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MCA President’s XI stun Sri Lanka
India need their youngsters to fire
East Zone win by nine wickets
Kiwis beat SA
Paes-Zimonjic in final
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Chandigarh to host PHL in January
Gagan stars in Klein victory
Sunil, Isha emerge champs
Salgaocar tame Punjab Police
PSEB, BSF enter final
Sports meet for physically challenged
Khullar’s team wins
Samarvir Sahi title
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MCA President’s XI stun Sri Lanka
Mumbai, October 22 The Lankans, who too had rested key bowlers Chaminda Vaas and
Muttiah Muralitharan and used twelve batsmen, mustered up a good total of 267 for 9 in 50 overs after being inserted in by MCA XI captain Nilesh Kulkarni on winning the toss. MCA XI successfully reached the target after needing nine off the last over bowled by Dilhara Fernando. They reduced it to two off the last ball and took a single off what turned out to be a no-ball from Fernando and won with three wickets to spare, by making 268 for 7. Earlier, veteran Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya looked in fine touch while making a quickfire 34 in only 26 balls with seven hits to the fence when he felt some pain in his injured shoulder and retired to the pavilion in order not to aggravate the freak injury sustained back home in Lanka. The Lankans, 57 for one when Jayasuriya left the crease, stuttered thereafter against the Mumbai attack in which medium pacers Usman Malvi and Abhishek Nair were impressive, to reach 82 for four. Experienced batsman Russel Arnold (35) and Tilekaratne Dilshan (50) repaired the damage with a stand of 53 runs to put the innings back on track. Later Upul Chandana made a useful 37, but what finally helped the visitors post a challenging total to the home team was the big-hitting prowess of Parvez Maharoof who slammed 4 fours and as many sixes in his 45-ball 64. Brief scores: Sri
Lanka 267 for 9 in 50 overs (Sanath Jayasuriya 34 retd hurt, Russel Arnold 35, Tilekaratne Dilshan 50, Upul Chandana 37, Parvez Maharoof 64 not out; Usman Malvi 2 for 55, Abhishek Nair 3 for 40).
MCA President's XI 268 for 7 in 49.5 overs (Vinayak Mane 75, Nishit Shetty 57, Amol Muzumdar 55; Nuwan Zoysa 2 for 41, Chandana 2 for 54).
— PTI |
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India need their youngsters to fire
I cannot help but begin on a note of discord. I am extremely disappointed with the itinerary for the present one-day series between India and Sri Lanka.
All the matches are scheduled at little-known centres. The Indian Board must have had their reasons for spreading the game in the hinterland but it does not do justice to the status of number two team in the world. I doubt if England or Australia were touring and they could have done the same to them. Sri Lanka deserved to play in at least two or three major venues. Our Board has been seen in poor light in accepting such an itinerary. A tour by Sri Lanka after eight years deserved better respect. The first impression would convey a huge chasm between the two teams. Sachin Tendulkar is just returning; Sourav Ganguly is out for the first two games; Harbhajan has issues with his form; there is a young opener and a middle order batsman; a young wicketkeeper, a young all-rounder and a young fast bowler. India would be anxious to know how good is the new cocktail. Sri Lanka has no such issues. Despite the hiccup in the practice game in Mumbai, they would be alright in the big games. I would not say they were casual but a practice game usually does not see enough intensity from touring teams these days. Marvan Atapattu is an extremely intelligent and focussed individual whom we are considering to appoint at helm till the next World Cup. Rahul Dravid, in contrast, is only assured a run of 12 games. It is a tenuous situation for a secure leader tends to command better loyalty and trust from his men rather than the one who is at the starting block. But he is an intense, committed individual and who knows he might actually be able to forge a young side into a formidable unit. I have followed, occasionally with interest and mostly with disgust, the recent rumblings in Indian cricket. It would appear there is a rush to toss the seniors into the junkyard and roll out the youngsters with great fanfare. Ideally, one thing does not have to happen at the cost of other. I remember we did a similar thing in Sri Lanka in the 90s. Most of the seniors were hunted out of the game when they still had couple of good years of cricket left in them. In contrast, the juniors were pushed into the deep end of the pool too soon rather than being eased into the shallow end. A youngster, like a sapling, need time and space to grow. It does not help to fast-forward the growth. I sometimes feel Asian countries rush young cricketers into the intense cauldron of international cricket too soon. Most of them are never heard again. It is bad management. However, if the aim is to grow youngsters along with seniors, then it is not a bad idea to groom a team with future in mind. Thus a senior like Ganguly and Laxman; Dravid and Tendulkar could then be allowed to rotate and youngsters brought in to find their feet. We are planning to do so in Sri Lanka where a Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya would not have to play all matches. Otherwise it is a crime. Our cricket committee in Sri Lanka is worthy of emulation. In this committee, we have a virtual who’s who of Sri Lankan cricket. Anura Tennokoon, Duleep Mendis, Siddath Wettimuny, Roy Dias, Ranjan Madugalle, Roshan Mahanama, Graeme Labrooy, me and a host of others meet at least once a week where we discuss issues concerning Sri Lankan cricket. We then regularly call coach and the captain and discuss issues with them. It is not an attempt to curtail their independence. Our only goal is to pass on the committee’s views to them. Rest is their call. In India too, it would help cricket if the selectors do not come to table with their regional agendas. They should help select a team for India rather than their zones. There is nothing wrong if nine players of a state can find place in the national side provided they are good. It is also important for selectors to listen to coach’s views. He doesn’t need to have a voting right but he must be heard. In our times, a coach used to present his views and then leave for selectors to get on with their job. Even if selectors have the final say, a coach must be heard. Sri Lanka thus has an advantage in the series though there is an unease about the manner in which they are losing early wickets. I remember in Sri Lanka a few months ago they did not win the series as much as India lost. They need to safeguard against such a possibility.
— PTI |
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East Zone win by nine wickets
Rajkot, October 22 Requiring 128 runs for an outright win, East Zone reached the target in just 27.3 overs losing the lone wicket of opener Shiv Sundar Das (8). The other opener, Arindam Das (37), and Sarvanan (79) added 118 runs for the second wicket to guide their team to a comfortable win. Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 106 for three, North Zone, trailing by 113-run first-innings deficit, lost wickets at regular intervals to be dismissed for 240. While Paul claimed four for 67, SS Rao and skipper Sourav Ganguly picked two wickets each. With this outright win, East Zone earned two points. Scoreboard:
North Zone (1st innings): 178; East Zone (1st innings): 291; North Zone (2nd innings):
Ravneet Ricky lbw SS Paul 56, Shikhar Dhawan c Dasgupta b Paul 49, Gagandeep Singh c Sarvanan b Nadeem 0, Sangram Singh c Ganguly b Paul 7, Dinesh Mongia c Dasgupta b Paul 19, Pankaj Dharmani c Gavaskar b Rao 2, Yashpal Singh c Dasgupta b Bose 11, Sarandeep Singh b Rao 8, Amit Mishra not out 36, VRV Singh b Ganguly 47, Amit Bhandari c & b Ganguly 0;
Extras: (lb-3, nb-1, w-1) 5; Total (all out, 80.2 overs) 240;
Fall of wickets: 1-105, 2-106, 3-106, 4-132, 5-135, 6-136, 7-145, 8-169, 9-240;
Bowling: SS Paul 27-6-67-4, R Bose 20-4-59-1, Sourav Ganguly 4.2-0-18-2, SS Rao 15-2-53-2, S Nadeem 14-0-40-1;
East Zone (2nd innings): Arindam Das not out 39, SS Das lbw Bhandari 8, V Sarvanan not out 79;
Extras: (nb-2) 2; Total: (1 wicket, 27.3 overs) 128; Fall of wicket: 1-10;
Bowling: Gagandeep Singh 6-1-27-0, Amit Bhandari 10-2-31-1, VRV Singh 1-0-8-0, Amit Mishra 7-1-29-0, Sarandeep Singh 3.3-0-33-0. Zaheer wrecks South Zone
Vadodara: A deadly spell by left-arm medium pacer Zaheer Khan (6 for 56) demolished South Zone as they were dismissed for 211 in their second innings on the third day of their four-day Duleep Trophy match played here on Saturday. Zaheer, left out of the Indian team for the first two matches of the seven-match one-day series against Sri Lanka at home, bowled a devastating spell after West Zone took 108-run first innings lead. West, 37 for two in their second innings, now need just 76 runs to register an outright win on the last day on Sunday. Jacob Martin (16) and first-innings centurion Wasim Jaffer (8) were at the crease when stumps were drawn for the day. Earlier, resuming at their overnight first innings total of 314 runs for 8, West Zone were all out for 327 runs and gained the vital first-innings lead of 108 runs. KS Shahbuddin and Laxmipathy Balaji were the main wicket-takers for South with three scalps each. In their second innings, opener Robin Uthappa (52), captain VVS Laxman (69) and Hemang Badami (47 not out) showed some resistance.
— PTI |
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Kiwis beat SA
Johannesburg, October 22 South African captain Graeme Smith smashed 61 off 43 balls as the home side raced to 84 without losing a wicket after they were sent in to bat yesterday. But South Africa collapsed dramatically to be bowled out for 133 in 19.3 overs, with slow-medium bowler Nathan Astle and off-spinner Jeetan Patel taking three wickets each. Astle and Patel finished with identical figures of three for 20 from their four overs apiece. Fast bowler Shane Bond, who conceded 19 runs off his first two overs, came back to bowl two tailenders and finished with two for 25. New Zealand also got off to a good start, with captain Stephen Fleming and Astle putting on 37 in five overs before Astle was bowled by the first ball sent down by first-change fast bowler Andre Nel. A second wicket fell five balls later when Hamish Marshall was caught behind off Nel. Swing bowler Charl Langeveldt claimed the key wicket of Fleming in the next over when the New Zealand captain slashed a catch to Albie Morkel at gully. Craig McMillan and Scott Styris steadied the innings with a stand of 34 and the match was effectively settled when tall left-hander Jacob Oram hit sixes in successive overs off Nicky Boje and Albie Morkel. Oram finished with 23 not out. The match is a one-off prelude to a five-match 50-overs international series which starts in Bloemfontein
tomorrow. — AFP |
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Madrid, October 22 Tomorrow’s final will be the pair’s second in as many weeks. Last week, Leander-Nenad lost to Aussie Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley in the Stockholm Open final. Yesterday, in a quarterfinal match, Leander and Zimonjic beat Mahesh Bhupathi and his Czech partner Martin Damm 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5). The hard-fought win was Leander’s second in a month’s span over his Davis Cup partner. — UNI
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Chandigarh to host PHL in January
New Delhi, October 22 Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) President KPS Gill said here today that the Chandigarh Administration had given all the necessary help and support to hold the ESPN Star Sports-promoted PHL at the Sector 42 stadium as the request for flood-lighting the stadium has also been complied with. He said the flood-lighting was expected to be completed by December and it was necessary as the Tier I matches would be played only in the evening. The IHF president announced that five teams each would make up Tier I and Tier II, respectively. Tier I will have Bangalore Hi-Fliers, Maratha Warriors, Sher-e-Jalandhar, Hyderabad Sultans and Chandigarh Dynamos while Tier II will consist of Delhi Dazzlers, Lucknow Nawabs, Imphal Rangers, Chennai Veerans and Rourkela Steelers. ESPN managing director R C Venkateish said in all 40 round-robin matches will be played from January 5-29. He said Tier I will have best-of-three finals which will be played on January 30 and 31 and February 1. The winners of Tier II will be promoted to Tier I while the bottom team of Tier I will be relegated to the second rung team. Rourkela Steelers have replaced Bengal Tigers after the latter’s unimpressive display last year. Venkateish said leading international players will be seen in action in the PHL though the final names were yet to be shortlisted. |
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New Delhi, October 22
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Sunil, Isha emerge champs
New Delhi, October 22 The finals, played on adjacent courts simultaneously, witnessed the re-emergence of top seeds Sunil Kumar of Chandigarh and Isha Lakhani of Maharashtra as the new hopes of Indian tennis. Sunil Kumar quelled the challenge of fourth-seeded local boy Ashutosh Singh 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 43 minutes, while Isha rode past her Maharashtrian team-mate and second seed Sonal Phadke 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) in just under an hour. Qualifier Arnav Jain of Maharashtra created a virtual sensation when he disposed of third-seeded Kinshuk Sharma of Chandigarh 6-2, 6-3 with a standout performance to win the boys under-18 singles title while fourth-seeded V Poojashree defeated her Karnataka team-mate G K Sweta 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 to bag the girls’s under-18 title. The victories of Sunil and Isha were on expected lines as they had cruised into the finals without facing much challenge. For Sunil, the title win was the much-needed boost he was looking for as after winning the DSCL Open on his debut in 1999 to emerge the champion at the age of 16 years, he could never really repeat that show on the national circuit, though he was the runner-up in 2000. He had not played in the DSCL Open for five years due to his commitments elsewhere. But he realised that his success in the Futures and Challengers abroad were not being noticed by people who mattered who could help him pursue his career with focused attention. Presently, he lacks sponsors and a support system which could help him grow. And his victory today made him literally rich, as the title brought over Rs 1 lakh in cash prize too. Ashutosh Singh, who was making his maiden appearance in the men’s Open final, could not match Sunil’s superior game strategy and all-round talent, despite his exuberance and aggression. He wilted once Sunil got into top gear. “I was confident of victory, though it would have been difficult if Vijay Kannan was the finalist”, said Sunil. Vijay lost in the semifinal to Ashutosh yesterday. Sunil, who considers himself at the fifth position in the pecking order behind Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna, said his immediate aim was to find sponsors to go for bigger things, and regain his place in the Davis Cup team. Isha Lakhani, who has been battling with injuries for the past one and a half years, the return to top form was an occasion to assess her fitness and style which held good against Sonal Phadke. Isha had faced some problem only in the second set, when she squandered a 5-3 lead to allow Sonal to catch up and take the fight to tie-break, where Isha again fumbled after taking a 6-3 lead. Sonal made it 6-6 and 7-7, but did not have the power to deny Isha the last two points on her serve. Chandigarh (OSR): Capt Amarinder Singh, Punjab Chief Minister, has offered financial support to Sunil Kumar Sipaeya to enable him to participate in tournaments abroad. This was conveyed by the Chief Minister to Mr Rajan Kashyap, Chairman, Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA). Stating this here on Saturday, Mr Kashyap said CLTA hoped to raise additional resources to enable the 22-year-old player to achieve his full potential at the international level. |
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Salgaocar tame Punjab Police
Margao, October 22 Salgaocar scored through Fabio Passos (18th), substitute Samson Singh (62nd) and Francis Andrade (69th) while Punjab Police, who never looked threatening, pulled one back through Harnek Singh (25th). Fabio gave them the lead when he headed home a flag kick taken by Francis Andrade from the right. Punjab Police found the equaliser in the 25th minute when Harnek Singh’s free kick from the right beat keeper Milagrio Medeira all ends to his right, to have the teams 1-1 at half time. The change of ends saw Salgaocar score two more goals.
— PTI |
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PSEB, BSF enter final
Nabha, October 22 The Punjab power men set up the summit clash with BSF, Jalandhar, who played some insipid soccer but still managed to down CRPF 2-0. After trailing by a solitary goal in the first half, PSEB players gave a cohesive performance in the second half in which they scored three goals, two of them coming from attacker Gurpreet Singh. The PSEB think tank changed tactics after the lemon break and placed more emphasis on wing play, which meant that the JCT defence on most occasions was left scattered even as the PSEB forwards got more space upfront to launch their attacks. PSEB started on the wrong foot when a terrible defensive lapse enabled the academy boys to go into the lead through striker Hardeep Singh. After receiving a through pass from Bawa Singh, Hardeep dodged his way past an onrushing custodian before caressing the ball home. This caused a blame game among the defenders and the goalkeeper and by the time the fault had been pinpointed the academy lads were already celebrating. For the power men it was Gurpreet Singh all the way in the second half. PSEB evened out things early in the second half when Gurpreet cut in from the right and beat three defenders before sending in a rasping shot from just inside the danger area. If that effort was applauded all the way by the crowd so was the striker’s second goal which powered PSEB into the lead. Gurpreet, after collecting a ball from the left, punched it hard towards the goalkeeper who let the hard shot slip out of his hands. The PSEB attacker, who was standing nearby, pounced on the ball and made it 2-1 for his team with a shot executed from a difficult angle. With the match almost in their grasp, the power men strangely resorted to time-wasting tactics forcing the referee to flash the yellow card to Gurpreet Singh and Rajkumar Gill. However, medio Sukhbir Singh ended whatever hopes JCT must have nurtured to come back into the contest when, in the dying minutes, he scored off a measured pass sent in by Gurpreet. If the power men played exciting soccer, the quality of play between BSF and CRPF bordered mostly on the pedestrian with both teams playing defensive soccer. For the Jalandhar security men it was Kamal Kishore who scored both the goals although the score line could have read 3-0 in favour of BSF had Gurjit Atwal’s header not been disallowed by referee Deepak Singh of Delhi, a decision which did not go down well with the BSF players.
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Aroor zooms into lead
Chandigarh, October 22 While the treacherous special stages of the Shivaliks were being treated with the utmost respect by even the most experienced drivers, young Aroor, driving the first season for Team MRF, attacked the course from the word go, leaving behind experienced drivers, including Naren Kumar and Vikram Mathais. Aroor and co-driver Chandramouli finished the day with a total timing of 1 hour 04 mins 28 seconds, 10 seconds ahead of Naren Kumar and Ram Kumar, who tallied 1:04.38. In the third place were Team MRF’s Arjun Balu and D Ramkumar with 1:04.51, while Karandip Singh and Jaidas Menon, also of Team MRF, were in fourth spot with 1:04:52. The poor run of defending champions Vikram Mathais and Sujith Kumar continued as they lay in fifth position with 1:05:16. Two special stages and one super special stage will be held tomorrow. The results:
Overall: 1. Arjun Rao Aroor/Chandramouli (Team MRF, Baleno) 1:04.28; 2. Naren Kumar/ Ram Kumar (Team JK, Baleno) 1:04.38; 3. Arjun Balu/Kumar Ramaswamy (Team MRF, Baleno) 1: 04.51; 4. Karandeep Singh/Jaidas Menon (Team MRF, Baleno) 1:04.52; 5. Vikram Mathais/Sujith Kumar (Team JK, Baleno) 1:05.16.
1400cc: 1. Prithvin Rajan/PVS Moorthy 1:12.48; 2. Philipose Mathai/Ashwyn Naik 1:2.53.
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Sports meet for physically challenged
Chandigarh, October 22 More than 500 physically challenged persons from Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Punjab are taking part in this meet. There will be six categories — cerebral palsy, mentally handicapped, visually handicapped, orthopaedically handicapped (upper and lower limbs) and wheel-chaired. The events include 100m walk, 200m run, 4x100m and 4x400m relays, 1500m and 3500m walks, 300m and 5000m cycling/wheel chair, high jump, javelin throw, shot put and weightlifting. |
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Khullar’s team wins
Samarvir Sahi title
Chandigarh, October 22 The quartet of Brig HS Bath, JK Bahri, Rishi Arora and Raja KS Sidhu emerged as the runner-up team with 78 points. In the individual category, Mohit Verma emerged as the winner in the 0-6 handicap category with 30 stableford points. TS Sibia and Col Bhupinder Singh were the winner and runner-up in the 7-12 handicap category. Sibia scored 36 stableford points while Col Bhupinder Singh was two points behind. Rishi Arora won in the 13-18 handicap category with a total of 42 stableford points, while Kulwant Bhullar was second at 38 points. Col HS Kapur with 39 points and JK Bahri with 36 points were the winner and runner-up, respectively, in the 19 & above handicap category. Local lad Dinesh Kumar won the best gross for amateur with a score of two-over 74. The Am-Am event attracted a host of diplomats and corporates, besides ace Olympian Milkha Singh. The tournament was played on individual stableford. Two best scores out of four amateurs were taken into account for team honours. |
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PU girls triumph
Chandigarh, October 22 GGS College for Women, Chandigarh, defeated GGD SD College, Chandigarh, 24-9. MCM DAV College, Chandigarh, beat DAV College, Hoshiarpur, 36-14. Ramgarhia Girls College, Ludhiana, thrashed Government College for Girls, Sector 42, Chandigarh, 24-16.
— TNS |
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Under-17 football
New Delhi, October 22 |
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