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Laxman puts India on top
India's batsman VVS Laxman, kisses his helmet
after completing his century on the second day of the first Test against Zimbabwe
in Bulawayo on Wednesday. — AP/PTI
Police to provide vital clues to ICC
Murali spins Lanka to thumping win
I am still proud of my team
Duleep Trophy schedule announced
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Sania
loses in doubles
BSF championship gets underway
SGGS society win
Gagan Ajit scores hat-trick
Arti wins gold
37 school teams take part in volleyball meet
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Bulawayo, September 14 Laxman began cautiously before exerting his dominance in a 186-ball innings, that included 18 fours. The 10th Indian to score 4,000 Test runs, he was unbeaten on 125. This was his eighth Test century. Laxman and Rahul Dravid (77) compiled a third-wicket stand of 130 to lay Dravid took control as India reached 207 for two at tea, but was dismissed eight overs after the break when he tried to force Blessing Mahwire off the backfoot and was caught in the slips by Brendan Taylor. Laxman and captain Sourav Ganguly then scratched around for 45 minutes before ramming home India’s advantage with an unbroken stand of 97. Openers Gautam Gambhir (46) and Virender Sehwag (44) took the attack to the Zimbabwean new-ball bowlers, adding 88 before Sehwag was bowled by Mahwire, who also accounted for Gambhir just after lunch. Mahwire had three for 67 from 16 overs. Zimbabwe resumed on 265 for seven, but were undone by the swing of Irfan Pathan, who picked up the remaining three wickets in 28 minutes to finish with five for 58. Captain Tatenda Taibu finished unbeaten on 71. Scoreboard Zimbabwe (first innings) Taylor c Gambhir b Zaheer 13 Duffin lbw b Pathan 56 Masakadza c Kaarthick b Zaheer 14 Ebrahim c & b Pathan 24 Taibu not out 71 Streak c Dravid b Kumble 27 Coventry lbw b Kumble 2 Blignaut lbw b Zaheer 4 Dabengwa c Laxman b Pathan 35 Ewing lbw b Pathan 0 Mahwire lbw b Pathan 4 Extras
(b-1, lb-7, nb-20, w-1) 29 Total (all out, 98.5 overs) 279 Fall of wickets:
1-25, 2-45, 3-119, 4-124, 5-193, 6-197, 7-210, 8-269, 9-269. Bowling: Pathan 18.5-3-58-5, Zaheer 22-5-74-3, Ganguly 1-1-0-0, Kumble 26-7-71-2, Harbhajan 26-5-55-0, Sehwag 5-1-13-0. India (first innings) Gambhir c Taylor b Mahwire 46 Sehwag b Mahwire 44 Dravid c Taylor b Mahwire 77 Laxman not out 125 Ganguly not out 23 Extras
(lb-5, nb-4, w-1) 10 Total (3 wkts, 82 overs) 325 Fall of wickets:
1-88, 2-98, 3-228. Bowling: Streak 20-3-67-0, Mahwire 16-2-67-3, Blignaut 12-1-71-0, Dabengwa 12-0-45-0, Ewing 22-3-70-0.
— Reuters
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Police to provide vital clues to ICC
Mumbai, September 14 A police team is also being prepared to be dispatched to Sri Lanka to probe the involvement of cricketers in that country with bookies, sources said. Already the names of controversial Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Murlitharan and actor Aditya Panscholi are being linked with bookies. Panscholi is under probe for introducing the cricketer to a bar dancer Tarranum who worked in a plush Mumbai bar. Tarranum was busted by the Income Tax department for holding undeclared assets worth crores of rupees. Also found on her cell phone were numbers of bookies and prominent personalities. The bar dancer is now being probed by the police for fixing matches featuring India and other international teams. Two officials from ICC — Martin Hawkins and Alan Peacock — are scheduled to meet senior police officials. The police said they would also question Panscholi since he had already admitted to taking Murlitharan to the Deepa Bar where Tarranum worked. The actor however denied having introduced Murlitharan to the dancer. Meanwhile, the names of two more Sri Lankan cricketers are doing the rounds. One is said to be a star batsman. Several bit actors from the Mumbai film and television industry are also believed to be part of this net. The cricketers reportedly showered huge amounts of money on the dancers at this bar. Tarranum's posh Tanishq bungalow is believed to be worth more than Rs 2.5 crore and is said to have been gifted by a prominent Mumbai businessman. |
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Murali spins Lanka to thumping win
Colombo, September 14 Resuming the third day at 36 for three wickets and needing 146 runs to avoid an innings defeat, Bangladesh showed no resistance to the Sri Lankan bowlers and were dismissed for a meagre 86 runs, their lowest Test total ever. Yesterday, Sri Lanka declared their first innings at 370 for nine wickets, thanks to half centuries from Tillakaratne Dilshan (86), Thilan Samaraweera (78) and Mahela Jayawardene (63), after dismissing the visitors for 188. The first wicket of the third morning came from seamer Chaminda Vaas, who forced an edge off overnight batsman Habibul Bashar to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara in the third over of the day. Bashar scored 15 in 29 balls, including a boundary. After taking two wickets in the same over yesterday, Muralitharan maintained his momentum on the third day, bowling Tushar Imran with a sharp turner for three. Aftab Ahmed was snapped up by Thilan Samaraweera at slip and Mohammad Rafique hit Muralitharan against the spin and was caught by Samaraweera. Khaled Mashud offered some resistance with a 45-ball 15 before speedster Lasith Malinga shattered his stumps. Muralitharan ended a fine spell of 10 overs to take six wickets for just 18 runs, and collected a match bag of nine wickets for 60 runs. Malinga picked up three wickets for 32 runs in six overs. Scoreboard Bangladesh (1st innings) 188 Sri Lanka (1st innings) 370 Bangladesh (2nd innings) Omar c Sangakkara b Malinga 9 Nafees b Muralitharan 13 Bashar c Sangakkara b Vaas 15 Ashraful lbw Muralitharan 0 Imran b Muralitharan 3 Ahmed c Samaraweera Mashud b Malinga 15 Rafique c Samaraweera Rasel b Malinga 1 Hossain not out 5 Haque st Sangakkara Extras (b-4, nb-2, w-5) 11 Total (all out, 27.4 overs) 86 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-35, 3-35, 4-39, 5-47, 6-50, 7-59, 8-73, 9-83. Bowling:
Vaas 10-4-31-1, Malinga 6-1-32-3, Muralitharan 10.4-4-18-6, Herath 1-0-1-0. —
AP, AFP |
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I am still proud of my team
If ever a series has lived up to its billing, it is the Ashes 2005. I have never been involved in a more challenging, nerve-wracking and exhausting series, and though it has ended with the Ashes being wrested from us after a decade-and-a-half, I am still proud of the way our team fought fiercely right through the last 10 weeks.
This is the first Ashes loss for every member of the team, and for guys like Brett Lee, this is the first time they have been involved in a series loss against any opposition. All this obviously means that there is a great deal of heartache in the side. However, we are a proud side, and even our greatest detractors will have to agree that each of the Tests was extremely hard-fought. While the series was a contest between the number one side and the number two side of world cricket, I do not think the England team has dislodged us from the pinnacle just yet. We will have to see whether they consistently win over the next one year, especially overseas, and only then will they earn the title of being the best team in the world. Having said that, I have only praise and admiration for this England side. They are the best England opposition I have played against and their bowlers have improved out of sight since the last time they played us. Most of their top players like
Harmison, Jones, Strauss, Pietersen and the great Flintoff are in their mid-twenties, which means they can go on for quite some time. Their fielding has also improved vastly and they are going to be competitive wherever they play. While we ended up second best in this contest, there were plenty of heartening performances from our side as well. Shane Warne was more inspiring than ever before, and Glenn bowled valiantly despite suffering two injuries in the space of a fortnight. Brett Lee fought manfully with the ball as well as the bat and all the batsmen showed flashes of the awesome talent the world had come to expect of them. We did lose the series 2-1, but the two defeats were by very small margins, so there was no shame in losing. For me, the only disappointment was that we were never able to get a headstart in any of the games. As a team we have always tried to dominate the first session and first day of a Test. This is the best way to gain control of a game, but sadly, we were not able to do that after the first Test. We showed flashes of our capabilities only when we were trying to claw back from a losing situation. We now will go back to a volley of post-mortems and criticism. However, I do not think the situation is as precipitous as some of our experts would have us believe. As captain, I do not feel any need to consider whether or not I should continue in this position, because for me, the challenge now is to prove that this loss notwithstanding, we still have what it takes to remain champions. I do not think large-scale changes will be required because some of these guys have played too well for too long to be axed after just one below-par series.
— Gameplan |
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Prove fitness by Sept 21, ICC tells Tendulkar
Mumbai, September 14 |
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Duleep Trophy schedule announced
Mumbai, September 14 The five zonal outfits, along with the visiting Zimbabwe Cricket Union Chairman XI would be divided into two groups for the league phase of the tournament during which matches would be played over four days, a BCCI release said here. The group toppers would meet in the five-day
final scheduled from November 12. West Zone would meet South Zone at the Cricket Club of India’s Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai from October 20 to kick off the event while Rajkot would host the North Zone
versus East Zone tie on the same dates. Itinerary: October 20-23: West Zone v South Zone, Mumbai (CCI); October 20-23: North Zone v East Zone, Rajkot; October 27-30: South Zone v Central Zone, Surat; October 27-30: North Zone v Zimbabwe XI, Mumbai (Wankhede); November 4-7: Central Zone v West Zone, Mumbai (CCI); November 4-7:
East Zone v Zimbabwe XI, Aurangabad; November 12-16: Final, Ahmedabad. — PTI |
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IOA honours Rathore
New Delhi, September 14 The amount was promised to Rathore after he won the silver medal in the double trap shooting event at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, but IOA took this grand occasion to honour India’s grandest sporting hero. Rathore was overwhelmed by the gesture, as while running the last lap with the baton, he could barely move, with a throng of people, surrounding him, virtually mobbing him on to the dais. It was double delight for the Olympic hero, as he had bagged the individual and team golds for the country in double trap at the Asian Clay Shooting Championship at Bangkok (Thailand) a day earlier. The start and finish of the baton Relay was chaotic. So much so that tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi, who ran the penultimate lap, before handing over the baton to Rathore, was so tired at the end that he just slumped into a seat, unable to move. He was eventually cajoled to come on the dais by Kalmadi and others. At Red Fort, where the relay began, Flying Sikh Milkha Singh was made to move at a snail’s pace by over-eager shutter bugs, and the baton took almost an hour to move from Jyotimoy Sikdar to former Asian badminton champion Dinesh Khanna. At the National Stadium gate, it was a free-for-all as everyone “joined” the relay run, pushing and jostling Bhupathi and Rathore. But for these blemishes, the relay evoked spectacular response. Colourful banners, buntings and hoardings, and well-laid out resting points dotted the route of the relay. At the National Stadium, it was all colour and laser beams on a dais filled with Anju Bobby George, Rathore, Bhupathi, Kalmadi, Randhir Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Lt Governor B.L. Joshi and many others. Rathore placed the baton on the left hand of the tiger, which would be the mascot for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, for resting the night. Rathore invoked the thousands of students and others present at the National Stadium to work hard to achieve success, while Anju exhorted the young ones to “try, try and try” to achieve their goals. For Bhupathi, the only grouse was that tennis was not an event in the Commonwealth Games, and requested Kalmadi to try and include tennis for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The Queen’s Baton will travel to Agra from Delhi, and from there to Kolkata before leaving for Dhakha. The torch will reach Melbourne before the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on March 15, 2006 where India will be handed over the Commonwealth Games flag as the hosts of the 2010 Games. The Queen’s Baton Realy is the world’s longest, most inclusive relay, which will cover around 71 Commonwealth countries before reaching Melbourne. The relay had begun at the Bukingham Palace in London on March 14, 2005. |
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Sania loses in doubles
New Delhi, September 14 Sania and her Polish partner Marta Domachowska tried their best, but could not stop the Chinese duo of Tiantian Sun and Ting Li, who went on to record a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory to move to the second round. Pitted against the third seeds, it was never going to be easy for the Indo-Polish duo, but they did not give up easily. The first set saw both pairs trying to outdo each other and the Chinese held their nerves to win the set. The Sania-Marta pair showed some sense of urgency and raised their game to clinch the second set. The Chinese duo took control in the decider and never relaxed till they pocketed the set and the match. — UNI
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BSF championship gets underway
Jalandhar, September 14 Gujarat defeated South Bengal 2-1. Lenus Ekka and Devinder Kumar junior were the scorers for Gujarat while Devinder Kumar senior scored for South Bengal. The match between IG Headquarter, New Delhi, and Assam Frontier ended in a 1-1 draw. John Jojo scored the goal for IG Headquarters while Mukhjinder Singh converted a penalty corner for Assam Frontier. The match between Hazaribagh and Gujarat also ended in a goalless draw. In the football matches played today the match between Punjab and Gujarat ended in a goalless draw. TCM Trimpura defeated Kashmir by 5-2. Ravi Kumar scored a hat-trick while Gurjeet Atwal scored two goals for Assam. In the third match of the day Subcentre, Hazaribagh, defeated Assam 5-0. Rajesh Basant scored two goals, while L. Mate, H. Kipgon and Safauil Hooda scored one goal each. |
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SGGS society win
Chandigarh, September 14 Rupinder Singh (55th) and Mukhtiar Singh (75th) added two more to make the contest one-sided. The second match between Bassi FC and GS Parmar FC, Narur Panchhat, ended in a goal-less draw. The match of the Punjab Super Football League scheduled to be played today was washed out due to rain. |
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Gagan Ajit scores hat-trick
Karachi, September 14 Gagan was at his brilliant best yesterday when he outran and outsmarted a formidable Shan-e-Punjab defence that included Pakistan captain Mohammad Saqlain and Indian team-mate Sandeep Singh to pump in goals in the 14th, 30th and 58th minute.
— PTI |
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Arti wins gold
Chandigarh, September 14 She also bettered her national record, which was established by her during the 2005 Commonwealth Shooting Championship at Melbourne and the World Cup at Belgrade in 2005. Arti is the daughter of Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh.
— TNS |
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37 school teams take part in volleyball meet Parwanoo, September 14 The competition was divided into primary, middle and senior secondary levels. In the primary school section, National Public School (NPS), Parwanoo, lifted the trophy while Government Senior Secondary School remained runners-up. In the middle school category, the local DAV school emerged winners while NPS, Parwanoo, were declared runners-up. In the senior secondary school category, the Shivam Club, Kalka, lifted the trophy while NPS team grabbed the second spot. Puneet of NPS was declared player of the competition in the primary section. Shavinder Thakur and Jugal Kishore, both of NPS, were declared players of the series in the middle and senior categories. Ms Meenakhshi Sharma inaugurated the competition. During the closing ceremony, Mr Raghu Raj, Congress MLA, was the chief guest. He gave away prizes to the winners. Mr S.K. Chopra, Principal of NPS, welcomed the chief guests on both occasion. The local National Sports and Culture Committee had organised the competition. Mr Dharampal Thakur, Deputy Speaker of the HP Vidhan Sabha, said during this fiscal year, Rs 17 crore had been spent on the construction of a stadium and providing sports infrastructure in the state. Promoting sports in the state was on the top of the agenda of the state government, he said while addressing sportspersons during the inauguration of the 22nd state-level sports tournaments of the Government Middle School at Kunihar. “The state government has decided to construct a stadium in every constituency, ” he said. The decision was taken to promote rural talent. Adventure sports would also be encouraged, he said. The sportspersons had been given three per cent reservation in government services, he said. Mr S.S. Rathore, Deputy Director of Physical Education, welcomed Dharampal Thakur.
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Bulawayo, September 14
