny’ — Vaughan
PHF denies charges of human trafficking
Agassi ready for some more magic
Humiliated Beckham mocked in Japan
Joshna goes down tamely
Srinath stretches lead with win
Indian team for A1 GP to be named on Aug 20
Advani wins to stay in contention
Bakre, Chanda score victories
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Ganguly’s fate to be known tomorrow
London, July 26 Justice Sachs said after informing the ICC and the BCCI on his verdict on Ganguly, he would be available to provide details on the matter in a media teleconference on the same day, an ICC press note said here today. The Indian captain was slapped with a six-match ODI ban for his team’s slow over-rate during the one-day series against Pakistan in April. The BCCI had initially appealed against the ban, but it was turned down by ICC Appeals Commissioner Michael Beloff. The BCCI later disputed the process that was used to deal with Ganguly’s appeal under the ICC Code of Conduct and sought a review of the case. Ganguly was provisionally included in the Indian squad as the 16th member and it was made clear that he would travel to Sri Lanka only if the ban was lifted. The latest development has not only thrown open a variety of possibilities, but has also given Ganguly a chance to take part in the tri-series as Justice Sachs is expected to give his ruling a few days before the start of the tournament. If the ban is actually lifted, Ganguly can join his team-mates in Dambulla before India’s first match against the hosts on Saturday and play the tournament under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy. But if the verdict does not go in his favour, the stylish left-hander will have to sit out of four more one-day matches to complete his suspension period.
— PTI |
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Indians prepare for a blind date with Murali
Dambulla, July 26 As Murali has become the bowler that he is in the last five years — full of variety, deception, spin and bounce, the Indians are finding it difficult to draw some comfort from their track record in this period. In the last five years, beginning June 2000, Rahul Dravid has hit only two half centuries in 15 one-day internationals, totalling 502 runs, against Sri Lanka. V.V.S. Laxman has featured in no more than five one-dayers with 133 runs and one half century to show while Virender Sehwag hardly appears the batsman that he is in figures: 321 runs from 13 ODIs at 29.18 against the Lankans. Young guns Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif do not offer any light either. Yuvraj has managed 319 runs from 16 one-dayers at 26.50 while Kaif has not hit a single half century in nine matches, only 133 runs at 26.60. M.S. Dhoni starts his slate clean. Murali, on the other hand, has grown to eye-straining height in this period. With ‘doosra’ and all that, he has taken 286 wickets in his last 41 Tests; and 182 scalps in 134 one-day games in the last five years. Against India, Murali has 23 wickets from three Tests and 23 scalps again from 11 one-dayers since 2000. Indian fans painfully remember his 7 for 30 in a one-dayer and 8 for 87 in a Test. Murali spins it big either way, which is accentuated with the bounce he generates. He rarely bowls a short ball and delivers only at the last minute. As former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga says, “You commit yourself early to Murali and it is difficult to make late adjustments.” Indians, one learns, will try to close their ranks and look to see Murali off without much damage. He is difficult to hit boundaries, so the attempt will be to work him around in the field. Importantly, whoever gets his eye in, must see Murali through. Coach Greg Chappell looks for a steady start from the openers, never mind if they are not explosive in the first 15 overs. With wickets in hand, they can afford to take calculated risks against Murali. Not that Sri Lankans do not understand the situation. They try to bring Murali on only when a wicket has just fallen. There is no set pattern with which they use Murali’s overs. Their field placements too are immaculate: at least five fielders on the onside, with straightish midwicket and mid-on inside the ring encouraging batsmen to go over the top. As for cutting on the offside against the break of Murali, you do it at your own risk. Unlike other spinners, Murali also keeps a few close-in fielders in the one-day arena. He likes to convey to the batsmen that he is in the hunt for his wicket, and containment can be done by others. It is little wonder that Rahul Dravid was seen asking bowlers to rough up the area on the off-stump in the practice sessions. He has been seen attempting a lot of reverse sweeps, and the unorthodox methods are being embraced by other batsmen too. Conventional methods have rarely worked against an unconventional bowler like Murali. As for Murali, it is only a business as usual. He regrets that neither does Brian Lara figure on the roll, nor does Sachin Tendulkar, two batsmen who arguably play him the best. “I love the challenge of bowling to somebody like Lara and Tendulkar. It is disappointing that I have not bowled to Tendulkar in a Test at all in the last eight or nine years. In the triangular, these two names will be missed.” The Indians, meanwhile, are buckling down to see how they shape up against one of the greatest bowlers in the game’s history. It is daunting enough for them, not to speak for one of the three new names — Suresh Raina, Venugopal Rao and J.P. Yadav — who will take the number seven slot in the line-up. Chappell has talked about the importance of creativity and consistency, technique allied with the heart for battle. In the next fortnight or so, Murali will ask some serious questions to Indian batsmen on the values their coach wants them to inculcate.
— PTI |
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Team undecided on Sehwag’s partner
New Delhi, July 26 Though sytlish middle order batsman
V.V.S. Laxman opened the innings with Sehwag in the practice match in Colombo yesterday, Greg Chappell — who makes his debut as the coach of the side — said the team was open to other options as well. Talking to Aajtak news channel, Chappell said,’’ We tried VVS as opener with Sehwag and we are also looking at other options.’’ Apart from Laxman, the names of Mahender Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh are also doing the rounds as the second opener in the tri-series. Meanwhile, after having a look at the pitches, Chappell said the team think-tank might opt to field two spinners in the tri-series which also involved the West Indies. ‘’The pitches here are on the slower side and fielding two spinners is definitely a
possibility. Both Harbhajan and Kumble have bowled well here in the past and so there are good chances that the spinners would be working in tandem,’’ Chappell said. The Australian batting great also said he had developed a ‘’good working relation’’ with new skipper Rahul Dravid and ruled out any communication gap. The Aussie also welcomed the new ICC rules and said India might have to come to terms with those during the Zimbabwe tour. ‘’We will play according to the old rule here and may have to face that when we tour Zimbabwe. Those are interesting changes in the existing rule which the one day game needed and the new rules should work out well,’’ he added.
— UNI |
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Dalmiya, Vajpai brace up for CAB contest
Kolkata, July 26 Dalmiya, who has had an uninterrupted reign as CAB president since 1993, is eyeing another term, banking on the support he enjoys due to his long innings in what is arguably the country’s richest sports association. Vajpai, former Director-General of West Bengal Police, is fighting his first elections to a cricket body. The retired IPS officer is hoping to cause a turnaround by harping on the issues of match-fixing and Dalmiya’s lack of time for the improvement of Bengal cricket. “He is too busy with matters concerning international cricket and ICC and BCCI politics. He has no time for Bengal cricket,” Vajpai has said. Dalmiya, on the other hand, has said he is not concerned about Vajpai’s candidature. “I am not at all stressed. I have fought a lot of elections at various levels,” he has said.
— PTI |
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Irfan’s father loses his job
Vadodara, July 26 While removing him from the mosque service, which Mehmood Khan was doing for the last four decades even after his son Irfan became a star cricketer, the masjid management also ordered him to vacate the one-room house inside the masjid, which was in his possession. Mehmood Khan termed the allegations levelled against him by the masjid management as false and unjust. ''I can't be held responsible for the damage to the holy Koran preserved in the masjid as I was in London to see my son when the rains devastated the city early this month,'' he claimed. According to masjid trust chairman Dayma Kumar, Mehmood Khan instead of giving the key of the Koran room to the trust, had left for London leaving the key with an outsider which caused the delay in the shifting of the Voluminous Koran, said to be one of the largest of its kind in the world. Besides, Dayma said, the trust had to sack him from his job as he wanted to forcibly keep the one-room house in his possession despite the trust's decision to shift the Koran from the first floor to that room on the ground floor for proper conservation. The Pathan family which was staying in that one-room house in the masjid located in the posh Mandvi area for the last several decades by serving as Muezzin, had moved to a new duplex in the Haji park society in the city in June last year. But Irfan's father continued with his job in the mosque and used to sell essence by running a small shop inside the masjid. An upset Mehmood Khan said the reward given to him for his selfless service to the masjid was very shocking. Interestingly, the management has appointed Irfan's uncle Majid Khan in his father's post and removed Mehmood Khan's shop from the masjid complex. Meanwhile, the masjid management has decided to seek the help of experts of the Museum Committee of Gujarat and a team from France to take up the restoration work of this ancient hand-written Koran. — UNI
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McGrath’s new ‘bunny’ — Vaughan
Sydney, July 26 Celebrating Australia's crushing 239-run victory in the first Test at Lord's, the Daily Telegraph pronounced "Battered British on the brink of crisis". "Ricky Ponting has turned a searing spotlight on faltering England captain Michael Vaughan by announcing Australia's intention to make him Glenn McGrath's next bunny," the paper said. A 'bunny' in cricket parlance is a batsman who becomes psychologically unnerved to the extent he regularly falls victim to a particular bowler. "McGrath vows to torment Vaughan," was the headline in The Australian. "Australia's plan to further destabilise England in the Ashes series will centre on Michael Vaughan and his inability to counter the world champions' premier paceman, Glenn McGrath," the paper said. "Of all the familiar frailties exposed by Australia in the first Test, the sight of an England captain under pressure provoked the most powerful sense of deja vu," said the Sydney Morning Herald. "Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath knew it. They said they would target Vaughan relentlessly throughout the Ashes.
— AFP |
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PHF denies charges of human trafficking
Islamabad, July 26 Responding to a questionnaire by three members of the Senate Standing Committee on Sports, PHF Secretary Musarratullah Khan said only five persons, who were genuine hockey lovers, were helped and all of them had returned. “About five persons who were brothers and relatives of PHF functionaries like Mukhtar Ali and Faiz Muhammad Faizi went abroad,” Musarratullah said in his reply. The names of the other three were not mentioned. The quintet went to Spain to witness the Olympic qualifying round in March, 2004. Mukhtar, alleged to be the key player in the visa racket, had been sacked after an internal probe conducted by the PHF. “No wilful attempt was made to secure visa for any person who was not hockey-related. It cannot be termed as human smuggling,” the PHF Secretary was quoted as saying by Pakistani daily Dawn. “It was an individual act for which the services have been terminated and not an institution’s act, as brought out by the inquiry committee.” The PHF said Mukhtar wrote letters to the embassy in the absence of Musarrat, who was bed-ridden following a road accident in early 2004. Ever since Mukhtar was removed from service, extra caution was being taken and the process had been centralised with stringent corrective measures, Musarrat said, while requesting the committee to consider the matter as closed. Meanwhile, a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Sports was due to be held in Islamabad tomorrow to discuss the “continuous deterioration” of hockey and the visa racket. — PTI |
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Agassi ready for some more magic
The 35-year-old American was set to face French lucky loser Jean-Rene Lisnard here yesterday in an opening-round match at an ATP hardcourt event. Agassi’s second-round foe would be American Kevin
Kim. Agassi has not played an ATP match since an opening-round loss at the French Open in May. A nagging sciatic nerve problem kept him out of Wimbledon for the second year in a row and fuelled rumours that his days on the tour might be numbered. “I want to feel healthy,” Agassi said. “I want it to be about the tennis. I have not played matches in a while, so this is struggling a little bit. Then I am in my wheelhouse and I will figure it out.” Eight-time Grand Slam champion Agassi said he planned to stay in the game as long as his body would allow. “I do not know what is going to go into my decision as far as I do this, but I can tell you one thing — I do not want to be on the court unless I am at least engaged, letting my game fly and feeling
good.” Agassi took a two-set lead in his Roland Garros opener against Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen before losing. “If there is one thing I learned in Paris, limping around in front of the world is not a comfortable thing to do,” Agassi said. “It is like a car going uphill with no brakes. You are either going forward or backwards,” Agassi said. “I feel like when I am at home watching it, I am going
backwards.” Agassi has won three titles here and is the top seed, but is not putting himself under extra pressure to win a title in his comeback event. “I can not think of a better place for me to come out try to find my best tennis again,” Agassi said. “This is a tournament I have always played so well at, winning here a number of times and using it as sort of a springboard into my summer. I enjoy being a part of it”.
— AFP |
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Sania loses, but enters main draw
New Delhi, July 26 Sania put up a brave fight before going down 2-6, 6-7 (10-12) to Israeli Shahar Peer yesterday, but she entered the competition proper after Chanda Rubin pulled out with an ankle inflammation. Sania would now play wild card Eleni Daniilidou of Greece, currently ranked 58th in the world. A win would pit the 18-year-old Indian against second seed Venus Williams, who had a bye in the first round. Interestingly, a win over Peer could have set up a repeat clash with German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, whom Sania defeated in the first round at Cincinnati. Groenefeld would now
tackle Peer in the top half of the draw. However, there was no such luck for the Uberoi sisters, Shikha and Neha, as both went down in the final round of the qualifiers. Shikha went down to Marissa Irvin of the USA 6-2, 6-4 while Neha, representing her adopted country, the USA, lost to Alina Jidkova of Russia 6-4, 6-4. The trio had scored tough wins in the earlier rounds, with both Sania and Shikha knocking out a top-100 player each. Sania accounted for Maureen Drake and Lindsay Lee-Waters, ranked 96th, while Shikha overcame local challengers Shenay Perry and Jill Craybas, ranked 58th. Neha had tamed Teryn Ashley and Melen Tu, both her
compatriots. Meanwhile, Harsh Mankad strengthened his case for an entry into the US Open qualifiers after edging out 470th-ranked Toshihide Matsui in the ATP Tour Granby Challenger first round.
— PTI |
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Humiliated Beckham mocked in Japan
Tokyo, July 26 “Beckham enraged!” two Japanese tabloids blared in identical headlines, with pictures of the English captain pointing an accusing finger at Tokyo Verdy player Kazuyuki Toda. Beckham accused Toda of spitting at him during yesterday’s friendly match, in which the Spanish powerhouses were inflicted a shock 3-0 defeat at the hands of a team struggling in 17th position in the J-League. “For real? Real Madrid, the Galacticos, humiliated in public in Japan,” the Sports Nippon daily said in a caption. The Nikkan Sports daily said the entire Real Madrid squad “lost their natural selves” over the alleged spitting incident. “The prince was infuriated,” the Nikkan Sports said. “They wanted revenge rather than to win the game. They were totally different from the usual Galacticos,” it said. Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, after the match, accused Toda of trying to provoke Beckham, saying the Japanese player also kicked the English sensation. Toda denied the allegations and said it was Beckham who was to blame. “It is him who kicked me,” Toda said, as quoted by the Sports Nippon tabloid. “Some spit flew and I think that is why he was angry, but it is not me.” The Sports Nippon said Real Madrid were “too weak” and that their legions of fans here sighed for the full 90 minutes of the game. “The prince was in confusion over the unexpectedly tough game” and decided to drop the bombshell allegations, it said. Beckham and team-mates Ronaldo and Michel Salgado tried to “raid” Verdy’s changing room during half time, but they “would not have burst out if Real had been winning,” it said. The two-time world club champions’ defeat against the J-League club came on the third leg of their four-country football friendly series, seen as a way to gross money for the football celebrities. The Spanish team, having won their three games 3-1, 2-0 and 3-2 in the USA and China, would play another J-League team, Jubilo Iwata, tomorrow before moving to Thailand for their last match on Friday.
— AFP |
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Joshna goes down tamely
Chennai, July 26 Top seeded Joshna was totally off colour and a bundle of nerves in her loss to the second seeded Egyptian at 3-9 4-9 8-10, according to information reaching here. Joshna failed to raise her game against the Egyptian, who showed a lot of variety in her game. She pinned Joshna to the back court. It was only in the third game that Joshna threatened her rival, albeit briefly, taking an initial lead but Weleily, ranked 36 in the WISPA ranking, got back into her rhythm. Though Joshna saved a match point, the Egyptian managed to win the match on 'single extra point'.
— PTI
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Srinath stretches lead with win
Belfort (France), July 26 With the win, Srinath took his tally to an excellent 7.5 points out of a possible eight, and was now followed by second seed Sujgirov Sanan, Hou Yifan, So Wesley and V.A.V. Rajesh, all of whom had 6.5 points. Half a point adrift were top seed Parimarjan Negi, Sethuraman and six others in this section. It was a heroic effort from Srinath as he beat another higher-rated opponent with his effective attack. Employing the Italian game with white pieces, Srinath squeezed out the defences of Sethuraman and romped home in 76 moves. In the under-10 boys section, Sahaj Grover’s dream run was halted by Daniel Naroditsky of the USA. The Delhi boy, who had a 1.5 point lead before the start of the eighth round, thanks to his seven victories on the trot, still led the field by a full point margin and looked set to win the gold here. Y. Sandeep came back strongly after losing the previous round game and accounted for Sebastien Feller. With just three rounds remaining in 10 different World championships for boys and girls, Sandeep also looked a medal prospect in the under-14 boys section, where he was placed joint second on 6.5 points, behind Mariyan Boychev. G. Rohit also retained his medal hopes after scoring a crushing victory over Olszewski in the eighth round game in the under-16 boys section. With 6.5 points in his bag, Rohit was joint third in his group, currently led by Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Among the girls, Woman Grandmaster D Harika again suffered a setback, losing to Maria Ignacz in the eighth round of under-16 girls section. It was a double blow for the Indian team in this section as in-form Saheli Nath also went down against leader Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia. Both girls would now have to do really well in the remaining rounds to remain in medal contention.
— PTI |
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Indian team for A1 GP to be named on Aug 20
New Delhi, July 26 Although the line-up will be announced only on August 20, things have already started to fall in place with the appointment of team manager Akbar Ebrahim. Ebrahim said the focus currently was on recruiting technical staff for the team. “Presently the A1 team India is in the process of appointing staff for the techincal team, who will be handling the testing and racing side of the A1 GP,” Ebrahim said. — PTI |
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Advani wins to stay in contention
New Delhi, July 26 Manan Chandra, the third Indian in the fray, suffered a fate similar to the more fancied Alok Kumar, going down 0-4 to fifth seed Kobkit Palajin of Thailand in a Group E league match. Second seed Advani cleared the hurdle in his must-win match against Hung Chung-Ming of Chinese Taipei with a thrilling 4-3 win. The former world snooker champion scored two superb 100s in the first and the third frames, apart from registering breaks of 80, 71 and 58 in the first, third and seventh frames.
— PTI |
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Bakre, Chanda score victories
Pardubice , July 26 On a day when Bakre emerged as the lone Indian to win on higher boards, overnight joint leader, International Master S. Poobesh Anand, came up with another inspired performance to hold higher-rated IM Alexei Gavrilov of Russia to take his tally to 3.5 points.
— PTI |
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